Wanggamala, also spelt Wanggamanha, Wangkamahdla, Wangkamadla, Wangkamanha, Wangkamana, Wonkamala, Wongkamala, Wonkamudla, and other variants, is an extinct

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 ...

of the Pama–Nyungan family, previously spoken in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

around Hay River (east of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

) and to the south of the

Andegerebinha The Andegerebinha language, also known as Andegerebenha, Andigibinha, Antekerrepenhe and Antekerrepinhe, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory, specifically of the Upper Arrernte language group. It was spoken around the ...

-speaking area. As of 2003, there was one speaker remaining. According to

Gavan Breen Gavan Breen (22 January 1935 – 5 October 2023) , also known as J. G. Breen, was an Australian linguist, specialising in the description of Australian Aboriginal languages. He studied and recorded 49 such languages. Early life and education Bre ...

(2007), Lanima (AIATSIS code G52) and Yurlayurlanya (formerly spelt Ulaolinya) are groups whose dialect is Wangkamanha G1, or possibly two names for the same group. Other linguists have offered different interpretations of the dialects. Wangka-Yutjurru (AIATSIS G5) is a separate language (also Karnic, according to

Luise Hercus Luise Anna Hercus , , (16 January 1926 – 15 April 2018) was a German-born linguist who lived in Australia from 1954. After significant early work on Middle Indo-Aryan dialects (Prakrits) she had specialised in Australian Aboriginal languages si ...

), according to

, which has two dialects, Wangka-Yutjurru and Wangkamanha. Other linguists suggest further dialects.

Alternative names

*Tharlimanha (Breen 2007) *Wanggamala (

AIATSIS The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

and

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

) *Wanggamanha *Wangkamadla *Wangkamahdla *Wangkamala *Wangkamana (

Horton Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), ...

, after Tindale; Blake & Breen 1971) *Wangkamanha *Wonggaman (AIAS) *Wonggawan *Wongkamala (Tindale) * Wonkamala (Tindale 1974) * Wonkamudla(Tindale 1974; O'Grady et al 1996; Mathews)

References

Works cited

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2019 Karnic languages