| Left May | |
|---|---|
| Arai | |
| Geographic distribution | Left May River, easternSandaun Province and westernEast Sepik Province,Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Arai–Samaia or independentlanguage family
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | left1242 |
TheLeft May orArai languages are a smalllanguage family of half a dozen closely related but not mutually intelligible languages in the centre ofNew Guinea, in the watershed of theLeft May River. There are only about 2,000 speakers in all.Foley (2018) classifies them separately as an independent language family,[1] while Usher (2020) links them with theAmto–Musan languages.[2]
The Left May languages are spoken at the extreme western end ofEast Sepik Province,Papua New Guinea.
Ama is the best documented Left May language.[1]
The languages are:
Foley (2018) provides the following classification.[1]
Iteri andBo are closely related to each other.
Usher (2020) does not recognize a primary western branch, and distinguishes more languages.[3]
Malcolm Ross (2005) linked the Left May languages to Laycock'sKwomtari–Baibai languages in aLeft May – Kwomtari family, based on similarities in thepronouns of Rocky Peak. However, he had not corrected for Laycock's errors in classification, and it is not clear if the links are with theKwomtari orFas languages.
Timothy Usher links the Left May languages to their neighbors, theAmto–Musan languages and thePyu language in asArai–Samaia stock.[2] However, Foley (2018) attributes lexical similarities between the Left May and Amto-Musan families to contact, rather than genetic relationship.[1]
Foley (2018) notes that typologically, the Left May languages are highly different from the other language families of theSepik-Ramu basin, instead resembling theTrans-New Guinea somewhat more closely. For example, Left May and Trans-New Guinea languages typically all haveergative case markers, which most languages of the Sepik-Ramu basin do not have except for a few such as the isolateTaiap. Nevertheless, Left May and Trans-New Guinea speakers have historically been hostile towards each other (unlike their close trade relationships with Amto-Musan speakers), so there has been no recent contact scenarios to speak of. These typological similarities could be due to chance, ancient contact, or perhaps even a deep genetic relationship.[1]
The following basic vocabulary words are from Conrad & Dye (1975)[4] and variousSIL resources, as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database.[5]
The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g.kʌmi,ʔɛmi,ʔami for “head”) or not (e.g.dɛbo,ʔinʌ̀,fɛřæ for “skin”).
| gloss | Ama | Bo | Iteri (Rocky Peak dialect) | Iteri | Nimo | Owiniga |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| head | kamu; 'kaːmũ | kʌmi | ʔɛmi | ʔami; ʔa'm̀i | kɛmɛ; 'kɛmɛh | |
| hair | kamusowa; 'kaːmũsuɒ | kʌmsiya | ʔɛmisu | ami | ʔamiso; ʔami'sò | 'kamo; kɛmo |
| ear | i'ɒː; ʔia | kɔ | ʔo | æu | ɔ; ʔɔ | iso; is̯o; i'só |
| eye | mʝɒː; mʌřa | mʌǏo | ᵽogwa | mɔ; moh | 'mǒro; mořo | |
| nose | amu; 'aːmũ | ki | ʔɩmodʋ | imuř | ʔimʌ | tɛmɛři; tə'mʌ́li |
| tooth | iː | ki | ʔe | ɩ | imɛři; i'mʌli | |
| tongue | isauna; i'saːunɔ̃ | lɛsɛ | lɛtɛ | isaːbe; isaːpe | isɩ; ise | |
| leg | 'ɸeʌu | feřǽ | ||||
| louse | ʔani; ʌ'nĩː | ka | ʔɔ | æ | amiᶗ; ʔamiyo | eni; kemo; tařap̶úmwaino |
| dog | aǏuou; ʌʝɔ'wɔːu | naři | so | soʔ | ʔau; ʔauh | bɛlɩ; bɛři |
| pig | ᵽu; ʍuː | ᵽu | ᵽu | hwusu | ᵽu | kebaře; kebáře |
| bird | o; oː | wɔ | wo | waři | wʌ; 'ẃəli | be; mbɛh; ya |
| egg | oː iː; ʔui | wɔi | ʔabotɩno | woi | i; sáːviya | bene; mɛřɛfi; mɛřɛri; pe'dana |
| blood | 'nãːkɒ; nakʌʔ | kwo | wo | woʔ | iwʌ | ke; takona |
| bone | miː; mĩː | mutuk | moto | ᵽʋmoto | mi | miři; nom |
| skin | au; 'tɔːnɔ̃ | tʌpɔ | dɛbo | nae | abu; ʔi'nʌ̀ | fɛřæ; fɛřai; numə'řài; sepe |
| breast | nanʌ; 'nãːnɔ̃ | nɔ | nʋ | nou | nɔ | 'náinoh; nano |
| tree | ãː; ʔą | ka | ʔa | ąʔ | a; ʔa | a; ʔaː |
| man | nʌ̃'kɒː; nʌka | nʌkʌ | no | nau | nɔː; nɔno 'sámo | nəgaina; 'nɛ́ka; nʌga; nʌgaina |
| woman | mwi; nə̃'nĩː; nʌkʌǏaǏa | kwa | uwa; ʔwa | nią; nià 'sámo | 'níboh; nini | |
| sun | o'ʝɒː | 'húanota | beřa; mbɛ'lah | |||
| moon | ʌ'mũː | ʔi'ḿʌ | 'fonai; fořai | |||
| water | i'wɒː; ʔiwa | ʔu | ʔu | u | wi; ʔwi | bi; ʔmi |
| fire | taː; tah | ta | yɛyʋ | ta | sa; sah | |
| stone | tɛmʌkiʔ; tʌmʌ̃'kiː | tʌpʌki | tʌbe | masɩ | tə'pái; tʌpei | sia; si'yà; sya |
| road, path | mʝɒː; mʌǏa | keři; kʌři | ʔæliwi | ʌři | áři; ařiI | maǥamář; meřeb̶i; mɛ'řiƀi |
| name | 'siːʌʝɔ | |||||
| eat | napʌna; tə'nɔ̃ː | sanoʔ | wɛno | pano; 'yʌ́no 'sáno | epepeki; siyunò; tauna | |
| one | siasʌ; 'siːʌsɔ | sɔsɔ | sʋso | susæsæ | siʌesʌ; 'síyasə | ya'liƀuh; yəvyaro; yʌřu |
| two | tiwe; 'tiːwei | tisʌ | tiso | lisæʔ | tiː; tiĩ | si'máƀi; simʌbi; siməbi |