Asmat
EthnicityAsmat, Citak
Geographic
distribution		Asmat Regency and Mappi Regency, South Papua
Linguistic classificationTrans–New Guinea
Subdivisions
Glottologasma1257

Asmat is a Papuan language cluster of South Papua.

Languages

The principal varieties, distinct enough to be considered separate languages, are:[1]

Ethnically, speakers are either Asmat or Citak.

Evolution

See also: Asmat–Kamrau languages § Evolution

Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012):[3]

proto-Trans-New Guinea Asmat (Flamingo Bay)
*maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’ me
*(m,mb)elak ‘light, lightning’ mer
*niman ‘louse’ (Kamoro namo)
*na- ‘eat’ na-
*ni, *nu ‘IPL’ na ‘1PL.incl’, na(r) ‘1PL.excl’
*mun(a,i,u)ka ‘egg’ manaka
*niman ‘louse’ (cf. Kamoro namo)
*kasin ‘mosquito’ isi
*mbena ‘arm’ man [ban]
*mb(i,u)t(i,u)C ‘fingernail’ fit
*imbi ‘name’ yipi
*si(mb,p)at[V] ‘saliva’ (me)sep
*(mb,p)ututu- ‘to fly’ (?) pimedial
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’ kuwus
*inda ‘fire’ (Central Coast Asmat isi)
*tututu[ku] ‘straight’ toror
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’ iram
*tututu[ku] ‘straight’ toror
*ti, *titi ‘tooth’ ji
*ata ‘excrement’ asa
*(ŋg,k)atata ‘dry’ soso
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’ kuwus
*kasin ‘mosquito’ (Citak Asmat isi)
*inda ‘fire’ (Central Coast Asmat isi)
*ke(nj,s)a ‘blood’ es
*maŋgV ‘compact round object’ moko-per ‘navel’
*mun(a,i,u)ka ‘egg’ manaka
*ke(nj,s)a ‘blood’ es
*kasin ‘mosquito’ (Central Asmat isi)
*k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’ yiram
*kV(mb,p)(i,u)t(i,u) ‘head’ kuwus
*(m,mb)elak ‘light, lightning’ (Flamingo Bay Asmat mer ‘lightning’)
*ya ‘3SG’ a

Verbs

In Flamingo Bay Asmat, light verbs are combined with adjuncts to form predicative expressions.[4]

References

  1. ^ Usher, Timothy; Suter, Edgar (2020). "The Asmat-Muli Languages of Southwestern New Guinea" (PDF). Language & Linguistics in Melanesia. Port Moresby: Journal of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea. 38. ISSN 0023-1959.
  2. ^ New Guinea World, Kamrau Bay
  3. ^ Pawley, Andrew (2012). Hammarström, Harald; van den Heuvel, Wilco (eds.). "How reconstructable is proto Trans New Guinea? Problems, progress, prospects". History, Contact and Classification of Papuan Languages. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea (Language & Linguistics in Melanesia Special Issue 2012: Part I): 88–164. hdl:1885/38602. ISSN 0023-1959.
  4. ^ Foley, William A. (2018). "The morphosyntactic typology of Papuan languages". 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. 895–938. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

External links

Central and South New Guinea languages
Languages of Indonesia
Categories