Organised Phonology Data

Organised Phonology Data
Yil Language [YLL]
Lumi – Sandaun Province
Torricelli Phylum; Wapei-Palei Stock; Wapei Family
Population census: 3280 (1979)
Major villages: Wublagil, Sikel, Eikil, Laingim, Pimon,
Linguistic work done by: SIL
Data checked by:
Phonemic and Orthographic Inventory

a
A
e
e
E
i
i
I

…
™
k
k
K
l
l
L
m n
m n
M N
 o
ng o
O
p
p
P
r
r
R
s
s
S
t
t
T
u
u
U

ü
Ü

x
X
j
y
Y
w
w
W
Consonants
Bilab
LabDen Dental
Alveo
Postalv
Retro
Palatal
Velar
Plosive
p
t
k
Nasal
m
n

Uvular
r
Trill
Tap/Flap
s
Fricative

Lateral
Fricative
j
Approx
l
Lateral
Approx
Ejective
Stop
Implos
p
palok
napal
win…p
wupli
m man…ng
wapuman
yam
amnok
'liver'
'inside of stomach'
'yam'
'sun'
'sister'
'tomorrow'
'good'
'fish type'
w
t
wenal
liweng
sokwaro
'yellow ant'
'native pipe'
tular
matimas
mat
trog
'ground'
'completed'
'woman'
'thigh'
'baby'
Pharyn
Glottal
Yil OPD
Printed: September 21, 2004
Page 2
n
nangi
wenal
yawan
anpap
'yam type'
'ant'
'yam type'
'one'
k
karo
nako
sak
waklik
'mist'
'bamboo knife'
'pig'
'woven bamboo'
r
rure
luro
wanar
wirwir
'yam type'
'stick for planting'
'heart'
'star'

m…nga
man…ng
mangku
'singsing'
'sister'
'we eat'
s
sik
m…sok
n…w…s
yamsu
'hand'
'mosquito'
'taro type'
'I shut'

xar
yaxo
w…m…x
'sandy ground'
'jaw'
'hawk'
l
li
malar
al
…kaltu
'bamboo'
'edible insect'
'negative'
'to get up'
j
yaxu
murayan
-
'pitpit type'
'taro type'
o
oxar
palok
sokwaro
'frog type'
'liver'
'baby'

arxi
alpap
menga
'lair, head'
'negative'
'singsing'
teik
mumei
'yesterday'
'food cover'
kaimu
mai
'centipede'
'mother'
Vowels
i

e
u
o


i
i
sik
yaxi
usiem
'I'
'hand'
'path'
'we two'
e
elo
werki
mame
'to cut with sickle'
'bamboo torch'
'insect'

¡ka
s¡k
mat¡
'to get'
'arowhead'
'betelnut'
u
usiem
wupli
waru
suik
'we two'
'sun'
'cooking banana'
'ant type'
ü
süla
amnü
'you'
'post of house'
'tulip-tree'
ei

/ei/
i
u auni
wauyak
'moon'
'lizard'
 aür…
naükwuti
k…aü
'mouth'
'my husband'
'rope for carrying'
Yil OPD
/i/
Printed: September 21, 2004
Page 3
/u/ //
(Martens-Tuominen interpret these as phonemes.)
Suprasegmentals (tone, stress, length)
Stress is probably phonemic. Usually it falls on the first syllable, except when // occurs in the first syllable.
This vowel tends to occur on unstressed syllables. There are contrastive pairs like:
…'ngati 'I bury a man'
'…ngati 'I hurry'
Syllable Patterns
V
i 'I'
VV
au.ar 'river'
VC
an 'he'
VCC
ark 'white ant'
….kal.tu 'to get up'
an.ta 'to ask'
su.ek 'banana'
CV
ni 'water'
ya.ro 'limbum floor'
war.pa.rok 'ditch'
CVV
mai 'mother'
yau.tok 'foot'
mu.mei 'food cover'
CVC
sak 'pig'
yam.su 'I shut it'
tam.tan.ngi 'cooking bananas' ma.neng 'sister'
CVVC teik 'yesterday'
wer.ki 'bamboo torch'
naük.wu.ti 'my husband'
CCVC prok 'quickly'
CVCC lank 'night'
Conventions: Phonological
/e/ is pronounced lower [æ] after /w/.
// is pronounced rounded [œ] word finally and in isolation.
// is voiceless [x] word finally.
/w/ is [] word initially and medially in the environment of front vowels, [w] elsewhere.
Conventions: Orthographic
In Au (same language family) the fricative // is written < h >.
Transcription of a recorded passage
/
teik i n j wnin wt ssissi wre pu wn tu wnin wt ur wkni mtims wo tu wnin w
t pret n wkr ji /
< teik i an ya wanin wat… Assissi ware pu w…n t…x…u wanin wat… auar w…k…ni matimas wango t…x…u wanin wat…
paret …na w…kar yaxi. >
Yesterday my father and I went to Assissi. We went down the mountain and came to the river. We bathed and
then went up the mountain. We walked the big road and then the little path.
Yil OPD
Printed: September 21, 2004
Page 4
Bibliography
Martens, Mary, and Salme Tuominen. 1977. 'A Tentative Phonemic Statement in Yil in West Sepik Province.'
Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages 19:29-48