Jump to content

Guwa language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guwa
Goa
Native toAustralia
Region"Karna–Mari fringe", Queensland
EthnicityKoa people
Extinct(date missing)
Pama–Nyungan
Language codes
ISO 639-3xgw
Glottologguwa1242
AIATSIS[3]G9.1
ELPGuwa

Guwa, also spelt Goa, Koa, and other variants, is an extinct and nearly unattested Australian Aboriginal language of Queensland spoken by the Koa people. It was apparently close to Yanda.[3]

Phonology

[edit]

Consonants

[edit]
Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Dental Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive p k c t ʈ
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n ɳ
Rhotic ɾ ~ r
Lateral (l̪) ʎ l (ɭ)
Approximant w j ɻ
  • Lateral sounds [l̪, ɭ] may have also been attested.

Vowels

[edit]

Vowels are a three-vowel system /i, a, u/.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxiii
  2. ^ Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
  3. ^ a b G9.1 Guwa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  4. ^ Blake, Barry J.; Breen, Gavan (1990). Guwa. In Gavan Breen (ed.), Salvage studies of Western Queensland Aboriginal languages: Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 108–144.