Dalabon language

Dalabon
Ngalkbun
Native to	Australia
Region	Arnhem Land
Ethnicity	Dangbon = Dalabon
Native speakers	3 (2018) [1]
Language family	Arnhem Gunwinyguan Marne Central Gunwinyguan Dalabon
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ngk
Glottolog	ngal1292
AIATSIS [2]	N60
ELP	Dalabon
Dalabon
Coordinates: 13°59′S133°56′E / 13.98°S 133.94°E / -13.98; 133.94

Dalabon is a Gunwinyguan language of Arnhem Land, Australia. It is a severely endangered language, ^[3] with perhaps as few as three fluent speakers remaining as of 2018. ^[1] Dalabon is also known as Dangbon (the Kune or Mayali name), Ngalkbun (the Jawoyn name), and Buwan (the Rembarrnga name). ^[2]

Classification

Dalabon belongs to the Gunwinyguan languages branch of the Arnhem languages; its nearest relatives are Kunwinjku, Kune, Mayali (varieties often grouped together as Bininj Kunwok), and Kunbarlang. Its next closest relatives are Rembarrnga, and other languages within the Gunwinyguan family, including Jawoyn, Ngalakgan, Ngandi, Wubuy, and Enindhilyakwa.

Official status

Dalabon has no official status. Local schools spent years holding sporadic programs teaching Dalabon, but these operations did not receive enough governmental support. Therefore, the condition of the programs is still vulnerable.

Dialects

Given the limited number of Dalabon speakers, the study of dialects has become challenging to investigate. Speakers recall a distinction between two different types of speech, dalabon-djurrkdjurrk ("fast." "lively") and dalabon-murduk ("articulate"). However, no significant difference has been found between the two speeches.

Phonology and orthography

Consonants

There are 22 or 23 phonemic consonants in Dalabon, depending on the phonemic status of /h/. A table containing the consonant phonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).

Dalabon consonant phonemes

		Peripheral		Apico-		Lamino- Palatal	Glottal
		Velar	Bilabial	Alveolar	Retroflex
Stops	Lenis (short)	⟨k⟩ / k /	⟨b⟩ / p /	⟨d⟩ t	⟨rd⟩ / ʈ /	⟨dj⟩ / c /	⟨h⟩ / ʔ /
	Fortis (long)	⟨kk⟩ / kː /	⟨bb⟩ / pː /	⟨dd⟩ / tː /	⟨rdd⟩ / ʈː /	⟨djj⟩ / cː /
Nasal		⟨ng⟩ / ŋ /	⟨m⟩ / m /	⟨n⟩ / n /	⟨rn⟩ / ɳ /	⟨nj⟩ / ɲ /
Lateral				⟨l⟩ / l /	⟨rl⟩ / ɭ /
Rhotic				⟨rr⟩ / r /	⟨r⟩ / ɻ /
Semi-vowel			⟨w⟩ / w /			⟨y⟩ / j /
Fricatives							⟨H⟩ (/ h /)

Vowels

There are 6 vowels in Dalabon. A table containing the vowel phonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).

Dalabon vowel phonemes

		Front	Central	Back
High		⟨i⟩ / i /	⟨û⟩ / ɨ /	⟨u⟩ / u /
mid		⟨e⟩ / e /		⟨o⟩ / o /
low			⟨a⟩ / a /

Phonotactics

Dalabon restricts the trilled [r] and long stops to only occur word-internally. Constraints regarding the edges of a phonological word also limit the glottal stop [ʔ] from occurring word-initially.

The syllable structure of Dalabon is CV(C)(C)(C), or more specifically:

CV(L)(N)(h) or CV(L)(S)

where:

• L is a liquid consonant (lateral or rhotic)
• N is a nasal consonant
• S is a peripheral consonant
• h is a glottal consonant.

Such complex codas are not unusual, and all combinations are enumerated as follows (words and translations taken from the dictionary ^[4] ).

Complex coda of two consonants

C2 C1	_k	_b	_ng	_h
l_	yalkngalk /jalk.ŋalk/ "native bee sp."	kolb /kolp/ "sound of spear slotting into spearthrower"	kalngbuy /kalŋ.buj/ "initiation ritual"	kolh-no /kolʔ.no/ "liquid, water"
rl_	borlkmû /boɭk.mɨ/ "(to) fall out"	borlbmû /boɭp.mɨ/ "(to) be accustomed to"		lurlh(mû) /luɭʔ(.mɨ)/ "hop of a riverine wallaby"
rr_	kerrkban /kerk.ban/ "(to) dodge"	yang-warrbmû /jaŋ.warp.mɨ/ "(to) tell lies"	marrngkidj /marŋ.kic/ "sorcerer, clever man"	bukarrh /bu.karʔ/ "top (of something)"
r_	berk /beɻk/ "deaf adder"	wirbmang /wiɻp.maŋ/ "(to) pull out from flesh"	kerng-no /keɻŋ.no/ "jaw"	warhdû /waɻʔ.dɨ/ "devil, white person"
ng_				wanjingh /wa.ɳiŋʔ/ "one"
m_				njimhmû /ɳimʔ.mɨ/ "(to) wink"
n_				kanh /kanʔ/ "this (identified)"
rn_				nornhnornh /noɳʔ.noɳʔ/ "stone axe"
nj_				keninjhbi /ke.niɲʔ.bi/ "whatsit, whosit"

Complex coda of three consonants

C2,C3 C1	_ngh
l_	kalngHmû /kalŋhmɨ/ "(to) climb"
rl_	njorlnghmû /ɲoɭŋʔmɨ/ "(to) gobble up"
rr_	ngarnarrngh /ŋaɳarŋʔ/ "marble tree"
r_	modjarngh /mocaɻŋʔ/ "ground honey"

Phonological processes

Dalabon has a pattern of eliding unstressed vowels and unstressed syllables. For example, the word /'cabale/ 'shoulder blade' is often realized as ['cable]. ^[5]

Prosody

The location of phrasal stress in Dalabon appears one or two peaks with an initial rise into the first peak at the left edge of the constituent and a final fall at the right edge of the constituent. ^[6]

Grammar

Although there is no complete grammatical description of the language, a number of aspects of Dalabon grammar have been described, including its bound pronominal system, ^[7] polysynthetic word structure, ^[8] verb conjugations, ^[9] the use of subordination strategies, ^[10] nominal subclasses, ^[11] the demonstrative system, ^[12] and the use of optional ergativity. ^[13]

Morphology

The structure of Dalabon verbs: ^[14]

-12	-11	-10	-9	-8	-7	-6	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
Obj pron	Subj pron	SURB	SEQ	CAUS	MISC	BEN/INST	MISC	GIN	BPIN	NUM	COM	STEM	RR	TAM	Case

SEQ: sequential ‘and then’

CAUS: ‘because’

MISC: various adverbial type prefixes

BEN: benefactive applicative

GIN: ‘generic’ incorporated nouns

BPIN: ‘body part’ incorporated nouns

NUM: ‘number’ prefixes

COM: comitative applicative

RR: reflexive/reciprocal

TAM: tense/aspect mood

The diminutive enclitic =wurd is derived from noun wurd 'woman's child', its reduplication wurdurd means 'child'. wurd can attach to most word classes and functions in 3 ways of meaning: to denote small objects, to add emotional connotations and to serve as pragmatic functions (especially for interactional softening). The examples are shown below. ^[15]

1.

to denote small objects

Bad-dulum-no=wurd

stone-hill-fill=DIM

kanidjah

there

ka-h-di.

3SG-R-stand/be.PRS

Bad-dulum-no=wurd kanidjah ka-h-di.

stone-hill-fill=DIM there 3SG-R-stand/be.PRS

'There is a small stone hill there.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);

2.

to add emotional connotations

Wa:h

INTERJ

ka-h-rakka-ng=wurd.

3SG-R-fall-PFV=DIM

Wa:h ka-h-rakka-ng=wurd.

INTERJ 3SG-R-fall-PFV=DIM

'Oh, he fell over poor fellow.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);

Syntax

Dalabon is a head-marking language. Dalabon has limited use of subordinate clauses, but it has a distinctive subordination strategy, which is to attach pronominal prefixes to the verb, and marked verbs are used for subordinate clause functions ^[16]

Pronominal Prefixes	Subordinate1	Subordinate2
1sg	nga-	ngaye-
2sg	dja-	djaya-
3sg	ka-	kaye-
1dis	nge-	ngey-
3dis	ke-	key-
3du	barra-	barre-
3pl	bala-	bale-

subordinate1: the unmarked form of prefixes to show subordinate status, used when the status is overt by other means.

subordinate2: used when prefixes are the only way to show subordination.

dis: disharmonic, meaning odd-numbered generations.

Examples are shown below:

(1)

bala-buh-ngong+boyenj-ni-nj

3pl-because-mob+big-be-PST.PFV

mahkih

because

bala-buh-ngong+boyenj-ni-nj mahkih

3pl-because-mob+big-be-PST.PFV because

‘..because there were so many of them.’

(2)

yila-h-yang-wona-wona-n

1pl/3-REAL-voice-REDUP-hear-PRES

yale-yu-yu.

1pl.SUBORD-REDUP-sleep.PRES

yila-h-yang-wona-wona-n yale-yu-yu.

1pl/3-REAL-voice-REDUP-hear-PRES 1pl.SUBORD-REDUP-sleep.PRES

‘we heard his(dingo's) voice as we were sleeping.’

(3)

karrkkany

hawk.sp.

ka-h-ngun

3/3l-REAL-eat.PRES

kaye-do-n.

3.SUBORD-die-PRES

karrkkany ka-h-ngun kaye-do-n.

hawk.sp. 3/3l-REAL-eat.PRES 3.SUBORD-die-PRES

‘the hawk eats animals that die.’

Vocabulary

Dalabon	Gloss	Dalabon	Gloss	Dalabon	Gloss
bim	"picture"	kolh-no	"liquid"	wadda	"home, house, camp"
biyi	"man(men)"	kung	"honey"	wah	"water"
bonj	"O.K."	kunj	"kangaroo"	walu-no	"the absolute law"
boyenj	"big"	labbarl	"waterhole"	wirridjih	"taboo(s)"
burrama	"good, healthy"	langu	"hand/finger"	wokan	"speak, talk, tell, name, evoke, communicate"
dabarngh	"yesterday"	mah	"also"	wol	"flame"
dengu-no	"foot/toe"	mambard	"billycan"	wurdurd	"child(children)"
djihkun	"spoon"	marrumbu	"lover	wurrhwurrungu	"the elders"
dulum	"hill"	men-no	"conscience, the thoughts of a living creature"	yabok	"sister"
kardu	"maybe"	mey	"(veget.) food"	yang	"language, speech, what one says"
kakkak-no	"grandkin"	murduk	"hard/strong"	yidjnja	"have"
kenbo	"later"	nayunghyungki	"mythical ancestors"
kinikun	"different"	ngalyurr	"thunder"
kirdikird	"woman(women)"	ngarrk	"ache"
kirribruk	"true, real, honest, fair, generous"	Ngurrurdu	"emu"

References

1. Cutfield, Sarah (30 June 2018). "Dalabon exophoric uses of demonstratives". In Stephen Levinson; Sarah Cutfield; Michael Dunn; Nick Enfield; Sergio Meira; David Wilkins (eds.). Demonstratives in Cross-Linguistic Perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-108-34137-0.
2. N60 Dalabon at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
3. Ponsonnet, Maïa (2018). "Expressivity and performance. Expressing compassion and grief with a prosodic contour in Gunwinyguan languages (northern Australia)". Journal of Pragmatics. 136: 79–96. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2018.08.009. hdl: 1885/165435 . ISSN   0378-2166. S2CID   149776540.
4. Evans, Merlan & Tukumba (2004)
5. Fletcher, Janet; Evans, Nicholas (2002). "An acoustic phonetic analysis of intonational prominence in two Australian languages". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 32 (2): 123–140. doi:10.1017/S0025100302001019. S2CID   144244382.
6. Ross, Belinda (2003). The phonological/grammatical mismatch in the Dalabon word: a phonetic study (Thesis). hdl: 11343/35879 .
7. Evans, N. and D. Brown and G. Corbett. (2001). Dalabon pronominal prefixes and the typology of syncretism: a Network Morphology analysis. Yearbook of Morphology 2000. 187-231.
8. Evans, N. (2017). Polysynthesis in Dalabon. In Fortescue, Mithun & Evans (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Polysynthesis, 312-335. Oxford University Press.
9. Evans, N. & Merlan, F. (2003). Dalabon Verb Conjugations. In Evans, Nicholas (ed.), The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia : comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically complex region, 269-283. Pacific Linguistics.
10. Evans, Nicholas (1 April 2006). "Who Said Polysynthetic Languages Avoid Subordination? Multiple Subordination Strategies in Dalabon". Australian Journal of Linguistics. 26 (1): 31–58. doi:10.1080/07268600500531628. S2CID   59647678.
11. Ponsonnet, M. (2015). Nominal Subclasses in Dalabon (South-western Arnhem Land). Australian Journal of Linguistics 35(1): 1-52.
12. Cutfield, S. (2011). Demonstratives in Dalabon: A language of southwestern Arnhem Land. (Doctoral dissertation, Monash University; xx+485pp.)
13. Luk, Ellison; Ponsonnet, Maïa (3 July 2019). "Discourse and Pragmatic Functions of the Dalabon 'Ergative' Case-marker" (PDF). Australian Journal of Linguistics. 39 (3): 287–328. doi:10.1080/07268602.2019.1623758. S2CID   198334816.
14. Evans, N. (2006).
15. Grandi, Nicola; Körtvélyessy, Lívia (2015). Edinburgh Handbook of Evaluative Morphology. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN   978-0-7486-8174-7.^{[ page needed ]}
16. Evans, N. (2006).

Further reading

• Alpher, Barry. 1982. Dalabon dual-subject prefixes, kinship categories and generation skewing. In J. Heath, F. Merlan and A. Rumsey, eds, Languages of Kinship in Aboriginal Australia, 19-30. Sydney: Oceania Linguistic Monographs #24
• Cutfield, Sarah. 2011. Demonstratives in Dalabon: A language of southwestern Arnhem Land. (Doctoral dissertation, Monash University; xx+485pp.)
• Evans, Nicholas, Dunstan Brown & Greville Corbett. 2001. Dalabon pronominal prefixes and the typology of syncretism: a Network Morphology analysis. Yearbook of Morphology 2000, 187-231.
• Evans, Nicholas. 2006. Who said polysynthetic languages avoid subordination? Multiple subordination strategies in Dalabon. Australian Journal of Linguistics 26.1:31-58.
• Evans, Nicholas. 2007. Standing up your mind: remembering in Dalabon. In Mengistu Amberber (ed.) The language of memory in a crosslinguistic perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 67–95.
• Evans, Nicholas, Janet Fletcher & Belinda Ross. 2008. Big words, small phrases: mismatches between pause units and the polysynthetic word in Dalabon. Linguistics 46.1:87-127.
• Evans, Nicholas & Francesca Merlan. 2003. Dalabon verb conjugations. In Nicholas Evans (ed.). The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia: comparative studies of the continent’s most linguistically complex region. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 269–283.
• Evans, Nicholas, Francesca Merlan & Maggie Tukumba. 2004. A first dictionary of Dalabon (Ngalkbon). Maningrida: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation. Pp. xxxviii + 489.
• Luk, Ellison; Ponsonnet, Maïa (3 July 2019). "Discourse and Pragmatic Functions of the Dalabon 'Ergative' Case-marker" (PDF). Australian Journal of Linguistics. 39 (3): 287–328. doi:10.1080/07268602.2019.1623758. S2CID   198334816.
• Ponsonnet, Maïa. 2009. Aspects of the Semantics of Intellectual Subjectivity in Dalabon (South-Western Arnhem Land). Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2009/1:17-28. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
• Ponsonnet, Maïa (2010). "Aspects of the semantics of emotions and feelings in Dalabon (South-Western Arnhem Land, Australia)". The Australian Journal of Anthropology. 21 (3): 367–389. doi:10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00102.x.
• Ponsonnet, Maïa (30 June 2011). "Les figures du doute en langue dalabon (Australie du Nord)" [Figures of doubt in the Dalabon language (North Australia)]. Journal de la Société des Océanistes (in French) (132): 151–164. doi: 10.4000/jso.6358 .
• Ponsonnet, Maïa; Australian Linguistic Society (26 September 2012). "Body-parts in Dalabon and Barunga Kriol: matches and mismatches". Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Linguistic Society Conference 2011. hdl: 1885/9421 . ISBN   978-0-9802815-4-5.
• The Language of Emotions (PDF). Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts. Vol. 4. 2014. doi:10.1075/clscc.4. ISBN   978-90-272-0407-3.
• Ponsonnet, Maïa (2 January 2015). "Nominal Subclasses in Dalabon (South-western Arnhem Land)" (PDF). Australian Journal of Linguistics. 35 (1): 1–52. doi:10.1080/07268602.2015.976900. S2CID   60981490.
• Ponsonnet, Maïa (1 October 2018). "Expressivity and performance. Expressing compassion and grief with a prosodic contour in Gunwinyguan languages (northern Australia)". Journal of Pragmatics. 136: 79–96. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2018.08.009. hdl: 1885/165435 . S2CID   149776540.

External links

• Bibliography of Dalabon people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
• Dalabon collection at the Endangered Languages Archive
• Dalabon DoReCo corpus compiled by Maïa Ponsonnet. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and - for some texts - time-aligned morphological annotations.