Sissano is an Austronesian language spoken by at most a few hundred people around Sissano in West Aitape Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.[2] 4,800 speakers were reported in 1990, but the 1998 tsunami wiped out most of the population.[1]

Sissano
RegionWest Aitape Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea
Native speakers
300 (2000)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3sso
Glottologsiss1243
ELPSissano
Sissano is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Phonology

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Vowels

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Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e (ə) o
Low a

Consonants

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Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced (b) (d) (g)
Fricative voiceless s
voiced β (ɣ)
Approximant central j
lateral l ʎ
Rhotic r

References

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  1. ^ a b Sissano at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  • Laycock, Don (1973). "Sissano Warapu and Melanesian Pidginization". Oceanic Linguistics. 12 (1/2). University of Hawai'i Press: 245–277. doi:10.2307/3622856. JSTOR 3622856.