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Merap language
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<h2 id="phonology">Phonology</h2> <p>Merap phonology has departed significantly from Proto-Malayo Polynesian. Merap stress is word-final, and word shape is <a href="/facts/Minor_syllable/KgFVSvFC">sesquisyllabic</a> (a minor penultimate syllable followed by a stressed full ultima). The number of vowel contrasts has increased significantly as well. Where Proto-Malayo-Polynesian had four vowels (<i>*i</i>, <i>*u</i>, <i>*a</i>, and <i>*ə</i>) Merap has well over twenty contrasts, including diphthongs, triphthongs, and nasality distinctions. </p> <h3>Consonants</h3> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th><a href="/facts/Labial_consonant/bv4MqTMf">Labial</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Alveolar_consonant/B6VkW2EX">Alveolar</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Palatal_consonant/KLcKyXE8">Palatal</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Velar_consonant/blWClp79">Velar</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Glottal_consonant/rMdEdLxH">Glottal</a></th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Stop_consonant/okC9pztc">Stop</a></th><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_bilabial_plosive/w4M9Igp6">p</a> <a href="/facts/Voiced_bilabial_plosive/6ReC9arR">b</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_alveolar_plosive/1GaDe2Vy">t</a> <a href="/facts/Voiced_alveolar_plosive/A6hNvmCp">d</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_palatal_plosive/nBqIqUIS">c</a> <a href="/facts/Voiced_palatal_plosive/otrWQbpW">ɟ</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_velar_plosive/dDppVb6e">k</a> <a href="/facts/Voiced_velar_plosive/f6udTvfQ">ɡ</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Glottal_stop/Xfqy2ArP">ʔ</a></td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Fricative_consonant/1FQuuhfX">Fricative</a></th><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative/WLKtEYDe">s</a></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiceless_glottal_fricative/lfRB7CPW">h</a></td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Nasal_consonant/m6D3cVhe">Nasal</a></th><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_bilabial_nasal/1pd7NK2x">m</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_alveolar_nasal/0CEs8314">n</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_palatal_nasal/dLa9YG49">ɲ</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_velar_nasal/r6v5q92L">ŋ</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Lateral_consonant/Mcyc1or8">Lateral</a></th><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_alveolar_lateral_approximant/dgbHhqeK">l</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Trill_consonant/GKS3ga4q">Trill</a></th><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Voiced_alveolar_trill/rDplJobc">r</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>/<a href="/facts/Voiced_bilabial_plosive/6ReC9arR">b</a>/ is pronounced as implosive [<a href="/facts/Voiced_bilabial_implosive/WIkxarTP">ɓ</a>] in the offset of final syllables.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li>/<a href="/facts/Voiced_velar_plosive/f6udTvfQ">ɡ</a>/ except after /<a href="/facts/Voiced_velar_nasal/r6v5q92L">ŋ</a>/ is rare, and occurs only in loanwords.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li></ul> <h3>Vowels</h3> <table><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2"></th><th rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Front_vowel/htKQs3AT">Front</a></th><th colspan="2"><a href="/facts/Central_vowel/IFSaKUe9">Central</a></th><th rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Back_vowel/gyHoGCH0">Back</a></th></tr><tr><th>short</th><th>long</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2"><a href="/facts/Close_vowel/Ne6tHQHR">Close</a></th><td><a href="/facts/Close_front_unrounded_vowel/rSUdlCPU">i</a></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Close_back_rounded_vowel/gqlQLfse">u</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2"><a href="/facts/Mid_vowel/uzjGLRhf">Mid</a></th><td><a href="/facts/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel/aDRvwE46">ɛ</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Mid_central_vowel/CCx0wYy3">ə</a></td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel/VwS9cKWJ">o</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2"><a href="/facts/Open_vowel/roS0Y7lA">Open</a></th><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">a</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">aː</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><th rowspan="3">Diphthongs</th><th>closing</th><td colspan="4">iw ɛj əw ae̯ ai̯ ao̯ au̯ oj uj</td></tr><tr><th>centering</th><td colspan="4">iə̯ aə̯ uə̯</td></tr><tr><th>nasalised</th><td colspan="4">ĩə̯ ãə̯ ũə̯</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Triphthongs</th><td colspan="4">ɛjə̯ ajə̯ awə̯ ojə̯</td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>The distinction between /<a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">a</a>/ and /<a href="/facts/Open_front_unrounded_vowel/s80pvmYh">aː</a>/ only occurs in final syllables before glottals /<a href="/facts/Glottal_stop/Xfqy2ArP">ʔ</a>/ and /<a href="/facts/Voiceless_glottal_fricative/lfRB7CPW">h</a>/.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h3>Notes</h3> <h3>Bibliography</h3> <ul><li>Smith, Alexander D. (2017). <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf">"Merap Historical Phonology"</a> (PDF). <i>Oceanic Linguistics</i>. 56 (1).</li> <li>Soriente, Antonia. 2015. <i>Mbraa: A Modang-Bahau language?</i> Presentation given at 13-ICAL, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Smith 2017, p. 143. - Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "Merap Historical Phonology" (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (1). <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf" target="_blank">https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Smith 2017, p. 157. - Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "Merap Historical Phonology" (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (1). <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf" target="_blank">https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Smith 2017, p. 160. - Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "Merap Historical Phonology" (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (1). <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf" target="_blank">https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Smith 2017, p. 160. - Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "Merap Historical Phonology" (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (1). <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf" target="_blank">https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/fb0c2e_5daba1d9ed594ad8b007a4036d1b4052.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>