Pakanha (Bakanha), or Ayabakan, is a nearly extinct

Paman language 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. Classifica ...

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: Agrupación ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In 1981, there were 10 speakers of the language, originally spoken by the

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

Pakanha people The Ajabakan were an indigenous Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland. Country The Ajabakan's lands extended over around the Upper Edward River. Ursula McConnel in the late twenties identified members of the Ajabakan, toge ...

in the central part of the Cape York Peninsula.

Phonology

Vowels

Pakanha has 5

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...

qualities:

Consonants

Pakanha has 15

consonants In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced w ...

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 The Uw Oykangand, otherwise known as the Kwantari, are an Aboriginal Australian people living on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, in the state of Queensland in Australia. Their neighbours to the northwest are the Yir-Yoront peo ...

languages: (P) = Pakanha, (Olk) = Uw Olkola, (Oyk) = Uw Oykangand. The Body: * Body ** (P) ** (Olk, Oyk) ** (Olk) * Head ** (P) ** (Olk) ** (Oyk) * Fontanel ** (P) ** (Olk) ** (Oyk) * Skull ** (P) ** (Olk) ** (Oyk)

In popular culture

The Pakanha word for the eastern grey kangaroo, , was used as the name of a tribe on the second season of the American reality television series,

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

in 2001.

References

{{Pama–Nyungan languages, Paman Wik languages Extinct languages of Queensland