Namakura language

Namakura
Namakura
Namakir
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Shepherds Islands (Tongoa & Tongariki), north of Efate
Native speakers	3,800 (2001)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu Central Vanuatu Epi-Efate Efate Namakura; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nmk
Glottolog	nama1268
	Namakura is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Last updated June 16, 2025

A Namakura speaker, recorded in Vanuatu.

The Namakura language, Makura or Namakir, is an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. The language is spoken in Shefa Province, north Efate, Tongoa, and Tongariki. It is the only North-Central Vanuatu language to have preserved the Proto-Oceanic *q, reflected as a glottal stop.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial		Coronal	Velar	Glottal
		plain	lab.	Coronal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	mʷ	n	ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p	pʷ	t	k	ʔ
Plosive	prenasal	ᵐb	ᵐbʷ	ⁿd	ᵑɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f		s		h
Fricative	voiced	v
Approximant		w		l
Rhotic				r

/v/ may also range to bilabial as [ β ], in free variation.
/h/ can also range to uvular as [ χ ], in free variation.
/ⁿd/ can also range to a retroflex [ ᶯɖ ] in free variation. When followed by a /r/, it is then realized as a trilled-articulated sound [ⁿdʳ,ᶯɖʳ].
/r/ can be heard as a flap [ ɾ ] in initial position and as a trill [ r ] elsewhere.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i iː		u uː
Mid	e eː		o oː
Open		a aː

Two nasal vowel sounds [ẽ õ] are also rarely heard.
/i/ when preceding a vowel can be heard as a glide [j].^[2]

External links

Materials on Makura are included in a number of collections held by Paradisec.

References

Ray, Sydney H. (1897). "Vocabulary and Grammatical Notes on the Language of Makura, Central New Hebrides". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 26. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 67–73. doi: 10.2307/2842333 . JSTOR 2842333.

Notes

↑ Namakura at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Sperlich, Wolfgang B. (1991). Namakir: a description of a central Vanuatu language. University of Auckland.

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[e18-1] Namakura at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Sperlich, Wolfgang B. (1991). Namakir: a description of a central Vanuatu language. University of Auckland.

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