Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Pakanha language

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Native to
  
Australia

ISO 639-3
  
pkn

Dialects
  
Western Ayapathu

Region
  
Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

Extinct
  
10 reported 1981 not reported since

Language family
  
Pama–Nyungan Paman North Cape York Wik Pakanha

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.

Contents

Vowels

Pakanha has 5 vowel qualities:

Consonants

Pakanha has 15 consonants:

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)

    • References

    Pakanha language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA