Fas language

Fas
Fas
Momu
Region	Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea
Native speakers	2,500 (2000 census)
Language family	Fas Fas;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	fqs
Glottolog	fass1245
ELP	Fas
	Coordinates: 3°15′12″S 141°25′31″E / 3.253331°S 141.425202°E

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Fas (a.k.a. Momu, Bembi) is the eponymous language of the small Fas language family of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.

Fas was once mistakenly placed in the Kwomtari family, confusing their classification. Its only demonstrated relative is actually Baibai, with which it is 40% cognate. See Fas languages for details.

Locations[edit]

Ethnologue lists Fas-speaking villages as Fas (3°11′56″S 141°28′47″E / 3.198947°S 141.479718°E / -3.198947; 141.479718 (Fas 2); 3°20′07″S 141°39′09″E / 3.335326°S 141.652462°E / -3.335326; 141.652462 (Fas 3)), Fugumui (3°15′12″S 141°25′31″E / 3.253331°S 141.425202°E / -3.253331; 141.425202 (Fugumui)), Kilifas, Utai (3°23′26″S 141°35′02″E / 3.390507°S 141.583997°E / -3.390507; 141.583997 (Utai)), and Wara Mayu villages of Walsa Rural LLG and Amanab Rural LLG of Sandaun Province.^[1]

Baron (2007) lists Fas-speaking villages as Yo, Sumumini, Wara Mayu, Kilifas, Fugumui, Fas 2, Fas 3, Finamui, Fugeri, Aiamina, Tamina 1, Nebike, Tamina 2, Utai, Mumuru, Savamui, and Mori.^[2]

Phonology[edit]

Consonants^[3]
	Labial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	p	t	k	ʔ ⟨h⟩
Fricative	f	s
Nasal	m	n
Trill	ʙ ⟨b⟩	r
Approximant	w	j

/ʔ/ appears as [h] before /a/.

Vowels^[3]
	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e	(ə)	o
Low		a

/ə/ may be an allophone of /i/.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Fas at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ Baron, Wietze (October 2007). "The Kwomtari Phylum". Retrieved 2019-09-22.
^ ^a ^b Baron, Wietze (2007). Overview of Fas Phonology.

Sources[edit]

Baron, Wietze (1983a). "Cases of counter-feeding in Fas". Language and Linguistics in Melanesia. 14: 138–149. OCLC 9188672.
Blake, Fiona (2007). Spatial Reference in Momu (BA thesis). The University of Sydney. hdl:2123/1919.
Honeyman, Thomas Tout (2016). A grammar of Momu, a language of Papua New Guinea (PhD thesis). Australian National University. doi:10.25911/5d70f1b69a565. hdl:1885/132961.

External links[edit]

ELAR archive of Fas (Momu) language documentation materials
Fas word list (Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database)

[e25-1] Fas at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[Baron-Kwomtari-2] Baron, Wietze (October 2007). "The Kwomtari Phylum". Retrieved 2019-09-22.

[:0-3] Baron, Wietze (2007). Overview of Fas Phonology.

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