Skou (Sekol, Sekou, Sko, Skouw, Skow, Sukou), or Tumawo (Te Mawo), is a
Papuan language
The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non-Australian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands, by around 4 million people. It is a strictly geogra ...
of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Distribution
Skou is spoken in three villages of ,
Jayapura Regency
Jayapura Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Indonesia. It is situated to the west of but does not include the city of Jayapura. Previously covering most of the north-east portion of Papua province, it was reduce ...
. The villages are:
[Donohue, Mark. 2004. ]
A Grammar of the Skou language of New Guinea
'. Singapore: National University of Singapore. Available a
* (Skou name: ''Te Tángpe''), the westernmost and most populous Skou village
* (Skou name: ''Te Máwo''), located between Skou Yambe and Skou Sai villages
* (Skou name: ''Te Bapúbi''), the easternmost and least populous Skou village
Phonology
Consonants
The Skou consonants are:
Vowels
Vowels can be nasalized, except for /ɨ/ and /u/.
Tone
Skou contrasts three different tones in monosyllables: high, low and falling, which can be combined with nasality for a six-way contrast.
Tone in Skou is affiliated with each word, rather than with each syllable.
In addition to lexical differences in tone, tone has grammatical functions.
For instance, tense in Skou is differentiated by tone.
Pronouns
Skou differentiates three types of pronouns: free pronouns, genitive pronouns and dative pronouns.
References
*Donohue, Mark. 2004.
A Grammar of the Skou language of New Guinea'. Singapore: National University of Singapore. Available a
Languages of western New Guinea
Western Skou languages
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