Kol language (Papua New Guinea)

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The Kol language is a language spoken in eastern New Britain island, Papua New Guinea. There are about 4000 speakers in Pomio District of East New Britain Province, mostly on the southern side of New Britain island.[2]

Kol
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionEast New Britain Province
Native speakers
(4,000 cited 1991)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3kol
Glottologkolp1236
ELPKol

Kol appears to be a language isolate, though it may be distantly related to the poorly attested Sulka language or form part of the proposed East Papuan languages.[3]

Phonology

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Consonants

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Consonants of Kol[4]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Plosive p b t k g
Nasal m n ŋ
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Fricative s
Approximant w j

/b, r/ can be realized as [β, d] as intervocalic allophones. /r/ is pronounced as [d] when following a nasal consonant.

Vowels

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Kol displays vowel length contrast.

Vowels of Kol[4]
Front Back
High i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Low æː ɑ ɑː ɒ ɒː

Vocabulary

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The following basic vocabulary words are from SIL field notes (1962, 1981), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[5]

gloss Kol
head ˈkel.a; kela keřne
hair ˈkomɒ; komɔʔ kalɛane
ear ˈbula; bula kɛřlɛ
eye pelnɛl; ˈpenel
nose taˈli:; tali keřne
tooth ˈmire; mi̠řɛ kɛřnɛ
tongue dal kɛřnɛ; raal
leg pe:re
louse ˈtare; ta̠řɛ
dog kuˈɒ:; kwa
pig bu
bird ˈule; ulɛ
egg ˈkondola; kondo̠la
blood ˈbe:la
bone ˈti:le
skin tomalu gomo; toˈmolu
breast ˈtombo; to̠to la̠nɛ
tree ˈti:nel; ti̠nɛl
man mo; tɒ: ˈti:niŋ
woman daiƀɛ; ra:l
sun ˈkarege; kařɛ̠qɛ
moon ˈigu; i̠qu
water ˈgonu; qu̠nu
fire kuˈoŋ; kuɔŋ
stone ˈlela; lɛla
road, path kɛrɛa; ˈkeria
name ˈole
eat mo raŋ kal oŋ; tam·a
one ˈpusuɒ; titus
two tɛřɛŋ; teˈtepe

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  3. ^ Dunn, Michael; Reesnik, Ger; Terrill, Angela (2002). "The East Papuan Languages: A Preliminary Typological Appraisal" (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics. 41 (1): 28–62. doi:10.1353/ol.2002.0019. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0013-1ADC-1. S2CID 143012930. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b Lindrud, Stellan (October 1992). Kol Language [KOL] East New Britain Province (PDF). Organised Phonology Data: SIL.
  5. ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
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