West Ambae (also known as Duidui, the principal dialect, and Opa, the Mota name for the island) is an Oceanic language spoken on Ambae, Vanuatu. Recognized dialects of West Ambae include Walaha and Nduindui (Duindui). The New Testament was published in West Ambae in 1984.
West Ambae | |
---|---|
Native to | Vanuatu |
Region | Ambae |
Native speakers | 8,700 (2001)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | nnd |
Glottolog | west2513 |
![]() West Ambae is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Labiovelar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | voiceless | t | k | kʷ | ||
voiced | ᵐb | ⁿd | (ŋ)ɡ | (ŋ)ɡʷ | ||
Fricative | β | s | h | |||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ŋʷ | ||
Rhotic | r | |||||
Lateral | l |
Voiced stops /ɡ, ɡʷ/ occur as prenasalized /ᵑɡ, ᵑɡʷ/, in the Walaha dialect.[2]