Mian language

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Mian
Spoken in	Papua New Guinea
Region	Sandaun province, Telefomin district
Ethnicity	Mian
Native speakers	3,500 (2007)[1] 1,400  (2000)[2]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea Central & South New Guinea ? Ok Mountain Mian
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mpt
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Mian is an Ok language spoken in the Telefomin district of the Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea by the Mian people. It has some 3,500 speakers spread across two dialects: West Mian with approximately 1,000 speakers in around Yapsiei and East Mian with approximately 2,500 speakers in and around Timeilmin, Temsakmin, Sokamin, Gubil, Fiak and Hotmin.^[1] Phonologically, Mian is very similar to other Papuan languages in the size of its phoneme inventory, but it nevertheless has some peculiarities, such as its contrast between a plain [a] and a pharyngealized [aˤ]. It is also a tonal language.

Phonology

Vowels

Mian has 6 vowels, including the pharyngealized open front vowel.

	Front	Back
	Unrounded	Rounded
Close	i /i/	u /u/
Close-mid		o /o/
Open-mid	e /ɛ/
Open	a /a/ aa /aˤ/

And 4 diphthongs:

Ending with /i/	Ending with /u/
ai /a͡i/	au /a͡u/
ei /ɛ͡i/	ou /o͡u/

/ɛ/ is realized as [ə] in word-initial low-tone syllables, [ɛ] elsewhere.

/a/ is realized as [ɐ] in unaccented syllables, [ə] in word-initial low-tone syllables beginning with a consonant, [a] elsewhere.

/o/ is realized as [ɔ] in word-initial low-tone syllables and in syllables ending in a voiceless plosive or [ŋ], [o] elsewhere.

/u/ is realized as [ʊ] in word-initial low-tone syllables, [u] elsewhere.

Consonants

Mian has 15 consonants:

		Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
						Normal	Labialized
Plosive	Voiceless			t /t/		k /k/	kw /kʷ/
	Voiced	b /b/				g /ɡ/	gw /ɡʷ/
Nasal		m /m/		n /n/		ng /ŋ/
Fricative			f /f/	s /s/				h /h/
Approximant				l /l/	y /j/	w /w/

/b/ is realized as [ᵐb] word-initially, [pʰ] or [p̚] syllable-finally, [b] elsewhere.

Examples: banǒn [ᵐbànǒn] lower arm, mǎab [mǎˤːp̚] frog, teběl [tʰɛ̀bɛ̌l] ant

/t/ is realized as [tʰ] before vowels, [tʰ] or [t̚] syllable-finally.

Examples: tam [tʰàm] temple, mát [mát̚] gall bladder

/k/ is realized as [kʰ] before vowels, [kʰ] or [k̚] syllable-finally, sometimes [x] between vowels, [qʰ] before [aˤ].

Examples: kemin [kʰèmìn] to do, manggěk [màŋgɛ̌k̚] bee, okok [òxòk̚] work, kaawá [qʰàˤwá] steel axe

/ɡ/ is realized as [ᵑɡ] word-initially, [ɡ] elsewhere.

Examples: gát [ᵑɡát̚] mole, manggěk [màŋɡɛ̌k̚] bee

/ɡʷ/ is realized as [ᵑɡʷ] word-initially, [ɡʷ] elsewhere.

Examples: gwaán [ᵑɡʷàán] spider, gwalgwal [ᵑɡʷàlɡʷàl] twins

Tones

Mian has 5 tonemes:

Tone	Example
Low	am [àm] house
High	án [án] arrow
Low-High	ǎam [ǎˤːm] Pandanus species
High-Low	hâs [hâs] hat
Low-High-Low	aam [àˤːm̂] older sister

The tones of Mian are very complex, as they are subject to various phonological processes, and furthermore, they can be used for indicating various grammatical aspects, especially in connection with verbs, where the tones are crucial for understanding.

Consider the two verb forms below, being non-hodiernal and imperfective respectively:

dolábíbe [dòlábíbè] I wrote

dolábibe [dòlábìbè] I am writing

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Fedden, Olcher Sebastian (2007). A Grammar of Mian, a Papuan Language of New Guinea. 
2. ^ Ethnologue