Languages of Papua New Guinea

Kwomtari Survey

Date Created:
1983
Extent:
43 pages
Description:
"The following document was written in 1983 and discusses the findings of a language survey done in what is now called Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea. The survey was carried out in villages speaking a language belonging to the purported Kwomtari Phylum. The results were a complete rearrangement of the language relationships, the discovery of a "new" language (Guriaso) and the realization that extensive borrowing may have taken place even from a Malay source. The draft report was sent to SIL Ukarumpa, The Linguistics Department of the University of Papua New Guinea and the Australian National University (c/o Don Laycock). I had been hoping for some interaction with these parties, but that didn't materialize. As we had to relinquish the research program quite suddenly only a couple of years later, the document has lain unattended to for 20 years. OCR had to be used to convert the paper version back into a searchable document. I only edited it to make it publishable on the Internet. To avoid any anachronistic changes, the document is presented as it was written, simply as a draft paper that could be used to further our understanding of the linguistic situation in that part of the world. Fas Phonology is quite complex especially in the high vowel region. This has resulted in a number of phonemic and orthographic proposals. See my Overview of Fas Phonology and Orthographic Mismatches. Fas vs. Melanesian Pidgin for more info. In this survey e and o, for instance, are used for Fas vowels that are elsewhere represented by i and u respectively." Wietze Baron (wietze@baron.org) Hoogezand The Netherlands November 2007
This material was collected in the 1970/80s. It may contain errors and reflects the understanding of the researcher at that time.
Publication Status:
Draft (posted 'as is' without peer review)
Content Language:
Work Type:
Nature of Work:
Entry Number:
50873