Etymology

Pama-Nyungan

Today it means: A proposed language family encompassing most Australian Aboriginal languages, including Pitjantjatjara and Warlpiri, but excluding those spoken in the northwest. Full definition →

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The story

From pama (“man, person”) (in several northeast Australian Aboriginal languages) + nyungaa (“man, person”) (in several southwestern Australian Aboriginal languages) + -an. Apparently coined by American linguist Kenneth L. Hale (1934-2001), to show the vast geographical extent of the family.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1960s A proposed language family encompassing most Australian Aboriginal languages, including Pitjantjatjara and Warlpiri, but excluding those spoken in the northwest.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.