Marra language
| Marra | |
|---|---|
| Marranbala | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Arnhem Land, Northern Territory |
|
Native speakers
|
23 (2005) to 58 (2006 census) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | mara1385 |
| AIATSIS | N112 |
Marra (also spelled Mara) is an Australian Aboriginal language, traditionally spoken on an area of the Gulf of Carpentaria coast in the Northern Territory around the Roper, Towns and Limmen Bight Rivers. Marra is now an endangered language. The most recent survey was in 1991; at that time, there were only 15 speakers, all elderly. Most Marra people now speak Kriol as their main language. The remaining elderly Marra speakers live in the Aboriginal communities of Ngukurr, Numbulwar, Borroloola and Minyerri.
Marra is a prefixing language with three noun classes (masculine, feminine, and neuter) and a singular-plural-dual distinction. It is characterized by an intricate aspectual system, elaborate kin terms, no definite structure for relative clause construction, and a complex demonstrative system. Unlike many languages in the area, it has little avoidance language and no difference in the speech of male and female speakers.
Marra is a member of the Arnhem family, the second-largest Australian language family after Pama–Nyungan. The Marra people refer to themselves as Marranbala, Marra or Mara, and their language as Marra or Mara. In addition to Warndarrang, which was spoken to the north of Marra along the Roper River, Marra was also in contact with Alawa (spoken inland, to the west), Binbin-ga and Wilangarra (West Barkly languages to the south), and Yanyuwa (a Pama–Nyungan language to the southeast).
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