Native to Vanuatu Native speakers 280 (2012) Glottolog hiww1237 | Region Hiw ISO 639-3 hiw | |
Language family Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Southern Oceanic
Vanuatu
Northern Vanuatu
East Vanuatu
Hiw | ||
Hiw (sometimes spelled Hiu) is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Hiw, in the Torres Islands of Vanuatu.
Contents
It is distinct from Lo-Toga, the other language of the Torres group.
The language
Hiw has 280 speakers, and is considered endangered.
Vowels
Hiw has 9 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs /i ɪ e ɵ ə a ʉ o ɔ/.
Consonants
Hiw has 14 consonants.
All plosives are voiceless. Hiw is the only Austronesian language whose consonant inventory includes a prestopped velar lateral approximant /ɡ͡ʟ/; this complex segment is Hiw's only liquid.
References
Hiw language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA