Kainantu–Goroka languages

The Kainantu–Goroka languages are a family of Papuan languages established by Arthur Capell in 1948 under the name East Highlands. They formed the core of Stephen Wurm's 1960 East New Guinea Highlands family (the precursor of Trans–New Guinea), and are one of the larger branches of Trans–New Guinea in the 2005 classification of Malcolm Ross.

Languages

The constituent Kainantu and Goroka families are clearly valid groups, and both William A. Foley and Timothy Usher consider their TNG identity to be established. The languages are:

Goroka family
- Daulo
  - Siane, Yaweyuha
  - Gahuku: Alekano (Gahuku), Asaro River: Dano (Upper Asaro), Tokano (Lower Asaro)
- Benabena
- South Goroka: Fore, Gimi
- Isabi, Gende
- Henganofi
  - Abaga
  - Kamono (Kamano)
  - Fayatina River
    - Kanite, Inoke-Yate
    - Yagaria
  - (?Ke’yagana) [subsumed under another language by Usher]
Kainantu family
- Kenati
- Tairoric (East Kainantu): Binumarien (Afaqina), Tairoa (North Tairora, Omwunra, Vinaata), Waffa
- Gauwa (West Kainantu)
  - Gadsup (Oyana, Akuna, Ontenu), Agarabi, Kambaira
  - Awa, Oweina
  - Auyana: Awiyaana (incl. Kosena), Usarufa

Pronouns

The pronouns reconstructed by Ross (2005) for proto-Kainantu–Goroka, proto-Kainantu, and proto-Goroka are as follows:

proto-Kainantu–Goroka
	sg	pl
1	*ná	*tá[za]
2	*ká[za]	*tá-na-
3	[y]á, wá	*yá[na]

proto-Kainantu
	sg	du	pl
1	*né	*té[ze]-	*té[ze]
2	*é[ze]	*[te]né-
3	*wé

proto-Goroka
	sg	pl
1	*ná	*tá[za]
2	*ká	tá-na-gaza, tí-na-gaza
3	*[y]á	[y]á-na-gaza, í-na-gaza

The possessive forms are:

proto-Kainantu–Goroka
	sg	pl
1	*na-i	*ta-i
2	*ka	*tana-i
3	[y]a, wa	ya-i, yana-i

Modern reflexes

Kainantu–Goroka reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:

Awa language:

are 'ear' < *kand(e,i)k(V]
nu 'louse' < *niman

Tairora language:

ato 'ear' < *kand(e,i)k(V]
ir 'tree' < *inda
(n)am 'breast' < *amu
nume 'louse' < *niman
kubu 'short' < *k(a,u)tu(p,mb)aC
mi- 'give' < *mV-

Fore language:

na- 'eat' < *na-
numaa 'louse' < *niman
mi- 'give' < *mV-
amune 'egg' < *mun(a,i,u)ka
kasa 'new' < *kVndak
mone 'nose' < *mundu

Gende language:

ami 'breast' < *amu
mut 'belly' < *mundun 'internal organs'
mina- 'stay' < *mVna-
nogoi 'water < *[n]ok
(tu)nima 'louse' < *niman
me- 'give' < *mV-

Innovations in proto-Kainantu-Goroka replacing proto-Trans-New Guinea forms:

*tá[za] '1pl' replaces pTNG *ni, *nu
*tá-na '2pl' replaces pTNG *ŋgi, *ja
genitive forms ending in *-i

Vocabulary comparison

Gorokan basic vocabulary from William A. Foley (1986).

Despite the presence of reconstructions in the left column, the words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. ya, yafa, yava for “tree”) or not (e.g. tuva, logo, hali for “fire”).

Kainantu basic vocabulary from William A. Foley (1986):

Proto-languages

Some lexical reconstructions of Proto-East Kainantu and Proto-North Kainantu by Usher (2020) are:

Bibliography

Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley; Robert Attenborough; Robin Hide; Jack Golson (eds.). Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. doi:10.15144/PL-572. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.
Ross, Malcolm. 2014. Proto-Kainantu-Goroka. TransNewGuinea.org.
Ross, Malcolm. 2014. Proto-Goroka. TransNewGuinea.org.
Ross, Malcolm. 2014. Proto-Kainantu. TransNewGuinea.org.
Proto-Eastern Kainantu-Goroka. TransNewGuinea.org. From Scott, G. 1978. The Fore language of Papua New Guinea. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Proto-Eastern-Central Gorokan. TransNewGuinea.org. From Scott, G. 1978. The Fore language of Papua New Guinea. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

References

External links

Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Kainantu