Western Dani language
# Western Dani language

Western Dani, or Lani, is the most populous Papuan language in Indonesian New Guinea. It is spoken by the Lani people in the province of Highland Papua. The Baliem Valley tribes are called Oeringoep and Timorini in literature from the 1920s, but those names are no longer used.

## Phonology

The phonology of the Western Dani language:

Consonants :

| | | Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Velar | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | Bilabial | Alveolar | plain | lab. | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p (pʰ) | t (tʰ) | k (kʰ) | kʷ (kʷʰ) | ʔ |
| Plosive | prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | β | | ɣ | ɣʷ | |
| Flap | Flap | | ɾ | | | |
| Lateral | Lateral | | l | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | ɹ | | | |

At the beginning of words, stops sound aspirated. An intervocalic /ɣ/ is pronounced as [ʁ], and a /ɹ/ before a high vowel becomes a fricative [z].

Vowels :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| High | i iː | | u uː |
| Mid | e eː | | ɒ ɒː |
| Low | | ɐ ɐː | ɒ ɒː |

Vowels /i, u, ɒ/ have allophones, [ɪ, ʊ, ɔ].

