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Bungandidj language facts for kids

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Bungandidj
Buwandik
Region South-east South Australia
South-west Victoria
Ethnicity Bungandidj
Extinct (date missing)
Language family
Pama–Nyungan
  • Southeastern
    • Victorian
      • Kulin–Bungandidj
        • Bungandidj
Dialects
Bungandidj
Pinejunga
Mootatunga
Wichintunga
Polinjunga
AIATSIS S13

Bungandidj is a language of Australia, spoken by the Bungandidj people, Indigenous Australians who lived in an area which is now in south-eastern South Australia and in south-western Victoria. According to Christina Smith and her book on the Buandig people, the Bungandidj called their language drualat-ngolonung (speech of man), or Booandik-ngolo (speech of the Booandik). As of 2017, there is a revival and maintenance programme under way for the language.

Historical variants of the name include: Bunganditj, Bungandaetch, Bunga(n)daetcha, Bungandity, Bungandit, Buganditch, Bungaditj, Pungantitj, Pungatitj, Booganitch, Buanditj, Buandik, Booandik, Boandiks, Bangandidj, Bungandidjk, Pungandik, Bak-on-date, Barconedeet, Booandik-ngolo, Borandikngolo, Bunganditjngolo, and Burhwundeirtch.

Phonology

Bungandidj phonology is typical of Australian languages generally, sharing characteristics such as a single series of stops (no voicing contrast) at six places of articulation, a full corresponding set of nasals, laminals at all four coronal places of articulation and two glides. Extrapolating from historical written sources and knowledge of surrounding languages, Blake posits the following consonant inventory:

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Dental Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive p [p] k [k] th tj [c] t [t] rt ]
Nasal m [m] ng [ŋ] nh ny [ɲ] n [n] rn ]
Flap/Trill rr [r]
Lateral lh ly [ʎ] l [l] rl ]
Approximant w [w] y [j] r ]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i [i] u [u]
Open a [a]

A poem

Smith (1880), on pages 138–139, records a poem written in Bungandidj :

yul-yul, thumbal (Fly beetle, bat, night)
kallaball, moonarerebul (Fly, march-fly, beetle)
nana nan molanin (parrot, little parrot.)
korotaa, king nal (wattle bird,)
yongo birrit. (minah bird.)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Idioma bungandidj para niños

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Bungandidj language Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.