Kovai language

Kovai
Kovai
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	Umboi Island, Morobe Province
Native speakers	6,000 (2011)
Language family	Trans–New Guinea Finisterre–Huon Huon Kovai; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kqb
Glottolog	kova1243

Last updated January 02, 2026

Kovai (Kobai, Kowai) is a Papuan language spoken on Umboi Island, halfway between mainland Papua New Guinea and the island of New Britain, and mostly within the caldera of that volcanic island.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

Vowels may be heard as lax [ɪ ɛ ʌ ɔ ʊ] when in closed syllables.^[2]

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k
Plosive	voiced	b			ɡ
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Fricative	voiceless		s
Fricative	voiced		z
Trill			r
Approximant		w	l	j

In word-final position /b ɡ/ can be heard as devoiced [b̥ ɡ̊], and may also be realized as fricatives [β ɣ] in intervocalic positions.^[3]

References

↑ Kovai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Bugenhagen, Robert D. (1994). Language change on Umboi island. Tom Dutton and Darrell T. Tryon (eds.), Language contact and change in the Austronesian world: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 46.
↑ Brown, Alan (1992). Kovai (Umboi) organized phonology data. SIL.

External links

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[e18-1] Kovai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Bugenhagen, Robert D. (1994). Language change on Umboi island. Tom Dutton and Darrell T. Tryon (eds.), Language contact and change in the Austronesian world: Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 46.

[3] Brown, Alan (1992). Kovai (Umboi) organized phonology data. SIL.

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