Wutung | |
---|---|
Native to | Papua New Guinea |
Region | Sandaun Province |
Ethnicity | 580 inhabitants of Wutung village (2010) [1] |
Native speakers | ? (2010) [1] |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | wut |
Glottolog | wutu1244 |
ELP | Wutung |
Coordinates: 2°36′31″S141°00′37″E / 2.60857°S 141.010203°E | |
Wutung (Udung), Musu and Nyao are dialects of a unnamed Skou language of Papua New Guinea. They are spoken in Bewani/Wutung Onei Rural LLG of Sandaun Province.
Sangke and the language of several other villages of the interior are reported to be similar, and may be dialects.
Tok Pisin and English are widely spoken in the area, and many Wutung people speak Indonesian too. [2] [3]
Wutung village ( 2°36′31″S141°00′37″E / 2.60857°S 141.010203°E ) is in Sandaun Province, on the northern coast and adjacent to the border with Indonesia. There are about 600 living in Wutung village, most of whom speak Wutung. Traditional Wutung land extends across the border to the Tami River, but while people garden plots in that expanse they all live in the village.
The nearby villages of Musu (12 km east on the coast, at 2°37′40″S141°06′06″E / 2.627641°S 141.10172°E ) and Nyao Kono (about 12 km due south, at 2°48′28″S141°03′15″E / 2.80788°S 141.054278°E ) have closely related dialects which are named after their villages (Musu and Nyao). These three speech varieties are very closely related and are easily mutually intelligible.
Wutung has fifteen consonants and seven vowels, six of which have nasal variants. This gives a total of 28 phonemes. Wutung also makes suprasegmental distinctions in tone.
Wutung is one of the very few languages that lack velar consonants.
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive or Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | ʔ |
voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||
Fricative | f | s | h | ||
Approximant | w | l |
Wutung has thirteen vowels, which includes seven oral and six nasal vowels. The table below shows the oral vowels. Each of these vowels, apart from the close-mid vowel ur /ɵ/, has an equivalent nasal vowel. The nasal vowels are indicated using the same symbol as the equivalent oral, but with a following ng, e.g. ca, 'pig' vs. cang 'blossom', the latter having the nasal vowel.
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i /i/ | u /u/ | |
Mid | ey /e/ | ur /ɵ/ | o /o/ |
Open | e /ɛ/ | a /a/ |
Wutung has a simple system of personal pronouns with three persons (1st, 2nd and 3rd), two numbers (singular and plural) and gender in the third person singular pronouns. The same set of pronouns are used for object and subject.
I | nie | we | netu |
thou | me | you | etu |
he | qey | they | tetu |
she | cey |
The Sko or Skou languages are a small language family spoken by about 7000 people, mainly along the Vanimo coast of Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea, with a few being inland from this area and at least one just across the border in the Indonesian province of Papua.
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.
The Karkar language, also known as Yuri, is the sole Eastern Pauwasi language of Papua New Guinea. There are about a thousand speakers along the Indonesian border spoken in Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Bukawa is an Austronesian language of Papua New Guinea.
May River Iwam, often simply referred to as Iwam, is a language of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
Awtuw (Autu), also known as Kamnum, is spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It is a polysynthetic language closely related to Karawa and Pouye. It is spoken in Galkutua, Gutaiya, Kamnom, Tubum, and Wiup villages in Kamnom East ward, East Wapei Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Ama (Sawiyanu) is a Left May language of Papua New Guinea, in East Sepik Province. Former dialects have merged.
Deraa.k.a.Mangguar and Kamberataro (Komberatoro) is a Senagi language of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. In Papua New Guinea, it is primarily spoken in Kamberataro village, Amanab Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Qaqet, or Baining, is a non-Austronesian language from the Baining family spoken in East New Britain Province on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Pagi, or Bembi, is a Papuan language spoken by 2,000 people in five villages in Sandaun Province and in Vanimo District of Papua New Guinea, near the border with Indonesian Papua.
Namia is a Sepik language spoken in Namea Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It goes by various names, such as Edawapi, Lujere, Yellow River. Language use is "vigorous" (Ethnologue).
Olo (Orlei) is a non-Austronesian, Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea. The language is spoken in 55 villages, from the Aitape Township (north) to the Sandaun Province (south), and is at risk of going extinct. Olo is believed to be a Goal Oriented Activation language, meaning the speaker chooses their words with an idea of what they are trying to achieve with the listener in mind, this has been labeled as referential theory. Referential theory has been divided into four groupings, all of which come with disadvantages, recency, episodes, prominence, and memorial activation.
One is a Torricelli dialect cluster of West Wapei Rural LLG in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
Kilmeri, or bo apulyo is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea near the border with Indonesian Papua. It is not being learned by children.
Sowanda is a Papuan language of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, with a couple hundred speakers in Indonesian Papua.
Angor (Anggor) a.k.a.Senagi is a Senagi language of northern Papua New Guinea. It is spoken in 11 villages of Amanab Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, including Senagi village of Bibriari ward.
Pouye (Bouye) is a language spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, by a thousand people, and growing. It is spoken in the seven villages of Bulawa, Kiliauto, Komtin, Maurom, Wokien, Wulme, and Yukilau, which are mostly located within East Wapei Rural LLG.
Ainbai is a Papuan language of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It is spoken in Ainbai village, Bewani/Wutung Onei Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Ningera (Ninggera) is a Papuan language of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
Bewani/Wutung Onei Rural LLG is a local-level government (LLG) of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. Bewani languages and Skou languages are spoken in the LLG.