# Yaqay language

Yaqay (Yakhai, Yaqai, Jakai, Jaqai) is a Papuan language spoken in Indonesia by over 10,000 people. It is also called Mapi or Sohur; dialects are Oba-Miwamon, Nambiomon-Mabur, Bapai.
According to Ethnologue, Yaqay is spoken along the south coast of Mappi Regency, along the Obaa River north to the Gandaimu area.

## Phonology

The following is the phonology of Yaqay, as defined in Fonologi Bahasa Yakhai.

### Consonants

Consonants :
| | | Labial | Dental / Alveolar | Postalveolar / Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | | (ŋ ⟨ngg⟩?) | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p ⟨p⟩ | t̪ ⟨t⟩ | | k ⟨k⟩ | ʔ ⟨-k⟩ |
| Plosive | voiced | b ⟨b⟩ | d̪ ⟨d⟩ | d͡ʒ ⟨j⟩ | gʱ ⟨gh⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ |
| Fricative | Fricative | f ⟨f⟩ | | | x ⟨kh⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ |
| Approximant | Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ | r ⟨r⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | | |
* ⟨t⟩ and ⟨d⟩ are both dental consonants, while ⟨n⟩ and ⟨r⟩ are alveolar consonants.
* ⟨j⟩ is a postalveolar consonant while ⟨y⟩ is palatal.
* /ŋ/ seems to be an allophone of /n/ found before velar consonants, like in the word yanggo /jaŋgo/ (it is unclear whether the sequence nng is pronounced /ŋg/, /ŋgʱ/, or just /ŋ/, but it seems to most likely be /ŋg/).
* The letter 'k' is only found at the beginning of words or at the end of syllables. At the beginning of a word, it's pronounced like /k/ (or /x/, see later notes), while at the end of syllables, it's pronounced /ʔ/, for example, in the word kerak /keraʔ/, meaning 'walking'.
* /x/, represented by kh, is pronounced like /k/ in some words, for example, khayafo /kajafo/, meaning 'spear'.
* /k/ is pronounced like /x/ in some words, for example, kah /xah/, meaning 'smelling'.
* The original source makes it unclear whether /h/ is the voiceless glottal fricatives [h] or a voiced glottal stop [ʡ], but it is most likely the voiceless glottal fricative [h].

#### Consonant Distribution

| Consonant | Beginning | Center | End |
| /m/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /n/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /p/ | Y | N | N |
| /t/ | Y | Y | N |
| /k/ | Y | N | N |
| /ʔ/ | N | Y | Y |
| /b/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /d/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /d͡ʒ/ | N | Y | N |
| /gʱ/ | N | Y | N |
| /f/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /x/ | Y | N | N |
| /h/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /w/ | Y | Y | N |
| /r/ | Y | Y | Y |
| /j/ | Y | Y | N |
* 'Y' means that the consonant on the left of the row occurs in the word position at the top of the column. For instance, this section of the table:
| Consonant | Beginning | Center | End |
| /t/ | Y | Y | N |
* means that the consonant /t/ can be found at the beginning and center of a word, but not at the end of one.

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back | Back |
| | Front | Central | Unrounded | Rounded |
| Close | i ⟨i⟩ | | | u ⟨u⟩ |
| Close mid | e ⟨e⟩ | | (ɤ) | o ⟨o⟩ |
| Open mid | (ɛ) | | | |
| Open | | a ⟨a⟩ | |
* /ɛ/ and /ɤ/ are sometimes considered to be the same phoneme as /e/ and /o/ respectively, while others consider them as separate phonemes that are in free variation.

#### Vowel Distribution

| Vowel | Beginning | Center | End |
| /a/ | Y | N | N |
| /i/ | Y | N | N |
| /u/ | N | N | Y |
| /e/ | Y | N | N |
| /o/ | N | N | Y |
* A pattern can be seen here wherein front vowels /a/, /i/, and /e/ can all only occur at the beginning of syllables, while the back vowels /u/ and /o/ can only occur at the ends of syllables.

### Syllable Structure

The syllable structure is not explicitly stated, but it appears to be: Maximum syllable structure: CVNC, as in the word, xobandede, meaning 'squat'. Minimum syllable structure: CV, as in the word, xa, meaning, 'hole'.