Tigak language

Tigak
RegionNew Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea
Native speakers
(6,000 cited 1991)
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3tgc
Glottologtiga1245
Languages of the New Ireland languages group

Tigak (or Omo) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 6,000 people (in 1991) in the Kavieng District of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea.

The Tigak language area includes the provincial capital, Kavieng.

Phonology

Phoneme inventory of the Tigak language:

Consonant sounds
Labial Alveolar Velar
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b g
Rhotic r
Fricative voiceless β s
lateral ɮ

/r/ can also be realized as [ɾ] allophonically. Both /k, ɡ/ are back-released as [k̠, ɡ̠].

Vowel sounds
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ɔ
Low a
Phoneme Allophones
/i/ [i], [ɪ], [y]
/e/ [e], [ɛ]
/a/ [ʌ], [a]

Two vowels /i u/ in word-initial form can also be released as consonantal allophones [w j].

References

  1. ↑ Tigak at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). "Tigak". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (fifteenth ed.). Dallas: SIL. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapter= (help)
  3. ↑ Beaumont, Clive H. (1974). The Tigak Language of New Ireland. Australian National University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)