Amal is a language spoken along the border of Sandaun Province and East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, along the Wagana River near the confluence with Wanibe Creek.[1] Foley (2018) classifies Amal as a primary branch of the Sepik languages, though it is quite close to Kalou.
| Amal | |
|---|---|
| Region | Sandaun Province and East Sepik Province |
Native speakers | 830 (2003)[1] |
Sepik
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | aad |
| Glottolog | amal1242 |
| ELP | Amal |
Pronouns
editPronouns are:[2]
Amal pronouns sg pl 1 ŋan nut 2 in kun 3 may ilum
Cognates
editAmal cognates with Sepik languages are:[2]
- tal ‘woman’
- yan ‘child’
- lal ‘tongue’ < proto-Sepik *ta(w)r
- mi ‘breast’ < proto-Sepik *muk
- waplo ‘liver’
- nip ‘blood’
- yen ‘egg’
- ak ‘house’
Foley (2018) notes that there appears to be somewhat more lexical similarities between Amal and the Tama languages, but does not consider them to form a group with each other.
Vocabulary
editThe following basic vocabulary words of Amal are from Laycock (1968),[3] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[4]
gloss Amal head makələ ear marj eye nai nose yimeʔ tooth pu tongue lal leg lü louse ŋin dog wun bird yok egg yen blood niːp bone nəŋolak skin puːk breast m tree piːt man wul woman tal sun mwak moon yimal water iːp fire waː stone tipal two kila
References
edit- ^ a b Amal at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ a b Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". 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. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ Laycock, Donald C. 1968. Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea. Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66.
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
