Nukuria is a Polynesian language spoken by about 550 people on Nuguria, Papua New Guinea.^[2]

Classification

Nukuria is part of the Ellicean–Outlier subbranch of the Polynesian languages,^[3] and is closely related to other nearby languages such as Nukumanu, Takuu, Nukuoro, and Luangiua.^[4][5]

Status

The language was taught in primary schools on Nuguria and was used for daily communications between adults and children.^[6]

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.^{[citation needed]} However, recent research indicates that Nukuria is now most likely an extinct language.^[7]

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/.^[8]

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.^{[citation needed]}

References