Native to Australia Native speakers 19 (2006 census) | Region Arnhem Land ISO 639-3 wlg | |
Language family Arnhem
Gunwinyguan
Gunwinggic
Gunbarlang Dialects Djimbilirri
Gurrigurri
Gumunggurdu
Marrabanggu
Marranumbu
Gunguluwala | ||
Gunbarlang (Kunbarlang) is an Australian Aboriginal language in northern Australia with multiple dialects. Other names are Gungalang and Warlang. Speakers are multilingual in Gunwinygu and Mawng. Most of the ethnic group now speaks Gunwinygu.
Contents
Classification
Gunbarlang is tentatively included into the Marne group of Gunwinyguan family.
Geographic distribution
Some Gunbarlang speakers live in Warruwi on South Goulburn Island and Maningrida. Historically, it was also spoken in Oenpelli.
Grammar
Gunbarlang is a polysynthetic language with complex verb morphology. It includes polypersonal agreement, incorporation, and a number of derivational affixes. Word order in a (transitive) clause is SVO or SOV.
Morphosyntax
Morphology is primarily agglutinating. Verbal morphology (rather than case marking or syntax) encodes a significant part of grammatical relations.
Verbal
The verb includes obligatory agreement with its core arguments in the form of bound pronouns. The subject/agent prefix precedes the object prefix. Subject prefixes form four mood series: positive indicative, "non-performative", future/intentional, and potential.
The verb features derivational affixes, such as benefactive, directional, and TAM.
Nominal
Case in not marked on nouns and free pronouns, but bound pronouns follow nominative-accusative alignment.
Gunbarlang distinguishes five noun classes on demonstratives (M, F, plants, body-parts, and inanimate), but only four on other constituents (collapsing the latter two).