| Nativename | Rao Breri |
|---|---|
| States | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | western Madang Province |
| Speakers | 6,000 |
| Date | 1992 |
| Ref | e18 |
| Familycolor | Papuan |
| Fam 1 | Ramu |
| Fam 2 | Ramu proper |
| Fam 3 | Annaberg |
| Iso 3 | rao |
| Glotto | raoo1244 |
| Glottorefname | Rao |
| Dia 1 | Li’o |
| Dia 2 | Ndramini’o |
Rao is a Ramu language of western Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. In older literature it was called Annaberg.
Phonology
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | tʃ dʒ | k g | ʔ |
| Prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑg | ||
| Fricative | f v | s z | (h) | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Approximant | w | r | j |
- /w/ is often heard as [β] word-initially and intervocalically.
- /f/ has only been found word-initially.
- /h/ is very rare and may be an allophone of /g/.
- /r/ can also be realised as [l].
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | a |
Additionally, the following diphthongs have been observed: /ia/, /ai/, /ea/.
Stress falls on the first syllable with a /ʔ/ in coda position. Otherwise, stress is fixed on the first syllable.[1]
References
- ^ Stanhope, John M. (2004). Rao Organised Phonology Data. SIL International.