The Gippsland languages are a family of Pama–Nyungan languages of Australia.[1] They were spoken in the Gippsland region, the southernmost part of mainland Australia, on the Bass Strait. There are three rather distant branches; these are often considered single languages, though the dialects of Gaanay are sometimes counted separately:
| Gippsland | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Gippsland, New South Wales |
| Linguistic classification | Pama–Nyungan
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Glottolog | None gana1268 (Birrdhawal) dhud1237 (Dhudhuroa–Pallanganmiddang) |
 Gippsland languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan). The section on the coast is Gaanay. | |
- Gippsland
- Gaanay (Kurnai)
- Muk-thang
- Nulit
- Thangquai
- Bidhawal
- Dhudhuroa
- Pallanganmiddang
- Gaanay (Kurnai)
All are now extinct. The Gippsland languages, especially Gaanay, have phonotactics that are unusual for mainland Australian languages, but characteristic of Tasmanian languages.
This article needs to be updated. (February 2015) |
[East Victoria = Yorta-Yortic + Gaanay + Pallanganmiddang (Dhudhuroa not addressed)]
References edit
- ^ Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)