Proto-Trans–New Guinea language

Proto-Trans–New Guinea is the reconstructed proto-language ancestral to the Trans–New Guinea languages. Reconstructions have been proposed by Malcolm Ross and Andrew Pawley.

Phonology

Proto-Trans–New Guinea is reconstructed with a typical simple Papuan inventory: five vowels, /i e a o u/, three phonations of stops at three places, /p t k, b d ɡ, m n ŋ/ (Andrew Pawley reconstructs the voiced series as prenasalized /mb nd ŋɡ/), plus a palatal affricate /dʒ ~ ndʒ/, the fricative /s/, and the approximants /l j w/. Syllables are typically (C)V, with CVC possible at the ends of words. Many of the languages have restricted tone systems.

The Proto-Trans–New Guinea vowels are reconstructed as having a cross-linguistically frequent five-vowel system:

Pronouns

Ross reconstructs the following pronominal paradigm for Trans–New Guinea, with *a~*i ablaut for singular~non-singular:

There is a related but less commonly attested form for 'we', *nu, as well as a *ja for 'you', which Ross speculates may have been a polite form. In addition, there were dual suffixes *-li and *-t, and a plural suffix *-nV, (i.e. n plus a vowel) as well as collective number suffixes *-pi- (dual) and *-m- (plural) that functioned as inclusive we when used in the first person. (Reflexes of the collective suffixes, however, are limited geographically to the central and eastern highlands, and so might not be as old as proto-Trans–New Guinea.)

Morphology

Studies group Madang, Finisterre-Huon, and Kainantu-Goroka together as part of a larger Northeast New Guinea (NENG) group on the basis of morphological evidence, such as mutually reconstructable verbal suffixes that mark subject:

Proto-Northeast New Guinea subject-marking verbal suffixes
Comparison of reconstructions of subject-marking verbal suffixes

Lexicon

Lexical words, such as *niman 'louse', may also be reconstructed:

Reflexes of *niman 'louse', which attest to an intermediate *iman in the east:
Chimbu–Wahgi: Mid/Nuclear Wahgi numan
Engan: Enga & Kewa lema
Finisterre–Huon: Kâte imeŋ, Selepet imen
Gogodala mi
Kainantu–Goroka: Awa nu, Tairora nume, Fore numaa, Gende (tu)nima
Southern Kiwai nimo
Koiarian: Managalasi uma
Kolopom: Kimaghama nome, Riantana nome
Kwale nomone
Madang: Kalam yman, Watiwa (Rai Coast) im, Sirva (Adelbert) iima
Mek: Kosarek ami
Marori nemeŋk
Paniai Lakes: Ekari yame (metathesis?)
Timor–Alor–Pantar: Western Pantar (h)amiŋ, Oirata amin (metathesis?)
Wiru nomo
Questionable branches:
Pauwasi: Yafi yemar
Central Sentani mi

The Proto-Trans–New Guinea negative is reconstructed as *ma-. Negatives in Trans–New Guinea languages usually have either an mV- or nV- form.

Reconstructions

Lexical comparison

Lexical comparison between Trans-New Guinean languages

For other lexical comparison tables of Papuan languages, see also:

See also

Synchronic reflexes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

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Uses material from the Wikipedia article Proto-Trans–New Guinea language, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.