The Koiarian languages /kɔɪˈɑːriən/[2] Koiari are a small family of Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in the "Bird's Tail" (southeastern peninsula) of New Guinea. They are classified within the Southeast Papuan branch of Trans–New Guinea.
Koiarian | |
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Koiari – Managalas Plateau | |
Geographic distribution | Southeastern peninsula of Papua New Guinea: Central Province and Oro Province |
Linguistic classification | Trans–New Guinea
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Subdivisions |
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Glottolog | koia1260 |
The languages are:
Dutton (2010) classifies the Koiarian languages as:[3]: 3
Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:[1]
sg | pl | |
---|---|---|
1 | *na | *no |
2 | *a | *ja |
3 | *aɸu | *[i/e]abu |
The following basic vocabulary words of Proto-Koiarian and other lower-level reconstructions are from the Trans-New Guinea database:[4]
gloss | Proto-Koiarian | Proto-Koiariac | Proto-Baraic |
---|---|---|---|
head | *kina | ||
hair | *fómo | ||
ear | *gada | ||
eye | *ni | ||
nose | *uri | ||
tooth | *gubai | ||
tongue | *bitarV | ||
leg | *díʔ- | ||
louse | *ʔumu | ||
dog | *to | *(ʔ,k)uo | |
pig | *ofo | *mafV | |
bird | *ugu[fa] | ||
egg | *uni | ||
blood | *taɣo | ||
bone | *(ʔ)adV | ||
skin | *vata | ||
breast | *amu | *m(u,o)sV | |
tree | *idí | ||
man | *ata | *baru | |
woman | *maɣina | *nigi | |
sun | *vani | *maja-; *ve | |
moon | *bata | ||
water | *[i]do | ||
fire | *vené | ||
stone | *muni | *Umari | |
road, path | *ɣuma | ||
name | *ifí | ||
eat | *i- | ||
one | *(i,o)gau | *Ogonu | |
two | *abu(t)i | *inoki |
Koiarian reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:[5]
Like the Binanderean languages, Barai and other Koiarian languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.[5]: 87