The Paman languages are an
Australian language family spoken on
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_ ...
. First noted by
Kenneth Hale, Paman is noteworthy for the profound
phonological
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
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
**
Umpila
*
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 Thaayorre (Thayore) is a Paman language spoken in the settlement Pormpuraaw on the western part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia by the Thaayorre people. As of 2006, 250 of the 350 ethnic Thaayorre speak the language. It ...
***
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
**
Kuthant †
*
Gugadj †
In the interior, south of Wik, they are:
*Thaypan
**Gugu Thaypan language, Gugu Thaypan (?Rarmul) †
**Aghu Tharrnggala language, Aghu Tharrnggala †
**Ikarranggal-Alungul-Angkula
***Ikarranggal language, Ikarranggal †
***Alungul language, Alungul †
***Angkula language, Angkula †
**Takalak language, Takalak †
*Southern
**Agwamin language, Agwamin †
**Mbabaram language, Mbabaram †
**Mbara language (Australia), Mbara †
**Walangama language, Walangama †
The name ''Gugu Mini'' 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 language, Wik Paach (†). The Mayabic languages (†) to the southwest were once classified as Paman, but have been excluded in Bowern (2011). Alodja language, Alodja may have been another Thaypan / Rarmul Pama language.
See also
*Pama–Maran languages
Notes
References
:
{{Australian Aboriginal languages
Paman languages,
Indigenous Australian languages in Queensland