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The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 up to possibly 363. The Indigenous languages of Australia comprise numerous language families and isolates, perhaps as many as 13, spoken by the Indigenous peoples of mainland Australia and a few nearby islands. The relationships between the language families are not clear at present although there are proposals to link some into larger groupings. Despite this uncertainty, the Indigenous Australian languages are collectively covered by the technical term "Australian languages", or the "Australian family".
The Pama–Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian Aboriginal languages, containing 306 out of 400 Aboriginal languages in 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 and the Nyungan languages of southwest Australia.
The Tasmanian languages were the languages indigenous to the island of Tasmania, used by Aboriginal Tasmanians. The languages were last used for daily communication in the 1830s, although the terminal speaker, Fanny Cochrane Smith, survived until 1905.
The Ngarna or Warluwar(r)ic languages are a discontinuous primary branch of the Pama–Nyungan language family of Australia. The moribund Yanyuwa language is the only survivor of this group.
The Gippsland languages are a family of Pama–Nyungan languages of Australia. They were spoken in the Gippsland region, the southernmost part of mainland Australia, on the Bass Strait. There are three rather distant branches; these are often considered single languages, though the dialects of Gaanay are sometimes counted separately:
Northeastern Tasmanian is an aboriginal language family of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.
Eastern Tasmanian is an aboriginal language family of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.
Northern Tasmanian is an aboriginal language family of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.
Western Tasmanian is an aboriginal language family of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.
Northern Tasmanian, or Tommeginne (Tommeeginnee), is an aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.
Port Sorell is an extinct aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken near Port Sorell, in the center of the north coast, just east of Northern Tasmanian proper. Dixon & Crowley agree that there is unlikely to be a close connection to other varieties of Tasmanian.
Northwestern Tasmanian, or Peerapper ("Pirapa"), is an aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken along the west coast of the island, from Macquarie Harbour north to Circular Head and Robbins Island.
Southwestern Tasmanian, or Toogee, is a possible aboriginal language of Tasmania. It is the most poorly attested known variety of Tasmanian, and it is not clear how distinct it was. It was apparently spoken along the west coast of the island, south of Macquarie Harbour.
Northeastern Tasmanian, or Pyemmairre, is an aboriginal language of Tasmania.
North Midland Tasmanian, or Tyerrernotepanner ("Cheranotipana"), was an aboriginal language of northeastern Tasmania, along the Tamar River and inland of Ben Lomond and Great Oyster Bay.
"Lhotsky/Blackhouse" is an aboriginal Tasmanian language identified in the reconstructions of Claire Bowern. It was presumably spoken somewhere in the northeast of Tasmania, but the original location of the speakers was not recorded.
Little Swanport Tasmanian is an aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken near the modern town of Little Swanport on the east coast. Dixon & Crowley had noted that it appeared to be distinct, but were not sure if it constituted a separate language from other word lists collected near Oyster Bay.
Paredarerme or Oyster Bay Tasmanian is an aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken along the central eastern coast of the island by the Oyster Bay tribe, and in the interior by the Big River tribe. Records of the Big River dialect, Lairmairrener ("Lemerina"), indicate that it was no more distinct than the vocabularies collected along the coast around Oyster Bay; indeed, Little Swanport appears to have been a separate language.
Nuenonne ("Nyunoni"), or Southeast Tasmanian, is an Aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken along the southeastern mainland of the island by the Bruny tribe.
Bruny Island Tasmanian, or Nuenonne ("Nyunoni"), a name shared with Southeast Tasmanian, is an Aboriginal language or pair of languages of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken on Bruny Island, off the southeastern coast of Tasmania, by the Bruny tribe.
References
- ↑ Bowern, Claire (2012). "The riddle of Tasmanian languages". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 279 (1747): 4590–4595. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1842 . PMC 3479735 .
- ↑ Bowern (2012), supplement
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