Bulaka River consonants Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

Timothy Usher

Santa Fe Institute; timothyusher@gmail.com

Bulaka River Consonants *

In this paper, we present a historical phonological reconstruction of the Proto-Bulaka River consonant system using a straightforward application of the traditional comparative method. Our intention is to provide a principled and transparent framework upon which further comparative research can be premised, and to facilitate historical phonological comparison between Bulaka River and other New Guinean families. Some additional comparative-historical information is also provided on the pronominal system of the Bulaka River family.

Keywords: New Guinean linguistics, Bulaka River language family, linguistic phylogeny, historical phonetics, protolanguage reconstruction.

Introduction

The Bulaka River language family is comprised of two closely related languages, Yelmek and Maklew, spoken to the east of Marianne Strait, across from Kolopom (Frederik Hendrik) island, in the Merauke district of Indonesia's Papua province. Drabbe (1950: 549) counted 350 speakers of Yelmek in four villages: Yelwayab on the Wanam River, from which his material was collected, Woboyu, Dudaling and Bibikem, and 120 speakers of Maklew in a single village on the Welbuti River, a tributary of the Bulaka (q.v. Boelaars 1950: 19, 25). More recent figures from the Summer Institute of Linguistics give a Welbuti population of 226 (Lebold, Kriens and de Vries 2010: 8).

Like other languages of the Marianne Strait region, both Yelmek and Maklew have been significantly influenced by the unrelated Marind language, the intrusion of which from the north separates them from the Morehead River languages near the Papuan border (Never-mann 1952 ibid.). Maklew in particular has co-participated in a number of sound changes characteristic of Marind dialects. A smaller amount of more basic vocabulary is shared with the equally unrelated Kolopom family to the west (q.v. Guertjens 1933: 198-433, Greenberg 1971: 830-833). There is no trace of either Asmat or Awyu influence.

Sources

Geurtjens (1933: 398-433) gives 455 comparative terms for Jab(sch), Marind, Kimaghama, Mombum, Koneraw and Yongkom in an addendum to his dictionary of Marind.

Drabbe (1950) gives detailed grammars and (pp. 566-574) 422 comparative terms of both languages alongside Mombum. An English-language recension of Drabbe's work is presented in Boelaars (1950: 19-28).

* We express gratitude to Harald Hammarstrom for his help in procuring sources, and to George Starostin and Edgar Suter for general comments about this paper.

Journal of Language Relationship • Вопросы языкового родства • 12 (2014) • Pp. 31—50 • © Usher T., 2014

Nevermann (1952) gives ethnographic notes, language notes and (pp. 81-82) up to 90 comparative terms for Jab(ga) of Bibikem and Imbake villages, Galum (Nggarum) of Wobui and Dudalem villages, Dib(ga) of Dib village, Ilwajab village, and Makleu(ga) of Welbuti village.

Lebold, Kriens and de Vries (2010: 46-52) provide 239 comparative terms for Maklew of Welbuti in an appendix to their survey of the Okaba sudistrict.

History of classification

The first to document Maklew, and hence to recognize its close relationship to Yelmek, was Drabbe (1950). For the broader region, Drabbe (p. 548) draws a typological distinction between languages with suffixes (Paniai Lakes, Asmat-Kamoro, Awyu-Dumut and Mombum), those with prefixes (Marind-Yaqay), those with both (Yei, Kanum, Moraori and Bulaka River), and those with neither (insular Kolopom).

Voorhoeve (1968: 8-9), measuring a 58% lexicostastical resemblance between Yelmek and Maklew, includes Bulaka River as a stock-level family among five first-order subgroups of his proposed South and Central New Guinea Phylum, alongside Kolopom, Yey-Kanum-Moraori, Morehead River, and the South and Central New Guinea Stock itself. This placement was based upon lexicostatistical figures of 9% between Yelmek and the Gawir dialect of Marind and 8% between Yelmek and Yaqay. There could hardly be worse choices for evaluating Bulaka River's relationship to the family which would be expanded to form Trans-New Guinea, as both Yelmek and Maklew are full of Marind loans, while Yaqay-Warkay is Marind's nearest relative.

Wurm (1971a: 574-577) reiterates Voorhoeve's classification and figures under the name Central and South New Guinea Phylum, to which Agob (Pahoturi River) is added. In addition to Voorhoeve's evidence, he provides a list of typological features said to characterize the phylum (pp. 581-582), but these show almost no intersection with those of Bu-laka River.

Wurm (1971b: 166) is more specific, suggesting a special relationship between Bulaka River and Trans-Fly upon the basis of an average 9% lexical similarity and, citing Boelaars (1950), shared morphemes and typological traits, though it is not specified which ones he finds probative. No such relationship is asserted in Wurm ed. (1975: 357), in which Bulaka River is listed as a subphylum-level family, related to the Trans-Fly phylum level stock only at the Trans-New Guinea level, but the Trans-Fly-Bulaka River subphylum level superstock is reasserted in Wurm (1982: 179-180). This would then make its way into derivative woks such as Ruhlen (1987: 358) and versions of the Ethnologue (Grimes 2000: 721), becoming the default classification by a small number of high-profile repetitions.

Greenberg (1971: 829-830) includes Bulaka River in his Jei subfamily of South New Guinea, an unfortunate collection of a number of nearby but unrelated languages including most of those presented in Guertjens (1933) and Nevermann (1939): Morehead River languages Yei, Kanum and Arammba, Kolopom, Mombum-Koneraw (Marianne Strait) and Bu-laka River. South New Guinea as a whole, the outlines of which are broadly similar to Wurm's Trans Fly-Bulaka River, is supported by 70 comparisons, most of which do not involve Bulaka River.

Pawley, Ross and Osmond (2005: 24-26) propose a South-Central Papuan family including Yelmek-Maklew, Morehead-Upper Maro and Pahoturi, recapitulating the westernmost portions of Wurm's Trans-Fly-Bulaka River, based upon comparison of reconstructed personal pronouns.

Historical phonology

Proto-Bulaka River had as many as 16 consonants and 5 or 6 vowels as follows:

*m *n *9

*P *t *c *k

*b *d *J *g

*w *l *j *Y

*i *u

*e [*a] *o

*a

The consonant system is formally symmetrical, if we allow that *w *l *j *y form a series of non-stops as is found in (for example) Guhu-Oro (Binanderean) and Koiari, as well as in Marind and its relatives in the Fly River family. Velar nasal *j is very common, yielding j in both Yel-mek and Maklew. Palatal stops *c *} and velar non-stop *y are relatively rare, as is, somewhat suprisingly, apical nasal *n. Palatal nasal *p, is supported by only one example. Fricative *s is found only in loans, mostly from Marind.

We tentatively assume Drabbe's qualities [e e] and [o o\ to be allophones of two mid vowels *e *o, in the absence of clear and recurring patterns to the contrary, and based on the observation that Drabbe reflexively draws these contrasts in most languages he described, giving the impression of a standardized phonetic rather than phonemic transcription. Guertjens' transcriptions are less reliable, but show no pattern of agreeing with Drabbe's distinctions and often contradict them. The status of mid central vowel *a is less clear, but is adopted here tentatively where supported by the balance of attested reflexes; some examples given with *d below may have really been other vowels and vice-versa.

Consonant correspondences are as follows:

Bulaka Yelmek Maklew

*m m m

*n n n

n 9

9

*P P P

*t t t

*c t k

*k k k

*b b b

*d d d

d g

*g g g

*w w h

*l l l

j s

*Y h

[*s] t s

These correspondences are exemplified as follows, with attestations drawn from Drabbe (1950: 566-574, ibid.), Guertjens (1933: 398-422), and Lebold, Kriens and de Vries (2010: 46-52). Bilabial nasal *m is retained as such in both languages, and is found in all positions:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*m- |m |m |m m

coconut *mi[o] mia mia 'mio 'mija

pig *milom milom milom milom 'mibm

sit *ma[n/d] man m®n med mad

crooked/turn *meq memeq meq meq

rib(s) *mel mel mal

lightning *melVm melm merm melm

sit *ma[n/d] man m®n med mad

negative *ma ma-(w) ma-w ma(-ko) 'ma-ka

wing *mama mama mama 'mama

blunt/dull *map kal-map kal-map

stone *mat[e] mata: mate 'mate 'mata

rain *maq maq maq maq maq

break (wood) *maye maqe- -qo-mhe-

lime/white *mVlino malino 'mujno 'mujna

breast *momo momo momo momo mama

fence *molo mol molo mo'lo-go ma'la-gu

penis *mu mu mu

fly (v.) *mu mu- -mu- -mu

sole *mulo mulo mulo

taro *muj muj mus mus

*-m- |m |m |m m

canoe *imo imo imo imo 'ima

3 pl. *em[al] em imel imleb

straight *amom amom 'ammo'gola

break (rope) *[a]qeme qeme- -aqeme-

sun/sky *[a/o]limu alemu alim 'olimu 'alimu

1 sg. past *-oma -ama -oma

mountain *uomal womal 'wamal

wing *mama mama mama 'mama

breast *momo momo momo momo mama

fruit *noma noma noma

short ^ama- tamak tammak tamaq 'tama

hot/sharp Mimo damo dimo 'dima

path *came tame: 'kame

run / run away *jeme je:me: seme

good/true *qama- qamak namiqke: qamaq ~ qemaq qamaq

earthquake *q[a/o]yum[o] qaqumo -qohum-

tame/orphan *qomo- qomo qomoq

snake *gumolo gumolo 'gumolo gu'mala

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

m

mucus *em em-de e:n-die em-de

straight *amom amom 'ammo'gola

Pig *milom milom milom milom 'mibm

lightning *melVm melm merm melm

sugarcane *belam balam belam mbelym

dog *num num num

fish *dem dam dam dem dam

deep *dam dam dam

weep/cry *qom qom- -qom-

Apical *n is retained as such in both languages. It has not been found to occur word-finally:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*n- n n n n

tongue *nepla naple napla nepla nepla

fruit *noma noma noma

dog *num num num

coconut shell *apina apina apina

torch *ual[e]no waleno wajno

lime/white *mVlino malino 'mujno 'mujna

louse *dobuna dobna domla[sic] 'dobuna da'buna

older sibling *pena nana qena pena

ant *kaniV kania 'kanje

The scarcity of *n relative to peripheral nasals *m (above) and *r (below) suggests that a pre-Bulaka River *n has become something else in most or all instances, a possibility to be borne in mind when comparing Bulaka River to other New Guinean families.

The existence of a palatal nasal *p is supported by only one known example, in which it is found initially. We tentatively reconstruct *p here by analogy to the disposition of palatal stops *c (below,) and our skepticism of its originality applies equally here. Lebold, Kriens and de Vries give Maklew [p] to Drabbe's [r]:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

« n

older sibling *pena nana qena pena

Velar nasal *r is retained as such in both languages, and is found in all positions:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*9- 9 9 9 9

ripe *gewe gewe: -gehe-

dream *geye gegee- -gehe-

good/true *gama- gamak namigke: gamag ~ gemag gamag

1 sg. *gal gal gal gallo 'gala

new *galuo- galwok golwok 'gelwog 'galuwag

be (future) *gaiak gajak- -gajk-

name *gajel[e] nadal nade:l gegele ga'gele

1pl. *gag gag gag gag

earthquake *gVyum[o] gagumo -gohum-

intransitive *go- go- go-

weep/cry *gom gom- -gom-

tame/orphan *gomo- gomo gomog

now/today *gop[i] gop-ma gopi'nalma

cough/sneeze *got[o] got- -goto-

laugh *guw gu- -guh-

person *guwa nawwa guha

one *guka gklala ukala -guka

9 9 9 9

hear *[i]ge ige- ige:we: -eg-

spine *iego d'ago jego

drink/suck *[a]g[e] ge- j-agu ag- eguwe

break (rope) *[a]geme geme- -ageme-

urine *ogo ogo ogo ogo aga

*-9 9 9 9 9

child/offspring *iag jag jak[sic] jag jag

crooked/turn *meg memeg meg meg

rain *mag mag mag mag mag

upright *dag dag dag

Bilabial voiceless stop *p is retained as such in both languages, and is found in all positions:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*P- P P P p

feather *papa papa pap pypypy

suffix on adj. *-pa -Pa -paq -paq

light (weight) *popu- popu popok 'popuq

old (thing) *poto- potok 'potoq 'pataq

bone/shin *pu pu pu pu pu

hit/smash *pliay plaq- pliage: -piah---pjaha-

*-P- P P P P

bitter *ipa ipa ipa

net *apija apia epia apsa

wait *[a]lpo lpo- -alpo-

grab/hold *[a]yep[e] aqep- -hepe- (dur.)

eye/face *opo opo opo opo apa

ear *opo-kolo opoklo 'opklo apkla

sleep *opula opla o'pula a'pula

feather *papa papa pap pypypy

tongue *nepla naple napla nepla nepla

long *tipu- tipuk tipo tipu tipu

thigh *c[a]pe tepe: kpe

steal *jepe de:pe: gepe

now/today *qopi qop-ma qopi'nalma

wife *kepi[q/y][e] keipiqe: kepihe ke'piqa

*-P P P p p

3 sg. future *-p -p -p

leaf *op °p oP op-op 'ap-up

blunt/dull *map kal-map kal-map

Apical voiceless stop *t is retained as such in both languages. It is less common than peripheral stops *p (above) and *k (below.) Like apicals *n (above) and *d (below,) it has not been found to occur finally:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*t- t t t t

long *tipu- tipuk tipo tipu tipu

short *tama- tamak tammak tamaq 'tamaq

shoot *to to- -to- -ta

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*-t- t t t t

stone *mat[e] mata mate: 'mate 'mata

old (thing) *poto- potok 'potog 'patag

ankle *boto boto boto boto

small *wVti- wotak watak hitig 'hitig

cough/sneeze *got[o] got- -goto-

Velar voiceless stop *k is retained as such in both languages:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*k- k k k k

wife *kepi[g/y][e] keipige: kepihe ke'piga

ashes *kab kab kaba keb kab

tooth *kal kal kel kal kal

hard *kakeie kake ke:ke:je kake'je

branch *kaka kaka kaka kaka

1 sg. future *-ka -ka -ka

ant *kani[a/e] kania 'kanje

grandparent *kaga kaga kaga kaga kaga

dig *k[o]uak kowak -kwak- -kwak

hole *kolo kolo kalo ~ -klo kallo ~ -klo -kla

lie down/sleep *ku ku- -ku-

enemy *kui kuj kuj

*-k- k k k k

blood *ewlek[e] elweke elwe:ke: ehlel [sic] ehlek

banana *okal akal a:kal okal 'akal

testicle *oko oko oko

knowledge *uowka wokwan wokwan 'wohka 'wahkag

g° uP *ukal ukal- -ukal-

sago stems *buka buka byka

breath *waku waku haku

wallaby *doki doki doke doki 'daki

breadfruit *joko joko jewoka soko 'saka

one *guka gklala ukala -guka

branch *kaka kaka kaka kaka

*-k k k k k

be (future) *gaiak gajak- -gajk-

dig *k[o]uak kowak -kwak- -kwak

Bilabial voiced stop *b is retained as such in both languages, and is found in all positions. Initially, it is occasionally realized as prenasalized [mb]:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*b- b[bmb] b |b[bmb] b

bamboo *biol biol boil biol 'bijal

throat *bila bila bila

sugar cane *belem balam belem mbelym

big *bala- mbalak balag 'balag

widow *boi boj- mboj

ankle *boto boto boto boto

sago stems *buka buka byka

*-b- b b b b

stoneaxe *iebu jebu e:pl [sic] ibu

house *ebi ebi e:bi ebi 'ebi

husband *ebVwe e:baiweb ebohe e'babe

see *[a]b[e] bee -aba-

sour *[a]bowol abol obohol

younger sibling *uobia wobia 'wobia wabja

louse *dobuna dobna domla [sic] 'dobuna da'buna

*-b b b b b

3 sg. *eb ew(?) ib ib 'ibakn

ashes *keb kab kabe keb keb

Apical voiced stop *d is retained as such in both languages. Like apicals *n *t (above), it has not been found to occur finally:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*d- d d d d

hot/sharp *dimo demo dimo 'dima

excrement *de de de: de

rope *del del del

fish *dem dem dem dem dem

deep *dam dam dam

upright *dag dag dag

tree/wood *doio dojo dojo dojo 'daja

louse *dobuna dobna domla 'dobuna da'buna

wallaby *doki doki doke doki 'daki

ill *dogo dogwo dogo dogo

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*-d- d d d d

foot/leg *uodo wodo wodo wodo wodo

Velar voiced stop *g is retained as such in both languages, and is found in all positions:

Bulaka River

Jelmek (Drabbe)

Jab (Guertjens)

Maklew (Drabbe)

Maklew (Lebold et al.)

excrement *gauo gaw gawo gawo

speech *gaga gaga gaga gaga

bush/forest *golu golu golu goloa 'gulu ~ golu

snake *gumolo gumolo 'gumolo gu'molo

kill *gul- gul- -gUl- -gul

g

thumb/big toe *ege egek-nek egeq

body/chest *agal agal agl-

sick/ill *dogo dogwo dogo dogo

ask about *lig- lig- -lig-

grandparent *kaga kaga kaga kaga kaga

speech *gaga gaga gaga gaga

*-g g g g g

soft/weak *ieg(-ieg) jeg jegia 'igiiig

1pl. *qag ^ag ^ag ^ag

The qualities of the protosounds shown here as *c */ may not be possible to determine. We tentatively designate them as palatal stops, because they yield apicals t d in Yelmek and velars k g in Maklew, and do not appear to be conditioned reflexes of *t *d or *k *g. Voiced stop */ is less common than voiceless *c, a distributional pattern similar to *k *g (above).

Palatal voiceless stop *c is fronted to apical t in Yelmek and backed to velar k in Maklew:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*c- t t k k

swim *ce ta ta -ke- -kE

thigh *cepe tepe: kpe

path *came tame: 'kame

forehead *cule tule 'kule

fire *ace ete e:te: ake 'ake

smoke *acaja ataja 'akasa a'kasa

Palatal voiced stop is fronted to apical d in Yelmek and backed to velar g in Maklew:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

d d g

steal *jepe de:pe: gepe

dark/black *jewi dewi de:wi gehile gehile

d d g

name *qajel[e] nadal nade:l qeqele[sic] qa'gele

It is striking that of nine examples, six are followed by *e (seven if one considers 'smoke' to reflect *ace-aja as it most likely does). This is also true of the single example of the palatal nasal *p. (above). This strongly suggests that there was originally a vocalic component to these sounds, indicating perhaps *niV *tiV *diV or *kiV *giV, neither of which, despite the frequency of the vowel sequence *iV, is otherwise known to occur. Nor are there any known examples of *itV *ikV, leaving many segments which *c might reasonably be thought to really be, but with no easy way of deciding between them.

Apical non-stop *l is preserved in both languages. It does not occur root-initially, except on a few verbs which are prefixed in both Yelmek and Maklew:

Bulaka River

Jelmek (Drabbe)

Jab (Guertjens)

Maklew (Drabbe)

Maklew (Lebold et al.)

askfor *-liw -li- -lihe-

askabout *-lig -lig- -lig-

plant (v.) *[e]ule wle- -ewle-

blood *ewlek[e] elweke elwe:ke: ehlel ehlek

2pl. *ale el ale-

wait *[a]lpo lpo- -alpo-

sun/sky *[a/o]limu alemu alim 'olimu blimu

sleep *opula opla o'pula a'pula

back *uele wele welely

beach *uelo wolowio welawela

fly (n.) *uoli woli wuli

Pig *milom milom milom milom 'mibm

lightning *melVm melm merm melm

fence *molo mol molo mo'lo-go ma'la-gu

sole *mulo mulo mulo

throat *bila bila 'bila

sugarcane *belam balam belam mbelym

big *bala- mbalak balaq 'balaq

saliva *wVlo wulo wulo hallo

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

tongue *nepla naple napla nepla nepla

forehead *cule tule 'kule

bathe *jale jœlœ sale

bandicoot *jowoli joli sowoli sa'hali

new *galuo galwok golwok 'gelwog 'galuwag

name *gajel[e] nadal nade:l gegele ga'gele

hole *kolo kolo kalo ~ -klo kallo ~ -klo -kla

bush/forest *golu golu golu goloa 'gulu ~ golu

snake *gumolo gumolo 'gumolo gu'mala

*-l l l l l

oblique *-el ~ *-ol -el ~ -ol -el ~ -ol

sour *abowol abol 'obohol

banana *okal akal a:kal okal 'akal

body/chest *agal agal agl-

mountain *uomal womal 'womal

gouP *ukal ukal- -ukal-

rib(s) *mel mel mal

bamboo *biol biol boil 'biol 'bijal

roPe *del del del

1 sg. *gal gal gal gallo 'gala

tooth *kal kal kel kal kal

kill *gul gul- -gUl- -gul

Maklew drops medial *l from some clusters:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*l /_C l l 0

torch *ual[e]no waleno wajno

lime/white *mVlino malino 'mujno 'mujna

*l /C_ l l 0

hit/smash *pliay plag- pliage -piah-

While not directly attested in either Yelmek or Maklew, a velar non-stop *y is reconstructed to account for a correspondence in which Drabbe's Yelmek j is answered by Maklew h, rather than by j, the aspiration and deocclusion of *y being shared with Marind's central dialects (q.v. Drabbe 1933: 14). This is further supported by Guertjens' Jab [g], distinct from the reflexes of (above):

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*Y q h h

be hungry *yi gal-gi-p -hi-

plait *Y0 go- -ho-

cold *ioy[a] jogow joha 'jaha

hold *[a]yep[e] agep- -hepe- (dur.)

break (wood) *maye mage- -go-mhe-

dream *geye gegee- -gehe-

earthquake *gVyum[o] gagumo -gohum-

hit/smash *pliay plag- pliage: -piah-

A direct indication of equivalence to the Marind sound is found in this loan:

Marind Maklew

(Drabbe)

*Y" h

beard *yas has

As in Marind, bilabial and palatal non-stops *w *j are distinguished from sequential high vowels *u *i by stridency, with the former but not the latter fricated to h s in Maklew, merging with the reflexes of *y *s (the latter itself a loan from Marind). Bilabial *w is much more common than palatal *j.

Bilabial non-stop *w is fricated to unoccluded h in Maklew and retained as w in Yelmek:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

|*w- |w |w h |h

voice *wai[a] waja haj

breath *waku waku haku

small *wVti- wotak watak hitig 'hitig

saliva *wVlo wulo wulo hallo

*-w- w w h h

woman/female *iowa jua juwa ajahag

husband *ebVwe e:baiwab ebohe e'babe [sic]

blood *ewlek[e] elweke elwe:ke: ehlel ehlek

sour *[a]bowol abol 'obohol

cassowary *owi owi owi ohi 'ahi

(day)light *owo owo owo oho

knowledge *uowka wokwan wokwan 'wohka 'wahkag

mouth/door *uwo wo wo 'uho uha

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

dark/black *jewi dewi de:wi gehile gehile

bandicoot *jowoli joli 'sowoli(?) sa'hali

ripe *gewe gewe: -gehe-

person *guwa nawwa guha

wash *uw wu- -uh- -uh

askfor *liw li- -lihe-

laugh *guw gu- -guh-

Palatal non-stop *j is occluded and fricated to s in Maklew and retained as j in Yelmek:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*j- j j s

run/run away *jeme je:me: 'seme

bathe *jale jœlœ sale

bandicoot *jowoli joli 'sowoli sa'hali

breadfruit *joko joko jewoka soko 'saka

*-j- j j s

net *apija apia epia apsa

smoke *acaja ataja 'akasa a'kasa

*-j j j s s

taro *muj muj mus mus

Maklew's fortitions further develop changes shared with the West and Atih dialects of Marind, in which *w *j yield hw h (q.v. Drabbe 1933: 14). The equivalence to and coevolution with Marind qualities is evident in the behavior of loans therefrom:

Marind Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

*w w [v] h h

think *wetok hetok

knife *sok(-wakra) tokwakal soka'hakal saka'hakal

paddle *kawaia kawja kavia kahia 'kahja

*j j [i] j [z] s

bow *mij mi miz 'mijes

High vowels *i *u are neither fricated nor occluded when occuring in sequences with other vowels, but are often realized as semivowels j w]:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

i [ij] i [ij]

stone axe *iebu jebu e:pl[sic] ibu

spine *ieqo d'aqo jeqo

soft/weak *ieg jeg jeg-ia Wg

imperative *ia- ja- ~ j- ~ i- ja-

crocodile *iaua[q] eli-jawa jawaq 'jawuq

child/offspring *iaq jaq jak jaq jaq

cold jogow joha 'jaha

water *iu ju jy ju

woman *iowa jua juwa ajahaq

afraid *oio ojo 'aja

younger sibling *uobia wobia 'wobia wabja

coconut *mi[a/o] mia mia mio 'mija

hit/smash *pliay plaq- pliage: -piah-

bamboo *biol biol boil 'biol 'bijal

voice *wai[a] waja haj

tree/wood *doio dojo dojo dojo 'daja

be (future) *qaiak qajak- -qajk-

hard *kakeie kake ke:ke:je kake'je

ant *kani[a/e] kania 'kanje

night *ui wi wih wi wi

widow *boi boj- mboj

enemy *kui kuj kuj

night *ui wi wih wi wi

back *uele wele welely

beach *uelo wolowio welawela

neck *ua[n/l] wal wan

dry *ua wa uwaq uwa-

torch *ual[e]no waleno wajno

mountain *uomal womal 'womal

younger sibling *uobia wobia 'wobia wabja

knowledge *uowka wokwan wokwan 'wohka 'wahkaq

foot/leg *uodo wodo wodo wodo wada

fly(n.) *uoli wolu wuli

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

kunai grass *uoka wogga[sic] woka 'waka

crocodile *iaua[g] eri-jawa jawag 'jawug

plant (v.) *[e]ule wle- -ewle-

tendon *ouo owo owo

new *galuo- galwok golwok 'gelwog 'galuwag

dig *k[o]uak kowak -kwak- -kwak

enemy *kui kuj kuj

excrement *gauo gaw 'gawo gawa

water *iu ju jy ju

2 sg. *au aw aw-

This, too, is true in Marind and in loans therefrom:

Marind Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

i [ij] i [ij] i j

old woman *mes-iuag met(w)ago mes-iwag mesiwag

mourn. band *soia toja

paddle *kawaia kawja kavia kahia 'kahja

*u |u[w] u[w] u[w]

old woman *mes-iuag met(w)ago mes-iwag mesiwag

While high vowels may join sequences with any other vowel, sequences of two non-high vowels *ea *eo *ae *ao *oe *oa do not occur. Where a non-high vowel is adjacent to a high vowel, the high vowel is usually perceived as a contour unless it immediately follows a consonant. When two high vowels are in sequence, the first is perceived as a contour unless it immediately follows a consonant.

It might be remarked that this distribution and behavior is not unlike what would be expected in a system with glides and no vowel sequences, and we would have reconstructed *w *j, had these not already been assigned to the correspondences which yield aspirates h s in Maklew and co-develop with their Marind equivalents. A reconstruction of fricatives *j alongside vocalic *w *j would match the Bulaka River internal data equally well, but with a formally more complicated inventory.

Fricative *s is found only in loans, primarily from Marind, in which it is found in all positions. It is merged with the apical stop t in Yelmek:

Marind Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

t Is [t s] s

mourn. band *soia toja

knife *sok(-wakra) tokwakal soka'hakal saka'hakal

axe *imbasom batoni[sic] 'mbasom 'mbasam

sneeze *asi ati-ge ati-gje:

old woman *mes-iuag met(w)ago mes-iwag mesiwag

beard Vs has

This change is shared with Yaqay to the north, which likewise reflects Yaqay-Warkay *s as t (Voorhoeve 1971: 94), and to some extent with Kimaghama and Riantana (Central Kolopom) to the west, in which *s is realized as a palatalized stop [t;].

Suffix on adjectives

In a number of roots, Yelmek velar voiceless stop k is answered by Maklew nasal /. In a few instances, one or the other of these is zero. Since this variation occurs only on items which are conceivably adjectives, and is both inconsistent and otherwise irregular, we tentatively conclude it morphological in origin:

Bulaka River Jelmek (Drabbe) Jab (Guertjens) Maklew (Drabbe) Maklew (Lebold et al.)

thumb/big toe *ege- egek-nek egeg

possessive *-a[u]- -awk -ag

old (thing) *poto- potok 'potog 'patag

big *bala- mbalak balag 'balag

small *wVti- wotak watak hitig 'hitig

short *tama- tamak tammak tamag 'tamag

good/true *gama- gamak namigke: gamag ~ gemag gamag

new *galuo- galwok golwok 'gelwog 'galuwag

-k ~ -0 -k

light (weight) *popu- popu popok 'popug

-k -0

long *tipu- tipuk tipu

-0 1-0

woman/female *iowa- jua juwa ajahag

dry *ua- wa wag

suffix on adj. *-pa- -pa -pag -pag

tame/orphan *gomo- gomo gomog

Addendum: Pronouns

The nominative forms of the personal pronouns (q.v. Drabbe 1950: 550-551) are as follows. Maklew's second person nominatives differ from Yelmek's, which are the same as oblique bases of both languages; it is conceivable that this difference was original. It is not clear whether Maklew has added a suffix to the third person plural or if the Yelmek form is an irregular reduction:

Bulaka River Jelmek Maklew

1 sg. *gal gal gallo

2 sg. *au (?) aw obe

3 sg. *eb ew ib

1 pl. *gag gag gag

2 pl. *ale (?) El omle

3 pl. *em[e]l em imel

The oblique forms are derived from the nominatives by the suffixation of *-el ~ *-ol to the first and second persons and *-i to the third persons. Here the originality of Yelmek's -i is assumed in order to account for the difference in third person base vowels; our tentative hypothesis is that Maklew generalized the third person obliques to the nominative and then reinforced them with *-el by analogy:

Bulaka River Jelmek Maklew

1 sg. obl. *gal-el gal-el gal-el

2 sg. obl. *au-ol aw-ol aw-ol

3 sg. obl. *eb-i eb-i ib-el

1 pl. obl. *gag-ol gag-ol gag-ol

2 pl. obl. *al-el El-el al-el

3 pl. obl. *em[e]l-i em-i iml-el

The possessive forms are derived from the nominatives by the suffixation of *-a[u], followed by the adjectival Yelmek k, Maklew The Yelmek first person plural appears to be defective:

Bulaka River Jelmek Maklew

1 sg. poss. *gal-a[u]- gl-awk gal-ag ~ gl-ag

2 sg. poss. *au-a[u]- aw-awk aw-ag

3 sg. poss. *eb-a[u]- Eb-awk ib-ag

1 pl. poss. *gag-a[u]- g-awk gag-ag

2 pl. poss. *ale-a[u]- El-awk al-ag

3 pl. poss. *em[e]l-a[u]- em-awk iml-ag

References

Boelaars, Jan H. M. C. 1950. The Linguistic Position of South-western New Guinea. Leiden: Brill.

Drabbe, Petrus. 1950. "Talen en dialecten van Zuid-West Nieuw-Guinea 1." Anthropos 45, pp. 545-575.

Drabbe, Peter. 1954. Talen en dialecten van Zuid-West Nieuw-Guinea: inleiding. Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos, vol. 11. Posieux (Fribourg): Instituut Anthropos.

Drabbe, Petrus. 1955. Spraakkunst van het Marind, zuidkust Nederlands Nieuw-Guinea. Studia Instituti Anthropos, Vol. 11. Wien-Mödling: Missihuis St. Gabriel.

Greenberg, Joseph H. 1971. "The Indo-Pacific Hypothesis." In: Thomas A. Sebeok, editor. Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 8: Linguistics in Oceania (2). The Hague: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 808-871.

Guertjens, Hendick. 1933. Marindineesch-Nederlandsch Woordenboek. Bandung: A. C. Nix.

Lebold, Randy, Ronald Kriens and Peter Van de Vries. 2010. Report on the Okaba Subdistrict Survey in Papua, Indonesia. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2010-008.

Nevermann, Hans. 1939. "Die Kanum-irebe und ihre Nachbarn." Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 71, pp. 1-71.

Nevermann, Hans. 1952. "Die Jabga auf Südneuguinea." Baeßler-Archiv, Neue Folge, vol. 1. Pp. 49-82. Berlin: Baeßler-Institut.

Pawley A., Ross M., Osmond M. 2005. Papuan languages and the Trans New Guinea phylum. Canberra: The Australian National University.

Voorhoeve, Clemens L. 1968. "The Central and South New Guinea Phylum: a report on the language situation in South New Guinea." Pacific Linguistics, Series A, Number 16. Canberra: The Australian National University, pp. 1-17.

Voorhoeve, Clemens L. 1971. "Miscellaneous notes on languages in West Irian, New Guinea." Pacific Linguistics, Series A, Number 28. Canberra: The Australian National University, pp. 47-114.

Wurm, Stephan A. 1971a. "The Papuan linguistic situation." In: Thomas A. Sebeok, editor. Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 8: Linguistics in Oceania (2). The Hague: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 541-657.

Wurm, Stephan A. 1971b. "Notes on the linguistic situation in the Trans-Fly area." Pacific Linguistics, Series A, Number 28. Canberra: The Australian National University.

Wurm, Stephan A. 1982. Papuan Languages of Oceania. Ars Linguistica 7. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.

Wurm, Stephan A., ed. 1975. New Guinea area languages and language study, vol. 1: Papuan Languages and the New Guinea Linguistic Scene. Pacific Linguistics, Series C, Number 13. Canberra: The Australian National University.

Т. Ашер. Реконструкция системы консонантизма семьи Булака-Ривер

В статье предлагается система регулярных соответствий для языков семьи Булака-Ривер (Новая Гвинея) и фонологическая реконструкция консонантной системы прабу-лака-ривер, основанная на последовательном применении сравнительного метода. Статья может использоваться в качестве конкретного образца для последующих сравнительных исследований по новогвинейским языкам и, в частности, должна облегчить задачу дальнейшей интеграции данных по языкам Булака-Ривер в общую историко-лингвистическую модель эволюции языков новогвинейского региона. Помимо реконструкции консонантизма, статья также содержит сравнительно-историческую информацию по системе личных местоимений в семье Булака-Ривер.

Ключевые слова: языки Новой Гвинеи, семья Булака-Ривер, лингвистическая филогене-тика, историческая фонетика, праязыковая реконструкция.