Southwest Pama–Nyungan | |
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Geographic distribution: |
Southwestern Australia |
Linguistic classification: | Pama–Nyungan
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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.
The Kanyara and Mantharta languages appear to be the most divergent of the Southwest languages. The others are sometimes collected under the name Nyungic.
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.