Mirndi languages

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Mirndi
Mindi
Geographic
distribution
Victoria River and Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory
Linguistic classificationOne of the world's primary language families
Subdivisions
Glottologmirn1241
  Yirram
  Barkly (Jingulu + Ngurlun)
  other non-Pama–Nyungan families

The Mirndi or Mindi languages are an Australian language family spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia. The family consists of two sub-groups and an isolate branch: the Yirram languages, and the Ngurlun languages and Jingulu language some 200 km farther to the southeast, separated by the Ngumpin languages.[1][2] The primary difference between the two sub-groups is that while the Yirram languages are all prefixing like other non-Pama–Nyungan languages, the Ngurlun languages are all suffixing like most Pama–Nyungan languages.[3]

The name of the family is derived from the dual inclusive pronoun ('we', in the sense of 'you and I') which is shared by all the languages in the family in the form of either mind- or mirnd-.[1]

Classification[edit]

The family has been generally accepted after being first established by Neil Chadwick in the early 1980s. The genetic relationship is primarily based upon morphology and not lexical comparison,[3] with the strongest evidence being found among the pronouns. However, "there are very few other systematic similarities in other areas of grammar[, which] throw some doubts on the Mirndi classification, making it less secure than generally accepted."[4] Nonetheless, as of 2008 proto-Mirndi has been reconstructed.[5]

Mirndi 
 Yirram 

Nungali

Jaminjung

Jingulu

 Ngurlun 

Ngarnka

Wambaya

An additional language may be added, Ngaliwurru. However, it is unsure whether it is a language on its own, or merely a dialect of the Jaminjung language.[2][6][7][8][9] The same is true for Gudanji and Binbinka, although these are generally considered dialects of the Wambaya language. These three dialects are collectively referred to as the McArthur River languages.[3][8][10]

Vocabulary[edit]

Due to the close contact been the Yirram languages and the Ngurlun languages, and the Ngumpin languages and other languages as well, many of the cognates that the Yirram and Ngurlun languages share may in fact be loanwords, especially of Ngumpin origin.[1] For instance, while the Barkly language Jingulu only shares 9% of its vocabulary with its Yirram relative, the Ngaliwurru dialect of the Jaminjung language, it shares 28% with the nearby Ngumpin language Mudburra.[3]

The Jingulu language shares 29% and 28% of its vocabulary with the Wambaya language and the Ngarnka language respectively. The Ngarnka language shares 60% of its vocabulary with the Wambaya language, while the Wambaya language shares 69% and 78% with its dialects, Binbinka and Gudanji, respectively. Finally, these two dialects share 88% of their vocabulary.[10]

Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[11]

gloss Nungali Jilngali Djämindjung Ngaliwuru
man diːimbul djumbul djumbul djumbul
woman njäŋaːruŋ ŋaruŋ malɛji ŋaruŋ
head niimburu guɽunjuŋ gulaga djumburu
eye mijaŋargin djuwud djuwad djuwud
nose nijuija djuwija djuwija djuwija
mouth nijara djära djära djära
tongue niaŋandjilin djalaṉ djalaṉ djalan
stomach meuŋug buru magala magala
bone guːdjin bunu, gujuwan gujuwan gujuwan
blood guŋulu garŋan wurinjun guŋulu
kangaroo dijaŋara jaŋara jaŋara jaŋara
opossum djaŋana ŋurgudi djägulädji djägulädji
emu gumurindji
crow duagirag waŋguɽin waŋgina waŋgina
fly diridjburu gunäma nämbul gunäma
sun njailän wulŋan wulŋan waŋgu
moon dabaraŋaɽa baraŋan djägilin baɽaŋan
fire nujug gujug gujug gujug
smoke niulaṉ djuwulaṉ djuwulaṉ djuːlaṉ
water gogo gogo gogo gogo

Proto-language[edit]

Proto-Mirndi
Reconstruction ofMirndi languages

Proto-Mirndi reconstructions by Harvey (2008):[5]

no. gloss Proto-Mirndi
1 to hang, to tip *jalalang
2 high, up *thangki
3 women's song style *jarra(r)ta
4 that (not previously mentioned) *jiyi
5 mother's father *jaju
6 woman's son *juka
7 bird (generic) *ju(r)lak
8 blind *kamamurri
9 daughter's child *kaminyjarr
10 cold *karrij
11 chickenhawk *karrkany
12 bull ant *(kija-)kija
13 to tickle *kiji-kiji(k)
14 red ochre *kitpu
15 shitwood *kulinyjirri
16 dove sp. *kuluku(ku)
17 sky *kulumarra
18 throat, didgeridoo *kulumpung
19 urine *kumpu
20 firestick *kungkala
21 pollen *kuntarri
22 flesh *kunyju
23 fat *kurij
24 bush turkey *kurrkapati
25 boomerang *kurrupartu
26 club *ku(r)turu
27 shield *kuwarri
28 fire *kuyVka
29 father-in-law *lamparra
30 car *langa
31 bony *larrkaja
32 plant sp. *lawa
33 eagle *lirraku
34 blue-tongue lizard *lungkura
35 to return *lurrpu
36 to wave *mamaj
37 ear *manka
38 plant sp. *manyanyi
39 gutta percha tree *manyingila
40 butterfly *marli-marli
41 old man *marluka
42 all right, later *marntaj
43 human status term *marntak
44 circumcision ritual *marntiwa
45 upper leg, thigh, root *mira
46 owl *mukmuk
47 to be dark *mu(wu)m
48 scorpion *muntarla
49 string *munungku
50 upper arm *murlku
51 three *murrkun
52 to name *nij
53 hand *nungkuru
54 female antilopine wallaroo *ngalijirri
55 to lick *ngalyak
56 to sing *nganya
57 bauhinia *ngapilipili
58 father's mother *ngapuju
59 breast *ngapulu
60 to be hot *ngartap
61 bird sp. *nyurijman
62 to dream *pank(iy)aja
63 older brother *papa
64 nightjar *parnangka
65 young woman *parnmarra
66 women's dance *pa(r)ntimi
67 moon *partangarra
68 baby *partarta
69 hot weather *parung(ku)
70 cicatrice *pa(r)turu
71 scraper *pin(y)mala
72 father *pipi
73 snake (generic) *pulany
74 to bathe *pulukaj(a)
75 ashes *puna
76 full *punturr/tu
77 to finish *purrp
78 dreaming *puwarraja
79 deep (hole) *tarlukurra
80 flame, light *tili/u
81 to be tied up *tirrk
82 feather *tiya-tiya
83 to poke *turrp
84 to open *walk
85 woomera *wa(r)lmayi
86 black-headed python *warlujapi
87 strange(r) *warnayaki
88 grass (generic) *warnta
89 to scratch *warr
90 number seven boomerang *warratirla
91 freshwater crocodile *warrija
92 to be together *warrp
93 parrot sp. *wilikpan
94 new *yalang
95 initiated youth *yapa
96 magic song *yarrinti
97 young man *yarrulan

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Schultze-Berndt 2000, p. 8
  2. ^ a b McConvell, Patrick (2009), "'Where the spear sticks up' – The variety of locatives in placenames in the Victoria River District, Northern Territory", in Koch, Harold; Hercus, Luise (eds.), Aboriginal Placenames: Naming and re-naming the Australian landscape, ANU E-Press, pp. 359–402, ISBN 978-1-921666-08-7
  3. ^ a b c d Green, Ian (1995). "The death of 'prefixing': contact induced typological change in northern Australia". Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. 21: 414–425. doi:10.3765/bls.v21i1.1419.
  4. ^ Bowern, Claire; Koch, Harold (2004), Australian languages: Classification and the comparative method, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 14–15, ISBN 978-1-58811-512-6
  5. ^ a b Harvey, Mark (2008). Proto Mirndi: A discontinuous language family in Northern Australia. PL 593. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 978-0-85883-588-7.
  6. ^ Pensalfini, Robert J. (2001), "On the Typological and Genetic Affiliation of Jingulu", in Simpson, Jane; Nash, David; Laughren, Mary; Austin, Peter; Alpher, Barry (eds.), Forty years on Ken Hale and Australian languages, Pacific Linguistics, pp. 385–399
  7. ^ Schultze-Berndt 2000, p. 7
  8. ^ a b Harvey, Mark; Nordlinger, Rachel; Green, Ian (2006). "From Prefixes to Suffixes: Typological Change in Northern Australia". Diachronica. 23 (2): 289–311. doi:10.1075/dia.23.2.04har.
  9. ^ Schultz-Berndt, Eva F. (2002), "Constructions in Language Description", Functions of Language, 9 (2): 267–308
  10. ^ a b Pensalfini, Robert J. (1997), Jingulu Grammar, Dictionary, and Texts, Massachusetts, United States: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, p. 19
  11. ^ Capell, Arthur (1940). "The Classification of Languages in North and North-West Australia". Oceania. X (4): 241–272, 404–433. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1940.tb00292.x.

12. Chadwick, Neil (1997) "The Barkly and Jaminjungan Languages: A Non-Contiguous Genetic Grouping In North Australia" in Tryon, Darrell, Walsh, Michael, eds. Boundary Rider: Essays in honour of Geoffrey O'Grady. Pacific Linguistics, C-136

General[edit]

  • Schultze-Berndt, Eva F. (2000), Simple and Complex Verbs in Jaminjung – A Study of event categorisation in an Australian language