The Lower Sepik a.k.a. Nor–Pondo languages are a small
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in h ...
of
East Sepik Province
East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. East Sepik has an estimated population of 433,481 people (2010 census) and is 43,426 km square in size.
History
Cherubim Dambui was appointed as East Sepik's first premier b ...
in northern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. They were identified as a family by K Laumann in 1951 under the name Nor–Pondo, and included in
Donald Laycock
Donald Laycock (1936–1988) was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea.
Biography
He was a graduate of University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and later ...
's now-defunct 1973
Sepik–Ramu family.
Classification
The original conception of the family, under the name ''Nor–Pondo'', is as follows:
Malcolm Ross (2005) broke up the Nor branch (and thus renamed the family ''Lower Sepik'') because Murik does not share the characteristic s of the first- and second-person pronouns of Kopar and the Pondo languages, so the latter may form a group: Murik vs Kopar–Pondo. Ross classified Lower Sepik as one branch of a
Ramu–Lower Sepik language family.
Foley (2005) tentatively proposes that Chambri and Angoram may be primary branches: Nor, Chambari, Karawari–Yimas, Angoram. Usher, following Foley, keeps Nor together and breaks up Pondo. Neither accept the connection to Ramu.
Foley (2018) and Usher (2020)
Foley (2018) and Usher (2020) agree on the following classification.
New Guinea World
;Lower Sepik family
*Kopar–Murik (Nor)
** Murik
** Kopar
*Angoram
Angoram is a town and seat of Angoram District in East Sepik Province in north-western Papua New Guinea. The area is noted for its rubber and Theobroma cacao, cocoa plantations and the town is situated on the Sepik River. The town is served by Ango ...
* Chambri
*Karawari–Yimas
** Karawari
** Yimas
Foley notes that Angoram appears to be closer to Murik–Kopar, and Chambri to Karawari–Yimas, but Foley (2018: 213) leaves them as separate branches pending further evidence.
Phonology
Except for Yimas- Karawari, Lower Sepik languages typically have the following six-vowel system.
Proto-language
Pronouns
The pronouns reconstructed for the proto-language are,
;Proto–Lower Sepik (Ross)
:
;Proto-Nor–Pondo (Foley)
:
Lexicon
A phonological reconstruction of proto-Lower Sepik has been proposed by Foley (2005).
Footnotes
Further reading
Proto-Lower-Sepik
''TransNewGuinea.org''. From (1) Foley, W.A. 1986. The Papuan languages of New Guinea, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ; (2) Foley, W.A. 1986. The Papuan languages of New Guinea, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*Abbott, S.
Nor-Pondo lexicostatistical survey
. In Adams, K., Lauck, L., Miedema, J., Welling, F., Stokhof, W., Flassy, D., Oguri, H., Collier, K., Gregerson, K., Phinnemore, T., Scorza, D., Davies, J., Comrie, B. and Abbott, S. editors, ''Papers in New Guinea Linguistics'' No. 22. A-63:313-338. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1985.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lower Sepik languages
Ramu–Lower Sepik languages
Languages of East Sepik Province
Papuan languages
Language families