Mian language


Mian is an Ok language spoken in the Telefomin district of the Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea by the Mian people. It has some 3,500 speakers spread across two dialects: West Mian, with approximately 1,000 speakers in around Yapsiei, and East Mian, with approximately 2,500 speakers in and around Timeilmin, Temsakmin, Sokamin, Gubil, Fiak and Hotmin. Phonologically, Mian is very similar to other Papuan languages in the size of its phoneme inventory, but it nevertheless has some peculiarities, such as its contrast between a plain and a pharyngealized . It is also a tonal language.

Phonology

Vowels

Mian has 6 vowels, including the pharyngealized open front vowel.
FrontBack
UnroundedRounded
Closei u
Close-mido
Open-mide
Opena
aa

And 4 diphthongs:
Ending with Ending with
ai au
ei ou

/ɛ/ is realized as in word-initial low-tone syllables, elsewhere.
/a/ is realized as in unaccented syllables, in word-initial low-tone syllables beginning with a consonant, elsewhere.
/o/ is realized as in word-initial low-tone syllables and in syllables ending in a voiceless plosive or , elsewhere.
/u/ is realized as in word-initial low-tone syllables, elsewhere.

Consonants

Mian has 15 consonants:
is realized as word-initially, or syllable-finally, elsewhere.
/t/ is realized as before vowels, or syllable-finally.
/k/ is realized as before vowels, or syllable-finally, sometimes between vowels, before .
/ɡ/ is realized as word-initially, elsewhere.
/ɡʷ/ is realized as word-initially, elsewhere.

Tones

Mian has 5 tonemes:
ToneExample
Lowam house
Highán arrow
Low-Highǎam Pandanus species
High-Lowhâs hat
Low-High-Lowaam older sister

The tones of Mian are very complex, as they are subject to various phonological processes, and furthermore, they can be used for indicating various grammatical aspects, especially in connection with verbs, where the tones are crucial for understanding.
Consider the two verb forms below, being non-hodiernal and imperfective respectively:

Nouns

Large objects in Mianmin are feminine, while small objects are masculine.

Digital resources