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Namakura
Namakir
Native to Vanuatu
Region Shepherds Islands (Tongoa & Tongariki), north of Efate
Native speakers
3,800 (2001) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nmk
Glottolog nama1268
Namakura is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
A Namakura speaker, recorded 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.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Coronal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
prenasal ᵐb ᵐbʷ ⁿd ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v
Approximant w l
Rhotic r
  • /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

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a
  • Two nasal vowel sounds [ẽ õ] are also rarely heard.
  • /i/ when preceding a vowel can be heard as a glide [j]. [2]

External links

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