| Kovai | |
| States: | Papua New Guinea |
| Region: | Umboi Island, Morobe Province |
| Speakers: | 6,000 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Papuan |
| Fam1: | Trans–New Guinea |
| Fam2: | Finisterre–Huon |
| Fam3: | Huon |
| Iso3: | kqb |
| Glotto: | kova1243 |
| Glottorefname: | Kovai |
Kovai (Kobai, Kowai) is a Papuan language spoken on Umboi Island, halfway between mainland Papua New Guinea and the island of New Britain, and mostly within the caldera of that volcanic island.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ |
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| voiced | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Trill | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||