Southwest Pama–Nyungan languages

Southwest Pama–Nyungan
Geographic distribution:	Southwestern Australia
Linguistic classification:	Pama–Nyungan Southwest Pama–Nyungan
Subdivisions:	Kanyara Mantharta Nyungic
Glottolog:	sout3134
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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.

• Kanyara
• Mantharta
• Nyungic
  • Ngayarda
  • Kartu
  • Nyungar
  • Mangarla
  • Mirning (Mirniny)
  • Wati (Western Desert language)
  • Marrngu
  • Ngarrka–Ngumpin
  • Yura

Validity

The proposal has been largely abandoned. Bowern (2011) restricts "Southwest Pama–Nyungan" to Nyungar plus Kalaaku. (See Nyungic languages.)

References

• Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.