Northern Adelbert languages

The Northern Adelbert or Pihom–Isumrud languages are a family of twenty languages in the Madang stock of New Guinea. The occupy the coastal northern Adelbert Range of mountains directly opposite Karkar Island, as opposed to the Southern Adelbert languages, another branch of Madang.

Northern Adelbert
Adelbert Range – Isumrud Strait
Pihom–Isumrud
Geographic
distribution		Adelbert Range, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea
Linguistic classificationNortheast New Guinea?
  • Madang
    • Central Madang
      • Northern Adelbert
Glottologgrea1298  (Greater Northern Adelbert)
croi1234  (Croisilles)

Malcolm Ross posited a "linkage" connecting the Northern Adelbert languages with the Mabuso languages, and named this group Croisilles /krɔɪˈsɪlz/,[1] as the two families bracket Cape Croisilles (Northern Adelbert to the north, Mabuso to the south). However, Ross never claimed Croisilles was an actual language family, and other researchers have rejected the connection.

Languages

There are approximately 20 Northern Adelbert languages.

Below is a comparison of Northern Adelbert language names in Pick (2020)[2] and Z'graggen (1980).[3] A few alternate names from Capell (1952) are also given.[4]

Pick (2020)Z'graggen (1980)ISO 639-3
AmakoKorakkoz
BaremBunabun (Z'graggen 1980), Bunubun (Capell 1952)buq
BargamMugilmlp
BepourBepourbie
GavakDimirdmc
Hember AvuMusar (Z'graggen 1980),
Amben (Petir et al 1996[5]),
Vanembere (Capell 1952)		mmi
KarianBilakurabql
KobolKogumankgu
KowakiKowakixow
MaiaPila,
Saki		sks
MaianiTanitnh
MalaPayped
MianiTani (Z'graggen 1980),
Banar (Capell 1952)		pla
ManepMalasmkr
MauwakeUlinganmhl
MawakMawakmjj
MoereMoeremvq
MokatiWanambrewnb
PalAbasakurabw
PamosuHinihonhih
ParawenParawenprw
UkurigumaUkurigumaukg
UsanWanumawnu
WaskiaWaskiawsk
YabenYabenybm
YarawataYarawatayrw

Classification

Croisilles was first posited by Malcolm Ross (1995), not as an actual language family, but as a linkage. It was a merger of Wurm's Pihom-Isumrud-Mugil and Mabuso stocks, each of which contained 25–30 languages. Pick (2017, 2020) and Usher reject the merger, and provisionally the inclusion of Mugil (Bargam), though Pick retains the name. Usher disambiguates the (non-Mabuso) family as 'Adelbert Range'.

Usher (2020)

Timothy Usher classifies the languages as follows.[6]

Adelbert Range – Isumrud Strait

Pick (2020)

Below is Andrew Pick's (2020) classification of the Northern Adelbert languages.[2]: 14 

Pick (2017)

A quite similar internal classification was worked out independently by Pick (2017).[1] Pick could not establish regular sound correspondences with Kobol–Pal (Omosan) or Amaimon (Mabulap), and thus leaves them out of the family.

Northern Adelbert

Pick notes that Barem and Malas share pronominal markers on the verbs 'to teach' and 'to show' that are unique to those two verbs.

Proto-language
Proto-Northern Adelbert
Reconstruction ofNorthern Adelbert languages

A phonological reconstruction of Proto-Northern Adelbert has been proposed by Pick (2020).[2]

Phonology

Pick (2020) reconstructs the phonemes of Proto-Northern Adelbert as:[2]

labialalveolarpalatalvelar
unvoiced stops *p*t*k
voiced stops *b*d*g
nasals *m*n*ŋ
fricatives *s
laterals *l
rhotics *r
glides *w*y

Four vowels are reconstructed by Pick (2020): *a, *e, *i, *u. Although Northern Adelbert languages usually have the five vowels /a e i o u/, Pick (2020) does not consider *o to be reconstructable.

Pronouns

The Proto-Northern Adelbert pronouns are:[2]: 471 

SGPL
1 *ye*yin
2 *ne*nin
3 *we*win

Lexicon

Selected lexical reconstructions from Pick (2020) are listed below.

Animal names
glossProto-Northern Adelbert
ant*mudir
ant sp.*susur
bird*muga(n/ŋ)
bird*nebek
centipede*wisir
chicken*teteri
crayfish*areker
crocodile*tuar
eel*melik
fly (insect)*kuduruk
flying fox*kepak
flying fox*malabuŋ
frog*idik
grasshopper*takaw
grasshopper*usa
hornbill*baram
leech*udir(a/e)m
louse*gun
mosquito*kasin
night bird*mum
night bird of prey*kilal
palm cockatoo*k(a/e)kawin
pig*buruk
pig, marsupial game animal*wa
pitpit*pia
snake*duag
sunfly*sisimur
Victoria crowned pigeon*maur
Plant names
glossProto-Northern Adelbert
aibika greens*iruar
aibika greens*maiw
bamboo*bik
banana*kudi
betel pepper vine*kupi
breadfruit*kidar
coconut*keta
firefly*magam
mango*pai
mushroom*mutar
sago*kamar
stinging nettle (Tok Pisin: salat)*k(u/a)bum
sugarcane*kai
taro*mam
tree*ŋam
tree sp. (Tok Pisin: mangas)*teber
tulip tree*kuari
type of greens*muduru
Material culture
glossProto-Northern Adelbert
adze/axe*ben
bow*kemi
canoe*wag
hand drum*wag
house post*bugaŋ
kundu drum*kibem
loincloth*siruw
platform, bed*badim
signal drum, ironwood tree*baner
spear*uyaw
village*kuaw

Comparisons

Below is a list of Proto-Northern Adelbert forms that are descended from Proto-Trans–New Guinea.[2]: 470 

glossProto-Northern AdelbertProto-Trans–New Guinea
arm, hand*waben*mbena
older brother*bab*[mb]amba
blood*ked*ke(nj,s)a
heart*gemaŋ*kamu
neck, nape*kumaŋ*kuma(n, ŋ)
mosquito*kasin*kasin
die*um-*kumV-
sleep*in-*kin(i,u)[m]-
know, hear, see*ag- 'see'*nVŋg-
NEG*me (+verb)*ma- (+verb)
water*yag*ok[V]
leaf*tak*sasak

References
  1. Pick, Andrew (2017). "A Reconstruction of Proto-Croiselles Phonology and Lexicon". 23rd International Conference on Historical Linguistics. San Antonio, Texas, US. (video)
  2. Pick, Andrew (2020). A reconstruction of Proto-Northern Adelbert phonology and lexicon (PDF) (PhD dissertation). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
  3. Z'graggen, J.A. A comparative word list of the Northern Adelbert Range languages, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. D-31, xvi + 194 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1980. doi:10.15144/PL-D31
  4. Capell, Arthur. 1952. Languages of the Bogia District, New Guinea. Oceania 22(2), 130-147; 22(3), 178-207.
  5. Petir, Amova, Dum Materem, Pakong Yapong, Sakel Mukarek, Moyang Okira, & Tim Platts-Mills. 1996. Useful Plants of Salembem Village, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. Madang: Kristen Pres.
  6. Usher, Timothy. 2020. Adelbert Range – Isumrud Strait (NewGuineaWorld)

Further reading
Wiktionary has a list of reconstructed forms at Appendix:Proto-Northern Adelbert reconstructions
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