Ayabadhu (''Ayapathu''), or Badhu, is an
extinct Australian Aboriginal language of the
Paman family spoken on the
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...
of
North Queensland,
Australia by the
Ayapathu people.
The Ayabadhu language region includes the
Cook Shire
The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
It covers an area ...
and the areas around
Coen and
Port Stewart.
Verstraete and Rigsby (2015) determined that Ayabadhu and Yintyingka, spoken by the
Yintyingka and
Lamalama and previously known as coastal Ayapathu, are closely related and dialects of the same language.
They also found these dialects to be "structurally different" to
Western Ayapathu.
The name ''Yintjinggu''/''Jintjingga'' has been used for both Ayabadhu and the neighboring
Umbindhamu language.
Vocabulary
Some words from the Ayabadhu language, as spelt and written by Ayabadhu authors include:
* ''
'Agu'': land
* ''
'Eka'': head
* ''Kaleny'': uncle
* ''Kangka'': leaf
* ''Ko'on'': magpie goose
* ''Kuche'': two
* ''Mayi'': food
* ''Punga'': sun
* ''Wanthi punga'': good day
References
Wik languages
Extinct languages of Queensland
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