Australian Aboriginal language
| Alawa |
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| Native to | Australia |
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| Region | Northern Territory; Arnhem Land, Roper River. |
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| Ethnicity | Alawa |
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Native speakers | 5 (2021 census)[1] |
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Language family | |
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| Language codes |
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| ISO 639-3 | alh |
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| Glottolog | alaw1244 |
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| AIATSIS[2] | N92 |
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| ELP | Alawa |
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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.[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.[4]
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/.[4]
Vowel phonemes | Front | Central | Back |
| High | i | | u |
| Mid | e | | |
| Low | | a | |
There are no rounding contrasts or length contrasts in this language.[4]
Vocabulary
Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[5]
| 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 |
See also
- Glenn M. Wightman (1991), Alawa ethnobotany: Aboriginal plant use from Minyerri, northern Australia, vol. 11, Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Wikidata Q109466390
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). "Cultural diversity: Census". Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ N92 Alawa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Ethnologue: Alawa". Ethnologue.
- ^ a b c Sharpe, Margaret C (1972). Alawa Phonology and Grammar. Canberra: Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies.
- ^ Capell, Arthur. 1941–1942, 1942–1943. Languages of Arnhem Land, North Australia. Oceania 12: 364–392, 13: 24–51.
External links
Wiktionary has a word list at
Appendix:North Australian word lists 
