Extinct language of Australia
| Marrgu | |
|---|---|
| Yaako | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Croker Island, Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Yaako |
| Extinct | 1 speaker reported in 2000; 2 reportedââto partly understand it in 2008 |
MarrkuâWurrugu?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mhg |
| Glottolog | marg1251 |
| AIATSIS | N45 |
| ELP | Marrgu |
 Marrgu language (purple arrow), among other non-PamaâNyungan 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).
Classificationâ»
Marrgu had been assumedââto 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.
Phonologyâ»
Consonant inventoryâ»
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p | k | c | tÌȘ | t | Ê |
| Nasal | m | Ć | ÉČ | nÌȘ | n | Éł |
| Approximant | w | ÉŁ | j | É» | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Flap | ɜ | |||||
| Lateral | (Ê) | l | É | |||
| Lateral flap | Éș ⟨ld⟩ | đŒ ⟨rld⟩ | ||||
Vowelsâ»
Marrgu had theââthree-vowel (/a/, /i/, /u/) system typical of Iwaidjan languages (Evans 1998).
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
Referencesâ»
- ^ 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. 115â149.