Murrinh-patha language
Encyclopedia
Murrinh-patha sometimes also called Garama, is an Australian Aboriginal language
spoken by over 1,500 people, most of whom live in Wadeye in the Northern Territory
, where it is the dominant language of the community. It is spoken by people of the Murrinh-Patha
group, as well as several other groups whose languages are extinct or nearly so, including the Mati Ke and Marri-Djabin. Because of its role as the lingua franca
in the region, It is one of few Australian Aboriginal languages whose speakers have increased over the past generation.
The Murrinh-Patha language displays extensive classifications both of nouns and verbs. Nouns are divided into ten classes or genders along roughly semantic lines, with some exceptions. Each noun class
is associated with particles which must agree with the class. Verbs occur in some 35 different conjugations. Each verb is morphologically complex, with the verb root surrounded by prefixes and suffixes identifying subject, object, tense, and mood; these affixes are different in the different conjugations.
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
spoken by over 1,500 people, most of whom live in Wadeye in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, where it is the dominant language of the community. It is spoken by people of the Murrinh-Patha
Murrinh-Patha
The Murrinh-Patha are an indigenous Australian people, whose traditional lands are located in Australia's Northern Territory, inland from the settlement of Wadeye between the Moyle and Fitzmaurice rivers...
group, as well as several other groups whose languages are extinct or nearly so, including the Mati Ke and Marri-Djabin. Because of its role as the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
in the region, It is one of few Australian Aboriginal languages whose speakers have increased over the past generation.
The Murrinh-Patha language displays extensive classifications both of nouns and verbs. Nouns are divided into ten classes or genders along roughly semantic lines, with some exceptions. Each noun class
Noun class
In linguistics, the term noun class refers to a system of categorizing nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of characteristic features of its referent, such as sex, animacy, shape, but counting a given noun among nouns of such or another class is often clearly conventional...
is associated with particles which must agree with the class. Verbs occur in some 35 different conjugations. Each verb is morphologically complex, with the verb root surrounded by prefixes and suffixes identifying subject, object, tense, and mood; these affixes are different in the different conjugations.