Martu Wangka dialect

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]
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Wati Western Desert Martu Wangka
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mpj
Glottolog	mart1256
AIATSIS[2]	A86
ELP	Wangkajunga Martu Wangka

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

OBJ:object SIM:similar TAG:question tag

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	i iː	ʊ ʊː
Low	a aː

• /i/ can be heard as sounds [i] or [ɪ] in free variation.
• /ʊ/ can be heard as sounds [ʊ] or [u] in free variation.
• /a/ is typically pronounced as [a] or [ɐ]. When following the glide /w/, it may be realized as [ɒ].^[5]

Consonants

	Peripheral		Laminal	Apical
	Bilabial	Velar	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive	p	k	ɟ	t	ʈ
Nasal	m	ŋ	ɲ	n	ɳ
Lateral			ʎ	l	ɭ
Tap				ɾ
Approximant	w		j		ɻ

• Sounds /p, t, k/ can have voiced allophones [b, d, ɡ] when occurring in word-medial positions.
• /ʈ/ can also be heard as a voiced sound [ɖ] or a tap sound [ɽ] in various positions.
• /ɾ/ can also be heard as a trill [r].^[3]

References

1. "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
2. A86 Martu Wangka at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
3. Burgman, Albert; Marsh, James; Hansen, Ken; Booth, Joshua (2005). Martu Wangka Dictionary and Topical Finderlist 2005 Draft. South Hedland, Western Australia: WANGKA MAYA Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre. ISBN 1875946152.
4. A86 Martu Wangka at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
5. Marsh, James (1992). Martu Wangka-English dictionary. Berrimah, Northern Territory, Australia: Australian Aborigines and Islanders Branch, Summer Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 086892346X.
6. Burgman, Albert (May 2017). Martu Wangka sketch grammar : An introduction to the structure and use of Martu Wangka. Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre: Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre. ISBN 9781921970146.
7. Wurm, Stephen A.; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T. (11 February 2011). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas (Vol I: Maps. Vol II: Texts ed.). Walter de Gruyter. pp. 101–121. ISBN 978-3-11-081972-4. Retrieved 9 July 2024.