Kewa language
Kewa | |
---|---|
Region | Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 100,000 (2001 census)[1] |
Engan
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:kjy – Erave (South)kjs – Eastkew – Pasuma (West) |
Glottolog | kewa1250 |
Kewais anEnganlanguage complex of theSouthern Highlands provinceofPapua New Guinea.A dictionary of the western dialect of Kewa has been compiled byFranklin & Franklin (1978).
Kewa pandanus register[edit]
Kewa's elaboratepandanus avoidance register,which is used only in the forest during thekarukaharvest, has been extensively documented.[2]The grammar is regularized and the vocabulary is restricted, with about a thousand words that differ from normal language. This was first described by Karl J. Franklin in 1972.[3]
Pandanus-register words have a broader semantic scope. For example,yoyo,a reduplication ofyo'leaf', refers to hair, ear, breast, and scrotum, all things which hang from the body as pandanus leaves hang from the tree.Palaa,'limb,' (either thigh or branch) is used for any reference to trees, including root, firewood, and fire. (Even in normal Kewa,repenameans both 'tree' and 'fire'.)Maeyeor 'crazy' refers to any non-human animal except dogs. It contrasts with the rational world of humans.
Many words are coined from Kewa morphology but have idiosyncratic meanings in the forest.Aayagopa,fromaa'man',yago'fellow', andpa'to do, to make', refers to man, knee, skin, and neck. Many idiosyncratic phrases are then built on this word. For example,ni madi aayagopa-si(I carry man-DIM) means "my father".
The grammar has also been simplified. Clause-linking morphology is lost and replaced by simple juxtaposition of the clauses. In standard Kewa, there are two sets of verbal endings, one indicating actions done for the speaker's benefit. That set is missing from the pandanus language. The other inflection differs somewhat. For example, the forms of 'to be' are:
Normal Kewa | Pandanus register | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | |
1st person | ni pi | saa pipa | niaa pima | ni mupi | saa mupapana | niaa mupapana |
2nd person | ne pi | ne mupa | ||||
3rd person | nipu pia | nimu pimi | aayagopa mupia | aayagopanu pupipa |
(The-nuinaayagopanuis a collective suffix.)
Notes[edit]
- ^Erave (South)atEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
EastatEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
Pasuma (West)atEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required) - ^Foley, William (1986).The Papuan Languages of New Guinea.Cambridge University Press. p. 43.
- ^Franklin (1972)
References[edit]
- Franklin, K.J. (1968).The Dialects of Kewa(PDF).Pacific Linguistics Series B - No. 10. Pacific Linguistics.doi:10.15144/pl-b10.hdl:1885/146440.ISBN9780858830431.
- Franklin, K.J. (1971).A Grammar of Kewa, New Guinea(PDF).Pacific Linguistics Series C - No. 16. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.doi:10.15144/pl-c16.hdl:1885/146559.ISBN9780858830660.
- Franklin, Karl J. (1972). "A Ritual Pandanus Language of New Guinea".Oceania.43(1): 66–76.doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1972.tb01197.x.
- Franklin, Karl J.; Franklin, Joice (1978).A Kewa Dictionary: With Supplementary Grammatical and Anthropological Materials(PDF).Pacific Linguistics Series C - No. 53. assisted by Yapua Kirapeasi. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.doi:10.15144/pl-c53.hdl:1885/144508.ISBN9780858831827.
External links[edit]
- Materials on East Kewa are included in the open accessArthur Capellcollections (AC1andAC2) held byParadisec.
- Kewa – English Dictionary