Urat (Wasep, Wusyep) is a Torricelli language spoken by a decreasing number of people in Papua New Guinea.
| Urat | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | East Sepik Province |
Native speakers | 7,000 (2017)[1] |
Torricelli
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | urt |
| Glottolog | urat1244 |
| ELP | Urat |
It is spoken by 2,480 people in Wasep Ngau (North Urat dialect), 2,060 in Wusyep Yihre (Central Urat dialect), 1,210 in Wasep Yam (South Urat dialect), and 550 in Wusyep Tep (East Urat dialect).[1][2]
Phonology edit
Unusually for a Papuan language, Urat has four voiceless liquids and semivowels, which are ɬ, r̥, w̥, and j̥. Urat consonants are:[3]
p t ʧ k ʔ ᵐb ⁿd ᶮʤ ᵑg s ʃ h m n ɲ ŋ l ɬ r r̥ ̥w j w̥ j̥
Urat vowels are:[3]
i u e o a
Pronouns edit
Pronouns are:[3]
sg pl 1 ŋam poi 2 nin yip 3m kin tiŋe 3f ti
Further reading edit
- Barnes, Barney. 1989. Urat Grammar Essentials. Unpublished manuscript. Ukarumpa, PNG: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
References edit
- ^ a b Urat at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
- ^ a b c Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". 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. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
