The Nyawaygi language, also spelt Nywaigi, Geugagi, Njawigi, Nyawigi or Nawagi, is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
language that was spoken by the
Nyawaygi people in
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...
, on the east coast of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The Nyawaygi language region includes the landscape within the
Hinchinbrook Regional Council,
Halifax Bay, and
Rollingstone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known ...
.
Nyawaygi has the smallest number of consonants, 12, of any Australian language. It has 7 conjugations, 3 open and 4 closed, the latter including monosyllabic roots, and, in this regard, conserved a feature of proto-Pama–Nyungan lost from contiguous languages.
Phonology
Consonants
* Unlike most Australian languages, occurs as an allophone of /r/ when after a consonant. /r/ is heard as in all other environments.
* Palatal sounds /ɟ, ɲ/ can occasionally be heard as dental sounds .
* /r/ can also occasionally be heard as a tap .
* /ɻ/ can be heard as a flap in word-final positions.
Vowels
Vocabulary
Some words from the Nyawaygi language, as spelt and written by Nyawaygi authors include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
External links
Nywaigi Language Recordings State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
Dyirbalic languages
Extinct languages of Queensland
Languages extinct in the 2000s
2009 disestablishments in Australia
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