Nyungan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A member of an Aboriginal language family primarily found in Australia, particularly in the northern and central regions
2. Referring to the group of languages spoken by Indigenous Australians of the Australian continent, associated with cultural and historical significance
3. Pertaining to the diverse tribes that speak these languages and their distinct cultural practices and heritage

Etymology: "Nyungan" is built from "Nyunga," the name of a people of south-western Western Australia, plus the suffix "-an," which turns a people's name into an adjective meaning "relating to" them. The name "Nyunga" itself means "person" or "man" in the local language, so the label that linguists attached to a large family of Australian languages carries, at its root, a people's word for themselves. The term was adopted by linguists to name the large language grouping that covers most of the Australian continent, not only the languages of the Nyunga people. Its use is a clear example of a general label taken from one specific group, a pattern common in scholarly naming of languages, peoples and places across the world.

Synonyms: Aboriginal Australian, indigenous person