Upper Yuat | |
---|---|
Upper Yuat River | |
Geographic distribution | Upper Yuat River watershed, Papua New Guinea |
Linguistic classification | Northeast New Guinea and/or Trans–New Guinea |
Subdivisions | |
Glottolog | None |
The Upper Yuat languages consist of two small language families, namely Arafundi and Piawi, spoken in the region of the upper Yuat River of New Guinea. The connection was first suggested by William A. Foley [2] and confirmed by Timothy Usher, who further links them to the Madang languages. [1]
Upper Yuat languages display more typological similarities with Trans-New Guinea than the other neighboring language families of the Sepik-Ramu basin (namely the Lower Sepik-Ramu and Yuat families). [2] The Madang languages are frequently included in Trans–New Guinea classifications, but the connection is not yet demonstrated.
The Piawi languages are morphologically much simpler than the Arafundi languages. [2]
Pronouns are: [2]
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | *ni | *an ~ *aŋ |
2nd person | *na | *ne |
3rd person | *nu |
The individual languages are as follows: [2]
Harway | Hagahai | Pinai | Lower Arafundi | Upper Arafundi | Awiakay | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1SG | nɨ-ɡə | ŋɨ-ɡə | nɨ-ɡa | ɲɨŋ | niŋ | niŋ | |
2SG | na-ɡo | na-ɣə | na-ɡa | nan | nan | nan | |
3SG | nu-ɡʷə | nə-ɣʷə | an | an | |||
1DU | as | as | as | ||||
2/3DU | nɨɲ | nen | neɲ | ||||
1PL | an-ɡə | an-ɡə | nanə-ɡa | aŋ | aŋ | ||
2/3PL | ɲɨ-ɡə | ɲe-ɡə | ɲi-ɡa | noŋ | noŋ | noŋ |
3rd-person *nu (number uncertain) corresponds to Piawi 3 singular and Arafundi 2/3 plural, *ne to Piawi 2/3 plural and Arafundi 2/3 dual.
Upper Yuat languages typically have 7 vowels: [2] : 236
i | ɨ | u |
e | ə | o |
a |
The Papuan languages are the non-Austronesian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands in Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and East Timor. It is a strictly geographical grouping, and does not imply a genetic relationship.
The Sepik–Ramu languages are an obsolete language family of New Guinea linking the Sepik, Ramu, Nor–Pondo, Leonhard Schultze (Walio–Papi) and Yuat families, together with the Taiap language isolate, and proposed by Donald Laycock and John Z'graggen in 1975.
The Piawi languages are a small family of Papuan languages spoken in the Schraeder Range of the Madang Highlands of Papua New Guinea that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal. They are now connected to the Arafundi and Madang languages.
The Ramu–Lower Sepika.k.a.Lower Sepik–Ramu languages are a proposed family of about 35 Papuan languages spoken in the Ramu and Sepik river basins of northern Papua New Guinea. These languages tend to have simple phonologies, with few consonants or vowels and usually no tones.
The Sepik or Sepik River languages are a family of some 50 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea, proposed by Donald Laycock in 1965 in a somewhat more limited form than presented here. They tend to have simple phonologies, with few consonants or vowels and usually no tones.
The Yuat languages are an independent family of five Papuan languages spoken along the Yuat River in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. They are an independent family in the classification of Malcolm Ross, but are included in Stephen Wurm's Sepik–Ramu proposal. However, Foley and Ross could find no lexical or morphological evidence that they are related to the Sepik or Ramu languages.
Haruai is one of two languages of the Piawi family of New Guinea. The language has borrowings from Kalam. Young men are likely to know Kobon and Tok Pisin, but many Haruai are monolingual. Haruai is also commonly known as Waibuk, also Wiyaw, Wovan, Taman.
The Lower Sepik a.k.a. Nor–Pondo languages are a small language family of East Sepik Province in northern Papua New Guinea. They were identified as a family by K Laumann in 1951 under the name Nor–Pondo, and included in Donald Laycock's now-defunct 1973 Sepik–Ramu family.
The Ramu languages are a family of some thirty languages of Northern Papua New Guinea. They were identified as a family by John Z'graggen in 1971 and linked with the Sepik languages by Donald Laycock two years later. Malcolm Ross (2005) classifies them as one branch of a Ramu – Lower Sepik language family. Z'graggen had included the Yuat languages, but that now seems doubtful.
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The Grass languages are a group of languages in the Ramu language family. It is accepted by Foley (2018), but not by Glottolog. They are spoken in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, with a small number of speakers also located just across the provincial border in Madang Province.
The Ottilien or Watam-Awar-Gamay languages are a small family of clearly related languages,
Mundugumora.k.a.Biwat is a Yuat language of Papua New Guinea. It is spoken in Biwat village of Yuat Rural LLG, East Sepik Province.
The Arafundi languages are a small family of clearly related languages in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. They are conjectured to be related to the Piawi and Madang languages. They are named after the Arafundi River.
The Lower Ramu or Ottilien–Misegian languages consist of two branches in the Ramu language family. They are all spoken in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.
Marangis a.k.a. Watam is a Ramu language of Papua New Guinea. Like Bosmun, it shares a number of irregular plural markers with the Lower Sepik languages, supporting the proposal of a Ramu – Lower Sepik language family.
Tapei is an Arafundi language of Papua New Guinea. It is close to Nanubae; the name Alfendio was once used for both.
The Leonhard Schultze or Walio–Papi languages are a proposed family of about 6 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea. They are spoken along the border region of East Sepik Province and Sandaun Province, just to the south of the Iwam languages.
The Yuat is the major tributary of the Sepik River in northern Papua New Guinea. The Yuat is on the right (southern) side and joins the Sepik about 20 linear km upstream from the Keram River, and just downstream from the Chambri Lakes. The eponymous (Middle) Yuat and Upper Yuat languages are spoken along the banks of the Yuat River.
The Wogamus languages are a pair of closely related languages,