Suarmin, or Asaba, is a Sepik language spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua-New Guinea. Alternative names are Asabano, Akiapmin, Duranmin.
Suarmin | |
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Asaba | |
Native to | Papua New Guinea |
Region | Sandaun Province |
Native speakers | 140 (2000)[1] |
Language family | Sepik
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | seo |
Glottolog | suar1238 |
ELP | Asaba |
![]() Suarmin is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Glottolog leaves it unclassified.
Pronouns are:[2]
sg | du | pl | |
---|---|---|---|
1incl | adi | abe | |
1excl | a | nadi | nesine |
2 | abo | abodua | apa |
3 | yo | atadua | ata |
In Asaba, noun class affixes are suffixed to nouns. There are five noun classes. Examples:[2]
class | singular (ex.) | plural (ex.) | gloss (ex.) |
---|---|---|---|
class 1 | nu-bu | nu-le | house(s) |
class 2 | mena-du | mena-no | pig(s) |
class 3 | kabia-si | kabia-le | stone(s) |
class 4 | moko-ni | moko-le | fork(s) |
class 5 | nomo-so | nomo-l | stone adze(s) |
Class 1 is the default noun class.
Modifying adjectives agree with head nouns in class:[2]
na-bu
tree-I.SG
kamaya-bu
big-I.SG
na-bu kamaya-bu
tree-I.SG big-I.SG
‘tall tree’
kaiyebe-du
cassowary-II.SG
kamaya-du
big-II.SG
kaiyebe-du kamaya-du
cassowary-II.SG big-II.SG
‘big cassowary’
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Upper Sepik |
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Middle Sepik |
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Sepik Hill |
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Others |
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Languages of Papua New Guinea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Major Indigenous languages |
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Other Papuan languages |
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Sign languages |