Kullili language
Encyclopedia
Kullili is an Australian Aboriginal language
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The Kullili (Galali) people were an important group who occupied an area of Australia
from about Thargomindah in south-west Queensland
, southward to the Currawinya Lakes, and west to Bulloo Lakes and north to Norley Station.
The Kullili (Galali) language was collated by Gavin Breen from a remaining speaker named Charlie Phillips.
The descendents of the Kullili (Galali) speakers mostly live in Brisbane, Cherbourg (the old Aboriginal Mission), and small New South Wales and Queensland towns such as Bourke, Thargomindah, Cunnamulla, and Charleville.
Galali is one of the dialects of what linguist Gaven Breen has called the ‘Wilson River Language’. Galali has also been referred to as the ‘Bulloo River Language’, and strong similarities occur with ‘Wankumara’, ‘Thiraila’, ‘Mambangura’, and ‘Bunthamara’.
Breen pointed out that some groups in southwest Queensland had abandoned their original languages (but not their names) and adopted the ‘Wilson River Language’ in the early days of Australian settlement when people moved from Thargomindah to Nockatunga (near the modern town of Noccundra).
The informant Charlie Phillips aged 74 years, born at Backwood Station south of Hungerford in southwest Queensland, spoke the language fluently and confidently despite having not used the language conversationally for 40 years.
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
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The Kullili (Galali) people were an important group who occupied an area of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from about Thargomindah in south-west Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, southward to the Currawinya Lakes, and west to Bulloo Lakes and north to Norley Station.
The Kullili (Galali) language was collated by Gavin Breen from a remaining speaker named Charlie Phillips.
The descendents of the Kullili (Galali) speakers mostly live in Brisbane, Cherbourg (the old Aboriginal Mission), and small New South Wales and Queensland towns such as Bourke, Thargomindah, Cunnamulla, and Charleville.
Galali is one of the dialects of what linguist Gaven Breen has called the ‘Wilson River Language’. Galali has also been referred to as the ‘Bulloo River Language’, and strong similarities occur with ‘Wankumara’, ‘Thiraila’, ‘Mambangura’, and ‘Bunthamara’.
Breen pointed out that some groups in southwest Queensland had abandoned their original languages (but not their names) and adopted the ‘Wilson River Language’ in the early days of Australian settlement when people moved from Thargomindah to Nockatunga (near the modern town of Noccundra).
The informant Charlie Phillips aged 74 years, born at Backwood Station south of Hungerford in southwest Queensland, spoke the language fluently and confidently despite having not used the language conversationally for 40 years.