Mundugumor language

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Mundugumor (Munduguma, Mundukomo) a.k.a. Biwat is a Yuat language of Papua New Guinea. It is spoken in Biwat village (4°24′55″S 143°51′36″E / 4.415234°S 143.859962°E / -4.415234; 143.859962 (Biwat)) of Yuat Rural LLG, East Sepik Province.[1][2]

Mundugumor
Biwat
RegionEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
EthnicityMundugumor people
Native speakers
3,000 (2003)[1]
Yuat
  • Mundugumor
Language codes
ISO 639-3bwm
Glottologbiwa1243
ELPBiwat
Coordinates: 4°24′55″S 143°51′36″E / 4.415234°S 143.859962°E / -4.415234; 143.859962 (Biwat)

Phonology

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Mundukumo consonants are:[3]

p t k
ᵐb ⁿd ᶮʤ ᵑg
m n ɲ ŋ
f s
ᵐv
r
w j

Mundukumo vowels are:[3]

i u
e ə o
a

Nouns

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Some examples showing Mundukomo nouns and their irregular plural forms:[3]: 228 

gloss singular plural
‘snake’ mas mase
‘tooth’ adusuva adusuvavi
‘bone’ avu avuvavi
‘nose’ ŋlək ŋlu
‘thigh’ guak go
‘hand’ klik klia
‘dog’ ken kidu
‘betelnut’ siman simadu
‘ear’ tuan tuadu
‘fire’ mən məda
‘basket’ ban bada
‘mouth’ balaŋ balaji
‘house’ klaŋ klagi
‘star’ susuaŋ susuagi
‘water’ mam mabi
‘neck’ volam volabi
‘ball’ muŋmam muŋmabi
‘cassowary’ kalim kalimu
‘girl’ analom analomu
‘paddle’ dum dumu

Similar patterns of complex nominal plural allomorphy are also found in the Lower Sepik-Ramu languages.[3]: 228 

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Further reading

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  • McDowell, Nancy. 1991. The Mundugumor: From the Fieldnotes of Margaret Mead and Reo Fortune. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  • McElvenny, James. 2007. Notes on Mundukumo. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.

References

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  1. ^ a b Mundugumor at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
  3. ^ a b c d 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.