The Greater Binanderean or Guhu-Oro languages are a language family spoken along the northeast coast of the Papuan Peninsula – the "Bird's Tail" of New Guinea – and appear to be a recent expansion from the north. They were classified as a branch of the Trans–New Guinea languages by Stephen Wurm (1975) and Malcolm Ross (2005), but removed (along with the related Goilalan languages) by Timothy Usher (2020).[2] The Binandere family proper is transparently valid; Ross connected it to the Guhu-Semane isolate based on pronominal evidence, and this has been confirmed by Smallhorn (2011). Proto-Binanderean (which excludes Guhu-Samane) has been reconstructed in Smallhorn (2011).
| Greater Binanderean | |
|---|---|
| Guhu-Oro | |
| Geographic distribution | Oro Province and parts of southern Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Binanderean–Goilalan[1]
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Glottolog | bina1276 |
 Map: The Greater Binanderean languages of New Guinea Greater Binanderean languages Trans–New Guinea languages Other Papuan languages Austronesian languages Uninhabited | |
Language contact
There is evidence that settlements of people speaking Oceanic languages along the Binanderean coast were gradually absorbed into inland communities speaking Binanderean languages (Bradshaw 2017). For instance, the SOV word order of Papuan Tip languages is due to Binanderean influence.[3]
Korafe displays significant influence from Oceanic languages. Meanwhile, Maisin, spoken in Oro Province, is an Oceanic language with very heavy Binanderean influence and shows characteristics typical of mixed languages.[3]
Spoken in Morobe Province, Guhu-Samane is divergent, which may be due to extensive historical contact with Oceanic languages such as Numbami.[3]
Classification
Greater Binanderean consists of the Guhu-Samane language and the Binanderean languages proper.Smallhorn (2011:444) provides the following classification:
- Greater Binanderean
However, South Binanderean and Nuclear Binanderean are non-genealogical linkages. Usher (2020), who calls the Binanderean languages proper "Oro" after Oro Province, classifies them very similarly, apart from not reproducing the non-cladistic linkages:[2]
- Guhu–Oro (= Greater Binanderean)
- Guhu-Samane
- Oro (= Binanderean)
- Binandere
- Yekora
- Ewage-Notu
- Suena–Zia (= North Binanderean)
- Central Oro (= Orokaivic)
- Southeast Oro (= Coastal Binanderean, minus Ewage-Notu)
- Baruga
- Gaina–Korafe
- Gaina
- Korafe-Yegha
Demographics
Smallhorn (2011:3) provides population figures for the following Binanderean languages.
- Guhu-Samane: 12,800
- Suena: 3,000
- Yekora: 1,000
- Zia: 3,000
- Mawae: 943
- Binandere: 7,000 (including Ambasi)
- Aeka: 3,400
- Orokaiva: 24,000
- Hunjara: 8,770
- Notu: 12,900 (including Yega)
- Gaena: 1,410
- Baruga: 2,230
- Doghoro: 270
- Korafe: 3,630
- Total
- about 80,000
Proto-language
Pronouns
Ross (2005) reconstructs both independent pronouns and verbal person prefixes:
sg. pronoun prefix 1 *na *a- 2 *ni *i- 3 *nu *u-
Only 1sg continues the Trans-New Guinea set.
Vocabulary
The following selected reconstructions of Proto-Binanderean and other lower-level reconstructions are from the Trans-New Guinea database:[4]
gloss Proto-Binandere Proto-North-Binandere Proto-Nuclear-Binandere head *ciro; *giti hair *tu ear *doŋgarә *onje eye *dibe; *diti nose *mendә tooth *di tongue *VwVwV dog *sinә pig *pu bird *ndi egg *munju blood *ju; *or{a,o}rә bone *bobo; *wetu skin *tamә breast *ami tree *i man *embә woman *bam{u,o}nә *ewVtu sky *utu sun *iji; *waeko *wari moon *inua *kariga fire *awo stone *g{o,e}mb{a,i}(ro) *daba *ganuma road, path *begata; *esa; *ndai name *jajo; *jawә eat *ind-; *mind- one *daba
Evolution
Greater Binanderean reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:[5]
- birigi ‘lightning’ < *(m,mb)elak
- mendo ‘nose’ < *m(i,u)undu
- mundu ‘kidney, testicles’ < *mundun ‘internal organs’
- (gisi)-moka ‘eye’ < *(kiti)-maŋgV
- mu ‘sap’ < *muk ‘sap, milk’
- ami ‘breast’ < *amu
- kopuru ‘head’ < *kV(mb,p)(i,u)tu
- ji ‘teeth’ < *(s,)ti(s,t)i ‘tooth’
- kosiwa ‘spittle’, kosiwa ari- ‘to spit’ < *kasipa tV- ‘to spit’
- afa ‘father’ < *apa
- embo ‘man’ < *ambi
- izi ‘tree’ < *inda
- ganuma ‘stone’ < *ka[na]m(a,u)una
- tumba ‘darkness’ < *k(i,u)tuma ‘night’
- biriga ‘lightning’ < *(m,mb)elak ‘(fire)light’
- (aßa)-raka ‘fire’ < *la(ŋg,k)a ‘ashes’
- ni ‘bird’ < *n[e]i
- na- ‘eat, drink’ < *na-
- put- ‘to blow’ < *pu + verb
- tupo ‘short’ < *tu(p,mb)a[C]
- munju ‘egg’ < *mundun ‘internal organs’
- soso ‘urine’ < *sisi
- aßa-raka ‘burning stick’ < *la(ŋg,k)a ‘ashes’
- mut- ‘give’ < *mV-
- niŋg- ‘hear, understand’ < *nVŋg- ‘know’
- boga-masa ‘destitute’ < *mbeŋga-masi ‘orphan, widow and child’
- mia ‘mother’ < *am(a,i)
- tumou ‘night’ < *k(i,u)tuma
- ma ‘taro’ < *mV
- asi ‘netbag’ < *at(i,u)
- kari ‘ear’ < *kand(e,i)k(V]
Phonotactics
Like the Koiarian languages, Binanderean languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.[5]: 87
References
- 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.
- Smallhorn, Jacinta Mary (2011). The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Further reading
- Proto-Binandere. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-Nuclear-Binandere. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-North-Binandere. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-South-Binandere. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-Orokaiva. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-Coastal-Binandere. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Proto-Baruga. TransNewGuinea.org. From Smallhorn, J. 2011. The Binanderean languages of Papua New Guinea: reconstruction and subgrouping. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Wilson, D. "The Binandere Language Family". In Capell, A., Healey, A. and Wilson, D. editors, Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 9. A-18:65-86. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1969. doi:10.15144/PL-A18.65
External links
- Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Guhu–Oro
- Doregari Kotopu Anglican Holy Communion in Binandere, digitized by Richard Mammana and Charles Wohlers
- Benunu tepo ae sakrament da kandoari ae ekalesia da jimbo nenei ainda book England da ekalesia da jimbo ango (1959) Book of Common Prayer digitized by Richard Mammana
- King, Copland. 1927. Grammar and Dictionary of the Binandere Language, Mamba River, North Division, Papua. Sydney: D.S. Ford. [1]