Southwest Pama–Nyungan languages

Southwest Pama–Nyungan
Geographic
distribution:
Southwestern Australia
Linguistic classification: Pama–Nyungan
  • Southwest Pama–Nyungan
Subdivisions:

The Southwest Pama–Nyungan or Nyungic language group is the most diverse and widespread, though hypothetical, subfamily of the Pama–Nyungan language family of Australia. It contains about fifty distinct languages.

Internal classification

The Kanyara and Mantharta languages appear to be the most divergent of the Southwest languages. The others are sometimes collected under the name Nyungic.

Validity

Dixon (2002), who rejects the validity of Pama–Nyungan, accepts that Ngarrga (Yapa) and Ngumpin have been demonstrated, but believes that they can only be shown to be related by reconstructing their protolanguages. McConvell and Laughren published such a reconstruction in 2004. Dixon also accepts part of Yura as a valid group.

References