Sikaritai (Sikwari) is a Lakes Plain language of Papua, Indonesia. It is named after Sikari village in Rafaer District, Mamberamo Raya Regency. Alternate names are Aikwakai, Araikurioko, Ati, Tori, Tori Aikwakai.
| Sikaritai | |
|---|---|
| Tori Aikwakai | |
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | Sikari village in Rafaer District, Mamberamo Raya Regency, Papua |
Native speakers | 2,000 (2015)[1] |
Lakes Plain
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tty |
| Glottolog | sika1263 |
It is spoken in Haya, Iri, and Sikari villages.[1]
Sikaritai, Obokuitai, and Eritai constitute a dialect cluster.
Phonology
editThe following discussion is based on Martin (1991).[2]
Consonants
edit| Labial | Coronal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | b | t d | k kʷ |
| Fricative | ɸ | s | |
| Semivowel | w |
This small consonant inventory is typical of Lakes Plain languages.[3] The complete lack of nasals is also a feature of these languages.
There are however several notable allophonic variants:
- /d/ is realized as [d ~ l] word-initially, [ɾ ~ l] between vowels or following another consonants, and as [d̚] syllable-finally.
- /k/ is realized as [g̚] syllable-finally. When followed by a vowel, the sequence /ik/ is realized as a syllabic fricative [ɣ̩]. The sequence /iko/ further varies with [u.o].
- [ɸ] is in free variation with a glottal fricative [h].
- /s/ is realized as [ʃ] following /k/.
- /i/ before another vowel is realized as either a semivowel [j] or an affricate [dʒ] (the latter when following /k/ or when between two low vowels (/ɛ/ or /a/).
Vowels
editSikaritai has six vowels.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid-high | e | ||
| Mid | ɛ | o | |
| Low | a |
Many other Lakes Plain languages have developed a series of extra high "fricativized" vowels from the loss of a final consonant.[3] In Sikaritai the final consonants have been retained; however, extra-high [i] and [u] appear as allophones of /i/ and /u/ before final /k/ and /d/. Martin postulates that Sikaritai is in the process of developing contrastive fricativized vowels as other Lakes Plain languages have done.
Tone
editThe language has a two-height tone system with H and L tone. More than one tonal element can appear on a single syllable.
Syllables
editThe syllable template is (C)(C)V(V)(C).
References
edit- ^ a b Sikaritai at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Martin, David (1991). "Sikaritai phonology". Workpapers in Indonesian Languages and Cultures. 9: 91–120.
- ^ a b Clouse, Duane (1997). "Toward a reconstruction and reclassification of the Lakes Plain languages of Irian Jaya". Papers in Papuan Linguistics. 3: 133–236.
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