Marrgu language

Marrgu
Marrgu
Yaako
Native to	Australia
Region	Croker Island, Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Yaako
Extinct	September 2003, with the death of Charlie Wardaga
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 an extinct Aboriginal language of northern Australia. Additional names include Ajokoot, Croker Island, Raffles Bay, Terrutong (Terutong), Yaako (Jaako, Yako).

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, with possible connection to the extinct and poorly attested Wurrugu.

Phonology

Consonant inventory

Marrgu consonants
	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

↑ 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)
1 2 Marrgu at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
1 2 N45 Marrgu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
↑ Christopher Moseley; Alexandre Nicolas (2010). "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". UNESCO. p. 209. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
↑ 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.

[1] 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)

[e27-2] 1 2 Marrgu at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)

[AIATSIS-3] 1 2 N45 Marrgu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[UNESCO-4] Christopher Moseley; Alexandre Nicolas (2010). "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". UNESCO. p. 209. Retrieved 2024-12-20.

[5] 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.