Waropen is an
Austronesian language
The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken b ...
spoken at the
Cendrawasih Bay of
Indonesian Papua. It is a primary branch of the
South Halmahera–West New Guinea languages
The South Halmahera–West New Guinea (SHWNG) languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, found in the islands and along the shores of the Halmahera Sea in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and of Cenderawasih Bay in the p ...
.
Dialects are Waropen Kai, Napan, and Ambumi.
Phonology
can also be heard as a fricative .
may also exist phonemically in other dialects.
Sounds can be heard as vowels when after vowel sounds.
may be pronounced as or .
Distribution
In
Papua province
Papua is a province of Indonesia, comprising the northern coast of Western New Guinea together with island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. It roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Tabi Saireri, and is divided in ...
, it is spoken in
Mamberamo Raya Regency and
Waropen Regency. The Ambumi dialect also called Waruri is spoken in Ambumi village in
Wondama Bay Regency,
West Papua.
Waropen is also spoken southwest to the Rombak River mouth.
References
South Halmahera–West New Guinea languages
Languages of Western New Guinea
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