Malak-Malak language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malak-Malak
Mullukmulluk Nguluk Wanggarr
Region	Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Mulluk-Mulluk, Ngolokwangga, Djerait
Native speakers	10 Malak-Malak  (2016 census) 5 Tyeraity (2005)
Language family	Language isolate
Dialects	Malak-Malak Djerait (Kuwema)
Writing system	Latin
AIATSIS	N22 Malak Malak, N10
Malak Malak is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Malak-Malak (also called Mullukmulluk or Malagmalag) is an Aboriginal language from Australia. It is also known as Ngolak-Wonga or Nguluwongga. The Mulluk-Mulluk people speak this language.

Sadly, Malak-Malak is almost gone, meaning very few people still speak it. Most children in the area now grow up speaking Kriol or English. This language is spoken near the Daly River in places like Woolianna and Nauiyu. There is also a different version of the language called Kuwema or Tyaraity.

What is the Malak-Malak Language?

Malak-Malak is a special language because it is considered a language isolate. This means it is not clearly related to other languages. Imagine it like a unique tree that doesn't belong to a forest of similar trees.

For a long time, people thought Malak-Malak was part of a group called "Northern Daly" languages. This group included languages like Wagaydy. But now, experts believe Malak-Malak and Wagaydy are from different language families.

The AIATSIS and Glottolog (two important language groups) agree that Wagaydy is a separate language. They also say that another language called Giyug cannot be put into any group.

Today, when people talk about "Northern Daly" languages, they usually mean Malak-Malak and Tyerraty (also known as Guwema). These two languages have different words, but their grammar rules are very similar.

How Does Malak-Malak Work?

Malak-Malak has some interesting ways of putting sentences together. It is an ergative-absolutive language. This means it groups words in a sentence differently than English does.

The order of words in a Malak-Malak sentence often depends on what information is most important. It's like you can move words around to highlight different parts of your message.

How are Words Marked?

In Malak-Malak, words can be marked in a few ways:

• Dependent-marking: This is when a word changes to show its connection to another word. For example, to show who owns something.

  Doro-ngayi muyiny

  name-3SG.F dog

  "Doro's dog"

• No marking: Sometimes, words don't change at all.

  meldaty ada tjung yintjerrik

  trip 1SG.EXCL.go.PST stick small.M

  "I tripped on the little stick"

• Head-marking: This is when the main word in a phrase changes to show its connection to other words.

  ngatj yunu tjinang pak-ma nende wag puyunduk-nana

  EMPH 3SG.M.sit.PST stay.give sit-CONT thing/person water underneath-LOC

  "he sits down underneath the water"

Verbs and Actions

In Malak-Malak, verbs (action words) are a bit special. They use what are called complex predicates. This means that a verb might have different parts that work together.

There are only six main verbs that change to show who is doing the action, how many people are doing it, and when it happened (past, present, future).

But there are many other words called coverbs. These words describe the action but don't change for person, number, or tense. New coverbs can even be borrowed from other languages. Coverbs often work with the main verbs. They can also be used in a series to describe several actions happening together.

• kubuk-karrarr dat-tjed yuyu yanak ka yida=ke

  swim-move.up look-stand 3SG.M.stand.PST one come 3SG.M.go.PST=FOC

  "he crossed the river and looked once, then he came here"

Talking About Space

Malak-Malak has many ways to talk about where things are. It uses three main ways that languages describe space: intrinsic, relative, and absolute. It also uses place names and body parts to explain locations.

• Intrinsic Frame: This is like saying something is "in front of" or "behind" another object.

  tjung angundu-na muyu

  tree behind-LOC 3SG.N*.stand.PST

  "the tree was behind (the man)"

• Relative Frame: This uses your own body as a guide, like "on the left" or "on the right."

  yerra tjalmiyiny dek kantjuk purrat-ma wuta

  now right place up/upwards jump-CONT 3SG.N.go.PST

  "now the ball was on the right, jumping up (jumping in an upward place on the right)"

• Absolute Frame: This uses fixed directions, like north, south, east, or west. Malak-Malak uses a few types of absolute directions:
  • Based on the sun's path (east/west).

    miri tjalk-ma yina, yina miri paiga-ma

    sun go.down-CONT this this sun go.up-CONT

    "this one is west and this one is east"

• • Based on the direction of winds (northwesterly/southeasterly).

    Waliwali-nen pudang tjedali yuyu nul-yen pudang tjedali yuyu

    Daly.River-DIR face.towards stand.PART 3SG.M.stand.PRS northwesterly-DIR face.towards stand.part 3SG.M.stand.PRS

    "one is facing the river and the other one is facing northwest"

• • Based on the sides of the Daly River (northeastern/southwestern bank).

    duk puyunduk kinangga yide chair=we

    place underneath north.eastern.bank/this.side 3SG.M.go/be.PRS chair=FOC

    "it is underneath, on the northeastern bank's side, of the chair"

Words in Malak-Malak

Here are some basic words from Malak-Malak and the Djerait language, which is similar.