Martuthunira language facts for kids

Martuthunira was an extinct Australian Aboriginal language. It was the traditional language of the Martuthunira people who lived in Western Australia.

The last person who spoke Martuthunira fluently was Algy Paterson. He passed away on August 6, 1995. From 1980, Mr. Paterson worked with a language expert named Alan Dench. Together, they wrote down and saved much of the Martuthunira language. Most of what we know about Martuthunira today comes from their important work.

What's in a Name?

The name Martuthunira means "those who live around the Fortescue River". This tells us where the Martuthunira people lived.

The name can be spelled in many ways. Some common spellings include Maratunia, Mardudhunira, and Marduthunira.

Language Family Tree

Martuthunira belongs to a large group of languages called Pama–Nyungan languages. This is one of the biggest language families in Australia.

Within the Pama–Nyungan family, Martuthunira is part of a smaller group. This group is known as the Ngayarta languages. These languages are spoken in the same general area of Western Australia.

How Martuthunira Sounds

Martuthunira had a sound system that was typical for many Australian Aboriginal languages. This means it had a set of consonant and vowel sounds.

Language experts study how sounds are made and used in a language. They look at sounds like 'p', 'k', 'm', and 'n'. They also study vowel sounds like 'a', 'i', and 'u'.

Understanding Martuthunira Grammar

How Words Change in Sentences

Many languages in Australia use a system called ergativity. This means they treat the subject of some verbs differently.

However, Martuthunira is different. It uses a system called accusative alignment. This is more like English. In Martuthunira, the subject of an action verb (like "he saw") is treated the same as the subject of a non-action verb (like "he slept"). The object of an action verb (like "him" in "he saw him") is treated differently.

Words in Martuthunira change their endings to show their role in a sentence. For example, a special ending is added to show if a word is the object of a verb. This ending might be -ŋu, -ku, or -ju, depending on the word.

Adding Multiple Endings

Martuthunira has an interesting feature called case stacking. This means that a single word can have several endings added to it. Each ending gives more information about the word's role in the sentence.

Here is an example:

Let's break down this example:

• Tharnta means 'euro' (a type of wallaroo). It gets an -a ending because it is the object of the verb 'saw'.
• Mirtily means 'joey' (a baby kangaroo or wallaroo). It gets a -marta ending to show it belongs to the euro. But because it describes the euro, it also gets the -a ending to match 'tharnta'.
• Thara means 'pouch'. It gets an -ngka ending to show where the joey is. It also gets the -marta ending to show it belongs to the joey. Finally, it gets the -a ending to agree with 'tharnta'.

This shows how Martuthunira uses multiple endings to give very specific details in a sentence!