Sop language
Sop (also Sob, Usino) is a Rai Coast language spoken in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea by approximately 2,500 people.
| Sop | |
|---|---|
| Sob | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Madang Province |
Native speakers | 2,300 (2003)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | urw |
| Glottolog | sopp1247 |
The Sop language has been labelled under several different names. Among the names are Usino, Usina, Sopu, and Igoi. Usino is the name of one of the villages and the name used for the government station. The speakers of this language do not recognize the name Usino as a name for their language. They use Sop as the name for their language.
Consonants
| Labial | Apical | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | k ɡ | |
| Fricative | f | s | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Approximant | w | j | ||
| Flap | ɾ |
- Where symbols appear in pairs the one to the left represents a voiceless consonant
- t, and d represent dental/alveolar/post-alveolar consonants, while n is only alveolar
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|
| i | ɯ <ü> u | |
| e | o | |
| ɑ |
Syllabification
The canonical syllable profile of Sob is (C)V(C). Thus, vowels are required to have a nuclear vowel, and may optionally have an onset and/or coda. The overwhelming majority of syllables have an onset in Sob, forming the unmarked CV shape. Complex onsets and complex codas are disallowed for markedness.
| Single Syllable | #__$ | $__$ | $__# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | e 'or' | e.ge 'eye' | keb fu.gi.a.ga 'light from fire' | fi.o 'fog' |
| CV | mi 'louse' | ta.ba 'head' | u.di.ge 'sand' | su.be 'mouth' |
| CVC | nur 'nose' | keb kaj 'water snake' | a.büs.kaj 'old woman' | si.bim 'stomach' |
| VC | am 'what' | ag.fe.re.a.ga 'he leads' | *** | gi.tu.ar 'dusk' |
Personal pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | ye | sini (exclusive); sige (inclusive) |
| 2nd | nag | nini; ninag |
| 3rd | nu | nini |
References
- Sop at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)