| Kara | |
| Region: | New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Speakers: | 5,000 |
| Date: | 1998 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam2: | Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam3: | Oceanic |
| Fam4: | Western |
| Fam5: | Meso-Melanesian |
| Fam6: | (New Ireland) |
| Fam7: | Tungag–Nalik |
| Script: | Latin |
| Iso3: | leu |
| Glotto: | kara1486 |
| Glottorefname: | Kara (Papua New Guinea) |
Kara (also Lemusmus or Lemakot) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 5,000 people in 1998 in the Kavieng District of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea.
Laxudumau, spoken in the village of Lakudumau, is transitional to Nalik.
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Fricative | pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Trill | pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /ink/ |
Kara contains fourteen consonants. Single consonants are found within the head of a word, intervocalically between two vowels, finally and in sequences of less than two words medially. Voiceless consonants pronounced as //p, t, q, ɸ, s// create a cluster on the second consonant. Voiced consonants pronounced as //b, d, g, β, ɣ// appear initially and intervocally. They appear as the second consonant of a cluster. An example would be pronounced as /[βalβal]/ 'tree sap'.[1] It is notable that different dialects change the use of consonants. West Kara replaces pronounced as //s// with pronounced as //z// anytime it would proceed a vowel, and interpolate pronounced as //ɸ// with pronounced as /[h]/ before a vowel and pronounced as /[ʔ]/ at the end of a word.
| p | pronounced as /[pʰabʊŋ]/ 'clan' | pronounced as /[ipʰʊl]/ 'surprise' | pronounced as /[lɛp]/ 'wave' | |
| t | pronounced as /[tʰuɸ]/ 'sugar cane' | pronounced as /[xutʰat]/ 'crayfish' | pronounced as /[ɸat]/ 'stone' | |
| q | pronounced as /[qʰɔɾ]/ 'raven' | pronounced as /[xɔqʰɔɸ]/ 'head cloth' | pronounced as /[laq]/ 'go up' | |
| g | pronounced as /[gis]/ 'sick' | pronounced as /[gogon]/ 'sweep' | does not occur |
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near-Close | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Close-Mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| Open-Mid | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ |
Kara contains ten vowels. Relative to their position in the IPA vowel chart, the vowels in Kara tend to contrast each other throughout the language. Central vowels pronounced as /[a]/ and pronounced as /[ə]/ contrast in both open and closed syllables.[2] Example:
Mid vowels pronounced as /[e]/ and pronounced as /[ɛ]/, and pronounced as /[o]/ and pronounced as /[ɔ]/ are complementary to each other in their respective pairs. Each pair occurs in open syllables, a syllable consisting of an onset and nucleus but no coda.
Higher vowels pronounced as /[i]/ and pronounced as /[ɪ]/, and pronounced as /[u]/ and pronounced as /[ʊ]/ contrast in closed syllables, a syllable consisting of an onset, nucleus, and coda.
Kara has an unusual occurrence of stress, or relative emphasis of syllables. Stress in Kara occurs on any syllable in a word, but follows a system of rules that allow placement of stress in an ordered system in all words that contain two syllables or more. However, syllables stemmed from prefixes are never stressed regardless of the ordered system. Stress is determined by three factors: vowel quality, syllable closure, and position in the word, with vowel quality being the most important factor.[3]
A syllable with a nucleus of pronounced as //a// receives primary stress regardless of its position in the word.
A word with more than one syllable and a nucleus of pronounced as //a// has the stress fall on the last syllable..
A word with neither a syllable with a nucleus of pronounced as //a// or a closed syllable has the stress fall on the initial syllable.
Kara follows a verb–subject–object word order, and uses reduplication for creation of more complex sentences. The language determines that body parts and kinship terms must be identified as belonging to someone which make it possible for inalienable possession.[4]
Verbs in Kara are used transitively, meaning that the verbs in Kara span a spectrum that ultimately determines how speaking the language occurs between an object and that verb. Transitivity of verbs is used to also determine whether or not the spoken language is between two people actively who are actively speakers, rather than a speaker and a listener. For example: the verb pronounced as /[kuus]/ 'say' has an initiator but no one to actively speak to.[5]
Reduplication occurs in words with an initial plosive consonant. The reduplicated consonant created is said fricatively within the same articulation of the word.
| pronounced as /[nasə]/ | pronounced as /[nasaq]/ | pronounced as /[nasam]/ | pronounced as /[nasənə]/ | 'wife' | |
| pronounced as /[mɘtʰɘ]/ | pronounced as /[mɘtʰaq]/ | pronounced as /[mɘtʰam]/ | pronounced as /[mətʰɘnɘ]/ | 'eye' | |
| pronounced as /[βəsa]/ | pronounced as /[βɘsaq]/ | pronounced as /[βɘsam]/ | pronounced as /[βəsanə]/ | 'sibling' | |
| pronounced as /[mi]/ | pronounced as /[mieq]/ | pronounced as /[mim]/ | pronounced as /[minə]/ | 'back' | |
| pronounced as /[ɤu]/ | pronounced as /[ɤuəq]/ | pronounced as /[ɤum]/ | pronounced as /[ɤunɘ]/ | 'stomach' |