Nuclear South Bird's Head languages

Nuclear South Bird's Head
East South Bird's Head
Geographic distribution	Bird's Head Peninsula, Indonesian Papua
Linguistic classification	? Trans–New Guinea ? Berau Gulf ? South Bird's Head Nuclear South Bird's Head
Language codes
Glottolog	sout1516

The Nuclear South Bird's Head, Core South Bird's Head or East South Bird's Head languages form a small language family of western New Guinea. They either form part of a wider South Bird's Head language family, or may be an independent language family if not related to the Inanwatan and Konda–Yahadian languages.^[1]

Languages

There are six languages:^[2]

• East South Bird's Head
  • Kais (Kampong Baru)
  • Iwaro–Kaburi
    • Kaburi
    • Puragi (Iwaro)
  • Kokoda–Arandai
    • Kokoda (Tarof, Kasuweri)
    • Arandai
      • Kemberano (Weriagar, Barau)
      • Dombano (Tomu)

Proto-language

Some lexical reconstructions by Usher (2020) are:^[3]

gloss	Proto-East South Bird's Head
body hair/feather	*karar
ear	*qer[aw]
nose	*mitob
tooth	*resin
tongue	*nun
foot/leg	*sor
blood	*a[m/p]as
bone	*toq
breast	*did
louse	*kon
bird	*kanen
egg	*wuk
tree	*qemin
man	*rabin
sun	*teg[ed]
moon	*mo[k/q]
water	*sai
path	*aum
one	*onat
two	*[ou]g

References

1. Holton, Gary; Klamer, Marian (2018). "The Papuan languages of East Nusantara and the Bird's Head". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 569–640. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
2. Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
3. Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Proto–East South Bird's Head

External links

• Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Proto–East South Bird's Head