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Numèè
Kwényi
Naa Numee
Native to New Caledonia
Region Nouméa, Isle of Pines
Native speakers
2,200 (2009 census) [1]
Austronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3 kdk
Glottolog nume1242
ELP Numèè
Numèè is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Numèè (Naa Numee, Naa-Wee), or Kwényi (Kwenyii), is a New Caledonian language, the one spoken at the southern tip of the island, as well as on the Isle of Pines offshore. Despite its name, it is probably not the language that gave its name to the capital of New Caledonia, Nouméa; that seems to have been its close relative Ndrumbea, which used to be spoken there.

Phonology

Like its close relative Ndrumbea, Numèè is a tonal language, with three contrasting tones, high, mid, and low.

Vowels

Numèè, or rather its dialect Kwênyii, has a total of 35 vowels, all monophthongs: 17 short, and 18 long. [2]

The 35 vowel phonemes of Kwênyii
Front Front rounded Back
oral nasal oral nasal oral nasal
short long short long short long short long short long short long
Close i iː ĩ ĩː y yː ỹ ỹː u uː ũ ũː
Near-close ɪː ʊ ʊː
Close-mid e eː ẽ ẽː ø øː ø̃ ø̃ː o oː õ õː
Open-mid ɛ ɛ̃ː ə əː
Open a aː ã ãː

Consonants

Kwênyii has 26 consonants. [3]

Notes

  1. ^ Numèè at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ See Rivierre [ fr], 1973, p.105.
  3. ^ Kwényïï - homepage of Académie des Langues Kanak.

References

  • Rivierre, Jean-Claude [in French] (1973). Phonologie comparée des dialectes de l'extrême-sud de la Nouvelle Calédonie. Paris: Société d'études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France.


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