Kunjen is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Kunjen, or Uw, is a Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, by the Uw Oykangand, Olkola, and related Aboriginal Australian peoples.[2] It is closely related to Kuuk Thaayorre, and perhaps Kuuk Yak.
Two of its dialects, Uw Olkola (Olgolo) and Uw Oykangand (Koko Wanggara), are very close, being mutually intelligible and sharing 97% of their core vocabulary.[3]
Another two, Ogh-Undjan and Kawarrangg, are also close, but somewhat more distant from the first pair. Kokinj (Kokiny) is a subdialect of Ogh-Undjan. A fifth variety, Athima, is poorly attested.
Below is a table showing the mutual intelligibility in vocabulary between the Kunjen dialects, based on a list of 100 basic words.[4]
Uw Oykangand
97%
44%
38%
Uw Olkola
43%
38%
Ogh-Undjan
82%
Kawarrangg
A small dictionary of Kunjen has been compiled by Philip Hamilton.[5] A great majority of words begin with a vowel (>96%), similar to the situation in distantly-related Arrernte. Exceptions include kinship terms and loanwords. Syllable onsets are thought to be present in all languages, so their absence in native lexicon is highly notable.
^ abY83 Kunjen (cover term) at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
^Crump, Des (10 August 2020). "Language of the Week: Week Eleven - Oykangand". State Library Of Queensland. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^"Description of the languages Uw Olkola and Uw Oykangand". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^Sommer, Bruce A. (January 1970). "An Australian Language Without CV Syllables". International Journal of American Linguistics. 36: 57–58. doi:10.1086/465090. S2CID 143977924.
^"Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola wordlist". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
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