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Malak-Malak

Australian Language Families

Malak-Malak, also spelled Mullukmulluk or Malagmalag and known to its own speakers as Ngolak-Wonga, is a nearly extinct Australian Aboriginal language isolate spoken by the Mulluk-Mulluk people of the Daly River area in Australia's Northern Territory, around the communities of Woolianna and Nauiyu. The 2016 census recorded only 10 speakers of Malak-Malak proper, with a further 5 speakers of its distinct Tyeraity, or Kuwema, variety recorded in 2005, and UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger rates it severely endangered as children in the community now grow up speaking Kriol or English instead.

Facts
Region
Northern Territory, Australia, Daly River area around Woolianna and Nauiyu 1
Speaker Count
10 1
Proto-Language Status
Now considered a language isolate; formerly classified as an independent member of the Northern Daly languages. 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Malak-Malak Language
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    The language is spoken in the Daly River area around Woolianna and Nauiyu.
  • Infobox, speakers field, 2016 census
    10 Malak-Malak
  • Classification section
    Malak-Malak was formerly classified as an independent member of the Northern Daly languages, but is now considered a language isolate
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