Kugu Nganhcara language

Kugu-Muminh
Kugu-Muminh
Wik-Muminh
Native to	Australia
Region	Cape York Peninsula, Queensland
Ethnicity	Kugu Nganhcara, Wik Iyanh
Native speakers	30 (2005)
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Paman North Cape York Wik Kugu-Muminh; ; ; ;
Dialects	Muminh; Uwanh; Mu'inh; Ugbanh; Yi'anh; Iiyanh;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; xmh – Kuku-Muminh; uwa – Kuku-Uwanh; xmq – Kuku-Mangk? (unattested); xmp – Kuku-Mu’inh; ugb – Kuku-Ugbanh; wua – Kugu-Nganhcara; wij – Wik-Iiyanh
Glottolog	kuku1287 Kuku; wikn1246 Wikngenchera; wiki1239 Wik-Iiyanh
AIATSIS	Y59
ELP	Kugu-Nganhcara
	Wikngenchera is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger .
	Coordinates: 14°4′S141°43′E / 14.067°S 141.717°E

Last updated January 02, 2026

Kugu-Muminh (Wik-Muminh), also known as Kugu- or Wik-Nganhcara (Wikngenchera), is a Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, by several of the Wik peoples. There are multiple dialects, only two of which are still spoken: Kugu-Muminh itself, and Kugu-Uwanh.

Phonology

Consonant inventory^[2]
		Bilabial	Alveolar	Dental	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	t̪	c	k	ʔ
Plosive	voiced	b	d	d̪	ɟ	ɡ
Nasal		m	n	n̪	ɲ	ŋ
Lateral			l
Tap			ɾ
Glide		w			j

Vowel inventory^[2]
	Front	Back
High	i iː	u uː
Mid	e eː	o oː
Low	a aː

References

1 2 Y59 Kugu-Muminh at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2 Smith, Ian, and Steve Johnson. “Kugu Nganhcara.” In Handbook of Australian Languages, edited by R. M. W. Dixon and Barry J. Blake, 5:357–507. Melbourne, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Smith, Ian and Johnson, Steve, 1986. Sociolinguistic patterns in an unstratified society: The patrilects of Kugu Nganhcara. Journal of the Atlantic Provinces Linguistic Association 8:29–43.

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[AIATSIS-1] 1 2 Y59 Kugu-Muminh at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[Smith&Johnson2000-2] 1 2 Smith, Ian, and Steve Johnson. “Kugu Nganhcara.” In Handbook of Australian Languages, edited by R. M. W. Dixon and Barry J. Blake, 5:357–507. Melbourne, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

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