Central Bontok language
# Central Bontok language

Central Bontok (or Kali) is a language of the Bontoc group from the Philippines. The 2007 census claimed there were 19,600 speakers.

## Distribution

Ethnologue reports the following locations for Central Bontok:

Cordillera Administrative Region: Mountain Province: Bontoc municipality, Bontoc ili, Caluttit, Dalican, Guina-ang, Ma-init, Maligcong, Samoki, and Tocucan villages.

## Dialects

Ethnologue reports 5 dialects for Central Bontok: Khinina-ang, Finontok, Sinamoki, Jinallik, Minaligkhong and Tinokukan.

## Similarities

Ethnologue reports that the language is similar to other Bontoc languages, These languages are: North Bontok, Southwest Bontok, South Bontok, and East Bontok.

## Phonology

### Consonants

The Guinaang dialect of Central Bontok has the following inventory of consonant phonemes:

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Plosive | plain voiceless | p | t | | k | ʔ |
| Plosive | aspirated voiceless | | | | kʰ | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | | ɡ | |
| Affricate | Affricate | | ts | | | |
| Fricative | Fricative | f | s | | | h |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | ŋ | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | l | j | w | |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | ɾ | | | |

Originally (as documented in the mid 20th century), the sounds pairs [b ~ f], [d ~ ts], [g ~ kʰ], [l ~ ɾ] were in complementary distribution and thus allophones of the phonemes /b/, /d/, /g/, and /l/, respectively (e.g. [ˈtsaɾa] for /ˈdala/ "blood"). With the introduction of loanwords from English, Ilokano and Tagalog, these contrasts have become phonemicized. The phoneme /h/ was also introduced in modern loanwords.

