Murkim language

Murkim is a Papuan language of Western New Guinea, near its relatives Lepki and Kembra. Though spoken by fewer than 300 people, it is being learned by children. It is spoken in Murkim District, Pegunungan Bintang Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia.

Murkim
Native to	Western New Guinea
Region	Pegunungan Bintang Regency: Mofinop District (Milki and Mot villages) and Murkim District
Native speakers	290 (2004)[1]
Language family	Pauwasi Yetfa – South Pauwasi South Pauwasi Lepki–Murkim Murkim
Language codes
ISO 639-3	rmh
Glottolog	murk1238

Dialects include the varieties spoken in Milki and Mot villages (Wambaliau 2004: 22-28).[2]

Pronouns

Pronouns are:[3]

Murkim independent pronouns

	sg	pl
1excl	nuːk	nakme
1incl		nakmere
2	hak(o)	sakmere
3	kne ~ yak ~ ire

Sentences

Example sentences in Murkim:[3]

(1)

iro-mo	munɪ	l-aba-le	kne-lo
3-SBJ	money	?-father-DAT?	give-TNS

‘She gave money to my father.’

(2)

irom-mo	abum	har-ko
3-SBJ	tomorrow	go-TNS

‘She goes tomorrow.’

(3)

iro-mo	yo	tma-kon	li-lo
3-SBJ	wood	machete-INSTR	cut-TNS

‘He is cutting wood with a machete.’

(4)

iro-mo	lais-if	ɲi-lo
3-SBJ	rice-?	eat-TNS

‘Does she eat rice?’

References

1. Murkim at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. New Guinea World, South Pauwasi River
3. Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

• Wambaliau, Theresia. 2004. Survey Report on the Murkim Language in Papua, Indonesia. (in Indonesian). Unpublished manuscript. Jayapura: SIL Indonesia.