Bauni language
Bauni is a language spoken in Barupu (Warapu) village (3.071595°S 142.057463°E) of West Aitape Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.[2][3]
| Bauni | |
|---|---|
| Warapu | |
| Barupu | |
| Region | Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 300 (2000)[1] |
Skou
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bpe |
| Glottolog | wara1302 |
| ELP | Warapu (shared) |
| Coordinates: 3.071595°S 142.057463°E | |
The alternative name Barupu or Warapu, from the name of the Bauni village, has been applied to related languages as well, and 'Warapu' may be retained as a cover term.
Phonology
Bauni has 9 consonants and 6 vowels.[4]
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t | k | ||
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Approximant | j | w |
Consonants may undergo lenition, fortition, palatalization, or assimilation to produce a larger number of surface phonemes.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɔ | ||
| Open | a |
Words belong to one of five tone classes: H, L, LH, HL, HLH.
Syllables have the following form: (C)(G)V(G)(N), where (G) represents a glide and (N) represents a nasal. There are no syllables that have the maximum possible form of CGVGN.
Morphology
Verbs belong to one of four classes that differ in terms of what morphology may be applied and how. Verbs are obligatorily marked for mood - either realis (/k-/) or irrealis (/n-/) - and for subject. Certain classes of verbs require objects to be marked as well.[4]
k-opu-jara-ni
REAL-2PL.M-see-1SG.F
You see me.
Lexicon
Bauni free pronouns are distinguished on the basis of person, gender, and number.[4]
| singular | dual | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | M | něná | měpí | měmí |
| F | nění | |||
| 2nd | M | měmá | mǒpú / běvé | |
| F | mǒmú | |||
| 3rd | M | yá | yéi / rěré | |
| F | bó | |||
Syntax
Clauses in Bauni employ Agent-Patient-Verb word order. Recipients, instruments, and other oblique noun phrases typically follow the verb.[4]
Kuáni
mother
k-o-kôe
REAL-3SG.F-go.up
Mother went up.
Kuáni
mother
aka
father
k-o-yarâ-ká
REAL-3SG.F-see-3SG.M
Mother saw father.
Cha
Cha
Meniri
Meniri
bá=va
fish=PRM
k-a-r-o-a
REAL-3SG.M-3SG.M-give-3SG.M
nâkí
dog
Cha Meniri gave the dog-spirit a fish.
References
- Bauni at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
- United Nations in Papua New Guinea (2018). "Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup". Humanitarian Data Exchange. 1.31.9.
- Corris, Miriam (2005). A grammar of Barupu: a language of Papua New Guinea (Ph.D. thesis). University of Sydney. hdl:2123/3655.
- Miller, Steve A. (2017). "Skou Languages Near Sissano Lagoon, Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Language and Linguistics in Melanesia. 35: 1–24.
