Molima language

Molima
Salakahadi
Fagululu
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionFergusson Island, Milne Bay Province
Native speakers
4,000 (2000 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Tola’ai
  • Ai’alu
  • Tosila’ai
Language codes
ISO 639-3mox
Glottologmoli1248

Molima is an Austronesian language spoken in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands of Papua New Guinea.

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
plain lab. plain lab. plain lab.
Plosive voiceless k ʔ ʔʷ
voiced b ɡ ɡʷ
Fricative voiceless ɸ ɸʷ s h
voiced v ʝ ɣ
Nasal m
Lateral l
Approximant (j) w
  • [p] may also occur as an allophone of /ɸ/, or as a result of borrowed words from Dobu, Motu or English.
  • /v/ can be weakened as [ʋ] in all environments, in free variation.
  • /i/, when preceding a vowel, may also be realized as a semivowel [j].[2]

Vowels

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Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

References

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  1. ^ Molima at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Engkvist, Leif & Helena (2002). Organized Phonology Data of Molima Language (Tola'ai dialect).