Woisika language

Woisika
Kamang
Native toIndonesia
RegionAlor Island
Native speakers
6,000 (2014)
Language codes
ISO 639-3woi
Glottologkama1365
ELPKamang

Woisika, also known as Kamang, is a Papuan language of Alor Island of Indonesia. The three main dialects are Western Kamang, Lowland Kamang, and Upland Kamang. Dialects also include Lembur, Sibo, Kamang, Tiayai, Watang, Kamana-Kamang. They may constitute more than one language. Kamang is an endangered language, since children usually only have passive competence of the language, and instead are shifting to Malay.

Speakers may prefer the term Kamang to refer to the speech community as a whole; Woisika is a village name.

Phonology

Consonants

Woisika consonant phonemes
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive voiceless p t k (ʔ) ⟨'⟩
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative ɸ ⟨f⟩ s (h)
Semivowel w j ⟨y⟩
Lateral l

/h/ and /ʔ/ are marginal. /r/ is rare in initial and final position. Word-final /s/ is only in loan words.

The consonant /ŋ/ is not found word-initially, and /f/ is not found word-finally.

Vowels

Woisika vowel phonemes
Front Central Back
Close i iː ⟨ii⟩ u uː ⟨uu⟩
Mid e eː ⟨ee⟩ o oː ⟨oo⟩
Open a aː ⟨aa⟩

Grammar

Serial verb constructions

Kamang has serial verb constructions.

Mooi

banana

bong

tree

nok

one

kok

fall.down

silang

descend

dii

lie

Mooi bong nok kok silang dii

banana tree one fall.down descend lie

'A banana tree came falling down.': 345 

Afunaa

a-funaa

3.PAT-face

yakii

ga-kii

3.PAT-turn

me

me

come

noowaai.

noo-waai.

3.AST-face

Afunaa yakii me noowaai.

a-funaa ga-kii me noo-waai.

3.PAT-face 3.PAT-turn come 3.AST-face

'Turn and face me.': 348  Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);

Valence

Examples with avalent, monovalent, bivalent, and trivalent verbs are shown below.

Avalent

Itunma

itun-ma

late.afternoon-PFV

Itunma

itun-ma

late.afternoon-PFV

'It's late afternoon.': 300 

Monovalent

Markus

Markus

Markus

gamanteima

ga-mantei-ma

3.PAT-thirst-PFV

Markus gamanteima

Markus ga-mantei-ma

Markus 3.PAT-thirst-PFV

'Markus is thirsty already.': 301 

Bivalent

Na

na

1SG.AGT

Markus

Markus

Markus

gatakma.

ga-tak-ma

3.PAT-see-PFV

Na Markus gatakma.

na Markus ga-tak-ma

1SG.AGT Markus 3.PAT-see-PFV

'I have seen Markus': 301 

Trivalent

Markus

Markus

Markus

patei

patei

corn

me

me

TAKE

dumma

dum=a

child=SPEC

wotulen.

go-tulen

3.LOC-divide

Markus patei me dumma wotulen.

Markus patei me dum=a go-tulen

Markus corn TAKE child=SPEC 3.LOC-divide

'Markus divides corn amongst the children.': 301  Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);

Riddles

Woisika riddles relate to animals, the human body, human artifacts, natural phenomena, crops and other foods, among others.

References

  1. ↑ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Schapper, Antoinette (2014). "Kamang". In Schapper, Antoinette (ed.). The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 1: Sketch Grammars. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 287–349.
  3. ↑ Grimes, Charles (1997). A guide to the people and languages of Nusa Tenggara (PDF). Kupang: Artha Wacana Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  4. ↑ Stokhof, W.A.L. (1979). Woisika II Phonemics (PDF). Australian National University.
  5. ↑ Stokhof, W.A.L. (1982). Woisika Riddles (PDF). Australian National University.