Panyjima language

Panyjima is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Hamersley Range, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the traditional language of the Panyjima people. The name has also been spelled Bandjima, Banjima, Banyjima, Paanjima, Pandjima, Panjima, Panjtjima, and Panytyima.

Banyjima
Native to	Australia
Region	Pilbara region of Western Australia
Ethnicity	Panyjima people
Native speakers	140 (2021 census)
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Ngayarda Banyjima
Dialects	Pantikura Mitjaranjpa
Language codes
ISO 639-3	pnw
Glottolog	pany1241
AIATSIS	A53 Banyjima (cover term)
ELP	Panyjima

Like most indigenous Australian languages, Panyjima is endangered. Younger generations have English as a first language and make little distinction between Panyjima and its closely related neighbouring languages. There is a formal language register known as padupadu.

Classification

Panyjima is classified as a member of the Ngayarta branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein's 1967 classification, Martuthunira was classed as an Inland Ngayarda language, but the separation of the Ngayarda languages into Coastal and Inland groups is no longer considered valid.

Phonology

Orthography in brackets when it differs from IPA.

Consonants

	Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
	Bilabial	Velar	Palatal	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex
Stop	p	k	c ⟨ť⟩	t̪ ⟨th⟩	t	ʈ ⟨rt⟩
Nasal	m	ŋ ⟨g⟩	ɲ ⟨ň⟩	n̪ ⟨nh⟩	n	ɳ ⟨rn⟩
Lateral			ʎ ⟨ľ⟩	l̪ ⟨lh⟩	l	ɭ ⟨rl⟩
Rhotic					r ⟨ŕ⟩	ɻ ⟨r⟩
Semivowel	w		j

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	i iː	u uː
Low	a aː

The long vowels are rare.

Grammar

Accusative alignment

Accusative alignment. A = subject of a transitive verb; S = subject of an intransitive verb; O = object of a transitive verb.

Unlike most Australian languages, which exhibit ergativity, Panyjima and the other Ngayarta languages have an accusative alignment. That is, the subjects of transitive verbs are treated the same as the subjects of intransitive verbs, while the objects are treated differently.

Further reading

• Dench, Alan (1991). "Panyjima". In Dixon, R.M.W.; Blake, Barry J. (eds.). The Handbook of Australian Languages. Vol. 4. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia. pp. 125–244. ISBN 0-19-553097-7.

External links

• Handbook of Western Australian Languages South of the Kimberley Region — Banyjima