Ngutanese language
| Ngutanese | |
|---|---|
| tāyai ngutāyai | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈtaː.jai̯ ŋuˈtaː.jai̯] |
| Created by | Unleashy |
| Setting | Sahar |
| Spoken natively in | Ngutan |
| Native speakers | 12 million (2015) |
| Language family | Juto-Ngutanic
|
| Early forms: | Old Ngutan
|
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Ngutanese Language Institute |
| CWS code | ngu |
Ngutanese (tāyai ngutāyai, pronounced [ˈtaː.jai̯ ŋuˈtaː.jai̯]) is a Ngutanic language and an official language of Ngutan. Ngutanese belongs to the family of Juto-Ngutanic languages and is one of the two living members of the Ngutanic languages. Written examples of Old Ngutanese are attested from the 12th century and onwards.
It is spoken in Western Central Boroso in Ngutan, with 12 million+ native speakers. Ngutanese is the #th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers and #th by total number of speakers. In Ngutan, 98% of men and women speak Ngutanese natively, and the literacy rate is around 78%.
Etymology
History
Linguistic classification
Dialects
Southern dialects
Northern dialects
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Labiovelar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Plosive | p | t | k | ||||
| Fricative | s̞¹ | [ɕ̞]² | h³ | ||||
| Affricate | [t͡ɕ]⁴ | ||||||
| Approximant | j | w | |||||
| Flap or tap | ɾ |
¹very slightly fricated only
²before /i/, allophone of /s̞/
³after /h/, vowels get nasalized
⁴before /i/, allophone of /t/
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i i: | u u: |
| Close-mid | e e: | o o: |
| Open | a a: |
Polyphthongs
ei̯: ei̯ au̯: au̯ ai̯: ai̯ ui̯: ui̯ eu̯: eu̯ ou̯: ou̯ oi̯: oi̯
Phonotactics
Syllable Structure
(C)V(V)(N), being: C = any consonant V = any vowel N = any nasal
Note that <ng> /ŋ/ is considered a single consonant, not two. The N coda can only happen word-finally.
Stress information
Stress isn't phonemic, but there's a slight stress on the last syllable that has a long vowel; if there is no long vowel, the stress is on the penultimate syllable.
Other
Ngutāyai is syllable-timed.
Orthography
Aa 'Ā' /a/ Hh 'Aho' /h/¹ Ee 'Ē' /e/ Kk 'Ako' /k/ Ii 'Ī' /i/ Yy 'Ayo' /j/ Mm 'Amo' /m/ Nn 'Ano' /n/
NG ng 'Ango' /ŋ/ Oo 'Ō' /o/ Pp 'Apo' /p/ Rr 'Aro' /ɾ/ Ss 'Aso' /s̞/² Tt 'Ato' /t/ Uu 'Ū' /u/ Ww 'Awo' /w/
¹after /h/, vowels get nasalized
²very slightly fricated only