Guwa, also spelt Goa, Koa, and other variants, is an extinct and nearly unattested Australian Aboriginal language of Queensland spoken by the Koa people. It was apparently close to Yanda.[3]

Guwa
Goa
Native toAustralia
Region"Karna–Mari fringe", Queensland
EthnicityKoa people
Extinct(date missing)
Pama–Nyungan
Language codes
ISO 639-3xgw
Glottologguwa1242
AIATSIS[3]G9.1
ELPGuwa

Phonology

edit

Consonants

edit
Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Dental Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive p k c t ʈ
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n ɳ
Rhotic ɾ ~ r
Lateral (l̪) ʎ l (ɭ)
Approximant w j ɻ
  • Lateral sounds [l̪, ɭ] may have also been attested.

Vowels

edit

Vowels are a three-vowel system /i, a, u/.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxiii
  2. ^ Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
  3. ^ a b G9.1 Guwa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  4. ^ Blake, Barry J.; Breen, Gavan (1990). Guwa. In Gavan Breen (ed.), Salvage studies of Western Queensland Aboriginal languages: Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 108–144.