Panyjima language
Australian Aboriginal language
title: "Panyjima language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ngayarda-languages"] description: "Australian Aboriginal language" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panyjima_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian Aboriginal language ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Banyjima |
| states | Australia |
| region | Pilbara region of Western Australia |
| ethnicity | Panyjima people |
| speakers | |
| date | 2021 census |
| ref | |
| familycolor | Australian |
| fam1 | Pama–Nyungan |
| fam2 | Ngayarda |
| dia1 | Pantikura |
| dia2 | Mitjaranjpa |
| iso3 | pnw |
| glotto | pany1241 |
| glottorefname | Panytyima |
| aiatsis | A53 |
| aiatsisname | Banyjima (cover term) |
| notice | IPA |
| :: |
|name=Banyjima |states=Australia |region=Pilbara region of Western Australia |ethnicity=Panyjima people |speakers= |date=2021 census |ref= |familycolor=Australian |fam1=Pama–Nyungan |fam2=Ngayarda |dia1=Pantikura |dia2=Mitjaranjpa |iso3=pnw |glotto=pany1241 |glottorefname=Panytyima |aiatsis=A53 |aiatsisname=Banyjima (cover term) |notice=IPA
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.
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
::data[format=table]
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Stop | Nasal | Lateral | Rhotic | Semivowel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Vowels
::data[format=table]
| Front | Back | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
The long vowels are rare.
Grammar
Accusative alignment
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Accusative_alignment.svg" caption="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.
References
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). "Cultural diversity: Census".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::