Kwerba language

Kwerba
Kwerba
Sasawa
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Sarmi Regency, Papua
Native speakers	(2,500 cited 1996)
Language family	Foja Range Kwerbic Nuclear Kwerba Kwerba; ; ;
Dialects	Serikenam; Sasawa; Nogukwabai;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kwe
Glottolog	nucl1595

Kwerba is a Papuan language of Indonesia. Alternate names are Airmati (Armati), Koassa, Mataweja, Naibedj, Segar Tor, Tekutameso.

Kwerba is spoken in Apiaweti, Aurime, Munukania, Tatsewalem, and Wamariri villages in Sarmi Regency.^[2]

Phonology

Consonants^[3]
	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	p pʷ	t	tʃ	k kʷ
Fricative		s
Nasal	m mʷ	n	ɲ	ŋ
Approximant	w	r	j

The consonants /p k/ can be heard as [ɸ x] intervocalically.
The plosive and affricate consonants can be aspirated word-finally.
/s/ sometimes varies to [h] word initially and intervocalically for some speakers.
/r/ does not occur word-initially.

Stress occurs on the penultimate syllable.^[3]

Kwerba nominative pronouns as given in Foley (2018):^[4]

^ Kwerba at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Indonesia languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
^ ^a ^b ^c Slizer, Peter J. (1976). Suharno, Ignatius; Pike, Kenneth L. (eds.). "A six-week phonemic analysis of Air Mati with a tentative orthography". From Baudi to Indonesian. Jayapura: Cenderawasih University and Summer Institute of Linguistics: 192–201.
^ Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

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