Wik-Mungkan language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wik-Mungkan
Spoken in: Queensland, Australia
Total speakers: 400 (1990)
Language family: Pama-Nyungan
 Paman
  Northern Paman
   Wik-Mungkan
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: aus
ISO 639-3: wim

Wik-Mungkan is an aboriginal language of northern Cape York, Queensland, Australia. Recent surveys indicate that there are 400 native speakers of Wik-Mungkan, and 600 members of other aboriginal groups who speak it as a second language. It is most closely related to other Wik languages.[1].

English has borrowed at least one word from Wik-Mungkan, that for the taipan, a species of poisonous snake native to the region.[2]

There is a dictionary of Wik Mungkan by Christine Kilham.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Summer Institute of Linguistics' Ethnologue report for Wik-Mungkan
  2. ^ Sutton, Peter. 1995. Wik Ngathan dictionary
  3. ^ Kilham, Christine A. et al., compilers. 1986. Dictionary and source book of the Wik-Mungkan language. Darwin: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

[edit] External links

•The Summer Institute of Linguistics' Ethnologue report for Wik Mungkan.