Bunama language
In this article, we will explore the impact that Bunama language has had on our society. Since its emergence, Bunama language has generated great interest and debate among experts and the general public. Throughout history, Bunama language has played a crucial role in various aspects of our lives, influencing everything from politics to popular culture. Through detailed analysis, we will examine how Bunama language has shaped our perceptions and behaviors, as well as its relevance in the contemporary context. Likewise, we will address the future implications of Bunama language and its likely evolution in the coming years.
| Bunama | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Milne Bay Province |
Native speakers | (4,000 cited 1993) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bdd |
| Glottolog | buna1276 |
Bunama is an Austronesian language spoken in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands of Papua New Guinea.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | ||||
| Plosive | vless/asp. | p | pʷ | t̪ʰ | ʔ | ʔʷ | |||
| voiced | b | bʷ | d | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||
| Fricative | s | h | hʷ | ||||||
| Nasal | m | mʷ | n | ||||||
| Lateral | ɺ | ||||||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||||
- /p/ can fluctuate to aspirated in stressed syllables.
- /b d ɡ/ can also be heard as word-initially in stressed syllables.
- /b/ can be heard as a fricative intervocalically in word-medial position.
- /d/ can be heard as a tap intervocalically in word-medial position.
- /s/ can be heard as a more fronted in unstressed syllables following vowels /ɛ, a/.
- Prevoicing of the lateral flap may also occur in initial positions.
- /ɺ/ may also be heard as a retroflex flap depending on the dialect of the speaker. It can also be heard as when realized as prevoiced in word-initial positions.
- /w/ may fluctuate to a labio-dental among some speakers.
- /j/ may be realized as a dental approximant when before /a/.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ʊ | |
| Mid | ɛ | o | |
| Open | a |
- /a/ is heard as before and after a labialized consonant, or with sounds /w/, /ʔ/. It is also heard as word-medially and word-finally in unstressed syllables.
- /ʊ/ is heard as word-medially and word-finally but never following labialized consonants, or semivowels /w, j/. It is heard as when following sounds /s t̪ʰ/.
- /o/ can be heard as when preceding a glottal stop /ʔ/.
References
- ^ Bunama at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Hughes, Ngaire; Leckie, Isabel (1976). Bunama Phonemics.
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