Martu Wangka dialect explained

Martu Wangka
Region:Northwest Western Australia
Ethnicity:Kartudjara, Manjiljarra, Yulparija, Maduwongga
Speakers:814
Date:2021 census
Ref:[1]
Familycolor:Australian
Fam1:Pama–Nyungan
Fam2:Wati
Fam3:Western Desert
Iso3:mpj
Glotto:mart1256
Glottorefname:Martu Wangka
Aiatsis:A86

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.

It refers to both a dialect found at and around Jigalong, Western Australia[2] and many different dialect groups in the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy deserts.

A dictionary of over 400 pages was published in 1992.[3] 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.

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.[4]

Phonology

OBJ:objectSIM:similarTAG:question tag

Vowels

FrontBack
Highpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Lowpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/

Consonants

PeripheralLaminalApical
BilabialVelarPalatalAlveolarRetroflex
Plosivepronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Nasalpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Lateralpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Tappronounced as /ink/
Approximantpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SBS Australian Census Explorer. 7 May 2023.
  2. Book: Burgman . Albert . Marsh . James . Hansen . Ken . Booth . Joshua . Martu Wangka Dictionary and Topical Finderlist 2005 Draft . 2005 . WANGKA MAYA Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre . South Hedland, Western Australia . 1875946152.
  3. Book: Marsh . James . Martu Wangka-English dictionary . 1992 . . Berrimah, Northern Territory, Australia . 086892346X .
  4. Book: Wurm . Stephen A. . Mühlhäusler . Peter . Tryon . Darrell T. . Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas . 11 February 2011 . . 978-3-11-081972-4 . 101–121 . Vol I: Maps. Vol II: Texts . 9 July 2024 . en.