| Alekano | |
|---|---|
| Gahuku | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Gahuku Rural LLG, Goroka District, Eastern Highlands Province |
Native speakers | 40,000 (2008)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gah |
| Glottolog | alek1238 |
| ELP | Alekano |
Alekano, or Gahuku (Gahuku-Gama), is a Papuan language spoken in Gahuku Rural LLG of Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. There are about 25,000 speakers.[1]
Alekano is also known as Gahuku, after the name of the largest clan of speakers, or Gama, after the second largest clan. Calling the language by these names has been rejected by speakers who are not members of these clans. Alekano was proposed as a suitable new name by the linguist Ellis Deibler, and it might be considered the official name by linguists. The name is almost unknown to speakers of the Gahuku and Gama clans. "Alekano" means "bring it". In two closely related languages spoken directly to the northwest, Tokano and Dano, it has the same meaning.[2][3]
- ^ a b Alekano at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Deibler, Ellis W. 1987. "The function of glottal stop in Gahuku." In John M. Clifton (ed.), Studies in Melanesian orthographies, 23-30. Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 33. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics. [1] Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Deibler, Ellis W., compiler. Available: 2008; Created: 2008. Dictionaries of Alekano - English and English - Alekano. [Manuscript] iii, 311 p. [2] Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
