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Mansim, also known as Borai or Moi Brai, is a West Papuan language of the eastern Bird's Head Peninsula closely related to Hattam. As of 2010 there are rumours of 50 elderly speakers.
Phonology
Mansim has five vowels: /a, e, i, o, u/, and 16 consonants.
The status of /c, ɟ, h/ is uncertain, due to the single instance in the supporting text.
Like other Papuan languages, Mansim lacks a distinction between /r/ and /l/.
Stress
Mansim could have a tonal difference between homophones, since the various instances of bar ('something,' 'carry,' 'not') and tan ('inside,' 'far,' 'afraid') could need the use of a different pitch, but this is not seen in the data, although it is restricted. Stress seems to be placed in an iambic pattern over the clause, with stress placed on the second syllable. This means that person prefixes and first syllables of polysyllabilic words, with the exception of full personal pronouns, are unstressed. Citation markers and possessive pronouns can be stressed, but major categories like nouns and verbs do not necessarily attract main stress.
Grammar
The basic word order of Mansim is SOV (subject-object-verb). In the noun phrase, the possessive pronoun is after the nominal position.
Reesink, Ger P. (2002). "Mansim, a lost Language of the Bird's Head". In Ger P. Reesink (ed.). Languages of the Eastern Bird's Head. Pacific Linguistics. Vol. 524. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 277–340. hdl:1885/146144.
MansimShow map of Bird's Head Peninsula
