Mantharta language

Mantharta
Mantharta
Region	Western Australia
Ethnicity	Tharrkari, Wariangga, Tenma, Jiwarli, ?Malgaru
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Kanyara–Mantharta Mantharta; ;
Dialects	Dhargari; Warriyangga; Dhiin; Jiwarli;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; dhr – Dhargari; wri – Warriyangga; iin – Thiin; dze – Djiwarli
Glottolog	mant1266
AIATSIS	W21 Tharrkari, W22 Warriyangka, W25 Thiin, W28 Jiwarli
	Mantharta languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan).

Mantharta is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Dialects

There are four varieties, which are distinct but largely mutually intelligible. The four are:

Tharrgari (Tharrkari, Dhargari), still spoken c. 2005
Warriyangka (Wadiwangga), still spoken c. 1973
Thiin (Thiinma), still spoken as of 2026
Jiwarli (Tjiwarli), extinct 1986

The name mantharta comes from the word for "man" in all four varieties.

Language revival

As of 2020^[update], Warriyangga is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project, being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by the Department of Communications and the Arts. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages — those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants in the Thargari dialect
	Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
	Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive	p/b	k/ɡ	t̪/d̪	c/ɟ	t/d	ʈ/ɖ
Nasal	m	ŋ	n̪	ɲ	n	ɳ
Rhotic					ɾ
Lateral			l̪	ʎ	l	ɭ
Approximant	w			j		ɻ

/d̪/ can also be lenited as a fricative [ð] in intervocalic positions.
/ɾ/ can also be heard as a trill [r].

Consonants in all other dialects
	Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
	Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive	p	k	t̪	c	t	ʈ
Nasal	m	ŋ	n̪	ɲ	n	ɳ
Rhotic					ɾ
Lateral			l̪	ʎ	l	ɭ
Approximant	w			j		ɻ

Stops may also be voiced as [b, ɡ, d̪, ɟ, d, ɖ] in medial position.

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i, iː	u, uː
Open	a, aː

References

↑ W21 Tharrkari at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
↑ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxviii.
↑ International Conference on Historical Linguistics (15th : 2001 : Melbourne); Bowern, Claire, 1977-; Koch, Harold James; International Conference on Historical Linguistics (15th : 2001 : Melbourne, Australia); Workshop on Reconstruction and Subgrouping in Australian Languages (2001 : Melbourne, Australia) (2004), Australian languages : classification and the comparative method, John Benjamins Pub, ISBN 978-1-58811-512-6{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ "Peter Salmon is the only known speaker of his language — he wants to change that before it's too late". ABC News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
↑ "'I had no-one to talk to': The 92yo trying to save his dying language". ABC News. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
↑ "Priority Languages Support Project". First Languages Australia. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
↑ Klokeid, Terry J (16 August 2018), Thargari phonology and morphology, Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, retrieved 10 October 2024
1 2 Austin, Peter K. (2015). A Reference Grammar of the Mantharta Languages, Western Australia.
↑ Austin, Peter K. (1992). A dictionary of Warriyangga, Western Australia. LaTrobe University, Department of Linguistics.

[AIATSIS-1] W21 Tharrkari at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)

[2] Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxviii.

[3] International Conference on Historical Linguistics (15th : 2001 : Melbourne); Bowern, Claire, 1977-; Koch, Harold James; International Conference on Historical Linguistics (15th : 2001 : Melbourne, Australia); Workshop on Reconstruction and Subgrouping in Australian Languages (2001 : Melbourne, Australia) (2004), Australian languages : classification and the comparative method, John Benjamins Pub, ISBN 978-1-58811-512-6{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[4] "Peter Salmon is the only known speaker of his language — he wants to change that before it's too late". ABC News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2023.

[5] "'I had no-one to talk to': The 92yo trying to save his dying language". ABC News. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.

[6] "Priority Languages Support Project". First Languages Australia. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

[7] Klokeid, Terry J (16 August 2018), Thargari phonology and morphology, Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, retrieved 10 October 2024

[:0-8] 1 2 Austin, Peter K. (2015). A Reference Grammar of the Mantharta Languages, Western Australia.

[9] Austin, Peter K. (1992). A dictionary of Warriyangga, Western Australia. LaTrobe University, Department of Linguistics.