Berik is a Papuan language spoken in eastern Papua. Speakers are located in four village groups on the Tor River towards the northern coast of Indonesian-controlled Irian Jaya.[2]
Berik | |
---|---|
Native to | Indonesia |
Region | Tor Atas district, Sarmi Regency |
Native speakers | (1,200 cited 1994)[1] |
Foja Range (Tor–Kwerba)
| |
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | bkl |
Glottolog | beri1254 |
US linguist John McWhorter cited Berik as an example of a language which puts concepts "together in ways more fascinatingly different from English than most of us are aware".[3] Illustrating this, in the phrase Kitobana (meaning "[he] gives three large objects to a male in the sunlight"), affixes indicating time of day, object number, object size, and gender of recipient are added to the verb.[3][4][5]
In Tor Atas District, Berik is spoken in Beu, Bora Bora, Dangken, Doronta, Kondirjan, Safrontani, Sewan, Somanente, Taminambor, Tenwer, Togonfo, and Waf villages.[1]
Labial | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) palatal |
Velar | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | ng [ŋ] | ||
Plosive & affricate |
voiceless | p [p] | t [t] | k [k] | |
voiced | b [b] | d [d] | j [d͡ʑ] | g [ɡ] | |
Fricative | f [f] | s [s] | |||
Approximant | l [l] | y [j] | w [w] | ||
Tap | r [ɾ] |
Berik has the common six vowel system (/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/ plus /ə/).[6]
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i [i] | u [u] | |
Mid | e [e] | ə [ə] | o [o] |
Open | a [a] |