| Nume | |
| Also Known As: | Tarasag, Gog |
| States: | Vanuatu |
| Region: | Gaua |
| Speakers: | 700 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| Ref: | [1] |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam2: | Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam3: | Oceanic |
| Fam4: | Southern Oceanic |
| Fam5: | North-Central Vanuatu |
| Fam6: | North Vanuatu |
| Fam7: | Torres-Banks |
| Iso3: | tgs |
| Glotto: | nume1241 |
| Glottorefname: | Nume |
Nume (also called Gog and Tarasag) is an Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu. Its 700 speakers live on the northeast coast of Gaua.[1]
Nume is a distinct language from its immediate southern neighbors, Mwerlap and Dorig.[2]
The name Nume originates in the name of a village, now abandoned. Tarasag is currently the community's main village. The alternate name Gog refers to the broader area, and by extension, to the island.
Nume has 15 consonant phonemes.
| Voiceless stop | pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/ (q) | pronounced as /link/ (t) | pronounced as /link/ (k) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prenasalized stop | pronounced as /link/ (b) | pronounced as /link/ (d) | |||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ (v) | pronounced as /link/ (s) | pronounced as /link/ (g) | ||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/ (m̄) | pronounced as /link/ (m) | pronounced as /link/ (n) | pronounced as /link/ (n̄) | |
| Rhotic | pronounced as /link/ (r) | ||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ (l) | ||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ (w) |
Nume has 7 phonemic vowels, which are all short monophthongs.[3]
| Close | pronounced as /link/ (i) | pronounced as /link/ (u) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-close | pronounced as /link/ (ē) | pronounced as /link/ (ō) | |
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ (e) | pronounced as /link/ (o) | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ (a) | ||
The system of personal pronouns in Nume contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).[4]
Spatial reference in Nume is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages.[5]