Nama
RegionWestern Province (Papua New Guinea)
Native speakers
1,200 (2018)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nmx
Glottolognama1266

Nama (or Noraia) is a Yam language spoken in Western Province, Papua New Guinea.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar
plain lab. plain lab.
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless (p) t k
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ (ɡʷ)
prenasal ᵐb ᵐbʷ ⁿd ⁿd͡ʒ ᵑɡ ᵑɡʷ
Fricative ɸ ɸʷ s ɣ
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant j w
  • Sounds /p/ and /ɡʷ/ only occur marginally.
  • Sounds /t, d, ⁿd/ may range in articulation, varying from dental [t̪, d̪, ⁿd̪] to alveolar [t, d, ⁿd].
  • /r/ can be heard as a tap [ɾ] when in rapid speech and in consonant clusters.
  • /ɸ/ can become voiced as [β] when intervocalically or word-finally.
  • /ɣ/ can also be heard as [ɰ] in some contexts.
  • Sounds /n, r/ can occur as geminates [nː, rː].

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i y u
Near-close ɪ
Mid e ø ə o
Near-open æ
Open a
  • Sounds /i, o, u/ can be heard as [ɪ], [ɔ], [ʊ, ʉ] within diphthongs.[2]

References

  1. Nama at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed access icon
  2. Siegel, Jeff (2023). A Grammar of Nama: A Papuan Language of Southern New Guinea. De Gruyter.
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