Marlpa (and variants) has been used in different ways by different sources - as an alternative name for Kalarku A2 (O'Grady, MS 3799) and Ngadjumaya A3 (Douglas 1968 and Oates 1975), and to refer to a language variety distinct from both of these.

Tindale (1974:243) reports that malba (A110) means 'circumcised and subincised ones' and is a 'name applied by Wudjari W41 to Kalaako A2 and other immediately northern tribes' (i.e. Kalamaia A4 and Ngadjunmaia A3). However, von Brandenstein (1970:3-4) says it means 'man' and identifies it as the name of one of six language varieties in the Dundas District area (the others being Mirning (Eucla) A9, Fraser Range A74, Norseman A99, Windaga A111 and Kallaagu A2).

Von Brandenstein (1980:2) comments that 'it will be difficult to extract the different components of the (Dundas District) languages...from the mixed language now called Ngadju A3 which is still spoken...' Von Brandenstein (1970:3-4) mentions there being 14 remaining speakers of Marlba (A110), which suggests that language data has been recorded.

A wordlist taken by Daisy Bates, titled 'Native vocabularies - Balladonia area', may contain Marlpa language data as it matches, in part, the location reported by von Brandenstein. Confusingly, though, von Brandenstein (1970:4, PMS 2143) also says that 'the location given by Capell (1963) A.25 is correct', but this is Capell's 'Ngadjunma'.

Oates (1975) explains that 'von Brandenstein calls this dialect Marlba after the word for 'man', and the modern polyglot of all the dialects he calls Ngadju and Ngadju(n)maja'. As most sources treat Ngadjunma, Ngadju and Ngadjumaya as variants of the same language variety A3, distinguishing between the original Marlba variety and the modern day Ngadjumaya is likely to be very difficult. Consequently, while catalogue records containing the Marlpa heading will ideally refer to the distinct language variety which preceded modern Ngadjumaya, they may in fact relate to modern-day Ngadjumaya A3, or even Kalarku A2.