Alekano language
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Alekano language
| Alekano | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gahuku | ||||
| Spoken in | Papua New Guinea | |||
| Region | Goroka District, Eastern Highlands Province | |||
| Native speakers | 25,000 (1999) | |||
| Language family | ||||
| Writing system | Latin | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-3 | gah | |||
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Alekano, or Gahuku (Gahuku-Gama), is a Papuan language spoken in the northern district of Goroka Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. There are about 25,000 speakers.[1]
Alekano is also known as Gahuku, after the name of the largest clan of speakers, or Gama, after the second largest clan. Calling the language by these names has been rejected by speakers who are not members of these clans and Alekano has been largely adopted as the official name. Alekano means “bring it”. In two closely related languages spoken directly to the northwest, Tokano and Dano, it also means “bring it”.[2][3]
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Contents
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Phonology
Alekano has 5 vowels and 12 consonants, though /w/, a voiced labio-velar approximant, is only found only in the village name Wanima, its derivations or Pidgin loanwords.[4]
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɯ |
| Mid | e | ɤ |
| Low | ɑ |
Glottal coda
In Alekano, a syllable may only be closed with a glottal stop, as in /ɑʔnesiʔ/ "enough". This is currently not treated as one of the consonants, though it is unclear if words written as vowel initial begin with a glottal stop. It is written as an acute accent in the orthography, for example, ánesí.[3]
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Approximant | β | l~ɽ | ɣ | h |
| Sibilant | s z |
The lateral is [l] initially and [ɽ] between vowels.
The syllable
The most complex syllables are of the form /CVVʔ/, where VV may be a diphthong of /ɑ/, /e/, or /ɤ/ followed by /i/ or /ɯ/, or of /iɯ/. Other vowels may also occur in sequence (hiatus).
Tone
Alekano has low and high tones, but with a very low functional load. HL receives strong stress, LH lesser stress.
Word Order
Alekano is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language.[5]
Orthography
Alekano uses the Latin script.[4]
| IPA | ɑ | e | ɣ | h | i | k | l | m | n | ɤ | p | s | z | t | ɯ | β |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | Aa | Ee | Gg | Hh | Ii | Kk | Ll | Mm | Nn | Oo | Pp | Ss | Zz | Tt | Uu | Vv |
References
- ^ Ethnologue report for Alekano
- ^ Deibler, Ellis W. 1987. "The function of glottal stop in Gahuku." In John M. Clifton (ed.), Studies in Melanesian orthographies, 23-30. Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 33. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics. [1]
- ^ a b Deibler, Ellis W., compiler. Available: 2008; Created: 2008. Dictionaries of Alekano - English and English - Alekano. [Manuscript] iii, 311 p. [2]
- ^ a b 1992. Alekano Organised Phonology Data. [Manuscript] [3]
- ^ http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_gah
External links
- Alekano language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- Alekano dictionary
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