| Mawes | |
|---|---|
| Region | Papua, Sarmi Regency, to the west of the Buri River:
|
| Extinct | by 2024 [1] |
Northwest Papuan?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mgk |
| Glottolog | mawe1251 |
| ELP | Mawes |
Mawes is a recently extinct Papuan language of Indonesia.
Usher (2020) proposes that it may be related to the Kwerbic languages. [2] Foley (2018) classifies Mawes as a language isolate, [3] and so does Hammarström (2010). [4] It had 850 native speakers in 2006, but was extinct by 2024. [5]
Pronouns are: [3]
| sg | pl | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | kidam | inim |
| 2 | nam | nɛm |
| 3 | ɛbɛ | mia |
Basic vocabulary of Mawes listed in Foley (2018): [3]
| gloss | Mawes |
|---|---|
| ‘bird’ | ikinin |
| ‘blood’ | wɛrɛi |
| ‘bone’ | tuan |
| ‘ear’ | bɛr |
| ‘eat’ | nan |
| ‘egg’ | siwin |
| ‘eye’ | nonsum |
| ‘fire’ | kani |
| ‘leg, foot’ | yaʔ |
| ‘louse’ | sene |
| ‘name’ | dimanɛ |
| ‘one’ | mɛndakai |
| ‘see’ | nomo |
| ‘sky’ | kowan |
| ‘stone’ | fɛt |
| ‘sun’ | ɛsar |
| ‘tooth’ | wan |
| ‘tree’ | dengkin |
| ‘two’ | yakɛneu |
| ‘water’ | bo |
| ‘woman’ | yei |
The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975), [6] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database: [7]
| gloss | Mawes |
|---|---|
| head | defar |
| hair | tere |
| eye | nonsom |
| tooth | wan |
| leg | ija |
| dog | wede |
| pig | was |
| bird | ikinin |
| egg | siwin |
| blood | werei |
| bone | tuan |
| skin | dukunen |
| tree | deŋkin |
| man | ke |
| sun | esar |
| water | bo |
| fire | kani |
| stone | feyt |
| name | dimane |
| eat | nano |
| one | mendakai |
| two | yakenew |
Of the few sentences that have been documented for Mawes, some example sentences are: [3] : 497–8
ɛbɛ
3SG
marsya
yesterday
nomtak
come
‘He came yesterday.’
wɛdɛ
dog
ɛbɛ
3SG
ketes
bite
‘The dog bit him.’
ke-me
man-?
totoso
money
kida-wɛn
1SG-POSS
mamɛnta
father
fɛn
DAT/ALL
tamu(k)
give
‘That man gave money to my father.’
ɛbɛ-mɛ
3sg-?
dengkin
tree
nambuak
machete
kom
INSTR
sorna
cut
‘He is cutting wood with a machete.’
ke-me
man-?
sau
village
fɛn
DAT/ALL
banak
go
‘That man went to the village.’
ke-me
man-?
sau-er
village-ABL
nom
come
‘That man came from the village.’
ke-me
man-?
yei
woman
dete
COM
banak
go
‘That man went with his wife.’