| Mussau-Emira | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Islands ofMussau andEmirau (New Ireland Province) |
Native speakers | 5,000 (2003)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | emi |
| Glottolog | muss1246 |
| ELP | Mussau-Emira |
 Mussau is classified as Definitely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
| 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. | |
TheMussau-Emira language is spoken on the islands ofMussau andEmirau in theSt Matthias Islands in theBismarck Archipelago.
Mussau-Emira distinguishes the following consonants.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ |
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | β | s | ɣ |
| Liquid | lɾ |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Low | a |
In most words the primary stress falls on the penultimate vowel and secondary stresses fall on every second syllable preceding that. This is true of suffixed forms as well, as inníma 'hand',nimá-gi 'my hand';níu 'coconut',niúna 'its coconut'.
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual | Trial | Paucal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | ita | italua | itatolu | itaata | |
| 1st person exclusive | agi | ami | aŋalua | aŋatolu | aŋaata |
| 2nd person | io | am | amalua | amatolu | amaata |
| 3rd person | ia | ila | ilalua | ilotolu | ilaata |
Prefixes mark the subjects of each verb: