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The Conversation
The Conversation
Mark Harvey, Conjoint Associate Professor, Linguistics, University of Newcastle

New evidence confirms our Indigenous languages have a common source, but how they spread remains a mystery

SolStock/Getty Images

Have you ever wondered how Australia’s many Indigenous languages relate to one another and how far back the connections go?

The Australian continent has been settled by Indigenous people for at least 50,000 years, but just how old are the languages spoken today and where did they originate? Our research provides some answers to these questions – and the answers throw up new and interesting puzzles.

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