Amara is an Austronesian language spoken by about 1200 individuals along the northwest coast of West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Britain. Speakers have close to 100% bilingualism with Bariai, and many also speak Tok Pisin.

Amara
Native toPapua New Guinea
Regionparts of West New Britain Province
Native speakers
230 (2011)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3aie
Glottologamar1272
ELPAmara

Phonology

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Consonants[2]
Labial Alveolar Velar
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative s
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant r, l
  • The voiced stops /b d g/ frequently manifest as fricatives [β ɹ ɣ] after vowels.
Vowels[2]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

References

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  1. ^ Amara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Thurston, William R. (1996). Ross, Malcolm R. (ed.). "Amara: An Austronesian Language of Northwestern New Britain". Studies in the Languages of New Britain and New Ireland 1: Austronesian Languages of the North New Guinea Cluster in Northwestern New Britain. Pacific Linguistics: Series C. 135. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University: 197–248.