Marangis a.k.a. Watam is a Ramu language of Papua New Guinea. Like Bosmun, it shares a number of irregular plural markers with the Lower Sepik languages, supporting the proposal of a Ramu – Lower Sepik language family.
| Marangis | |
|---|---|
| Watam | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Madang Province, East Sepik Province |
Native speakers | 590 (2003)[1] |
Ramu
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wax |
| Glottolog | wata1253 |
| ELP | Watam |
It is spoken in the two villages of:[2][3]
- Watam village, Marienberg Rural LLG, East Sepik Province (3°54′24″S 144°32′43″E / 3.906592°S 144.545246°E)
- Marangis village, Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province (4°00′51″S 144°36′20″E / 4.014075°S 144.605629°E)
Pronouns
editThe pronominal system of Watam has a four-way distinction, with there being a paucal ("a few", "more than two") number for pronouns in addition to singular, dual, and plural.[4]
person singular dual paucal plural 1st yak aŋga apak ae 2nd u noŋgo niŋga ne 3rd ma miŋga miŋga min
Nouns
editNominal plural formatives include:[4]
Verbs
editWatam verbal conjugation for the verb ndo ‘to see’:[4]
tense verbal form present ndo-ta present ndo-ri future ndo-na(n) imperative ndo
References
edit- ^ Marangis at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
- ^ United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
- ^ a b c 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.