Ngarla language

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Ngarla
Native to Port Hedland area of Western Australia
Native speakers
4  (2010)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nrk
AIATSIS[2] A79*

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.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Dorso-velar Lamino-palatal Apico-alveolar Retroflex
Nasal m ŋ ɲ̻ ɳ
Stop p k ʈ
Lateral ʎ̻ 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 [3]

Tense marker Tense
-n past
-ngkaya present
-kuRa future

Notes

  1. Westerlund, T: När engelskan kom till Australien, page 51. Språktidningen, February 2010. (In Swedish)
  2. Ngarla at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. 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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