The Wakka Wakka language, also spelt Waga, or Wakawaka, is an extinct Pama–Nyungan language formerly spoken by the Wakka Wakka people, an Aboriginal Australian nation near Brisbane, Australia.[3] Kaiabara/Gayabara, Nguwera/Ngoera, and Buyibara may be varieties or alternative names.

Wakawaka
RegionSouth-east Queensland
EthnicityWakka Wakka
Extinct1965
Pama–Nyungan
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3wkw
Glottologwaka1274
AIATSIS[1]E28
ELPWaka-Waka
 Duungidjawu[2]
Map of traditional lands of Aboriginal Australians around Brisbane

Phonology

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Consonants

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Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive b ɡ ɟ d
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant w j ɻ
  • /l/ may occasionally be velarized as [ɫ].
  • /l/ may also exist in the sequence /-lj-/, however; it is not realized as a palatal lateral sound [ʎ].

Vowels

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Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
Open a aː

References

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  • Kite, Suzanne; Wurm, Stephen (2004). The Duungidjawu Language of the Southeast Queensland: Grammar, Texts and Vocabulary. Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-85883-550-4.