Busa language (Papuan)
The Busa language, also known as Odiai (Uriai), is spoken in three hamlets of northwestern Papua New Guinea.[2] There were 244 speakers at the time of the 2000 census. One of the hamlets where Busa is spoken is Busa (3.837112°S 141.440227°E) in Rawei ward, Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.[3]
| Busa | |
|---|---|
| Odiai | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun Province, Amanab District, north of Upper Sepik River, west of Namia. 3 villages. Yare is north and east, Abau is south and west, Biaka is northwest. |
Native speakers | 240 (2000 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bhf |
| Glottolog | odia1239 |
| ELP | Busa |
| Coordinates: 3°49′S 141°20′E | |
Busa speakers are in extensive trade and cultural contact with Yadë, a distantly related language spoken in six villages to the north of the Busa area.[2]
Classification
Busa may be one of the Kwomtari languages. Foley (2018) classifies Busa as a language isolate (meaning unclassified), but does not exclude the possibility that it may have a distant relationship with the Torricelli languages.[2]
Basic vocabulary
Busa basic vocabulary listed in Foley (2018):[2]
Busa basic vocabulary gloss Busa ‘bad’ buriambu ‘bird’ wana ‘black’ baro ‘breast’ nã ‘ear’ dina ‘eye’ dena ‘fire’ eβa ‘leaf’ iri ‘liver’ munã ‘louse’ amo ‘man’ nutu ‘mother’ mẽ ‘nape’ onaiba ‘older brother’ aba ‘road’ ti ‘stone’ bito ‘tooth’ wuti ‘tree’ nda ‘water’ ani ‘woman’ ele ‘one’ otutu ‘two’ tinana ‘three’ wunana ‘four’ aite ‘five’ yumnadi
The following basic vocabulary words are from Conrad and Dye (1975),[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[5]
gloss Busa head owuna hair etete ear dinʌ eye dena nose wʌti tooth wuti tongue dʌgʌrʌ louse amo dog inʌri pig waru bird wʌnʌ egg mʌiyʌ blood aɔ̨ bone ab̶uwibʌ skin tati breast ną tree nda man nutu woman tɔ water ani stone bitɔ road, path ti eat muniʌren one otutu two tinʌnʌ
Affixes
Busa subject agreement affixes are:[2]
Busa subject agreement affixes sg pl 1 ma- ma- 2 a- a- 3 m _r_- m- 3 f _w_-
The Busa possessive suffix -ni is also found in proto-Sepik as the dative suffix *ni, as well as in Ama, a Left May language.[2]
References
- Busa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- 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.
- United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
- Conrad, R. and Dye, W. "Some Language Relationships in the Upper Sepik Region of Papua New Guinea". In Conrad, R., Dye, W., Thomson, N. and Bruce Jr., L. editors, Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 18. A-40:1-36. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. doi:10.15144/PL-A40.1
- Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.