Tindale includes Buluguda (Bulugurda W17), Damala W16 (Thaamala) and Daguda (Thaagurda W15) as local groups of Nhanda W14 in the Hamelin Pool area. Blevins points out that the ending -gurda is a Malgana W18 comitative suffix, and given their location Buluguda and Daguda are likely local groups of Malgana. This is supported by Nhanda people in the Northhampton area, who refer to these groups as Malgana (in Blevins, 2001: 2-3).
According to Marmion (2007 p.c.) Thaagurda (W15) appears to be a distinct language, for although there is only a very small amount of data (word list of around 20 entries and several phrases), it looks sufficiently different from other languages of the region.
Von Brandenstein (1966:1) says that Taakurda (W15), a language that he has recorded and transcribed (1974 and PMS 2123), is also called Nugan and is related to Marlgana W18.
Gargett (2011:2-3) ventures that Daguda along with Buluguda W17 and Damala W16 were likely groups of Malgana, the names referring to locations rather than distinct groups, but he cautions that more evidence is needed to substantiate this claim.
Middle Murchison River the S.E. border, Hamelin Pool area, south part of Shark's Bay (Oates 1975:83). Yallalong station would also have been Thaagurda country, and it seems to have extended down to (near?) Galena, where the highway crosses the Murchison River (Marmion 2007 p.c.).
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Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.
Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).
