Idi is a Pahoturi language spoken in Western Province, Papua New Guinea. The so-called Pahoturi dialects form a dialect chain with Idi proper at one end and Agob proper at the other.[1]

Idi
RegionNew Guinea
Native speakers
1,600 (2000 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Idi
  • Tame
Language codes
ISO 639-3idi
Glottologidii1243
Map: The Pahoturi languages of Papua New Guinea

Name edit

The language has been also known as Diblaeg, Dibolug, Dimisi, Dimsisi.[2] Taeme is a dialect distinct from Idi.[1]

Social context edit

Idi is in contact with other Papuan languages of different families, including Nen, Nambo, and the closely related Agob.[1]

Phonology edit

Idi phonemic inventory:[3][4]

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Retroflex Palatal Velar Labio-
velar
Stop voiceless p t ʈ k
voiced b d ɖ g
prenasalized
ᵐb
ⁿd
ᶯɖ
ᵑɡ
ᵑɡʷ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Affricate
Approximant liquid l ʎ
semivowel j w
Trill
Vowels:
Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ
Mid e o
Near-open æ ɐ
Open a

Grammar edit

Idi has elaborate verbal morphology, including complex marking of verbal number.[5] Other noteworthy features, which it shares with other Pahoturi River languages, are the high frequency of analytic constructions (consisting of an uninflecting form plus an inflected auxiliary) in addition to directly inflected verbs, and an elaborate inventory of copulas.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Idi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Idi language". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ^ Evans, Nicholas (2018). "The languages of Southern New Guinea". 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. 641–774. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  4. ^ Schokkin, Dineke; Gast, Volker; Evans, Nicholas; Döhler, Christian (2021). "Phonetics and Phonology of Idi". In Lindsey, Kate L.; Schokkin, Dineke (eds.). Phonetic Fieldwork in Southern New Guinea. Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication No. 24. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 76–107. hdl:10125/24995. ISBN 978-0-9979673-2-6.
  5. ^ Schokkin, Dineke (2023). "Verbal number in Idi". Studies in Language. 47 (2): 291–317. doi:10.1075/sl.21052.sch.
  6. ^ Lindsey, Kate Lynn; Schokkin, Dineke; Wu, Nairan (2022). "The Pahoturi River language family, with special reference to its verbal puzzles". Linguistic Typology. doi:10.1515/lingty-2022-2096.

External links edit