The Maringarr language (Marri Ngarr, Marenggar, Maringa) is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Marri Ngarr along the northwest coast of the Northern Territory.
| Marri Ngarr | |
|---|---|
| Marrengarr | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Daly River |
| Ethnicity | Marringarr |
Native speakers | 5 (2016 census)[1] |
Western Daly
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | zmt |
| Glottolog | mari1418 |
| AIATSIS[1] | N102 |
| ELP | Marringarr |
 Maringarr is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Bilabial | Apical | Laminal | Dorsal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveolar | Retroflex | Dental | Palatal | ||||
| Stop | voiceless | p | t | t̪ | c | k | |
| voiced | b | d | |||||
| Fricative | β | ʐ | ʝ | ɣ | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||||
| Approximant | w | ɻ | j | ||||
- /p/ may also be heard as a bilabial fricative [ɸ] in intervocalic positions.
- /c/ may also be heard as a fricative [ʒ] in intervocalic positions.
- /r/ may also be heard as a tap [ɾ], and can be realized as [r̥] within the position of voiceless consonants.[2]
- /t, d, l/ are often be realized as retroflex [ʈ, ɖ, ɭ] when following a non-front vowel.
- /t̪/ may also be heard as a fricative [ð] in intervocalic positions.
- /β/ may also be heard as a voiceless [ɸ], in various word-initial positions.[3]
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | ɛ | ||
| Low | ɐ ~ æ | ||
- Sounds /i, u/ have lax allophones of [ɪ, ʊ] in word-medial and unstressed positions. They are mainly heard as [i, u] in stressed positions, in word-final positions or following glide sounds.
- /u/ can be realized as [ɔ] when preceded or followed by a peripheral consonant. When preceding a palatal consonant, it is realized as a diphthong [ɔɪ].
- /ɐ/ is often heard as [æ] when following a palatal consonant. When preceding a palatal consonant, it is realized as a diphthong [aɪ].[3]
Grammar
editThe vocabulary is limited; therefore the relations and positioning of the words matter to make sense of the construction according to the situation. It is a polysynthetic language.[4]
ex:
niwinj
3DU
yi
that
gudingi-derrkurr-fingi-gawunh
3DU.SBJ.DI.R.IPFV-sharpen-now-3DU.SBJ.SIT.R
'Those two fellas are sharpening their knives now.'
Marringarr also contains ergativity, which is marked by the postposition -ŋarrin.[5]
Vocabulary
edit| Maringarr | English |
|---|---|
| mi bakulin | billygoat plum |
| nhanjdiji marri | cycad |
| a marri | bush cockroach |
| a wayelh | goanna lizard |
| a dhan gi | saltwater prawn |
References
edit- 1 2 N102 Marri Ngarr at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ↑ Tryon, Darrell T. (1974). Marengar. In Tryon, Darrell T, Daly Family Languages, Australia. (Pacific Linguistics: Series C, 32.): Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 120–137.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - 1 2 Bicevskis, Katie (2023). A grammatical description of Marri Ngarr. University of Melbourne.
- ↑ Fortescue, Michael; Fortescue, Michael D.; Mithun, Marianne; Evans, Nicholas (2017). The Oxford handbook of polysynthesis. Oxford. p. 312. ISBN 9780199683208.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ Sands, Kristina (1996). The ergative in Proto-Australian. München: Lincom Europa. p. 43. ISBN 9783895860539.
External links
edit- Marri Ngarr at the Dalylanguages.org website.