Skou language

Last updated
Skou
Tumawo
Native toIndonesia
Region Muara Tami District  [ id ], Jayapura Regency
Native speakers
700 (1999) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 skv
Glottolog nucl1634
ELP Skou

Skou (Sekol, Sekou, Sko, Skouw, Skow, Sukou), or Tumawo (Te Mawo), is a Papuan language of Indonesia.

Contents

Distribution

Skou is spoken in three villages of Muara Tami District  [ id ], Jayapura Regency. The villages are: [2]

Phonology

Consonants

The Skou consonants are: [3]

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b ɟ ~ ɡʲ
Fricative f h
Liquid lateral l
rhotic r
Semivowel w j

Vowels

Vowels can be nasalized, except for /ɨ/ and /u/. [3]

Front Central Back
oralnasaloralnasaloralnasal
Close i ĩ ɨ u
Mid e ə ə̃ o õ
Open a ã

Tone

Skou contrasts three different tones in monosyllables: high, low and falling, which can be combined with nasality for a six-way contrast. [2]

PitchOralNasal
high [˥]ta

'grass'

'bird'

low [˨]ta

'hair'

'canoe'

falling [˥˩]ta

'arrow'

'machete'

Tone in Skou is affiliated with each word, rather than with each syllable.

In addition to lexical differences in tone, tone has grammatical functions. [2]

For instance, tense in Skou is differentiated by tone.

non-past tense forms
[ni hu]

falling-falling 'I sew'

[ni ha]

falling-high 'I stand'

[ni hũ]

falling-low 'I drink'

past tense forms
[ni hu]

falling-low 'I sewed'

[ni ha]

falling-low 'I stood'

[ni hũ]

falling-low

'I drank'

Pronouns

Skou differentiates three types of pronouns: free pronouns, genitive pronouns and dative pronouns. [2]

Free PronounsGenitive PronounsDative Pronouns
1SG[ni˥˩][ni˥˩][nɛ˨]
1PL[nɛ˨][nɛ˥˩][nɛ˨]
2SG[mɛ˥˩][mɛ˥˩][mɛ˨]
2PL[ɛ˨][ɛ˥˩][ɛ˨]
3SG.NF[kɛ˨][kɛ˥][kɛ˨]
3SG.F[pɛ˨][pɛ˥˩][pɛ˨]
3PL[tɛ˨][tɛ˥˩][tɛ˨]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Skou at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Donohue, Mark. 2004. A Grammar of the Skou language of New Guinea . Singapore: National University of Singapore. Available at .
  3. 1 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. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.