Login
Login

Kemberano language

{{short description|Papuan language}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Kemberano

|altname=Weriagar, Barau

|states=West Papua, Indonesia

|region=Bird's Head Peninsula

|speakers=2,500 including Dombano (possibly double counting)

|date=1987

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Papuan

|fam1=Trans–New Guinea?

|fam2=Berau Gulf

|fam3=South Bird's Head

|fam4=Nuclear/East

|fam5=Kokoda–Arandai

|fam6=Arandai

|iso3=bzp

|glotto=kemb1235

|glottorefname=Kemberano

|coordinates = {{coords|-2.24|132.99|region:ID|display=inline}}

|pushpin_map = Indonesia West Papua#Indonesia_Western New Guinea#Indonesia

}}

Kemberano is a Papuan language of the Bird's Head Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia.{{cite book |last1=Holton |first1=Gary |last2=Klamer |first2=Marian |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=The Papuan languages of East Nusantara and the Bird’s Head |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=569–640 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}

Phonology

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonants

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Dental/
Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

rowspan="2" |Plosive/
Affricate

!voiceless

|p

|t̪

|

|k

prenasal/vd.

|ᵐb ~ b

|ⁿ̪d̪ ~ d̪

|dʑ

|ᵑɡ ~ ɡ

colspan="2" |Fricative

|β

|ð

|

|ɣ

colspan="2" |Nasal

|m

|n

|

|

colspan="2" |Flap

|

|ɾ

|

|

colspan="2" |Glide

|(w)

|

|(j)

|

Prenasal sounds /ᵐb, ⁿ̪d̪, ᵑɡ/ are mostly heard as prenasal in word-initial position and as voiced stops [b, d̪, ɡ] elsewhere.

  • /ᵑɡ ~ ɡ/ can be heard as [ŋ] when the next consonant in a word is /ᵑɡ ~ ɡ/ or /n/.
  • Stop sounds /p, k/ can also be heard as affricated sounds [pᶠ, kˣ] in free variation.
  • Fricatives /β, ð, ɣ/ can also be heard as unarticulated voiced stops [b̚, d̪̚, ɡ̚] when in word-final position.
  • Glides [w, j] occur as a result of vowels /i, u/ when preceding other vowels, or when in intervocalic positions.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Vowels

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

High

|i

|

|u

Mid

|e

|(ə)

|o

Low

|

|a

|

The five vowels /i, e, a, o, u/ can be heard as [ɪ, ɛ, ɑ, ɔ, ʊ] in unstressed positions. All of them may also be heard as a mid central [ə] in free variation in unstressed positions.

  • /a/ can be heard as [æ] when within the vicinity of /i/.
  • /i/ can be heard as [y] when within the vicinity of /u/.{{Cite book |last=Voorhoeve |first=C. L. |title=Some Notes on the Arandai Language |year=1985 |location=Irian XIII |pages=3-40}}

Morphology

Kemberano nouns are required to have the following concord suffixes:{{cite book |last1=Holton |first1=Gary |last2=Klamer |first2=Marian |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=The Papuan languages of East Nusantara and the Bird’s Head |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=569–640 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}

  • –i (masculine nouns)
  • –o (feminine nouns)

Examples (from Berry and Berry 1987: 86):

{{interlinear|indent=3

|pogi enat-i

|pig one-M

|‘one pig’}}

{{interlinear|indent=3

|uroko enat-o

|stone one-F

|‘one stone’}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{South Bird's Head languages}}

Category:Nuclear South Bird's Head languages

{{TNG-lang-stub}}