Mantharta language
Nearly extinct dialect cluster of Western Australia
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Mantharta is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia.
| Mantharta | |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Tharrkari, Wariangga, Tenma, Jiwarli, ?Malgaru |
| Extinct | by 2015[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:dhr – Dhargariwri – Warriyanggaiin – Thiindze – Djiwarli |
| Glottolog | mant1266 |
| AIATSIS[1] | W21 Tharrkari, W22 Warriyangka, W25 Thiin, W28 Jiwarli |
Mantharta languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan). | |
Dialects
There are four varieties, which are distinct but largely mutually intelligible. The four are:[2][3]
- Tharrgari (Tharrkari, Dhargari), still spoken c. 2005
- Warriyangka (Wadiwangga), still spoken c. 1973
- Thiin (Thiinma), still spoken as of 2021[4]
- Jiwarli (Tjiwarli), extinct 1986
The name mantharta comes from the word for "man" in all four varieties.
Language revival
As of 2020[update], Warriyangga is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project, being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by the Department of Communications and the Arts. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages — those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".[5]
Phonology
Consonants
- /d̪/ can also be lenited as a fricative [ð] in intervocalic positions.
- /ɾ/ can also be heard as a trill [r].
- Stops may also be voiced as [b, ɡ, d̪, ɟ, d, ɖ] in medial position.