Indigenous Australian languages
345155
226182911
2008-07-17T05:37:15Z
Escarbot
1554195
robot Adding: [[bn:অস্ট্রেলীয় আদিবাসী ভাষাসমূহ]]
{{Redirect|Australian languages|post-colonisation languages|Languages of Australia}}
The '''[[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous Australian]] languages''' comprise several [[Language families and languages|language families]] and [[language isolates|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 in recent decades.
In the late 18th century, there were between 350 and 750 distinct Aboriginal social groupings, and a similar number of languages or [[dialect]]s.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} At the start of the 21st century, fewer than 200 indigenous languages remain and all except roughly 20 are highly endangered. Of those that survive, only 10%, usually located in the most isolated areas, are being learned by children. For example of the 5 least endangered Western Australian Aboriginal languages, 4 belong to the [[Ngaanyatjarra]] grouping of the Central and [[Great Victoria Desert]]. [[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 were not learning English at school. A couple of the most populous Australian languages, such as [[Warlpiri language|Warlpiri]] and [[Tiwi language|Tiwi]], have around 3000 speakers.
The [[Tasmanian Aborigine|Tasmanian people]] were nearly wiped out early in Australia's colonial history, and [[Tasmanian languages|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.
==Common features==
The Australian languages form a language area or ''[[Sprachbund]]'', sharing much of their vocabulary and sharing many distinctive [[phonology|phonological]] features across the entire continent.
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 [[taboo]]s during extended periods of mourning or initiation that have led to a large number of [[Australian Aboriginal sign languages|Aboriginal sign languages]].
For [[morphosyntactic alignment]], many Australian languages have [[ergative case|ergative]]-[[absolutive case]] systems. These are typically [[Split ergativity|split]] systems; a widespread pattern is for [[pronoun]]s (or [[first person|first]] and [[second person]]) to have [[nominative case|nominative]]-[[accusative case]] marking and for [[third person]] to be [[ergative-absolutive]], though splits between [[animacy#Animacy hierarchy and split ergativity|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 language|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.
===Phonetics and phonology===
====Segmental inventory====
A typical Australian phonological inventory includes just three vowels, usually {{IPA|[a, i, u]}}, which may occur in both long and short variants. In a few cases the {{IPA|[u]}} has been [[roundedness|unrounded]] to give {{IPA|[a, i, ɯ]}}.
There is almost never a [[voiced consonant|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 [[fricative]]s, even of {{IPA|[h]}}. In the few cases where fricatives do occur, they developed recently through the [[lenition]] (weakening) of stops, and are therefore non-sibilants like {{IPA|[ð]}} rather than [[sibilant]]s like {{IPA|[s]}} which are so much more common elsewhere in the world. Some languages also have three [[rhotic consonant|rhotics]] (''R'' sounds), typically a [[flap consonant|flap]], a [[trill consonant|trill]], and an [[approximant consonant|approximant]]; that is, like the combined ''R'''s of rhotic [[English language|English]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].
A notable exception to this generalization is [[Kala Lagaw Ya language|Kala Lagaw Ya]], which has an inventory much more similar to its [[Papuan languages|Papuan]] neighbours than to the languages of the Australian mainland. [[Kunjen language|Kunjen]] has also developed contrasting [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated plosives]] ({{IPA|[p<sup>h</sup>]}}, {{IPA|[t̪<sup>h</sup>]}}, {{IPA|[t<sup>h</sup>]}}, {{IPA|[c<sup>h</sup>]}}, {{IPA|[k<sup>h</sup>]}}) not found further south.
Besides the lack of fricatives, the most striking feature of Australian speech sounds are the large number of [[place of articulation|places of articulation]]. Nearly every language has four places in the [[coronal consonant|coronal]] region, either [[phoneme|phonemically]] or [[allophone|allophonically]] This is accomplished through two variables: the position of the tongue (front or back), and its shape (pointed or flat). Both [[plosive consonant|plosives]] and [[nasal consonant|nasals]] occur at all six places, and in some languages [[lateral consonant|laterals]] occur at all four coronal places, where laterals are possible. There are also [[bilabial consonant|bilabial]], [[velar consonant|velar]] and often [[voiceless palatal plosive|palatal]] consonants, but a complete absence of [[uvular consonant|uvular]] or [[glottal consonant]]s.
A language which displays the full range of stops and laterals is [[Kalkutungu language|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 language|Yanyuwa]] has even more contrasts, with an additional true dorso-palatal series, plus [[prenasalized stop]]s at all ''seven'' places of articulation, in addition to all four laterals.
====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 consonant|alveolar]] (that is, pronounced by touching the tongue to the ridge just behind the gum line of the upper teeth) and [[apical consonant|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 [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]].
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 consonant|postalveolar]] or [[palatal consonant|prepalatal]] region. The articulation is actually most commonly [[sub-apical consonant|sub-apical]]; that is, the tongue curls back so that the ''underside'' of the tip makes contact. That is, they are true [[retroflex consonant]]s. It has been suggested that sub-apical pronunciation is characteristic of more careful speech, while these sounds tend to be apical in rapid speech.
The "dental" series ''th, nh, lh'' are always [[laminal consonant|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 consonant|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 consonant|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 language|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.
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 languages|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 consonant|palato-alveolar]] [[affricate consonant|affricate]] ''ch'' or the [[Polish language|Polish]] [[alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]] affricate ''ć''. That is, these consonants are not [[palatal consonant|palatal]] in the IPA sense of the term, and indeed they contrast with true palatals in [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]].
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|Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages}}
Probably every Australian language with speakers remaining has had an orthography developed for it, in each case in the [[Latin alphabet]]. Sounds not found in English are usually represented by [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s, or more rarely by [[diacritic]]s, such as underlines, or extra symbols, sometimes borrowed from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]. Some examples are shown in the following table.
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Language
! scope="col" | Example
! scope="col" | Translation
! scope="col" | Type
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Pitjantjatjara language|Pitjantjatjara]]
| pa'''<u>n</u>'''a
| 'earth, dirt, ground; land'
| diacritic (underline) indicates retroflex 'n'
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Wajarri language|Wajarri]]
| '''nh'''a'''nh'''a
| 'this, this one'
| digraph indicating 'n' with dental articulation
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Gupapuyŋu language|Gupapuyŋu]]
| yol'''ŋ'''u
| 'person, man'
| ''''[[ŋ]]'''' (from [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]) for velar nasal
|}
==Classification==
[[Image:Australian languages.png|thumb|300px|A language map, different colours represent different language families. From west to east:
{{legend|#66ffcc|[[Nyulnyulan languages|Nyulnyulan]]}}
{{legend|#ff99cc|[[Bunaban languages|Bunaban]]}}
{{legend|#ffcc66|[[Wororan languages|Wororan]]}}
{{legend|#ff6666|[[Djeragan languages|Djeragan]]}}
{{legend|#cc6699|[[Djamindjungan languages|Djamindjungan]]}}
{{legend|#99ff66|[[Daly languages|Daly]]}}
{{legend|#cccc66|[[Laragiya language|Laragiya]]}}
{{legend|#cc9966|[[Tiwi language|Tiwi]]}}
{{legend|#339999|[[Limilngan languages|Limilngan]]}}
{{legend|#cc6666|[[Umbugarla language|Umbugarla]]}}
{{legend|#9966ff|[[Giimbiyu languages|Giimbiyu]]}}
{{legend|#66cc66|[[Yiwaidjan languages|Yiwaidjan]]}}
{{legend|#ff9966|[[Gunwinyguan languages|Gunwinyguan]]}}
{{legend|#6666ff|[[West Barkly languages|West Barkly]]}}
{{legend|#cc66ff|[[Garawa language|Garawa]] plus some [[Tankic languages|Tankic]] and [[Pama-Nyungan languages]]}}
{{legend|#ffff66|[[Pama-Nyungan languages|Pama-Nyungan]] plus some [[Tankic languages]]}}
]]
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 thesis.
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|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.
*Language isolates:
**'''[[Enindhilyagwa language|Enindhilyagwa]]''' (Andilyaugwa)
**'''[[Laragiya language|Laragiya]]''' (extinct?)
**'''[[Ngurmbur language|Ngurmbur]]''' (extinct? perhaps a member of Macro-Pama-Nyungan)
**'''[[Tiwi language|Tiwi]]'''
*Established families:
**'''[[Bunaban languages|Bunaban]]''' (2 languages in two branches)
**'''[[Daly languages|Daly]]''' (11-19 languages in four branches, including Murrinh-Patha)
**'''[[Limilngan languages|Limilngan]]''' (2 languages, extinct?)
**'''[[Djeragan languages|Djeragan]]''' (3-5 languages in two branches)
**'''[[Nyulnyulan languages|Nyulnyulan]]''' (8 languages in two branches)
**'''[[Wororan languages|Wororan]]''' (7-12 languages in three branches)
*Newly proposed families:
**'''[[Mindi languages|Mindi]]''', consisting of
***'''[[Djamindjungan languages|Djamindjungan]]''' (2-4 languages)
***'''[[West Barkly languages|West Barkly]]''' (3 languages in two branches)
**'''[[Arnhem Land languages|Arnhem Land]] macrofamily''', consisting of
***'''[[Burarran languages|Burarran]]''' (4 languages in three subfamilies, including [N]djeebbana and Nakkara)
***'''[[Yiwaidjan languages|Yiwaidjan]]''' (4-8 languages in three-four branches)
***'''[[Giimbiyu languages|Giimbiyu]]''' (2-3 languages in two branches)
***the '''[[Kakadu language|Kakadu]]''' (Gaagudju) isolate (extinct?)
***the '''[[Umbugarla language|Umbugarla]]''' isolate (extinct?)
**'''[[Macro-Pama-Nyungan languages|Macro-Pama Nyungan]]''', consisting of
***(Perhaps) the '''Ngurmbur''' isolate
***'''[[Gunwinyguan languages|Gunwinyguan]]''' (15-17 languages in six branches, including the Maran languages and the Kungarakany isolate)
***'''[[Pama-Nyungan languages|Greater Pama-Nyungan]]''':
****'''[[Tankic languages|Tankic]]''' (4 languages in two branches)
****the '''[[Garawa language|Garawa]]''' isolate (1 or 2 languages)
****'''[[Pama-Nyungan 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.
===Languages===
{{main|List of Australian Aboriginal languages}}
==See also==
*[[Australian Aboriginal sign languages]]
* [[Gunwinyguan languages]]
*[[Indigenous Australians|Australian Aborigines]]
*[[List of Indigenous Australian group names]]
*[[List of Australian place names of Aboriginal origin]]
*[[Macro-Pama-Nyungan languages]]
*[[Southwest Pama-Nyungan languages]]
*[[List of Australian repeated place names]]
==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
{{Nofootnotes|date=February 2008}}
==External links==
*[http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesoceanie/oceanie.htm Map of indigenous Australian languages] from Muturzikin.com
*[http://www.dnathan.com/VL/austLang.htm Aboriginal Languages of Australia]
*[http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/pathways.asp The Horton map of Australian indigenous languages]
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AU Languages of Australia], as listed by [[Ethnologue]]
*[http://www.dcita.gov.au/indig/maintenance_indigenous_languages/publications 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
*[http://mundula.cs.mu.oz.au:3051/wild/browseprofiles.php AIATSIS Language guide]
*[http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/aboriginal_studies_press/aboriginal_wall_map/map_page AIATSIS clickable map]
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=aus Ethnolog report on all languages by alphabetical order]
{{AusLang}}
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal languages| ]]
[[an:Luengas australianas]]
[[bn:অস্ট্রেলীয় আদিবাসী ভাষাসমূহ]]
[[ca:Llengües australianes]]
[[de:Australische Sprachen]]
[[es:Lenguas aborígenes australianas]]
[[eo:Aŭstralia lingvaro]]
[[fr:Langues aborigènes d'Australie]]
[[ko:오스트레일리아 원주민 언어]]
[[it:Lingue aborigene australiane]]
[[la:Linguae Australianae]]
[[lt:Australijos aborigenų kalbos]]
[[hu:Ausztráliai nyelvek]]
[[no:Australske språk]]
[[nn:Australske språk]]
[[pl:Języki australijskie]]
[[ru:Австралийские языки]]
[[sv:Australiska språk]]
[[uk:Австралійські мови]]