Bunama language explained

Bunama
States:	Papua New Guinea
Region:	Milne Bay Province
Speakers:	4,000
Date:	1993
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Fam2:	Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:	Oceanic
Fam4:	Western Oceanic
Fam5:	Papuan Tip
Fam6:	Nuclear Papuan Tip
Fam7:	North Papuan Mainland – D'Entrecasteaux
Fam8:	Dobu–Duau
Iso3:	bdd
Glotto:	buna1276
Glottorefname:	Bunama

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

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial		Dental/ Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
		plain	lab.			plain	lab.	plain	lab.
Plosive	vless/asp.	p	pʷ	t̪ʰ				ʔ	ʔʷ
	voiced	b	bʷ	d		ɡ	ɡʷ
Fricative				s				h	hʷ
Nasal		m	mʷ	n
Lateral				ɺ
Approximant				j		w

• pronounced as //p// can fluctuate to aspirated pronounced as /[pʰ]/ in stressed syllables.
• pronounced as //b d ɡ// can also be heard as pronounced as /[ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ]/ word-initially in stressed syllables.
• pronounced as //b// can be heard as a fricative pronounced as /[β]/ intervocalically in word-medial position.
• pronounced as //d// can be heard as a tap pronounced as /[ɾ]/ intervocalically in word-medial position.
• pronounced as //s// can be heard as a more fronted pronounced as /[s̪]/ in unstressed syllables following vowels pronounced as //ɛ, a//.
• Prevoicing of the lateral flap pronounced as /[̬ɺ]/ may also occur in initial positions.
• pronounced as //ɺ// may also be heard as a retroflex flap pronounced as /[ɽ]/ depending on the dialect of the speaker. It can also be heard as pronounced as /[̬ɽ]/ when realized as prevoiced in word-initial positions.
• pronounced as //w// may fluctuate to a labio-dental pronounced as /[v]/ among some speakers.
• pronounced as //j// may be realized as a dental approximant pronounced as /[ð̞]/ when before pronounced as //a//.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		ʊ
Mid	ɛ		o
Open		a

• pronounced as //a// is heard as pronounced as /[ɒ]/ before and after a labialized consonant, or with sounds pronounced as //w//, pronounced as //ʔ//. It is also heard as pronounced as /[ʌ]/ word-medially and word-finally in unstressed syllables.
• pronounced as //ʊ// is heard as pronounced as /[ʊ]/ word-medially and word-finally but never following labialized consonants, or semivowels pronounced as //w, j//. It is heard as pronounced as /[u]/ when following sounds pronounced as //s t̪ʰ//.
• pronounced as //o// can be heard as pronounced as /[ɔ]/ when preceding a glottal stop pronounced as //ʔ//.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Book: Hughes, Ngaire . Bunama Phonemics . Leckie . Isabel . 1976.