C25: MUDBURRA | AIATSIS Collection

AIATSIS code:

C25

AIATSIS reference name:

MUDBURRA

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Name

Thesaurus heading language	Mudburra language C25
Thesaurus heading people	Mudburra people C25
ABN name	Mudburra language
ABS name	Mudburra
Horton name	Mudburra
Ethnologue name	Mudbura
ISO 639-3 code	dmw
Tindale name	Mutpura
Tindale (1974)	Mudbura, Mudbara, Mudbera, Mudbra, Mudburra, Moodburra, Mootburra, Madbara, Mulpira (Iliaura name).
O'Grady et al (1966)	Mudbara, Mudburra, Moodburra, Mootburra
Glottocode	mudb1240
Other sources
Synonyms	Mudburra, Mudbura, Mutpura, Mutpura; Madbara, Moodburra, Mootburra, Mudbara, Mudbera, Mulpira, Mudbura; Moodburra, Mudbra, Mutburra, Mudburra; Mudbura, Madbara, Mutpurra

Comment

Comments:

McConvell (2006 p.c.) distinguishes three dialects of Mudburra: Eastern Mudburra C31, Western Mudburra C36, and Kuwarranyji C35; Karranga C33 is also a possible dialect of Mudburra. See also Pinkangarna C21.

References:

Green, Rebecca, Jennifer Green, Amanda Hamilton-Hollaway, Felicity Meakins, David Osgarby, Rob Pensalfini, Pharlap Dixon, et al. 2019. Mudburra to English Dictionary. Canberra, A.C.T: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Sutton, Peter. 1995. Country: Aboriginal boundaries and land ownership in Australia. Canberra: Aboriginal History Inc.
Tindale, Norman B. 1974. Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits, and proper names. Berkeley: University of California Press/Canberra: Australian National University Press.

Status:

Confirmed

Location

State / Territory:

Location information:

... as we moved north they were increasingly mixed with sites of dual Mudbura/Jingili identity, particularly along Newcastle Creek and Bucket Creek. Only in an area north and north-west from Newcastle Waters homestead were there sites that were linguistically identified as Mudbura only (Sutton 1995:106). Armstrong River and upper Victoria River junction (n.n. ['Tjambutjambulani]), southeast of Pigeon Hole Station; south to Cattle Creek; west to the Camfield River and eastward almost to Newcastle Waters; north to Top Springs. Dwellers in the dense scrub country near and west of the place ['Murandjai] on the so-called Murranji Track (Tindale 1974).

Maps:

Links

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Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981):

Tjupany (A31 ) in Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981).

Mudbura

Names of the language and different spellings that have been used:: Moodburra (RLS), Mootburra (Terry), Mudbara (T), Mudbura (AC, SAW, O'G, RLS, AIAS), Mutburra (Ray); Possible dialects:; 1. Kwaranga (Chadwick), Kwarandji (T); 2. Pinkangarna; Bin-Gongina (RLS), Bingongina (T), Pinkangana (Chakravarti), Pinkangarna (McConvell, Nash); Virtually nothing is known of Pinkangarna.
Classification of the language:: Northern Western Desert type, Ngumbin subgroup; Identification codes:; Oates '73: 59.1 (Pinkangarna, 1 Cr.); AIAS: C25 (Pinkangarna, C21); Capell: C19 (Pinkangarna, C8)
Present number and distribution of speakers:: Elliott, Wave Hill, Katherine.; No remaining speakers of Pinkangarna.; Milliken, 1972 -- 280; Oates, 1973 -- at least 30 fluent speakers at Elliott, probably 40 or more altogether; Black, 1979 -- 50-250
People who have worked intensively on the language:: None. McConvell, Nash may resume work.
Practical orthography:: None established. Gurindji orthography probably suitable.
Word lists:: Hale, McConvell, Curnow, Leeding, Ray, Nash.
Grammar or sketch grammar:: Sketch: Parrish, 1980
Material available on the language:: Capell, A. 1940. The classification of languages in north and north-west Australia. Oceania 10.3:241-272, 10.4:404-433. tbls. maps. (brief comparative vocabularies, grammatical study,; outline phonetics); ---------- 1940. The languages of North-West Australia. Mankind 2.9:325. (analysis of suffixing languages, discusses Mudbura group centred around Wave Hill); ---------- 1952. The Wailbri through their own eyes. Oceania 23.2:110-132. (brief comparative vocabulary in 6 languages); ---------- 1962. Waljbiri grammar, p.15-50 in Some Linguistic Types in Australia. Handbook of Australian Languages, Part II. Oceania Linguistic Monographs No. 7. Sydney: University of; Sydney. (reprints Capell, 1952); ---------- 1971. Word lists: Gurindji or Mudbura. 4p. SIL. (p10708, AIAS); Chadwick, Neil 1972. Mathew's Chingalee vocabulary: appraisal and comments. Oceania 42.4:276-282. (commentary on Mathews, 1901 vocabulary of Jingilu; includes some Mudbura words); ---------- 1979. The West Barkly languages: an outline sketch, pp.653-711 in Australian Linguistic Studies, ed. by S.A. Wurm Pacific Linguistics C.54. (includes some Mudbura words); Curnow, Ann. 1971. Mudbra AIAS word list. 19p. xerox ts. SIL. Hale, Kenneth L. 1959-60. Mutpurra and Tyingilu field notes. 27p. ms., ts. (pMs 3034, AIAS); Leeding, Velma J. 1971. Word lists: Gurindji or Mudbura. 4p. SIL. (p 10708, AIAS); ---------- 1971. Word lists: Mudbura and Ngarinman. 14p. ts. SIL. (p 10707, AIAS); McConvell, Patrick. 1974. Mudbura texts: tape transcriptions of field-work. ms. (p 10707, AIAS); ---------- 1975. Mudbura vocabulary and sentences. 324p. ms., xeroxed. Wattie Creek.; ---------- 1976. The Aborigines of the northern Tanami area, Northern Territory. 22p. xeroxed ts. Darwin. (AIAS); ---------- 1980. Hierarchical variation in pronominal clitic attachment in the Eastern Ngumbin languages, in Australian Linguistic Studies. Papers in Australian Linguistics No. 13, ed. by S.A. Wurm. Pacific Linguistics A.59 (89p. ts. draft 1976); Nash, David. 1978. Pinkangarna tape transcription. 1p. ts. (about 30 words said to be of Pinkangarna); ---------- 1980. Mudbura word list and tape transcription ms.; Parrish, Lucy. 1980. Mutpurra sketch grammar. (based on field notes by P. McConvell). 11p. ts. IAD.; ---------- 1980. Mutpurra word list. (based on field notes by P. McConvell). 10p. ts. IAD.; Ray, Michael. 1976. Gurintji/Mutburra word list for a two-week survey. 8p. xeroxed ms. SIL.; Spencer, Baldwin & F.J. Gillen. 1904. The Northern Tribes of Central Australia. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd. Reprinted 1969, Oosterhout, N.B., The Netherlands: Anthropological; Publications. (Bingongina subsection terms); Sutton, Peter. 1980. (Field notes including material on Mudbura and Kwarandji.); Terry, Michael. 1926. A surgical operation as performed by the Boonarra tribe of northern Australia, and a short vocabulary of the languages of some northern Australian tribes. Man; 26:193-194. pls. (short list of words from Mootburra, Coorinji, Manoo and Boonarra)
Literacy material:: None.

Kathy Menning (comp.) and David Nash (ed.) 1981. © IAD Press

AIATSIS gratefully acknowledges IAD Press for permission to use this material in AUSTLANG.

Programs

Activities:

People:

Patrick McConvell, Adam Kendon, David Nash, Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre, Papulu Apparr-Kari Language Centre

Indigenous organisations:

Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation

Speakers

Year	Source	Speaker numbers
1975	Oates
1984	Senate	-
1990	Schmidt	50
1996	Census	122
2001	Census	57
2004	NILS1	48
2005	Estimate	48
2006	Census	47
2011	Census	119
2014	NILS2
2016	Census	92
2018-2019	NILS3

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).

Documentation

Type	Documentation Status	Documentation Score
Word list	Large (more than 200 pages)	4
Text Collection	Large (more than 200 pages)	4
Grammar	A few articles	1
Audio-visual	More than 10	3

Manuscript note:

tape transcription/field note available

Grammar:

Dictionary:

Green, Rebecca, Jennifer Green, Amanda Hamilton-Hollaway, Felicity Meakins, David Osgarby, Rob Pensalfini, Pharlap Dixon, et al. 2019. Mudburra to English Dictionary. Canberra, A.C.T: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Classification

Source	Family	Group	Sub-group	Name	Relationship
Ethnologue (2005)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Mudbura
Dixon (2002)		NORTHERN DESERT FRINGE SUBGROUP	Edgar Range to Victoria River subgroup*	Mudbura	Mudbura further dialects: Karranga, Pinkangarna
Wurm (1994)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West		Mudburra
Walsh (1981)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Mudburra	Mudburra [dialects: Karranga, Western (Mudburra), Eastern (Mudburra)]
Oates (1975)	Pama-Nyungan	Northern Western Desert Type	Ngumbin (Eastern Kimberleys)	Mudbura
Wurm (1972)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest (or Nyungic)	Ngumbin	Mudbura
O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin (1966)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest	Ngumbin	Mudbura