Namakura language

The Namakura language, Makura or Namakir, is an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. The language is spoken in Shefa Province, north Efate, Tongoa, and Tongariki.

Namakura
Namakir
Native toVanuatu
RegionShepherds Islands (Tongoa & Tongariki), north of Efate
Native speakers
3,800 (2001)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nmk
Glottolognama1268
Namakura is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Coronal Velar Glottal
plain lab.
Nasal m mʷ n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p pʷ 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 iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open a aː
  • 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. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 26: 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.


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