Arnhem Land languages

Arnhem Land
Geographic distribution:	northern Australia
Linguistic classification:	recently proposed family of Australian languages.
Subdivisions:	Burarran Iwaidjan Giimbiyu Gaagudju Umbugarla
Bunuban   Umbugarla   Giimbiyu   Yiwaidjan Burarran is the orarge area at the northern coast.

The Arnhem Land languages are a proposed Australian language family spoken over a large part of Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The languages within the group are distinctive and not mutually intelligible.

The traditionally accepted languages families included in this proposal are,

• Burarran;
• Iwaidjan;
• Giimbiyu;
• Gaagudju language; and
• Umbugarla language.

If this proposal withstands scrutiny, it will be the second or third-largest language family in Australia, after Pama–Nyungan and perhaps Gunwinyguan.

References

• McConvell, Patrick and Nicholas Evans. (eds.) 1997. Archaeology and Linguistics: Global Perspectives on Ancient Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press