Nungali, or (with a different prefix) Yilngali, is an Australian language which is believed to be extinct. It was spoken in the Northern TerritoryofAustralia, around the upper Daly River.[2] Its closest relative is the Jaminjung language.
| Nungali | |
|---|---|
| Yilngali | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Upper Daly River, Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Nungali |
| Extinct | ca. 2000 |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nug |
| Glottolog | nung1291 |
| AIATSIS[1] | N28 |
| ELP | Nungali |
It is the only Yirram language which has retained the original four-class systeminnominals. The four classes are masculine, feminine, neuter and plants, and each of the classes have separate prefixes expressing the absolutive case, locativeorergative case, and the dative case.[3]
| Class | Abs. | Loc. / Erg. | Dat. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Masc. | ti- | nyi- | ki- |
| II | Fem. | nya- | nyani- | kanyi- |
| III | Neut. | nu- / ni- | nyi- | ki- / ku- |
| IV | Plants | ma- | - | ki- |
The locative case is also productive when it comes to placenames. An example is Nyimarlanpurruni referring to the Timber Creek area, which consists of the neuter locative prefix nyi-, the word for "river gum", the plural marker -purru, and an additional marker of the neuter locative, -ni.[3]