Mpakwithi is an extinct Australian Aboriginal dialect of Queensland.
Mpakwithi | |
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Anguthimri | |
Region | Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia |
Extinct | (date missing)[1] |
Language family | Pama–Nyungan
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | awg |
Glottolog | angu1242 |
AIATSIS[2] | Y186 |
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. |
Mpakwithi is generally regarded as a dialect of a broader Anguthimri language, which is part of the Northern Paman family.
Front | Back | |
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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.
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.
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