Nukuma languages

The Nukuma languages are a small family of three clearly related languages:[1]

Nukuma
Ma
Geographic
distribution
East Sepik Province, in the Sepik River basin of Papua New Guinea
Linguistic classificationSepik
Glottolognuku1256

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

Pronouns in Nukuma languages:[2]

pronounKwomaMende
1sg anan ~ na ~ a
2sg.m mi
2sg.f niɲi
3sg.m or ~ ri
3sg.f os ~ si
1du siʃi
2du kiʃi
3du pɨrfri
1pl noni
2pl kwoci
3pl yeli

Vocabulary comparison

The following basic vocabulary words are from Foley (2005)[3] and Laycock (1968),[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[5]

glossKwomaMende
head masəkmasiki
ear fuː; mabiyamampla
eye miː; miyiməsokome
nose sumojɨ; sumwonjmiñompo
tooth pu; tarəkwifu
tongue kwunja; tarekwoytarple
leg yaːte; yatikumpa
louse nəkə; nɨkanika
dog asaasa
pig buri; poyi
bird apuafi
egg apo; bey; mpeifəla
blood pifi
bone apo; hapahapa
skin mampəmaume
breast muk; mukumuku
tree memi
man mama
woman miːmanogəpie
sun yata
moon nowəka; nɨwɨkaniyaka
water ukuuku
fire hi; hiːhi
stone papasüŋkye
name hi
eat a
one pochi
two uprusfrišip

See also

References

  1. Ma, New Guinea World
  2. 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. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. 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.
  4. Laycock, Donald C. 1968. Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea. Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66.
  5. 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.
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