The Mirndi or Mindi languages are an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...

spoken in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The family consists of two sub-groups and an isolate branch: the

Yirram languages The Yirram or Jaminjungan languages, also known as ''Western Mirndi'', are a branch of the Mirndi languages spoken around the Victoria River in the Northern Territory of Australia. The name of these languages is derived from the dual clitic I ...

, and the

Ngurlun languages The Ngurlun languages, also known as Eastern Mirndi, are a branch of the Mirndi languages spoken around in the Barkly Tableland of Northern Territory, Australia. The branch consists of two to four languages, depending on what is considered a dia ...

and

Jingulu language Jingulu, also spelt Djingili, is an Australian language spoken by the Jingili people in the Northern Territory of Australia, historically around the township of Elliot. The language is an isolate branch of the Mirndi languages. The Jingulu ...

some 200 km farther to the southeast, separated by the

Ngumpin languages Ngumpin languages are a small language family of Australia, consisting of (from west to east): *Walmajarri * Djaru * Gurindji (Gurindji proper, Bilinarra, Wanyjirra, Malngin, Ngarinyman) *Mudburra In 2004 it was demonstrated that Ngumpin is re ...

. The primary difference between the two sub-groups is that while the

are all prefixing like other

non-Pama–Nyungan languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

, the Ngurlun languages are all suffixing like most

Pama–Nyungan languages The Pama–Nyungan languages () are the most widespread language family, family of Australian Aboriginal languages, containing 306 out of 400 Aboriginal languages in Australia. The name "Pama–Nyungan" is a merism: it is derived from the two e ...

. The name of the family is derived from the

dual Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual number, a nu ...

inclusive Inclusive may refer to: * Inclusive disjunction, A or B or both * Inclusive fitness, in evolutionary theory, how many kin are supported including non-descendants * Inclusive tax, includes taxes owed as part of the base * Inclusivism Inclusivi ...

pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (Interlinear gloss, glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the part of speech, parts of speech, but so ...

('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 .

Classification

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 Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

and not lexical comparison, with the strongest evidence being found among the pronouns. However, "there are very few other systematic similarities in other areas of grammar whichthrow some doubts on the Mirndi classification, making it less secure than generally accepted." Nonetheless, as of 2008 proto-Mirndi has been reconstructed. An additional language may be added, Ngaliwurru. However, it is unsure whether it is a language on its own, or merely a

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of the

Jaminjung language Jaminjung is a moribund Australian language spoken around the Victoria River in the Northern Territory of Australia. There seems to be a steady increase in the number of speakers of the language with very few people speaking the language in 19 ...

. The same is true for

Gudanji The Gudanji, otherwise known as the Kotandji or Ngandji, are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory. Language The Gudanji were formerly thought to speak a Ngurlun language, belonging to the eastern Mirndi languages group of ...

and Binbinka, although these are generally considered dialects of the

Wambaya language Wambaya is a Non-Pama-Nyungan languages, Non-Pama-Nyungan West Barkly languages, West Barkly Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian language of the Mirndi languages, Mirndi language groupNordlinger, Rachel. (1998), ''A Grammar Of Wambaya, No ...

. These three dialects are collectively referred to as the

McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the a ...

languages.

Vocabulary

Due to the close contact been the

and the

, and the

and other languages as well, many of the

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

s that the Yirram and

share may in fact be loanwords, especially of Ngumpin origin. For instance, while the Barkly language Jingulu only shares 9% of its vocabulary with its Yirram relative, the

Ngaliwurru dialect Jaminjung is a moribund Australian language spoken around the Victoria River in the Northern Territory of Australia. There seems to be a steady increase in the number of speakers of the language with very few people speaking the language in 19 ...

of the

, it shares 28% with the nearby Ngumpin language

Mudburra The Mudburra, also spelt Mudbara and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Language Mudburra is one of the far eastern forms of the Pama-Nyungan Ngumbin languages. Country The Mudburra people live i ...

. The

shares 29% and 28% of its vocabulary with the

and the

Ngarnka language The Ngarnji (Ngarndji) or Ngarnka (Ngarnga, Ngarnku) language was traditionally spoken by the Ngarnka people of the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory of Australia. The last fluent speaker of the language died between 1997 and 1998. N ...

respectively. The

shares 60% of its vocabulary with the

, while the

shares 69% and 78% with its

s, Binbinka and

, respectively. Finally, these two dialects share 88% of their vocabulary.

Capell Capell or Capel is a surname. Notable people with the name include: Capell * Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (1608–1649), English politician * Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex (1631–1683), English statesman * Arthur Capell (1902–1 ...

(1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items: :

Proto-language

Proto-Mirndi reconstructions by Harvey (2008): :

References

Notes

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

* {{language families Indigenous Australian languages in the Northern Territory Language families Non-Pama-Nyungan languages