HOME





Yalë Language
The Yalë language, also known as Nagatman, is spoken in northwestern Papua New Guinea. It may be related to the Kwomtari languages, but Palmer (2018) classifies it as a language isolate. There were 600 speakers in 1991 and 30 monolinguals at an unrecorded date. Yalë is spoken in Nagatiman () and several other villages of Green River Rural LLG in Sandaun Province. Foley (2018) reports a total of six villages. Yalë is in extensive trade and contact with Busa, a likely language isolate spoken just to the south. Yalë has complex verbal inflection and SOV word order. Pronouns Pronouns are: : Grammar Verbal conjugation affixes are: *-''d'': generic marker *-''t'': transitive marker *-''b'': intransitive marker Most nouns are not pluralized, and only nouns with human or animate reference or with high local salience may be pluralized using the suffix -''rɛ'' ~ -''re'': *''nɛba-re'' /child-PL/ ‘children’ *''ama-re'' /dog-PL/ ‘dogs’ *''dife-rɛ'' /village-PL/ ‘village ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


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 in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of . At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right. There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, on ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sandaun
Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the area surrounding the town Aitape was hit by an enormous tsunami caused by a Magnitude 7.0 earthquake which killed over 2,000 people. The five villages along the west coast of Vanimo towards the International Border are namely; Lido, Waromo, Yako, Musu and Wutung. Name Sandaun is a Tok Pisin word derived from English "sun down," since the province is located in the west of the country, where the sun sets. The province was formerly named West Sepik Province, for the Sepik River that flows through the province and forms part of the province's southern border. Physical Geography The Sandaun Province has beaches along the northern coast, as well as mountainous areas throughout the province, primarily in the southern area of the province. Seve ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Senu River Languages
The Senu River languages are a small language family spoken in the Senu River watershed of Papua New Guinea. They consist at least of the Kwomtari languages, Kwomtari and Nai, with several additional languages more distantly related to them. Classification The family consists of at least the two relatively closely related languages Kwomtari and Nai. Baron (1983) Baron adds the highly divergent language Guriaso: *Kwomtari stock ** Guriaso **Kwomtari–Nai family (Nuclear Kwomtari) *** Kwomtari ***Nai ( Biaka) Guriaso shares a small number of cognates with Kwomtari–Nai. Baron (1983) considers the evidence to be convincing when a correspondence between and (from ) is established: * Compare Biaka . ** Metathesis of /p/ and /t/. Usher (2020) Usher further classifies Yale (Nagatman) with Guriaso, and adds Busa, all under the name "Senu River". ;Senu River (Kwomtari–Busa) * Kwomtari–Nai * Guriaso–Yale *Odiai ( Busa) Confusion from Laycock There has been confusion ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Language Isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The number of language isolates is unknown. A language isolate is unrelated to any other, which makes it the only language in its own language family. It is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical (or "genetic") relationships—one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. One explanation for the existence of language isolates is that they might be the last remaining branch of a larger language family. The language possibly had relatives in the past which have since disappeared without being documented. Another explanation for language isolates is that they developed in isolation from other languages. This explanation mostly applies to sign languages that have arisen independently ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Kwomtari Languages
The Senu River languages are a small language family spoken in the Senu River watershed of Papua New Guinea. They consist at least of the Kwomtari languages, Kwomtari and Nai, with several additional languages more distantly related to them. Classification The family consists of at least the two relatively closely related languages Kwomtari and Nai. Baron (1983) Baron adds the highly divergent language Guriaso: *Kwomtari stock ** Guriaso **Kwomtari–Nai family (Nuclear Kwomtari) *** Kwomtari ***Nai ( Biaka) Guriaso shares a small number of cognates with Kwomtari–Nai. Baron (1983) considers the evidence to be convincing when a correspondence between and (from ) is established: * Compare Biaka . ** Metathesis of /p/ and /t/. Usher (2020) Usher further classifies Yale (Nagatman) with Guriaso, and adds Busa, all under the name "Senu River". ;Senu River (Kwomtari–Busa) * Kwomtari–Nai * Guriaso–Yale Yale University is a private research university in New ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Green River Rural LLG
Green River Rural LLG is a local-level government (LLG) of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located along the border with Keerom Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia. Rivers Rivers that flow through the LLG include the Samaia River. Languages Green River is one of the most linguistically diverse LLGs of Sandaun Province. Amto-Musan, Busa, Yalë, Kwomtari, Pauwasi, and other languages unrelated to each other are spoken in this LLG. Wards *01. Abaru ( Karkar language speakers) *02. Dieru *03. Hogru *04. Rawei ( Busa language speakers) *05. Nagatiman ( Nagatiman language speakers) *06. Dila *07. Marakwini *08. Wagu *09. Beimap *10. Seiawi (Siawi language speakers) *11. Amto (Amto language Amto (also known as Ki) is an Amto–Musan language spoken in Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea. Amto is spoken in Amanab and Rocky Peak Districts, south of the Upper Sepik River, toward the headwaters of the Left May River on the Samaia Ri ... speakers) *12. Bisiabru *13. Id ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sandaun Province
Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the area surrounding the town Aitape was hit by an enormous 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake, tsunami caused by a Magnitude 7.0 earthquake which killed over 2,000 people. The five villages along the west coast of Vanimo towards the International Border are namely; Lido, Waromo, Yako, Musu and Wutung. Name Sandaun is a Tok Pisin word derived from English "sun down," since the province is located in the west of the country, where the sun sets. The province was formerly named West Sepik Province, for the Sepik, Sepik River that flows through the province and forms part of the province's southern border. Physical Geography The Sandaun Province has beaches along the northern coast, as well as mountainous areas throu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It was first issued in 1951, and is now published by SIL International, an American Christian non-profit organization. Overview and content ''Ethnologue'' has been published by SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization with an international office in Dallas, Texas. The organization studies numerous minority languages to facilitate language development, and to work with speakers of such language communities in translating portions of the Bible into their languages. Despite the Christian orientation of its publisher, ''Ethnologue'' isn't ideologically or theologically biased. ''Ethnologue'' includes alternative names and autonyms, th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


SIL International
SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages, and aid minority language development. Based on its language documentation work, SIL publishes a database, '' Ethnologue'', of its research into the world's languages, and develops and publishes software programs for language documentation, such as FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx) and Lexique Pro. Its main offices in the United States are located at the International Linguistics Center in Dallas, Texas. History William Cameron Townsend, a Presbyterian minister, founded the organization in 1934, after undertaking a Christian mission with the Disciples of Christ among the Kaqchikel Maya people in Guatemala in the early 1930s.George Th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Busa Language (Papuan)
The Busa language, also known as Odiai (Uriai), is spoken in three hamlets of northwestern Papua New Guinea. There were 244 speakers at the time of the 2000 census. One of the hamlets where Busa is spoken is Busa () in Rawei ward, Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province. Busa speakers are in extensive trade and cultural contact with Yadë, a distantly related language spoken in six villages to the north of the Busa area. Classification Busa may be one of the Kwomtari languages. Foley (2018) classifies Busa as a language isolate (meaning unclassified), but does not exclude the possibility that it may have a distant relationship with the Torricelli languages. Pronouns Pronouns are: : Basic vocabulary Busa basic vocabulary listed in Foley (2018): : The following basic vocabulary words are from Conrad and Dye (1975), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database: : Affixes Busa subject agreement affixes are: : The Busa possessive suffix -''ni'' is also found in proto- Se ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Paradisec
The Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) is a cross-institutional project that supports work on endangered languages and cultures of the Pacific and the region around Australia. They digitise reel-to-reel field tapes, have a mass data store and use international standards for metadata description. PARADISEC is part of the worldwide community of language archives (Delaman and the Open Language Archives Community). PARADISEC's main motivation is to ensure that unique recordings of small languages are themselves preserved for the future, and that researchers consider the future accessibility to their materials for other researchers, community members, or anyone who has an interest in such materials. Vanishing voices As the number of small languages in the world is reduced by many factors (urbanisation, colonial policies, the speakers' desire to learn languages which give access to resources), the tapes which may be their only record be ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




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 worked as a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Anthropology. He undertook his Ph.D. at the Australian National University in linguistics and became one among the leading authorities on the languages of Papua New Guinea.Dutton, T., Ross, M. and Tryon, D. (eds.). 1992. ''The Language Game: Papers in memory of Donald C. Laycock''. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. He performed several pioneering surveys of the languages of the Sepik region of New Guinea. The first of these, his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Stephen Wurm, was published as ''The Ndu languages'' (1965), and established the existence of this closely related group of languages. In subsequent surveys, Laycock found the Ndu languages were part of a larger language ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]