Pakanha language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pakanha
Ayabakan
Native to	Australia
Region	Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Ethnicity	Ayabakan
Extinct	1990se25 No known L1 speakers
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Paman North Cape York Wik Pakanha
Dialects	Western Ayapathu
AIATSIS	Y64 Pakanh, Y181
Pakanha is an extinct language according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Pakanha (also called Bakanha or Ayabakan) was a language spoken by the Aboriginal Pakanha people. They lived in the central part of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. Pakanha is a Paman language. Sadly, it is now nearly extinct.

In 1981, only about 10 people still spoke Pakanha. Today, there are no known native speakers left.

Understanding Pakanha Sounds

Every language has its own special sounds. These sounds are called phonology. Pakanha had a unique set of sounds, including different vowels and consonants.

Pakanha Vowels

Pakanha used five main vowel sounds. These are like the 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u' sounds in English. Some of these vowels could be short or long. For example, 'i' was a short sound, while 'ii' was a longer version of the same sound.

Pakanha Consonants

Pakanha had 15 consonant sounds. These are sounds made by blocking air in different parts of your mouth. Some Pakanha consonants were made with the lips, like 'p' or 'm'. Others were made with the tongue touching different parts of the mouth, like 't' or 'n'.

Words and Phrases in Pakanha

A researcher named Philip Hamilton created a list of words from Pakanha. He also compared them to words from other nearby languages, like Uw Olkola and Uw Oykangand. This helps us see how languages are similar or different.

Here are some examples of words related to the body:

• Body
  • nhangka (Pakanha)
  • idnhan (Uw Olkola, Uw Oykangand)
  • elpan (Uw Olkola)
• Head
  • wele (Pakanha)
  • eka (Uw Olkola)
  • e.g. (Uw Oykangand)
• Fontanel (the soft spot on a baby's head)
  • wele ngangka (Pakanha)
  • ek ulpar (Uw Olkola)
  • e.g. ulbar (Uw Oykangand)
• Skull
  • yenkan (Pakanha)
  • ek obher (Uw Olkola)
  • e.g. opher (Uw Oykangand)

Pakanha in Pop Culture

Even though Pakanha is nearly extinct, one of its words became famous! The Pakanha word for the eastern grey kangaroo is kucha.

This word was used as the name of a tribe on the American reality TV show, Survivor. This happened in 2001, during the second season called Survivor: The Australian Outback.

See also

In Spanish: Idioma pakanha para niños