ISO 639-3 kue | Native speakers 120,000 (2000 census) Glottolog kuma1280 | |
Region Simbu Province, from Kundiawa to beyond Kerowagi in the west and Gembogl in the north, at the foot of Mount Wilhelm Language family Trans–New GuineaChimbu–WahgiChimbuKuman | ||
Kuman (also Simbu or Chimbu) is a language of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea. In 1994, it was estimated that 80,000 people spoke Kuman, 10,000 of them monolinguals; in the 2000 census, 115,000 were reported, with few monolinguals.
Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially). Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡ʟ̝̊/, allophonically [ɡ͡ʟ̝] (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).
Grammar
Kuman is an SOV language.
References
Kuman language (New Guinea) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA