Nemi language

The Nemi language is a Kanak language spoken by 320 people in the north of New Caledonia, in the commune of Hienghène. Dialects include Ouanga, Ouélis, and Kavatch.[2]

Nemi
Native toHienghène, New Caledonia
Native speakers
910 (2009 census)[1]
Austronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3nem
Glottolognemi1240
ELPNemi





Phonology

Nemi features labiovelarized plosives and voiceless nasals.[3]

Consonants
Bilabial Labiovelar Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasals voiced m mʷˠ n ɲ ŋ
voiceless m̥ m̥ʷˠ n̥ ɲ̥ ŋ̥
Stops tenuis p pʷˠ t c k
aspirated pʰ pʷˠʰ tʰ kʰ
prenasalized ᵐp ᵐpʷˠ ⁿt ᶮc ᵑk
postnasalized pᵐ pʷˠᵐ tⁿ cᶮ kᵑ
Continuants voiced v w (l) j h
voiceless f w̥ j̥
nasal w̃ w̥̃ h̃

Vowels in Nemi have a two way length distinction.

Vowels
Front Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

References
  1. Nemi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Isabelle Bril, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Complex Predicates in Oceanic Languages: Studies in the Dynamics of Binding and Boundness (2012), p. 389.
  3. Rivierre, Françoise. 1975. Phonologie du némi (Nouvelle-Calédonie) et notes sur les consonnes postnasalisées. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 70. 345-356.

Bibliography
  • Haudricourt, André-Georges; Ozanne-Rivierre, Françoise (1982). Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (Nouvelle-Calédonie) : pije, fwâi, nemi, jawe. Précédé d'une phonologie comparée des langues de Hienghène et du proto-océanien. Paris: Société d'Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France. p. 285. ISBN 978-2852971349.


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