Gela is a Southeast Solomonic language spoken in three dialects on four islands in the central Solomon Islands. Each of the dialects is very similar, differing mainly on a small number of phonological points. Phonology Phonemes Consonants Gela has the following consonant phonemes: The fricative /z/ is realized as [ð] in alternation with a retroflex sibilant [ʐ], initially before /a/. The Gela dominant voiced is "h" not "z". "Z" is found in Savosavo language speakers (and Bugotu and part of Guadalcanal) who also speak Gela - primarily due to their use of the Church of Melanesia Common Prayer Books and Hymns (written in Gela in the 1940s). Vowels Gela uses with no contrastive vowel length. Stress Stress generally occurs on each word's penultimate syllable. Sample vocabulary Numbers In general, for two-digit numbers, numbers are expressed as a*10+b, where a and b are numbers ranging from 1 to 9. References External links Na Lei Kokoeliulivuti Portions of the Anglican Prayer Book in Gela Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in Gela Paradisec open access collection of texts in Gela Paradisec open access collection of recordings in Gela Gela-Guadalcanal languages Verb–object–subject languages Languages of the Solomon Islands