Daly languages
Regional group of Australian language families
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The Daly languages are an areal group of four to five language families of Indigenous Australian languages.[1][2] They are spoken within the vicinity of the Daly River in the Northern Territory.
distributionDaly River region, northern Australia
| Daly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (geographic) | |||
| Geographic distribution | Daly River region, northern Australia | ||
| Linguistic classification | Geographic group of Australian language families. | ||
| Subdivisions | |||
| Language codes | |||
| Glottolog | None | ||
The Daly languages (color), among the other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey) | |||
.png) Closeup. Anson Bay is the northernmost section, Murrinh-patha the westernmost.
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Classification
In the lexicostatistic classification of O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin, the Daly languages were put in four distinct families.[3] Darrell Tryon combined these into a single family, with the exception of Murrinh-patha.[4][5] However, such methodologies are less effective with languages with a long history of word borrowing.
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.[6] The features they do share also tend to be shared with neighboring languages outside the Daly group.
The established families (according to Nordlinger) are:
Malak-Malak and Wagaydyic were once considered grouped into a Northern Daly family. Contemporary classifications may use Northern Daly to refer to Malak-Malak to the exclusion of the Wagaydyic languages (as Nordlinger does).
Vocabulary
Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items for three Daly languages:[7]
gloss Mulluk Mulluk
(Northern Daly)Marithiel
(Western Daly)Nanggumiri
(Southern Daly)man jinja mäɽi meːbur woman aluwaɽa mogo walmi head bundu biji däbi eye numuru miɽi damɔi nose jinin jɛn dedji mouth aɽe ŋaɭ dedir tongue njändilg ŋaɭ ḏiri-ḏiri daːŋ stomach mɛn maři dɛːgɛː bone muɽid amuwa ami blood dawud wogirin budjän kangaroo djɛjud awɛdjiwuruŋ djawugu possum wiju abujiri abundarmi emu amuɽdjiːr crow waŋgir awag awaŋgi fly ŋudjun awamir ami sun miɽi bandi miːri moon jɛl biŋgal diwin fire djiäŋ djändji jäŋgi smoke wɛn djämu jäŋgi dawan water waːg wodi guɽu