| Numèè | |
|---|---|
| Kwényi | |
| Naa Numee | |
| Native to | New Caledonia |
| Region | Nouméa,Isle of Pines |
Native speakers | 2,200 (2009 census)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kdk |
| Glottolog | nume1242 |
| ELP | Numèè |
 Numèè is not endangered according to the classification system of theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Numèè (Naa Numee, Naa-Wee), orKwényi (Kwenyii), is aNew Caledonian language, the one spoken at the southern tip of the island, as well as on theIsle of Pines offshore. Despite its name, it is probably not the language that gave its name to the capital of New Caledonia,Nouméa; that seems to have been its close relativeNdrumbea, which used to be spoken there.
Like its close relativeNdrumbea, Numèè is atonal language, with three contrasting tones, high, mid, and low.
Numèè, or rather its dialectKwênyii, has a total of 35 vowels, allmonophthongs: 17 short, and 18 long.[2]
| Front | Front rounded | Back | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oral | nasal | oral | nasal | oral | nasal | |||||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i | iː | ĩ | ĩː | y | yː | ỹ | ỹː | u | uː | ũ | ũː |
| Near-close | ɪː | ʊ | ʊː | |||||||||
| Close-mid | e | eː | ẽ | ẽː | ø | øː | ø̃ | ø̃ː | o | oː | õ | õː |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɛ̃ː | ə | əː | ||||||||
| Open | a | aː | ã | ãː | ||||||||
Kwênyii has 26 consonants.[3]
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