| Whitesands | |
|---|---|
| East Tanna | |
| Narak | |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Tanna Island, east coast |
Native speakers | (7,500 cited 2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tnp |
| Glottolog | whit1269 |
Whitesands is not endangered according to the classification system of theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Whitesands, orEast Tanna, orNarak,[2] is a language spoken on the eastern coast ofTanna, in southernVanuatu. It is closely related to the neighbouringNorth Tanna andLenakel languages.[3]
Whitesands has 16 consonant phonemes:[3]: 9
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | p | t | tʲ | k | |
| Fricative | f | s | x | h | |
| Rhotic | rɹ | ||||
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j |
It has six phonemic vowels:[3]: 8
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ə | u |
| Mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | ɐ |
This article aboutSouthern Oceanic languages is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |