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| Dalabon | |
|---|---|
| Ngalkbun | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Arnhem Land |
| Ethnicity | Dangbon =Dalabon |
Native speakers | 3 (2018)[1] |
Arnhem
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ngk |
| Glottolog | ngal1292 |
| AIATSIS[2] | N60 |
| ELP | Dalabon |
  Dalabon | |
| Coordinates:13°59′S133°56′E / 13.98°S 133.94°E /-13.98; 133.94 | |
Dalabon is aGunwinyguan language ofArnhem Land, Australia. It is a severelyendangered language,[3] with perhaps as few as three fluent speakers remaining as of 2018.[1]Dalabon is also known as Dangbon (theKune orMayali name), Ngalkbun (theJawoyn name), and Buwan (theRembarrnga name).[2]
Dalabon belongs to theGunwinyguan languages branch of theArnhem languages; its nearest relatives areKunwinjku,Kune,Mayali (varieties often grouped together as Bininj Kunwok), andKunbarlang. Its next closest relatives areRembarrnga, and other languages within the Gunwinyguan family, includingJawoyn,Ngalakgan,Ngandi,Wubuy, andEnindhilyakwa.
Dalabon has no official status. Local schools spent years holding sporadic programs teaching Dalabon, but these operations did not receive enough governmental support. Therefore, the condition of the programs is still vulnerable.
Given the limited number of Dalabon speakers, the study of dialects has become challenging to investigate. Speakers recall a distinction between two different types of speech,dalabon-djurrkdjurrk ("fast." "lively") anddalabon-murduk ("articulate"). However, no significant difference has been found between the two speeches.
There are 22 or 23 phonemic consonants in Dalabon, depending on the phonemic status of /h/. A table containing theconsonantphonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).
| Peripheral | Apico- | Lamino-Palatal | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velar | Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||||
| Stops | Lenis (short) | ⟨k⟩ /k/ | ⟨b⟩ /p/ | ⟨d⟩t | ⟨rd⟩ /ʈ/ | ⟨dj⟩ /c/ | ⟨h⟩ /ʔ/ |
| Fortis (long) | ⟨kk⟩ /kː/ | ⟨bb⟩ /pː/ | ⟨dd⟩ /tː/ | ⟨rdd⟩ /ʈː/ | ⟨djj⟩ /cː/ | ||
| Nasal | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨m⟩ /m/ | ⟨n⟩ /n/ | ⟨rn⟩ /ɳ/ | ⟨nj⟩ /ɲ/ | ||
| Lateral | ⟨l⟩ /l/ | ⟨rl⟩ /ɭ/ | |||||
| Rhotic | ⟨rr⟩ /r/ | ⟨r⟩ /ɻ/ | |||||
| Semi-vowel | ⟨w⟩ /w/ | ⟨y⟩ /j/ | |||||
| Fricatives | ⟨H⟩ (/h/) | ||||||
There are 6 vowels in Dalabon. A table containing thevowelphonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | ⟨i⟩ /i/ | ⟨û⟩ /ɨ/ | ⟨u⟩ /u/ | |
| mid | ⟨e⟩ /e/ | ⟨o⟩ /o/ | ||
| low | ⟨a⟩ /a/ | |||
Dalabon restricts the trilled [r] and long stops to only occur word-internally. Constraints regarding the edges of a phonological word also limit the glottal stop [ʔ] from occurring word-initially.
The syllable structure of Dalabon is CV(C)(C)(C), or more specifically:
CV(L)(N)(h)or CV(L)(S)
where:
Such complex codas are not unusual, and all combinations are enumerated as follows (words and translations taken from the dictionary[4]).
C2 C1 | _k | _b | _ng | _h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| l_ | yalkngalk /jalk.ŋalk/ "native bee sp." | kolb /kolp/ "sound of spear slotting intospearthrower" | kalngbuy /kalŋ.buj/ | kolh-no /kolʔ.no/ "liquid, water" |
| rl_ | borlkmû /boɭk.mɨ/ "(to) fall out" | borlbmû /boɭp.mɨ/ "(to) be accustomed to" | lurlh(mû) /luɭʔ(.mɨ)/ "hop of ariverine wallaby" | |
| rr_ | kerrkban /kerk.ban/ "(to) dodge" | yang-warrbmû /jaŋ.warp.mɨ/ "(to) tell lies" | marrngkidj /marŋ.kic/ "sorcerer,clever man" | bukarrh /bu.karʔ/ "top (of something)" |
| r_ | berk /beɻk/ | wirbmang /wiɻp.maŋ/ "(to) pull out from flesh" | kerng-no /keɻŋ.no/ "jaw" | warhdû /waɻʔ.dɨ/ "devil,white person" |
| ng_ | wanjingh /wa.ɳiŋʔ/ "one" | |||
| m_ | njimhmû /ɳimʔ.mɨ/ "(to) wink" | |||
| n_ | kanh /kanʔ/ "this (identified)" | |||
| rn_ | nornhnornh /noɳʔ.noɳʔ/ "stone axe" | |||
| nj_ | keninjhbi /ke.niɲʔ.bi/ |
C2,C3 C1 | _ngh |
|---|---|
| l_ | kalngHmû /kalŋhmɨ/ "(to) climb" |
| rl_ | njorlnghmû /ɲoɭŋʔmɨ/ "(to) gobble up" |
| rr_ | ngarnarrngh /ŋaɳarŋʔ/ |
| r_ | modjarngh /mocaɻŋʔ/ |
Dalabon has a pattern of eliding unstressed vowels and unstressed syllables. For example, the word /'cabale/ 'shoulder blade' is often realized as ['cable].[5]
The location of phrasal stress in Dalabon appears one or two peaks with an initial rise into the first peak at the left edge of the constituent and a final fall at the right edge of the constituent.[6]
Although there is no complete grammatical description of the language, a number of aspects of Dalabon grammar have been described, including itsbound pronominal system,[7]polysynthetic word structure,[8]verb conjugations,[9] the use ofsubordination strategies,[10]nominal subclasses,[11] thedemonstrative system,[12] and the use ofoptional ergativity.[13]
The structure of Dalabon verbs:[14]
| -12 | -11 | -10 | -9 | -8 | -7 | -6 | -5 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obj pron | Subj pron | SURB | SEQ | CAUS | MISC | BEN/INST | MISC | GIN | BPIN | NUM | COM | STEM | RR | TAM | Case |
The diminutiveenclitic=wurd is derived from nounwurd 'woman's child', its reduplicationwurdurd means 'child'.wurd can attach to most word classes and functions in 3 ways of meaning: to denote small objects, to add emotional connotations and to serve as pragmatic functions (especially for interactional softening). The examples are shown below.[15]
Bad-dulum-no=wurd
stone-hill-fill=DIM
kanidjah
there
ka-h-di.
Bad-dulum-no=wurd kanidjah ka-h-di.
stone-hill-fill=DIM there 3SG-R-stand/be.PRS
'There is a small stone hill there.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Wa:h
Wa:h ka-h-rakka-ng=wurd.
INTERJ 3SG-R-fall-PFV=DIM
'Oh, he fell over poor fellow.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
Dalabon is a head-marking language. Dalabon has limited use of subordinate clauses, but it has a distinctive subordination strategy, which is to attach pronominal prefixes to the verb, and marked verbs are used for subordinate clause functions[16]
| Pronominal Prefixes | Subordinate1 | Subordinate2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | nga- | ngaye- |
| 2sg | dja- | djaya- |
| 3sg | ka- | kaye- |
| 1dis | nge- | ngey- |
| 3dis | ke- | key- |
| 3du | barra- | barre- |
| 3pl | bala- | bale- |
subordinate1: the unmarked form of prefixes to show subordinate status, used when the status is overt by other means.
subordinate2: used when prefixes are the only way to show subordination.
dis: disharmonic, meaning odd-numbered generations.
Examples are shown below:
bala-buh-ngong+boyenj-ni-nj
mahkih
because
bala-buh-ngong+boyenj-ni-nj mahkih
3pl-because-mob+big-be-PST.PFV because
‘..because there were so many of them.’
yila-h-yang-wona-wona-n
yale-yu-yu.
yila-h-yang-wona-wona-nyale-yu-yu.
1pl/3-REAL-voice-REDUP-hear-PRES 1pl.SUBORD-REDUP-sleep.PRES
‘we heard his(dingo's) voice as we were sleeping.’
karrkkany
hawk.sp.
kaye-do-n.
karrkkany ka-h-ngunkaye-do-n.
hawk.sp. 3/3l-REAL-eat.PRES 3.SUBORD-die-PRES
‘the hawk eats animals that die.’
| Dalabon | Gloss | Dalabon | Gloss | Dalabon | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bim | "picture" | kolh-no | "liquid" | wadda | "home, house, camp" |
| biyi | "man(men)" | kung | "honey" | wah | "water" |
| bonj | "O.K." | kunj | "kangaroo" | walu-no | "the absolute law" |
| boyenj | "big" | labbarl | "waterhole" | wirridjih | "taboo(s)" |
| burrama | "good, healthy" | langu | "hand/finger" | wokan | "speak, talk, tell, name, evoke, communicate" |
| dabarngh | "yesterday" | mah | "also" | wol | "flame" |
| dengu-no | "foot/toe" | mambard | "billycan" | wurdurd | "child(children)" |
| djihkun | "spoon" | marrumbu | "lover | wurrhwurrungu | "the elders" |
| dulum | "hill" | men-no | "conscience, the thoughts of a living creature" | yabok | "sister" |
| kardu | "maybe" | mey | "(veget.) food" | yang | "language, speech, what one says" |
| kakkak-no | "grandkin" | murduk | "hard/strong" | yidjnja | "have" |
| kenbo | "later" | nayunghyungki | "mythical ancestors" | ||
| kinikun | "different" | ngalyurr | "thunder" | ||
| kirdikird | "woman(women)" | ngarrk | "ache" | ||
| kirribruk | "true, real, honest, fair, generous" | Ngurrurdu | "emu" |