| Nyelâyu | |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /jãlɑjʊ/ |
| States: | New Caledonia |
| Date: | 2009 census |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam3: | Oceanic |
| Fam4: | Southern Oceanic |
| Fam5: | New Caledonian – Loyalties |
| Fam6: | New Caledonian |
| Fam7: | Northern New Caledonian |
| Fam8: | Extreme Northern |
| Iso3: | yly |
| Dia1: | Tiari-Balade |
| Dia2: | Belep |
| Dia3: | Arama |
| Glotto: | nyal1254 |
| Glottoname: | Nyalayu/Belep |
| Glottorefname: | Belep |
| Glotto2: | bala1316 |
| Glottoname2: | Balade |
| Elp: | 10924 |
| Elpname: | Belep |
| Map: | Lang Status 99-NE.svg |
Nyelâyu (Yâlayu), also known as Nyalâyu, is a Kanak language of northern New Caledonia, spoken by approximately 2,000 speakers. There are two dialects that are not mutually intelligible. Pooc (or Haat) is spoken in the Belep islands, which are located just north of Grande Terre. Puma (or Paak or Ovac) is spoken in the northernmost regions of New Caledonia in the areas around Poum in the west and Pouébo and Balade in the east.
| Labiovelar | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | plain | pronounced as /pʷ/ | pronounced as /p/ | pronounced as /t/ | pronounced as /c/ | pronounced as /k/ | |
| aspirated | pronounced as /pʰʷ/ | pronounced as /pʰ/ | pronounced as /tʰ/ | pronounced as /cʰ/ | pronounced as /kʰ/ | ||
| prenasalized | pronounced as /ᵐbʷ/ | pronounced as /ᵐb/ | pronounced as /ⁿd/ | pronounced as /ᶮɟ/ | pronounced as /ᵑg/ | ||
| Nasals | plain | pronounced as /mʷ/ | pronounced as /m/ | pronounced as /n/ | pronounced as /ɲ/ | pronounced as /ŋ/ | |
| aspirated | pronounced as /mʰʷ/ | pronounced as /mʰ/ | pronounced as /nʰ/ | pronounced as /ɲʰ/ | |||
| Fricatives | pronounced as /β/ | pronounced as /ɣ/ (x) | pronounced as /h/ | ||||
| Semivowels | plain | pronounced as /w/ | pronounced as /j/ | ||||
| aspirated | pronounced as /wʰ/ | pronounced as /jʰ/ | |||||
| Trill | pronounced as /r/ | ||||||
| Laterals | pronounced as /l lʰ l᷉/ | ||||||
Voiceless stops, nasals, and approximants exhibit a contrast of aspiration exhibited in the following examples.
Aspirated consonants are very subtly marked. Aspiration seems to be a prosodic trait that affects the overall realization of the syllable by lowering the register of the voice. [1]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | pronounced as /i (y) iː/ | pronounced as /u uː/ | ||
| Mid | pronounced as /e (ø) eː/ | pronounced as /o oː/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /a aː/ |
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | pronounced as /ĩ ĩː/ | pronounced as /ũ ũː/ | ||
| Mid | pronounced as /ẽ ẽː/ | pronounced as /õ õː/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /ã ãː/ |
The vowels /y/ and /ø/ are in parentheses, because they are very rare and appear only in a few words.