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Macro-Pama-Nyungan languages

Australian Language Families

Macro-Pama-Nyungan is an umbrella term for a proposed Indigenous Australian language family, coined by linguist Nicholas Evans in his 1996 book Archaeology and Linguistics: Aboriginal Australia in Global Perspective, co-authored with Patrick McConvell. The term reflects Evans's theory that two of the largest Indigenous Australian language families share a common origin and should be classified together as a single family.

Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language Status
No proto-language established; the classification is inconclusive and widely dissented 1
Region
Across Australia, from Arnhem Land in the north to the southwest 1
Sources
1. Macro-Pama-Nyungan languages - Wikipedia
  • Geographic distribution
    geographically spreads across the continent from Arnhem Land in Northern Australia to Southwestern Australia
  • Status of the proposal
    Macro-Pama-Nyungan is an inconclusive language family classification that is widely dissented by linguists in the Aboriginal Australian language community.
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