The Kartu languages are a group of Indigenous Australian languages spoken in the Murchison and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. They are thought to be closely related and to form a low-level genealogical group.

Kartu
Kardu
Geographic
distribution
Western Australia
Linguistic classificationPama–Nyungan
  • Southwest
    • Kartu
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologkart1249
Kartu languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan). Wajarri is the southern and interior group.

The languages usually considered to be members of the Kartu group are, from north to south:

The inclusion of Nhanda is dubious. It was excluded in Bowern & Koch (2004),[1] but retained in Bowern (2011).[2] Thaagurda was apparently also a Kartu language.

The name kartu comes from the word for 'man' in one of the languages.[specify] In some earlier work the word 'kardu' was spelled.[citation needed]

The Kartu languages form a branch of the Pama–Nyungan family.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Bowern & Koch (2004) Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method
  2. ^ a b Bowern, Claire. 2011. How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?
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