Telefol language

Last updated

Telefol
Native to Papua New Guinea
RegionSandaun Province, Telefomin District
Ethnicity Telefol people
Native speakers
(5,400 cited 1994) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tlf
Glottolog tele1256
ELP Telefol
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Telefol is a language spoken by the Telefol people in Papua New Guinea, notable for possessing a base-27 numeral system.

Contents

History

The Iligimin people also spoke Telefol, but they were defeated by the Telefol proper. [2]

Orthography

Telefol alphabet [3]
Phonemicɑɑɑeeeiiiooouuubɸklmŋwj
Lowercaseaaaeeiiioouuub, pd, gfk, gkwlmnngstwy
UppercaseAAaEIIiOUUuBDFKKwMNSTWY

Single e and o represent both their single and long vowels, since they rarely contrast.

/b/ is written p pre-consonantally and word-finally.

Single /k/ is written g intervocalically, and /kk/ is written k intervocalically.

/kd/ and /ŋd/ are written kg and ngg (since they're pronounced [ɡ] and [ŋɡ] respectively).

Initial /ɡ/ is also written with g in loan words, e.g., Got 'God'.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants [3]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar (Glottal)
Nasal m ŋ
Plosive ( p ) b k ( ɡ )( ʔ )
Fricative f ( h )
Lateral l
Semivowel w j

/ʔ/ and /h/ only appear in a few particles and some exclamations. /p/ and /ɡ/ only appear in a few loans.

Allophones [4] [5]
Phoneme(s)ConditionAllophone
/b/intervocalic[b~β]
syllable-final[pʰ]
/f/free-variation[f~ɸ]
/k/intervocalic[ɣ]
/l/intervocalic[ɾ]
/kd/(everywhere)[ɡ]
/ŋd/(everywhere)[ŋɡ]

Vowels

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open ɑ ɑː

There are two contrastive phonemic tones in Telefol, high and low. For example, ùlín 'club' vs. úlìn 'planted'.

/e/ and /eː/, /o/ and /oː/, are nearly in complementary distribution. Also, single /e/ and /o/ don't occur in one-syllable words or in terminal syllables.

Vowel length only contrasts in initial syllables. However, in initial syllables single /u/ and /o/, and /i/ and /e/, don't contrast.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(ː)(C).[ citation needed ]

/l/ does not occur word-initially.[ citation needed ]

/ŋ/ is allowed in medial, but not word-initial, onsets. [6]

Grammar

Telefol is a subject–object–verb language.[ citation needed ]

Verbal aspect

Telefol has a rich aspectual system. [7] Telefol verbs have "punctiliar" (momentary/completed) and "continuative" stems. [8]

Counting system

Telefol uses a base-27 counting system. This is mapped onto the body by counting each of the following: the left pinky to the left thumb (1-5); the wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder (6-10); the side of the neck, ear, and left eye (11-13); the nose (14); and similarly on the right side in reverse order, from the right eye to the right pinky (15-27). [9] [10]

Kinship

Telefol has dyadic kinship terms (terms referring to the relationship two or more people have to each other), which are uncommon in the world's languages and not prevalent in Papua New Guinea. However, they are a salient feature of the Ok languages. Related terms are found in Oksapmin, Mian, and Tifal. [11]

Evolution

Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012): [12]

proto-Trans-New Guinea Telefol
*m(o,u)k ‘milk, sap, breast’müük, mɔk ‘spittle’
*maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’(Faiwol makat-kalim ‘whiskers’)
*maŋgV ‘compact round object’magap ‘round object, fruit, seed, etc’’
*m(i,u)ndu ‘nose’mutu ‘nose’
*k(o,u)ma(n,ŋ)[V] ‘neck, nape’kum ‘left side of neck’
*kumut, *tumuk ‘thunder’tumuun ‘thunder’
*niman ‘louse’tim ‘louse’
*kal(a,i)m ‘moon’kaliim ‘moon’
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’kutim ‘morning’
*na ‘1SG’na-
*ni, *nu ‘1PL’nu
*mbena ‘arm’ban ‘forearm’
*[w]ani ‘who?’wan(tap), waan(ta) ‘who?’
*pVnum ‘wind’inim
*kinV ‘shoulder’tiŋ (Faiwal kiiŋ)
*mbilaŋ ‘tongue’fɔŋ (cf. Faiwol falaŋ, Tifal filaŋ)
*mbena ‘arm’ban ‘forearm’
*amba ‘sibling’baab
*(kambu)-sumbu ‘ashes’(ku)-tab
*mbilaŋ ‘tongue’foŋ (Tifal filaŋ)
*(mb,p)ututu- ‘to fly’(?) fúlúluú (+ V.)
*pVnum ‘wind’(?) inim
*m(i,u)ndu ‘nose’mutuum
*kumut, *tumuk ‘thunder’tumuun
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’kutim
*ŋgatu(k,n) ‘knee’katuun
*k(a,e)(nd,t)ak ‘neck’ditak (Faiwal getak)
*saŋ ‘story, song’saŋ ‘myth, story’
*sumbu ‘ashes’(ku-)tab
*maŋgV ‘compact round object’(úún) makáb ‘egg’
*maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’(Faiwal makat-kalim ‘whiskers (lit. chin-hair)’)
*kal(a,i)m ‘moon’kaliim
*k(o,u)ma(n,ŋ)[V] ‘neck, nape’kum ‘left side of neck’
*k(o,u)ndVC ‘bone’kun
*kutV(mb,p)(a,u)[C] ‘long’(Kati M. kudub)
*kinV ‘shoulder’tiŋ-
*m(o,u)k ‘milk, sap, breast’múúk
*ok[V] ‘water’óók
*(ŋg,k)a(nd,t)apu ‘skin, bark’káál
*kal(a,i)m ‘moon’*kaliim

See also

Related Research Articles

Kobon is a language of Papua New Guinea. It has somewhere around 90–120 verbs.

Isaka (I’saka) is the language spoken by the people of the villages of Krisa and Pasi in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It has also been referred to as Krisa, after the village, although this name is not actually a possible word in the language itself. The sole published source for the language is Donohue and San Roque (2004), although the authors of this have also Identified I’saka material in Donald Laycock's unpublished fieldnotes.

Sulka is a language isolate of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. In 1991, there were 2,500 speakers in eastern Pomio District, East New Britain Province. Villages include Guma in East Pomio Rural LLG. With such a low population of speakers, this language is considered to be endangered. Sulka speakers had originally migrated to East New Britain from New Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oksapmin language</span> Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Papua New Guinea

Oksapmin is a Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Oksapmin Rural LLG, Telefomin District, Sandaun, Papua New Guinea. The two principal dialects are distinct enough to cause some problems with mutual intelligibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsou language</span> Austronesian language

Tsou is an Austronesian language spoken by the Tsou people of Taiwan. Tsou is a threatened language; however, this status is uncertain. Its speakers are located in the west-central mountains southeast of the Chiayi/Alishan area in Taiwan.

Kara is an Austronesian language spoken by about 5,000 people in 1998 in the Kavieng District of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea.

May River Iwam, often simply referred to as Iwam, is a language of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Awyu languages</span> Language family in Papua

The Greater Awyu or Digul River languages, known in earlier classifications with more limited scope as Awyu–Dumut (Awyu–Ndumut), are a family of perhaps a dozen Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in eastern West Papua in the region of the Digul River. Six of the languages are sufficiently attested for a basic description; it is not clear how many of the additional names may be separate languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central and South New Guinea languages</span> Proposed Trans–New Guinea language family

The Central and South New Guinea languages (CSNG) are a proposed family of Trans–New Guinea languages (TNG). They were part of Voorhoeve & McElhanon's original TNG proposal, but have been reduced in scope by half in the classification of Malcolm Ross. According to Ross, it is not clear if the pronoun similarities between the four remaining branches of Central and South New Guinea are retentions for proto-TNG forms or shared innovations defining a single branch of TNG. Voorhoeve argues independently for an Awyu–Ok relationship, and Foley echoes that Asmat may be closest to Awyu and Ok of the TNG languages. Regardless, the four individual branches of reduced Central and South New Guinea are themselves clearly valid families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angan languages</span> Family of Trans–New Guinea languages

The Angan or Kratke Range languages are a family of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross. The Angan languages are clearly valid as a family. They were first identified as such by J. Lloyd and A. Healey in 1968; Wurm (1975) classified them as Trans–New Guinea. Glottolog treats Angan as a separate or unclassified family, ignoring further evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamula–Elevala languages</span> Family of Trans–New Guinea languages

The Kamula–Elevala languages are a small family of the Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in the region of the Elevala River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ok languages</span> Trans–New Guinea language family

The Ok languages are a family of about a dozen related Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in a contiguous area of eastern Irian Jaya and western Papua New Guinea. The most numerous language is Ngalum, with some 20,000 speakers; the best known is probably Telefol.

Tifal is an Ok language spoken in Papua New Guinea. Dialects are Tifal (Tifalmin), Urap (Urapmin) and Atbal (Atbalmin).

Mian is an Ok language spoken in the Telefomin district of the Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea by the Mian people. It has some 3,500 speakers spread across two dialects: West Mian, with approximately 1,000 speakers in around Yapsiei, and East Mian, with approximately 2,500 speakers in and around Timeilmin, Temsakmin, Sokamin, Gubil, Fiak and Hotmin.

Kiwai is a Papuan language, or languages, of southern Papua New Guinea. Dialects number 1,300 Kope, 700 Gibaio, 1,700 Urama, 700 Arigibi, 3,800 Coast, 1,000 Daru, 4,500 Island, 400 Doumori. Wurm and Hattori (1981) classify Arigibi as a separate language.

Safeyoka, or Ampale, is an Angan language of Papua New Guinea. Other names of this language include Ambari, Ampeeli, Ampeeli-Wojokeso, and Ampele. According to a 1980 census, there were around 2,390 native speakers. Commonly known as Ampale, the dialect is called Wojokeso. Speakers of Ampale range from the Waffa River to the Banir River, which is located in the northern part of Papua New Guinea. The Wojokeso dialect is spoken by people who live in five villages where multiple districts, the Kaiapit, Mumeng and Menyama come together in the Morobe Province.

Obokuitai (Obogwitai) is a Lakes Plain language of Papua, Indonesia. It is named after Obogwi village in East Central Mambermano District, Mamberamo Raya Regency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bimin language</span> Ok language spoken in New Guinea

Bim or Bimin is one of the Ok languages of New Guinea. It is spoken in Sandaun and Western Provinces in the region between the Murray and Strickland Rivers. The language is related to Faiwol but there is also "much intermarriage and cultural exchange with Oksapmin".

Wamesa is an Austronesian language of Indonesian New Guinea, spoken across the neck of the Doberai Peninsula or Bird's Head. There are currently 5,000–8,000 speakers. While it was historically used as a lingua franca, it is currently considered an under-documented, endangered language. This means that fewer and fewer children have an active command of Wamesa. Instead, Papuan Malay has become increasingly dominant in the area.

Proto-Trans–New Guinea is the reconstructed proto-language ancestral to the Trans–New Guinea languages. Reconstructions have been proposed by Malcolm Ross and Andrew Pawley.

References

  1. Telefol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Golub, Alex (2007). "Ironies of Organization: Landowners, Land Registration, and Papua New Guinea's Mining and Petroleum Industry". Human Organization.
  3. 1 2 Healey 1992, p. 1.
  4. Healey 1992, p. 3.
  5. Healey 1964, p. 12.
  6. "Phonotactic restrictions across prosodic domains" (PDF). p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2008.
  7. Aspectual stem distinctions in the Mian verb (PDF). Morphology of the World's Languages. Leipzig. 11–13 June 2009. p. 1.
  8. Foley 1986, p. 146.
  9. Derzhanski, Ivan A (29 September 2004). "Codex Seraphinianus: Some Observations". Institute of Mathematics and Informatics. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  10. Laycock, Donald (1975). "Observations on Number Systems and Semantics". In Wurm, Stephen (ed.). New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study, I: Papuan Languages and the New Guinea Linguistic Scene. Pacific Linguistics C-38. Canberra: Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. p. 223.
  11. "The Oksapmin Kinship System". Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  12. 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.

Bibliography