Marrgu language

Marrgu
Marrgu
Yaako, Ajokoot, Croker Island, Raffles Bay, Terrutong, Terutong
Native to	Australia
Region	Croker Island, Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Yaako
Native speakers	1 (2000); 2 partial understanders (2008)
Language family	Marrku–Wurrugu?; Iwaidjan? Marrgu;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mhg
Glottolog	marg1251
AIATSIS	N45
ELP	Marrgu
	Marrgu language (purple arrow), among other non-Pama–Nyungan languages (grey)
	Closeup

Marrgu (Marrku) is a recently extinct^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[clarification needed]}

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 has the three-vowel (/a/, /i/, /u/) system typical of Iwaidjan languages (Evans 1998).

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Low	a

References

^ ^a ^b Marrgu language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c 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.

[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.

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[2]

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