Palm Island and Townsville

Wulguru, (also known as Manbara, Manbarra, Korambelbara, Mun ba rah, Nyawaygi or Wulgurukaba) is an Australian Aboriginal language, now extinct, that was spoken by the Wulgurukaba (or Manbarra) people around the area around present day Townsville, Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. The range of Wulguru dialects known to have been around the area include two varieties mentioned from Palm Island, two from the Cleveland Bay area, and various dialects from Townsville.

Classification

Wulguru seems to be a Pama–Nyungan language that was typical for the sort found on the eastern Australian coast. Wulguru ceased to be spoken before it was properly documented, and as a result much of what linguists know of the language is fragmentary.

Possible dialect names include Mulgu, Buluguyban, Wulgurukaba, Coonambella, Nhawalgaba.

Phonology

Consonants of Wulguru
PeripheralLaminalApical
LabialVelarPalatalDentalAlveolar
Stoppkct
Nasalmŋɲn
Laterall
Trillr
Approximantwjɹ

Wulguru has three vowels; /i/, /u/, and /a/. Length distinctions exist for all vowels.

Notes

  • Donahue, Mark (2007). (PDF). Wulguru: a salvage study of a north-eastern Australian language from Townsville. Munich: LINCOM. pp. 1–4. ISBN 978-3-89586-327-1. Archived from (PDF) on 28 March 2019.