Yapunda, or Yeri, is a Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea.
| Yapunda | |
|---|---|
| Yeri | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun Province |
Native speakers | 60 (2000)[1] |
Torricelli
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | yev |
| Glottolog | yapu1240 |
| ELP | Yeri |
Yeri is a language estimated to be spoken by 100-150 people. The speakers with the most proficiency are generally 40 years of age or older. The speakers who make up the younger demographics tend to either speak a more simplified version of the language or favor the use of Tok Pisin, which is universal language used with neighboring villages.
The village of Yeri is made up of a variety of hamlets along the Om river. Located in the Torricelli mountains, the village was originally deeper in the forest. Most village members decided to relocate nearer to the river, while a few stayed behind and continued habitation in the forest.
The Yeri village is structured as a patrilineal clan system. As of 2012, there were seven clans within the village. There is a history of bride exchange between villages and clans, with patrilocal residence following marriage.[2]
Vowels and Consonants
editThe Yeri language has five vowel phonemes, all shown in the chart below. Two of these phonemes, /i/ and /u/, have both glide and vowel allophones.
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Yeri has 13 consonants in addition to the five vowels already in it's phoneme inventory. There are three plosives, one fricative, three nasals, and three approximates.
When vowels are unstressed, they are shorted usually to the point of complete deletion.
Grammatical Nuances
editYeri is an agglutinating language and exhibits the basic word order of SVO (Subject, Verb, Object). In text, OV is more common.
Overt number marking usually occurs through suffixation on the noun in a variety of inflectional classes.
References
edit- ^ Yapunda at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Wilson, Jennifer (2017). A Grammar of Yeri: A Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea (PhD thesis). State University of New York at Buffalo.
Further reading
edit- Wilson, Jennifer (2017). A Grammar of Yeri: A Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea (Ph.D. thesis). State University of New York at Buffalo. ProQuest 1878004238 – via ProQuest.