| Marrku–Wurrugu | |
| Region: | Cobourg Peninsula region and Croker Island, Northern Territory |
| Familycolor: | Australian |
| Family: | no demonstrable relatives |
| Child1: | Wurrugu |
| Child2: | Marrgu |
| Glotto: | marr1257 |
| Glottorefname: | Marrku–Wurrugu |
The Marrku–Wurrugu languages are a possible language family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the Cobourg Peninsula region of Western Arnhem Land. They are the recently extinct Marrgu, and the extinct Wurrugu.[1] They were once classified as distant relatives of the other Iwaidjan languages, until Nicholas Evans found the evidence for Marrgu's membership insufficient, concluding that similarities were due to borrowing (including of verbal paradigms).[2]
The genetic grouping of Marrgu and Wurrugu is supported by the following observations:
Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[3]
| gloss | Mara | Margu | |
|---|---|---|---|
| man | gärijimar | geiag | |
| woman | girija | njunɔn | |
| head | maraŋuɽu | waɽi | |
| eye | maguɽ | daːɭa | |
| nose | djiɽi | ɣïːni | |
| mouth | ŋaːndal | ŋaɽjad | |
| tongue | djiːjil | ŋaɽjad | |
| stomach | gunjan | ɣiwud | |
| bone | ŋajigad | aruwa | |
| blood | ŋulidji | didjaːridj | |
| kangaroo | girmọ | wïːdjud | |
| opossum | gudjaɳi | wiːɽiɽin | |
| emu | djiwiɖiwiɖi | mangunuba | |
| crow | waŋganaŋi | reimbiriri | |
| fly | guɳɖil | mɔlg | |
| sun | gunaru | muɽi | |
| moon | waɖaŋari | rana | |
| fire | waɖgar | djuːɳa | |
| smoke | guŋoŋo | ŋoɭan | |
| water | ŋọgọ | wobaidj |