Ngarla language
| Ngarla | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Port Hedland area of Western Australia |
Native speakers | 0 (2015)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nrk |
| Glottolog | ngar1286 |
| AIATSIS[2] | A79* |
| ELP | Ngarla |
Ngarla is a Pama–Nyungan language of Western Australia. It is possibly mutually intelligible with Panyjima and Martuthunira, but the three are considered distinct languages.
Ngarla is classified as a member of the Ngayarda branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Dench (1995) believed there was insufficient data to enable it to be confidently classified, but Bowern & Koch (2004) include it without proviso.
According to the Australian Indigenous Languages Database (AUSTLANG), 6 speakers are older than 60, 4 are between the ages of 49-59, 4 are between 20-39, and 4 are younger than 19 years, indicating a total of only about 18 speakers. The NILS gives Ngarla an endangerment grade of 1, on a scale of 0-5 with 5 being the least endangered and 0 being nearly extinct.[3]
Ngarla is spoken near Port Hedland. The "Ngarla" on the Ashburton River is a dialect of a different, though possibly related, language, Yinhawangka.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Dorso-velar | Lamino-palatal | Apico-alveolar | Retroflex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ̻ | n̺ | ɳ |
| Stop | p | k | c̻ | t̺ | ʈ |
| Lateral | ʎ̻ | l̺ | ɭ | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ɽ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| Low | a aː | |
The long vowels are rare.[citation needed]
Grammar
Tense markers
Ngarla tense markers for verbs:[4]
| Tense marker | Tense |
|---|---|
| -n | past |
| -ngkaya | present |
| -kuRa | future |
Notes
- ^ http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-682.html
- ^ A79* Ngarla at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "AUSTLANG". austlang.aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ Languages of the World: Indo-Pacific Fascicle Six”, Geoffrey O’Grady, C. F. Voegelin and F. M. Voegelin (1966:82)
References
- ”A grammatical sketch of Ngarla: A language of Western Australia”, Torbjörn Westerlund, 2007 (PDF version).
External links
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