Benabena (Bena) is a
Papuan language
The Papuan languages are the non-Austronesian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands in Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and East Timor. It is a strictly geographical grouping, and does not imply a ...
spoken in the
Goroka District
Goroka District is a district in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It contains the city of Goroka.
The Alekano language
Alekano, or Gahuku (Gahuku-Gama), is a Papuan language spoken in Gahuku Rural LLG of Eastern Highlands P ...
of
Eastern Highlands Province
Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Goroka. The province covers an area of 11,157 km2, and has a population of 579,825 (2011 census). The province shares a common administrative boundary w ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
.
Phonology
Vowels
* Vowel sounds /i, e, a, o, u/ can also be heard as
, ɛ, ʌ, ɔ, ʊin word-initial or word-medial positions.
Consonants
* /p, t, k/ can be heard as aspirated
ʰ, tʰ, kʰin syllable-initial position, and can be heard as unreleased as
̚, t̚, k̚when preceding a consonant.
* /β/ can be heard as a stop
in word-initial position, and also may rarely fluctuate with a glide
* /ʝ/ can be heard as a glide
in stressed syllable word-initial position and can be heard as
in word-initial unstressed syllable position.
* /s/ can be heard as
before high vowels /i, u/.
* /ɣ/ can be heard as
in free variation among speakers.
* /ɭ/ can be heard as a tap
in free variation.
References
External links
Benabena dictionary
{{authority control
Kainantu–Goroka languages
Languages of Eastern Highlands Province