Central Asmat language

Last updated
Central Asmat
Native to Indonesia
Region Asmat Regency, South Papua
Ethnicity Asmat people
Native speakers
(7,000 cited 1972) [1]
2,000 Yaosakor (1991), perhaps counted above
Language codes
ISO 639-3 cns – inclusive code
Individual code:
asy   Yaosakor Asmat
Glottolog cent2247

Central Asmat is a Papuan language of West New Guinea, spoken by the Asmat people.

Contents

Dialects

Central Asmat has a number of dialects, which are: [2]

Yaosakor Asmat, assigned its own ISO code, is a variety of Central Asmat, not a distinct language.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n
Plosive p t k
Fricative f s ʝ
Rhotic r
Approximant w

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ə o
Low a
PhonemeAllophones
/i/[i], [y], [ɪ]
/e/[e], [ɛ], [ø]
/a/[ä], [a], [æ]
/o/[o], [ɤ], [ɔ]
/u/[u], [ʉ]

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References

  1. Central Asmat at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Yaosakor Asmat at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Usher, Timothy; Suter, Edgar (2020). "The Asmat-Muli Languages of Southwestern New Guinea" (PDF). Language & Linguistics in Melanesia. Port Moresby: Journal of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea. 38. ISSN   0023-1959.
  3. Voorhoeve, Clemens L. (1965). The Flamingo Bay Dialect of the Asmat Language. The Hague: M.Nijhoff.