Nume language

"Nume" redirects here and is not to be confused with Neume.

Nume (also called Gog and Tarasag), is an Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu. Its 700 speakers live on the northeast coast of Gaua.^[1]

Nume
Tarasag, Gog
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Gaua
Native speakers	700 (2012)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu North Vanuatu Torres-Banks Nume
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tgs
Glottolog	nume1241
ELP	Nume

Nume is a distinct language from its immediate southern neighbors, Mwerlap and Dorig.^[2]

Names

The name Nume originates in the name of a village, now abandoned. Tarasag is currently the community's main village. The alternate name Gog refers to the broader area, and by extension, to the island.

Phonology

Nume has 15 consonant phonemes.^[3]

Consonants

	Labiovelar	Bilabial	Alveolar	Dorsal
Voiceless stop	k͡pʷ ⟨q⟩		t ⟨t⟩	k ⟨k⟩
Prenasalized stop		ᵐb ⟨b⟩	ⁿd ⟨d⟩
Fricative		β ⟨v⟩	s ⟨s⟩	ɣ ⟨g⟩
Nasal	ŋ͡mʷ ⟨m̄⟩	m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩	ŋ ⟨n̄⟩
Rhotic			r ⟨r⟩
Lateral			l ⟨l⟩
Approximant	w ⟨w⟩

• /β/ can also be heard as [ɸ] among speakers.

Nume has 7 phonemic vowels, which are all short monophthongs.^[4]

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i ⟨i⟩	u ⟨u⟩
Near-close	ɪ ⟨ē⟩	ʊ ⟨ō⟩
Open-mid	ɛ ⟨e⟩	ɔ ⟨o⟩
Open	a ⟨a⟩

Grammar

The system of personal pronouns in Nume contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).^[5]

Spatial reference in Nume is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages.^[6]