Asmat languages

Last updated
Asmat
Geographic
distribution
Asmat Regency and Mappi Regency, South Papua
Ethnicity Asmat, Citak
Linguistic classification Trans–New Guinea
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottolog asma1257

Asmat is a Papuan language cluster of South Papua.

Languages

The principal varieties, distinct enough to be considered separate languages, are: [1]

Contents

Ethnically, speakers are either Asmat or Citak.

Evolution

Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012): [3]

proto-Trans-New Guinea Asmat (Flamingo Bay)
*maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’me
*(m,mb)elak ‘light, lightning’mer
*niman ‘louse’(Kamoro namo)
*na- ‘eat’na-
*ni, *nu ‘1PLna ‘1PL.INCL’, na(r) ‘1PL.EXCL
*mun(a,i,u)ka ‘egg’manaka
*niman ‘louse’(cf. Kamoro namo)
*kasin ‘mosquito’isi
*mbena ‘arm’man [ban]
*mb(i,u)t(i,u)C ‘fingernail’fit
*imbi ‘name’yipi
*si(mb,p)at[V] ‘saliva’(me)sep
*(mb,p)ututu- ‘to fly’(?) pimedial
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’kuwus
*inda ‘fire’(Central Coast Asmat isi)
*tututu[ku] ‘straight’toror
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’iram
*tututu[ku] ‘straight’toror
*ti, *titi ‘tooth’ji
*ata ‘excrement’asa
*(ŋg,k)atata ‘dry’soso
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’kuwus
*kasin ‘mosquito’(Citak Asmat isi)
*inda ‘fire’(Central Coast Asmat isi)
*ke(nj,s)a ‘blood’es
*maŋgV ‘compact round object’moko-per ‘navel’
*mun(a,i,u)ka ‘egg’manaka
*ke(nj,s)a ‘blood’es
*kasin ‘mosquito’(Central Asmat isi)
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’yiram
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’kuwus
*(m,mb)elak ‘light, lightning’(Flamingo Bay Asmat mer ‘lightning’)
*ya ‘3SGa

Verbs

In Flamingo Bay Asmat, light verbs are combined with adjuncts to form predicative expressions. [4]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Usher, Timothy; Suter, Edgar (2020). "The Asmat-Muli Languages of Southwestern New Guinea" (PDF). Language & Linguistics in Melanesia. 38. Port Moresby: Journal of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea. ISSN   0023-1959.
  2. New Guinea World, Kamrau Bay
  3. Pawley, Andrew (2012). Hammarström, Harald; van den Heuvel, Wilco (eds.). "How reconstructable is proto Trans New Guinea? Problems, progress, prospects". History, Contact and Classification of Papuan Languages (Language & Linguistics in Melanesia Special Issue 2012: Part I). Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea: 88–164. hdl:1885/38602. ISSN   0023-1959.
  4. Foley, William A. (2018). "The morphosyntactic typology of Papuan languages". 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. 895–938. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.