Nukuma languages
| Nukuma | |
|---|---|
| Ma | |
| Geographic distribution | East Sepik Province, in the Sepik River basin of Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Sepik
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | nuku1256 |
The Nukuma languages are a small family of three clearly related languages:[1]
They are generally classified among the Sepik languages of northern Papua New Guinea; Malcolm Ross places them in a Middle Sepik branch of that family.
They are spoken to the north of the Sepik River near Ambunti, and west of the Ambulas-speaking region of Mapr (near Wosera town).[2]
Pronouns
[edit]Pronouns in Nukuma languages:[2]
pronoun Kwoma Mende 1SG an an ~ na ~ a 2SG.M mɨ mi 2SG.F ni ɲi 3SG.M rɨ or ~ ri 3SG.F sɨ os ~ si 1DU si ʃi 2DU ki ʃi 3DU pɨr fri 1PL no ni 2PL kwo ci 3PL ye li
Vocabulary comparison
[edit]The following basic vocabulary words are from Foley (2005)[3] and Laycock (1968),[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database.[5]
The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. masək, masiki for “head”) or not (e.g. miːma, nogəpie for “woman”).
gloss Kwoma Mende head masək masiki ear fuː; mabiya mampla eye miː; miyi məsokome nose sumojɨ; sumwonj miñompo tooth pu; tarəkwi fu tongue kwunja; tarekwoy tarple leg yaːte; yati kumpa louse nəkə; nɨka nika dog asa asa pig buri; poyi bird apu afi egg apo; bey; mpei fəla blood pi fi bone apo; hapa hapa skin mampə maume breast muk; muku muku tree me mi man ma ma woman miːma nogəpie sun ya ta moon nowəka; nɨwɨka niyaka water uku uku fire hi; hiː hi stone papa süŋkye name hi eat a one pochi two uprus frišip
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Ma, New Guinea World
- ^ a b Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ Foley, W.A. "Linguistic prehistory in the Sepik-Ramu basin". In Pawley, A., Attenborough, R., Golson, J. and Hide, R. editors, Papuan Pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. PL-572:109-144. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 2005.
- ^ Laycock, Donald C. 1968. Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea. Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66.
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley; Robert Attenborough; Robin Hide; Jack Golson (eds.). Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.