The Kolopom languages are a family of Trans–New Guinea languages in the classifications of Stephen Wurm (1975) and of Malcolm Ross (2005). Along with the Mombum languages, they are the languages spoken on Kolepom Island (Yos Sudarso Island) in South Papua, Indonesia.

Kolopom
Geographic
distribution
Kolepom Island, South Papua
Linguistic classificationTrans–New Guinea
  • Kayagar–Kolopom
    • Kolopom
Language codes
Glottologkolo1268
Map: The Kolopom languages of New Guinea
  The Kolopom languages
  Other Trans–New Guinea languages
  Other Papuan languages
  Austronesian languages
  Uninhabited

Languages

edit

The Kolopom languages are:[1]

Proto-language

edit

Phonemes

edit

Usher (2020) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows:[1]

*m *n
*p *t *s *k
*mb *nd *ndz *ŋg
[*w] [*r] [*j] [*ɣ]
*i *u
*e *o
*a

Pronouns

edit

Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:[1]

sg pl
1 *n[a/o] *nie
2 *K[a/o] (?) *ŋgie
3 *ep *emDe

Basic vocabulary

edit

Some lexical reconstructions by Usher (2020) are:[1]

gloss Proto-Kolopom
head *tipV; *mVrV[w]
hair/feathers *muen[a]
ear/mind ? *mVrVk; *[ndz][o/u]an
eye *VnV
nose *ŋgon
tooth *t[e]r[a]k
tongue *mepreŋg
blood *iendz
breast/milk *mam
louse *nemeŋg
dog *n[ia]
pig *k[o/u][a]
egg *uak
tree/wood *nd[ua]t
man/person *ndz[ia]p
woman/wife *jowa[k]
moon *kumbanV
water *ndzu
stone *mete
name *n[e/a][k/ŋg]
two *[j]enapa; *sVp

Cognates

edit

Cognates among Kolopom languages listed by Evans (2018):[2]

Kolopom family cognates
gloss Kimaghama Riantana Ndom Marori
stone mɛtɛ mɛtoe mɛtə mɛrɛ / mara
cheek cama cəma sama
name na nar neɣ / naw
rope niɛ na nɛɣ naʒ

Vocabulary comparison

edit

The following basic vocabulary words are from McElhanon & Voorhoeve (1970)[3] and Voorhoeve (1975),[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[5]

The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. mete, meːt, metö for “stone”) or not (e.g. tuakwo, reːt, modo for “head”).

gloss Kimaghima Ndom Riantana
head tuakwo reːt modo
hair muna tomwen rutivö
eye avuo ununor anömbö
tooth travae trex tudömbo
leg kura tur teː
louse nöme neːmön nöme
dog nöe wawant nia
pig ku yar ku
bird axanemö nembörfe ne
egg wo wax winömbana
blood dörö eth yerana
bone duno in nduka
skin krara krikir kwika
tree do ndör; ndua ndör; ndua
man ci xarefe theref rianoana
sun öre wen meːnoŋwa
water cu wer
fire i u drö
stone mete meːt metö
name ne nar ria
eat muye xot mora
one növere sas meːbö
two kave thef enava

Evolution

edit

Kolopom reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:[6]

Kimaghana language:

  • kura ‘leg’ < *k(a,o)ndok[V]
  • nome ‘louse’ < *niman
  • nanu ‘older sibling’ < *nana(i)

Riantana language:

  • mu ‘breast’ < *amu
  • modo ‘head’ < *mVtVna
  • nome ‘louse’ < *niman

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d New Guinea World, Kolopom
  2. ^ Evans, Nicholas (2018). "The languages of Southern New Guinea". 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. 641–774. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. ^ McElhanon, K.A. and Voorhoeve, C.L. The Trans-New Guinea Phylum: Explorations in deep-level genetic relationships. B-16, vi + 112 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1970. doi:10.15144/PL-B16
  4. ^ Voorhoeve, C.L. Languages of Irian Jaya: Checklist. Preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists. B-31, iv + 133 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. doi:10.15144/PL-B31
  5. ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  6. ^ 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.
edit