Australian Aboriginal languages

The Australian languages ​​are the languages ​​that are spoken by the indigenous people of Australia. They comprise several language families and isolated languages ​​in Australia and some surrounding islands, the island of Tasmania is not usually included as well. The relationships between these languages ​​are still not fully understood, although in recent decades, research has made substantial progress. Anthropologists distinguish about 250 languages, with the distinction of languages ​​and dialects in detail is very difficult. All Australian languages ​​are now extinct or threatened with extinction.

The Tasmanians were almost completely wiped out during the colonial period, and the Tasmanian languages ​​died out before them essential recordings could be made. The population of Tasmania was cut off from the mainland since the last ice age and apparently over 10,000 years without any contact with the outside world. We know too little to be able to classify their languages ​​clearly can, but it seems that they had some phonological similarities with the languages ​​of the mainland.

Number of languages

It is controversial how many languages ​​were spoken in Australia before the arrival of Europeans. The figures vary between 200 and 300 However, it agrees mostly on 250 for the fluctuating data, there are mainly two reasons:

• It is often difficult to distinguish between language and dialect. The main distinguishing criterion - mutual understanding - is often not applicable because multilingualism in Australia is widespread. Many Aboriginal people speak the languages ​​of the surrounding tribes.
• Furthermore, all languages ​​have not been sufficiently documented to decide whether they are a dialect or a separate language. The statements of the Aborigines themselves to be scientifically useful. Most of them feel that the classification dialect as disparagement of their own language.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics collects all languages ​​with more than 3 speakers and counted 2005 170 Australian languages.

Current status

After RMW Dixon's standard work in 2002, there were in Australia at the time of arrival of the Europeans 250 individual languages. Half of them are now extinct. Only 20 languages ​​are still actively passed on to children. This is largely the result of the Language of previous Australian governments who sought to eradicate culture and languages ​​of the Aborigines, which was followed by sanctions, forced relocation or sterilization. From 1900 to 1972 also were at least 35,000 children, the "Stolen Generation", torn from their families and taken to homes of church or other charitable organizations.

The remaining about 100 languages ​​have only middle or old age speaker, so that will disappear from these languages ​​continually more. The study of McConvell, Patrick & Nicholas animal Berger from 2001 concludes that - with continued development - in 2050 all Australian languages ​​will be extinct. They believe that only two or three of the strong language - for example, Warlpiri, Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte - will survive maybe a generation or two longer.

Since the 1970s, some language centers have been established, which play an important role in maintaining and in some cases even revitalization of Australian languages ​​, such as the Kimberley Language Resource Centre in Halls Creek (Western Australia).

Formation and breakdown of the Australian languages

From a linguistic point of view can be divided into two groups, the Australian languages ​​. So different Arthur Capell (1956 ) between languages ​​with exclusively suffixes and prefixes and suffixes languages ​​. The latter are spoken in northern Australia between the Kimberley in the west and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the east. The first group covers the entire rest of the continent.

O'Grady, Wurm and Hale 1966 suggested that the suffix - group is a closely related family of languages ​​, which extends over seven-eighths of the continent and in the words for " man " in the two most remote areas of this language family of northeastern Queensland and in the southwest of Western Australia " Pama - Nyunga " shall be called. The other group - with prefixes and suffixes - is accordingly called "non- Pama - Nyunga ". It forms no single language family, but was initially divided into 28 and later in 26 language families.

The classification is controversial. So after Dixon 1980, 1990 and 2002 are the languages ​​of the Pama - Nyunga group a Sprachbund, so a group of languages ​​that are very long and very intense had contact and influence each other, here. However, the latter had so far not sure prove. Dixon's theory starts from a slow convergence between adjacent languages ​​, which eventually levels off at around fifty percent the same vocabulary. This model result, however, can find nowhere on the continent.

After O'Grady, Wurm and Hale 1966, submitted the original language, the proto- Australian, first in the north of the continent, from where a group then further moved to the south and spread there steadily over the centuries. This group spoke a Proto - Pama - Nyunga from which many closely related languages ​​developed in the north. The Non- Pama - Nyunga in the north, however, are closer to the Australian proto-language. The Pama - Nyunga languages ​​then developed further and changed.

Dixon, however, thinks that the languages ​​have changed individually and selectively only after the colonization of the continent. Subsequently, these changes have been taken over by contact and multilingualism in the surrounding languages. The most radical change took place here in the north where languages ​​have prefixes " introduced " or "invented". After Dixon put the Pama - Nyunga languages ​​so no language family is, but rather have similar characteristics in their structure and in vocabulary. However, Dixon can not explain why the language in the north so much more variety show than the languages ​​in the south. Both positions are represented by various linguists. Further research in linguistics, archeology and anthropology will hopefully soon decide this debate.

Language groups

• Nyulnyulan
• Bunaban
• Wororan
• Djeragan
• Djamindjungan
• Daly
• Laragiya
• Tiwi
• Limilngan
• Umbugarla
• Giimbiyu
• Yiwaidjan
• Gunwinyguan
• Barkly West
• Garawa and Tankic and Pama - Nyungan
• Pama - Nyungan and Tankic languages

Traditionally, the Australian languages ​​were divided into two dozen language families. Below the display appears the genetic relatedness as suggested by Nick Evans et al. The University of Melbourne, together with data on the number of individual languages ​​. Note that various languages ​​are different, for example RR = R, b = p, t = d, g = k = dj j = t j = c i, j = y, y = l, w = u, u = oo, e = a

• Isolated Languages ​​: Enindhilyagwa ( Andilyaugwa )
• Laragiya ( extinct? )
• Ngurmbur ( extinct? Perhaps part of Macro - Pama - Nyungan )
• Tiwi

• Bunaban (2 languages)
• Daly (11-19 languages)
• Limilngan (2 languages ​​, extinct? )
• Djeragan (3-5 languages)
• Nyulnyulan ( 8 languages)
• Wororan (7-12 languages)

• Mindi, consisting of Djamindjungan (2-4 languages)
• Barkly West ( 3 languages)

• Burarran (4 languages)
• Yiwaidjan (4-8 languages)
• Giimbiyu (2-3 languages)
• Cockatoo ( Gaagudju ) (1 language ) ( extinct)
• Umbugarla (1 language ) ( extinct? )

• Ngurmbur (1 language )
• Gunwinyguan (15-17 languages)
• Greater Pama - Nyunga Tankic (4 languages)
• Garawa (1 or 2 languages)
• Pama - Nyunga ( about 175 languages ​​in 14 still exist today, and many other extinct groups)

There are also isolated the language Minkin, on the too little material is still there, in order to conclusively determine whether it belongs to at most one of the groups Yiwaidjan or Tankic.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics fässt the languages ​​in the following groups:

• Arnhem Land and Daly River Region Languages
• Yolngu Matha
• Cape York Peninsula Languages
• Torres Strait Iceland Languages
• Northern Desert Fringe Area Languages
• Arandic
• Western Desert Language
• Kimberley Area Languages
• Other Australian Indigenous Languages