Kamasau language

Kamasau
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	East Sepik Province
Native speakers	960 (2003) [1]
Language family	Torricelli Marienberg Kamasau
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kms
Glottolog	kama1367
ELP	Kamasau
Coordinates: 3°44′08″S143°48′55″E / 3.735538°S 143.815344°E / -3.735538; 143.815344 (Kamasau)

Kamasau is a Torricelli language of Turubu Rural LLG, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. ^[2]

Dialects

There are three dialects: ^{[1] [2]}

• Ghini dialect, spoken in Wandomi ( 3°52′07″S143°51′56″E / 3.868514°S 143.865581°E / -3.868514; 143.865581 (Wandomin) ), Wobu ( 3°55′10″S143°56′00″E / 3.919328°S 143.933212°E / -3.919328; 143.933212 (Wobu) ), and Yibab ( 3°51′58″S143°51′39″E / 3.866041°S 143.860699°E / -3.866041; 143.860699 (Ibab) ) villages
• Hagi dialect, spoken in Kenyari village ( 3°45′41″S143°45′06″E / 3.761477°S 143.751797°E / -3.761477; 143.751797 (Kinyari) )
• Soigi and Segi dialects, spoken in Kamasau ( 3°44′08″S143°48′55″E / 3.735538°S 143.815344°E / -3.735538; 143.815344 (Kamasau) ), Tring ( 3°47′27″S143°50′29″E / 3.790725°S 143.841425°E / -3.790725; 143.841425 (Tring (Tiling)) ), and Wau ( 3°47′17″S143°52′29″E / 3.787993°S 143.87474°E / -3.787993; 143.87474 (Wau 1 & 2) ) villages

Ghini dialect is divergent.^{[ citation needed ]} The dictionary^{[ which? ]} is based on the Segi dialect of Tring.^{[ citation needed ]}

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants ^[3]

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless		t	tʃ	k	ʔ
	voiced	b	d	dʒ	ɡ
	prenasalized	ᵐb	ⁿd	ᶮdʒ	ᵑg
Fricative	voiceless	ɸ	s			h
	voiced	β			ɣ
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Trill			r
Approximant		w		j

Vowels

Vowels ^[3]

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open		a

Notes

1. Kamasau at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
3. Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 305. doi:10.1515/9783110295252-003. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.