Bigambal (also ''Bigambul'', ''Bigumbil'', ''Pikambul'', or ''Pikumbul'') is an
extinct and unclassified
Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
from the
Pama–Nyungan language family.
The Bigambul language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Goondiwindi Regional Council
The Goondiwindi Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia along the state's border with New South Wales. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas which d ...
, including the towns of
Goondiwindi
Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people.
Geography
Goondiwindi is on the Mac ...
, Yelarbon and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
extending north towards
Moonie
The Unification Church of the United States is a religious movement in the United States of America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s when missionaries from Japan and South Korea were sent to the United States by the international Unification Ch ...
and
Millmerran.
The AUSTLANG database maintained by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies states that the Bigambal language was spoken by the
Bigambul people
The Bigambul people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Tablelands and Border Rivers regions of New South Wales and Queensland.
Name
In the traditional language, the name of this group is derived from the Bigambul word ''biga'' ...
, with
Gambuwal
The Kambuwal were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Country
Norman Tindale estimated that the Kambuwal's territory stretched over some . They straddled the border between Queensland and New South Wales, from south of Mi ...
and
Kwiambal (or Gujambal) known dialects.
However, it is likely that the
Gamilaraay
The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...
(or Yuwaaliyaay) language was used by those peoples living in southern Bigambul territory.
Classification
Dixon (2002)
groups Bigambal together with the
Bundjalung languages while O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin classify it as a
'Wiradjuric' language.
Glottolog
''Glottolog'' is a bibliographic database of the world's lesser-known languages, developed and maintained first at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (between 2015 and 2020 at the Max Planck Institute fo ...
states that Wafer and Lissarrague (2008)
have classed Bigambal and Yugambal together.
Vocabulary
Some words from the Bigambal language, as spelt and written by Bigambul authors, include:
* ''Bamburr'': kangaroo
* ''Dhigaraa'': bird
* ''Dhimba'': snake
* ''Dhurrii'': land
* ''Gayker'': echidna
* ''Gillee'': sun
* ''Gool'': fish
* ''Gulli'': rain/water
* ''Koobee'': possum
* ''Noorah'': home/camp
* ''Warril'': river
* ''Weeimba gilee'': hello
* ''Woodyun'': grass
References
External links
Bibliography of Bigambul people and language resources at the
Unclassified languages of Australia
Extinct languages of Queensland
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