Kwara'ae language


The Kwara'ae language is spoken in the north of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands. In 1999, there were 32,400 people known to speak the language. It is the largest indigenous vernacular of the Solomon Islands.

Phonology

The /f/ sound is merged with /h/. Most speakers of Kwara'ae choose to pronounce /h/ as an /f/ sound in some vocabulary.
FrontCentralBack
High
Mid
Low

The sound is recognized as an allophone of /a/. There is vowel reduction, so final /i/ and /u/ are often deleted. Before /i/, the vowel /a/ may become , forming the diphthong .