| Nakkara | |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Nagara people |
Native speakers | 55 (2021 census)1 |
Macro-Gunwinyguan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nck |
| Glottolog | naka1260 |
| AIATSIS2 | N80 |
| ELP | Nakara |
Nakkara (Na-kara) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Nagara people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.
It is also spelled Nakara or Nagara and also called Kokori.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Apical | Laminal | Dorsal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | ||
| Stop | b | d | ɖ | ɟ | g |
| Nasal | m | n | ɳ | ɲ | ŋ |
| Lateral | l | ɭ | |||
| Rhotic | r/ɾ | ɽ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
Stops have both voiced and voiceless allophones, depending on their position in the word. Furthermore, a stop length variation is present, which is only contrastive in morpheme-medial positions. This can be interpreted as either gemination, or as evidence for the existence of two separate stop series, with a suprasegmental hypothesis being mostly ruled out.
The tapped and trilled allophones of /r/ are in free variation.3
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
References
References
- "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- N80 Nakkara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Eather, Bronwyn (1990). A grammar of Nakkara (Central Arnhem Land Coast) (PhD thesis). Australian National University. doi:10.25911/5D723D207FDA3. hdl:1885/132899.