Kunjen language explained

Kunjen
Nativename:Uw
States:Australia
Region:Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Ethnicity:Ngundjan (Ogh-Undjan), Uw Oykangand, Olkola
Speakers:2
Date:2005
Ref:aiatsis
Familycolor:Australian
Fam1:Pama–Nyungan
Fam2:Paman
Fam3:Southwestern
Fam4:Upper
Lc1:kjn
Ld1:Oykangand
Lc2:olk
Ld2:Olkol
Glotto:kunj1248
Glottorefname:Southwestern Alaya-Athima
Aiatsis:Y83
Aiatsisname:Kunjen (cover term)
Aiatsis2:Y188
Aiatsisname2:Kokiny
Aiatsis3:Y237
Aiatsisname3:Athina
Dia1:Uw Oykangand
Dia2:Uw Olkola
Dia3:Ogh-Undjan
Dia4:Kawarrang
Dia5:Athina
Map2:Lang Status 20-CR.svg
Notice:IPA

Kunjen, or Uw, is a Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, by the Uw Oykangand, Olkola, and related Aboriginal Australian peoples.[1] It is closely related to Kuuk Thaayorre, and perhaps Kuuk Yak.

Two of its dialects, Uw Olkola (Olgolo) and Uw Oykangand (Koko Wanggara), are very close, being mutually intelligible and sharing 97% of their core vocabulary.[2] Another two, Ogh-Undjan and Kawarrangg, are also close, but somewhat more distant from the first pair. Kokinj (Kokiny) is a subdialect of Ogh-Undjan. A fifth variety, Athima, is poorly attested.

Below is a table showing the mutual intelligibility in vocabulary between the Kunjen dialects, based on a list of 100 basic words.[3]

Uw Oykangand97%44%38%
Uw Olkola43%38%
Ogh-Undjan82%
Kawarrangg

A small dictionary of Kunjen has been compiled by Philip Hamilton.[4] A great majority of words begin with a vowel (>96%), similar to the situation in distantly-related Arrernte. Exceptions include kinship terms and loanwords. Syllable onsets are thought to be present in all languages, so their absence in native lexicon is highly notable.

Respect register

As in many other Australian languages, such as Dyirbal, Kunjen also has a respect register, which is a polite way of speaking with a potential mother-in-law and is called Olkel-Ilmbanhthi. Most of the vocabulary is replaced, while affixes and function words are kept.[5]

Phonology

Vowels

Kunjen has 5 vowels:

FrontBack
UnroundedRounded
Closepronounced as /i/pronounced as /u/
Midpronounced as /e/pronounced as /o/
Openpronounced as /a/

There is a lexical vowel harmony constraint in Kunjen: Close and mid vowels do not co-occur in a word.

Consonants

Kunjen has 27 consonants:

PeripheralLaminalApical
BilabialVelarPalatalDentalAlveolarRetroflex
Plosivevoicelesspronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Nasalplainpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
prestoppedpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Fricativepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Trillpronounced as /ink/
ApproximantCentralpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Lateralpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/

In popular culture

The Uw Olkola word for the freshwater crocodile, ogakor, was used as the name of a tribe on the second season of the American reality television series, Survivor in 2001.[6]

Further reading

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Crump . Des . 2020-08-10 . Language of the Week: Week Eleven - Oykangand . 2023-12-15 . State Library Of Queensland . en.
  2. Web site: Description of the languages Uw Olkola and Uw Oykangand . 29 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095734/http://reocities.com/Athens/delphi/2970/uwolkola.htm . 25 July 2011 . dead .
  3. Sommer . Bruce A. . January 1970 . An Australian Language Without CV Syllables . International Journal of American Linguistics . 57–58 . 10.1086/465090 . 36. 143977924 .
  4. Web site: Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola wordlist . 29 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202428/http://reocities.com/Athens/delphi/2970/olkola.htm . 3 March 2016 . dead .
  5. Book: Evans, Nicholas . Brenzinger, Matthias . 2006 . 354–355 . Warramurrungunji Undone: Australian Languages in the 51st Millennium . Language Diversity Endangered.
  6. Web site: Freshwater crocodile. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017115831/http://www.oocities.org/athens/delphi/2970/f_croc.htm. 17 October 2012.