Ayabadhu (Ayapathu), or Badhu, is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of the Paman family spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of North Queensland, Australia by the Ayapathu people.^[1][2]: 17 The Ayabadhu language region includes the Cook Shire and the areas around Coen and Port Stewart.^[3]

Verstraete and Rigsby (2015) determined that Ayabadhu and Yintyingka, spoken by the Yintyingka and Lamalama and previously known as coastal Ayapathu, are closely related and dialects of the same language.^[2]: 51 They also found these dialects to be "structurally different" to Western Ayapathu.^[4] The name Yintjinggu/Jintjingga has been used for both Ayabadhu and the neighboring Umbindhamu language.^[1][5]

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

• Consonants may show gemination [Cː] when in intervocalic position after a stressed initial-syllable with a short vowel.
• Voicing among stops may be heard as [b, ɡ, d̪, ɟ, d] when following nasal sounds, or within the onset of a third syllable in trisyllablic words.
• /t/ may also have a trilled allophone [tʳ] within the onset of a second syllable.
• /w/ may also be heard as a fricative [β] or an approximant [β̞] within intervocalic positions.^[6]

Vocabulary

Some words from the Ayabadhu language, as spelt and written by Ayabadhu authors include:^[3]

• 'Agu: land
• 'Eka: head
• Kaleny: uncle
• Kangka: leaf
• Ko'on: magpie goose
• Kuche: two
• Mayi: food
• Punga: sun
• Wanthi punga: good day