Mpakwithi dialect

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Mpakwithi is an extinct Australian Aboriginal dialect of Queensland.

Mpakwithi
Anguthimri
RegionCape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia
Extinct1985[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3awg
Glottologangu1242
AIATSIS[2]Y186
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Classification

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Mpakwithi is generally regarded as a dialect of a broader Anguthimri language, which is part of the Northern Paman family.

Phonology

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Vowels

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Front Back
Close i ĩ y u
Close-mid e (ø) o
Open-mid æ æː æ̃
Low a 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

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While other Anguthimri dialects and Northern Paman languages have three fricatives, ð ɣ/, Mpakwithi has a fourth, /ʒ/. Its origin is uncertain. This is an extremely rare sound in Australian languages.

Peripheral Laminal Apical Glottal
Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar/
Retroflex
Post-
alveolar
Plosives voiceless p k c t t̠ʳ ʔ
prenasal ᵐb ᵑɡ ᶮɟ ⁿ̪d̪ ⁿd ⁿd̠ʳ
Fricatives voiced β ɣ ʒ ð
voiceless (ʃ) (s)
Nasals m ŋ ɲ n
Rhotics ɻ ɾ
Approximants w j l

The flap /ɾ/ may occasionally also be heard as a trill [r].

Sounds [s, ʃ] may also occur, but only rarely and in a small amount of words. The phonemic status is uncertain.

References

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  1. ^ Mpakwithi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ 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.