Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 5, 2026

Kire language

Kire (Giri) is a Ramu language of Giri village in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.

Last revised
Aug 5, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
369 w
Citations
8
Source
Kire
Giri
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionMadang Province
Native speakers
2,400 (2003)1
Ramu
Language codes
ISO 639-3geb
Glottologkire1240
ELPKire
Coordinates: 4°17′12″S 144°43′29″E / 4.286778°S 144.724753°E / -4.286778; 144.724753 (Giri 1)

Kire (Giri) is a Ramu language of Giri village (4°17′12″S 144°43′29″E / 4.286778°S 144.724753°E / -4.286778; 144.724753 (Giri 1)) in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.23

Phonology

Out of all the Ramu languages, Kire has the most complex consonant phonemic inventory.4: 207 

Consonants5
Labial Alveolar Dorsal
Plosive p b t d k g
Aspirated
Prenasalized ᵐp ᵐb ⁿt ⁿd ᵑk ᵑg
Fricative β, f v , s z h
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant w r
  • Aspirated plosives only occur word-initially.
  • /w/ has only been found word-initially.
Vowels5
Short Long
Front Central Back Front Central Back
High i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ u ũ ĩː ɨː ɨ̃ː
Mid e o õ ẽː õː
Low a ã ãː

Additionally, the following diphthongs and triphthongs are found: /ia/, /ĩã/, /ei/, /ẽĩ/, /ai/, /aːi/, /oi/, /ui/, /uiː/, /ũĩ/, /ue/, /ũẽː/, /ua/, /ũã/, /ũãː/, /uei/, /uai/, /ũãĩ/, /ũĩã/, /ũẽĩ/.

Orthography

Kire orthography:5

Kire alphabet
Phonemes ɑ ɑ̃ b β d e f g h i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ k m ᵐb ᵐp n
Lowercase letters a ä b ƀ d e ë f g h i ï ɨ ɨ̈ k kh m mb mp n
Phonemes ⁿd ⁿt ŋ ᵑg ᵑk o õ p r s t u ũ v w z
Lowercase letters nd nt ŋ ŋg ŋk o ö p ph r s š t th u ü v w z
References

References

  1. Kire at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  3. United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
  4. Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  5. Pryor, David B. (2004). Kire Organised Phonology Data. SIL International.