Ambakich language

Aion
Ambakich
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	East Sepik Province
Ethnicity	2,000 (2003)
Native speakers	770 (2003)
Language family	Ramu–Keram Keram East Keram Aion
Language codes
ISO 639-3	aew
Glottolog	amba1269
ELP	Ambakich

Aion a.k.a. Ambakich is a Keram language of Papua New Guinea. It is only spoken by adults; children grow up speaking Tok Pisin.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	p	(t)	tʃ	k
Prenasalized	ᵐb	ⁿd	ⁿdʒ	ᵑɡ
Fricative		s
Nasal	m	n		(ŋ)
Approximant	w	r	j

• /t/ and /ŋ/ only appear in loanwords.
• /p/ may sometimes be heard as [ɸ].
• /k/ is sometimes pronounced as [q] or [ʔ], usually word-initially.
• /tʃ/ can manifest as [s], or when adjacent to /ɨ/, [t].
• In certain words, the prenasalized consonants are denasalized.
• /s/ is occasionally [ʃ] before /i/.
• /n/ is heard as [ɲ] before /i/, and [ŋ] before /u/.
• Following /o/ and before any other vowel, /w/ is realized as [ŋ].
• Before /a/, /j/ is heard as [ɲ].
• Before the high vowels /i ɨ u/, /j/ is pronounced [dʒ].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

• The high vowels /i ɨ u/ do not occur word-initially.
• /e/ is occasionally centralized to [ə].
• /a/ is typically raised to [ə] in open syllables.
• /a/ can also range in realization to [ɛ], [ʌ], and [ɔ].
• /u/ is sometimes unrounded to [ɤ].
• /ɨ/ is often deleted between two consonants.

Additionally, the following diphthongs have been observed: /ai/, /ei/, /oi/, /au/, /ou/.