Manean language

Manean
Mani
Pronunciation	/mæni/
Language family	Ngerupic Manean
Early forms:	Wa Ñi Mañi Proto-Awato-Manean Manean Manean
CWS code	–

Manean is the official language of Manea and is spoken alongside of other languages of Manea.

Classification

Manean is a Ngerupic language which is descended from Mañi. It is most closely related to Awatese.

Phonology and Orthography

Manean is characterized by a strange phonology for a Ngerupic language.

Phonemes

Consonants

	Labial	Coronal	Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩		ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive		t ⟨t⟩		k ⟨k⟩
Voiceless Continuant	ɸ ⟨f⟩		ʃ ⟨x⟩	h ⟨h⟩
Voiced Continuant	β ⟨v⟩	ð ⟨d⟩
Approximant		l ⟨l⟩	j ⟨y⟩
Rhotic		r ⟨r⟩

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i ⟨i⟩	u ⟨u⟩
Mid	e ⟨e⟩	o ⟨o⟩
Open	æ ⟨a⟩	a ⟨ą⟩

Vocabulary

Numerals

Numerals in Manean are complex, each having three forms differing in usage. These usages vary considerable among speakers, but the most common usages are enumerated below.

1. The first numeral form is the native numeral, inherited from Mañi. These numerals are most often used in formal context, in general counting, and frequently to count people.
2. The second numeral form is the substrate numeral, also inherited from Mañi but from substrate origins. These numerals are often used to count animate (non-human) objects, long/thin items, and inaminate objects, informally..
3. The third numeral form is the Ounyu numeral, borrowed from Vayama. These numerals are used to count maritime objects and islands of varying animacy and in contexts of non-high formality.

	Native	Substrate	Ounyu
1	mvi	kay	me
2	ra	tay	la
3	li	va	li
4	e	tąmfe	akume
5	den	mekuy	tan
6	ngonem	tenav	tame
7	ngonera	kuyav	tanla
8	ngoneli	fata	tanli
9	ngokung	xutakay	ngakume
10	deądą	mexąn	tanga
100	ngorva	ngalva	ngalva
1000	ngovade	lvala	lvala

Manean uses a base-10 numeral system. Multiples of each power of ten are indicated by a preceding factor (e.g. li deądą – 'three ten' – means 'thirty'). Higher powers of ten precede lower powers (e.g. ngokung ngovade ngokung ngorva ngokung deądą ngokung – 'nine thousand nine hundred nine ten nine' – means '9999').

See also

• Awato-Manean languages