Marrgu language

Marrgu
Marrgu
Yaako
Native to	Australia
Region	Croker Island, Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Yaako
Extinct	1 speaker reported in 2000;[1] 2 reported to partly understand it in 2008[2]
Language family	Marrku–Wurrugu? Marrgu;
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 a recently extinct Aboriginal language of northern Australia. Additional names include Ajokoot, Croker Island, Raffles Bay, Terrutong (Terutong), Yaako (Jaako, Yako).[1]

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,[2] with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attested Wurrugu. This connection however is merely theoretical.

Phonology

Consonant inventory

Marrgu consonants[3]
	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

References

Marrgu language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
N45 Marrgu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Evans, Nicholas (1998). "Iwaidja mutation and its origins". In Anna Siewierska & Jae Jung Song. Case, Typology and Grammar: In honor of Barry J. Blake. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 115–149.

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[e18-1] Marrgu language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[AIATSIS-2] N45 Marrgu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[3] Evans, Nicholas (1998). "Iwaidja mutation and its origins". In Anna Siewierska & Jae Jung Song. Case, Typology and Grammar: In honor of Barry J. Blake. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 115–149.