Fitzgerald, Susan Ann2024-08-132024-08-1319911991https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17776An important question in Australian historical linguistics is whether or not the Pama-Nyungan languages form a family. In order to determine the genetic status of Pama-Nyungan, it is necessary to compare the syntactic, lexical, morphological, and phonological systems of both Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan languages. The presence of regular correspondences in the lexicon and phonology of the Pama-Nyungan languages, and their absence in the non-Pama-Nyungan languages, would indicate a period of common development for the Pama-Nyungan languages. This thesis represents another step towards answering the question of the history of the Pama­-Nyungan languages. Through the comparison of the lexicons of twenty Pama-Nyungan languages, 168 cognate sets, all of which are believed to reflect proto-forms with initial *ng-, have been collected. In many cases, the meanings of the words in a set illustrate important aspects of semantic change found in Australian languages. In addition, the phonological matchings seen in t he sets provide evidence needed for the eventual establishment of regular sound correspondences.144 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis