Finongan is one of the Finisterre languages of Papua New Guinea.[2]

Finongan
Finungwa
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionMorobe Province
Native speakers
1,140 (2006)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3fag
Glottologfino1238

Phonology

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The phonology of Finongan is as follows:[3]

Consonants
Labial Coronal Velar Labiovelar Uvular/Glottal
Nasal /m/ ⟨m⟩ /n/ ⟨n⟩ /ŋ/ ⟨ng⟩
Stops Voiceless /p/ ⟨p⟩ /t/ ⟨t⟩ /k/ ⟨k⟩ // ⟨kw⟩
Voiced /b/ ⟨b⟩ /d/ ⟨d⟩ /g/ ⟨g⟩ /ʔ/ ⟨c⟩
Fricative /f/ ⟨f⟩ /s/ ⟨s⟩ /ʁ/ ⟨h⟩
Tap/Flap /ɾ/ ⟨l⟩
Approximant /j/ ⟨y⟩ /w/ ⟨w⟩

- The voiceless labial, coronal, and non-labialized velar stops 'p', 't', and 'k' are all unreleased syllable-finally

Vowels
Front Center Back
Close Short /i/ ⟨i⟩ /u/ ⟨u⟩
Long // ⟨ii⟩ // ⟨uu⟩
Mid Short /ɛ/ ⟨e⟩ /ɔ/ ⟨o⟩
Long /ɛː/ ⟨ee⟩ /ɔː/ ⟨oo⟩
Open Diphthong ai ⟨ai⟩
Short /a/ ⟨a⟩
Long // ⟨aa⟩

- In multisyllabic words, 'i' is pronounced /ɪ/ preceding another 'i'

- Several diphthongs can occur over syllable breaks

References

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  1. ^ Finongan at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ Rice, Chris and Amy Rice. 2002. Finongan organised phonology data. Manuscript. SIL.
  3. ^ Rice, Chris and Amy Rice. 2002. Finongan organised phonology data. Manuscript. SIL.