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 classificationTrans–New Guinea
Language codes
Glottologdaga1274

Languages

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The languages are:[1]

Although clearly related, they are not particularly close. Umanakaina and Ginuman, for example, are only 23% lexically similar.

Pronouns

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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

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The following basic vocabulary words are from SIL field notes (1965, 1967, 1973), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database.[3]

The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. giana, ginewa, ginawa for “nose”) or not (e.g. iyawa, neigin, ɛbu for “road”).

gloss Dima Daga Maiwa
head una iwa kwi'.unwa; kuiyunwa
hair deba igumewa gu'mawa; huiawa
ear taii(na) darinewa nau'nawa; naunáwa
eye yamana yamewa yaŋganwa; yaŋ'ganwa
nose giana ginewa ginawa; gi'nunwa
tooth wari(na) nodonewa do'nawa; donáwa
tongue pepa(na) mɛriwa phed'nawa; pedt nawa
leg wana ai'raniwa; beawa
louse igu kuisin kwhi'sin; nagam; usiwa
dog kwegawa eao kwhe'.au; kueyao
pig boro tuan 'bui
bird midiwari nɛnip nenip; ve'khæthu
egg dodopi bagua ba'giwa; gat toda; kokorek bagiwa
blood tawayana dɛnip di
bone (e)regura kaemewa mařɛt'nawa
skin etona ɛpiwa koápiwa; pha'phunwa
breast ama amewa am
tree na oma i; ioma
man apana apan apan; a'phan
woman wawina oaen ve'sin; wɛsin
sun gabudara oam kum; khum
moon dede siragam dut; duth
water oa kaum ioi; yoi
fire iarema oma íam; yaŋ'gawa
stone akima agim agim; 'agim
road, path iyawa neigin ɛbu; 'ɛbu
name ewani yaoa i'vi wa
eat naiwan mɛ 'nane; naiwi
one daiida daiton desi'řoe; désirom
two uri dɛrɛ dúam; duːʌm

Evolution

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Dagan reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma:[4]

Daga language:

  • ama 'breast' < *amu
  • meri (nawa) 'tongue' < *me(l,n)e
  • ira 'tree' < *inda

Kanasi language:

  • 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

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Notes
  1. ^ NewGuineaWorld – Meneao Range
  2. ^ New Guinea World, Owen Stanley Range
  3. ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  4. ^ 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.