Amanab language

For the local-level government in Papua New Guinea, see Amanab Rural LLG.

Amanab
Region	Amanab District, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea
Native speakers	4,400 (2003)[1]
Language family	Border Bewani Range Bapi River Amanab
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	amn
Glottolog	aman1265
ELP	Amanab
Coordinates: 3.583417°S 141.214903°E / -3.583417; 141.214903 (Amanab District H/Q))

Amanab is a Papuan language spoken by 4,400 people in Amanab District (3.583417°S 141.214903°E / -3.583417; 141.214903 (Amanab District H/Q)), Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.

Dialects are Eastern, Northern, and Western.^[2]

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Mid	ɛ	ɔ
Low	ɑ

Consonants

		Labial	Coronal	Dorsal
Nasal		m	n
Plosive	prenasalized	ᵐb	ⁿd	ᵑɡ
	voiceless	p	t	k
Fricative		ɸ	s	h
	voiced			ɣ
Approximant/Flap		w	l~ɾ	j

Pronouns

The Amanab pronouns are:^[3]

		singular	dual	plural
1st person	exclusive	ka	ka-ningri	ka-ger
	inclusive		bi-ningri	bi-ger
2nd person		ne	ne-ningri	ne-nger
3rd person		ehe	ehe-ningri	ehe-nger

Syntax

In Amanab, subordinate clauses are linked using the topic marker suffix -ba.^[3]

References

1. Amanab at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Steer, Martin (2005). Languages of the Upper Sepik and Central New Guinea (PDF). Canberra: Australian National University.
3. Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

• Minch, Andrew (1992). "Amanab grammar essentials". In John R. Roberts (ed.). Namia and Amanab grammar essentials. Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 39. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics. pp. 99–173.