Yagwoia (Yeghuye), or Kokwaiyakwa, is an Angan language of Papua New Guinea. Dialects are named after the five ethnicities, Iwalaqamalje, Hiqwaye, Hiqwase, Gwase, Heqwangilye (Yeqwangilje dialect).
| Yagwoia | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Gulf provinces |
Native speakers | 10,000 (2005)[1] |
Trans–New Guinea
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ygw |
| Glottolog | yagw1240 |
Distribution
editYagwoia is spoken in:[1]
- Eastern Highlands Province: Iqwalaqamalje
- Gulf Province: Gwase
- Morobe Province: Hiqwase, Hiqwaye, and Yeqwangilje
Phonology
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | q | ʔ ⟨'⟩ |
| Fricative | s | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j ⟨y⟩ |
- /p t k/ tend to become voiced [b d g] in clusters with nasals or /l/.
- /m n ŋ l/ can be syllabic.
- /s/ is in free variation with [z]. Older speakers tend to pronounce it as [ts~dz].
- /t/ can often be heard as [r].
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a aː |
- /ɨ/ is rare.
Additionally, the following diphthongs have been observed: /ei/, /ai/, /ae/, /au/, /ou/.
Yagwoia is tonal, distinguishing high and low tone. However, tone has a low functional load, and so remains unwritten.[2]
External links
edit- Paradisec have an open access collection of Yagwoia recordings. They also have a collection of Jadran Mimica recordings that contain some Yagwoia.
