Saxuma

Introduction

Saxuma ([sa.ɕùˈmá], also romanized Sasiouma, historically known as Saras Wima ['sa.ras wi'ma]) is a language isolate spoken by approximately 5000 speakers on the western Mediterranean island of Sasaois. It is notable for its split ergative alignment, flexible word order, and dynamic semantic gender.

Almost all residents of Sasaios speak Greek and English, but there is a strong movement to protect the cultural heritage of the language, with poetry, novels, and music produced in Saxuma, as well as dubbings of many foreign movies and television into the language.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant Inventory

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	(ɲ)	(ŋ)
Plosive	Voiceless	p	t	c	k	<q> ʔ
	Voiced	b	d		g
Fricative	Voiceless	<ff> (ɸ)	s⁓t͡s	<x> ɕ	<h> x⁓h	<f> hʷ
	Voiced	v⁓β	z⁓d͡z	<j> ʑ⁓d͡ʑ
Approximant	Voiceless	(ʍ)	r̥
	Voiced	w	l	<y> j

Vowels

Vowel Inventory

	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Mid	ɛ~e eː		o oː
Low		ä äː
Diphthongs	ai, oi, eo, ɑo

Other resources

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