Kovai language

Kovai (Kobai, Kowai) is a Papuan language spoken on Umboi Island, halfway between mainland Papua New Guinea and the island of New Britain, and mostly within the caldera of that volcanic island.

Kovai
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	Umboi Island, Morobe Province
Native speakers	6,000 (2011)[1]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea Finisterre–Huon Huon Kovai
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kqb
Glottolog	kova1243

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

• Vowels may be heard as lax [ɪ ɛ ʌ ɔ ʊ] when in closed syllables.^[2]

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced	b			ɡ
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Fricative	voiceless		s
	voiced		z
Trill			r
Approximant		w	l	j

• In word-final position /b ɡ/ can be heard as devoiced [b̥ ɡ̊], and may also be realized as fricatives [β ɣ] in intervocalic positions.^[3]