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The Koiarian languages /kɔɪˈɑːriən/ Koiari are a small family of Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in the "Bird's Tail" (southeastern peninsula) of New Guinea. They are classified within the Southeast Papuan branch of Trans–New Guinea.

Languages

The languages are:

• Koiaric branch (Koiari): Grass Koiari, Mountain Koiari–Koitabu
• Baraic branch (Managalas Plateau): Barai–Namiae, Ese (Managalasi), Ömie

Dutton (2010) classifies the Koiarian languages as:

• Baraic
  • Ömie
  • Barai–Managalasi (incl. Namiae)
• Koiaric
  • Mountain Koiari
  • Koita – Grass Koiari

Proto-language

Pronouns

Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:

	sg	pl
1	*na	*no
2	*a	*ja
3	*aɸu	*abu

Vocabulary

The following basic vocabulary words of Proto-Koiarian and other lower-level reconstructions are from the Trans-New Guinea database:

gloss	Proto-Koiarian	Proto-Koiariac	Proto-Baraic
head		*kina
hair	*fómo
ear			*gada
eye	*ni
nose	*uri
tooth			*gubai
tongue			*bitarV
leg			*díʔ-
louse	*ʔumu
dog		*to	*(ʔ,k)uo
pig		*ofo	*mafV
bird	*ugu
egg	*uni
blood	*taɣo
bone			*(ʔ)adV
skin	*vata
breast	*amu		*m(u,o)sV
tree	*idí
man		*ata	*baru
woman	*maɣina	*nigi
sun		*vani	*maja-; *ve
moon		*bata
water			*do
fire	*vené
stone	*muni		*Umari
road, path		*ɣuma
name	*ifí
eat	*i-
one	*(i,o)gau		*Ogonu
two		*abu(t)i	*inoki

Evolution

Koiarian reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:

Koiari language:

• muka ‘lump’ < *maŋgV ‘round object’
• uni ‘egg’ < *mun(a,i,u)ka
• idu ‘tree’ < *inda
• iya ‘cassowary’ < *ku(y)a
• karika ‘dry’ < *(ŋg,k)atata
• muni ‘stone < *(na)muna
• nana ‘older same-sex sibling’ < *nan(a,i)
• u-tuvu ‘ashes’ < *kambu-sumbu

Managalasi language:

• ata ‘bone’ < *kondaC
• muka ‘lump’ < *maŋgV ‘round object’
• iha ‘name’ < *imbi
• uma ‘louse’ < *iman
• uka ‘bird’ < *yaka
• tuua ‘short’ < *tukumba
• muna ‘stone’ < *(na)muna
• ija ‘tree’ < *inda
• otoka ‘knee’ < *(k,ŋg)atuk
• kora ‘dry’ < *(ŋg,k)atata

Phonotactics

Like the Binanderean languages, Barai and other Koiarian languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.

References

1. ^ New Guinea World, Owen Stanley Range
2. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
3. Dutton, Tom. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family. (Pacific Linguistics, 610.) Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
4. Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
5. ^ Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". 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. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

Further reading

• Dutton, Tom. 2003. A dictionary of Koiari, Papua New Guinea, with grammar notes. Pacific Linguistics 534. Canberra: Australian National University.
• Proto-Koiarian. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Proto-Koiariac. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Proto-Baraic. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

• Koiarian languages
• Owen Stanley Range languages
• Languages of Central Province (Papua New Guinea)
• Languages of Oro Province