Umpithamu, also spelt Umbindhamu, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.
Aug 5 2020Classification
Though generally accepted as a branch of the Paman languages, Dixon believes it to be an isolate. According to Rigsby (1997), Umpithamu shares some grammatical features with the other languages spoken by the Lamalama people, but it shares more lexicon with Ayapathu and Umpila.1
In 2008, Verstraete wrote that there were four languages associated with the Lamalama people: Umpithamu, Morrobolam, Mba Rumbathama (Mbarrumbathama, Lamalama) and Rimanggudinhma language (Mbariman-Gudhinma).2 In 2020, he spoke of five languages associated with the Lamalama people, but the name of the fifth is not recorded in the article.3
He is quoted by Austlang from his 2018 work, The Genetic Status of Lamalamic, that Lamalama, Rimanggudinhma and Morrobolam form a genetic subgroup of Paman known as Lamalamic, "defined by shared innovations in phonology and morphology".4
"Yintjinggu/Jintjingga" is a place name used for both Umpithamu and the neighbouring Ayabadhu language.56
Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| Mid | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː |
| Low | a aː |
- Short sounds /i, u, ɛ, ɔ/ may also be heard as [ɪ, ʊ, e, o]. Long sounds /uː, ɛː, ɔː/ can also be heard as [ʊː, eː, oː].
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | ||
| Plosive | p | k | c | t̪ | t | ʔ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n̪ | n | |
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ɹ | |||
- /p, k, t̪, c, t/ are heard as voiced [b, ɡ, d̪, ɟ, d] in intervocalic or post-nasal positions.7
Documentation
In July 2020, A Dictionary of Umpithamu was published, compiled by Flemish linguist Jean-Christophe Verstraete, with main language consultants Florrie Bassani and her niece Joan Liddy.89
References
Y50 Umpithamu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/Y50 ↩
Y50 Umpithamu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/Y50 ↩
Rigby, Mark (5 August 2020). "First Cape York Indigenous language dictionary in 20 years published by Flemish linguist". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 August 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-06/dictionary-of-unique-cape-york-indigenous-language-published/12525128 ↩
"Y55: Morrobolam". AIATSIS Collection (Austlang). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020. https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/Y55 ↩
Y50 Umpithamu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/Y50 ↩
"Y60: Ayapathu". Australian Indigenous Languages Database. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2022. https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/Y60 ↩
Verstraete, Jean-Christophe (2020). A dictionary of Umpithamu: With notes on Middle Paman. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 9781925302219. 9781925302219 ↩
Rigby, Mark (5 August 2020). "First Cape York Indigenous language dictionary in 20 years published by Flemish linguist". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 August 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-06/dictionary-of-unique-cape-york-indigenous-language-published/12525128 ↩
Verstraete, Jean-Christophe (2020). A dictionary of Umpithamu: With notes on Middle Paman. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 9781925302219. 9781925302219 ↩