Mpakwithi dialect
Mpakwithi | |
---|---|
Anguthimri | |
Region | Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia |
Extinct | (date missing)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | awg |
Glottolog | angu1242 |
AIATSIS[2] | Y186 |
Mpakwithi is an extinct Australian Aboriginal dialect of Queensland.
Classification[]
Mpakwithi is generally regarded as a dialect of a broader Anguthimri language, which is part of the Northern Paman family.
Phonology[]
Vowels[]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i iː ĩ y | u uː |
Close-mid | e eː ẽ (ø) | o |
Open-mid | æ æː æ̃ | |
Low | a aː ã |
/ø/ is found in only one word.
Mpakwithi has the most vowels of any Australian language, with 16–17. It also is the only Australian language to have nasal vowels.
Consonants[]
While other Anguthimri dialects and Northern Paman languages have three fricatives, /β ð ɣ/, Mpakwithi has a fourth, /ʒ/. Its origin is uncertain. This is an extremely rare sound in Australian languages.
References[]
- ^ Mpakwithi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Y186 Mpakwithi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Crowley, T. (1981). "The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri". In Dixon, R. M. W.; Blake, B. J. (eds.). Handbook of Australian Languages. Vol 2. Canberra and Amsterdam: Australian National University Press and John Benjamins. pp. 146–194.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Categories:
- Northern Paman languages
- Indigenous Australian language stubs