Kuman (also Simbu or Chimbu) is a language of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea. In 1994, it was estimated that 80,000 people spoke Kuman, 10,000 of them monolinguals;[2] in the 2000 census, 115,000 were reported, with few monolinguals.[1]
| Kuman | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Simbu Province, from Kundiawa to beyond Kerowagi in the west and Gembogl in the north, at the foot of Mount Wilhelm |
Native speakers | (120,000 cited 2000 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kue |
| Glottolog | kuma1280 |
Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially).[3] Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡ʟ̝̊/, allophonically [ɡ͡ʟ̝] (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).
Grammar
Kuman is an SOV language.
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References
- ^ a b Kuman at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Kuman language (New Guinea) at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
- ^ Foley, 1986:63, The Papuan languages of New Guinea
Further reading
- Hardie, Peter. 2003. Is Kuman Tonal? An account of basic segmental and tonological structure in the Papuan language Kuman. MA thesis: Australian National University
- Dryer, Matthew S.; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kuman". World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
External links
- Kaipuleohone has a Chimbu-Wahgi collection from Andrea L. Berez that includes Kuman language materials