Pakanha language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pakanha |
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| Ayabakan | ||||
| Native to | Australia | |||
| Region | Cape York Peninsula, Queensland | |||
| Ethnicity | Ayabakan | |||
| Extinct | 1990se25 No known L1 speakers |
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| Language family |
Pama–Nyungan
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| Dialects |
Western Ayapathu
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| AIATSIS | Y64 Pakanh, Y181 | |||
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Pakanha (Bakanha), or Ayabakan, is a nearly extinct Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia. In 1981, there were 10 speakers of the language, originally spoken by the aboriginal Pakanha people in the central part of the Cape York Peninsula.
Phonology
Vowels
Pakanha has 5 vowel qualities:
| Short | Long | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | i /i/ | u /u ~ ʊ/ | ii /iː/ | uu /uː/ | ||
| Mid | e /e ~ e̞/ | o /o ~ ɔ/ | ee /ɛː/ | oo /oː/ | ||
| Open | a /a ~ ə/ | aa /aː/ | ||||
Consonants
Pakanha has 15 consonants:
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||
| Plosive | p /p/ | k /k/ | ch /c/ | th /t̪/ | t /t/ | ' /ʔ/ | |
| Nasal | m /m/ | ng /ŋ/ | ny /ɲ/ | nh /n̪/ | n /n/ | ||
| Trill | rr /r/ | ||||||
| Approximant | w /w/ | y /j/ | l /l/ | r /ɻ / | |||
Vocabulary/Topical Index
The following is a sample of words from a comparative wordlist/topical index produced by Philip Hamilton. The Pakanha words are accompanied by corresponding words from the distantly related Uw Olkola and Uw Oykangand languages:
(P) = Pakanha, (Olk) = Uw Olkola, (Oyk) = Uw Oykangand.
The Body:
- Body
- nhangka (P)
- idnhan (Olk, Oyk)
- elpan (Olk)
- Head
- wele (P)
- eka (Olk)
- e.g. (Oyk)
- Fontanel
- wele ngangka (P)
- ek ulpar (Olk)
- e.g. ulbar (Oyk)
- Skull
- yenkan (P)
- ek obher (Olk)
- e.g. opher (Oyk)
In popular culture
The Pakanha word for the eastern grey kangaroo, kucha, was used as the name of a tribe on the second season of the American reality television series, Survivor in 2001.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma pakanha para niños
