Kairiru language
Kairiru is one of three Kairiru languages spoken mainly on Kairiru and Mushu islands and in several coastal villages on the mainland between Cape Karawop and Cape Samein near Wewak in East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.
| Kairiru | |
|---|---|
| Region | East Sepik Province, northern Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 3,200 (2000 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kxa |
| Glottolog | kair1263 |
| ELP | Kairiru[2] |
Morphology
Pronouns and person markers
One remarkable feature of the pronoun system of Kairiru is that it appears to have lost the distinction between 1st person inclusive and exclusive pronouns throughout its affix paradigms, but then recreated inclusive forms in its independent pronouns by combining 1st person and 2nd person forms along the lines of Tok Pisin yumi (< yu + mi). The inclusive-exclusive distinction is almost universal among Austronesian languages but generally lacking in Papuan languages.
Free pronouns
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | taqam | tuyieq | |
| 1st person exclusive | kyau | qait | tu |
| 2nd person | yieq | qam | qum |
| 3rd person | ei | rri | rru |
Genitive pronouns
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | taqait | taqatu | |
| 1st person exclusive | wokyau | tamoit | taqatu |
| 2nd person | yieqayieq | maqam | moqum |
| 3rd person | yaqai | rraqarri | rraqarru |
Possessive suffixes on inalienable nouns
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | -qait | -tu | |
| 1st person exclusive | -k | -qait | -tu |
| 2nd person | -m | -qam | -qum |
| 3rd person | -ny | -rri | -rru |
Subject prefixes on verbs
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | ta- | ti- | |
| 1st person exclusive | wu- | ta- | ti- |
| 2nd person | qo- | ka- | qu- |
| 3rd person | a- | rra- | rri- |
Object suffixes on verbs
| Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person inclusive | -qait | -tu | |
| 1st person exclusive | -(ky)au | -qait | -tu |
| 2nd person | -(y)ieq | -qam | -qum |
| 3rd person | -i/-Ø | -rri/-Ø | -rru |
References
- Kairiru at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- Endangered Languages Project data for Kairiru.
- Wivell, Richard (1981). Kairiru grammar. M.A. thesis, University of Auckland.
External links
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