Giimbiyu language
Giimbiyu is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language isolate once spoken by the Giimbiyu people of northern Australia.
The name Giimbiyu is a Gaagudju word for 'of the stoney country'. It was introduced in Harvey (1992) as a cover term for the named dialects,
- Mangerr (Mengerrdji)
- Urningangga (Wuningak)
- Erri (Arri)
In 1997 Nicholas Evans proposed an Arnhem Land family that includes the Giimbiyu languages. However, they are not included in Bowern (2011).
Phonology
Consonants
- Coarticulation among consonants is also present.
- Among consonant-coarticulation, /ɣ/ when preceding sounds /l, ɾ/ may result in being heard as a voiceless palatal [ç].
Vowels
- /u/ may also be heard as [o].
- Coarticulation among a preceding /ɪ/, may result in the vowel sound becoming more central [ɪ̈] or as a diphthong [ɪə].
Vocabulary
Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:
References
- McConvell, Patrick and Nicholas Evans. (eds.) 1997. Archaeology and Linguistics: Global Perspectives on Ancient Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press