Gugu Thaypan language explained

Kuku-Thaypan
Also Known As:	Awu Alaya
States:	Australia
Region:	Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Extinct:	2016 (with the death of Tommy George)
Ref:	^[1]
Familycolor:	Australian
Fam1:	Pama–Nyungan
Fam2:	Paman
Fam3:	Thaypan
Dia1:	Koko-Rarmul
Iso3:	typ
Glotto:	thay1248
Glottorefname:	Thaypan
Aiatsis:	Y84
Aiatsisname:	Kuku Thaypan
Aiatsis2:	Y71
Aiatsisname2:	Gugu Rarmul
Notice:	IPA

Kuku-Thaypan is an extinct Paman language spoken on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia, by the Kuku-Thaypan people. The language was sometimes called Alaya or Awu Alaya.^[2] Koko-Rarmul may have been a dialect,^[3] though Bowern (2012) lists Gugu-Rarmul and Kuku-Thaypan as separate languages.^[4] The last native speaker, Tommy George, died on 29 July 2016 in Cooktown Hospital.^[5]

Phonology

Vowels

Kuku-Thaypan has six vowels and two marginal vowels possibly only in loan words.^[6]

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Mid	pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/
			(pronounced as /ink/)
Open	(pronounced as /ink/)	pronounced as /ink/

• Sounds /æ/ and /ɔ/ are only marginal, as phonemes.
• /e/ is heard as pronounced as /link/ when after palatals and /j/.

Consonants

Kuku-Thaypan has 23 consonants.

		Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
		Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Fricative		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Nasal		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Rhotic						pronounced as /ink/
Lateral						pronounced as /ink/
Approximant		pronounced as /ink/			pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/

• /r/ may be heard as a voiceless trill pronounced as /link/ when in initial position.
• /r/ may freely be heard as a tap pronounced as /link/ or trill pronounced as /link/.

External links

• Bibliography of Kuku Thaypan people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Notes and References

1. http://www.snowchange.org/2016/07/a-legend-indigenous-australian-leader-knowledge-holder-tommy-george-passes-on/ A "legend", Indigenous Australian Leader, Knowledge Holder Tommy George Passes On.
2. Jean-Christophe Verstraete, Diane Hafner, Land and Language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country (2016)
3. RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxii
4. Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
5. http://www.snowchange.org/2016/07/a-legend-indigenous-australian-leader-knowledge-holder-tommy-george-passes-on/ A "legend", Indigenous Australian Leader, Knowledge Holder Tommy George Passes On.
6. Book: Rigsby, Bruce . Sutton, P. . Languages of Cape York . 1976 . Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies . Canberra . 68–77 . Kuku-Thaypan descriptive and historical phonology.