Ayabadhu (''Ayapathu''), or Badhu, is an extinct

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

of the Paman family spoken on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

, Australia by the Ayapathu people. The Ayabadhu language region includes the

Cook Shire The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an are ...

and the areas around Coen and

Port Stewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...

. Verstraete and Rigsby (2015) determined that Ayabadhu and Yintyingka, spoken by the

Yintyingka The Yintyingka, now extinct, were an Indigenous Australian, Indigenous Australian people of central and eastern Cape York Peninsula. Language The Yintyingka language belonged to the Paman languages, Middle Paman language branch of the Pama-Nyunga ...

and Lamalama and previously known as coastal Ayapathu, are closely related and dialects of the same language. They also found these dialects to be "structurally different" to Western Ayapathu. The name ''Yintjinggu''/''Jintjingga'' has been used for both Ayabadhu and the neighboring

Umbindhamu language Umpithamu, also spelt Umbindhamu, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. In July 2020, ''A Dictionary of Umpithamu'' was published, compiled by Flemish linguist Jean-Christophe Verstraete, with ...

Vocabulary

Some words from the Ayabadhu language, as spelt and written by Ayabadhu authors include: * '''Agu'': land * '''Eka'': head * ''Kaleny'': uncle * ''Kangka'': leaf * ''Ko'on'': magpie goose * ''Kuche'': two * ''Mayi'': food * ''Punga'': sun * ''Wanthi punga'': good day

References

Wik languages Extinct languages of Queensland {{ia-lang-stub