The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding Tasmania. The relationships between these languages are not clear at present, although substantial progress has been made on our understanding in recent decades. Indigenous Australians are the first inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands, continuing their presence during European settlement. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... A language isolate is a natural language with no demonstrable genetic relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been proved to descend from a common ancestor to any other language. ... Emblems: Flora - Tasmanian Blue Gum; Fauna - none Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ...

Most Australian languages are extinct or endangered. Of those that survive, only 10% are being learned by children. This is largely a result of a concerted effort by past Australian governments to eradicate Aboriginal culture and languages, through punishment, forced relocations, sterilization, and forced removal of children from their families. However, these efforts have now ceased, and the Western Desert language (spoken in the desert areas west of Alice Springs), Kala Lagaw Ya (in the Torres Strait), and a few of the languages in the far north are doing well. Bilingual education is being used successfully in some communities; in one case recently near Alice Springs, white teachers were required to learn the local language, and Aboriginal parents complained that their children weren't learning English at school. A couple of the most populous Australian languages have around 3000 speakers. Stolen Generation is the term commonly used to mean the Australian Aboriginal children who were removed from their families by Australian government agencies and church missions between approximately 1900 and 1972. ... Western Desert Language is the name used to refer to an otherwise un-named Australian Aboriginal language. ... Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at . ... Kala Lagaw Ya (also Kala Yagaw Ya, Yagar Yagar, Mabuiag, Kala Lagau Langgus, Langus, Kala Lagaw) has the highest number of speakers of any Australian Aboriginal language. ... The Torres Strait - Cape York Peninsula is at the top; several of the Torres Strait Islands can be seen strung out towards Papua New Guinea (North is downwards in this image) The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. ... The phrase bilingual education has multiple definitions: education where two distinct languages are used for general teaching education designed to help children become bilingual (sometimes called two-way bilingual education; e. ...

The Tasmanian people became almost extinct early in Australia's colonial history, and their languages went extinct before much was recorded. They were separated from the mainland at the end of the last ice age, and apparently went without contact with the outside world for 10,000 years. Too little is known of their languages to be able to classify them, although they seem to have had some phonological similarities with languages of the mainland. The Tasmanian Aboriginals are the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. ... The Tasmanian languages are a group of aborigine languages spoken in the island of Tasmania, Australia, extinct by 1877. ...

Common features

The Australian languages form a language area or Sprachbund, sharing much of their vocabulary and having similarly unusual phonologies across the entire continent. A Sprachbund (German for language bond, also known as a linguistic area, convergence area, diffusion area) is a group of languages that have become similar in some way because of geographical proximity. ... The vowels of modern (Standard) Arabic and (Israeli) Hebrew from the phonological point of view. ...

A common feature of many Australian languages is that they display so-called mother-in-law languages, special speech registers used only in the presence of certain close relatives. These registers share the phonology and grammar of the standard language, but the lexicon is different and usually very restricted. There are also commonly speech taboos during extended periods of mourning or initiation that have led to a large number of Aboriginal sign languages. Mother-in-law languages or avoidance languages are a feature of many Australian Aboriginal languages whereby in the presence of certain socially determined relatives it is taboo to use everyday language, instead a special language must be used. ... Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... A lexicon is usually a list of words together with additional word-specific information, i. ... Many Australian Aboriginal cultures have or traditionally had a sign language counterpart to their spoken language. ...

In their morphosyntax, many Australian languages have ergative-absolutive case systems. These are typically split systems; a widespread pattern is for pronouns (or first and second person) to have nominative-accusative case marking and for third person to be ergative-absolutive, though splits between animate and inanimate are also found. In some languages the persons in between the accusative and ergative inflections (such as second person, or third-person human) may be tripartite: that is, marked overtly as either ergative or accusative in transitive clauses, but not marked as either in intransitive clauses. There are also a few languages which employ only nominative-accusative case marking. In ergative-absolutive languages, the ergative case identifies the subject of a transitive verb. ... In ergative-absolutive languages, the absolutive is the grammatical case used to mark both the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ... The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... ANIMATE is a famous chain toy store in Hong Kong. ... In grammar, a verb is transitive if it takes an object. ... In grammar, an intransitive verb is an action verb that takes no object. ...

Phonetics and phonology

Segmental inventory

A typical Australian phonological inventory includes just three vowels, usually [a, i, u], which occur both long and short. There is almost never a voicing contrast; that is, a consonant may sound like a [p] at the beginning of a word, but like a [b] between vowels, and either symbol could be (and often is) chosen to represent it. Australia also stands out as being almost entirely free of fricatives, even of [h]. In the few cases where fricatives do occur, they developed recently through the lenition (weakening) of stops, and are therefore non-sibilants like [ð] rather than sibilants like [s] which are so much more common elsewhere in the world. Some languages also have three rhotics (R sounds), typically a flap, a trill, and an approximant; that is, like the combined R's of English and Spanish. A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Lenition is a kind of consonant mutation that appears in many languages. ... A sibilant is a type of fricative, made by speeding up air through a narrow channel and directing it over the sharp edge of the teeth. ... Rhotic consonants, or R-like sounds, are non-lateral liquids. ... In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another. ... In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

A notable exception to this generalization is Kala Lagaw Ya, which has an inventory much more similar to its Papuan neighbours than to the languages of the Australian mainland. Kala Lagaw Ya (also Kala Yagaw Ya, Yagar Yagar, Mabuiag, Kala Lagau Langgus, Langus, Kala Lagaw) has the highest number of speakers of any Australian Aboriginal language. ... The term Papuan languages refers to those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. ...

Besides the lack of fricatives, the most striking feature of Australian speech sounds are the large number of places of articulation. Nearly every language has four places in the coronal region, either phonemically or allophonically, in addition to bilabial and velar consonants. This is accomplished through two variables: the position of the tongue (front or back), and its shape (pointed or flat). Both plosives and nasals occur at all six places, and in some languages laterals occur at all four coronal places, where laterals are possible. Places of articulation (passive & active): 1. ... Coronal consonants are articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. ... In human language, a phoneme is a set of phones (speech sounds or sign elements) that are cognitively equivalent. ... In phonetics, an allophone is one of several similar phones that belong to the same phoneme. ... In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ...

A language which displays the full range of stops and laterals is Kalkutungu, which has labial p, m; "dental" th, nh, lh; "alveolar" t, n, l; "retroflex" rt, rn, rl; "palatal" ty, ny, ly; and velar k, ng. Yanyuwa has even more contrasts, with an additional true dorso-palatal series, plus prenasalized stops at all seven places of articulation, in addition to all four laterals. Kalkatungu (also written Kalkutungu, Galgadungu, Kalkutung, Kalkadoon, Galgaduun) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken around the area of Mount Isa, Queensland. ... The Yanyuwa language is spoken by the people of the same name around the settlement of Borroloola (Yanyuwa burrulula) in the Northern Territory, Australia. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Prenasalized stops are phonetic sequences of nasal plus plosive that behave phonologically like single consonant. ...

Coronal consonants

The coronal articulations are worth looking at more closely, since descriptions of them can be inconsistent.

The "alveolar" series t, n, l (or d, n, l) is straightforward: across the continent, these sounds are alveolar (that is, pronounced by touching the tongue to the ridge just behind the gum line of the upper teeth) and apical (that is, touching that ridge with the tip of the tongue). This is very similar to English t, d, n, l, though the Australian t is not aspirated. Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... An apical consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the apex of the tongue (i. ... See: Aspiration (phonetics) Aspiration (medicine) Aspiration (long-term hope) - see for example, Robert Goddards response to the ridicule by the New York Times, 1920: Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace. ...

The other apical series is the "retroflex", rt, rn, rl (or rd, rn, rl). Here the place is further back in the mouth, in the postalveolar or prepalatal region. The articulation is actually most commonly sub-apical; that is, the tongue curls back so that the underside of the tip makes contact. That is, they are true retroflex consonants. It has been suggested that sub-apical pronunciation is characteristic of more careful speech, while these sounds tend to be apical in rapid speech. Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... A sub-apical consonant is a consonant made by contact with the underside of the tip of the tongue. ... Sub-apical retroflex plosive In phonetics, retroflex consonants are consonant sounds used in some languages. ...

The "dental" series th, nh, lh are always laminal (that is, pronounced by touching with the surface of the tongue just above the tip, called the blade of the tongue), but may be formed in one of three different ways, depending on the language, on the speaker, and on how carefully the speaker pronounces the sound. These are interdental with the tip of the tongue visible between the teeth, as in th in American English; interdental with the tip of the tongue down behind the lower teeth, so that the blade is visible between the teeth; and denti-alveolar, that is, with both the tip and the blade making contact with the back of the upper teeth and alveolar ridge, as in French t, d, n, l. The first tends to be used in careful enunciation, and the last in more rapid speech, while the tongue-down articulation is less common. A laminal consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, which is the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue. ... Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the tongue against the upper incisors. ... Dentals are consonants such as t, d, n, and l articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both, rather than with the gum ridge as in English. ...

Finally, the "palatal" series ty, ny, ly. (The stop is often spelled dj, tj, or j.) Here the contact is also laminal, but further back, spanning the alveolar to postalveolar, or the postalveolar to prepalatal regions. The tip of the tongue is typically down behind the lower teeth. This is similar to the "closed" articulation of some Circassian fricatives (see Postalveolar consonant). The body of the tongue is raised towards the palate. This is similar to the "domed" English postalveolar fricative sh. Because the tongue is "peeled" from the roof of the mouth from back to front during the release of these stops, there is a fair amount of frication, giving the ty something of the impression of the English palato-alveolar affricate ch or the Polish alveolo-palatal affricate ć. That is, these consonants are not palatal in the IPA sense of the term, and indeed they contrast with true palatals in Yanyuwa. The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Pontic or Abkhaz-Adyg/Circassian, are a group of languages spoken in Caucasian Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Kabardino-Balkaria (an autonomous republic in Russia) and Abkhazia (an autonomous republic in Georgia). ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and vertebrate animals. ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Affricate consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or ), but release as a fricative such as or (or, in a couple of languages, into a fricative trill) rather than directly into the following vowel. ... Sagittal section of alveolo-palatal fricative In phonetics, alveolo-palatal (or alveopalatal) consonants are palatalized postalveolar fricatives, articulated with the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, and the body of the tongue raised toward the palate. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... The Yanyuwa language is spoken by the people of the same name around the settlement of Borroloola (Yanyuwa burrulula) in the Northern Territory, Australia. ...

These descriptions do not apply exactly to all Australian languages. However, they do describe most of them, and are the expected norm against which languages are compared.

Orthography

Main article: Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages

Probably every Australian language with speakers remaining has had an orthography developed for it, in each case in the Roman alphabet. Sounds not found in English are usually represented by digraphs, or more rarely by diacritics, such as underlines, or extra symbols, sometimes borrowed from the International Phonetic Alphabet. Some examples are shown in the following table. A page from an 1856 book illustrating the letters of the alphabet for Gamilaraay at that time. ... ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... A diacritical mark or diacritic, sometimes called an accent mark, is a mark added to a letter to alter a words pronunciation or to distinguish between similar words. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ...

Pitjantjatjara is the name of both an Aboriginal people (or Anangu) of the Central Australian desert and their language. ... Wajarri is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... The eng is a letter: ÅŠ (capital), Å‹ (small). ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ...

Classification

Most Australian languages are commonly held to belong to the Pama-Nyungan family, a family by no means unproblematic but still accepted by most linguists (with R.M.W. Dixon as a noted exception). For convenience, the rest of the languages, all spoken in the far north, are commonly lumped together as "Non-Pama Nyungan" despite not constituting a genetic family. Dixon has argued that after perhaps 40,000 years of mutual influence, it is no longer possible to distinguish deep genealogical relationships from areal features in Australia, and that not even Pama-Nyungan is a valid language family. However, few other linguists, Australian or otherwise, accept Dixon's results. The Pama-Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian languages. ... Robert Malcolm Ward Dixon is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. ...

Traditionally, Australian languages have been divided into about two dozen families. What follows is a tentative classification of genealogical relationships among the Australian families, following the work of Nick Evans and associates at the University of Melbourne. Although not all subgroupings are mentioned, there is enough detail to fill in the rest using a standard reference such as Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Note when cross-referencing that most language names have multiple spellings: rr=r, b=p, d=t, g=k, dj=j=tj=c, j=y, y=i, w=u, u=oo, e=a, and so on. A range is given for the number of languages in each family, as sources count languages differently. Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with native language biblical texts. ...

• Language isolates:
  • Enindhilyagwa (Andilyaugwa)
  • Laragiya (extinct?)
  • Ngurmbur (extinct? perhaps a member of Macro-Pama-Nyungan)
  • Tiwi
• Established families:
  • Bunaban (2 languages in two branches)
  • Daly (11-19 languages in four branches, including Murrinh-Patha)
  • Limilngan (2 languages, extinct?)
  • Djeragan (3-5 languages in two branches)
  • Nyulnyulan (4-8 languages in one branch)
  • Wororan (7-12 languages in three branches)
• Newly proposed families:
  • Mindi, consisting of
    • Djamindjungan (2-4 languages)
    • West Barkly (3 languages in two branches)
  • Arnhem Land macrofamily, consisting of
    • Burarran (4 languages in three subfamilies, including [N]djeebbana and Nakkara)
    • Yiwaidjan (4-8 languages in three-four branches)
    • Giimbiyu (2-3 languages in two branches)
    • the Kakadu (Gaagudju) isolate (extinct?)
    • the Umbugarla isolate (extinct?)
  • Macro-Pama Nyungan, consisting of
    • (Perhaps) the Ngurmbur isolate
    • Gunwinyguan (15-17 languages in six branches, including the Maran languages and the Kungarakany isolate)
    • Greater Pama-Nyungan:
      • Tankic (4 languages in two branches)
      • the Garawa isolate (1 or 2 languages)
      • Pama-Nyungan proper (approximately 175 languages in 14 extant and numerous extinct branches)

In addition, there is the extinct and poorly attested Minkin language. Conventionally left as an isolate, there is little data on which to determine its classification, it may have been a member of Yiwaidjan or Tankic. The Enindhilyagwa language, also spelled Andilyaugwa and Anindilyakwa, is an Australian language isolate spoken by the Warnindhilyagwa people on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia. ... The Laragiya language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just six people near the city of Darwin in northern Australia as of 1983. ... The Ngumbur language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just one person in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, as of 1981. ... Tiwi is a language spoken on the Tiwi Islands. ... The Bunaban languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Daly languages are the third largest family of Australian Aboriginal languages after Pama-Nyungan and Gunwinguan. ... The Limilngan languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Djeragan languages are a small family of three Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Nyulnyulan languages are a small family of closely related Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Wororan languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Mindi languages are a recently proposed family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia, unifying the Djamindjungan languages with the West Barkly family. ... The Djamindjungan languages are two related Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia, Djamindjung and Nungali. ... The West Barkly languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... Arnhem Land is an area of 97,000 sq. ... The Burarran languages form a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Yiwaidjan languages form a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Giimbiyu or Mangerrian languages form a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... The Kakadu or Gaagudju language was an Australian language isolate spoken in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, in the environs of Kakadu National Park. ... The Umbugarla language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just three people in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, as of 1981. ... The Gunwinyguan languages form the second largest family of Australian Aboriginal languages. ... The Tankic languages form a small language family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. ... Garawa (or Garrwa, Gaarwa, Karawa, Leearrawa) is a recently extinct Australian Aborginal language of northern Australia. ... The Pama-Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian languages. ... The Minkin language is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language, perhaps a language isolate, of northern Australia. ...

Languages

Pama-Nyungan languages

• Alyawarre
• Antakarinya
• Arrernte
• Badimaya
• Dyirbal
• Guugu Yimidhirr
• Jiwarli
• Kala Lagaw Ya
• Kaurna
• Kurrama
• Malgana
• Martuthunira
• Ngiyambaa
• Ngunnawal
• Nhanda
• Nyungar
• Panyjima
• Wajarri
• Warlpiri and Warlpiri Sign Language
• Warrungu
• Wiradhuri
• Wirangu
• Yankunytjatjara
• Yanyuwa
• Yidiny
• Yinggarda

Location of Alyawarre (purple) in the Northern Territory Alyawarre are an Indigenous Australian tribe or people from the Northern Territory. ... Antakarinya (also Andagarinya) is an Australia Region: Northeast area of South Australia Total speakers: Possibly 50 Ranking: Not in top 100 Genetic classification: Australian  Pama-Nyungan   South-West    Wati     Antakarinya Language codes ISO 639-2 aus SIL ANT External links Ethnologue report on Antakarinya Categories: Australian Aboriginal languages | Pama-Nyungan... Arrente is both a language, a group of people, and an area of land in Central Australia. ... Badimaya is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... Dyirbal (also Djirubal) is an ergative Australian Aboriginal language spoken in northeast Queensland by about 5 speakers. ... Guugu Yimidhirr (also Guguyimidjir, Kukuyimidir, Koko Imdudji, Gugu Yimijir, Guuguu Yimithirr) is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... Jiwarli is an Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in Western Australia. ... Kala Lagaw Ya (also Kala Yagaw Ya, Yagar Yagar, Mabuiag, Kala Lagau Langgus, Langus, Kala Lagaw) has the highest number of speakers of any Australian Aboriginal language. ... Kaurna is the language of the Kaurna people, an indigenous ethnic group, in South Australia. ... Kurrama is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... Malgana is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... Martuthunira (IPA: ) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama-Nyungan family. ... The Ngiyambaa language is a Pama-Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. ... The city of Canberra is named after the Ngunnawal word Kambera Ngunnawal language, language spoken by the Ngunnawal people, an Australian Aboriginal tribe who lived in the Canberra area. ... Nhanda is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... Australian aboriginal flag The Noongar (alternate spellings: Nyungar /Nyoongar)[1], are an Australian Aboriginal people who live in the south west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast. ... Panyjima is an indigenous language spoken in the Hamersley Ranges, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. ... Wajarri is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... The Warlpiri language is spoken by about 3000 of the Warlpiri people in Australias Northern Territory. ... The Warlpiri language is spoken by the Warlpiri Aboriginal community in the central desert region of Australia, and is also known as WALBIRI, ELPIRA, ILPARA, WAILBRI and WALPIRI. When in mourning, Warlpiri women often do not talk for long periods of time, and a signed mode of the language is... Warrungu (or Warrangu, Warrango) is an Australian Aboriginal language, of the Pama-Nyungan family of languages, which was formerly spoken in the area around Townsville, Queensland, Australia. ... The Wiradhuri (also spelled Wiradhurri, Wiradjuri, Wiradyuri) language is a Pama-Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. ... The Wirangu language is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language traditionally spoken by the Wirangu people, living on the west coast of South Australia across a region encompassing modern Ceduna and Streaky Bay, stretching west approximately to the Head of Bight and east to Lake Gairdner. ... Yankunytjatjara (also Yankuntatjara, Jangkundjara, Kulpantja) is an Australian Aboriginal language. ... The Yanyuwa language is spoken by the people of the same name around the settlement of Borroloola (Yanyuwa burrulula) in the Northern Territory, Australia. ... Yidiny (also or ) is a nearly extinct Australian Aboriginal language. ... Yinggarda is an Australian Aboriginal language. ...

Non-Pama Nyungan languages

• Enindhilyagwa (Andilyaugwa, Anindilyakwa)
• Garawa
• Iwaidja
• Kakadu (Gaagudju)
• Laragiya
• Lardil and Damin
• Minkin (extinct)
• Ngurmbur
• Tiwi
• Umbugarla

The Enindhilyagwa language, also spelled Andilyaugwa and Anindilyakwa, is an Australian language isolate spoken by the Warnindhilyagwa people on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia. ... Garawa (or Garrwa, Gaarwa, Karawa, Leearrawa) is a recently extinct Australian Aborginal language of northern Australia. ... Iwaidja, in phonemic spelling Iwaja, is an Australian language with about 150 speakers in northernmost Australia. ... The Kakadu or Gaagudju language was an Australian language isolate spoken in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, in the environs of Kakadu National Park. ... The Laragiya language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just six people near the city of Darwin in northern Australia as of 1983. ... A secret language spoken in the Gulf of Carpentaria used in mens initiation rites. ... The Minkin language is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language, perhaps a language isolate, of northern Australia. ... The Ngumbur language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just one person in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, as of 1981. ... Tiwi is a language spoken on the Tiwi Islands. ... The Umbugarla language is an Australian language isolate spoken by just three people in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, as of 1981. ...

See also

• Australian Aborigines
• List of Indigenous Australian group names
• Australian Aboriginal sign languages

Indigenous Australians are the first inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands, continuing their presence during European settlement. ... This List of Indigenous Australian group names contains names and collective designations which have been applied, either formerly or in the past, to groups of Indigenous Australians. ... Many Australian Aboriginal cultures have or traditionally had a sign language counterpart to their spoken language. ...

References

• Dixon, R. M. W. 2002. Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development.
• Evans, Nicholas (ed.). 2003. The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia: comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically complex region. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• McConvell, Patrick and Nicholas Evans. (eds.) 1997. Archaeology and Linguistics: Global Perspectives on Ancient Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press

External links

• Aboriginal Languages of Australia
• The Horton map of Australian indigenous languages
• Languages of Australia, as listed by Ethnologue
• National Indigenous Languages Survey Report 2005 PDF format, size 2.6 MB http://www.dcita.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/35637/NILS_Repport_2005.pdf