Namia language
Namia is a Sepik language spoken in Namea Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It goes by various names, such as Edawapi, Lujere, Yellow River. Language use is "vigorous".
In Sandaun Province, it is spoken in Ameni, Edwaki, Iwane, Lawo, Pabei, and Panewai villages in Namea Rural LLG, and in the Wiyari area. It is also spoken in 19 villages of Yellow River District in East Sepik Province.
Dialects
Namie dialect groups are:- Ailuaki: spoken in Yegarapi, Yaru, and Norambalip villages
- Amani: spoken in Augwom, Iwani, Pabei, Panewai, and Tipas villages
- Wiari: spoken in Alai, Nami, Worikori, Akwom, and Naum villages
- Lawo: spoken in Mokwidami, Mantopai, Yawari, and Aiendami villages
Phonology
Some analyses present /tʃ/ as an eighth phoneme, although its distribution is predictable. and in some cases /r/ are positional variants of /t/, as described in the table below.
Word-initially may be heard in place of expected in rapid speech if the previous word ends in a vowel. In no environment do more than three phonemes contrast, meaning that a fourth oral coronal /tʃ/ is not required. only occurs following high vowels /i/ or /u/ where it can be seen as an allophone of /t/. In most environments only two phonemes contrast, suggesting that /r/ only recently diverged from /t/.
There are 6 vowels in Namia:
The glides occur as allophones of /i u/, e.g. /iapu/ 'Sepik river', /uəla/ → 'house'.