| Ngarla | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Port Hedland area of Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Ngarla |
| Extinct | Critically endangered[1][2] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nrk |
| Glottolog | ngar1296 |
| AIATSIS[3] | A48 |
| ELP | Ngarla |
 | |
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Ngarla is aPama–Nyungan language of coastalWestern Australia. It is possiblymutually intelligible withPanyjima andMartuthunira, but the three are considered distinct languages.
Ngarla is a member of theNgayarda branch of thePama–Nyungan languages. Dench (1995) believed there was insufficient data to enable it to be confidently classified, but Bowern & Koch (2004) include it without proviso.
Ngarla is spoken nearPort Hedland. The "Ngarla" on theAshburton River is a dialect of a different, though possibly related, language,Yinhawangka.
According to theIrra Wangga Language Centre, "Ngarla is no longer spoken today, although there remain some community members who know some words and phrases in the language".[5]
| Labial | Dorso-velar | Lamino-palatal | Apico-alveolar | Retroflex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n | ɳ |
| Stop | p | k | c | t | ʈ |
| Lateral | ʎ | l | ɭ | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ɽ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | iiː | uuː |
| Low | aaː | |
The long vowels are rare.[6]
Ngarla tense markers for verbs:[7]
| Tense marker | Tense |
|---|---|
| -n | past |
| -ngkaya | present |
| -kuRa | future |
As of 2020[update], Ngarla is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project, being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by theDepartment of Communications and the Arts. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages—those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".[8]
Research has been undertaken on the language at theIrra Wangga Language Centre, who have produced resources in Ngarla, including Ngarla Numbers andJamie’s Bush Tucker Trip.[5]
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