| Mian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun province, Telefomin district |
| Ethnicity | Mianmin |
Native speakers | (from 1,400 cited 2000 census)[1] to 3,500 (2007)[2] |
Trans–New Guinea
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mpt – inclusive codeIndividual code: sug – Suganga |
| Glottolog | mian1255 |
| ELP | Mian |
| Suganga | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Mian is anOk language spoken in theTelefomin district of theSandaun province inPapua New Guinea by theMian people. It has some 3,500 speakers spread across twodialects:West Mian (a.k.a.Suganga), with approximately 1,000 speakers in aroundYapsiei, andEast Mian, with approximately 2,500 speakers in and aroundTimeilmin,Temsakmin,Sokamin,Gubil,Fiak andHotmin.[2]
Phonologically, Mian is very similar to otherPapuan languages in the size of itsphoneme inventory, but it nevertheless has some peculiarities, such as its contrast between a plain [a] and apharyngealized [aˤ]. It is also atonal language.
Mian has sixvowels, including thepharyngealized open front vowel.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |
| Close | i/i/ | u/u/ |
| Close-mid | o/o/ | |
| Open-mid | e/ɛ/ | |
| Open | a/a/ aa/aˤ/ |
Mian also has fourdiphthongs:
| Ending with/i/ | Ending with/u/ |
|---|---|
| ai/a͡i/ | au/a͡u/ |
| ei/ɛ͡i/ | ou/o͡u/ |
/ɛ/ is realized as [ə] in word-initial low-tone syllables, [ɛ] elsewhere.
/a/ is realized as [ɐ] in unaccented syllables, [ə] in word-initial low-tone syllables beginning with a consonant, [a] elsewhere.
/o/ is realized as [ɔ] in word-initial low-tone syllables and in syllables ending in a voicelessplosive or [ŋ], [o] elsewhere.
/u/ is realized as [ʊ] in word-initial low-tone syllables, [u] elsewhere.
Mian has 16consonants:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain | Labialized | ||||||
| Plosive | Voiceless | t⟨t⟩ | k⟨k⟩ | kʷ⟨kw⟩ | |||
| Voiced | b⟨b⟩ | d⟨d⟩ | ɡ⟨g⟩ | ɡʷ⟨gw⟩ | |||
| Nasal | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | ŋ⟨ng⟩ | ||||
| Fricative | f⟨f⟩ | s⟨s⟩ | h⟨h⟩ | ||||
| Approximant | l⟨l⟩ | j⟨y⟩ | w⟨w⟩ | ||||
/b/ is realized as[ᵐb] word-initially,[pʰ] or [p̚] syllable-finally, [b] elsewhere.
/t/ is realized as [tʰ] before vowels, [tʰ] or [t̚] syllable-finally.
/k/ is realized as [kʰ] before vowels, [kʰ] or [k̚] syllable-finally, sometimes [x] between vowels, [qʰ] before [aˤ].
/ɡ/ is realized as [ᵑɡ] word-initially, [ɡ] elsewhere.
/ɡʷ/ is realized as [ᵑɡʷ] word-initially, [ɡʷ] elsewhere.
Mian has fivetonemes, which apply at the word-stem level:
| Tone | Example |
|---|---|
| Low | am [àm]house |
| High | án [án]arrow |
| Low-High | ǎam [ǎˤːm]Pandanus species |
| High-Low | hâs [hâs]hat |
| Low-High-Low | aam [àˤːm̂]older sister |
The tones of Mian are very complex, as they are subject to variousphonological processes, and furthermore, they can be used for indicating variousgrammatical aspects, especially in connection with verbs, where the tones are crucial for understanding.
Consider the two verb forms below, beingnon-hodiernal andimperfective respectively:
Large objects in Mian are feminine, while small objects are masculine.[3]