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Wom language (Papua New Guinea)

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Wom
RegionEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea (12 villages)
Native speakers
4,300 (2003)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3wmo
Glottologwomp1235
ELPWom

Wom or Wam is a Papuan language of the Torricelli language family spoken by 4,264 people (as of 2003) in East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea.

Phonology

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Consonants[2]
Labial Alveolar Dorsal
plain labial
Plosive p t k
Prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᵑg ᵑgʷ
Fricative s h
Nasal m n
Approximant l j w
  • The prenasalised plosives /ᵐb ⁿd ᵑg ᵑgʷ/ are plain [b d g gʷ] word-initially.
  • /s/ can be realized as [ts] word-initially.
  • /h/ can be heard as [x] intervocalically.
Vowels[2]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Additionally, the following diphthongs can be found: /ei/, /ai/, /oi/, /au/, /ou/.

Stress is phonemic.[2]

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References

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  1. ^ Wom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c Luoma, Pirkko; Henry, Joan; Hoel, Hanna-Marie; James, Dorothy (1999). Wom Organised Phonology Data. SIL International.