Hiw language

Hiw
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Hiw
Native speakers	280 (2012)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic Vanuatu Northern Vanuatu East Vanuatu Hiw; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	hiw
Glottolog	hiww1237

Hiw (sometimes spelled Hiu) is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Hiw, in the Torres Islands of Vanuatu.^[3]

It is distinct from Lo-Toga, the other language of the Torres group.

The language

Hiw has 280 speakers, and is considered endangered.^[4]^[5]

Hiw has 9 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs /i ɪ e ɵ ə a ʉ o ɔ/.^[6]

Hiw has 14 consonants.^[6]

Hiw consonants
	Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labiovelar
Plosive	p	t		k	kʷ
Nasal	m	n		ŋ	ŋʷ
Fricative	β	s		ɣ	w
Prestopped lateral				ɡ͡ʟ
Glide			j

All plosives are voiceless. Hiw is the only Austronesian language whose consonant inventory includes a prestopped velar lateral approximant /ɡ͡ʟ/; this complex segment is Hiw's only liquid.^[7]

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