Mantharta is a partly extinct

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...

spoken in the southern

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. There were four varieties, which were distinct but largely mutually intelligible. The four were: * Tharrgari (Tharrkari, Dhargari), still spoken c. 2005 * Warriyangka (Wadiwangga), still spoken c. 1973 * Thiin (Thiinma), still spoken c. 2021 * Jiwarli (Tjiwarli), extinct by 2004 The name ''mantharta'' comes from the word for "man" in all four varieties.

Language revival

, the Warriyangga dialect is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project, being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by the

Department of Communications and the Arts The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts was a department of the Government of Australia charged with responsibility for communications policy and programs and cultural affairs. In December 2019, prime minister Scott Morrison ...

. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages — those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".

References

{{Reflist Extinct languages of Western Australia