| Cèmuhî | |
|---|---|
| Wagap | |
| Native to | New Caledonia |
| Region | Touho: east coast from Congouma to Wagap and inland valleys |
Native speakers | 2,600 (2009)[1] |
| Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cam |
| Glottolog | cemu1238 |
 Cèmuhî is not endangered according to the classification system of theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Cèmuhî (Camuhi, Camuki, Tyamuhi, Wagap) is anOceanic language spoken on the island ofNew Caledonia, in the area ofPoindimié,Koné, andTouho. The language has approximately 3,300 speakers and is considered aregional language of France.
Cèmuhî was studied by the French linguistJean-Claude Rivierre [fr].
The consonants of Cèmuhî are shown in the table below.[2]
| labiovelar | labial | alveolar | palatal | velar | laryngeal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless stop | pʷ | p | t | c | k | |
| Prenasalized stop | ᵐbʷ | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑg | |
| Nasal | mʷ,h̃ʷ | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | h̃ |
| Continuant | w | (r),l | (h) |
Rivierre analyzes the contrasts of Cèmuhî along threeemic categories: nasal, semi-nasal (i.e.prenasalized), and oral consonants.[2] He uses the established term "labiovelar" (reproduced in the table) for what can be described more exactly aslabial-velarized (protruded)bilabial consonants.
The chart below shows Cèmuhî vowels, all of which can contrast in length.[2] While all vowels are phonetically nasalized after a nasal consonant, only twonasal vowels are reported to be contrastive: /ɛ̃ ~ ã/ and /õ ~ ũ/.[3]
| oral | nasal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| front | back | front | back | ||
| Close | i | u | õ ~ũ | ||
| Close-mid | e | o | |||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ɛ̃ ~ã | ||
| Open | a | ||||
Like its neighbourPaicî, Cèmuhî is one of the fewAustronesian languages which have developedcontrastive tone. However, unlike other New Caledonian tonal languages, Cèmuhî has three tonal registers: high, mid, and low tones.[4][2]
