Keapara is an
Oceanic language
The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...
of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. It is close to, but distinct from, its neighbour
Hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...
.
It has been strongly influenced by
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non- Australian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands, by around 4 million people. It is a strictly geogr ...
.
Dialects
The Keapara language includes several
dialectal varieties: Aroma, Babaka, Kamali, Kalo, Keapara (Kerepunu), Kapari, Lalaura, Maopa, Wanigela (Waiori).
Phonology
The following is the phonology of the Kalo dialect of Keapara:
Consonants
Vowels
References
Bibliography
*
Dutton, T. "Lau'una: another Austronesian remnant on the south-east coast of Papua". In Lynch, J. and Pat, F.'A. editors, ''Oceanic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics''. C-133:61-82. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1996.
Central Papuan Tip languages
Languages of Central Province (Papua New Guinea)
{{PapuanTip-lang-stub