Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Nukuria language

Nukuria is a Polynesian language spoken by about 550 people on Nuguria, Papua New Guinea.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
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≈ 2 min
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Wikipedia ↗
Nuguria
Nukuria
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionNuguria
Native speakers
550 (2003)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3nur
Glottolognuku1259

Nukuria is a Polynesian language spoken by about 550 people on Nuguria, Papua New Guinea.2

Classification

Nukuria is part of the Ellicean–Outlier subbranch of the Polynesian languages,3 and is closely related to other nearby languages such as Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuoro, and Luangiua.45

Status

The language was taught in primary schools on Nuguria and was used for daily communications between adults and children.6

Research on the language (as well as the location it is spoken) is scarce. Past research stated Nuguria was at risk of endangerment; at that point it was still being passed to children. However, recent research indicates that Nukuria is now most likely an extinct language.7

Phonology

The Nukuria language's alphabet contains five vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, and fifteen consonants: /p/, /b/, /m/, /f/, /v/, /t/, /s/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /k/, /g/, /ŋ/, /w/, /h/.8

Nukuria consonants
Labial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k
voiced b g
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v
Approximant l w
Trill r
Vowels9
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Grammar

There is a distinct scarceness of research on the grammar and alphabet of the Nukuria language, but, as with many Austronesian languages, Nukuria has a subject-verb-object sentence structure.

References

References

  1. Nuguria at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian Languages and Culture History. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-504. hdl:1885/90887. ISBN 9780858834682.
  3. "Glottolog 5.1 - Nukuria". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  4. Kirch, P. V. (1984). "The Polynesian Outliers: Continuity, Change, and Replacement". The Journal of Pacific History. 19 (4): 224–238. doi:10.1080/00223348408572496. JSTOR 25168559.
  5. Wilson, William H. (1985). "Evidence for an Outlier Source for the Proto Eastern Polynesian Pronominal System". Oceanic Linguistics. 24 (1/2): 85–133. doi:10.2307/3623064. JSTOR 3623064.
  6. Nukeria, Ethnologue, retrieved 19 October 2018
  7. Blust, R. A. (2009). The Austronesian Languages. Pacific Linguistics. Vol. 602. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. hdl:1885/10191.
  8. Ray, Sidney H. (1916). "Polynesian Linguistics. III. Polynesian Languages of the Solomon Islands". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 25 (1): 18–23. JSTOR 20701126.
  9. Cite error: The named reference Salmond was invoked but never defined (see the help page).