Gubbi Gubbi, also spelt Kabi Kabi, is a language of Queensland in Australia, formerly spoken by the Kabi Kabi people of South-east Queensland. The main dialect, Gubbi Gubbi, is extinct, but there are still 24 people with knowledge of the Butchulla dialect (also spelt Batjala, Batyala, Badjala, and variants), a language spoken by the Butchulla people of K'gari (Fraser Island).
| Kabi | |
|---|---|
| Kabi Kabi, Gubbi Gubbi | |
| Region | Queensland |
| Ethnicity | Kabi Kabi (Kabi), Butchulla (incl. Ngulungbara) |
Native speakers | 24 of the Batjala dialect (2016 census)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Official status | |
Official language in | Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:gbw – Kabi-Kabixby – Batyala |
| Glottolog | kabi1260 |
| AIATSIS[2] | E29 Gubbi Gubbi, E30 Butchulla |
| ELP | Gubbi Gubbi |
| Batyala[3] | |
 Badjala is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Language status
editThe main dialect is extinct, but there were still 24 people with knowledge of the Batjala dialect (a language spoken by the Butchulla people of K'gari formerly known as Fraser Island) as of the 2016 Australian census.[1]
Phonology
editThe following is in the Badjala/Butchulla dialect:
Consonants
edit| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex/ Palatal |
Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | plain | b | d̪ | d | (ɟ) | ɡ |
| tense | pː | d̪ː | kː | |||
| Nasal | m | n̪ | n | (ɲ) | ŋ | |
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Rhotic | r | ɻ | ||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
- /n̪/ is always heard as palatal [ɲ] when preceding /i/, and in word-final position.
- /d̪/ can be heard in free variation with palatal [ɟ].
- /b d̪ ɡ/ can have lenited allophones [β ð ɣ] in intervocalic positions.
- /ɻ/ has a lateral allophone of [ɭ] when preceding /b/.
- /ɡ/ is often slightly palatalised as [ɡʲ] before /i/.
Vowels
edit| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | |
| Low | a aː | |
- /aː/ can sometimes be heard as [æː] before /l/.
- /u/ can be heard as [ɔ] when preceding an intervocalic /ɻ/.[4]
Lexicon
editAccording to Norman Tindale (1974), the word Kabi (['kabi]), means "no".[2]
Wunya ngulum means "Welcome, everyone" in Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2 )". stat.data.abs.gov.au. ABS. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ a b E29 Gubbi Gubbi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
- ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Batyala.
- ^ Bell, Jeanie P. (2003). A sketch grammar of the Badjala language of Gari (Fraser Island). The University of Melbourne.
- ^ "Say G'day in an Indigenous Language" (PDF). slq.qld.gov.au/. State Library of Queensland. 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
External links
edit- Selected bibliography of material on Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi / Gabi Gabi language and people held in the AIATSIS Library
- Heritage of Kabi Kabi people - Sunshine Coast Tourism Information Centre
- Joyce Bonner digital story, State Library of Queensland. Digital story discussing the Badtjala dialect
- Eve Fesl digital story, State Library of Queensland. Digital story discussing the Gubbi Gubbi language
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