Kalaw Lagaw Ya - Classification and External Comparison

Classification and External Comparison

Kalaw Lagaw Ya is conventionally classified among the Pama–Nyungan languages. But Mitchell (1995, 2011, 2012) regards it as a mixed language with an Australian core substratum and Papuan and Austronesian overlays, while Capell (1956) and Dixon (2002) reclassify it among the Papuan languages. The personal pronouns are typically Australian, most kin terms are Papuan, and significant sea and agricultural vocabulary is Austronesian.

Kalaw Lagaw Ya has only 6% cognation with its closest Australian neighbour, Urradhi, with a further 5% "common" vocabulary ) - and about 40% common vocabulary with its Papuan neighbour, Meriam Mìr (Mitchell 2012). Of the 279 Proto-Paman forms given in Sommer 1969:62-66, only 18.9% have definite realisations in Kalaw Lagaw Ya, with a further 2.5% which may be present. One word that illustrates the problems of 'may-be' relationship is kùlbai (KKY kùlba) old, which may be a metathetic realisation of CA *bulgan big; old. Thus, where vocabulary is concerned, potentially 80% of the vocabulary of the language is non-Australian, and includes Papuan and Austronesian items (Mitchell 1995:9).

The following are a few examples of different word stock in Kalaw Lagaw Ya.

Oral tradition and cultural evidence recorded by Haddon (1935) and Laade (1968) shows that Austronesian trade and settlement in South-West Papua, Torres Strait and Cape York occurred, backed up by archaeological evidence (Bruno, McNiven, et al. 2004) and linguistic evidence - the languages have significant Austronesian vocabulary content (cf. Dutton 1972 and 1976, Verhoeve 1982), including items such as the following:

Some of the Austronesian content, as noted above, is clearly South-East Papuan Austronesian:

The linguistic history of the Torres Strait area is complex, and interaction of well over 2000 years has led to many layers of relationship between the local languages, including many words that are obviously common, though whether through trade or 'genetics' is another story, such as the following "trade" words in Torres Strait area languages.

• The only Gudang word recorded in the mid-1800s by Europeans was choki, from the Malay-based English Pidgin English used by the British (and other) sailors of the time. The Malay word is variously coki or cuki.

However, any discussion of external relationships of Kalaw Lagaw Ya must also take into account the fact that there are tantalising resemblances between the Paman (Australian) and the Trans-Fly (Papuan) languages, that, though few, may be significant, and include forms such as those noted below, which include words that do not appear in Kalaw Lagaw Ya. Such resemblances can point to an deep-level relationship dating back to before the flooding of Torres Strait at the end of the last age, as well as to later contacts.