The Paman languages are an Australian language family spoken on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. First noted by Kenneth Hale, Paman is noteworthy for the profound phonological changes which have affected some of its descendants.
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Pama languages in the context of Pama–Nyungan languages
The Pama–Nyungan languages (/ˌpɑːmə ˈnjʊŋən/ PAH-mə-NYOONG-ən) are the most widespread family of Australian Aboriginal languages, comprising 306 of the 400 Aboriginal languages of Australia. The name "Pama–Nyungan" is a merism: it is derived from the two end-points of the range, the Pama languages of northeast Australia (where the word for 'man' is pama) and the Nyungan languages of southwest Australia (where the word for 'man' is nyunga).
The other language families indigenous to the continent of Australia are often referred to, by exclusion, as non-Pama–Nyungan languages, though this is not a taxonomic term. The Pama–Nyungan family accounts for most of the geographic spread, most of the Aboriginal population, and the greatest number of languages. Most of the Pama–Nyungan languages are spoken by small ethnic groups of hundreds of speakers or fewer. Many languages have become extinct, and almost all remaining ones are endangered in some way. Only in the central inland portions of the continent do Pama–Nyungan languages continue to be spoken vigorously by the entire community.