ISO_639:nmk

Namakura language

Namakura language

Austronesian language spoken in Vanuatu

The Namakura language, Makura or Namakir, is an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. The language is spoken in Shefa Province, north Efate, Tongoa, and Tongariki. It is the only North-Central Vanuatu language to have preserved the Proto-Oceanic *q, reflected as a glottal stop.

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...
A Namakura speaker, recorded in Vanuatu.

Phonology

Consonants

More information Labial, Coronal ...
  • /v/ may also range to bilabial as [β], in free variation.
  • /h/ can also range to uvular as [χ], in free variation.
  • /ⁿd/ can also range to a retroflex [ᶯɖ] in free variation. When followed by a /r/, it is then realized as a trilled-articulated sound [ⁿdʳ, ᶯɖʳ].
  • /r/ can be heard as a flap [ɾ] in initial position and as a trill [r] elsewhere.

Vowels

More information Front, Central ...
  • Two nasal vowel sounds [ẽ õ] are also rarely heard.
  • /i/ when preceding a vowel can be heard as a glide [j].[2]

References

  • Ray, Sydney H. (1897). "Vocabulary and Grammatical Notes on the Language of Makura, Central New Hebrides". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 26. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 67–73. doi:10.2307/2842333. JSTOR 2842333.

Notes

  1. [1]
    Namakura at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. [2]
    Sperlich, Wolfgang B. (1991). Namakir: a description of a central Vanuatu language. University of Auckland.


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