Molof language
{{Short description|Unclassified language of Indonesia}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Molof
|altname=Poule
|region=Papua: 9 villages located 100 km to the south of Jayapura; in Keerom Regency, Senggi District, Molof village
|speakers={{sigfig|234|2}}
|date=2005
|ref=e25
|familycolor=Papuan
|family=Unclassified, possibly Pauwasi or language isolate
|iso3=msl
|glotto=molo1262
|glottorefname=Molof
}}
Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency.
Classification
Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ross (2005) could not find enough evidence to classify it. Søren Wichmann (2018)Wichmann, Søren. 2013. [http://www.langlxmelanesia.com/wichmann313-386.pdf A classification of Papuan languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125143227/https://www.langlxmelanesia.com/wichmann313-386.pdf |date=2020-11-25 }}. In: Hammarström, Harald and Wilco van den Heuvel (eds.), History, contact and classification of Papuan languages (Language and Linguistics in Melanesia, Special Issue 2012), 313-386. Port Moresby: Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea. tentatively considers it to be a language isolate, as does Foley (2018). Usher (2020) tentatively suggests it may be a Pauwasi language.[https://newguineaworld.linguistik.uzh.ch/families/pauwasi-river New Guinea World]
Phonology
Molof has a small consonant inventory, but a large one for vowels.
Molof consonants, quoted by Foley (2018) from Donohue (n.d.):
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Labial ! rowspan="2" | Alveolar ! rowspan="2" | Palatal ! colspan="2" | Velar |
| {{small|plain}} || {{small|labial}}
! {{small|plain}} || {{small|labial}} |
|---|
| Nasal
| {{IPA link|m}} | | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |
| Plosive
| {{IPA link|p}} | | {{IPA link|t}} | | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|kʷ}} |
| Fricative
| {{IPA link|f}} | {{IPA link|fʷ}} | {{IPA link|s}} | | | |
| Liquid
| | | {{IPA link|r}} | | | |
| Semivowel
| | | | {{IPA link|j}} | | {{IPA link|w}} |
Molof vowels (8 total), quoted by Foley (2018) from Donohue (n.d.):
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! ! Front ! Central ! Back |
| Close
| {{IPA link|i}} | | {{IPA link|u}} |
|---|
| Close-mid
| {{IPA link|e}} | rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}} | {{IPA link|o}} |
| Open-mid
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} | {{IPA link|ɔ}} |
| Open
| {{IPA link|a}} | | |
Basic vocabulary
Basic vocabulary of Molof from Rumaropen (2005), quoted in Foley (2018):Rumaropen, Benny. 2005. Sociolinguistic Report of the Poulle Language of Molof and Waley Villages, Keeron District, Papua, Indonesia. Unpublished manuscript. Jayapura: SIL Indonesia.{{cite book |last=Foley |first=William A. |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=The languages of Northwest New Guinea |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=433–568 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}
:
| {{table}}
|+ Molof basic vocabulary ! gloss !! Molof | |
| ‘bird’ | au |
| ‘blood’ | mɪt |
| ‘bone’ | antai |
| ‘breast’ | mu |
| ‘ear’ | ou |
| ‘eat’ | nɪ |
| ‘egg’ | li |
| ‘eye’ | lum |
| ‘fire’ | tombe |
| ‘give’ | tui |
| ‘go’ | tuɨ |
| ‘ground’ | aigiman |
| ‘hair’ | era |
| ‘hear’ | ar/arai |
| ‘I’ | məik |
| ‘leg’ | vu |
| ‘louse’ | əlim |
| ‘man’ | lomoa |
| ‘moon’ | ar |
| ‘name’ | ti |
| ‘one’ | kwasekak |
| ‘road, path’ | mɪtnine |
| ‘see’ | lokea |
| ‘sky’ | mejor |
| ‘stone’ | rɨ |
| ‘sun’ | neman |
| ‘tongue’ | aifoma |
| ‘tooth’ | tɨ |
| ‘tree’ | war |
| ‘two’ | atati |
| ‘water’ | yat |
| ‘we’ | ti |
| ‘woman’ | anar |
| ‘you (sg)’ | in |
The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1971, 1975),Voorhoeve, C.L. "Miscellaneous Notes on Languages in West Irian, New Guinea". In Dutton, T., Voorhoeve, C. and Wurm, S.A. editors, Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 14. A-28:47-114. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1971. {{doi|10.15144/PL-A28.47}}Voorhoeve, C.L. Languages of Irian Jaya: Checklist. Preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists. B-31, iv + 133 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. {{doi|10.15144/PL-B31}} as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:{{Cite web |url=http://transnewguinea.org/language/molof |title=TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea |last=Greenhill |first=Simon |date=2016| access-date=2020-11-05}}
:
| class="wikitable sortable"
! gloss !! Molof | |
| head | emi |
| hair | ela |
| ear | ou |
| eye | lom |
| nose | toŋga |
| tooth | te |
| tongue | ai |
| leg | fu |
| louse | lem |
| bird | au |
| egg | le |
| blood | mat |
| bone | antai |
| skin | kant |
| breast | mu |
| tree | woar |
| man | lomo |
| woman | anale |
| sun | nei |
| moon | ar |
| water | jat; yat |
| fire | tombe |
| stone | le |
| road, path | mef |
| name | ti |
| eat | ne |
| one | kwasekak |
| two | ateti |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=Wiktionary has word lists at Appendix:Pauwasi word lists}}
- [http://transnewguinea.org/family/molof Molof word list at TransNewGuinea.org]
{{Papuan languages}}
Category:Languages of Western New Guinea