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West Ambae language

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Austronesian language spoken in Vanuatu
West Ambae
Native toVanuatu
RegionAmbae
Native speakers8,700 (2001)
Language familyAustronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3nnd
Glottologwest2513
West Ambae is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Regianna speaking West Ambae.

West Ambae (also known as Duidui, the principal dialect, and Opa, the Mota name for the island) is an Oceanic language spoken on Ambae, Vanuatu. Recognized dialects of West Ambae include Walaha and Nduindui (Duindui). The New Testament was published in West Ambae in 1984.

Phonology

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Velar Labiovelar Glottal
Plosive voiceless t k
voiced ᵐb ⁿd ɡ ɡʷ
Fricative β s h
Nasal m n ŋ ŋʷ
Rhotic r
Lateral l

Voiced stops /ɡ, ɡʷ/ occur as prenasalized /ᵑɡ, ᵑɡʷ/, in the Walaha dialect.

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

References

  1. West Ambae at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Aru, Carol Cecilia (2015). A Short Grammar of Duidui: A Language of West Ambae in Northern Vanuatu. University of the South Pacific.

External links

Languages of Vanuatu
Official languages
Indigenous
languages
(Southern
Oceanic

and Polynesian)
North
Vanuatu
Torres–Banks
Penama
Espiritu Santo
Central
Vanuatu
Epi
Malakula
South Vanuatu
Polynesian
Southern Oceanic languages
North
Vanuatu
Torres–Banks
Maewo–Ambae–
North Pentecost
South Pentecost
Espiritu Santo
Nuclear
Southern
Oceanic
Central Vanuatu
South Vanuatu
Erromango
Tanna
Loyalties–
New Caledonia
Loyalty Islands
New Caledonian
Southern
Northern
  • * indicates proposed status
  • ? indicates classification dispute
  • † indicates extinct status
Austronesian languages
Formosan
Malayo-Polynesian
Western
Philippine
Greater Barito*
Greater North Borneo*
Celebic
South Sulawesi
Central
Eastern
SHWNG
Oceanic
Western
Southern
  • * indicates proposed status
  • ? indicates classification dispute
  • † indicates extinct status


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