The Phonology of Wano

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the phonological properties of Wano, a Papuan language of the Trans-New Guinea Phylum of the Dani-Kwerba stock. The analysis is based on data from the author’s personal fieldwork. The paper rpovieds an initial framework of Wano phonemes and their graphemes. It is intended to be a starting point for future grammatical analysis. It also describes some socio-linguistic phenomena regarding the adaptation of Melayu-Papua (Papuan-Malay). A preliminary dictionary (Wano-English, English-Wano) and a sample wordlist are included as appendices.