The Lower Ramu or Ottilien–Misegian languages consist of two branches in the Ramu language family. They are all spoken in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.[1][2]

Lower Ramu
Ottilien–Misegian
Geographic
distribution
Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea
Linguistic classificationRamu
  • Ramu proper
    • Lower Ramu
Subdivisions
Glottologlowe1439

Classification edit

The Lower Ramu languages as classified by Usher and by Foley (2018) are:[3][4]

Lower Ramu languages

Lower Ramu as presented in Foley (2018) has been reduced in scope from the classification given in Foley (2005), which is as follows.[5]

Lower Ramu

The Ataitan languages, including Tangu and Igom, are not included in Foley (2018).

Pronouns edit

Tentative proto-Lower Ramu pronoun reconstructions by Foley (2005) are:[5]

singular dual plural
1st person *ŋgu *aŋga *ai
2nd person *nu *(n)oŋgo(a) *ni/e
3rd person *ma(n) *mani(ŋg) *mV(n)

Cognates edit

Like cognates between proto-Lower Sepik and proto-Lower Ramu listed by Foley (2005) are:[5]

gloss proto-Lower Sepik proto-Lower Ramu
tongue *minɨŋ *mi(m)
ear *kwand- *kwar
lime *awi(r) *awi(r)
eat *am(b) *am(b)

References edit

  1. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
  2. ^ United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
  3. ^ Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Lower Ramu River
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b c Foley, William A. (2005). "Linguistic prehistory in the Sepik-Ramu basin". 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. 109–144. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.
  • 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.

Further reading edit