Kukatj language

Kukatj
Kukatj
Gugadj
Native to	Australia
Region	Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Ethnicity	Kukatj, Kalibamu
Extinct	late 20th century
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Paman Kukatj; ;
Dialects	Kalibamu;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ggd
Glottolog	guga1239
AIATSIS	G28, G27
ELP	Kukatj

Kukatj, also rendered Gugadj, is an extinct Paman language of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The name Kalibamu has also been assigned to it, although this may be a separate dialect.^[2]^[3] It is spoken by the Kukatj people. A single speaker was last recorded in 1975.

It has also been referred to as Kukatja, but this is not to be confused with the Kukatja Western Desert Language spoken south of Balgo, Western Australia, or the Luritja dialect of the Western Desert Language, spoken in the Northern Territory also referred to as Kukatja by some.

Other synonyms for Kukatj are Marago, Gudadj, Gudadji, Gugady, Gugatj, Kokatj, Kukatji, Kukatyi, and Konggada.^[2]

Kalibamu

AIATSIS assigns a separate code to Kalibamu (G27), with the synonyms Kukatj, Galimbamu, Galibamu, Golbiri, and Kotanda, although its status is listed as "unconfirmed" as of December 2024^[update]. It says that while Galibamu is reported as a separate dialect by Capell (1963) and Tindale, Breen (2006) says that Galibamu appears to be the same as what he calls Kukatj.^[4]

It was spoken by the Kalibamu people.

Phonology

Consonants

		Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
		Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive		p	k	t̪	c	t	(ʈ)
Nasal		m	ŋ	n̪	ɲ	n	(ɳ)
Rhotic	trill					r
Rhotic	tap					ɾ
Lateral						l	(ɭ)
Approximant		w			j		ɻ

Retroflex sounds [ʈ, ɳ, ɭ] occur as a result of alveolar sounds /t, n, l/ following rhotic sounds in the following sequences /-rt-, -rn-, -rl-/.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i, iː		u, uː
Mid		(ə)
Open		a, aː

/ə/ exists as an underlying vowel within consonant positions.^[5]

References

^ G28 Kukatj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
^ ^a ^b G28 Kukatj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
^ Bowern, Claire (6 February 2012). "Master List of Australian Languages, v1.2" (Downloadable spreadsheet.). Historical and Pama-Nyungan Lab. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
^ G27 Kalibamu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
^ Breen, J. G. (1992). Some problems in Kukatj phonology. Australian Journal of Linguistics 12. pp. 1–43.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[AIATSIS-1] G28 Kukatj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)

[G28-2] G28 Kukatj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[bowern2012-3] Bowern, Claire (6 February 2012). "Master List of Australian Languages, v1.2" (Downloadable spreadsheet.). Historical and Pama-Nyungan Lab. Retrieved 13 October 2020.

[G27-4] G27 Kalibamu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[5] Breen, J. G. (1992). Some problems in Kukatj phonology. Australian Journal of Linguistics 12. pp. 1–43.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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