Mufian language

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Mufian
Southern Arapesh
Native to Papua New Guinea
Region Bumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province (36 villages)
Native speakers
(11,000 cited 1998) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 aoj
Glottolog mufi1238
ELP Mufian

Mufian (Muhian, Muhiang), or Southern Arapesh, is an Arapesh language (Torricelli) of Papua New Guinea. Dialects are Supari, Balif, Filifita (Ilahita), Iwam-Nagalemb, Nagipaem; Filifita speakers are half the population, at 6,000 in 1999. [1] It is spoken in 36 villages, most of which are located within Bumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province. It is also spoken in Supari ward of Albiges-Mablep Rural LLG. [2] [3]

Contents

Phonology

Consonant Phonemes of Mufian [4]
Labial Alveolar Velar Glottal
plain labialized plain labialized
Nasal m n
Stop voiceless p t k kʷ ʔ ʔʷ
voiced b d ɡ ɡʷ
Fricative f s h
Approximant w l

/ʔʷ/ is a coarticulated glottal stop with lip rounding that occurs only in final word positions. [5] : 311 

Vowel Phonemes of Mufian [4]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e ə o
Low æ ɑ

Pronouns

Southern Arapesh pronouns are: [5]

sgpl
1inclapə
1exclaeʔafə
2inəʔipə
3mənənəmom
3fəkoʔʷaowou

Noun classes

There are 17 classes for count nouns in Mufian, plus two extra classes, i.e. proper names and place names. Noun classes are expressed in noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, and verb prefixes.

Although Southern Arapesh has more than a dozen noun classes, only four noun classes are determined by semantics, while the other noun classes are determined phonologically using the final root segment (a feature typical of the Lower Sepik languages). The four semantically determined noun classes are: [5]

The membership of the other twelve classes is determined phonologically, by the final segment of the root, as in the Lower Sepik languages. [5]

Some examples of Mufian noun classes from Alungum (1978): [6]

ClassForm (sg.)Form (pl.)GlossSg. Noun SuffixSg. Adjective SuffixSg. Verb PrefixPl. Noun SuffixPl. Adjective SuffixPl. Verb Prefix
Class 1bolbongofpig-l-lil--ngof-ngufif-
Class 2éngelangofname-ngél-ngilig--ngof-ngufif-
Class 3nalofnaleleftooth-f-fif--lef-lefif-
Class 4lowaflu'ongofclothes-f-fif--nguf-fif-
Class 5batéwinbatéwischild-n-nin--s-sis-
Class 6alupinialupisifriend-ni-nin--si-sis-
Class 7nombatnombangwdog-t, -ta-teit--ngw-ngwigw-
Class 8nemata'wnematawawoman-'w-kwikw--wa-weiw-
Class 9namnaepeye-m-mim--p-pip-
Class 10lawanglawahtree-g, -ga-gweig--h-ngéhih-
Class 11bembbembehbetel nut-b-mbib--h-mbihih-
Class 12nongwatopnongwatohknife-p-pip--h-hih-
Class 13wambelwalembvillage-mbel-mbilib--lemb-lembib-
Class 14mai'unama'unambpigeon-a-nin--amb-mbib-
Class 15usinusimbcrested pigeon-n-nin--b-mbib-
Class 16amanamamman-n-nein--m-mim-
Class 17koskoscourse-s-sis--s-sis-

There are a few irregularities in these noun classes. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Mufian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  3. ↑ United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
  4. 1 2 Conrad, R. J. (May 1992). "Mufian Organised Phonology Data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 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. doi:10.1515/9783110295252-003. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.
  6. 1 2 Alungum, J.; Conrad, R. J.; Lukas, J. (1978). "Some Muhiang Grammatical Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
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