Kilivila language

Kilivila (Kiriwina) is one of the Kilivila–Louisiades languages (of the Austronesian language family), spoken by the Trobriand people of the Trobriand Islands (Papua New Guinea). It is used in local schools.

Kilivila
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	Trobriand Islands
Native speakers	(20,000 cited 2000)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Western Oceanic Papuan Tip Kilivila–Misima Kilivila languages Kilivila
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kij
Glottolog	kili1267

Phonology

Phonology of Kilivila:

Consonants

		Labial		Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Glottal
		plain	lab.			plain	lab.
Plosive	voiceless	p	pʷ	t		k	kʷ	ʔ
	voiced	b	bʷ	d		ɡ	ɡʷ
Nasal		m	mʷ	n
Fricative		v		s
Rhotic				ɾ
Approximant				l	j		w

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	ɛ		ɔ
Low		a

Allophones

	Allophone
/k/	[k̠], [x̠], [k], [x]
/kʷ/	[kʷ], [k̠ʷ]
/s/	[s], [ʃ]
/m/	[m], [m̩]
/ɾ/	[ɾ], [r], [ʀ]
/i/	[i], [ɨ]
/u/	[u], [ʊ]

External links

• A number of collections in Paradisec include materials in Kilivila