| Burduna | |
|---|---|
| Purduna, Bayungu, Payungu | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Ashburton and Gascyon rivers |
| Ethnicity | Buruna,Baiyungu |
| Extinct | 2006[1] |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:bxn – Burdunabxj – Bayungu |
| Glottolog | burd1238 Burdunabayu1240 Bayungu |
| AIATSIS[2] | W24 Purduna,W23 Payungu |
| ELP | Purduna |
| Payungu | |
Burduna[a] is anAboriginal language that was traditionally spoken in the region between theAshburton andGascyone Rivers in thePilbara region ofWestern Australia. It belongs to theKanyara group of languages, which also includesBinigura/Pinikura (also known asThalanyji).[3][4]
The language is now classified as critically endangered, with no recorded native speakers as of 2004. However, there are some people of Burduna heritage who can still speak and recognise a few words and phrases.[5][6][7]
Burduna has been classified as adouble-marking language. Although it has been categorised as a Kanyara language, it is significantly different from the other languages in the category as it underwent a number of changes in pronunciation.[8]
Over the years, the language lost most of its nasal sounds and tones. Certain words that contains peripheral stops withp andk soundslenited to aw sound instead. For example,papu (father) becamepawu, andpuka (bad) becamepuwa. However, this lenition did not occur when the previous syllable contained aw. Instead, the consonantsp andk descended, and were pronounced asb andg respectively.[9]
Another marked difference included the pronunciation of polysyllabic words such asyakan (spouse) andpukurra (devil). These words lost their middle consonants and were shortened toyaan andpuurra. The vowels were pronounced with a long, drawn-out sound.[9]
Burduna words also contained consonant clusters in words such asdb indagba (spider) orrdg inngardga (beard). Furthermore, words that originally contained consonant clusters underwent lenition and were pronounced with softer sounds. For example,mb was pronounced asp,nd ast, andngg ask.[9]
In addition, where other languages have adh or aj in the middle of words, Burduna evolved to contain ay. For example, the Thalanyji wordngadhal (cousin) had its Burduna complement spelt asngayal[9].
TheBurduna people were located around the Nyang and Maroonah regions between the Ashburton and Gascyone rivers in north-western Australia. Their traditional country regions included the regions around the Yannarie and Lyndon rivers. Some of the area in and around the Towera region is also identified as being traditional Burduna land.[3][5]
TheKanyara people traditionally spoke three different languages - Purduna or Burduna, Thalanyji, and Bayungu or Payungu. The three languages share highly similar sentence structure and vocabulary, with 60-70% of words being common across all three of them.[8]
The societal structure of the Burduna people consisted of four different subsets. Each subset was further divided into 'totems', and each totem was further divided into 'phrartries'. Individuals within aphrartry were assigned gender-specific titles, and these titles were used to address them in the same manner as personal names are used today. A totemicphrartry was inherited in a patrilineal manner, i.e., an offspring born to parents from two differentphrartries was assigned to thephrartry of the father. Marriages within the same totemphrartry were not allowed.[10]
Often, these totems andphrartries interspersed with people from different linguistic backgrounds. For example, the totem 'Snake' included the Burduna-speaking population as well as the Thalanyji-speaking population.[10]
| Totem | Male name | Female name | Tribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emu | Wariara | Ngogodji | Burduna |
| Turkey & Fire | Waliri | Wilari | Burduna |
| Snake | Wiarrji | Mambulu | Burduna, Thalanyji |
As a result of white settlement along the Ashburton and Gascyone river regions, the language ceased to be used, and is believed to have died out sometime during the first half of the twentieth century. There are a few people living in Onslow and Carnarvon who can still speak and recognize a few words and phrases, but the majority of Burduna descendants have intermarried with other language groups. TheNational Language Indigenous 2004 Survey estimated that there are no native speakers of the language. It has thus been classified as endangerment level 0.[7]
There are two major word classes and three minor ones in the Burduna language. The first major word class contains thenominal words, which includesnouns andadjectives, names,pronouns,demonstratives, andcardinal directions.[8]
The second major word group includes theverbs. The three minor word groups includeadverbs,particles, andinterjections.[8]
