Data collected by AUSTLANG

Data on the language

Alternatives names: Murrinh Patha, Murrinh-patha, Murinbata, Murinbada, Mariwada, Mariwuda, Murinypata, Murinjpata, Murinjbada

Other names or spellings are used for this language. See Austlang website.

Classification: Southern Daly family

Main dialects: Black & Walsh (1989) lists Murrinhdiminin and Murrinhkura as dialects of Murrinhpatha, but Walsh (2007) says that without further extensive research, it cannot be certain that these names actually refer to dialects.

Area:

Murrinhpatha is an aboriginal language spoken in the Australian Northern Territory (NT).

The coastal associations of Murriny-Patha extended from Tree Point to the mouth of the Victoria. Between Tree Point and the mouth of the Fitzmaurice, associations extended inland to the drainage basin limits. On the Fitzmaurice, Madjellindi Valley and Alligator Creek drainage were associated with Murriny-Patha. There is no precise evidence as to the limits of Murriny-Patha associations on the Fitzmaurice. However, available evidence collected 1996-2004 indicated that Murriny-Patha associations extended to the Yambarran Range and included the Laurie Creek drainage. There is no precise evidence as to how far upstream Murriny-Patha associations extended on the northern side of the Victoria. The major ecological zone change is in the Yabby Creek area. Language zone changes are generally associated with ecological zone changes. This suggests that the change from Murriny-Patha to Jaminjung was in the Yabby Creek area (Harvey ASEDA 802).

Port Keats; east to the Macadam Range and south to Keyling Inlet at the mouth of Fitzmaurice River (native name Kemol); a coastal tribe with eight hordes extending inland for about 20 miles (30 km.) (Tindale).

Number of speakers:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census estimated 1832 speakers of Murrinhpatha.

Sources & bibliography

Street, Chester. Murrinh Patha Dictionary, ASEDA 0203.

Walsh, Michael. 1976. The Murinypata language of north-west Australia, Australian National University, PhD.

Maps

Green, Ian 1989. Marrithiyel: a language of the Daly River region of Australia’s Northern Territory, Australian National University: PhD.

Harvey, Mark. 2008. Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages: land-language associations at colonisation (ASEDA 802).

McGregor, William. 1988. Handbook of Kimberley languages, volume 1: General information. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Nordlinger, Rachel. 1998. A grammar of Wambaya, Northern Territory (Australia). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Schultze-Berndt, Eva. 2000. Simple and complex verbs in Jaminjung: a study of event categorisation in an Australian language, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen: PhD.

Tindale, Norman. 1974. Tribal Boundaries in Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Division of National Mapping, Department of National Development.

Links

AUSTLANG website: http://austlang.aiatsis.gov.au/main.php

Ethnologue webpage: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mwf

Wadeye Aboriginal Language Centre: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/indigenous_song/wadeye/language_groups/2