Pawaia, also known as Sira, Tudahwe, Yasa, is a Papuan language that forms a tentative independent branch of the Trans–New Guinea family in the classification of Malcolm Ross (2005).
Distribution
Pawaia is spoken in:[1]
- Chimbu Province: Karimui District
- Eastern Highlands Province: Lufa District and Okapa District, Lamari River
- Gulf Province: Baimuru Rural LLG, Purari River near Oroi[3]
Classification
Although Pawaia has reflexes of proto-Trans–New Guinea vocabulary, Ross considers its inclusion questionable on available evidence. Usher classifies it instead with the Teberan languages. Noting insufficient evidence, Pawley and Hammarström (2018) leave it as unclassified rather than as part of Trans-New Guinea.[4]
Pawley and Hammarström (2018) do not consider there to be sufficient evidence for Pawaia to be classified as part of Trans-New Guinea, though they do note the following lexical resemblances between Pawaia and proto-Trans-New Guinea.[4]
- emi ‘breast’ < *amu
- in ‘tree’ < *inda
- su ‘tooth’ < *(s,t)i(s,t)i
Phonology
| Labial | Alveolar | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | h | |
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Approximant | w | l | j |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i ĩ | u ũ | |
| Mid | e ẽ | o õ | |
| Low | a ã | ɔ ɔ̃ |
Pawaia is also tonal, contrasting high and low tone.[5]
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Macdonald (1973)[6] and Trefry (1969),[5] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[7]
gloss Pawaia head mu hair muse; sị ear nȩᶦ; nɛ̣i eye to; toᵘ nose ho; họ tooth su tongue ha̧pi; hɛmina leg hɛ; si̧ʔi̧ louse po; poř dog hạ; hɛ̧ pig ya bird deř; ge egg ge džu; yo blood sɛni; su̧ bone džɛmɛ; yɛmi skin hɛʔȩ; hɛi breast ɛmi tree i̧; in man džʌʔla; yala woman oi; u sun ol; olsuɛ; sia moon we; wɛ water sa fire sia stone tobu; topu road, path sụ name hɛʔɛpi; hopi eat hatisụɛ; ti haʔayɛ one pɛʔɛmi; pomi two naʔau; nau
Further reading
- Trefry, David. 1969. A Comparative Study of Kuman and Pawaian. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
References
- ^ a b Pawaia at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ New Guinea World, Tua River
- ^ Oroi is next to Kaiau and is located in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Trefry, D. A comparative study of Kuman and Pawaian. B-13, vi + 99 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1969. doi:10.15144/PL-B13
- ^ Macdonald, G.E. "The Teberan Language Family". In Franklin, K. editor, The linguistic situation in the Gulf District and adjacent areas, Papua New Guinea. C-26:111-148. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1973. doi:10.15144/PL-C26.111
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- 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.
External links
- Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Pawaia