Mangarrayi (Manggarrai, Mungerry, Ngarrabadji) is an Australian language spoken in the Northern Territory. Its classification is uncertain. Margaret Sharpe originally sought to record the language but turned to the study of Alawa after the station owner where her informants lived denied her access, having tired of the presence of researchers on the property.

Speakers

The 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics official census indicates that there are no speakers of Mangarrayi remaining, however elders Sheila Conway and Jessie Roberts are both speakers of Mangarrayi. Conway continues to make an important contribution to language revitalization projects in the Jilkminggan community.

Phonology

Consonants

PeripheralLaminalApicalGlottal
LabialVelarPalatalAlveolarRetroflex
Plosivepkctʈʔ
Nasalmŋɲnɳ
Rhoticɾɻ
Laterallɭ
Approximantwj

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Highiu
Mideo
Lowa

Vowels /i, u, e, o/ can have lax allophones of [ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, o̞].

Numeric system

Mangarrayi has a number system that extends only to three.

Vocabulary

Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Mungarai (Mangarayi):

gloss Mungarai man malaṉ woman gaɖugu head gaia eye djib nose miliŋ mouth djäɽäb tongue djawi stomach daɽa bone dama blood guranjin kangaroo garawi opossum widjwidj crow wagwag fly mɔːdj sun ganjwar moon giidj fire damaia smoke gunburau water ŋogo

Notes and references

Notes

  • Sharpe, Margaret (2008). . In Bowern, Claire; Evans, Bethwyn; Miceli, Luisa (eds.). Morphology and Language History: In Honour of Harold Koch. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 59–70. ISBN 978-9-027-24814-5.
  • Bernard Comrie. 2013. Numeral Bases. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. (Available online at , Accessed on 2017-04-27.)
  • Jessie Garalnganyjak Roberts et al., 2011, Mangarrayi and Yangman plants and animals : Aboriginal biocultural knowledge from Elsey and the Roper River, north Australia, Darwin : Dept. of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport : Diwurruwurru-Jaru Aboriginal Corp./Mimi Aboriginal Art & Craft
  • Merlan, F., 1982, Mangarayi, Lingua Descriptive Series, vol. 4, Amsterdam