Martu Wangka is a variety of the Western Desert language that emerged during the 20th century in Western Australia as several Indigenous communities shifted from their respective territories to form a single community.
| Martu Wangka | |
|---|---|
| Region | Northwest Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Kartudjara, Manjiljarra, Yulparija, Maduwongga |
Native speakers | 814 (2021 census)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mpj |
| Glottolog | mart1256 |
| AIATSIS[2] | A86 |
| ELP | |
It refers to both a dialect found at and around Jigalong, Western Australia[3]: iii [4] and many different dialect groups in the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy deserts.[4]
A dictionary of over 400 pages was published in 1992.[5] This dictionary has been described as "a volume of interim work-sheets" that was published to encourage the conservation of the language. An edited version was published in 2005.[3]: ii An introduction to the structure and use of Martu Wangka was published in 2017.[6]
History
Martu Wangka developed after two tribes, the Kartudjara and the Manjiljarra came in from the Western desert to settle into Jigalong during the 1960s. Though tribally distinct, they spoke two mutually intelligible dialects of the Western Desert language family. Through daily cohabitation, they developed what is technically known as a communalect. In this process, elements of the two languages are selected to fuse into a single shared idiom, thus forming a lingua franca distinct from the originative dialects of the various groups who settled down to live together.[3]: ii [7]: 117
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
References
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