Karranga language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Karranga |
|
---|---|
Karangpurru | |
Region | Northern Territory, Australia |
Ethnicity | Karrangpurru |
Extinct | (date missing) |
Language family |
unclassified; likely Pama–Nyungan: Ngumbin
|
AIATSIS | C33 |
![]() Karranga (purple), among the non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)
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Karranga (also known as Karrangpurru) was an Aboriginal language spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was the language of the Karrangpurru people.
What is Karranga?
Karranga is a language that we don't know much about today. It is called an "unclassified" language. This means that language experts haven't been able to fully study it. They also haven't been able to clearly connect it to other language families.
Why is Karranga Unclassified?
One main reason Karranga is unclassified is because it is "undocumented." This means there aren't many written records of the language. There are also not many recordings of people speaking it.
A language expert named Patrick McConvell thought Karranga might have been a dialect of the Mudburra language. This idea came from people who said the two languages sounded very similar. However, without more information or recordings, it's hard to be sure.
The Importance of Documenting Languages
When a language is not well-documented, it can be at risk of being lost forever. Many Aboriginal languages in Australia are no longer spoken. This is why it's so important for experts to record and study languages. They try to learn about them from the last remaining speakers. This helps to preserve the history and culture of the people who spoke them.