Newwang

General information
Newwang (/nuˈ(w)aŋ/ natively Nèwwãŋ [n̪ɜɰ˥˧wæ̃˧˨˦]) is the most spoken language of Mandjinga ([manˈdʒiŋa], exonym). It is also widely spoken and taught in several other nations and by the Mangingan diaspora, making it one of the most spoken languages on Patrona.

Consonants
1. The retroflex consonants /ɳ/, /ʈ/, and /ʂ/ are neutralized with their dentialveolar counterparts when syllable final, in free variation but tending to shift to either one or the other depending on the surrounding consonants.

2. The palatal nasal /ɲ/ may only be found in the coda, and tends to be reduced to nasalization of the preceding vowel in educated speech.

3. The labial fricative [f] only appears in the coda, and the labial plosive [p] only syllable initially, thus classifying them as one archiphoneme /p/ is most useful.

4. Whether or not the glottal stop [ʔ] exists as its own phoneme is very unclear. It tends to appear in between adjacent vowels, suggesting it only appears syllable-initially. Yet to some speakers (particularly those in the Northwest of the country) it appears at the end of clauses (perhaps explaining the Northwests distinct dialectal lack of Newwang’s affirmative particle), suggesting it acts a suprasegmental feature.

5.The dorsal approximants are typically rounded syllable-initially in the standard dialect; however, in the coda /j/ and /w/ are rounded when adjacent to close vowels.

Vowels
1. The merger of /u/ and /ɯ/ as [ʊ] is a particular indicator of southern to central-southwestern “rural” speech.

2. A rhoticized pronunciation of /ɜ/ is an indicator of a very urban accent.

Phonotactics
Initials:

Finals:

Case
particles: "na" is for the agentive, "nrî" for the topic.

Syntax
Unmarked word order is SXVO (the X referring to an indirect object). In intransitive sentences, any indirect object appears after the verb. When objects are topicalized, they are moved to the beginning of the sentence and lose any particles.
 * ex. srî̀ trũ nrî wảs trwî.
 * gloss: DIST book TOP awe.inspiring EMPH
 * English: That book was awesome!

Comparison
Neutral comparison is achieved using the comparative copula ' srák ' and the essive postposition ' kwè ' in the following formula:
 * subject na object kwè srák adjective.
 * ex. tã na kìm kwè srák wảs trwî.
 * gloss: 2.ORD NOM 3.PEJ ESS COMP.COP awe.inspiring EMPH
 * English: You are just as awesome as her!

Negation
Negative adverb: 'maŋ'

Questions
A yes-no question take the form of a normal sentence ended with the interrogative particle kẽ.

To answer affirmatively, simply repeat the verb or adjective. To answer negatively, use the negative adverb maŋ.

Directions
Intermediate directions are compounds: pàtren "southeast"