The Pahoturi languages are a small family of Papuan languages spoken around the Pahoturi (Paho River). This family includes six language varieties including Agöb (Dabu), Em, Ende, Kawam, Idi, and Taeme, which are spoken in the Pahoturi River area south of the Fly River, just west of the Eastern Trans-Fly languages. Ross (2005) tentatively includes them in the proposed Trans-Fly – Bulaka River family.
Pahoturi | |
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Paho River | |
Geographic distribution | Pahoturi River, New Guinea |
Linguistic classification | Trans-Fly or independent language family
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Subdivisions |
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Glottolog | paho1240 |
![]() Map: The Pahoturi languages of New Guinea |
Some Pahoturi River speakers were originally hunter-gatherers, but had recently shifted to becoming gardeners.[1]: 649
Wurm (1975) and Ross (2005) suggest that the Pahoturi languages may be related to the Tabo (Waia) language just north of the Fly delta. However, they present no evidence, and the pronouns do not match.[2]
Evans (2018) classifies the Pahoturi River languages as an independent language family.[1]
The six varieties have traditionally been grouped[by whom?] into the following two language groups:
Preliminary work on the language family suggests that these varieties form a dialect chain.
Pahoturi River languages and respective demographic information listed by Evans (2018) are provided below.[1]
Language | Location | Population | Alternate names |
---|---|---|---|
Idi | central-east Morehead Rural LLG | 774 | |
Taeme | northeast Morehead Rural LLG | 834 | Tame |
Agob | southeast Morehead Rural LLG | 1,437 | Bugi, Dabu |
Ende | east Morehead Rural LLG | 542 | |
Kawam | east Morehead Rural LLG and west Oriomo-Bituri Rural LLG | 457 |
Usher (2020) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows:[3]
*m | *mʷ | *n | *ŋ | [*ŋʷ] | ||
*p | *pʷ | *t | *ʈ | *ts | *k | *kʷ |
*b | *bʷ | *d | *ɖ | *dz | *g | *gʷ |
*mb | *mbʷ | *nd | *ɳɖ | *ndz | *ŋg | *ŋgʷ |
*l | *ɭ | |||||
*w | *r | *ɽ | *j |
The pronouns Ross reconstructs for the family are:
Proto-Pahoturi
I | *ŋa-na | we | ? |
thou | *ba or *be | you | *-bi |
s/he | *bo | they | ? |
Lindsey lists the following pronouns for each of the language varieties in the family.[4]
Case | English | Agob | Em | Ende | Kawam | Idi | Taeme |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | I (1sg) | ŋəna | ŋəna | ŋəna | ŋəna | ŋən | ŋən |
thou (2sg) | boŋo | boŋo | boŋo | buŋo | bæ | bæ | |
s/he (3sg) | bo | bogo | bogo | bo | bo | bo | |
we exclusive
(1.nsg.excl) |
ŋumi | ŋumi | ŋəmi | ŋəmi | ŋəmi/bi | bi | |
we inclusive
(1.nsg.incl) |
ibi | ibi | ibi | ibi | jɪbi | jəbi | |
you (2nsg) | bibi | bibi | bibi | bibi | bæ | bæ | |
they (3nsg) | ubi | ubi | ubi | ubi | bo/wɪbi | bo/ubi | |
Accusative | I (1sg) | ŋənam | ŋənam | ŋənəm | ŋonom | bom | ŋənəm |
thou (2sg) | bæm | bæm | bam | bæm | babom | babom | |
s/he (3sg) | obom | obom | obom | obom | obom | obom | |
we exclusive
(1.nsg.excl) |
ŋənam | ŋumim | ŋəmim | ŋəmim | bim | ŋəmim | |
we inclusive
(1.nsg.incl) |
ibom | ibam | ibim | ibim | jəbim | jɪbim | |
you (2nsg) | bæm | bæm | bibim | bibim | bibim | bibim | |
they (3nsg) | obam | obæm | ubim | ubim | ubim/wəbim | ubim | |
Dative | I (1sg) | ŋɵmɽe | ŋəmɽe | ŋəmɽe | ŋəmre | blæ | ŋəmʎæ |
thou (2sg) | bæɽe | babɽe | babɽe | bæbre | bæblæ | bæbʎe | |
s/he (3sg) | obɽe | obɽe | obɽe | obo | oblæ | obʎe | |
we exclusive
(1.nsg.excl) |
ŋɵmra | ŋumra | ŋəmira | ŋəmira | bli | ŋəmʎi | |
we inclusive
(1.nsg.incl) |
ibra | ibra | ibra | ibra | jəbli | jɪbʎi | |
you (2nsg) | bæra | babra | bibra | bibra | bibli | bibʎi | |
they (3nsg) | obra | obra | ubira | ubira | ubli | ubʎi | |
Possessive | I (1sg) | ŋɵmo | ŋəmo | ŋəmo | ŋomo | bo/bænæ | ŋəmo |
thou (2sg) | bəne | bəne | bəne | bəne | bənæ | bənæ | |
s/he (3sg) | obo | obo | obo | obo | obo/obænæ | obo | |
we exclusive
(1.nsg.excl) |
ŋəma | ŋəma | ŋəma | ŋəma | ba | ŋəma | |
we inclusive
(1.nsg.incl) |
iba | iba | iba | iba | jəba | jəba | |
you (2nsg) | bina | bina | bina | bina | bəna | bəna | |
they (3nsg) | oba | oba | oba | oba | oba | wəba |
Primary language families | |||||
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Africa |
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Eurasia (Europe and Asia) |
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New Guinea and the Pacific |
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Australia |
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North America |
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Mesoamerica |
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South America |
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Sign languages |
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See also |
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