The South Pauwasi languages are a likely small language family of New Guinea, potentially consisting of Yetfa, Kimki, Lepki, Murkim and Kembra.[1]
| South Pauwasi | |
|---|---|
| Yetfa – South Pauwasi River | |
| Geographic distribution | Papua: Pegunungan Bintang Regency |
| Linguistic classification | Pauwasi
|
| Subdivisions |
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| Glottolog | None |
Usher (2020) classifies the languages as follows,[1]
The relationship of the five languages was recognized in the early 2000s as Paul Whitehouse assembled unpublished data from the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Usher classifies them as a branch of the Pauwasi language family.[1] Søren Wichmann (2013) agrees that Murkim and Lepki at least appear to be very closely related.[2] Foley (2018) accepts that Kembra, which is very poorly attested, may be related as well.[3]
Some cognates connecting the languages are as follows. There are also loanwords in common with Pyu.[1]
| gloss | Yetfa | Kimki | Kembra | Lepki | Murkim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| water | ket, kel | di | er | kɛl | kel |
| two | kais | kaisi | kais | ||
| head | anok | no-tɛl | anok | ||
| leaf | bwaitʰ (?) | -βai | bwaik | ||
| skin/bark | it-'ba | jit | jaitʰ | ||
| worm | briɸ | brɛp | breɸ | ||
| louse | (n)jim | -nim | nim | nɪm | ɪm |
| hair | itʰ | -jet | jɛt | ||
| ear | bwa | bwi | bwi | ||
| eye | iː | ɛ̃ | ji | jɛ-mɔn | |
| coconut | was- | wæjs | wais- | ||
| speech | ma | mi | mi- | mi | |
| knife | tema | tma | tə̆'ma | tma | |
| canoe | kuf | õːp | kuβ | kuɸ | |
| shit | ɲan | ain | -ɲa | njah ~ iãh | |
| person | ap ~ aɸ | rá- | ra | ɸra | |
| egg | nela | -lĕl | dɛl | nel | |
| fire/wood | jao (tree) | já | ja | jo ~ ja- | |
| house | nam | meː | nim | mi | |
| laugh | mamla | -mwel-o | mwalo | ||
| this | si | si | si | ||
| cloud | kos | kos- | kos- | ||
| tongue | arbak | braw | prouk | ||
| tail | nókwa | jouk | jakʷat~ɲakʷat | ||
| white | lʊ | dol- | lol | ||
| far | uje~udʒe | w̆ijɛ | wije~uje- | ||
| come | -ki- | guj- | kʷi | ||
| 1pl | name | nakme | |||
| 2pl | same | sakme-re |
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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