Ngumbarl language

Ngumbarl (Ngombaru, Ngormbal[3]) is an extinct, poorly-attested Nyulnyulan language formerly spoken in Western Australia, north of the town of Broome along the coast, by the Ngumbarl people.

Although Daisy Bates had recorded data, comprising a wordlist and a few sentences, in the early twentieth century with informant Billingee (a Ngumbarl/Jukun man), it had previously been thought the data were only for Jukun.

Claire Bowern reconstructs a tentative sound change of word-final -i in the proto-language to -a (e.g. *yaŋki 'what' to yaŋka).

[5]: 2 The ergative suffix was -na; if this evolved from *-ni, it matches the previously mentioned sound change from -i to -a.

[5]: 3 Very few verbs, and no full paradigms, are found in the data, although there are some partial paradigms, e.g.:[5]: 3–4 ngangalanybi ingalanybi yirrlanybi Eastern Nyulnyuylan languages have experienced a group of changes in its verbal morphology:[5]: 3 Ngumbarl's attested forms are consistent with these — assuming the verb forms were given in the same tense.