The Dagan or Meneao Range languages are a small family of Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in the Meneao Range of the "Bird's Tail" (southeastern peninsula) of New Guinea, the easternmost Papuan languages on the mainland. They are the most divergent of the several small families within the Southeast Papuan branch of Trans–New Guinea.
| Dagan | |
|---|---|
| Meneao Range | |
| Geographic distribution | Meneao Range, southeastern peninsula of Papua New Guinea: Central Province and Milne Bay Province |
| Linguistic classification | Trans–New Guinea
|
| Glottolog | daga1274 |
Languages edit
The languages are:[1]
- Onjob
- Southwest
- East
- Southeast: Ginuman, Kanasi (Sona)
- Northeast: Dima (Jimajima), Umanakaina (Gwedena), and the nearly extinct Turaka
Although clearly related, they are not particularly close. Umanakaina and Ginuman, for example, are only 23% lexically similar.
Pronouns edit
Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:[2]
sg pl 1 *n[e/a] *nu 2 *g[e/a] *j[e/a] 3 *me *mV
Vocabulary comparison edit
The following basic vocabulary words are from SIL field notes (1965, 1967, 1973), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[3]
gloss Daga Dima Maiwa head iwa una kwi'.unwa; kuiyunwa hair igumewa deba gu'mawa; huiawa ear darinewa taii(na) nau'nawa; naunáwa eye yamewa yamana yaŋganwa; yaŋ'ganwa nose ginewa giana ginawa; gi'nunwa tooth nodonewa wari(na) do'nawa; donáwa tongue mɛriwa pepa(na) phed'nawa; pedt nawa leg wana ai'raniwa; beawa louse kuisin igu kwhi'sin; nagam; usiwa dog eao kwegawa kwhe'.au; kueyao pig tuan boro 'bui bird nɛnip midiwari nenip; ve'khæthu egg bagua dodopi ba'giwa; gat toda; kokorek bagiwa blood dɛnip tawayana di bone kaemewa (e)regura mařɛt'nawa skin ɛpiwa etona koápiwa; pha'phunwa breast amewa ama am tree oma na i; ioma man apan apana apan; a'phan woman oaen wawina ve'sin; wɛsin sun oam gabudara kum; khum moon siragam dede dut; duth water kaum oa ioi; yoi fire oma iarema íam; yaŋ'gawa stone agim akima agim; 'agim road, path neigin iyawa ɛbu; 'ɛbu name yaoa ewani i'vi wa eat naiwan mɛ 'nane; naiwi one daiton daiida desi'řoe; désirom two dɛrɛ uri dúam; duːʌm
Evolution edit
Dagan reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma:[4]
- ama 'breast' < *amu
- meri (nawa) 'tongue' < *me(l,n)e
- ira 'tree' < *inda
- asi 'ear' < *kand(e,i)k(V]
- etepa 'bark' < *(ŋg,k)a(nd,t)apu 'skin'
- obosa 'wind' < *kumbutu
- oman 'stone' < *ka(m,mb)u[CV]
- nene 'bird' < *n(e)i
References edit
- Notes
- ^ NewGuineaWorld – Meneao Range
- ^ New Guinea World, Owen Stanley Range
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- Sources
- 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. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.