Huli is a
Tari language spoken by the
Huli people of the
Hela Province of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. It has a
pentadecimal (base-15) numeral system
A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a writing system for expressing numbers; that is, a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using digits or other symbols in a consistent manner.
The same sequence of symb ...
: means 15, means 15×2 = 30, and means 15×15 = 225.
Huli has a
pandanus language called (bush divide taboo) used for collecting
karuka
The karuka (''Pandanus julianettii'', also called karuka nut and ''Pandanus'' nut) is a species of tree in the family Pandanaceae and an important regional food crop in New Guinea. The nuts are more nutritious than coconuts, and are so popul ...
nuts () as well as hunting or traveling.
is used to evade malevolent bush spirits.
The grammar for is nearly identical to normal Huli, but the vocabulary is changed, often borrowing words from
Duna but with changed meanings.
Phonology
Huli has a syllable structure of (C)V.
Vowels
/ɑ/ is pronounced more fronted as
�before /r/ and /ʝ/.
Vowel nasality is
phonemic
In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...
in the language.
Vowels can also carry three phonemic tones; high-falling, mid-level, and low-rising.
Consonants
Stops /p t k/ can become aspirated as
ʰ tʰ kʰ
Many speakers pronounce /t/ as
before /i/.
/d/ is realized as voiceless as
̥when occurring word-initially, and is palatalized as
ʲbetween /i/ and a word-final /ɑ/.
/r/ only occurs word-medially.
/b ɡ/ can be phonetically realized as fricatives intervocalically as
� ɣ
References
*
External links
* Timothy Usher, New Guinea World
Huli on New Guinea WorldHuli phonology
Brian Cheetam. Papua New Guinea Journal of Education
{{authority control
Engan languages
Huli people
Languages of Southern Highlands Province
Pandanus avoidance registers