Arnhem Land languages
Encyclopedia
The Arnhem Land languages are a proposed Australian
language family
spoken over a large part of Arnhem Land
in northern Australia. The languages within the group are distinctive and not mutually intelligible.
The traditionally accepted languages families included in this proposal are,
If this proposal withstands scrutiny, it will be the second or third-largest language family in Australia, after Pama–Nyungan and perhaps Gunwinyguan
.
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
language family
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
spoken over a large part of Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
in northern Australia. The languages within the group are distinctive and not mutually intelligible.
The traditionally accepted languages families included in this proposal are,
- BurarranBurarran languagesBurarran or Maningrida is a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. It includes four languages, none closely related:*Guragone*Burarra...
; - Iwaidjan;
- GiimbiyuGiimbiyu languagesThe Giimbiyu or Mangerrian languages form a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia.The Giimbiyu family includes two branches,*Mangerr*Urningangga and Arri...
; - Gaagudju languageGaagudju languageGaagudju is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, in the environs of Kakadu National Park. Its last speaker, Big Bill Neidjie, died on 23 May 2002.-Classification:Gaagudju has traditionally been classified with the Gunwinyguan languages...
; and - Umbugarla languageUmbugarla languageThe Umbugarla language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just three people in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, as of 1981. It may now be extinct....
.
If this proposal withstands scrutiny, it will be the second or third-largest language family in Australia, after Pama–Nyungan and perhaps Gunwinyguan
Gunwinyguan languages
The Gunwinyguan languages form the second largest family of Australian Aboriginal languages. They are spoken in Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The most populous language is Gunwinygu, with some 1500 speakers....
.