View source for Australian Aboriginal languages

{{short description|Indigenous languages of Australia}}
{{Redirect|Australian languages|all the languages of Australia|Languages of Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2011}}
[[File:Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan.png|thumb|upright=1.5|The primary typological division in Australian languages: [[Pama–Nyungan languages]] (tan) and non-Pama–Nyungan languages (mustard and grey)]]
[[File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Australia by SLA - BCP field 2571 Speaks other language Australian Indigenous Languages Persons.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|People who speak Australian Aboriginal languages as a percentage of the population in Australia, divided geographically by statistical local area at the 2011 census]]

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{{sfn|Dixon|2002|pp=2}} (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intelligible varieties) up to possibly 363.{{sfn|Bowern|2011}} The Indigenous languages of Australia comprise numerous [[language family|language families]] and [[language isolate|isolates]], perhaps as many as 13, spoken by the [[Aboriginal Australians|Indigenous peoples of mainland Australia]] and a few nearby islands.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=2}} The relationships between the language families are not clear at present although there are proposals to link some into larger groupings. Despite this uncertainty, the Indigenous Australian languages are collectively covered by the technical term "Australian languages",{{sfn|Dixon|2011|pp=253–254}} or the "Australian family".{{efn|"Dixon (1980) claimed that all but two or three of the 200 languages of Australia can be shown to belong to one language family – the 'Australian family'. In the same way that most of the languages of Europe and Western Asia belong to the Indo-European family."{{sfn|Dixon|1980|p=3}}}}

The term can include both [[Tasmanian languages]] and the [[Kalaw Lagaw Ya|Western Torres Strait language]],{{sfn|Walsh|1991|p=27}} but the [[Genetic relationship (linguistics)|genetic relationship]] to the mainland Australian languages of the former is unknown,{{sfn|Bowern|2012|p=4593}} while the latter is [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan]], though it shares features with the neighbouring [[Papuan languages|Papuan]], [[Eastern Trans-Fly languages|Eastern Trans-Fly]] languages, in particular [[Meriam language|Meriam Mir]] of the [[Torres Strait Islands]], as well as the [[Papuan Tip]] Austronesian languages.{{sfn|Mitchell|2015}} Most Australian languages belong to the widespread Pama–Nyungan family, while the remainder are classified as "non-Pama–Nyungan", which is a term of convenience that does not imply a genealogical relationship.

In the late 18th century there were more than 250 distinct [[List of Aboriginal Australian group names|First Nations Peoples social groupings]] and a similar number of languages or [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]].{{sfn|Walsh|1991|p=27}} The status and knowledge of Aboriginal languages today varies greatly. Many languages became extinct with settlement as the encroachment of colonial society broke up Indigenous cultures. For some of these languages, few records exist for vocabulary and grammar. At the start of the 21st century, fewer than 150 Aboriginal languages remained in daily use,{{sfn|Dalby|2015|p=43}} with the majority being highly [[endangered language|endangered]]. In 2020, 90 per cent of the barely more than 100 languages still spoken are considered endangered.<ref>{{cite web | last=Morse | first=Dana | title=The next generation is bringing Australia's ancient languages into the future | website=ABC News | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=13 November 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-14/australias-ancient-languages-brought-into-the-future/12882204 | access-date=13 November 2020 | archive-date=13 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113215814/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-14/australias-ancient-languages-brought-into-the-future/12882204 | url-status=live }}</ref> Thirteen languages are still being transmitted to children.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2014}} The surviving languages are located in the most isolated areas. Of the five least endangered Western Australian Aboriginal languages, four belong to the [[Western Desert Language|Western Desert]] grouping of the Central and [[Great Victoria Desert]].

[[Yolŋu languages]] from north-east [[Arnhem Land]] are also currently learned by children. [[Bilingual education]] is being used successfully in some communities. Seven of the most widely spoken Australian languages, such as [[Warlpiri language|Warlpiri]], [[Murrinh-patha language|Murrinh-patha]] and [[Tiwi language|Tiwi]], retain between 1,000 and 3,000 speakers.<ref>UNESCO atlas (online)</ref> Some Indigenous communities and linguists show support for learning programmes either for language revival proper or for only "post-vernacular maintenance" (Indigenous communities having the opportunity to learn some words and concepts related to the lost language).{{sfn|Zuckermann|2009}}

==Living Aboriginal languages==
[[File:Aboriginal language distribution NT.svg|250px|right|thumb|Percentage of people in each statistical area of the Northern Territory (excluding those in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Greater Darwin]] and [[Alice Springs]]) who speak an Aboriginal language at home, according to the [[2021 Australian census|2021 census]]:

{{Legend|#aaffaa|<20.0%}}
{{Legend|#56ff56|20.0%–29.9%}}
{{Legend|#00ff00|30.0%–39.9%}}
{{Legend|#00bf00|40.0%–49.9%}}
{{Legend|#007f00|50.0%–59.9%}}
{{Legend|#006300|60.0%–69.9%}}
{{Legend|#004900|70.0%–79.9%}}
{{Legend|#002d00|>80.0%}}]]
The ''National Indigenous Languages Survey'' is a regular Australia-wide survey of the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/research-themes/languages-and-cultural-expression/national-indigenous-languages-report-nilr|title=National Indigenous Languages Report (NILR)|date=6 November 2018|website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|language=en|access-date=6 February 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806034438/https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/research-themes/languages-and-cultural-expression/national-indigenous-languages-report-nilr|url-status=live}}</ref> conducted in 2005,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/national-indigenous-languages-survey-report-2005|title=National Indigenous Languages Survey Report 2005|date=19 February 2016|website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|language=en|access-date=6 February 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801222305/https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/national-indigenous-languages-survey-report-2005|url-status=live}}</ref> 2014<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/community-identity-wellbeing-report-second-national-indigenous-languages-survey|title=Community, identity, wellbeing: The report of the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey|date=16 February 2015|website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|language=en|access-date=6 February 2020|archive-date=16 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816112823/https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/community-identity-wellbeing-report-second-national-indigenous-languages-survey|url-status=live}}</ref> and 2019.<ref name=":0" />

Languages with more than 100 speakers:
* [[New South Wales]]:
** 3 languages (~ 600):
***[[Yugambeh–Bundjalung languages|Yugambeh-Bundjalung]]
****Bundjalung (~ 100)
****[[Yugambeh language|Yugambeh]] (~ 20; shared with Queensland)
****[[Githabul language|Githabul]] (~ 10; shared with Queensland)
***[[Wiradjuri language|Wiradjuri]] (~ 500)
***[[Gamilaraay language|Gamilaraay]] (~ 100)
* [[South Australia]]:
** 4 languages (~ 3,900):
*** [[Ngarrindjeri language|Ngarrindjeri]] (~ 300)
*** [[Adnyamathanha language|Adyamathanha]] (~ 100)
*** [[Yankunytjatjara dialect|Yankunytjatjara]] (~ 400)
*** [[Pitjantjatjara dialect|Pitjantjatjara]] (~ 3,100; shared with Northern Territory and Western Australia)
* [[Queensland]]:
** 5 languages (~ 1,800):
***[[Guugu Yalandji language|Kuku Yalanji]] (~ 300)
*** [[Guugu Yimithirr language|Guugu Yimidhirr]] (~ 800)
*** [[Kuuk Thaayorre language|Kuuk Thaayore]] (~ 300)
*** [[Wik Mungkan language|Wik Mungkan]] (~ 400)
* [[Western Australia]]:
** 17 languages (~ 8,000):
*** [[Nyungar language|Noongar]] (~ 500)
*** [[Wangkatha]] (~ 300)
*** [[Ngaanyatjarra dialect|Ngaanyatjarra]] (~ 1,000)
*** Manytjilyitjarra (~ 100)
*** [[Martu Wangka dialect|Martu Wangka]] (~ 700)
*** [[Panyjima language|Panyjima]] (~ 100)
*** [[Yinjibarndi language|Yinjibarndi]] (~ 400)
*** [[Nyangumarta language|Nyangumarta]] (~ 200)
*** [[Bardi language|Bardi]] (~ 400)
*** [[Wajarri language|Wajarri]] (~ 100)
*** [[Pintupi dialect|Pintupi]] (~ 100; shared with Northern Territory)
*** [[Pitjantjatjara dialect|Pitjantjatjara]] (~3,100; shared with Northern Territory and South Australia)
*** [[Western Desert language#Kukatja|Kukatja]] (~ 100)
*** [[Walmajarri language|Walmatjarri]] (~ 300)
*** [[Guniyandi language|Gooniyandi]] (~ 100)
*** [[Djaru language|Djaru]] (~ 200)
*** [[Kija language|Kija]] (~ 200)
*** [[Miriwoong language|Miriwoong]] (~ 200)
* [[Northern Territory]]:
** 19 languages (~ 28,100):
*** [[Luritja dialect|Luritja]] (~ 1,000)
*** [[Upper Arrernte language|Upper Arrernte]] (~ 4,500)
*** [[Warlpiri language|Warlpiri]] (~ 2,300)
*** [[Kaytetye language|Kaytetye]] (~ 100)
*** [[Warumungu language|Warumungu]] (~ 300)
*** [[Gurindji language|Gurindji]] (~ 400)
*** [[Murrinh-patha language|Murrinh Patha]] (~ 2,000)
*** [[Tiwi language|Tiwi]] (~ 2,000)
*** [[Pintupi dialect|Pintupi]] (~ 100; shared with Western Australia)
*** [[Pitjantjatjara dialect|Pitjantjatjara]] (~3,100; shared with Western Australia and South Australia)
*** [[Iwaidja language|Iwaidja]] (~ 100)
*** [[Maung language|Maung]] (~ 400)
*** [[Kunwinjku language|Kunwinjku]] (~ 1,800)
*** [[Burarra language|Burarra]] (~ 1,000)
*** [[Dhuwal language|Dhuwal]] (~4,200)
*** [[Djinang language|Djinang]] (~ 100)
*** [[Nunggubuyu language|Nunggubuyu]] (~ 300)
*** [[Anindilyakwa language|Anindilyakwa]] (~ 1,500)

Total 46 languages, 42,300 speakers, with 11 having only approximately 100. 11 languages have over 1,000 speakers.
* [[Creole language|Creoles]]:
** [[Australian Kriol language|Kriol]] (~ 20,000)

==Classification==
[[File:Australian language families.png|thumb|300px|Australian language families. From west to east:
{{legend|#00A1E8|[[Nyulnyulan languages|Nyulnyulan]]}}
{{legend|#98D9EA|[[Worrorran languages|Worrorran]]}}
{{legend|#FFADC9|[[Bunuban languages|Bunuban]]}}
{{legend|#FF6666|[[Jarrakan languages|Jarrakan]]}}
{{legend|#6666ff|[[Mindi languages|Mindi]] (2 areas)}}
{{legend|#21B04B|[[Daly languages|Daly]] (4 families)}}
{{legend|#880015|[[Wagiman language|Wagiman]]}}
{{legend|#FF7E26|[[Wardaman language|Wardaman]]}}
{{legend|#B87956|[[Tiwi language|Tiwi]] (offshore)}}
{{legend|#C8BEE7|[[Darwin Region languages|Darwin Region]]}}
{{legend|#A248A3|[[Iwaidjan languages|Iwaidjan]]}}
{{legend|#EFE4AF|[[Giimbiyu language|Giimbiyu]]}}
{{legend|#FFC90E|[[Macro-Gunwinyguan languages|Arnhem]], incl. [[Gunwinyguan languages|Gunwinyguan]]}}
{{legend|#B4E61C|[[Garawan languages|Garawan]] and [[Tangkic languages|Tangkic]]}}
{{legend|#FFF200|[[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan]] (3 areas)}}]]

===Internal===
Most Australian languages are commonly held to belong to the [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan family]], a family accepted by most linguists, with [[Robert M. W. Dixon]] as a notable exception. For convenience, the rest of the languages, all spoken in the far north, are commonly lumped together as "Non-Pama–Nyungan", although this does not necessarily imply that they constitute a valid [[clade]]. Dixon argues that after perhaps 40,000 years of mutual influence, it is no longer possible to distinguish deep genealogical relationships from areal features in Australia, and that not even Pama–Nyungan is a valid language family.<ref>Dixon 2002: 48,53</ref>

However, few other linguists accept Dixon's thesis. For example, [[Kenneth L. Hale]] describes Dixon's scepticism as an erroneous phylogenetic assessment which is "such an insult to the eminently successful practitioners of Comparative Method Linguistics in Australia, that it positively demands a decisive riposte".{{sfn|O'Grady|Hale|2004|p=69}} Hale provides pronominal and grammatical evidence (with suppletion) as well as more than fifty basic-vocabulary cognates (showing regular sound correspondences) between the proto-Northern-and-Middle Pamic (pNMP) family of the [[Cape York Peninsula]] on the Australian northeast coast and proto-Ngayarta of the Australian west coast, some {{convert|3000|km}} apart, to support the Pama–Nyungan grouping, whose age he compares to that of [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]].

[[Johanna Nichols]] suggests that the northern families may be relatively recent arrivals from [[Maritime Southeast Asia]], perhaps later replaced there by the spread of [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]. That could explain the typological difference between Pama–Nyungan and non-Pama–Nyungan languages, but not how a single family came to be so widespread. [[Nicholas Evans (linguist)|Nicholas Evans]] suggests that the Pama–Nyungan family spread along with the now-dominant Aboriginal culture that includes the [[Australian Aboriginal kinship]] system.

In late 2017, Mark Harvey and Robert Mailhammer published a study in ''Diachronica'' that hypothesised, by analysing [[noun class]] [[prefix]] paradigms across both Pama-Nyungan and the minority non-Pama-Nyungan languages, that a Proto-Australian could be reconstructed from which all known Australian languages descend. This Proto-Australian language, they concluded, would have been spoken about 12,000 years ago in northern Australia.{{sfn|ABC|2018}}{{sfn|BBC|2018}}{{sfn|Harvey|Mailhammer|2017|pp=470–515}}

===External===
For a long time unsuccessful attempts were made to detect a link between Australian and Papuan languages, the latter being represented by those spoken on the coastal areas of [[New Guinea]] facing the Torres Strait and the [[Arafura Sea]].{{sfn|Pereltsvaig|2017|p=278}} In 1986 [[William A. Foley]] noted lexical similarities between Robert M. W. Dixon's 1980 reconstruction of proto-Australian and the [[East New Guinea Highlands languages]]. He believed that it was naïve to expect to find a single Papuan or Australian language family when New Guinea and Australia had been a single landmass (called the [[Australia (continent)|Sahul continent]]) for most of their human history, having been separated by the [[Torres Strait]] only 8000 years ago, and that a deep reconstruction would likely include languages from both. Dixon, in the meantime, later abandoned his proto-Australian proposal.{{sfn|Dixon|2002|pp=xvii,xviii}}

===Families===
====''Glottolog'' 4.1 (2019)====
''[[Glottolog]]'' 4.1 (2019) recognises 23 independent families and 9 isolates in Australia, comprising a total of 32 independent language groups.<ref name="Glottolog-4-1">{{cite web |url=https://glottolog.org/glottolog/family |title=Glottolog |version=4.1 |editor1-last=Hammarström |editor1-first=Harald |editor2-last=Forkel |editor2-first=Robert |editor3-last=Haspelmath |editor3-first=Martin |year=2019 |location=Jena |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History]] |access-date=30 December 2019 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211162235/https://glottolog.org/glottolog/family |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
;Families (23)

*[[Pama-Nyungan languages|Pama-Nyungan]] (248)
*[[Gunwinyguan languages|Gunwinyguan]] (12)
*[[Western Daly languages|Western Daly]] (11)
*[[Nyulnyulan languages|Nyulnyulan]] (10)
*[[Worrorran languages|Worrorran]] (10)
*[[Mirndi languages|Mirndi]] (5)
*[[Iwaidjan Proper languages|Iwaidjan Proper]] (4)
*[[Mangarrayi-Maran languages|Mangarrayi-Maran]] (4)
*[[Maningrida languages|Maningrida]] (4)
*[[Tangkic languages|Tangkic]] (4)
*[[Giimbiyu languages|Giimbiyu]] (3) (extinct) 
*[[Jarrakan languages|Jarrakan]] (3)
*[[Yangmanic languages|Yangmanic]] (3)
*[[Bunaban languages|Bunaban]] (2)
*[[Eastern Daly languages|Eastern Daly]] (2) (extinct)
*[[Northern Daly languages|Northern Daly]] (2)
*[[Southern Daly languages|Southern Daly]] (2)
*[[Garrwan languages|Garrwan]] (2)
*[[Limilngan-Wulna languages|Limilngan-Wulna]] (2) (extinct; would be moribund if Laragiya were included as it is in other breakdowns)
*[[Marrku-Wurrugu languages|Marrku-Wurrugu]] (2) (extinct)
*[[North-Eastern Tasmanian languages|North-Eastern Tasmanian]] (2) (extinct)
*[[South-Eastern Tasmanian languages|South-Eastern Tasmanian]] (2) (extinct)
*[[Western Tasmanian languages|Western Tasmanian]] (2) (extinct)
{{col-break}}
;Isolates (9)

*[[Gaagudju language|Gaagudju]] (extinct)
*[[Kungarakany language|Kungarakany]] (extinct)
*[[Laragia language|Laragia]] (moribund)
*[[Minkin language|Minkin]] (extinct)
*[[Oyster Bay-Big River-Little Swanport language|Oyster Bay-Big River-Little Swanport]] (extinct)
*[[Tiwi language|Tiwi]]
*[[Umbugarla language|Umbugarla]] (extinct)
*[[Wadjiginy language|Wadjiginy]] (moribund)
*[[Wageman language|Wageman]] (moribund)
{{col-end}}

====Bowern (2011)====
According to [[Claire Bowern]]'s ''Australian Languages'' (2011), Australian languages divide into approximately 30 primary sub-groups and 5 isolates.{{sfn|Bowern|2011}}

* Presumptive isolates:
** [[Tiwi language|Tiwi]]
** [[Giimbiyu language|Giimbiyu]] (extinct)
** [[Marrgu language|Marrgu]] (extinct)
** [[Wagiman language|Wagiman]] (moribund)
** [[Wardaman language|Wardaman]]
* Previously established families:
** [[Bunuban languages|Bunuban]] (2)
** [[Daly languages|Daly]] (four to five families, with 11–19 languages)
** [[Iwaidjan languages|Iwaidjan]] (3–7)
** [[Jarrakan languages|Jarrakan]] (3–5)
** [[Nyulnyulan languages|Nyulnyulan]] (8)
** [[Worrorran languages|Worrorran]] (7–12)
* Newly proposed families:
** [[Mirndi languages|Mirndi]] (5–7)
** [[Darwin Region languages|Darwin Region]] (4)
** [[Macro-Gunwinyguan languages]] (22)
** [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Greater Pama–Nyungan]]:
*** [[Tangkic languages|Tangkic]] (5)
*** [[Garawan languages|Garawan]] (3)
*** [[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama–Nyungan proper]] (approximately 270 languages)
** [[Western Tasmanian languages|Western]] and [[Northern Tasmanian languages|Northern Tasmanian]] (extinct)
** [[Northeastern Tasmanian languages|Northeastern Tasmanian]] (extinct)
** [[Eastern Tasmanian languages|Eastern Tasmanian]] (extinct)

===History===
In 1962, [[Arthur Capell]]  gave his assessment of the origins and internal grouping of Aboriginal languages.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Australian Encyclopaedia Vol.1 (1962). |publisher=The Grolier Society of Australia |pages=21–28}}</ref> He referred to many attempts having been made to link the Australian languages to other parts of the world, including the [[Dravidian languages]] of South India, those of the [[Andaman Islands]], and African languages. "All must be regarded as failures. In fact, it seems quite possible to explain the multiple forms of languages in Australia on the basis of a single original."

Capell proposed 5 main groupings as clear at the time,<ref name=":1" /> referring to earlier classifications by Schmidt (1914–19) and [[Alfred Kroeber|Kroeber]] (1923):

# Prefixing languages ([[Kimberleys]] and north Australia)
# [[Western Desert language|Western Desert Languages]]
# Aranda ([[Arrernte language|Arrernte]])(Central Australia)
# Victoria with New South Wales south coastal region
# Unclassified groups occupying the bulk of Queensland and New South Wales.

In 1967 [[Carl Georg von Brandenstein]] claimed that he had isolated and identified some sixty [[Portuguese language]] loanwords in several indigenous languages of Australia's far north. Australian linguists have generally dismissed these conclusions, except perhaps for the word ''tartaruga''. [[Nicholas Thieberger|Nick Thieberger]], a [[Melbourne University]] linguist, argues that Brandenstein's approach was still strongly influenced by outdated nineteenth-century linguistic thinking.

==Survival==
It has been inferred from the probable number of languages and the estimate of pre-contact population levels that there may have been from 3,000 to 4,000 speakers on average for each of the 250 languages.{{sfn|McConvell|Thieberger|2001|p=16}} A number of these languages were almost immediately wiped out within decades of colonisation, the case of the [[Aboriginal Tasmanians]] being one notorious example of precipitous linguistic [[ethnocide]]{{explain|date=July 2024}}{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}. Tasmania had been separated from the mainland at the end of the [[Quaternary glaciation]], and Indigenous Tasmanians remained isolated from the outside world for around 12,000 years. [[Claire Bowern]] has concluded in a recent study that there were twelve Tasmanian languages, and that those languages are unrelated (that is, not demonstrably related) to those on the Australian mainland.{{sfn|Bowern|2012|pp=4590,4593}}

In 1990 it was estimated that 90 languages still survived of the approximately 250 once spoken, but with a high rate of attrition as elders died out. Of the 90, 70% by 2001 were judged as 'severely endangered' with only 17 spoken by all age groups, a definition of a 'strong' language.{{sfn|McConvell|Thieberger|2001|pp=17,61}} On these grounds it is anticipated that despite efforts at linguistic preservation, many of the remaining languages will disappear within the next generation. The overall trend suggests that in the not too distant future all of the Indigenous languages will be lost, perhaps by 2050,{{sfn|Forrest|2017|p=1}} and with them the cultural knowledge they convey.{{sfn|McConvell|Thieberger|2001|p=96}}

During the period of the [[Stolen Generations]], Aboriginal children were removed from their families and placed in institutions where they were punished for speaking their Indigenous language. Different, mutually unintelligible language groups were often mixed together, with [[Australian Aboriginal English]] or [[Australian Kriol language]] as the only [[lingua franca]]. The result was a disruption to the inter-generational transmission of these languages that severely impacted their future use. Today, that same transmission of language between parents and grandparents to their children is a key mechanism for reversing language shift.{{sfn|Forrest|2017}} For children, proficiency in the language of their cultural heritage has a positive influence on their ethnic identity formation,{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} and it is thought to be of particular benefit to the emotional well-being of Indigenous children{{according to whom|date=July 2024}}{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}. There is some evidence to suggest that the reversal of the Indigenous language shift may lead to decreased self-harm and suicide rates among Indigenous youth.{{sfn|Hallett|Chandler|Lalonde|2007|pp=392–399}}

The first Aboriginal people to use Australian Aboriginal languages in the Australian parliament were [[Aden Ridgeway]] on 25 August 1999 in the [[Senate of Australia|Senate]] when he said "On this special occasion, I make my presence known as an Aborigine and to this chamber I say, perhaps for the first time: {{lang|aus|Nyandi baaliga Jaingatti. Nyandi mimiga Gumbayynggir. Nya jawgar yaam Gumbayynggir.}}" (Translation: My father is Dhunghutti. My mother is Gumbayynggir. And, therefore, I am Gumbayynggir.)<ref>{{cite web |title=Senate Official Hansard No. 198, 1999 Wednesday 25 August 1999 |url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-08-25%2F0133%22 |website=Parliament of Australia |access-date=26 June 2019 |archive-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604021346/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-08-25%2F0133%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[House of Representatives (Australia)|House of Representatives]] on 31 August 2016 [[Linda Burney]] gave an acknowledgment of country in Wiradjuri in her first speech<ref>{{cite web |title=First Speech: Hon Linda Burney MP |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members/FirstSpeeches/Linda_Burney |website=Commonwealth Parliament |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en-AU |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626032122/https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members/FirstSpeeches/Linda_Burney |url-status=live }}</ref> and was sung in by Lynette Riley in Wiradjuri from the public gallery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Indigenous Languages in Australian Parliaments |url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/news-and-events/blog/indigenous-languages-australian-parliaments |author=Battin, Jacqueline |website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en |date=21 May 2018 |archive-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530121752/https://aiatsis.gov.au/news-and-events/blog/indigenous-languages-australian-parliaments |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Preservation measures===
2019 was the [[International Year of Indigenous Languages]] (IYIL2019), as declared by the [[United Nations General Assembly]]. The commemoration was used to raise awareness of and support for the preservation of Aboriginal languages within Australia, including spreading knowledge about the importance of each language to the identity and knowledge of Indigenous groups. Warrgamay/Girramay man Troy Wyles-Whelan joined the North Queensland Regional Aboriginal Corporation Language Centre (NQRACLC) in 2008, and has been contributing oral histories and the results of his own research to their database.{{sfn|Wyles|2019}} As part of the efforts to raise awareness of [[Wiradjuri language]] a ''Grammar of Wiradjuri language''<ref>{{Citation | author1=Grant, Stan | author2=Rudder, John | title=A grammar of Wiradjuri language |year=2014 | publisher=Rest | isbn=978-0-86942-151-2 }}</ref> was published in 2014 and ''A new Wiradjuri dictionary''<ref>{{Citation | author1=Grant, Stan | author2=Grant, Stan, 1940- | author3=Rudder, John | title=A new Wiradjuri dictionary |year=2010 | publisher=Restoration House | isbn=978-0-86942-150-5 }}</ref> in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wiradjuri Resources |url=https://australianlanguages.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/wiradjuri-resources/ |website=Australian Aboriginal Languages Student Blog |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en |date=6 May 2018 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626033121/https://australianlanguages.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/wiradjuri-resources/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The New South Wales ''[[Aboriginal Languages Act 2017]]'' became law on 24 October 2017 and established a board to advise on the preservation of Aboriginal languages that is known as the Aboriginal Languages Trust.<ref>{{cite Legislation AU|NSW|act|ala2017177|Aboriginal Languages Act 2017}}</ref> It was the first legislation in Australia to acknowledge the significance of first languages.<ref>{{cite web |title=NSW introduces nation's first laws to recognise and revive Indigenous languages |first=Bridget |last=Brennan |date=11 October 2017 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-11/nsw-passes-unprecedented-laws-to-revive-indigenous-languages/9039746 |website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |access-date=28 December 2024 |archive-date=28 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228081556/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-11/nsw-passes-unprecedented-laws-to-revive-indigenous-languages/9039746 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019 the [[Royal Australian Mint]] issued a 50-cent coin to celebrate the International Year of Indigenous Languages which features 14 different words for "money" from Australian Indigenous languages.<ref>{{cite web |title=International Year of Indigenous Languages commemorated with new coins launched by Royal Australian Mint and AIATSIS |url=https://www.ramint.gov.au/publications/international-year-indigenous-languages-commemorated-new-coins-launched-royal |website=Royal Australian Mint |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en |date=8 April 2019 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626032132/https://www.ramint.gov.au/publications/international-year-indigenous-languages-commemorated-new-coins-launched-royal |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Meakins">{{cite web |last1=Meakins |first1=Felicity |last2=Walsh |first2=Michael |title=The 14 Indigenous words for money on our new 50-cent coin |url=https://theconversation.com/the-14-indigenous-words-for-money-on-our-new-50-cent-coin-113110 |website=The Conversation |date=8 April 2019 |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en |archive-date=28 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628111557/http://theconversation.com/the-14-indigenous-words-for-money-on-our-new-50-cent-coin-113110 |url-status=live }}</ref> The coin was designed by Aleksandra Stokic in consultation with Indigenous language custodian groups.<ref name="Meakins"/>

The work of digitising and transcribing many word lists created by ethnographer [[Daisy Bates (author)|Daisy Bates]] in the 1900s at Daisy Bates Online<ref name=daisyonline>{{cite web | title=Digital Daisy Bates | website=Digital Daisy Bates | url=http://bates.org.au/ | access-date=26 January 2020 | archive-date=30 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230040033/http://bates.org.au/ | url-status=live }}</ref> provides a valuable resource for those researching especially [[Western Australia]]n languages, and some languages of the [[Northern Territory]] and [[South Australia]].<ref name=onlinedaisymap>{{cite web| title=Map| website=Digital Daisy Bates| url=http://bates.org.au/text/| access-date=26 January 2020| archive-date=27 February 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227150859/http://bates.org.au/text/| url-status=live}}</ref> The project is co-ordinated by [[Nicholas Thieberger|Nick Thieberger]], who works in collaboration with the [[National Library of Australia]] "to have all the microfilmed images from Section XII of the Bates papers digitised".<ref name=daisyonlinetech>{{cite web | title=Technical details | website=Digital Daisy Bates | url=http://bates.org.au/tech.html | access-date=26 January 2020 | archive-date=27 February 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227150915/http://bates.org.au/tech.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The project is succeeded by the Nyingarn Project<ref>{{cite web |title=Background |url=https://nyingarn.net/background/ |website=Nyingarn |access-date=7 September 2022 |language=en-AU}}</ref>
, which digitises manuscripts and crowdsources transcriptions through DigiVol.

===Language revival===
In recent decades, there have been attempts to revive indigenous languages.<ref>{{cite news |title='Language is connected to all things': Why reviving Indigenous languages is so important – ABC Life |url=https://www.abc.net.au/life/inside-the-battle-to-keep-australias-indigenous-languages-alive/10825812 |access-date=17 October 2020 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=20 February 2019 |language=en-AU |archive-date=23 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023065140/https://www.abc.net.au/life/inside-the-battle-to-keep-australias-indigenous-languages-alive/10825812 |url-status=live }}</ref> Significant challenges exist, however, for the revival of languages in the dominant English language culture of Australia.<ref name="warraparna">{{cite book |last1=Amery |first1=Rob |title=Warraparna Kuarna: Reclaiming an Australian Language |date=2016 |publisher=Adelaide University Press |location=Adelaide |isbn=978-1-925261-24-0}}</ref>

The [[Kaurna language]], spoken by the [[Kaurna]] people of the Adelaide plains, has been the subject of a concerted revival movement since the 1980s, coordinated by [[Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi]], a unit working out of the [[University of Adelaide]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Project brings Kaurna language back to life |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-07/kaurna-language-revived-adelaide/5796282 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=7 October 2014 |language=en-AU |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127181912/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-07/kaurna-language-revived-adelaide/5796282 |url-status=live }}</ref> The language had rapidly disappeared after the settlement of South Australia and the breaking up of local indigenous people. Ivaritji, the last known speaker of the language, died in 1931. However, a substantial number of primary source records existed for the language, from which the language was reconstructed.<ref name="warraparna"/>

==Common features==
{{No footnotes|section|date=December 2019}}

"Some Aboriginal people distinguish between ''usership'' and ''ownership''. There are even those who claim that they own a language although they only know one single word of it: its name."<ref name=Revivalistics>{{cite book|author=Zuckermann, Ghil'ad|author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann|title=[[Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|year=2020|isbn=9780199812790}} {{ISBN|9780199812776}}</ref>{{rp|212}}

Whether it is due to genetic unity or some other factor such as occasional contact, typologically the Australian languages form a language area or ''[[Sprachbund]]'', sharing much of their vocabulary and many distinctive [[phonology|phonological]] features across the entire continent.

A common feature of many Australian languages is that they display so-called [[avoidance speech]], special speech registers used only in the presence of certain close relatives. These registers share the phonology and [[grammar]] of the standard language, but the [[lexicon]] is different and usually very restricted. There are also commonly speech [[taboo]]s during extended periods of mourning or initiation that have led to numerous [[Australian Aboriginal sign languages|Aboriginal sign languages]].

For [[morphosyntactic alignment]], many Australian languages have [[ergative case|ergative]]–[[absolutive case]] systems. These are typically [[Split ergativity|split]] systems; a widespread pattern is for [[pronoun]]s (or [[grammatical person|first and second persons]]) to have [[nominative case|nominative]]–[[accusative case]] marking and for [[grammatical person|third person]] to be [[ergative–absolutive language|ergative–absolutive]], though splits between [[animacy#Animacy hierarchy and split ergativity|animate]] and inanimate are also found. In some languages the persons in between the accusative and ergative inflections (such as second person, or third-person human) may be [[tripartite language|tripartite]]: that is, marked overtly as either ergative or accusative in [[Transitivity (grammar)|transitive]] clauses, but not marked as either in [[intransitive verb|intransitive]] clauses. There are also a few languages which employ only [[nominative–accusative language|nominative–accusative]] case marking. {{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

===Phonetics and phonology===
{{IPA notice|section}}The following represents a canonical 6-place Australian Aboriginal consonant system. It does not represent any single language, but is instead a simplified form of the consonant inventory of what would be found in many Australian languages, including most [[Arandic languages|Arandic]] and [[Yolŋu languages|Yolŋu]] languages.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=8}} 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" rowspan="3" |
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |[[Peripheral consonant|Peripheral]]
! colspan="4" |[[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Apical consonant|Apical]]
! colspan="2" |[[Laminal consonant|Laminal]]
|-
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
![[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-palatal]]
|-
![[Obstruent]]
![[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|ʈ}}
|{{IPA link|t̪}}
|{{IPA link|ȶ}}
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Sonorant]]
![[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|{{IPA link|ɳ}}
|{{IPA link|n̪}}
|{{IPA link|ȵ}}
|-
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|ɭ}}
|{{IPA link|l̪}}
|{{IPA link|ȴ}}
|-
![[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|{{IPA link|ɻ}}
|
|
|-
![[Glide (linguistics)|Glide]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|w}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|j}}
|}

====Segmental inventory====
A typical Australian phonological inventory includes just three vowels, usually {{IPA|/i, u, a/}}, which may occur in both long and short variants.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=9}} In a few cases the {{IPA|[u]}} has been [[roundedness|unrounded]] to give {{IPA|[i, ɯ, a]}}.

There is almost never a [[Voice (phonetics)|voicing contrast]];{{sfn|Butcher|2018|pp=7–8}} that is, a consonant may sound like a {{IPA|[p]}} at the beginning of a word, but like a {{IPA|[b]}} between vowels, and either letter could be (and often is) chosen to represent it. Australia also stands out as being almost entirely free of [[fricative consonant]]s, even of the otherwise universal {{IPA|[s]}}.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=7}} In the few cases where fricatives do occur, they developed recently through the [[lenition]] (weakening) of stops, and are therefore non-sibilants like {{IPA|[ð]}} rather than the [[sibilant]]s like {{IPA|[s]}} that are common elsewhere in the world. Some languages also have three [[rhotic consonant|rhotics]], typically a [[flap consonant|flap]], a [[trill consonant|trill]], and an [[approximant consonant|approximant]] (that is, like the combined rhotics of English and Spanish) and many have four laterals.

Besides the lack of fricatives, the most striking feature of Australian speech sounds is the large number of [[place of articulation|places of articulation]]. Some 10-15% of Australian languages have four places of articulation, with two [[coronal consonant|coronal]] places of articulation, 40-50% have five places, and 40-45% have six places of articulation, including four coronals. The four-way distinction in the coronal region is commonly accomplished through two variables: the position of the tongue (front, alveolar or dental, or [[Retroflex consonant|retroflex]]), and its shape ([[Apical consonant|apical]] or [[Laminal consonant|laminal]]).{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=8}}
There are also [[bilabial consonant|bilabial]], [[velar consonant|velar]] and often [[palatal consonant]]s, but a complete absence of [[uvular consonant]]s and only a few languages with a [[glottal stop]]. Both [[stop consonant|stops]] and [[nasal consonant|nasals]] occur at all six places, and in many languages [[lateral consonant|laterals]] occur at all four coronal places.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=8}}

A language which displays the full range of stops, nasals and laterals is [[Kalkatungu language|Kalkatungu]], which has labial ''p, m''; "dental" ''th, nh, lh''; "alveolar" ''t, n, l''; "retroflex" ''rt, rn, rl''; "palatal" ''ty, ny, ly''; and velar ''k, ng''. [[Wangganguru dialect|Wangganguru]] has all this, as well as three rhotics. [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]] has even more contrasts, with an additional true dorso-palatal series, plus [[prenasalized consonant|prenasalised consonant]]s at all ''seven'' places of articulation, in addition to all four laterals.

A notable exception to the above generalisations is [[Kalaw Lagaw Ya]], spoken in the [[Torres Strait Islands]], which has an inventory more like its [[Papuan languages|Papuan]] neighbours than the languages of the Australian mainland, including full voice contrasts: {{IPA|/p b/}}, dental {{IPA|/t̪ d̪/}}, alveolar {{IPA|/t d/}}, the sibilants {{IPA|/s z/}} (which have allophonic variation with {{IPA|[tʃ]}} and {{IPA|[dʒ]}} respectively) and velar {{IPA|/k ɡ/}}, as well as only one rhotic, one lateral and three nasals (labial, dental and velar) in contrast to the 5 places of articulation of stops/sibilants. Where vowels are concerned, it has 8 vowels with some morpho-syntactic as well as phonemic length contrasts ({{IPA|i iː}}, {{IPA|e eː}}, {{IPA|a aː}}, {{IPA|ə əː}}, {{IPA|ɔ ɔː}}, {{IPA|o oː}}, {{IPA|ʊ ʊː}}, {{IPA|u uː}}), and glides that distinguish between those that are in origin vowels, and those that in origin are consonants. [[Kunjen language|Kunjen]] and other neighbouring languages have also developed contrasting [[aspirated consonant]]s ({{IPA|[pʰ]}}, {{IPA|[t̪ʰ]}}, {{IPA|[tʰ]}}, {{IPA|[cʰ]}}, {{IPA|[kʰ]}}) not found further south.

====Coronal consonants====<!--this section is linked from [[Tiwi language]]-->
Descriptions of the coronal articulations can be inconsistent.

The alveolar series ''t, n, l'' (or ''d, n, l'') is straightforward: across the continent, these sounds are [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] (that is, pronounced by touching the tongue to the ridge just behind the gum line of the upper teeth) and [[apical consonant|apical]] (that is, touching that ridge with the tip of the tongue). This is very similar to English ''t, d, n, l'', though the Australian ''t'' is not aspirated, even in Kalaw Lagaw Ya, despite its other stops being aspirated.

The other apical series is the retroflex, ''rt, rn, rl'' (or ''rd, rn, rl''). Here the place is further back in the mouth, in the [[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]] or [[palatal consonant|prepalatal]] region. The articulation is actually most commonly [[subapical consonant|subapical]]; that is, the tongue curls back so that the ''underside'' of the tip makes contact. That is, they are true [[retroflex consonant]]s. It has been suggested that subapical pronunciation is characteristic of more careful speech, while these sounds tend to be apical in rapid speech. Kalaw Lagaw Ya and many other languages in North Queensland differ from most other Australian languages in not having a retroflexive series.

The dental series ''th, nh, lh'' are always [[laminal consonant|laminal]] (that is, pronounced by touching with the surface of the tongue just above the tip, called the ''blade'' of the tongue), but may be formed in one of three different ways, depending on the language, on the speaker, and on how carefully the speaker pronounces the sound. These are [[interdental consonant|interdental]] with the tip of the tongue visible between the teeth, as in ''th'' in English; dental with the tip of the tongue down behind the lower teeth, so that the blade is visible between the teeth; and [[denti-alveolar consonant|denti-alveolar]], that is, with both the tip and the blade making contact with the back of the upper teeth and alveolar ridge, as in French ''t, d, n, l''. The first tends to be used in careful enunciation, and the last in more rapid speech, while the tongue-down articulation is less common.

Finally, the palatal series ''ty, ny, ly''. (The stop is often spelled ''dj'', ''tj'', or ''j''.) Here the contact is also laminal, but further back, spanning the alveolar to postalveolar, or the postalveolar to prepalatal regions. The tip of the tongue is typically down behind the lower teeth. This is similar to the "closed" articulation of [[Circassian language|Circassian]] fricatives (see [[Postalveolar consonant]]). The body of the tongue is raised towards the [[palate]]. This is similar to the "domed" English postalveolar fricative ''sh''. Because the tongue is "peeled" from the roof of the mouth from back to front during the release of these stops, there is a fair amount of frication, giving the ''ty'' something of the impression of the English [[palato-alveolar consonant|palato-alveolar]] [[affricate consonant|affricate]] ''ch'' or the [[Polish language|Polish]] [[alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]] affricate ''ć''. That is, these consonants are not [[palatal consonant|palatal]] in the IPA sense of the term, and indeed they contrast with true palatals in [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]]. In Kalaw Lagaw Ya, the palatal consonants are sub-phonemes of the alveolar sibilants {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}}.

These descriptions do not apply exactly to all Australian languages, as the notes regarding Kalaw Lagaw Ya demonstrate. However, they do describe most of them, and are the expected norm against which languages are compared.

====Phonotactics====
Some have suggested that the most appropriate unit to describe the phonotactics of Australian languages is the phonological word. The most common word length is two [[syllable]]s, and a typical phonological word would have the form:

<blockquote>(C{{sub|INIT}})V{{sub|1}}C{{sub|1}}(C{{sub|2}})V{{sub|2}}(C{{sub|FIN}})</blockquote>

with the first syllable being stressed.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=9}} The optionality of C{{sub|FIN}} is cross-linguistically normal, since coda consonants are weak or nonexistent in many languages, as well as in the early stages of language acquisition. The weakening of C{{sub|INIT}}, on the other hand, is very unusual. No Australian language has [[consonant cluster]]s in this position, and those languages with [[fortis and lenis]] distinctions do not make such distinctions in this position. Place of articulation distinctions are also less common in this position, and [[lenition]]s and [[elision|deletions]] are historically common here. While in most languages the word-initial position is prominent, maintaining all a language's contrasts, that is not the case in Australia. Here the prominent position is C{{sub|1}}(C{{sub|2}}), in the middle of the word. C{{sub|1}} is typically the only position allowing all of a language's place of articulation contrasts. Fortis/lenis contrasts can only occur at C{{sub|1}}, or at C{{sub|2}} when C{{sub|1}} is a sonorant. Consonant clusters are often restricted to the C{{sub|1}}(C{{sub|2}}) position, and are most commonly [[sonorant]] + [[obstruent]] sequences. In languages with pre-stopped nasals or laterals, those sounds only occur at C{{sub|1}}.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=9}}

Australian languages typically resist certain connected speech processes which might blur the place of articulation of consonants at C{{sub|1}}(C{{sub|2}}), such as anticipatory [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]] of place of articulation, which is common around the world. In Australia, this type of assimilation seems only to have affected consonants within the apical and laminal categories. There's little evidence of assimilation between the labial, apical, laminal, and dorsal categories. Many [[Proto-Pama–Nyungan language|proto-Pama–Nyungan]] {{IPA|/-np-/}} and {{IPA|/-nk-/}} clusters have been preserved across Australia. Heterorganic nasal + stop sequences remain stable even in modern connected speech, which is highly unusual.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=9}}

The anticipatory assimilation of nasality is quite common in various languages around the world. Typically, a vowel will become [[Nasalization|nasalized]] before a following nasal consonant. However, this process is resisted in Australian languages.
There was a historical process in many languages where nasal + stop C{{sub|1}}C{{sub|2}} clusters lost the nasal element if C{{sub|INIT}} was a nasal. Also, many languages have morphophonemic alterations whereby initial nasals in suffixes are denasalized if the preceding stem contains a nasal consonant.
While the existence of phonemic [[Pre-stopped consonant|pre-stopped]] nasals and laterals, contrasting with plain nasals and laterals, has been documented in some Australian languages, nasals and laterals are pre-stopped on a phonetic level in most languages of the continent. These phenomena are the result of a general resistance to the anticipatory assimilation of nasality and laterality. The lack of assimilation makes coda nasals and laterals more acoustically distinct.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|pp=9–10}}

Most speakers of Australian languages speak with a 'pressed' [[voice quality]], with the glottal opening narrower than in modal voice, a relatively high frequency of [[creaky voice]], and low airflow. This may be due to an avoidance of [[breathy voice]]. This pressed quality could therefore serve to enhance the clarity of speech and ensure the perception of place of articulation distinctions.{{sfn|Butcher|2018|p=10}}

==Orthography==
{{Main|Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages}}
Probably every Australian language with speakers remaining has had an orthography developed for it, in each case in the [[Latin script]]. Sounds not found in English are usually represented by [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]], or more rarely by [[diacritic]]s, such as underlines, or extra symbols, sometimes borrowed from the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]. Some examples are shown in the following table.

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Language
! scope="col" | Example
! scope="col" | Translation
! scope="col" | Type
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Pitjantjatjara dialect|Pitjantjatjara]]
| pa'''ṉ'''a
| 'earth, dirt, ground; land'
| diacritic (underline) indicates retroflex 'n'
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Wajarri language|Wajarri]]
| '''nh'''a'''nh'''a
| 'this, this one'
| digraph indicating 'n' with dental articulation
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | [[Yolŋu languages|Yolŋu]]
| yol'''ŋ'''u
| 'person, man'
| ''''[[Eng (letter)|ŋ]]'''' (from [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]) for velar nasal
|}

==Demographics (2016)==
In the Northern Territory, 62.5% of Aboriginal Australians spoke an indigenous language at home in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glynn-McDonald |first1=Rona |title=First Nations languages |url=https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/indigenous-languages-avoiding-a-silent-future |website=Common Ground |access-date=7 November 2021 |date=15 January 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329175748/https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/indigenous-languages-avoiding-a-silent-future }}</ref><ref name="broken-census-ref">{{Cite web|url=https://guest.censusdata.abs.gov.au/webapi/downloadTable?fileTemplate=templates%2FXLSX_Template.xlsx|title=Indigenous language in Australia|access-date=7 November 2021|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107080935/https://guest.censusdata.abs.gov.au/webapi/downloadTable/login.xhtml?invalidSession=true&reason=Session+not+established.|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Moved resource|date=November 2021}} In Queensland, almost 95% of Torres Strait Islanders spoke an indigenous language at home in 2016.<ref name="broken-census-ref"/>{{Moved resource|date=November 2021}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Place
! Population that speaks an Indigenous language
! Percentage that speaks an Indigenous language
|-
| [[Torres Strait Islands]]
| 3,159
| 69.9%
|-
| {{flag|Northern Territory}}
| 34,956
| 15%
|-
| {{flag|Western Australia}}
| 10,251
| 0.4%
|-
| {{flag|Queensland}}
| 13,474
| 0.3%
|-
| {{flag|South Australia}}
| 3,392
| 0.2%
|-
| {{flag|New South Wales}}
| 1,922
| 0%
|-
| {{flag|Victoria}}
| 526
| 0%
|-
| {{flag|Australian Capital Territory}}
| 132
| 0%
|-
| {{flag|Tasmania}}
| 70
| 0%
|}

==Notable linguists==
A number of linguists and ethnographers have contributed greatly to the sum of knowledge about Australian languages. Of particular note are:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Barry Blake]]
*[[Claire Bowern]]
*[[Gavan Breen]]
*[[Arthur Capell]]
*[[Robert M. W. Dixon|R. M. W. Dixon]]
*[[Kenneth L. Hale|Kenneth Hale]]
*[[Margaret Heffernan (linguist)|Margaret Heffernan]]
*[[Luise Hercus]]
*[[David Nash (linguist)|David Nash]]
*[[Lynette Frances Oates|Lynette Oates]] (1921–2013)<ref>{{cite web | title=Lynette Oates (1921–2013) | website=Wycliffe Australia | date=12 December 2016 | url=https://wycliffe.org.au/lynette-oates-1921-2013/ | access-date=13 October 2020 | archive-date=13 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013101349/https://wycliffe.org.au/lynette-oates-1921-2013/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title=Oates, Lynette F. (Lynette Frances) | website=Trove | publisher=National Library of Australia | url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-512032 | access-date=13 October 2020 | archive-date=7 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107080923/https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/512032?c=people | url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Nicholas Evans (linguist)|Nicholas Evans]]
*[[Rachel Nordlinger]]
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Australia}}
* [[Aboriginal Australians]]
* [[Australian Aboriginal sign languages]]
* [[List of Aboriginal Australian group names]]
* [[List of Australian Aboriginal languages]]
* [[List of Aboriginal languages of New South Wales]]
* [[List of Australian place names of Aboriginal origin]]
* [[List of endangered languages with mobile apps]]
* [[List of reduplicated Australian place names]]
* [[Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages]]
* [[Macro-Gunwinyguan languages]]
* [[Macro-Pama–Nyungan languages]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{incubator|aer|lang=Eastern Arrernte}}
{{incubator|rop|lang=Kriol}}
{{incubator|nys|lang=Noongar}}
{{WikisourceWiki|code=rop|Main page/Kriol}}
{{incubator|piu|lang=Pintupi-Luritja}}
{{incubator|pjt|lang=Pitjantjatjara}}
{{incubator|tcs|lang=Torres Strait Creole}}
{{incubator|tiw|lang=Tiwi}}
{{incubator|wbp|lang=Warlpiri}}
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=Australian Aboriginal languages}}
*{{cite web|website=The Conversation|url=https://theconversation.com/the-state-of-australias-indigenous-languages-and-how-we-can-help-people-speak-them-more-often-109662|title=The state of Australia's Indigenous languages – and how we can help people speak them more often|date=21 January 2019|first=Jane|last=Simpson}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150425131813/http://austlang.aiatsis.gov.au/disclaimer.php AUSTLANG Australian Indigenous Languages Database] at [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|AIATSIS]]
* [http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/culture/topic/aboriginal-australia-map Aboriginal Australia map], a guide to Aboriginal language, tribal and nation groups published by [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|AIATSIS]]
* [http://www.dnathan.com/VL/austLang.htm Aboriginal Languages of Australia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050709053041/http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/pathways.asp The AIATSIS map of Aboriginal Australia] (recorded ranges; full view [https://web.archive.org/web/20130420063830/http://www.reconciliationsa.org.au/pdf%20and%20docs/Aboriginal%20Australia%20Map.pdf here]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AU Languages of Australia], as listed by [[Ethnologue]]
* [http://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/products/report_research_outputs/2014-report-of-the-2nd-national-indigenous-languages-survey.pdf Report of the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey 2014] 
* [http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/aboriginalwords Finding the meaning of an Aboriginal word]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090625111909/http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/index.html Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner], [http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_report/index.html Social Justice Report 2009] for more information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and policy.
* [http://laal.cdu.edu.au/ Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314105952/http://laal.cdu.edu.au/ |date=14 March 2018 }} (Northern Territory languages only)
* Bowern, Claire. 2016. "Chirila: Contemporary and Historical Resources for the Indigenous Languages of Australia". Language Documentation and Conservation 10 (2016): 1–44. http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/?p=1002.

==External links==
*[https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/dashboard/socioeconomic/outcome-area16 Cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing] Data relating to the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages spoken in Australia and its States and Territories.
*[https://50words.online/ 50 Words Project] (audio recordings of 50 words in Australian Indigenous languages)
*[http://chirila.yale.edu/ CHIRILA: A database of the languages of Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023234140/http://chirila.yale.edu/ |date=23 October 2020 }} (Contemporary and Historical Reconstruction in the Indigenous Languages of Australia)
*[https://www.pamanyungan.net/chirila/ CHIRILA, Yale Pama-Nyungan Lab]
*[https://gambay.com.au/ Gambay - First Languages Map], an interactive map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
*[https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma99183644320302061 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander word lists], [[State Library of Queensland]]. 
*[https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma99183673120702061 Spoken: celebrating Queensland languages digital stories], State Library of Queensland

{{Australian Aboriginal languages}}
{{Languages of Australia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indigenous Australian Languages}}
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal languages| ]]