Mufian language

Mufian (Muhian, Muhiang), or Southern Arapesh, is an Arapesh language (Torricelli) of Papua New Guinea. Dialects are Supari, Balif, Filifita (Ilahita), Iwam-Nagalemb, Nagipaem; Filifita speakers are half the population, at 6,000 in 1999.[1] It is spoken in 36 villages, most of which are located within Bumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province. It is also spoken in Supari ward of Albiges-Mablep Rural LLG.[3][4]

Mufian
Southern Arapesh
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionBumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province (36 villages)
Native speakers
11,000 (1998)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3aoj
Glottologmufi1238
ELPMufian[2]

Phonology
Consonant Phonemes of Mufian[5]
Labial Alveolar Velar Glottal
labialized plain labialized plain
Nasal m n
Stop p b t d kʷ ɡʷ k ɡ ʔʷ ʔ
Fricative f s h
Approximant w l

/ʔʷ/ is a coarticulated glottal stop with lip rounding that occurs only in final word positions.[6]:311

Vowel Phonemes of Mufian
Front Central Back
High i   u
Mid e ə o
Low æ a  

Pronouns

Southern Arapesh pronouns are:[6]

sgpl
1incl apə
1excl aeʔafə
2 inəʔipə
3m ənənəmom
3f əkoʔʷaowou

Noun classes

There are 17 classes for count nouns in Mufian, plus two extra classes, i.e. proper names and place names. Noun classes are expressed in noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, and verb prefixes.

Although Southern Arapesh has more than a dozen noun classes, only four noun classes are determined by semantics, while the other noun classes are determined phonologically using the final root segment (a feature typical of the Lower Sepik languages). The four semantically determined noun classes are:[6]

  • class 16: male human referents
  • class 8: female human referents
  • class 5: human referents of unspecified sex (likely diminutive, since children are also included)
  • class 6: human referents of unspecified sex

The membership of the other twelve classes is determined phonologically, by the final segment of the root, as in the Lower Sepik languages.[6]

Some examples of Mufian noun classes from Alungum (1978):[7]

ClassForm (sg.)Form (pl.)GlossSg. Noun SuffixSg. Adjective SuffixSg. Verb PrefixPl. Noun SuffixPl. Adjective SuffixPl. Verb Prefix
Class 1 bolbongofpig-l-lil--ngof-ngufif-
Class 2 éngelangofname-ngél-ngilig--ngof-ngufif-
Class 3 nalofnaleleftooth-f-fif--lef-lefif-
Class 4 lowaflu'ongofclothes-f-fif--nguf-fif-
Class 5 batéwinbatéwischild-n-nin--s-sis-
Class 6 alupinialupisifriend-ni-nin--si-sis-
Class 7 nombatnombangwdog-t, -ta-teit--ngw-ngwigw-
Class 8 nemata'wnematawawoman-'w-kwikw--wa-weiw-
Class 9 namnaepeye-m-mim--p-pip-
Class 10 lawanglawahtree-g, -ga-gweig--h-ngéhih-
Class 11 bembbembehbetel nut-b-mbib--h-mbihih-
Class 12 nongwatopnongwatohknife-p-pip--h-hih-
Class 13 wambelwalembvillage-mbel-mbilib--lemb-lembib-
Class 14 mai'unama'unambpigeon-a-nin--amb-mbib-
Class 15 usinusimbcrested pigeon-n-nin--b-mbib-
Class 16 amanamamman-n-nein--m-mim-
Class 17 koskoscourse-s-sis--s-sis-

There are a few irregularities in these noun classes.[7]

  • Paradisec has a collection of materials with Don Laycock (DL1) that includes Mufian materials

References
  1. Mufian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Endangered Languages Project data for Mufian.
  3. Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  4. United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
  5. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine "Mufian Organised Phonology Data" by R. J. Conrad
  6. Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  7. "J. Alungum, R. J. Conrad, and J. Lukas (1978). Some Muhiang Grammatical Notes."
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