Nii is a Trans–New Guinea language of the Chimbu–Wahgi branch spoken in the highlands 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 ...

. Nii has an unusual number of

lateral consonant A lateral is a consonant in which the airstream proceeds along one or both of the sides of the tongue, but it is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth. An example of a lateral consonant is the English ''L'', as in ''Larr ...

s: a typical dental approximant, , plus both dental and velar lateral fricatives, and , which are optionally voiced between vowels and do not occur in initial position.Foley, 1986:63, ''The Papuan languages of New Guinea''

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