Battle of Honey Springs

The Greater Binanderean or Guhu-Oro languages are a language family spoken along the northeast coast of the Papuan Peninsula – the "Bird's Tail" of New Guinea – and appear to be a recent expansion from the north. They were classified as a branch of the Trans–New Guinea languages by Stephen Wurm (1975) and Malcolm Ross (2005), but removed (along with the related Goilalan languages) by Timothy Usher (2020).^[2] The Binandere family proper is transparently valid; Ross connected it to the Guhu-Semane isolate based on pronominal evidence, and this has been confirmed by Smallhorn (2011). Proto-Binanderean (which excludes Guhu-Samane) has been reconstructed in Smallhorn (2011).

Language contact

There is evidence that settlements of people speaking Oceanic languages along the Binanderean coast were gradually absorbed into inland communities speaking Binanderean languages (Bradshaw 2017). For instance, the SOV word order of Papuan Tip languages is due to Binanderean influence.^[3]

Korafe displays significant influence from Oceanic languages. Meanwhile, Maisin, spoken in Oro Province, is an Oceanic language with very heavy Binanderean influence and shows characteristics typical of mixed languages.^[3]

Spoken in Morobe Province, Guhu-Samane is divergent, which may be due to extensive historical contact with Oceanic languages such as Numbami.^[3]

Classification

Greater Binanderean consists of the Guhu-Samane language and the Binanderean languages proper. Smallhorn (2011:444) provides the following classification:

Greater Binanderean
- Guhu-Samane
- Binanderean
  - Yekora
  - North Binanderean
    - Suena
    - Zia
  - Nuclear Binanderean
    - Binandere
    - South Binanderean
      - Orokaivic
        Aeka (Northern Orokaiva)
        
        Orokaiva
        
        Hunjara (Mountain Orokaiva)
      - Coastal Binanderean
        Notu-Yega (Ewage)
        
        Gaena-Korafe
        
        Baruga

However, South Binanderean and Nuclear Binanderean are non-genealogical linkages. Usher (2020), who calls the Binanderean languages proper "Oro" after Oro Province, classifies them very similarly, apart from not reproducing the non-cladistic linkages:^[2]

Guhu–Oro (= Greater Binanderean)
- Guhu-Samane
- Oro (= Binanderean)
  - Binandere
  - Yekora
  - Ewage-Notu
  - Suena–Zia (= North Binanderean)
    - Suena
    - Zia
  - Central Oro (= Orokaivic)
    - Aeka
    - Orokaiva
    - Hunjara
  - Southeast Oro (= Coastal Binanderean, minus Ewage-Notu)
    - Baruga
    - Gaina–Korafe
      - Gaina
      - Korafe-Yegha

Demographics

Smallhorn (2011:3) provides population figures for the following Binanderean languages.

Guhu-Samane: 12,800
Suena: 3,000
Yekora: 1,000
Zia: 3,000
Mawae: 943
Binandere: 7,000 (including Ambasi)
Aeka: 3,400
Orokaiva: 24,000
Hunjara: 8,770
Notu: 12,900 (including Yega)
Gaena: 1,410
Baruga: 2,230
Doghoro: 270
Korafe: 3,630

Total: about 80,000

Proto-language

Pronouns

Ross (2005) reconstructs both independent pronouns and verbal person prefixes:

sg.	pronoun	prefix
1	*na	*a-
2	*ni	*i-
3	*nu	*u-

Only 1sg continues the Trans-New Guinea set.

Vocabulary

The following selected reconstructions of Proto-Binanderean and other lower-level reconstructions are from the Trans-New Guinea database:^[4]

gloss	Proto-Binandere	Proto-North-Binandere	Proto-Nuclear-Binandere
head	ciro; giti
hair	*tu
ear		*doŋgarә	*onje
eye	dibe; diti
nose		*mendә
tooth	*di
tongue	*VwVwV
dog	*sinә
pig	*pu
bird			*ndi
egg	*munju
blood	ju; or{a,o}rә
bone	bobo; wetu
skin	*tamә
breast	*ami
tree	*i
man	*embә
woman	*bam{u,o}nә		*ewVtu
sky	*utu
sun	iji; waeko	*wari
moon	*inua		*kariga
fire	*awo
stone	*g{o,e}mb{a,i}(ro)	*daba	*ganuma
road, path	begata; esa; *ndai
name	jajo; jawә
eat	ind-; mind-
one	*daba

Evolution

Greater Binanderean reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:^[5]

Binandere language:

birigi ‘lightning’ < *(m,mb)elak
mendo ‘nose’ < *m(i,u)undu
mundu ‘kidney, testicles’ < *mundun ‘internal organs’
(gisi)-moka ‘eye’ < *(kiti)-maŋgV
mu ‘sap’ < *muk ‘sap, milk’
ami ‘breast’ < *amu
kopuru ‘head’ < *kV(mb,p)(i,u)tu
ji ‘teeth’ < *(s,)ti(s,t)i ‘tooth’
kosiwa ‘spittle’, kosiwa ari- ‘to spit’ < *kasipa tV- ‘to spit’
afa ‘father’ < *apa
embo ‘man’ < *ambi
izi ‘tree’ < *inda
ganuma ‘stone’ < *ka[na]m(a,u)una
tumba ‘darkness’ < *k(i,u)tuma ‘night’
biriga ‘lightning’ < *(m,mb)elak ‘(fire)light’
(aßa)-raka ‘fire’ < *la(ŋg,k)a ‘ashes’
ni ‘bird’ < *n[e]i
na- ‘eat, drink’ < *na-
put- ‘to blow’ < *pu + verb
tupo ‘short’ < *tu(p,mb)a[C]

Korafe language:

munju ‘egg’ < *mundun ‘internal organs’
soso ‘urine’ < *sisi
aßa-raka ‘burning stick’ < *la(ŋg,k)a ‘ashes’
mut- ‘give’ < *mV-
niŋg- ‘hear, understand’ < *nVŋg- ‘know’

Suena language:

boga-masa ‘destitute’ < *mbeŋga-masi ‘orphan, widow and child’
mia ‘mother’ < *am(a,i)
tumou ‘night’ < *k(i,u)tuma
ma ‘taro’ < *mV
asi ‘netbag’ < *at(i,u)

Yega language:

kari ‘ear’ < *kand(e,i)k(V]

Phonotactics

Like the Koiarian languages, Binanderean languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.^[5]^: 87

References

^ New Guinea World, Oro – Wharton Range
^ ^a ^b New Guinea World – Guhu-Oro
^ ^a ^b ^c Bradshaw, Joel (2017). Evidence of contact between Binanderean and Oceanic languages. Oceanic Linguistics 56:395–414.
^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
^ ^a ^b Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". 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. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley; Robert Attenborough; Robin Hide; Jack Golson (eds.). Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.
Smallhorn, Jacinta Mary (2011). The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

External links

Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Guhu–Oro
Doregari Kotopu Anglican Holy Communion in Binandere, digitized by Richard Mammana and Charles Wohlers
Benunu tepo ae sakrament da kandoari ae ekalesia da jimbo nenei ainda book England da ekalesia da jimbo ango (1959) Book of Common Prayer digitized by Richard Mammana
King, Copland. 1927. Grammar and Dictionary of the Binandere Language, Mamba River, North Division, Papua. Sydney: D.S. Ford. [1]

[1] New Guinea World, Oro – Wharton Range

[ngw-2] New Guinea World – Guhu-Oro

[Bradshaw-2017-3] Bradshaw, Joel (2017). Evidence of contact between Binanderean and Oceanic languages. Oceanic Linguistics 56:395–414.

[4] Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.

[Pawley-TNG-5] Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". 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. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

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