| Kuman | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Chimbu Province, from Kundiawa to beyond Kerowagi in the west and Gembogl in the north, at the foot of Mount Wilhelm |
| Native speakers | (120,000 cited 2000 census) L2: 70,000 (2021) |
| Language family | Trans–New Guinea
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kue |
| Glottolog | kuma1280 |
Kuman (also Chimbu or Simbu) is a language of Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. In 1994, it was estimated that 80,000 people spoke Kuman, 10,000 of them monolinguals; in the 2000 census, 115,000 were reported, with few monolinguals. Ethnologue also reported 70,000 second language speakers in 2021.
Phonology
Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially). Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡𝼄/, allophonically (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | |
| prenasal/vd. | ᵐb ~ b | ⁿd ~ d | ᵑɡ ~ g | ||
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Fricative | s | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||
| Lateral | l | ʟ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
- Voiced plosives are usually prenasal, but may fluctuate in word-initial position as ordinary voiced stops .
- Voiceless stops /p, t, k/ are always aspirated in word-initial position.
- /ɾ/ only occurs word-medially and word-finally. In word-final position it is heard as a trill [r].
- /s/ can be pronounced as [s], [ᵗs] in word-initial position.
- /w/ can be pronounced as [β] before front vowels /i, e/.
- /ʟ/ is heard as voiceless [ʟ̥] or fricative [𝼄], when preceding a consonant. It is heard as a voiced fricative [ʟ̝] when between vowels. It is also heard as an alveolar fricative [ɬ] before an /s/.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a | ||
- /a/ can be heard as either central [ä] or back [ɑ] in free variation.
- /e/ is pronounced as [ɛ] as a first vowel in a word.
- /o/ is pronounced in its lax form as [ɔ] before /ɾ/.
Syllable patterns
Syllable structure is (C)V(C). Any consonant can occur in onset position, but in coda position only /m/, /n/, /gɬ/, /l/ and /k/ can occur.
Grammar
Kuman is an SOV language.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009) |
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Salisbury (1956) and Trefry (1969), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:
gloss Kuman head bit-na; bɩtiɩno hair iŋguno; yungo ear kina-na; kunano eye gumutino; ongomit-na nose guma-ne; gumano tooth siŋguno tongue dirambino leg kati; kat-na louse numan dog aʝg; agi; akɬ ̥ pig bogla; bugɬa bird kua egg mugɬo; muɬo blood borɔmai; bořumai; maiam bone yambiřo; yombura skin gaŋgino breast amu-na; amuno tree endi man yagl; yakɬ ̥ woman ambu sun ande; andesuŋgua moon ba water nigl; nikɬ ̥ fire baugl; doŋga stone kombuglo; kombugɬo road, path konbo; konumbo name kaŋgin; kangi-ne eat neuŋgua one suařa two suo
References
- ^ Kuman at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Kuman language (New Guinea) at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
- Foley, 1986:63, The Papuan languages of New Guinea
- Pfantz, Daryl & Mary (2004). Kuman Language . Organized Phonological Data: SIL.
- Piau, Julie A. (1985). Verbal Syntax of Kuman. Australian National University: Canberra.
- ^ Trefry, D (1969). A comparative study of Kuman and Pawaian. Canberra: ANU Asia-Pacific Linguistics / Pacific Linguistics Press. hdl:1885/146470.
- Salisbury, R.F. 1956. The Siane Language of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Anthropos 51:447-480.
- Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
Further reading
- Hardie, Peter. 2003. Is Kuman Tonal? An account of basic segmental and tonological structure in the Papuan language Kuman. MA thesis: Australian National University
- Dryer, Matthew S.; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kuman". World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
External links
- Kuman phonology and sample text
- Kaipuleohone has a Chimbu-Wahgi collection from Andrea L. Berez that includes Kuman language materials
- A number of collections in Paradisec include Kuman materials
| Languages of Papua New Guinea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Official languages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major Indigenous languages |
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| Other Papuan languages |
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| Sign languages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chimbu–Wahgi languages | |
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| Jimi | |
| Wahgi | |
| Chimbu | |
| Hagen | |
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