Daly languages
Encyclopedia
The Daly languages are proposed to be the third largest family
of Indigenous Australian languages (McConvell & Evans 1997). They are spoken within the vicinity of the Daly River in the Northern Territory
.
In the lexicostatistic
classification of O'Grady, Voegelin and Vogelin (1966), the Daly languages were put in four distinct families. Darrel Tryon (1968, 1974) combined these into a single family, with the exception of Murrinh-patha
.
However, such methodologies do not account for loan words. Ian Green (unpublished but cited in Dixon 2002) found that the languages could not be shown to be related by the comparative method
, and so should be considered independent families and language isolate
s. The features they do share also tend to be shared with neighboring languages outside the Daly group.
Southern Daly is uncertain. Murrinh-patha and Ngan’gityemerri closely correspond in their verbal inflections, and have cognates in their words for 'thou' (nhinhi and nyinyi) and 'this' (kanhi and kinyi). However, they share almost nothing else, and it is not clear what could explain this discrepancy.
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...
of Indigenous Australian languages (McConvell & Evans 1997). They are spoken within the vicinity of the Daly River in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
In the lexicostatistic
Lexicostatistics
Lexicostatistics is an approach to comparative linguistics that involves quantitative comparison of lexical cognates. Lexicostatistics is related to the comparative method but does not reconstruct a proto-language...
classification of O'Grady, Voegelin and Vogelin (1966), the Daly languages were put in four distinct families. Darrel Tryon (1968, 1974) combined these into a single family, with the exception of Murrinh-patha
Murrinh-patha language
Murrinh-patha , sometimes also called Garama, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by over 1,500 people, most of whom live in Wadeye in the Northern Territory, where it is the dominant language of the community...
.
However, such methodologies do not account for loan words. Ian Green (unpublished but cited in Dixon 2002) found that the languages could not be shown to be related by the comparative method
Comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor, as opposed to the method of internal reconstruction, which analyzes the internal...
, and so should be considered independent families and language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
s. The features they do share also tend to be shared with neighboring languages outside the Daly group.
- Patjtjamalh (WadjiginyWadjiginy languagePatjtjamalh and Wadjiginy are dialects of an Australian Aboriginal language of uncertain classification....
; Kandjerramalh dialect)
- Western Daly (common grammatical forms)
- Maranunggu (Emmi; Menhthe dialect)
- MarrithiyelMarrithiyel languageMarrithiyel , also known as Berringen is an Australian Aboriginal language.Dialects besides Marrithiyel proper are Nganygit, Marriammu , Maridjabin , Marridan , Marramanindjdji ....
(Marri Ammu, Marritjevin, Marridan, Marramanindjdji dialects) - Marri Ngarr (Magati-ge dialect)
- Malak-MalakMalak-Malak languageMalak-Malak or Ngolokwangga is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is nearly extinct, with children growing up speaking Kriol instead....
- Eastern Dalay (closely related)
- MatngeleMatngele languageMatngele or Madngele is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory.-Classification:Matngele is commonly placed in the Daly family of non-Pama–Nyungan languages. R. M. W. Dixon believes it to be related to Kamu, but regards further relationships as...
- KamuKamu languageThe Kamu language, or Gamor, is an extinct indigenous Australian language spoken in Northern Territory, Australia. There were two speakers in 1967.-References:* *http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=xmu...
- Southern Daly (dubious)
- Murrinh-pathaMurrinh-patha languageMurrinh-patha , sometimes also called Garama, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by over 1,500 people, most of whom live in Wadeye in the Northern Territory, where it is the dominant language of the community...
(Murinbata) - Ngan’gityemerriNgan'gityemerri languageNgan’gityemerri is an Australian Aboriginal language.-Classification:Ngan’gityemerri is closely related to Murrinh-patha. Together they form a branch of the Daly languages, called Murrinh-Patha by Ethnologue and the Southern Daly group by Dixon .-External links:*...
Southern Daly is uncertain. Murrinh-patha and Ngan’gityemerri closely correspond in their verbal inflections, and have cognates in their words for 'thou' (nhinhi and nyinyi) and 'this' (kanhi and kinyi). However, they share almost nothing else, and it is not clear what could explain this discrepancy.