Nukuria language

{{Short description|Polynesian language spoken on Nuguria, Papua New Guinea}} {{Infobox language | name = Nuguria | altname = Nukuria | states = Papua New Guinea | region = Nuguria | speakers = 550 | date = 2003 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Austronesian | fam2 = Malayo-Polynesian | fam3 = Oceanic | fam4 = Polynesian | fam5 = Ellicean | iso3 = nur | glotto = nuku1259 | glottorefname = Nukuria | notice = IPA }}

'''Nukuria''' is a Polynesian language spoken by about 550 people on Nuguria, Papua New Guinea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marck |first=Jeff |title=Topics in Polynesian Languages and Culture History |publisher=Pacific Linguistics |year=2000 |location=Canberra |language=en |doi=10.15144/PL-504 |hdl=1885/90887 |isbn=9780858834682 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Classification == Nukuria is part of the Ellicean–Outlier subbranch of the Polynesian languages,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glottolog 5.1 - Nukuria |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nuku1259 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=glottolog.org}}</ref> and is closely related to other nearby languages such as Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuoro, and Luangiua.<ref name="Kirch 1984">{{Cite journal |last=Kirch |first=P. V. |date=1984 |title=The Polynesian Outliers: Continuity, Change, and Replacement |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249047052 |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |language=en |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=224–238 |doi=10.1080/00223348408572496 |jstor=25168559}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=William H. |date=1985 |title=Evidence for an Outlier Source for the Proto Eastern Polynesian Pronominal System |journal=Oceanic Linguistics |volume=24 |issue=1/2 |pages=85–133 |doi=10.2307/3623064 |jstor=3623064}}</ref>

== Status == The language was taught in primary schools on Nuguria and was used for daily communications between adults and children.<ref>{{Citation |title=Nukeria |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nur |access-date=19 October 2018 |publisher=Ethnologue}}</ref>

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.{{cn|date=December 2018}} However, recent research indicates that Nukuria is now most likely an extinct language.<ref name="Blust 2009">{{Cite book |last=Blust |first=R. A. |title=The Austronesian Languages |publisher=Pacific Linguistics |year=2009 |series=Pacific Linguistics |volume=602 |location=Canberra |language=en |hdl=1885/10191}}</ref>

==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/.<ref name="Ray">{{Cite journal |last=Ray |first=Sidney H. |date=1916 |title=Polynesian Linguistics. III. Polynesian Languages of the Solomon Islands |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=18–23 |jstor=20701126}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Nukuria consonants ! colspan="2" | !Labial !Alveolar !Velar !Glottal |- ! colspan="2" |Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! rowspan="2" |Stop !voiceless | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|k}} | |- !voiced | {{IPA link|b}} | | {{IPA link|g}} | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !voiceless | {{IPA link|f}} | {{IPA link|s}} | | {{IPA link|h}} |- !voiced | {{IPA link|v}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Approximant | | {{IPA link|l}} | {{IPA link|w}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Trill | | {{IPA link|r}} | | |}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+Vowels<ref name=Salmond/> ! !Front !Central !Back |- !High |{{IPA link|i}} | |{{IPA link|u}} |- !Mid |{{IPA link|e}} | |{{IPA link|o}} |- !Low | |{{IPA link|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.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Ellicean languages Category:Languages of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville