| Marrgu | |
|---|---|
| Yaako | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Croker Island, Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Yaako |
| Extinct | 2003 [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mhg |
| Glottolog | marg1251 |
| AIATSIS [2] | N45 |
| ELP | Marrgu |
 Marrgu language (purple arrow), among other non-Pama–Nyungan languages (grey) | |
 Closeup | |
Marrgu (Marrku) is an extinct [3] Aboriginal language of northern Australia. Additional names include Ajokoot, Croker Island, Raffles Bay , Terrutong (Terutong), Yaako (Jaako, Yako). [1]
Marrgu had been assumed to be an Iwaidjan language like its neighbours. However, Evans (2006) has produced evidence that it was a language isolate, with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attested Wurrugu. [2]
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p | k | c | t̪ | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n̪ | n | ɳ |
| Approximant | w | ɣ | j | ɻ | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Flap | ɽ | |||||
| Lateral | (ʎ) | l | ɭ | |||
| Lateral flap | ɺ⟨ld⟩ | 𝼈⟨rld⟩ | ||||
Marrgu has the three-vowel (/a/,/i/,/u/) system typical of Iwaidjan languages (Evans 1998).
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 up to possibly 363. The Indigenous languages of Australia comprise numerous language families and isolates, perhaps as many as 13, spoken by the Indigenous peoples of mainland Australia and a few nearby islands. The relationships between the language families are not clear at present although there are proposals to link some into larger groupings. Despite this uncertainty, the Indigenous Australian languages are collectively covered by the technical term "Australian languages", or the "Australian family".
The Pama–Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian Aboriginal languages, containing 306 out of 400 Aboriginal languages in Australia. The name "Pama–Nyungan" is a merism: it is derived from the two end-points of the range, the Pama languages of northeast Australia and the Nyungan languages of southwest Australia.
Iwaidja, in phonemic spelling Iwaja, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Iwaidja people with about 150 native, and an extra 20 to 30 L2 speakers in northernmost Australia. Historically having come from the base of the Cobourg Peninsula, it is now spoken on Croker Island. It is still being learnt by children within the Northern Territory.
Macro-Pama-Nyungan is an umbrella term used to refer to a proposed Indigenous Australian language family. It was coined by the Australian linguist Nicholas Evans in his 1996 book Archaeology and linguistics: Aboriginal Australia in global perspective, co-authored by Patrick McConvell. The term arose from Evans' theory suggesting that two of the largest Indigenous Australian language families share a common origin, and should therefore be classified as a singular language family under "Macro-Pama-Nyungan".
Gaagudju is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in the environs of Kakadu National Park, in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.
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Giimbiyu is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language isolate once spoken by the Giimbiyu people of northern Australia.
The Iwaidjan or Yiwaidjan languages are a small family of non-Pama–Nyungan Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula region of Western Arnhem Land.
Nicholas Evans is an Australian linguist and a leading expert on endangered languages. He was born in Los Angeles.
Amurdak, also rendered Amurdag, Amurdak, Amurag, Amarag and Wureidbug, is an Aboriginal Australian language historically spoken in an area around the eastern coast of Van Diemen Gulf, in the Northern Territory of Australia. No speakers were recorded in 2021, so it may be extinct.
Ilgar, also known as Garig-Ilgar after its two dialects, is an extinct Iwaidjan language spoken in the mainland of Cobourg Peninsula, around Port Essington, Northern Territory.
Maung is an Australian aboriginal language spoken by the Maung people on the Goulburn Islands, off the north coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Maung is closely related to Iwaidja language which occupies the northwestern corner of the opposite mainland. This is a language that belongs to the Iwaidjan language family of Non-Pama–Nyungan languages. As of 2021, there were around 360 speakers of the language.
Manangkari, also known as Naragani, is an extinct Australian aboriginal language once spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory. Manangkari belongs to the Iwaidjan family of languages, and may be a dialect of Maung.
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Wagaya (Wakaya) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of Queensland. Yindjilandji (Indjilandji) may have been a separate language. The linguist Gavan Breen recorded two dialects of the language, an Eastern and a Western variety, incorporating their description in his 1974 grammar.
The Marrku–Wurrugu languages are a possible language family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula region of Western Arnhem Land. They are the extinct Marrgu and Wurrugu languages. They were once classified as distant relatives of the Iwaidjan languages, until Nicholas Evans found the evidence for Marrgu's membership insufficient, concluding that similarities were due to borrowing.
The Maung people, or Warruwi, are an Aboriginal Australian people living on the Goulburn Islands, in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory.
The Jaako (Yaako) were an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.
The Oitbi were an indigenous Australian people of the Cobourg Peninsula of the Northern Territory.
The Iwaidja are an Indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.
