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Bola, or Bakovi, is an Oceanic language of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The Harua (Xarua) dialect developed on a palm plantation.

Bola
Bakovi
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Native speakers	14,000 (2000 census)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Western Oceanic Meso-Melanesian Willaumez Bola
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bnp
Glottolog	bola1250
ELP	Bola

Phonology

Phonology of the Bola language:[2]

Consonant sounds

	Labial	Alveolar	Velar
Nasal	m	n	ŋ
Plosive	p b	t d	k g
Fricative	β	(s)	ɣ
Rhotic		r
Lateral		l

/t/ is realized as sounds /s, ʃ/ when only occurring in front of /i/. The voiced stops /b d ɡ/ can often sound prenasalized [ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ] among various speakers. /ɣ/ can be pronounced as a glottal fricative [h] among younger speakers.

Vowel sounds

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	ɛ		ɔ
Low		ɑ

/i/ before vowel sounds /ɑ ɛ ɔ u/ is pronounced as a glide sound [j].[3]

References

Further reading

• van den Berg, René; Wiebe, Brent (2019), Bola Grammar Sketch (PDF), Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 63, Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics, ISBN 9980-0-4482-9

External links

• Organised Phonology Data
• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Ruth, Jonah, and the New Testament in the Bola language of Papua New Guinea

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