Akoye language

Akoye
Lohiki
Native to Papua New Guinea
Region Morobe Province
Native speakers
800 (1998)[1]
Trans–New Guinea
Language codes
ISO 639-3 miw
Glottolog akoy1238[2]

Akoye, also known as Lohiki or Maihiri (Mai-Hea-Ri), is an Angan language of Papua New Guinea.

Phonology

Akoye has a small phonemic inventory, which is not well described.[3]

Consonants are /p t k, f s, m n, w/ and maybe /j/.[4] The first four are usually voiced to [b ɾ ɡ v] after a monophthongal vowel, though sometimes the voicing is blocked for unknown reasons.

Vowels are /i e ə ɑ o u/. Diphthongs (/ɑi, əi, oi, ɑu/) are said to be rare, though vowel sequences are common, so these are perhaps not equivalent.[5]

The most complex syllable is CCVV: /mtəəpə/ 'hair', /əəkwɑi/ 'eye'.

Tone plays a role: /ə̀ɡənə/ 'sky', /əɡə́nə/ 'lid'; /pɑɑ́/ (sp. bird), /pɑ̀ɑ/ 'body'.

References

  1. Akoye at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Akoye". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. /j/ is not given in the invertory, but is illustrated in the examples.
  4. Perhaps /aj/ vs. /ai/?
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