Taliga language
| Taliga | |
|---|---|
| Talia | |
 Location of the Taliga language within Cananganam | |
| Pronunciation | ['talia] |
| Native speakers | +75,000 L1 +100,000 L2 (1990) |
| Language family | |
| CWS code | – |
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The Taliga language is an isolate language spoken by a large population in Eastern Cananganam. It is noted for its extremely limited inventory making it one of the smallest in the world.
Sounds
Taliga has the following consonants and vowels:
m n b t d k g s l w
a i u
This inventory makes it one of the smallest in the world. The vowels vary extensively alongside their consonant counterparts with some linguists claiming that /w/ is in actuality [o] making its vowel inventory a total of four instead of three, though some push it further by stating that some instances of [ɨ] are not allophonic but are in actuality an entire phoneme as described in the word /kasiwa/ [kasɨo̯a], though some refute this by stating that /io/ is simply shifted into a central allophone. However, linguist Sanma Hiwamba suggests that the language in reality only has /ɨ/ as /u/ becomes [ʷɨ] before obstruents. He does not explain how they react to the otherwise limited /s/.