The Paman languages are an
Australian language family spoken on
Cape York Peninsula,
Queensland. First noted by
Kenneth Hale, Paman is noteworthy for the profound
phonological changes which have affected some of its descendants.
Classification
Various
classifications of the Paman languages exist. The one outlined below is that of
R. M. W. Dixon
Robert Malcolm Ward "Bob" Dixon (born 25 January 1939, in Gloucester, England) is a Professor of Linguistics in the College of Arts, Society, and Education and The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Queensland. He is also Deputy Director o ...
, though he does not accept that these branches are necessarily related to each other.
[See Dixon (2002), pp. xxx–xlii.]
Geographically, running down the east coast, they are:
*
North Cape York
**
Northern Paman
The North Cape York Paman languages are a subdivision of the Paman languages consisting of forty languages, all spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia. The languages are grouped largely according to R. M. W. Dixon. The only ex ...
**
Umpila
The Umpila people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the eastern Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. The majority of the remnant of the Umpila now live in Lockhart.
Language
Umpila is classified as one of the North Cape York Paman ...
*
Umbindhamu †
*Lamalamic
**
Umbuygamu †
**
Lamu-Lamu
*
Yalgawarra †
*Yalanjic
**
Guugu Yimithirr
**
Guugu Yalandji
**
Barrow Point † (>>
Wik?)
*
Mbariman-Gudhinma †
*
Djabugay
The Djabugay people (also known as Djabuganydji or Tjapukai) are a group of Australian Aboriginal people who are the original inhabitants of mountains, gorges, lands and waters of a richly forested part of the Great Dividing Range including th ...
†
Down the west coast, they are:
*
North Cape York
**Northern Paman
**
Wik
*
Southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
**Upper Southwest Paman
***
Kuuk Thaayorre
***
Kuuk Yak †
***
Kunjen
Kunjen, or Uw, is a Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, by the Uw Oykangand, Olkola, and related Aboriginal Australian peoples. It is closely related to Kuuk Thaayorre, and perhaps Kuuk Yak.
Two of its ...
(incl. Ogh Undjan)
**
Yir-Yoront
The Yir-Yoront, also known as the Yir Yiront, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula now living mostly in Kowanyama (''kawn yamar'' or 'many waters') but also in Lirrqar/Pormpuraaw, both towns outside their traditional ...
(incl.
Yirrk-Thangalkl) †
**
Koko-Bera (incl.
Gugu Dhaw)
*
Kok-Nar †
*Norman Paman
**
Kurtjar
The Kunggara, also known as Kuritjara, are an indigenous Australian people of the southern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
Language
The Kunggara spoke Gurdjar language, Gurdjar, which had two dialects, ''Gunggara'' and ''Rip.'' Gavan Breen did ...
**
Kuthant †
*
Gugadj †
In the interior, south of Wik, they are:
*Thaypan
**
Gugu Thaypan (?Rarmul) †
**
Aghu Tharrnggala †
**Ikarranggal-Alungul-Angkula
***
Ikarranggal †
***
Alungul †
***
Angkula †
**
Takalak †
*Southern
**
Agwamin †
**
Mbabaram †
**
Mbara †
**
Walangama
The Walangama were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Language
Walangama, now extinct, was one of the Paman languages. William Armit, a local police inspector writing in the 1880s, stated that Walangama differed markedly ...
†
The name ''
Gugu Mini
The Kokomini (''Gugumini'') are reported to have been an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland, though some indications suggest the term may refer to a loose confederation of tribal groups.
Name
The ethnonym Gugumini means ''g ...
'' means 'good speech', and has been applied to several languages in the Thaypan area. 'Possum language' ''(Koko-Possum, Gugu Yawa)'' is another generic name of this area.
The unclassified
Marrett River language (†) was presumably Paman, though distinct from its neighbors, as presumably was
Wik Paach (†). The
Mayabic languages
Mayabic, or Mayi, is a small family of extinct Australian Aboriginal languages of Queensland. They were once classified as Paman, but now as a separate branch of Pama–Nyungan.
The languages are:
* Mayi-Kutuna, Mayi-Kulan (incl. Mayi-Thak ...
(†) to the southwest were once classified as Paman, but have been excluded in Bowern (2011).
Alodja may have been another Thaypan / Rarmul Pama language.
See also
*
Pama–Maran languages
Notes
References
:
{{Australian Aboriginal languages
Indigenous Australian languages in Queensland