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Martu Wangka
Wangkatjunga
RegionNorth Western Australia
Native speakers
1,080 (2016 census)[1]
Australian
  • Pama-Nyungan
    • Martu Wangka
Language codes
ISO 639-3mpj


Martu Wangka, or Wangkatjunga (Wangkajunga), is a variety of the Western Desert language that emerged during the 20th century in Western Australia[2] as several indigenous communities shifted from their respective territories to form a single community. Traditionally, its speakers live in territory that is part of the Great Sandy Desert and near the Canning Stock Route, as well as in the vicinity of Christmas Creek and Fitzroy Crossing. These are areas that are considered deserts but have many water holes that speakers travel between.[3]: 1–2  There are an estimated 1,080 speakers of Martu Wangka in various communities across the Western Desert region. The largest of these communities is estimated at roughly 100 speakers, while some of the smallest communities have as few as 15 speakers. While older speakers continue to use Martu Wangka as their primary language, younger speakers tend to understand Martu Wangka but use different languages in their daily lives.[3]: 18–19  For example, many younger speakers primarily use an English-based creole commonly referred to as the Fitzroy Valley Kriol.[4]

The alternative language name "Wangkatjunga" <to identify this variety only> appears to have emerged in the 1970s.[5] This name is said to have been based on the words "wangka" meaning "talk" or "word" and "junga" meaning "correct" or "straight," so when put together, the language name essentially means "the correct language." It is important to note, however, that there is still some debate on how this name should be spelled, as it has been recorded differently by different linguists studying the language. [3]: 11  A dictionary of over 400 pages was published in 1992.

I won't be including the current infobox on this sandbox when I transfer this information onto the existing Wikipedia page for Martu Wangka. I've left it here for now, but on the actual language page I will just be using theirs. However, I will update their native speaker number to my current number (I'm not sure where they got their number of 860 from, Ethnologue says 1080).
The existing page has a history section here that I won't be editing, so I haven't included it in this sandbox. 

Phonology

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Vowels

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Martu Wangka contains three contrastive vowels, which may be either short or long. Long vowels are less common and usually occur either on the first syllable of a word or as the ending of a monosyllabic word.[3]: 27, 33 

Vowel Phonemes[3]: 27 
Front Central Back
High i, ii u, uu
Low a, aa

Consonants

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There are 17 consonants in Martu Wangka, dispersed over 5 different places and 6 manners of articulation. Speakers of Martu Wangka generally do not make distinctions between voiced and voiceless stops. The apico-alveolar and apico-post-alveolar consonants are very similar and can be pronounced differently depending on the speaker, so it is often difficult to normalize the way these sounds are recorded.[3]: 26–28 

Consonant Phonemes[3]: 27 
Non-peripheral Peripheral
Apico-alveolar Apico-post-alveolar Lamino-palatal Bilabial Dorso-Velar
Stop t rt j/tj p k
Nasal n rn ny m ng
Lateral l rl ly
Tap rr
Approximant r y w
My charts are the same as the ones on the existing page, so I'll most likely just leave the ones they already have on the page.
None of the following sections are in the existing page, so I will essentially just be transferring them into it.

Syllable Structure

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In Martu Wangka, most words contain two or more syllables, and most words end in vowels. Although some words may end in an apical nasal or lateral consonant, most words that would end in a consonant are appended with an epenthetic syllable '-pa' to avoid ending the word on a consonant. The most standard syllable template is CV(V)(C). The chart below shows various syllabic templates, along with examples.[3]: 33 

Template Example Translation
CV ju.nu 'waterhole'[3]: 32 
CVV muu.ngu 'fly'[3]: 33 
CVC kurn.tal 'niece'[3]: 39 
CVVC kaarn.ka 'crow'[3]: 33 

Stress

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Martu Wangka has stress similar to that of other languages in its family: primary stress usually falls on the first syllable of a word, and secondary stress usually falls on the second syllable after the primary stressed syllable (essentially alternating between stressed and unstressed, marked starting from the left). The final syllable of a word is usually unstressed.[3]: 44 

Morphology

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Nominals

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In Martu Wangka, nominal morphology has affixation, reduplication, compounding, and case marking. The usual formula for constructing a noun is

nominal word = nominal root - (derivation) (derivation) - inflection (inflection)[3]: 60 

Derivational Suffixes

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Nominals in Martu Wangka do not all have derivational suffixes, but when they do, these suffixes attach directly to the nominal root and then are followed by any inflectional suffixes. The usual derivational suffixes function to indicate a nominal having or lacking something, the related timing and spacing, comparison of certain properties, or number. The table below shows examples of some of the common derivational affixes associated with these groupings. The word containing the relevant suffix is bolded in each line of the gloss.[3]: 60, 66–67 

Function Suffix Meaning Example
Having/Lacking a thing or property -kurlu having

yirna

old man

pampa

blind

warta-kurlu

stick-HAV

ya-nu

go-PST

yirna pampa warta-kurlu ya-nu

{old man} blind stick-HAV go-PST

'The blind man walked with a stick.'[3]: 68 

-pinti associated thing

jina-pinti

foot-THING

jina-pinti

foot-THING

'shoe'[3]: 69 

Associated Time and Space -jarra associated time

munga-jarra

dark-ASST

munga-jarra

dark-ASST

'night-time'[3]: 71 

-puru temporal

kalya-puru

water-TEMP

kalya-puru

water-TEMP

'rainy season'[3]: 71 

Comparison of Properties -yuru similar

Ma-nu

get-PST

wirrupu-ngu

throw-PST

yampaly-yuru

flour-SIM

ngaa-yuru

DEM-SIM

Ma-nu wirrupu-ngu yampaly-yuru ngaa-yuru

get-PST throw-PST flour-SIM DEM-SIM

'She got stuff the same as this flour and sprinkled it.'[3]: 73 

-munu contradictive

Kumpupaja-munu

bush.tomato-CONTR

nganayi

HES

minyili

minyili

mirrka

fruit

Kumpupaja-munu nganayi minyili mirrka

bush.tomato-CONTR HES minyili fruit

'It's not a bush tomato, it's um, minyili fruit.'[3]: 74 

Numbers -marlu numerative

Ngana-marlu-ya

INDEF-NUM-3plS

nyin-in-pa?

stay-PRES-PA

Ngana-marlu-ya nyin-in-pa?

INDEF-NUM-3plS stay-PRES-PA

'How many are there?'[3]: 76 

-rarra related kin (pair)

nyupa-rarra

spouse-PAIR

nyupa-rarra

spouse-PAIR

'husband and wife'[3]: 77 

Verbs

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Martu Wangka contains around 70 basic verbs that can serve as verbal roots and then an indefinite amount of complex verbs formed through various morphological processes. These verbs contain a wide variety of meanings including but not limited to actions, motions, physical positions, sensations, and utterances. The usual formula for constructing a verb is

verbal word = (direction) (preverb) verbal root (derivation) (derivation) inflection (directional affixes)[3]: 152 

Derivational Affixes

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Derivational verb morphology in Martu Wangka consists of various causatives, inchotives, and directional affixes. Causitives include suffixes like '-ma', which creates a transitive verb from a nominal, and '-ju', which indicates that something has been put on, over, into, etc. Inchotives serve as change-of-state verbs and modify nominals that describe various states of existence like being alive or cold. Directional affixes are used to modify existing verbs and indicate the type or direction of action.[3]: 168–169, 172, 177 





Type Affix Function/Meaning Example
Nominal/Verbal Root Derived Verb
Causitive -ma forms a transitive verb from a nominal junga

'straight'

junga-ma-rra

'(subject) make (object) straight'[3]: 168 

-ju 'cause to be put on, over, into, etc.'[3]: 169  tapurr

'hole'

tapurr-jurra

'put hole into something'[3]: 170 

Inchotive -arri change of state minjil

'orphan'

minjil-arri-

'(subject) become an orphan, be bereft'[3]: 173 

-rri change of state kayili

'north'

kayili-rri-

'turn around to the north'[3]: 173 

Direction maa- 'away from' yanin

'go'

Maa-yan-in-pa       yawurta      
away-go-PRES-PA       horse      
'The horse is going away.'[3]: 178 

Inflectional Affixes

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Inflectional affixes on verbs are used to indicate tense and how the speaker feels about the action that the verbal root describes. Tense affixes include indicators of present, past, future, perfective, and imperfective tenses. Feeling affixes can be used to inflect when a speaker wants something to happen, is trying to make something happen, believes that something should happen, and to discuss hypothetical scenarios.[3]: 182–186 

There are 4 different conjugation classes that determine how verbs realize various inflectional morphemes: the ø class, wa class, rra class, and la class. These classes are organized by shared characteristics of the imperative form of the verb.[3]: 182 

Reduplication

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There is both nominal and verbal reduplication in Martu Wangka, which is usually used to generate a new word with related meaning, but can also be used to emphasize certain actions or traits. Nominal reduplication has two types: reduplication and frozen reduplication. With reduplication, the nominal is repeated, which creates a new reduplicated nominal. With frozen reduplication, only the reduplicated form of the nominal is in the language and the non-reduplicated form does not exist.[3]: 62, 64 

Verbal reduplication can be both partial, full, and frozen reduplication. To form a reduplicated verb, usually the verb root or the preverb of a compound verb is reduplicated. It is typically used when creating a word for an action that repeats itself, such as going around in circles.[3]: 167 

Examples of Nominal Reduplication
Type Nominal Reduplicated Nominal
Reduplication ngunju

'chin'

ngunjungunju

'beard'[3]: 63 

juku

'small'

jukujuku

'very small'[3]: 63 

Frozen Reduplication jurnjurnpa

'brain'[3]: 64 

Examples of Verbal Reduplication
Type Verb Reduplicated Verb
Root Reduplication yinala

'collect'

yinalyinala

'gather lots'[3]: 167 

Preverb Reduplication kurtiyarra

'turn over'

kurtikurtiyarra

'roll over, somersault'[3]: 167 

Frozen Reduplication mirrimirriwa

'itch'[3]: 167 

Compounding

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Compound nominals are are formed in two ways: either two independent roots are put together to form a new word with a separate meaning, or one independent root is put together with another root that does not contain independent meaning. The majority of compound nominals are words for various plants and animals, but they are also formed to describe words originally not in Martu Wangka.[3]: 65 

Compound verbs consist of a preverb, which can be either a nominal or an independent class, and a verbal root. Verbal roots are simple verbs that contain the core meaning of the compound verb. Some examples of compounding on verbals roots are illustrated below.[3]: 158 

Compound Nominal Examples
Noun 1 Noun 2 Compound Noun
mangka

'hair'

wala

'egg'

mangkawala

'hat'[3]: 65 

murti

'knee'

tikil

'dry'

murtitikil

'camel'[3]: 66 

Compound Verb Examples
Verbal Root Preverb Compound Verb
-jurra

'put'

kurlpa

'vomit'

kurlpajurra

'put vomit on something'[3]: 160 

yirri

[not an independent verb]

yirrijurra

'sic/put dogs onto game'[3]: 159 

-puwa

'hit'

kinil

'phlegm'

kinilpuwa

'phlegm hits'[3]: 161 

karrarta

'anxious'

karrartan-puwa

'frighten (hit with fright)'[3]: 161 

-kati

'carry'

yaliny

'shoulder'

yaliny-kati

'carry across the shoulders'[3]: 163 

kawan

'forgetful'

parra-kawan-kati

'wandering around stupidly'[3]: 163 


Case and Agreement

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Grammatical Case Marking

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The system of case and agreement in Martu Wangka is Ergative-Absolutive. The suffix associated with the absolutive case is , which indicates lack of a suffix, and the suffixes associated with the ergative case are -lu when preceded by a vowel and -ju or -tu when preceded by a consonant. Martu Wangka also contains a third grammatical case known as the dative case, which serves to mark the purpose of an action and is suffixed with -ku. The examples below show these three types of grammatical case marking.[3]: 79 

Case Suffix Example
Ergative -lu, -ju, -tu

Puntu-lu

man-ERG

wirta-ø

dog-ABS

pu-ngu

hit-PST

Puntu-lu wirta-ø pu-ngu

man-ERG dog-ABS hit-PST

'The man hit the dog.'[3]: 80 

Absolutive

Tuju-ø

woman-ABS

ya-nu

go-PST

Tuju-ø ya-nu

woman-ABS go-PST

'The woman went.'[3]: 82 

Dative -ku

Puntu-ra

man-3sgDAT

ya-nin-pa

go-PRES-PA

mirrka-ku

food-DAT

Puntu-ra ya-nin-pa mirrka-ku

man-3sgDAT go-PRES-PA food-DAT

'The man is going for food.'[3]: 84 

These grammatical cases are particularly important in a language like Martu Wangka because it has very free word order, so these case markings serve to indicate the functions of and relationships between nominals in a sentence. For example, these cases can indicate subject and object, agent and experiencer (of an action), force of an action (such as when an object causes something to happen instead of a human), purpose of an action, and even beneficiary of an action.[3]: 81, 84–85, 129 

Semantic Case Marking

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While the ergative and absolutive markings serve primarily grammatical functions, Martu Wangka also contains case markings that can be loosely categorized as semantic markings. Semantic case markings are considered an extension of the argument and are used primarily to relate the argument to a location. For example, the locative case indicates the location of an argument, the perlative case describes an object moving along a path within a location, the allative case describes an object moving to a location, and the ablative case describes an object moving away from a location.[3]: 88–93 

Syntax

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Word Order

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Martu Wangka has free word order, meaning that there is no grammatical basic word order. Instead, words are ordered semantically and the most important parts of the sentence come the earliest in the sentence. For example, new information introduced into a conversation tends to come before information that has already been discussed. In a narrative about a journey, information about direction and distance comes first because those are the most important things for travelers to know. Some examples are shown below.[3]: 298, 303–304 

S V O
Tuju-lu-pula-jananya       pulturr-pu-ngu       pura      
woman-ERG-3dlS-3plO       thread-hit-PST       bush.tomato      
'The women threaded the bush tomatoes.'[3]: 162 
S O V
Tuju-lu       kalyu-ø       jikin-in-pa      
woman-ERG       water-ABS       drink-PRES-PA      
'The woman is drinking water.'[3]: 157 
O S V
Jina-ya-pulyana       wirta       pinga-lu       paja-rnu       kujarra-ngulyu      
foot-3plS-3dlO       dog       ant-ERG       bite-PST       two-CERT      
'The ants bit the dog's feet, the two of them.'[3]: 241 
V S O
Kampangu-rni       nguyumpara-lu       jina-ø      
burn-PST-1sgO       fire-ERG       foot-ABS      
'The fire burnt my foot.'[3]: 153 

Questions

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Martu Wangka has tag questions, in which certain questions are followed by a tag that indicates the type of question. The tag always comes at the end of the question. For example, the 'kurlu' tag comes at the end of a yes/no question and the 'you know' tag, which is borrowed from English, is common at the end of rhetorical questions as an afterthought.[3]: 311 

Tag Questions
-kurlu 'you know'

Kuka

game

jii

DEM

nyunmi

cooked

kurlu

TAG

Kuka jii nyunmi kurlu

game DEM cooked TAG

That meat is cooked, isn't it?

Mirrka-laju

plant.food-1-plexS

yanga

DEM

nga-lkun-ma

eat-IRR-PSTIMP

jirilypaja

plant.food

you

TAG

know

 

Mirrka-laju yanga nga-lkun-ma jirilypaja you know

plant.food-1-plexS DEM eat-IRR-PSTIMP plant.food TAG {}

A plant food, that one we used to eat call 'jirilypaja', you know.

Martu Wangka also has interrogative pronouns 'ngana,' 'wanja', 'jaatu', and 'nyangula,' which translate to the English words 'what,' 'where', 'where', and 'when', respectively. These interrogative nominals always come at the start of a clause.[3]: 120, 312 

Nyanagula-n

when-2sgS

ya-nku

go-FUT

Nyanagula-n ya-nku

when-2sgS go-FUT

When will you go?

References

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  1. ^ Martu Wangka at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Jones, Barbara (2011). A grammar of Wangkajunga: a language of the Great Sandy Desert of north Western Australia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 9780858836488.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl 1947-, Jones, Barbara (Barbara Josephine) (2011). A grammar of Wangkajunga : a language of the Great Sandy Desert of north Western Australia. Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. ISBN 9780858836488. OCLC 796935273. {{cite book}}: |last= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Hudson, Joyce (1983). Grammatical and semantic aspects of Fitzroy Valley Kriol. Darwin: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  5. ^ "Wangkatjunga Language Information".