Alawa language

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.[4]

This article is about the Australian language. For the Cushitic language, see Alawa language (Tanzania).

Alawa
Native toAustralia
RegionNorthern Territory; Arnhem Land, Roper River.
EthnicityAlawa
Native speakers
4 (2016 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3alh
Glottologalaw1244
AIATSIS[2]N92
ELPAlawa[3]

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.[5]

Consonant phonemes
Alveolar Palatal Peripheral
Alveolar Retroflex Alveo-palatal Velar Bilabial
Prenasalised Stop ⁿd ⁿɖ ⁿd̠ʲ ᵑɡ ᵐb
Devoiced Stop t ʈ t̠ʲ k p
Nasals n ɳ n̠ʲ ŋ m
Laterals l ɭ l̠ʲ
Vibrants r
Glide ɹ j 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/.[5]

Vowel phonemes
FrontCentralBack
High iu
Mid e
Low a

There are no rounding contrasts or length contrasts in this language.[5]

Vocabulary

Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[6]

glossAlawa
manlilmi
womangirija
headguɽuguɽu
eyegulur
nosegujumur
mouthŋaːndal
tonguedjeːjälŋ
stomachgundjäl
bonegalawa
bloodŋulidji
kangaroogirimbọ
opossumgudjaɳi
emudjinaliri
crowwaŋgunaji
flywuɳɖil
sunmarawaɭbaɭ
moonaɖaŋari
firewubu
smokeguŋuŋu
waterŋọgọ

References
  1. "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. N92 Alawa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. Endangered Languages Project data for Alawa.
  4. "Ethnologue: Alawa". Ethnologue.
  5. Sharpe, Margaret C (1972). Alawa Phonology and Grammar. Canberra: Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies.
  6. Capell, Arthur. 1941–1942, 1942–1943. Languages of Arnhem Land, North Australia. Oceania 12: 364–392, 13: 24–51.
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