Sarmi–Jayapura languages

Sarmi-Jayapura
Sarmi-Jayapura Bay
Geographic
distribution		Northern Papua
Linguistic classificationAustronesian
Proto-languageProto-Sarmi–Jayapura
Language codes
Glottologsarm1241

The Sarmi-Jayapura Bay languages consist of half a dozen languages spoken on the northern coast of Papua province of Indonesia:[1]

Sobei, Bonggo, Tarpia (Sarmi), Kayupulau, Ormu, Tobati–Enggros (Jayapura Bay)

Ross (1988) had considered Sarmi and Jayapura Bay (Kayapulau, Orma and Tobati) to be separate but related groups. Ross (1988) listed several additional Sarmi languages:

Anus (Korur) and Podena, Liki, and Wakde (close to Sobei), Masimasi, Kaptiau and Yamna.

The inclusion of a supposed Yarsun language[2] appears to be due to confusion of language names with island names. No such language is attested; the island is located between that of the Anus and Podena languages, and all three islands are reported to speak dialects of a single language according to the first source to mention it.[3]

With the exception of certain Micronesian languages, the Sarmi-Jayapura languages have the westernmost distribution out of all Oceanic languages.[4]

Sound correspondences

Grace (1971:34–37) published a table of sound correspondences for the Sarmi languages, from which the following forms are gleaned. The languages are arranged from west to east.

Proto-Oceanic Sobei Wakde Masimasi Anus Bonggo Tarpia
*api 'fire' yafu yafu yeif af yap
*isuŋ 'nose' su- hiu- si- su- sua- siwi-
*susu 'breast' sisu- ihi- su- su-
*ranum 'water' rani ranu ranu dein dan dan
*raun 'leaf' rau rau rou dau dau dau
*mapine 'woman' mefne mafani mofin mofin mupin
*manuk 'bird' maninetio mani mani mein man man
*pulu 'feather' fido firu firo fru puru
*puaq 'fruit' afo afu afo fowo fukwa pawa
*paqoRu 'new' fefou afafu fofou fieu pipiu
*patu 'stone' fati fati fati feit fiat payaʔ
*pat 'four' fau fau fau fau pau
*tolu 'three' tou tou tour tou tor tor
*taliŋa 'ear' tidi- tiri- tira- terne- təren- tarni-
*taŋis 'cry' -tan -tan -tan -tein tənian -nsin
*taumataq 'person' temto tamturi timot tumuat tamuʔ
*kutu 'louse' kute witi kut kut kuʔ
*kulit 'skin' wadi wari wiri keri kru kuru
*qone 'sand' wane wane wane wen wen wen
*qasawa 'spouse' eson ahun sawe sua tawa


References

  1. ^ Lynch, John, Malcolm Ross & Terry Crowley. 2002. The Oceanic languages. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press.
  2. ^ Yarsun at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. ^ Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
  4. ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2019). "Glottolog". 3.4. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.