Kuman language (New Guinea)
Kuman (also Chimbu or Simbu) is a language of Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. In 1994, it was estimated that 80,000 people spoke Kuman, 10,000 of them monolinguals;[2] in the 2000 census, 115,000 were reported, with few monolinguals.[1]
| Kuman | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Chimbu Province, from Kundiawa to beyond Kerowagi in the west and Gembogl in the north, at the foot of Mount Wilhelm |
Native speakers | 120,000 (2000 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kue |
| Glottolog | kuma1280 |
Phonology
Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially).[3] Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡ʟ̝̊/, allophonically [ɡ͡ʟ̝] (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).
Grammar
Kuman is an SOV language.
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Salisbury (1956)[4] and Trefry (1969),[5] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[6]
gloss Kuman head bit-na; bɩtiɩno hair iŋguno; yungo ear kina-na; kunano eye gumutino; ongomit-na nose guma-ne; gumano tooth siŋguno tongue dirambino leg kati; kat-na louse numan dog aʝg; agi; akɬ ̥ pig bogla; bugɬa bird kua egg mugɬo; muɬo blood borɔmai; bořumai; maiam bone yambiřo; yombura skin gaŋgino breast amu-na; amuno tree endi man yagl; yakɬ ̥ woman ambu sun ande; andesuŋgua moon ba water nigl; nikɬ ̥ fire baugl; doŋga stone kombuglo; kombugɬo road, path konbo; konumbo name kaŋgin; kangi-ne eat neuŋgua one suařa two suo
References
- Kuman at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- Kuman language (New Guinea) at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
- Foley, 1986:63, The Papuan languages of New Guinea
- Salisbury, R.F. 1956. The Siane Language of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Anthropos 51:447-480.
- Trefry, D. 1969. A comparative study of Kuman and Pawaian. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
Further reading
- Hardie, Peter. 2003. Is Kuman Tonal? An account of basic segmental and tonological structure in the Papuan language Kuman. MA thesis: Australian National University
- Dryer, Matthew S.; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kuman". World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
External links
- Kuman phonology and sample text
- Kaipuleohone has a Chimbu-Wahgi collection from Andrea L. Berez that includes Kuman language materials
- A number of collections in Paradisec include Kuman materials
Authority control  |
|---|
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.