#papuan languages

Linguistic Diversity Challenge Australia & Oceania

What is the language called in English and the language itself?

Savosavo, Savo, Savo Island

Where is the language spoken?

Savo Island, Solomon Islands, making it the easternmost Papuan language

How many people speak the language? Is it endangered?

Savosavo is currently spoken by about 2500 native speakers. It is endangered.

Almost everyone on Savo is fluent in Solomon Islands Pijin. Pijin and English are the only languages used in school. Children usually acquire Pijin only slightly later than Savosavo. (ELP)

Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages?

It has been claimed that Savosavo were a member of the “Central Solomon languages”, but evidence is inconclusive at best; for what it’s worth, Savosavo should be considered an isolated language

What writing system does the language use?

The language is written in the latin alphabet with few diacritics.

What kind of grammatical features does the language have? What is its typological profile?

SOV, suffixing, postpositional, non tonal

What does the language sound like?

Listen to a sample here: https://dobes.mpi.nl/media/?id=1839/00-0000-0000-000A-3B60-1&type=2&project=savosavo

What do you personally find interesting about the language?

One of the principal investigators in the Savosavo language documentation project was a colleague of mine when I briefly worked at Bielefeld University. 

The language is interesting because it is basically a remote enclave of Panuanness in the vast Ocean of Austronesian. 

(re)sources: 

https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/savo1255

http://www.language-archives.org/language/svs

http://odin.linguistlist.org/igt_urls.php?lang=svs

http://endangeredlanguages.com/lang/2490

https://phoible.org/languages/savo1255

https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_svs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savosavo_language

Linguistic Diversity Challenge Australia & Oceania

What is the language called in English and the language itself?

Oksapmin, Nalu

Where is the language spoken?

right in the heart of New Guinea:

How many people speak the language? Is it endangered?

It is spoken by approx. 8000 people (as of 1993); it might be endangered

"Oksapmin is the main language of communication in the Tekin Valley and is still the first language that the vast majority of children in the area learn. Tok Pisin and English are, however, becoming more prominent." (ELP)

Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages?

Trans New Guinea >> Nuclear Trans New Guinea >> Asmat-Awyu-Ok >> Awyu-Ok >> Ok-Oksapmin; its closest relatives are the members of the OK branch

What writing system does the language use?

traditionally unwritten, resources are in Latin alphabet

What kind of grammatical features does the language have? What is its typological profile?

SOV with prefixes and suffixes, obligatory evidential marking, complex (serial) verbs, and demonstratives which distinguish for elevation

What does the language sound like?

What do you personally find interesting about the language?

Its numeral system (body part system), its dyadic kinship system

(re)sources:

http://www.language-archives.org/language/opm

https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/oksa1245

http://endangeredlanguages.com/lang/10678

https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_oks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksapmin_language

Linguistic Diversity Challenge — Regional Edition Post # 12 / 12: New Guinea

What is the language known as to linguists, and by the speakers themselves? Dani; Grand Valley Dani, Ndani

Where is the language spoken? Papua province: Ndugu regency, Baliem Grand Valley central highlands; lower gorge; Indonesia

How many speakers does the language have? approximately 20000 [ethnologue]

What are some of the languages relatives and is it part of a contact area? Nuclear Trans New Guinea >> Dani >> Central Dani >> Grand Valley Dani >> Lower Grand Valley Dani

Is the language written? If it is, with what script? not really

What is the language like grammatically? numeral system restricted to ‘one, two three, many’; fairly rich verbal morphology, notable is a distinction between remote and near past tense: 

What is the language like phonologically? No unusual sounds, average inventory.  ** THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART **

What made you choose the language? I don’t remember exactly how, but a grammar of this language once got into my possession, making it the first book in the “Papuan languages” section of my bookshelf. The Dani language differentiates only two basic colours, mili for cool/dark shades such as blue, green, and black, and mola for warm/light colours such as red, yellow, and white. [wikipedia]

Ressources:

https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lowe1415

https://www.ethnologue.com/language/dni

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Valley_Dani_language

https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_dni

https://phoible.org/inventories/view/308#tipa

http://odin.linguistlist.org/igt_raw.php?id=3423&langcode=dni

http://www.language-archives.org/language/dni