Kuman language (New Guinea)

Kuman (also Chimbu or Simbu) is a language of Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. In 1994, it was estimated that 80,000 people spoke Kuman, 10,000 of them monolinguals; in the 2000 census, 115,000 were reported, with few monolinguals. Ethnologue also reported 70,000 second language speakers in 2021.

Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially). Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡𝼄/, allophonically [ɡ͡ʟ̝] (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).

• Voiced plosives are usually prenasal, but may fluctuate in word-initial position as ordinary voiced stops [b, d, ɡ].
• Voiceless stops /p, t, k/ are always aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] in word-initial position.
• /ɾ/ only occurs word-medially and word-finally. In word-final position it is heard as a trill [r].
• /s/ can be pronounced as [s], [ᵗs] in word-initial position.
• /w/ can be pronounced as [β] before front vowels /i, e/.
• /ʟ/ is heard as voiceless [ʟ̥] or fricative [𝼄], when preceding a consonant. It is heard as a voiced fricative [ʟ̝] when between vowels. It is also heard as an alveolar fricative [ɬ] before an /s/.

• /a/ can be heard as either central [ä] or back [ɑ] in free variation.
• /e/ is pronounced as [ɛ] as a first vowel in a word.
• /o/ is pronounced in its lax form as [ɔ] before /ɾ/.

Syllable structure is (C)V(C). Any consonant can occur in onset position, but in coda position only /m/, /n/, /gɬ/, /l/ and /k/ can occur.

Kuman is an SOV language.

The following basic vocabulary words are from Salisbury (1956) and Trefry (1969), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:

• Hardie, Peter. 2003. Is Kuman Tonal? An account of basic segmental and tonological structure in the Papuan language Kuman. MA thesis: Australian National University
• Dryer, Matthew S.; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kuman". World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

• Kuman phonology and sample text
• Kaipuleohone has a Chimbu-Wahgi collection from Andrea L. Berez that includes Kuman language materials
• A number of collections in Paradisec include Kuman materials