Cèmuhî | |
---|---|
Wagap | |
Native to | New Caledonia |
Region | Touho: east coast from Congouma to Wagap and inland valleys |
Native speakers | 2,600 (2009) [1] |
Latin script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
cam |
Glottolog |
cemu1238 |
Cèmuhî is not endangered according to the classification system of the
UNESCO
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Cèmuhî (Camuhi, Camuki, Tyamuhi, Wagap) is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of New Caledonia, in the area of Poindimié, Koné, and Touho. The language has approximately 3,300 speakers and is considered a regional language of France.
The consonants of Cèmuhî (after Rivierre 1980) are shown in the table below.
Labiovelar | Labial | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Laryngeal | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voiceless stop | pʷ | p | t | c | k | |||||||
Prenasalized stop | ᵐbʷ | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑg | |||||||
Nasal | mʷ h̃ʷ |
m | n | ɲ | ŋ | h̃ | ||||||
Continuant | w | (r) l |
(h) |
Rivierre ( 1980) analyzes the contrasts of Cèmuhî along three emic categories: nasal, semi-nasal (i.e. prenasalized), and oral consonants.
The chart below shows Cèmuhî vowels, all of which can contrast in both length and nasality. [2]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Close-mid | e | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
Open | a |
Like its neighbour Paicî, Cèmuhî is one of the few Austronesian languages which have developed contrastive tone. However, unlike other New Caledonian tonal languages, Cèmuhî has three tonal registers: high, mid, and low tones. [3]