Australia. Guide to Australia

‘Languages ​​of Aboriginal Australia’

By the beginning of European colonization, there were approximately. 300 тыс. Australians, More than 260 languages. In 19 – the early. 20 Centuries. Aboriginal population is constantly declining, in the 2nd polovine20 in. there were approximately. 160 тыс. people. (with the Métis), Australian languages ​​but possess no more than 50% of them.Thd

Of 200 avctraliyskih languages ​​large part on the verge of extinction. Only in the «language of the Western Desert»they say 4 Thd. people., number of speakers of other languages – from a few to several hundred people. Many Australian languages ​​have many dialects, because of the significant lexical differences between the native understanding of some of them can not be. It is difficult to distinguish languages ​​and dialects,bringing the total number of Australian languages ​​are sometimes estimated to be 500-600.

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Most Australian languages ​​have a material and typological proximity at all levels of linguistic structure, with some variety of vocabulary. In Australian languages, Usually, no fricatives, No opposition to the Deaf- voiced; subsystems and explosive nose to have 6 members (билабиальный, interdental,apical, ретрофлексный, палатальный, velar); there is 4 lateral, vybranty 3 glide (билабиальный, ретрофлексный, палатальн�cacuminbilabial

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The classification is based on the works of Nick Evans and his colleagues, identifying the main gaps to other classifications.

* Nyulnyulskaya family (Nyulnyulan) (8 languages ​​in the two branches)

* Vororskaya (Wororan) (7-12 languages ​​in the three branches of) , consisting of three independent families: Worrora, И Ungarinjin Wunambal]

* Punupskaya (Bunuban) (2 language in the two branches)

* Tyarrakskaya (Jarrakan / Djeragan) (3-5 languages ​​in the two branches)

* Йиррамская (tyamyntyunhskaya; Yirram; 2-4 Languages)

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