Wom language (Papua New Guinea)

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Wom or Wam is a Papuan language of the Torricelli language family spoken by 4,264 people (as of 2003) in East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea.

Wom
RegionEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea (12 villages)
Native speakers
4,300 (2003)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3wmo
Glottologwomp1235
ELPWom

Phonology

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Consonants[2]
Labial Alveolar Dorsal
plain labial
Plosive p t k
Prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ᵑg ᵑgʷ
Fricative s h
Nasal m n
Approximant l j w
  • The prenasalised plosives /ᵐb ⁿd ᵑg ᵑgʷ/ are plain [b d g gʷ] word-initially.
  • /s/ can be realized as [ts] word-initially.
  • /h/ can be heard as [x] intervocalically.
Vowels[2]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Additionally, the following diphthongs can be found: /ei/, /ai/, /oi/, /au/, /ou/.

Stress is phonemic.[2]

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References

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  1. ^ Wom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c Luoma, Pirkko; Henry, Joan; Hoel, Hanna-Marie; James, Dorothy (1999). Wom Organised Phonology Data. SIL International.