| Grass | |
|---|---|
| (dubious) | |
| Geographic distribution | East Sepik Province,Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Ramu–Lower Sepik
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
TheGrass languages are a group of languages in theRamu language family. It is accepted by Foley (2018), but not byGlottolog. They are spoken inEast Sepik Province,Papua New Guinea, with a small number of speakers also located just across the provincial border inMadang Province.
Foley (2018) notes that Grass languages share very few lexical items with the other Ramu languages, with virtually no lexical cognatesBanaro andAp Ma. However, the Grass languages are still classified as Ramu due to widely shared morphosyntax and typology.[1] Foley (2018: 205) leaves open the possibility of Grass being a third branch of the Lower Sepik-Ramu family, withLower Sepik andRamu beingsister branches.
Like the neighboringYuat languages, Grass languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first person pronouns, a feature not found in most other Papuan languages. This typological feature has diffused from Yuat into the Grass languages.[1]
The original Grass language proposal, also known asKeram, included several languages, such as Banaro andKambot (Ap Ma), that are no longer thought to be closely related to Adjora and Gorovu.
Laycock (1973) rejected Kambot and noted that Banaro was lexically divergent, and therefore grouped it with the Grassfamily in a higher-level Grassstock,[2] a position accepted by Pawley (2005).[3]
Grass/Keram (Laycock)
Timothy Usher (as reported inGlottolog) broke it up still further, with only Abu (Adora) and Gorovu kept together (in a "Porapora River" or "Agoan" branch),[4] Aion (Ambakich) and Kambot (Ap Ma) grouped with theMongol–Langam languages, and Banaro left as a primary branch of Ramu proper.[5]
Foley (2018) provides the following classification.[1]
Foley (2005)[6] did not include theKoam languages within Grass, but added them to Grass in 2018.