Alawa language
| Alawa | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Northern Territory; Arnhem Land, Roper River. |
| Ethnicity | Alawa |
Native speakers | 12 (2006 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | alh |
| Glottolog | alaw1244 |
| AIATSIS[1] | N92 |
| ELP | Alawa |
Alawa (Galawa) is a moribund Indigenous Australian language spoken by the Alawa people of the Northern Territory. In 1991, it had 18 remaining speakers and 4 semi-speakers.[2]
Phonology
Consonants
Alawa has a typical consonant inventory for an Indigenous Australian language, with five contrastive places of articulation, multiple lateral consonants, and no voicing contrast among the stops.[3]
| Alveolar | Palatal | Peripheral | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveo-palatal | Velar | Bilabial | |
| Prenasalised Stop | ⁿd | ⁿɖ | ⁿɟ | ⁿɡ | ⁿb |
| Devoiced Stop | [[Voiceless alveolar stop|t]] | [[Voiceless retroflex stop|ʈ]] | [[Voiceless palatal stop|c]] | [[voiceless velar stop|k]] | [[voiceless bilabial stop|p]] |
| Nasals | [[Alveolar nasal|n]] | [[Retroflex nasal|ɳ]] | [[Palatal nasal|ɲ]] | [[Velar nasal|ŋ]] | [[Bilabial nasal|m]] |
| Laterals | [[Alveolar lateral approximant|l]] | [[Retroflex lateral approximant|ɭ]] | [[palatal lateral|l]] | ||
| Vibrants | [[alveolar trill|r]] | ||||
| Glide | [[Alveolar approximant|ɹ]] | [[palatal approximant|j]] | [[labiovelar approximant|w]] | ||
Note: there are no standardised IPA symbols for alveopalatal stops.
Vowels
The vowel system of Alawa is made up of four vowel phonemes: the high front vowel /i/, the high back vowel /u/, the mid front vowel /e/, and the low central vowel /a/.[4]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ||
| Low | a |
There are no rounding contrasts or length contrasts in this language.[5]
References
- ^ a b N92 Alawa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Ethnologue: Alawa". Ethnologue.
- ^ Sharpe, Margaret C. 1972
- ^ Sharpe, Margaret C (1972). Alawa Phonology and Grammar. Canberra: Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies.
- ^ Sharpe, Margaret C. 1972
External links
- Bibliography of Alawa language and people resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
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