The Ataitan languages, also known as the Tanggu or Moam River languages, are a small
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of clearly related languages spoken in the region of the
Moam River in Papua New Guinea. They are,
*
Andarum (Kaje)
*
Tanguat
*
Igom +
Tangu (Tanggu)
Z'graggen named the family "Ataitan" as an acronym of the language names. Usher names it after the local river. They are classified among the
Ramu languages of northern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
.
Phonemes
Usher (2020) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows:
[New Guinea World, Moam River]
/ref>
:
Vowels are *i *ʉ *u *a.
Pronouns
Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:[
:
Plus 1sg object *na.
Proto-Tamolan–Ataitan (Proto-Guam–Moam) is nearly identical, except for not having the ɣsuffixes, and the final vowels of the 1du and 2du forms is not certain. This may not consider the Porapora languages, however.
]
References
External links
* Timothy Usher, New Guinea World
Proto–Moam River
{{Ramu–Lower Sepik languages
Tamolan–Ataitan languages
Languages of Madang Province