Burarra language

{{Infobox language

|name=Burarra

|speakers=1,229

|date=2021 census

|ref={{cite web|title=SBS Australian Census Explorer|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/creative/census-explorer|access-date=10 Jan 2023}}

|ethnicity=Burarra, Gadjalivia

|familycolor=Australian

|fam1=Arnhem?

|fam2=Maningrida

|dia1=Gun-narta (Gidjingaliya, Anbarra)

|dia2=Gun-nartpa (Gudjarlabiya)

|iso3=bvr

|glotto=bura1267

|glottorefname=Burarra

|aiatsis=N82

|dia3 = Gun-narda (Martay)}}

The Burarra language is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Burarra people of Arnhem Land. It has several dialects.

Other names and spellings include Barera, Bawera, Burada, Bureda, Burera, An-barra (Anbarra), Gidjingaliya, Gu-jingarliya, Gu-jarlabiya, Gun-Guragone (also used for Guragone), Jikai, Tchikai.

The Djangu people have a Burarra clan, which is sometimes confused with this language.{{AIATSIS|N135|Burarra (Djangu)}}

Classification

Burarra is a prefixing non-Pama-Nyungan language. Along with Gurr-goni, it makes up the Burarran branch of the Maningrida language family (which also includes Ndjébbana and Na-kara).{{Cite book|title = A sketch grammar of Burarra|last = Green|first = Rebecca|publisher = Australian National University|year = 1987|location = Canberra |type=Honours thesis}}{{Cite book|title = Multilingualism and lingua francas among Australian Aborigines: A case study of Maningrida|last = Elwell|first = Vanessa|publisher = Australian National University|year = 1977|location = Canberra |type=Honours thesis}}{{Cite journal|title = Languages of the world: Indo-Pacific Fascicle Six|last1 = O'Grady|first1 = G.N.|date = 1967|journal = Anthropological Linguistics|last2 = Voegelin|first2 = C.F. |volume=8 |issue=2 |jstor=30029431}}

Distribution

The Burarra people are from the Blyth and Cadell River regions of Central and North-central Arnhem Land, but many now reside further west in Maningrida township at the mouth of the Liverpool River.{{Cite book|title = Burarra–Gun-nartpa dictionary with English finder list|last = Glasgow|first = Kathleen|publisher = Summer Institute of Linguistics|year = 1994|location = Darwin}}

Dialects

Glasgow (1994) distinguishes three dialects of Burarra: {{lang|bvr|Gun-nartpa}} ({{lang|bvr|Mu-golarra}} / {{lang|bvr|Mukarli}} group from the Cadell River region), {{lang|bvr|Gun-narta}} ({{lang|bvr|An-barra}}, western side of the mouth of the Blythe River), and {{lang|bvr|Gun-narda}} ({{lang|bvr|Martay}}, eastern side of the Blythe River). These dialect names derive from each dialect's word for the demonstrative "that". She further notes that the two latter dialects ({{lang|bvr|Gun-narta}} and {{lang|bvr|Gun-narda}}) are frequently grouped together and referred to by their eastern neighbours as "{{lang|bvr|Burarra}}", and by themselves as "{{lang|bvr|Gu-jingarliya}}" ('language'/'with tongue').

Green (1987) distinguishes two dialects: {{lang|bvr|Gun-nartpa}} and {{lang|bvr|Burarra}} ({{lang|bvr|Gu-jingarliya}}), but notes that noticeable dialectal differences exist within the group of Burarra speakers.

Phonology

= Consonants =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" \|+Consonants{{Cite thesis\|last=Graetzer\|first=Naomi\|date=2005\|title=An Acoustic Study of Coarticulation: Consonant-Vowel and Vowel-to-Vowel Coarticulation in Four Australian Languages\|degree=MA\|publisher=University of Melbourne\|pages=37–39}} ! colspan="2" \| ! Labial ! Alveolar ! Retroflex ! Palatal ! Velar
rowspan="2" \| Plosive ! {{small\|fortis}} \| {{IPAlink\|p}} \| {{IPAlink\|t}} \| {{IPAlink\|ʈ}} \| {{IPAlink\|c}} \| {{IPAlink\|k}}
{{small\|lenis}} \| {{IPAlink\|b}} \| {{IPAlink\|d}} \| {{IPAlink\|ɖ}} \| {{IPAlink\|ɟ}} \| {{IPAlink\|g}}
colspan="2" \| Nasal \| {{IPAlink\|m}} \| {{IPAlink\|n}} \| {{IPAlink\|ɳ}} \| {{IPAlink\|ɲ}} \| {{IPAlink\|ŋ}}
colspan="2" \| Lateral \| \| {{IPAlink\|l}} \| {{IPAlink\|ɭ}} \| \|
colspan="2" \| Rhotic \| \| {{IPAlink\|r}} \| {{IPA link\|ɻ}} \| \|
colspan="2" \| Glide \| {{IPAlink\|w}} \| \| \| {{IPAlink\|j}} \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Consonants{{Cite thesis|last=Graetzer|first=Naomi|date=2005|title=An Acoustic Study of Coarticulation: Consonant-Vowel and Vowel-to-Vowel Coarticulation in Four Australian Languages|degree=MA|publisher=University of Melbourne|pages=37–39}}

! colspan="2" |

! Labial

! Alveolar

! Retroflex

! Palatal

! Velar

rowspan="2" | Plosive

! {{small|fortis}}

| {{IPAlink|p}}

| {{IPAlink|t}}

| {{IPAlink|ʈ}}

| {{IPAlink|c}}

| {{IPAlink|k}}

| {{IPAlink|b}}

| {{IPAlink|d}}

| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɟ}}

| {{IPAlink|g}}

colspan="2" | Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}}

| {{IPAlink|n}}

| {{IPAlink|ɳ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɲ}}

| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}

colspan="2" | Lateral

| {{IPAlink|l}}

| {{IPAlink|ɭ}}

colspan="2" | Rhotic

| {{IPAlink|r}}

| {{IPA link|ɻ}}

colspan="2" | Glide

| {{IPAlink|w}}

| {{IPAlink|j}}

In most cases, fortis and lenis refers to the voicing in consonants where fortis is voiceless and lenis is voiced.{{Cite web|url=https://notendur.hi.is/peturk/KENNSLA/02/TOP/fortlen.html|title=Fortis and lenis|website=notendur.hi.is|access-date=2018-12-22|archive-date=7 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607030001/https://notendur.hi.is/peturk/KENNSLA/02/TOP/fortlen.html|url-status=dead}} In this case, plosives are distinguished by intra-oral peak pressure and stricture duration. Fortis consonants are usually longer in duration and have a greater intra-oral pressure while lenis consonants can often be pronounced as fricatives or approximants. The Burarra language also allows for the clustering of consonants.

= Vowels =

Burara has a five vowel system.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" \|+Vowel chart ! !Front !Central !Back
Close \|{{IPA link\|i}} \| \|{{IPA link\|u}}
Open-mid \| rowspan="2" \|{{IPA link\|æ}}~{{IPA link\|ɛ}} \| \|{{IPA link\|ɔ}}
Open \|{{IPA link\|a}} \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Vowel chart

!Front

!Central

!Back

|{{IPA link|i}}

|{{IPA link|u}}

Open-mid

| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|æ}}~{{IPA link|ɛ}}

|{{IPA link|ɔ}}

Open

|{{IPA link|a}}

The vowels can be realized as:

/i/: close-mid front vowel, {{IPAblink|e}}, or {{IPAblink|ɪ}}
/a/: low central vowels {{IPAblink|ä}}, {{IPAblink|ɐ}} or schwa {{IPAblink|ə}}
/æ/: {{IPAblink|æ}}, {{IPAblink|ɛ}} or {{IPAblink|e}}
/ɔ/: {{IPAblink|ɔ}} or {{IPAblink|o}}
/u/: schwa {{IPAblink|ə}}, a lowered open-mid back rounded vowel {{IPAblink|ɔ̞}}, a lowered {{IPAblink|ö}}, or {{IPAblink|ʊ}}

Grammar

Burarra is a prefixing, multiple-classifying language. Verbs co-reference their subjects and objects through the use of prefixes, and inflect for tense and status. Serial verbs can be used to express categories like aspect, compound action and causation.

Nouns inflect for case and belong to one of four noun classes (an-, jin-, mun- and gun-).

References

External links

ELAR archive of [http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0276 Gun-nartpa]

Category:Maningrida languages