Matngele language

Matngele
Spoken in	Northern Territory, Australia
Native speakers	15  (1983)
Language family	Daly? Eastern Daly Matngele
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	zml
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Matngele or Madngele is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory.

Classification

Matngele is commonly placed in the Daly family of non-Pama–Nyungan languages. R. M. W. Dixon (2002) believes it to be related to Kamu, but regards further relationships as unproven.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e	ɵ
Low			a

Consonants

		Peripheral		Laminal	Apical
		Bilabial	Velar	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Stop	Voiceless	p	k	c	t
	Voiced	b	ɡ	ɟ	d
Nasal		m	ŋ	ɲ	n
Lateral				ʎ	l
Rhotic					r	ɻ
Semivowel		w		j

Grammar

Matngele has only five simple verbs. These must be combined with coverbs in order to form complex verbs.

References

• Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521473780. 
• Zandvoort, F. B. (1999). A grammar of Matngele. BA honours sub-thesis. Armidale: University of New England. 

External links

• Ethnologue report for language code:zml