Marrgu language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marrgu |
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|---|---|
| Yaako | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Croker Island, Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Yaako |
| Extinct | 1 speaker reported in 2000; 2 reported to partly understand it in 2008aiatsis |
| Language family |
Marrku–Wurrugu?
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| AIATSIS | N45 |
Marrgu language (purple arrow), among other non-Pama–Nyungan languages (grey)
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Marrgu (Marrku) is a recently extinct Aboriginal language of northern Australia. Additional names include Ajokoot, Croker Island, Raffles Bay, Terrutong (Terutong), Yaako (Jaako, Yako).
Contents
Classification
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. This connection however is merely theoretical.
Phonology
Consonant inventory
| 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⟩ | ||||
Vowels
Marrgu had the three-vowel (/a/, /i/, /u/) system typical of Iwaidjan languages (Evans 1998).
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
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Marrgu language Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.