Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages
| Raja Ampat–South Halmahera | |
|---|---|
| Halmahera Sea | |
| Geographic distribution | Halmahera Sea and Raja Ampat Islands |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian |
| Proto-language | Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera (Proto-RASH) |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | raja1255 |
The Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages are a branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages of eastern Indonesia. They are spoken on islands in the Halmahera Sea, and on its margins from the south-eastern coast of Halmahera to the Raja Ampat Islands off the western tip of New Guinea.
The languages of the Raja Ampat Islands show a strong Papuan substratum influence; it is not clear that they are actually Austronesian as opposed to relexified Papuan languages.[1]
Remijsen (2001) and Blust (1978) linked the languages of Raja Ampat to the South Halmahera languages. David Kamholz (2014) breaks up Raja Ampat, so that the structure of the Halmahera Sea languages is as follows:[2]
Historical morphology
[edit]Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Raja Ampat–South Halmahera proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation:
Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera:
1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.) 2sg. *my- (V), *m-y- (C) 2pl. *m- 3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. *d-
1sg. *-g 1pl. *-nd (incl.), *-mam (excl.) 2sg. *-m 2pl. *-meu 3sg. *-∅ 3pl. *-ndri, *si-
Proto-Ma'ya-Matbat:
1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *m-? (excl.) 2sg. *my- (V), *m-y- (C) 2pl. *m- 3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. ?
1sg. *-g 1pl. *-n (incl.), *-m (excl.) 2sg. *-m 2pl. *-m 3sg. *-∅ 3pl. *-n
Subject markers and personal pronouns of Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2023):
1sg. *-y- 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.) 2sg. *m-y- 2pl. *m- 3sg. *n- 3pl. *l-
1sg. *yak 1pl. *tit (incl.), *am (excl.) 2sg. *aw 2pl. *mew 3sg. *i 3pl. *si
Languages
[edit]From Kamholz (2024). Earlier classifications grouped Ambel and Biga together, but the innovation posited for Proto-Ambel-Biga (innovation of the inalienable possessive plural suffix -n/-no) did not in fact exist:
Lexical reconstructions
[edit]Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2020):
| Proto-RASH | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *fi | 'good' |
| *su | 'fart' |
| *pnu | 'village' |
| *wu | 'rainbow' |
| *du | 'rattan' |
| *lu | 'two' |
Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati according to Arnold (2023, 2024):
| Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *ˈmani³ | 'bird' |
| *ˈmete³m | 'black' |
| *ˈlomo³s | 'blood' |
| *kaˈbo³m | 'bone' |
| *su³s | 'breast' |
| *wa³g | 'canoe' |
| *kaˈlo³w | 'cassowary' |
| *mnye³t | 'cloud' |
| *kaˈliti³f | 'cockroach' |
| *kaˈbluti³ | 'cold' |
| *-bʊ³t | 'to come' |
| *-ˈtini³s | 'to cry' |
| *-ˈale³ | 'to descend' |
| *ˈsili³p | 'drum' |
| *-aˈpo³n | 'to eat (intr.)' |
| *ˈtolo³ | 'egg' |
| *-ˈsapa³n | 'to exit' |
| *ˈyini³ | 'fish' |
| *-ˈapo³ | 'to fly' |
| *fo³n | 'full' |
| *fi³y | 'good' |
| *-ˈdono³ | 'to hear' |
| *maˈsyono³ | 'heavy' |
| *-bu³n | 'to kill' |
| *ˈlʊnʊ³ | 'ladder' |
| *kaˈnya³t | 'land turtle' |
| *-ˈene³f | 'to lie down' |
| *mʊ³s | 'low tide' |
| *ˈlyama³ | 'needle' |
| *si³w | 'nine' |
| *kaˈte³m | 'one' |
| *ˈpʊsʊ³ | 'paddle' |
| *-ˈbyaya³ | 'to play' |
| *ˈgoli³m | 'rain' |
| *kaˈlu³f | 'rat' |
| *ˈbulu³f | 'raw' |
| *ˈwali³ | 'rope' |
| *-ˈtati³ | 'to run' |
| *le³n | 'sand' |
| *fɪ³n | 'sea turtle' |
| *ˈwono³m | 'six' |
| *ko³k | 'snake' |
| *-fa³n | 'to shoot' |
| *-ˈene³f | 'to sleep' |
| *kaˈpa³t | 'stone' |
| *tʊ³p | 'sugarcane' |
| *kaˈlene³ | 'taro' |
| *ˈlafe³ | 'ten' |
| *tʊ³l | 'three' |
| *taˈbaka³ | 'tobacco' |
| *pnu³w | 'village' |
| *ˈwali³ | 'vine' |
| *-da³g | 'to walk' |
| *kanˈjɪ³n | 'wall' |
| *ˈwVyV³ | 'water' |
| *-faˈba³m | 'to wash clothes' |
| *maˈlomo³ | 'wet' |
| *ˈlaba³t | 'wound' |
Further reading
[edit]- Kamholz, David (2015). The reconstruction of Proto-SHWNG morphology
- Arnold, Laura (2020). Highs and lows: A previously unattested tone split from vowel height in Metnyo Ambel
- Arnold, Laura (2023). Multiple uncommon word-prosodic changes in the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
- Arnold, Laura (2023). Progress report on the subclassification of the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
- Arnold, Laura (2024). A closer look at *ə in South Halmahera-West New Guinea
- Kamhold, David (2024). "Historical linguistics of the South Halmahera–West New Guinea subgroup". In Alexander Adelaar; Antoinette Schapper (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Malayo-Polynesian Languages of Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press. pp. 181–187. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198807353.003.0012.
References
[edit]- ^ *Remijsen, Albert Clementina Ludovicus (2001). Word-prosodic systems of Raja Ampat languages (PDF). Utrecht: LOT. ISBN 978-90-76864-09-9.
- ^ Kamholz, David (2014). Austronesians in Papua: Diversification and change in South Halmahera–West New Guinea Archived 2021-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zg8b1vd