Kemak language

Kemak is a language spoken in East Timor and in the border region of Indonesian West Timor. An alternate name is Ema. It is most closely related to Tocodede and Mambai. It has the status of one of the national languages in the East Timor constitution, besides the official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. The number of speakers has fallen in recent years.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Plosive	voiceless	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	voiced	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Fricative	voiceless		Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
	voiced		(Template:IPA link)
Rhotic			Template:IPA link
Lateral			Template:IPA link

• Sounds /b, ɡ/ can be heard as [β, ɣ] when in intervocalic position.
• /t/ can have an allophone of [tsʰ] freely in initial position, and [tʃʰ] when before /i/.
• /s/ can be heard as [z] when in voicing assimilation, and as [tʃʰ] when preceded by /n̪/.
• /t, k/ have aspirated allophones of [kʰ, tʰ].
• /ɡ, h/ are heard as [ɡʷ, ɸ] when before /u/.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Mid	Template:IPA link		Template:IPA link
Open		Template:IPA link

• /e, a/ can be heard as [ɪ, ɤ] when preceding or following /u/ within a syllable.
• /o, u/ can be heard as [ɔ, ɯ] when after labial consonants.

External links

• Kaipuleohone's collection of Robert Blust's materials include notes on Kemak

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