| Suarmin | |
|---|---|
| Asaba | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun Province |
Native speakers | 140 (2000) [1] |
Sepik
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | seo |
| Glottolog | suar1238 |
| ELP | Asaba |
 Suarmin is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Suarmin, or Asaba, is a Sepik language spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua-New Guinea. Alternative names are Asabano, Akiapmin, Duranmin.
Glottolog leaves it unclassified.
Pronouns are: [2]
| sg | du | pl | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1incl | adi | abe | |
| 1excl | a | nadi | nesine |
| 2 | abo | abodua | apa |
| 3 | yo | atadua | ata |
In Asaba, noun class affixes are suffixed to nouns. There are five noun classes. Examples: [2]
| class | singular (ex.) | plural (ex.) | gloss (ex.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| class 1 | nu-bu | nu-le | house(s) |
| class 2 | mena-du | mena-no | pig(s) |
| class 3 | kabia-si | kabia-le | stone(s) |
| class 4 | moko-ni | moko-le | fork(s) |
| class 5 | nomo-so | nomo-l | stone adze(s) |
Class 1 is the default noun class.
Modifying adjectives agree with head nouns in class: [2]
na-bu
tree-I.SG
kamaya-bu
big-I.SG
‘tall tree’
kaiyebe-du
cassowary-II.SG
kamaya-du
big-II.SG
‘big cassowary’
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