Yiwaidjan languages
| Iwaidjan | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution |
Cobourg Peninsula region, Northern Territory |
| Linguistic classification |
Arnhem Land?
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| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | iwai1246 |
Iwaidjan languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)
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.png) Closeup. Amurdag is the southern section (tan), Wurrugu the tip of the peninsula (green), the rest Iwaidjic (purple). On the grey island just offshore is Marrgu, once thought to be Iwaidjan.
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The Iwaidjan or Yiwaidjan languages are a small family of non-Pama–Nyungan Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula region of Western Arnhem Land.
In 1997 Nicholas Evans proposed an Arnhem Land family that includes the Iwaidjan languages, though their inclusion is not accepted in Bowern (2011).
Garig (†)
Ilgar (†)
Manangkari (†)
Amurdag (nearly extinct)
Garig and Ilgar are two almost identical dialects. Manangkari may be a dialect of Maung.
Dixon (2002) considers Warrkbi demonstrated, but Iwaidjic (Warrkbi-Maung) and Iwaidjan to be speculative. He predicts that working out the histories of the languages will be a "profound challenge", regardless of whether they are a genealogical family or a language area.
Marrgu and Wurrugu, previously lumped in with Iwaidjan, have little in common with it and may turn out to be a separate family.
Iwaidja is spoken by about 150 people in the community of Minjilang on Croker Island, alongside English, Kunwinjku and Maung. Maung is primarily spoken in the community of Warruwi on Goulburn Island, and it too has about 150 speakers. Both languages are still being learnt by children.
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