The Daly languages are an areal group of four to five families of Indigenous Australian languages centered on the Daly River region of the Northern Territory, comprising the Wagaydyic, Malak-Malak, Western Daly, Eastern Daly and Southern Daly groups. Linguist Ian Green found that the constituent families could not be shown to be related by the comparative method, so most classifications now treat them as independent families sharing an area rather than a common ancestor.
Facts
RegionDaly River region, Northern Territory, Australia 1 Proto-Language StatusNo common proto-language shown; the constituent families could not be shown to be related by the comparative method 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Daly Languages
WikipediaLead paragraph, second sentence
They are spoken within the vicinity of the Daly River in the Northern Territory.
Classification section
Linguist Ian Green found that the languages could not be shown to be related by the comparative method, and so should be considered five independent families and language isolates.
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