of the villages Yesan, Maio, and Nayiwori, Yelogu village. Kwoma is spoken as a second language in these neighboring villages because of the close social ties that have existed for many generations because these different villages traded goods with one another. Linguistic Affiliation Kwoma is part of 90 distinct Papuan non-Austronesian languages composing the Nukuma Language Family. The Kwoma have a rich extensive tradition of singing songs written previously from different clans and tribes. They perform these songs in every day context, such as when they are roofing a new house as well as during magic rituals. The songs are composed in a mixture of everyday speech as well as historical vocabulary, which many younger Kwoma do not understand nor use as Kwoma words. The two dialects of Kwoma are different in only minor ways and speakers of both dialects readily understand each of the dialects. Some common words in Kwoma include wayaga yichar eem, meaning ancestral place. Mashi nobo means ancestral practice. Wayaga tar agama means ancestral village. Yimowurek eek tar wayaga means ancestry. For the subject of ceremony, mayira means ceremonial object. Sukwiya sayawa nedii means ceremonial occasion. There are many different sayings of 'hand' including tapa, tapa jumu. Ha paya means hand across. There are many different words for 'homicide' including apo eyi, apokwashi ya, aposhebu sapi, botiika, diigii, hapa pika, hapa pika ya, pay, pika, tay, and poyi. Phonology Consonants The consonant inventory of Kwoma is average in many respects, without uncommon consonants and with no absence of common consonants. There are no glottalized, lateral, or uvular consonants in Kwoma. Stress occurs on the first syllable of words. Below is a chart of Kwoma consonants. Vowels There are at least seven vowel qualities in Kwoma: /i ɨ u e o ε ɑ/. The additional vowel /ɔ/ is listed in linguistic writings but no examples are provided. There is no distinction of vowel length. Morphology Kwoma is an analytic language containing a number of suffixes. Word Order Kwoma's word order is subject-object-verb (SOV). The order of subject and verb is subject then verb. The order of object and verb is object then verb. The order of object, oblique, and verb is object, oblique, then verb. Phonological conventions of Kwoma: /i/ is pronounced high rounded [y] preceding /w/ in word medial positions. /p/ can be pronounced either [p]in all positions. /b/ is pronounced usually [b], but can also