Wogamusin language

Last updated
Wogamusin
Region Ambunti District, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea (4 villages)
Native speakers
700 (1998) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 wog
Glottolog woga1249
ELP Wogamusin
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Wogamusin is a Papuan language found in four villages in the Ambunti District of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. It was spoken by about 700 people in 1998. [2]

Contents

Phonology

Vowels [3]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Open a

In non-final positions, /u//o/, /i/, and /e/ are [ ʊ ][ ɔ ], [ ɪ ], and [ ɛ ], respectively. [ ə ] appears only in unstressed syllables; when it is followed by /w/ it is rounded: [ɵu̯]. [3]

Consonants [3]
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive Voiceless p t k
Voiced b d ɡ
Voiced prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ
Fricative s h
Flap ɺ
Semivowel j w

Between vowels, /b/ and /ɡ/ lenite to the fricatives [ β ] and [ ɣ ], respectively. /s/ is realized as an affricate, [ ts ], word-initially. /h/ is velar, [ x ], after /a/ and /o/. Word-finally, voiceless stops are usually unreleased. [3]

Phonotactics

The consonant /ŋ/ only occurs finally. Bilabial and velar consonants may be followed by /w/ when initial, but otherwise consonant clusters only occur over syllable boundaries, with the exception of the unusual word /məmt/ ('snake'). [4]

Pronouns

Wogamusin pronouns: [5] :279

sgdupl
1naynondnon
2ninohnom
3myeyohyor
3fyo

Notes

  1. Wogamusin at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Ethnologue.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Laycock (1965 :114)
  4. Laycock (1965 :114)
  5. 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. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.

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References