Pitta Pitta (also known under several other spellings) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language. It was spoken around

Boulia, Queensland Boulia () is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia. In the , Boulia had a population of 301 people. Boulia is the administrative centre of the Boulia Shire, population approximately 600, which covers an area ...

Pituri

The name '' pituri'' for the leaves chewed as a stimulant by traditional Aboriginal people has been claimed to be derived from the Pitta Pitta word '. though Walter Roth pointed out in 1897 that the word 'pituri', thus pronounced, was the term used by the neighbouring Yurlayurlanya people, and added that the Pitta Pitta people called it "''tarembola''".

Status

In 1979, Barry J. Blake reported that Pitta Pitta was "virtually extinct", with only three speakers remaining – Ivy Nardoo of Boulia, Ted Marshall and Linda Craigie of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

. It is now considered unlikely that any speakers remain.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Sign language

The Pitta Pitta had well-developed a signed form of their language.

References

*Blake, Barry J. (1979). Pitta-Pitta. In R.M.W. Dixon and Barry Blake (eds.), ''Handbook of Australian Languages, Vol. 1''. 183–244. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. * * Roth, Walter E. (1897). ''The expression of ideas by manual signs: a sign-language.'' (p. 273–301) Reprinted from Roth, W.E. ''Ethnological studies among the North-West-Central Queensland Aborigines''. London, Queensland Agent-Generals Information Office, 1897; 71–90; Information collected from the following tribes; Pitta-Pitta, Boinji, Ulaolinya, Wonkajera, Walookera, Undekerebina, Kalkadoon, Mitakoodi, Woonamurra, Goa. Reprinted (1978) in ''Aboriginal sign languages of the Americas and Australia.'' New York: Plenum Press, vol. 2.

External links

Bibliography of Pitta Pitta people and language resources
at the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

Karnic languages Extinct languages of Queensland Extinct sign languages {{ia-lang-stub