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]
Phonology
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p | k | t̪ | c | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | n̪ | 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
Vowels are a three-vowel system /i, a, u/.[4]
References
- ^ RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxiii
- ^ Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
- ^ a b G9.1 Guwa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ 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.