Nukuma languages

Summary

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 edit

Pronouns in Nukuma languages:[2]

pronoun Kwoma Mende
1sg an an ~ na ~ a
2sg.m mi
2sg.f ni ɲi
3sg.m or ~ ri
3sg.f os ~ si
1du si ʃi
2du ki ʃi
3du pɨr fri
1pl no ni
2pl kwo ci
3pl ye li

Vocabulary comparison edit

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

gloss Kwoma Mende
head masək masiki
ear fuː; mabiya mampla
eye miː; miyi məsokome
nose sumojɨ; sumwonj miñompo
tooth pu; tarəkwi fu
tongue kwunja; tarekwoy tarple
leg yaːte; yati kumpa
louse nəkə; nɨka nika
dog asa asa
pig buri; poyi
bird apu afi
egg apo; bey; mpei fəla
blood pi fi
bone apo; hapa hapa
skin mampə maume
breast muk; muku muku
tree me mi
man ma ma
woman miːma nogəpie
sun ya ta
moon nowəka; nɨwɨka niyaka
water uku uku
fire hi; hiː hi
stone papa süŋkye
name hi
eat a
one pochi
two uprus frišip

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Ma, New Guinea World
  2. ^ a b 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. Vol. 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.