Languages
Yelmek is spoken west ofClassification
The two languages are transparently related. Ross (2005) tentatively included them in the proposed Trans-Fly – Bulaka River family, but Usher, who reconstructs that family, does not connect Bulaka River to any other language family.Proto-language
Phonology
Usher (2014) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows. Although the modern inventories of Yelmek and Maklew are nearly identical, they lack a one-to-one correspondence. Maklew in particular has been heavily influenced by Marind, and participates in a number of sound changes that occurred in that language. Usher posits: :*j for Yelmek j ~ Maklew s (→ in the Jab dialect of Yelmek; also found in loans from Marind /j/, which in some dialects is ʲ :*w for Yelmek w ~ Maklew h (also found in loans from Marind /w/, which in some dialects is ʷ :*ɣ for Yelmek ŋ ~ Maklew h (→ in the Jab dialect of Yelmek; Makelew /h/ also found in loans from Marind /ɣ/, which in the central dialects becomes and, in loan words, mostly from Marind, :*s for Yelmek t ~ Maklew s (→ sis Jab). In addition, there is a set of correspondences between alveolars in Yelmek and velars in Maklew (n~ŋ, t~k, d~g). Usher transcribes these as a series of palatal consonants (*ɲ *c *ɟ), but this is merely a typographic convenience. The phonetic forms are not easily recoverable, but most instances (8 out of 10) are followed by *e, suggesting that there was a vocal component. Usher suggests that *ɲ *c *ɟ might actually have been *niV *tiV *diV or *ŋiV *kiV *giV, none of which occur in the reconstructions despite the high frequency of the sequence *iV otherwise. The expected sequences *itV and *ikV also do not occur, so it's possible that *ɲ *c *ɟ reflect all three of these series, rather than a fourth place of articulation. : : The reconstruction of *ə is not firm, at least partly because the transcribed data is often unreliable. There are vowel sequences of *iV and *uV. These might have been reconstructed as **jV and **wV, with no vowel sequences in the proto-language, but that analysis would require changing *w and *j in the consonant table above to **β and **ʝ, distinct from **w and **j, resulting in a larger set of consonants and an odd inventory of fricatives.Pronouns
Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as: :Lexicon
Proto-Bulaka River lexical reconstructions by Usher (2014) are:Usher, Timothy. 2014.References
External links
* Timothy Usher, New Guinea World