Manangkardi language

Manangkardi
Manangkari
Native toAustralia
RegionCobourg Peninsula, Arnhem Land
ExtinctSeptember 2003, with the death of Charlie Wardaga
Language codes
ISO 639-3znk
Glottologmana1248
AIATSISN183

Manangkardi (Manangkari), also known as Naragani, is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language once spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory. Manangkari belongs to the Iwaidjan family of languages, and may be a dialect of Maung or a distinct language.

Geographical distribution

Different locations are given for the placement of traditionally Manangkardi-speaking territory. According to Australian Aboriginal elders at Warruwi (South Goulburn Island), Manangkardi was said to be the original language of both Warruwi, as well as Weyirra (North Goulburn Island). However, those who had worked with Nicholas Evans at Minjilang (Croker Island) associated Mamangkardi with Weyirra and a portion of the mainland coast to the west of the island.

Classification

Manangkardi is referred to either as "a kind of Mawng" or a distinct language from it. It is uncertain whether or not the two were mutually intelligible. The name "Manangkardi" is never used to modify "Mawng".

History

The last speaker of Manangkardi was Charlie Wardaga, who died in September 2003.

Documentation

Evans was unable to record data from Manangkardi from Wardaga, although he was able to for Garig-Ilgar and Marrgu, and other sources claim he recorded "a small amount of data". Mirrijpu 'seagull' songs have been recorded in Manangkardi from songman Solomon Nangamu.

Phonology

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive pkctʈ
Nasal mŋɲnɳ
Approximant wɣjɻ
Trill r
Flap ɽ
Lateral (ʎ)lɭ
Lateral flap ɺ ⟨ld⟩𝼈 ⟨rld⟩

Like most Iwaidjan languages, but unlike Marrgu, Manangkardi does not have a laminal dental series.

Vowels

Evans (1998) briefly discusses vowels in his paper, noting that Iwaidjan languages, including Manangkardi, have a three vowel (/a/, /i/, /u/) system typical of most Australian languages.

Front Back
High i u
Low a

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brown, Reuben; Evans, Nicholas (2017), null, Jim Wafer & Myfany Turpin (ed.), "Songs that keep ancestral languages alive: a Marrku songset from western Arnhem Land", Recirculating Songs: Revitalising the Singing Practices of Indigenous Australia, vol. 1, Australia: ANU College of Asia & the Pacific, pp. 275–300, ISBN 978-1-922185-40-2, retrieved 2026-11-03{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  2. ↑ N183 Manangkardi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. 1 2 3 4 Vaughan, Jill; Singer, Ruth; Garde, Murray (2023-01-27). "Language naming in Indigenous Australia: a view from western Arnhem Land". Multilingua. 42 (1): 83–118. doi:10.1515/multi-2021-0005. ISSN 0167-8507.
  4. ↑ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xlii.
  5. ↑ Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
  6. ↑ https://dobes.mpi.nl/projects/iwaidja/language/[bare URL]
  7. ↑ Singer, Ruth (2006-01-01). Agreement in Mawng: Productive and lexicalised uses of agreement in an Australian language (Thesis).
  8. ↑ "Language Matters with Bob Holman » Australia". Retrieved 2026-11-05.
  9. ↑ 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.