Pama-Nyungan

English edit

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Pama-Nyungan languages

Etymology edit

From pama (“man, person”) (in several northeast Australian Aboriginal languages) + nyungaa (“man, person”) (in several southwestern Australian Aboriginal languages) +‎ -an. Apparently coined by American linguist Kenneth L. Hale (1934-2001), to show the vast geographical extent of the family.

Pronunciation edit

(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌpamə-ˈnjʊŋən/
(UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpʌməˈnjʊŋən/, /ˌpaməˈnjʊŋən/

Proper noun edit

Pama-Nyungan

(linguistics) A proposed language family encompassing most Australian Aboriginal languages, including Pitjantjatjara and Warlpiri, but excluding those spoken in the northwest. [from 1960s]

Derived terms edit

Proto-Pama-Nyungan