Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Leelalwarra, Leelawarra, Mala, Maarra, Mara
CLASSIFICATION		Gunwinyguan, Maran
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		mec
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (7)

Information from: “"Stories from the Saltwater as told by the old Marra ladies" HRELP Abstract” . Greg Dickson (2010)

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
5
Native speakers worldwide
CHILDREN
0
YOUNG ADULTS
0
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"There are five elderly Marra speakers who are defying language shift in the Roper River region of Northern Australia, where all other Marra people now use Kriol, an English-based creole, as a lingua franca."

TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Northern Australia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Roper River region

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<50
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"In 1991, fifteen or fewer speakers were reported."

DATE OF INFO: 1991

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"The language is seriously endangered and is heading towards being moribund."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Yanyuwa
Kriol
English

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"The speakers intermarry with the Yanywa speakers. Most of the Mara people speak the English-based pidgin lingua franca Kriol and are also bilingual in English. This puts pressure on the Mara language, with the speakers getting fewer."

PLACES: Australia: Northern Northern Territory, southwestern Arnhem Land, in the Roper River area.

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1991

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
23
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
15
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Data for the number of native speakers comes from M. Sharpe (1991).

PLACES: Australia;

			2007	Australasia and the Pacific	Atlas of the World's Languages	97-126		R. E. Asher and Christopher Moseley	Routledge		4		Darrell Tryon	Tryon, Darrell. 2007. "Australasia and the Pacific." In Atlas of the World's Languages, edited by R. E. Asher and Christopher Moseley. 97-126. Routledge.			15	1991	10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
		16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)				M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		15		10-99	Data for the number of native speakers comes from M. Sharpe (1991).				Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Australia;
			2011	How many languages were spoken in Australia?			Also includes subsequent additions by CB directly into ElCat					http://anggarrgoon.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/austlangs-masterlanguagelist-dec2011.xlsx	Claire Bowern	Claire Bowern. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?" Online: http://anggarrgoon.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/austlangs-masterlanguagelist-dec2011.xlsx.																	-14.90794876,135.1224023
				Austlang: Australian Indigenous Languages Database					AIATSIS	Canberra		http://austlang.aiatsis.gov.au		AUSTLANG: Australian Indigenous Languages Database. (19 October, 2009.)	ll_pub		23		10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
			2010	"Stories from the Saltwater as told by the old Marra ladies" HRELP Abstract								http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=247	Greg Dickson	Dickson, Greg. 2010. ""Stories From the Saltwater As Told By the Old Marra Ladies" HRELP Abstract." Online: http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=247.		0	5		1-9	"There are five elderly Marra speakers who are defying language shift in the Roper River region of Northern Australia, where all other Marra people now use Kriol, an English-based creole, as a lingua franca."	Kriol, English		All	Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15				Northern Australia	Roper River region	-15,135.5
				World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			15		10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
070071197X	3	1	2007	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages					Routledge	Abingdon			Christopher Moseley	Moseley, Christopher. 2007. Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, 1 edn. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 070071197X	ll_pub		<50	1991	10-99	"In 1991, fifteen or fewer speakers were reported."	Yanyuwa, Kriol, English	"The speakers intermarry with the Yanywa speakers. Most of the Mara people speak the English-based pidgin lingua franca Kriol and are also bilingual in English. This puts pressure on the Mara language, with the speakers getting fewer."	Most	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	"The language is seriously endangered and is heading towards being moribund."	15	15	Australia: Northern Northern Territory, southwestern Arnhem Land, in the Roper River area.

Marra

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<50

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

23

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Discussion

Marra

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

5

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<50

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

23

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

15

Discussion

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