The classification of this language is uncertain. According to Sharpe (2005:2), Yugambal may have been a dialect of the Yugambeh E17-Bundjalung E12 dialect chain, or a name for the Yugambeh-Bundjalung language, the term she uses as a cover term for Bundjalung and Yugambeh dialects.
Among the classifications included in this database, only Dixon (2002) groups Yugambal together with Bundjalung languages and all others classify Yugambal as a 'Yuin-Kuri' language.
Wafer and Lissarrague (2008:332-334) group Yugambal together with Bigambal D34 and Guyambal D35 (non-Bundjalung languages) under the name, 'East Queensland Border' languages although they acknowledge that different researchers have classified these three languages differently.
Tindale lists Yukumbil as an alternative name of Jukambal (E11), but according to Wafer and Lissarrague (2008:335), Yukumbil data collected by Radcliffe-Brown (1929: 401, 413) shows that it is a dialect of Bundjalung not Yugambal.
Crowley (1976, 1997) treats Yugambal, Ngarbal E68 and Marbal E91 as dialects of one language, on the basis of the comment made by MacPherson (1904:683) that speakers of these three varieties understood each other.
... originally spoken in the area between Boggy Creek and Inverell, with Bingara, Bundarra and Tingha being on the extremities of the territory covered by this language (Crowley 1976:21).
... the language of the Tenterfield area (Sharpe 2005:2).
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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).
