Umpithamu language

Umpithamu, also spelt Umbindhamu, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.

Umpithamu
Umbindhamu
Native to	Australia
Region	Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Ethnicity	Umpithamu, Lamalama, possibly Barungguan
Native speakers	1-10 (2018-19)[1]
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Paman Lamalamic? Umpithamu
Language codes
ISO 639-3	umd
Glottolog	umbi1243
AIATSIS[1]	Y50
ELP	Umpithamu

Classification

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).^[1] In 2020, he spoke of five languages associated with the Lamalama people, but the name of the fifth is not recorded in the article.^[2]

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".^[3]

"Yintjinggu/Jintjingga" is a place name used for both Umpithamu and the neighbouring Ayabadhu language.^[1][4]

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.^[5]

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.^[2][5]