Turrbal is an Aboriginal Australian language of Queensland. It is the language of the Turrbal people, who are often recognised as one of the traditional owners and custodians of Brisbane. The Turrbal Association uses the Turrbal spelling and prefer this over other spellings of Turrbal such as Turubul, Turrubal, Turrabul, Toorbal, and Tarabul. The four dialects listed in Dixon (2002) are sometimes seen as separate Durubalic languages, especially Jandai and Nunukul; Yagara, Yugarabul, and Turrbul proper are more likely to be considered dialects. Classification Turrbal (E86) has been variously classified as a language, group of languages or as a dialect of another language. F. J. Watson classifies Turrbal (E86) as a sub group of Yugarabul E66 , which is most likely the language Yagara E23. Norman Tindale uses the term Turrbal (E86) to refers to speakers of the language of Yagara E23. John Steele classifies Turrbal (E86) as a language within the Yagara language group. R. M. W. Dixon classifies Turrbal as a dialect of the language of Yagera, in the technical linguistic sense where mutually intelligible dialects are deemed to belong to a single language. Influence on other languages The Australian English word yakka, an informal term referring to any work, especially of strenuous kind, comes from the Yagara word yaga, the verb for 'work'. The literary journal Meanjin takes its name from meanjin, a Turrbal word meaning 'spike', referring to the spike of land Brisbane was later built on. Vocabulary Some words from the Turrbal / Yagara language, as spelt and written by Turrbal / Yagara authors include: Bigi: sun Binung: ear Bugwal: wallaby Buneen: echidna Bangil / bungil: grass Buhn: knee Buyu: shin Deear : teeth Dhagun: land Dhambur : mouth Dharang: leg Dhiggeri: belly / stomach Dinna: foot Dyrrbin: bone Gahm: head Giga: shoulder Gurumba bigi: good day Gujah / guttah: snake Gagarr / guyurr: fish Juhrram: rain Juwahduwan / juwahnduwan / juwanbinl: bird(s) Killen: finger Kundul: canoe Marra: hand Dumbirrbi / marrambi: koala Mil: eye / eyes Guruman / murri: kangaroo Muru: nose Nammul: children Nggurrun: neck Ngumbi: home / camp Tahbil: water (fresh) Towan: fish Tullei: tree Waiyebba: arm Wunya: welcome / greetings Yilam: forehead References Further reading Indigenous Language Wordlists: Turubul Body Parts, published by State Library of Queensland under CC-BY license, accessed 14 June 2022 Indigenous Language Wordlists: Yugarabul Body Parts, published by State Library of Queensland under CC-BY license, accessed 14