Thura-Yura languages

The Yura or Thura-Yura languages are a group of Australian Aboriginal languages surrounding Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent in South Australia, that comprise a genetic language family of the Pama–Nyungan family.

Yura
Thura-Yura
Geographic distribution	South Australia
Linguistic classification	Pama–Nyungan Arandic–Thura-Yura Yura
Subdivisions	Yura proper Kadli Wirangu
Glottolog	thur1253[1]
Thura-Yura languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan). The two groups are Nangga (west) and Yura–Kadli (east)

Name

The name Yura comes from the word for "person" in the northern languages; this is a lenited form of the thura found in other languages, hence Thura-Yura. Similar words for "person" are found in languages outside the group, however.

Languages

The following classification is proposed by Bowern & Koch (2004):[2]

• Nangga: Wirangu, Nauo
• Core Thura-Yura
  • Yura (northern): Adnyamathanha–Kuyani, Barngarla
  • Kadli (southern): Narangga, Kaurna
  • (unclassified) Nukunu, Ngadjuri

A Nukunu speaker reported that the Nukunu could understand Barngarla and Kuyani, but not more distant varieties.[2]

Peramangk may have been a southern Thura-Yura language, close to Kaurna.

Dixon (2002) lists a Nantuwara language, but there is no data for it.

Proto-language

Proto-Thura-Yura
Reconstruction of	Thura-Yura languages
Reconstructed ancestor	Proto-Pama–Nyungan

Reconstructed Thura-Yura vocabulary by Simpson and Hercus (2004):[3]

Spelling conventions

• alveolar tap: r
• alveolar trill: rr
• retroflex glide: ṟ
• retroflex tap: rd
• indeterminate rhotic: R

gloss	Proto-Thura-Yura	Proto-Core Thura-Yura	Northern Thura-Yura	Southern Thura-Yura
all			wapu; kurru
all, many, big	*marna
ashes		*muru	thimpa
ashes (charcoal)			piirla
bad		*wadLV
bad (without)		*wakV-Na
bark		?*yulti
beard			ngaNka	yaNka
beard, cheek, hair	*maLTa
belly			warna	munthu
belly (abdomen)		?*TiDLi
big			ngarla
bird			THirta
black			maṟu
blood		?*kaaṟu; *karti
body: muscle, sinew	*THiltya	*thiltya
bone	*waLpu	*waLpu	warlpu
breast		*ngamV
camp (house)		*warDli
camp (house, ?from “join”)	*karrpa	*karrpa
camp (hut)			karnku
chest		*kuntu
child, baby				wa(L)kuwa(L)ku
child, small	*kitya		yakaCV; waNi
child, voice of infant		*kunga
cloud		*ma(L)ku
cloud (low, fog)		*putyi
cold (cough)		*kuLTV-
cold, frost		*pakaDla
cold (in head)			(y)urrkV-
cold (weather)	*paya-; *mVnyV	*manya	payala (Probably derived from “to bite”)
come here!	*paNi; *ka	*kawayi
dog	*wiLka		wiLka (domestic dog)	kadli (domestic dog)
down, below		?*warta-	wartathi
dry		*muDLa	murdla
dry, dust		*puthV-RV
ear	*yuṟi
earth		*yarta
egg			pipi	muka
elbow		*thiDNngi	K/NGuNaN-
eye	*mii-na
eyebrow		*piiku
far (stranger)			yampa
fat	*mVrnV	*marni
feather		?*paDLu
fingernail	*pirri
fire	*karDla
fish	*kuya
fly		*thapu
fly (big fly)	*thumpV-Ca	*thupV(-Ra)
food	*mayi
foot	*THiDna	*thidna
good		*wayV-
hair, feather		*puthi
hand	*maṟa
head	*kaka
heart			thurlku
hungry			karnpa
knee	?*puṟV	*mampa	puṟa
knee (kneecap)		*maTa
leaf			karlpi
liver		*Tangka	thangka; ngaLTi
louse	*kuDLu	*kuDlu
man (boy after circumcision)			pardnaapa
man (companion)		*Nipu
man (grown-up)		*miṟu (grownup man)
man (husband)			marni
man (initiand)	?*wilya-ṟu	?*ngulta
man (male, husband)		*yarDli
man (person)		?*Tuṟa	*thuṟa
meat	*paRu
meat, flesh, heart	*puLTHA	*puLTHa	*pultha
moon	*piṟa
mouth	*Taa
mouth, lip			Nimi
name		*mityi
nape, neck			ngurnti, nhurnti; wakarra
neck		*waLTu
night		*nguLTi	maLTi
night, yesterday	*wiltya
north wind, hot weather	*pukarra
north-east wind			ngarnara	karnaRa
nose	*muDlha	*mudlha
not, do not		*madLa	mardla; kuta
now	*kaRi
now, again		?*nhaTa
now, morning	?*panyi
now, soon			yatha
old man	*puLka
one	*kuma
other, another, the rest	*kutyu
penis		*waRi
pigface, plant food type (?Mesembryanthemum sp.)	?*kaCkaLa	*karrkaLa
red	?*TVLTV-	*TaLTHa-	thaltha-
red ochre		*miLTi; *karrku
rib		*TiNinyV
rib, side, flank	*pantyi
road	?*Tapa	*Tapa	thapa
root
rotten, bad-smelling	?*puka	*thungkV
shit, faeces	*kuDna	*kudna
shoulder			piLpi-
shoulder, wing		*wiṟi
sick, ill	?*ngaNDa-N
sick, wound	*mingka
skin		?*paLpa	piyi	paLpa
skin, clothes	*palhtha
sky		*NayirrV	iLkaRV
sky, cloud and dust		?*wirra
smoke	*puyu
smoke (stuff for producing smoke)		?*Tumpu
snake	?*TuDNu		wapma
snake, carpet snake			muDLV-
south and south wind		*parrpa
southerly wind		*walypi
spear (large)	*wiNTa		wirnta
spear (small)	*kVya	*kaya
spit	*THaDlhi	*THadlhi	ngapalya; ngalytya
star		*purDli
stone, adze			THurdla
stone, cooking stone		?*kaDnya
stone, hill, grinding stone, kneecap		*puRi
stone, limestone	*parnta
stone, quartz-like stone, ice		*makV
sun	*THirntu	*thirntu
tail			kaDLHa
testicles	*kaDLu	*kadLu	kardlu
that (near)	*pa-	*pa-	pa-nha
that (remote)		*ngu-	ngunha
thigh	*kaNTHi	*kaNTHi	kanthi
thigh, flank, groin	?*paLTi
this (nearest)	*iNHa
throat		*yurDni
to bite		*paya-
to burn tr.	*kampa-
to burn intr.		*ngaDLi-
to climb	?*warnta-
to come		?*puDNa-
to cry, call		*kaLTa-
to cry, tears			*muLka
to cry, to scream			*ngaTV-
to cut		?*waNi-
to die	*paDLu-		thinta-; padlu-
to die, dead		*kuDnyu	kupa
to dig		*paNi-; ?*paka-	pani-
to drink, to kiss, to manipulate with mouth	*THapa-	*Tapa-	thapa-
to eat	*ngaLku-
to enter		*ngaLpa-
to fall	*warDni-
to get		*manku-
to get, pick up, lead, bring	*kaNka-	*kangka-
to get, take away		*mama-
to give	*yungkV-		nhungku-
to go	?*wiNV-		nguka-
to go, walk		?*padNV-
to hear		*yuri- See “ear”.
to hit with hand	*paLTa-
to hit with missile	*nguṟV-		nguṟa-
to hit, cause break in material integrity		*pungku-
to hit, kill	*kuNTa-		kurnta-
to know, see	*THiLka-	*thiLka-
to leave it	*wVNTV-	*waNTa-	wanthV-
to lie down		*waNTi-	wanti-
to put, to get used to			ila-
to see	*nhaku-
to sit		*Tika-	thika-
to sleep, asleep	*miya
to speak	*wangka-
to spear			wiTi-
to stand		*yuwa-
to throw		*paTV-	patha-
to tie, support, build	?*karrpV-		karrpV-
tomorrow		?*TarrkV-
tongue	*THa(a)LiN		tha(a)rli	tha(d)lVnya
tooth			yira	Tiya
tree		*wadLa; *wira	wardla
two		*puLa	puDla; kalypilV	purla
up, above	?*kaNka		kanka
up, above, high		*karra
urine, piss	*kumpu
warm (weather)		*warlta
water	*kawi; *kapi
west	*wangka
what (how many)		*-miNV	[-]minha
what?		*Na-, ?*Nawi
when?		*nhaDLa-TV
where?	?*wa-THa	*wa-(nha)
white	*paLkV	*paLka	paLka-ra
who? (Ergative, Instrumental)		*ngaNTu
who? (Nominative)	*ngaNa	*ngaNa
who? (Possessive)		*ngaNku
wind	*wari
woman		*pa(a)rla		ngangki
woman, girl		*mankarra
woman, mother, female		*ngamV-THV
woman, wife		*kartu
yam, edible root, plant food type		*ngampa
yesterday		*puki
young one			papa

References

1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Thura–Yura". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
2. Bowern & Koch (2004) Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method
3. Simpson, Jane and Luise Hercus. 2004. Thura-Yura as a Subgroup. In Claire Bowern and Harold Koch (eds.), Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method, 179-206, 580-645. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

• Simpson, Jane; Hercus, Luise (2004). "Thura-Yura as a subgroup". In Claire Bowern; Harold Koch (eds.). Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.