Punup languages (Bunaban, Bunuba, South Kimberly; Bunuban) is a small family consisting of two closely related Australian languages spoken in northwestern Australia in the southern part of the Kimberley region (northern western Australia ).
| Punup languages | |
|---|---|
| Taxon | family |
| Status | universally recognized |
| Area | Western Australia |
| Number of carriers | less than 200 people |
| Classification | |
| Category | Australian languages |
| Australian hypothesis | |
| Composition | |
| 2 groups | |
| Match rate | 45% |
| Language group codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | - |
| ISO 639-5 | - |
Content
Distribution
Most carriers now live in Fitzroy Crossing and neighboring outstations on the headwaters of the Fitzroy River southwest of the King Liopold Mountains . Some live in neighboring cities, such as Hall Creek and Derby .
Classification
Family unity is universally recognized [1] , including recognition by Robert Dixon (2002), who calls it the South Kimberley subgroup .
Include two languages:
- Kuniyanti (Guniyandi; Gooniyandi) - Margaret River Valley, with about 100 speakers
- Punupa ( Bunuba ; Bunuba) - 50-100 speakers
Languages are not mutually understood, although many speakers (especially the elderly) speak both languages.
The percentage of matches between which according to Swadesh’s list is 45%. This is approximately equal to the percentage of matches between some branches of the Indo-European languages , for example, between Slavic and Baltic [2] .
Current situation
Speakers who are fluent in Punup languages are all over 40 years old and neither language is passed on to children as their mother tongue. Nevertheless, apparently, most children know some words and to some extent can understand the language.
For both languages, spelling is developed on a Latin basis.
Notes
- ↑ McGregor 2004
- ↑ It is not clear on which the statement often repeated in English literature is based that the two Punap languages are close to each other in much the same way as English and Dutch ( they are about as similar as English and Dutch ), the percentage of matches between which is 82%.
Literature
- Carr, Therese. 1991. Writing Gooniyandi, 1990 update // Notes on Literacy 17 (3): 12-17.
- Dixon RMW Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development . 2002.
- Hudson, Joyce. 1984. An orthography chosen by those who speak Gooniyandi // Language Affairs Forum 1: np
- McGregor, William. The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. - London, New York: Taylor & Francis, 2004.
- Wrigley, Matthew. Community involvement in orthography development: Devising an orthography for Bunuba // Notes on Literacy 17 (3). - 1991 .-- P. 19-24.