Gaagudju language

Formerly spoken in

• Australian Arnhem Land cockatoo

From

Gbu

Kakadu or Gaagudju is a 2002 Australian extinct language spoken in the Northern Territory (Australia). Alternative names are Kakdjuan and Kakdju.

• 3.1 noun classes
• 3.2 verbs
• 3.3 clitics

Classification

Gaagudju is a member of the family of Australian languages, but within which it has no close relationship to any other language. However, it forms a Sprachbund with Larrikiya, Limilngan, Umbugarla and Wuna. The members of this language have at least the federal a complex noun class system and a tendency to reduce unstressed vowels and unstressed syllables to redeem ( at a slower pace than in Australian Languages ​​Language usual).

Phonology

Phoneme inventory

Gaagudju has no exceptional phoneme inventory for Australian languages.

The phoneme is as follows:

Consonants

Vowels

Syllable structure

Gaagudju syllables has the form of (C), V ( ː ) (C). Vowel initial syllables occur only in word-initial.

Phonotactics and morphophonology

Regarding the Phonotaktik Gaagudju be presented as typical Australian linguistic fields in initial positions labial and velar consonants are usually to be found. The flap ɾ ( orthopraphisch rr ) comes only with a single word in the lexicon before word initial: the place names Rriimil.

Homorganische consonant clusters always contain a nasal and can occur both intra-and intermorphemisch. These clusters are also the only ones that are word- initial possible. Cluster of three consonants also always include a nasal, with one exception: the cluster / ɻgj / without nasal comes from.

General information on the phonology of Gaagudju

In many aspects of phonology Gaagudju shows large differences from other Australian languages; This especially refers to the length of vowels and the accent pattern. Especially at the word boundaries unstressed syllables are often reduced or eradicated, resulting in that almost all words have at least two realizations ( a reduced and a "full "). Monosyllabic words are excluded.

In plosives neither length nor voicing is distinctive. Retroflexion is distinctive within a morpheme and (rarely ) morphemfinal both plosives, nasals and Lateral. Gaagudju has many phonologically related Lenisierungen.

Vowel length and accent are closely correlated with each other, almost all long vowels are stressed and almost all stressed vowels are long.

Parts of Speech

Gaagudju has four main parts of speech:

• Verbs: closed class ( ie, it is not possible that new words are, for example, re-recorded by borrowing ), inflected by tense, aspect and mode
• Koverben: accept verb meanings, must be accompanied by an inflected verb, can not be used as a predicate
• Nouns
• Particles

Noun classes

Gaagudju differs in different paradigms different number of classes: one quadruple distinction there is, for example, adjectives and demonstratives, while pronouns and Numeralen only between groups human -male or animated and human -female or anything else, is distinguished. The noun class system shows a high degree of irregularity.

The quadruple division is made according to the following criteria:

The quadruple system often presents in Non - Human, while the dual system is used almost exclusively for human speakers.

Verbs

Verbs occur as predicates in three forms:

• As a simple verb, which means the real verb stands alone and inflected by tense, aspect and mode
• As a compound verb, that is, the real verb is accompanied by one or two Koverben, this being the most common
• The Koverb takes on the meaning of the verb and the real verb has only held a function as auxiliary, but contributes nothing to the importance (see also: Frege principle)

Depending on the transitivity verbs take different allomorphs of prefixes to be.

• Preterite ( Realis perfective, imperfective Realis, Irrealis )
• Present
• Future tense
• Hortativ
• Positive imperative

The tense is expressed by suffixes.

Clitics

Phonologically the clitics of Gaagudju can be divided into two categories. The Numeralklitika, the subordinator and the clitics for the indirect object belong to the category that is not an independent phonological word. The second category, each of which constitutes a separate phonological word, include, for example, the durative or locative. The clitics can also be classified according to their function in argument markers and quantifiers. However, the functional and phonological categories are not identical. Arguments klitisieren mostly to the predicate.

Morphology

Gaagudju has a complex, partially lexicalized morphology.

Flexionsmorpheme are roughly equal parts both suffigierend and präfigierend.

For the formation of nominal lexemes are neither composition nor Derivation of large synchronous meaning, but appear to have once been important. The only place names, see Composition and Derivation yet increasingly used. Some adjectives are formed by complete reduplication of the corresponding nominal strain.

Syntax and word order

Gaagudju has no case.

There are only postpositions and adjectives follow the noun it modifies.

Pronominal subjects are expressed by affixes on the verb.

Others

The last speaker, Big Bill Nayiidji died on 23 May 2002, however, he spoke only partially Gaagudju (partial speaker ) because he spent most of his childhood speaking at Amurdak relatives. The last two people who spoke fluent Gaagudju, were Little Dolly Yarnmalu († 1988) and Peggy Balmana that probably died some years ago Big Bill Nayiidji. ( Your exact date of death is not known. )

The language is mainly spoken by the Aboriginal clans of Bunidj, Djindibi and Mirarr.

Gaagudju probably had few to no dialectal variations. In previous works on the subject ( Spencer 1914: Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia ) refers to a language called Watta or Wetta, this could have been a western dialect.

Gaagudju has a complex system for designating family relationships.