Nimboran language

Nimboran
Nimboran
Namblong
Native to	Indonesia
Region	New Guinea
Ethnicity	3,500 (1987)
Native speakers	(2,000 cited 1987)
Language family	Foja Range Nimboran Nimboran; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nir
Glottolog	nucl1633

Nimboran (Nambrong, Namblong, Namlong) is a Papuan language of Nimboran District, Jayapura Regency, Indonesia spoken by mostly older adults. Younger generations have shifted to Papuan Malay. It is spoken in about 26 villages to the west of Lake Sentani. Only 20% of the Namblong people speak the language.²

Phonology

Consonants:³
		Labial	Alveolar	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	k
	voiced	b	d	ɡ
	prenasal	ᵐb	ⁿd	ᵑɡ
Nasal		m	n	ŋ
Fricative			s
Liquid			l
Semivowel		w	j

Vowels:³
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ʉ	u
Mid	e		o
Open	a

References

Nimboran at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
antaranews.com (2025-02-16). "Striving to preserve Papua's Namblong language". Antara News. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". 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. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

[e18-1] Nimboran at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] taranews.com (2025-02-16). "Striving to preserve Papua's Namblong language". Antara News. Retrieved 2026-04-27.

[Foley-NWNG-3] Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". 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. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

1

2

3