Muruwari language
| Muruwari | |
|---|---|
| Region | Queensland and New South Wales, Australia |
| Ethnicity | Muruwari |
| Extinct | 20th century |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | zmu |
| Glottolog | muru1266 |
| AIATSIS[1] | D32 |
| ELP | Muruwari |
 Muruwari (green) among other Pama–Nyungan languages (tan) | |
Muruwari (also Muruwarri, Murawari, Murawarri) is an
The Muruwari language was collated from many tapes of language material recorded by Jimmie Barker of Brewarrina, Emily Horneville (Mrs Ornable) and Shillin Jackson of Goodooga, and Robin Campbell of Weilmoringle. The Murawari language was first published by R. H. Mathews in the early 1900s and again by Ian Sims, Judy Trefry, Janet Mathews, and Lynette F. Oates (1988).
Relationship with other languages
Lynette Oates' work on Muruwari and
Together, Muruwari and Barranbinya form an isolate group within the
More recently, Claire Bowern and Quentin Atkinson's lexicostatistical work[7] placed Muruwari together with the Wiradhuric languages, forming a "Central NSW group", to which other Southeastern Pama-Nyungan languages are related.
Phonology
Phonemic inventory
The phonemic inventory[4] is very similar to Barranbinya.[5] Letters used by Oates are in angle brackets.
| Peripheral | Central | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Laminal | Apical | ||||
| Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||||
Stops
|
⟨p⟩ /p/ | ⟨k⟩ /k/ | ⟨th⟩ / t̪ /
|
⟨tj⟩ /c/ | ⟨t⟩ / t /
|
⟨rt⟩* /ʈ/ | |
| Nasals | ⟨m⟩ /m/ | ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ | ⟨nh⟩ / n̪ /
|
⟨nj⟩ /ɲ/ | ⟨n⟩ / n /
|
⟨rn⟩* /ɳ/ | |
| Laterals | ⟨l⟩* / l /
|
⟨rl⟩* /ɭ/ | |||||
| Rhotics | Trill
|
⟨rr⟩* / r /
|
|||||
Flap
|
⟨R⟩* /ɾ/ | ||||||
Retroflex
|
⟨r⟩* /ɻ/ | ||||||
| Semivowels | ⟨w⟩ /w/ | ⟨y⟩ /j/ | |||||
All phonemes except those with a star (*) may be word-initial.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
High
|
⟨i⟩ /i/, ⟨ii⟩ /iː/ |
⟨u⟩ /u/, ⟨uu⟩ /uː/ | |
Low
|
⟨a⟩ /a/, ⟨aa⟩ /aː/ |
Morphosyntax
According to Oates, Muruwari is an affix-transferring language (borrowing a term from Arthur Capell):[4] many suffixes (particularly tense, aspect and person suffixes, but also stem-forming suffixes) can be 'transferred' from the verb to other words in the clause. Nouns, adjectives, demonstratives, verb modifiers (such as pinja 'only' and warri 'not sure'), adverbs (such as ngarlu 'again'), interrogatives and pronouns can receive verbal suffixes. The exact function of this is unclear.
Vocabulary
Example sentence:
- "Pitara yaan Muruwariki" meaning: "Muruwari is good, sweet talk”
Some words from the Muruwari language, as spelt and written by Muruwari authors include:[3]
- Kula: kangaroo
- Kuya: fish
- Mara: hand
- Marrinj thalu: good day
- Ngapa: water (fresh)
- Ngurra: camp
- Pipi: baby
- Thurri: sun
- Witji-witji: bird(s)
References
- ^ D32 Muruwari at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "D26: Barranbinya". Australian Indigenous Languages Database. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ CC BY licence, accessed on 10 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d Oates, Lynette (1988). The Muruwari Language. Pacific Linguistics.
- ^ a b Oates, Lynette (1988). "Barranbinya: Fragments of a N.S.W. Aboriginal language". Papers in Australian Linguistics. 17: 185–204.
- ^ Mathews, Robert Hamilton (1903). "The Burranbinya language". Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Geographic Society of Australia, Queensland. 18 (57).
- S2CID 4375648.