Maran or Maric is an extinct branch of the
Pama–Nyungan family of Australian languages formerly spoken throughout much of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
by many of the
Murri peoples. The well attested Maric languages are clearly related; however, many languages of the area became extinct before much could be documented of them, and their classification is uncertain. The clear Maric languages are:
:
Bidyara (numerous varieties)
:
Biri (several varieties)
:
Warrungu (& Gugu-Badhun, Gudjal)
:(
Kingkel?):
Darumbal
Dharumbal was added by Bowern (2011); it had been classified in the Kingkel branch of
Waka–Kabic. It is not clear if the other Kingkel language,
Bayali, is also Maric; Bayali and Darumbal are not close.
Unclassified languages
Ngaro and
Giya (Bumbarra), spoken on the coast, may also have been Maric, the latter perhaps a dialect of Biri.
Of the interior, to the west, Breen (2007) writes of "
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the Pa ...
–Mari fringe" languages which are "a discontinuous group of languages, mostly poorly attested, scattered between
Karnic and Mari languages but not showing much connection with either or with one another. The only one well attested is also the most remote geographically,
Kalkutungu". This includes the
Ngura languages, several of which belong to the
Karnic branch of Pama–Nyungan (such as the
Wilson River dialects spoken by the
Galali and
Wangkumara, though not the
Bulloo River dialects spoken by the same). However, Bowern (2011) lists the
Badjiri variety as Maric. Other poorly attested interior languages which may have been Maric include
Ngaygungu
Ngaygungu people (also known as Ngaygungyi, Ngȋ-koongō-ī or Ngai-kungo-i) are the people from the Atherton, Queensland area who spoke, or whose ancestors once spoke, the Ngaygungu language.
Range
The Ngai-kungo-i were formally identified as ...
(Dixon 2002),
Bindal
Bindal is a municipality in the Helgeland region in the extreme southwest part of Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Terråk. Other villages include Bindalseidet, Holm, Vassås, Horsfjord and Åbygda.
The mu ...
(Bowern 2011),
Barna
Barna (Bearna in Irish) is a coastal village on the R336 regional road in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It has become a satellite village of Galway city. The village is Irish speaking and is therefore a constituent part of the regions o ...
(Bowern 2011),
Dhungaloo (doubtful in Bowern, not listed at AIATSIS), and
Yirandhali (Dixon, Bowern).
Yiman near the coast was ethnically Bidjara. Dixon's "Greater Maric" area listed in Bowern (2011) also includes
Guwa (Goa) and
Yanda. See also
Karnic languages
The Karnic languages are a group of languages of the Pama–Nyungan family. According to Dixon (2002), these are three separate families, but Bowern (2001) establishes regular paradigmatic connections among many of the languages, demonstrating ...
for additional varieties from the area.
See also
*
Pama–Maran languages
References
Indigenous Australian languages in Queensland
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