Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 29, 2026

Aimele language

Aimele is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea. It has around 300 speakers, living primarily in Lake Campbell in Western Province, where it is the dominant language of the community.

Last revised
Jul 29, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
208 w
Citations
7
Source
Aimele
Kware
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionLake Campbell, Western Province
Native speakers
300 (2016)
Language codes
ISO 639-3ail
Glottologaime1238
ELPAimele

Aimele is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea. It has around 300 speakers, living primarily in Lake Campbell in Western Province, where it is the dominant language of the community.1: 4 

Names

The alternate names for Aimele are Eibela and Kware.2

Phonology

Aimele has 28 phonemes in total, with a consonantal inventory of 13 phonemes, and a vowel inventory of 14 phonemes when including diphthongs and lengthened vowels, or 5 without.1: 26 

Consonants

The consonantal system is very similar to the ones found in the neighboring languages Kasua, Kaluli, Kamula and Odoodee.1: 26 

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive voiceless t k
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative ɸ s h
Approximant w l j

    Vowels

    Short Long
    Front Back Front Back
    Close i u
    Mid ɛ o ɛ:
    Open a
    Diphthongs ai, oi, ou, ɛi
    References

    References

    1. Aiton, Grant William (2016). A grammar of Eibela: a language of the Western Province, Papua New Guinea (phd thesis). James Cook University.
    2. "Glottolog 5.1 - Aimele". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
    External links