Kutubuan languages

Last updated
Kutubuan
Laku Kutubu
Geographic
distribution
Lake Kutubu region, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea
Linguistic classification Papuan Gulf  ?
  • Kikorian
    • Kutubuan
Subdivisions
Glottolog None

The Kutubuan languages are a small family of neighboring languages families in Papua New Guinea. They are named after Lake Kutubu in Papua New Guinea.

Contents

Languages

There has been some debate over whether they are closer to each other than to other languages, but Usher includes them both in the Kikorian branch of the tentative Papuan Gulf stock. Within the two branches, the lexicostatistical figures are 60–70%. Between the two branches, they are 10–20%.

Lexical reconstruction

Some lexical reconstructions by Usher (2020) are: [1]

glossProto-Lake Kutubu
head*uni
hair/feather(s)*iti
eye/sixteen*hʲĩ
nose*sabe
tooth*mete
tongue*atu
foot/leg*kotage
bone*kigi
skin/bark*ga[o/u]
breast*hʲokõ
dog*g[e/ẽ/a]s[a/ã]
pig/game*mena
bird*hʲaka
egg*kapa
tree*ita
moon*he̝ge̝
water*hẽ
fire*ita
stone*kana
path*ig[i]a
eat/drink*ne-
one*hʲaga

Modern reflexes

Proposed Kutubu reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are: [2]

Foi language:

Fasu language:

Vocabulary comparison

The following basic vocabulary words are from Franklin (1975), Franklin & Voorhoeve (1973), McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970), and Shaw (1986), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database: [3]

The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. auřu, airu, alu for “tongue”) or not (e.g. weḷia, kakusa, yapi for “blood”).

gloss Foi Fasu
(Namumi dial.)
Fasu
heada̧řuhaiunahaiewamo
hairu̧sæ̧unahai itiiti; uni iti
earyo ḳʰiyʌsinaeki; sinækisenaki
eyei̧yhi̧; hĩhi; hi̧; hĩ
noses̭abɛisapasumasape
toothṱiakaimere
tongueauřuairualu; aru
legṱamʌkofai; kɔfaikorake
louseṱʌbʌľiyapani
dogḳɛsʌkasakasa
piggirɔsaro
birdyaʔminaimena
egghʌ̧ⁱhaimena hai
bloodweḷiakakusayapi
bonekʰikʰikikikiki
skinḳaḳokaukau
breasto̧ḳo̧hotu; hɔtuhoko
treeiʔʌiraira
manamɛnʌabano; abanɔaporo
womanḳa̧·hinamuhinamo
suniřiyapoiya; maiya; mayamaiya; maĩya
moonhɛḳɛhɩkiheke
wateripuhi̧; hĩhẽ; hȩ; hę
fireiřʌirə kipu; irʌkupidufi; ira lufi
stonekʰa̧nʌɩkieke
nameyaᵽoiyanuyano
eatniyæinesianene; na
onemɛna̧ḳɛhakasa; nakasameno
twoha̧ḳɛtitateta

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References

  1. Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Proto–Lake Kutubu
  2. Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". 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. 21–196. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea" . Retrieved 2020-11-05.