Alawa language facts for kids
This page is about the Australian language. For the Cushitic language, see Alawa language (Tanzania).
Quick facts for kids Alawa |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native to | Australia | |||
| Region | Northern Territory; Arnhem Land, Roper River. | |||
| Ethnicity | Alawa | |||
| Native speakers | 5 (2021 census) | |||
| Language family |
Macro-Pama-Nyungan?
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| AIATSIS | N92 | |||
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Alawa (Galawa) is a moribund Indigenous Australian language spoken by the Alawa people of the Northern Territory. In 1991, there were reportedly 18 remaining speakers and 4 semi-speakers.
Contents
Phonology
Consonants
Alawa has a typical consonant inventory for an Indigenous Australian language, with five contrastive places of articulation, multiple lateral consonants, and no voicing contrast among the stops.
| Alveolar | Palatal | Peripheral | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveolar | Retroflex | Alveo-palatal | Velar | Bilabial | |
| Prenasalised Stop | ⁿd | ⁿɖ | ⁿd̠ʲ | ᵑɡ | ᵐb |
| Devoiced Stop | [[Voiceless alveolar stop|t]] | [[Voiceless retroflex stop|ʈ]] | [[Voiceless palatal stop|t̠ʲ]] | [[voiceless velar stop|k]] | [[voiceless bilabial stop|p]] |
| Nasals | [[Alveolar nasal|n]] | [[Retroflex nasal|ɳ]] | [[Palatal nasal|n̠ʲ]] | [[Velar nasal|ŋ]] | [[Bilabial nasal|m]] |
| Laterals | [[Alveolar lateral approximant|l]] | [[Retroflex lateral approximant|ɭ]] | [[palatal lateral|l̠ʲ]] | ||
| Vibrants | [[alveolar trill|r]] | ||||
| Glide | [[Alveolar approximant|ɹ]] | [[palatal approximant|j]] | [[labiovelar approximant|w]] | ||
Note: there are no standardised IPA symbols for alveopalatal stops.
Vowels
The vowel system of Alawa is made up of four vowel phonemes: the high front vowel /i/, the high back vowel /u/, the mid front vowel /e/, and the low central vowel /a/.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ||
| Low | a |
There are no rounding contrasts or length contrasts in this language.
Vocabulary
Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:
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gloss Alawa man lilmi woman girija head guɽuguɽu eye gulur nose gujumur mouth ŋaːndal tongue djeːjälŋ stomach gundjäl bone galawa blood ŋulidji kangaroo girimbọ opossum gudjaɳi emu djinaliri crow waŋgunaji fly wuɳɖil sun marawaɭbaɭ moon aɖaŋari fire wubu smoke guŋuŋu water ŋọgọ
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Alawa language Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.