Lemerig is the least spoken language in the world. Only two remaining humans speak Lemerig.[2]

Lemerig
Pak, Päk, Sasar
Pronunciation[lɪmɪˈriɣ]
Native toVanuatu
RegionVanua Lava
Native speakers
2 (2010)[1]
DialectsAlo-Teqel, Pak, Sasar
Language codes
ISO 639-3lrz
Glottologleme1238
ELPLemerig
Lemerig is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Phonology

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Lemerig has 11 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ æ a œ ø ɒ̝ ɔ ʊ u/.[3][4]

Lemerig vowels
Front Back
plain round
Close i ⟨i⟩   u ⟨u⟩
Near-close ɪ ⟨ē⟩ ø ⟨ö⟩ ʊ ⟨ō⟩
Open-mid ɛ ⟨e⟩ œ ⟨ë⟩ ɔ ⟨o⟩
Near-open æ ⟨ä⟩   ɒ̝ ⟨ā⟩
Open a ⟨a⟩

References

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  1. François 2012, p. 87.
  2. François, Alexandre. "A linguist in Melanesia". alex.francois.free.fr. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  3. François 2011, p. 194.
  4. See François 2021[broken anchor].