The Y orta Y orta (Bangerang) language of the Murray Goulburn Including Yabula Yabula Bowe, H. and Morey, S. The Yorta Yorta (Bangerang) Language of the Murray Goulburn Including Yabula Yabula. C-154, xiv + 299 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1999. DOI:10.15144/PL-C154.cover ©1999 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative. PACIFIC LINGUISTICS FOUNDING EDITOR: Stephen A. Wurm EDITORIAL BOARD: Malcolm D. Ross and Darrell T. Tryon (Managing Editors), John Bowden, Thomas E. Dutton, Andrew K. Pawley Pacific Linguistics is a publisher specialising in linguistic descriptions, dictionaries, atlases and other material on languages of the Pacific, the Philippines, Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The authors and editors of Pacific Linguistics publications are drawn from a wide range of institutions around the world. 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Series C, Volume 154 THE YORTA YORTA (BANGERANG) LANGUAGE OF THE MURRAY GOULBURN INCLUDING Y ABULA Y ABULA Heather Bowe Stephen Morey Pacific Linguistics Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian National University Canberra Published by Pacific Linguistics Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian National University PO Box 1428 Canberra ACT 260 1 Australia Copyright © The authors First published 1999 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Bowe, Heather The Y orta Y orta (Bangerang) language of the Murray Goulburn, S.E. Australia, including Yabula Yabula (Australia). Bibliography. ISSN 0078-7558 ISBN 0 85883 513 4 1. Yorta Yorta language. 2. Yabula Yabula language. 1. Morey, Stephen. II. Australian National University. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Pacific Linguistics. III. Title. (Series: Pacific Linguistics. Series C-154). 499. 15 Copyedited by Basil Wilson Typeset by Jeanette Coombes Printed by ANU Printing Service, Canberra Bound by F & M Perfect Bookbinding, Canberra Table of contents Preface and acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Name of the language 3 1.2 Linguistic type 4 1.2.1 Relationship of Yorta Yorta with neighbouring languages 4 1.2.2 A note on Yabula YabulalNgarirnoro 5 1.3 Y orta Y orta clan languages 6 1.4 Territory and neighbours 12 1.5 Sociolinguistic information 14 1.5.1 Language and totemic affiliation of people noted in language manuscript material 17 1.6 Past investigations and sources 18 1.6.1 Primary source written material collected from the 1840s onwards (in chronological order) 19 1.6.1 Errors detected in the sources 26 1.7 The decline of the Y orta Y orta language 28 1.8 Present situation 29 1.9 Methodology 33 2 Phonology 38 2.1 Structure of words 38 2.2 Phonemes 41 2.2.1 Consonants 41 2.2.1.1 Discussion of the uncertain phonemes 41 2.2.1.2 Al lophonic variation - voiced and voiceless stops 42 2.2.2 Vowels 42 2.2.2.1 The representation of vowels in the early written sources 43 v vi 2.2.2.2 An analysis of the mid back vowel in words like Y orta Y orta, involving a retroflex consonant series 44 2.2.2.3 Consultation regarding the representation of vowels in the proposed orthography 46 2.3 Phonotactics 46 2.3.1 Consonants 46 2.3.1.1 Single consonants 46 2.3.1.2 Consonant sequences 47 2.3.2 Vowels 52 2.4 Stress 52 2.5 Morphophonemics 53 2.6 Orthography 54 3 Grammar 55 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 Nouns 55 3.2.1 Noun inflection 55 3.2.2 Noun number 59 3.3 Pronouns and demonstratives 60 3.3.1 First person pronouns 63 3.3.2 Second person pronouns 64 3.3.2.1 Some further discussion of second person singular forms 66 3.3.3 Third person pronouns 67 3.3.4 Examples of pronoun cases 68 3.3.5 Yorta Yorta pronoun summary 72 3.3.6 Demonstrative pronouns 73 3.3.7 Interrogative pronouns and questions 75 3.3.7.1 Interrogatives 75 3.3.7.2 Polar (yes/no) questions 78 3.3.8 Summary of case endings 78 3.4 Prepositions 79 3.5 Adjectives and numerals 82 3.6 Verbs 82 3.6.1 Verb forms recorded by R.H. Mathews 82 3.6.2 Verb conjugation types 89 3.6.3 Single syllable verbs and non-inflectional verbal morphology 90 3.6.4 Comparative examples of verbs from different sources 91 3.6.4.1 The deliberate future suffix -bak 95 3.7 Negation 95 vii 3.8 Exclamations 96 3.9 Word formation 96 3.9.1 Diminutives I-idjiga/, I-ungal and other variants 96 3.9.2 Word final formatives expressing relatedness of various sorts 97 3.9.3 Other formatives and derivational strategies 98 3.9.4 Metaphoric extension 101 3.9.5 The creation of new words after white settlement including the borrowing of words from English and other languages 102 3.9.5.1 Creation of new terms using existing formatives 102 3.9.5.2 Borrowings from English into Yorta Yorta and related languages 102 3.9.5.3 Borrowings from other Ab original languages 103 3.10 Word order 104 3.1 0 .1 Transitive sentences 104 3.10.2 Copula 105 3.10.3 Interrogatives and questions 106 3.10.4 Noun modifiers 106 4 Texts 108 4.1 Sentences 108 4. 1.1 Yorta Yorta speech by Aa ron At kinson 109 4.1.2 Sentences from Priscilla McKray 109 4.2 Songs - traditional 111 4.2.1 Hunting song reported by Curr 112 4.2.2 Hunting songs reported by Locke 112 4.2.3 The Hairy Beka chant 113 4.3 Songs - mixed Yorta Yorta and English 116 4.3.1 The song recorded by Edwards (ED) 116 4.3.2 The song recorded by Eastman (EA) 117 4.4 Hymns 117 4.4.1 Bura Fera 'Pharoah' 118 4.4.2 Galyan Woka Ba ppy Land' 120 4.4.3 Others 120 4.5 Unanalysed text 122 5 Place names 123 6 Personal names 130 viii 7 Yabula Yabula 132 7.1 Th e language, its speakers and their territory 132 7.1.1 Relationship to the Yorta Y orta language 133 7.1.2 Language name 136 7.1.3 Sources 136 7.1.4 Sociolinguistic information 137 7.2 Phonology outline 138 7.2.1 Consonants 138 7.2.1.1 Spelling conventions used in this study 138 7.2.2 Vowels 139 7.2.3 Comparison between Yorta Yorta and Yabula Yabula 140 7.2.3.1 Final vowel deletion 140 7.3 Syntax 141 7.3.1 Case suffi xes 141 7.3.2 Pronouns 141 7.3.3 Sentence examples 147 7.3.4 Interrogatives and questions 151 7.3.5 Question forms 152 7.3.6 Verbs 153 7.3.7 Copula 154 7.3.8 Prepositions 155 7.3.9 Numerals 155 7.3.10 Comparison of Yabula Yabula and Yorta Yorta morphology 155 7.4 Yabula Yabula vocabulary list 156 Appendix: vocabulary 161 A. English-Yorta Yorta vocabulary 164 B. Yorta Yorta-English vocabulary 246 Addendum: additional Yabula Yabula vocabulary 275 References 283 Preface and acknowledgments This work on Y orta Y orta is the outcome of several years of research by Heather Bowe. It was begun in response to an invitation by Yorta Y orta woman Lois Peeler to review the available written material on Yorta Yorta to complement the Yorta Yorta language knowledge of her mother, Mrs Geraldine Briggs, O.A., and to compile a resource book on Yorta Yorta for language revival purposes. The authors acknowledge the inspiration of Mrs Geraldine Briggs, supported by her daughters Lois Peeler, Frances Mathyssen, Margaret Wirrapanda, Ze ta Thompson, Laurel Robinson (and the late Hyllis Maris and Leah Weston) who have all participated in the ongoing teaching of the Yorta Yorta language and culture - through the W ora wa Ab original College and elsewhere. Between them they collected copies of published material on the Yorta Yorta language, and noted recollections of conversations with Theresa Middleton Clements, their beloved mother/grandmother who grew up speaking Yorta Yorta. The language revival project, coordinated by Lois Peeler, also involved Yorta Yorta woman Sharon At kinson, who conducted valuable interviews with many Yorta Yorta community members, including Leon At kinson, Pearl Joyce, Francis Mathyssen, Mick Mc Ivor, Ken Briggs, Merle Bamblett, Veronica Joachme and Liz Tass, which provide a picture of what is remembered of Yorta Yorta today.