Saponi language

{{Short description|Extinct Papuan language of Indonesia}}

{{distinguish|Tutelo-Saponi language}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Saponi

| states = Indonesia

| region = Western New Guinea

| ref = e16

| familycolor = Papuan

| family = unclassified
(lexically Lakes Plain,
grammatically East Bird's Head)

| iso3 = spi

| glotto = sapo1254

| glottorefname = Saponi

| pushpin_map = Indonesia_Western New Guinea#Indonesia

| coordinates = {{coord|-2.50|139.50|region:ID-PB}}

| speakers = 4

| date = 2000

}}

Saponi is an extinct Papuan language of Indonesia.{{Ethnologue18|spi}}

It was spoken in Botawa village of Waropen Bawah Subdistrict in Waropen Regency. Woria is also spoken in Botawa village.{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/ID/languages |title=Indonesia languages |work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |edition=22nd |editor1-last=Eberhard |editor1-first=David M. |editor2-last=Simons |editor2-first=Gary F. |editor3-last=Fennig |editor3-first=Charles D. |date=2019 |location=Dallas |publisher=SIL International}}

It shared half of its basic vocabulary with the Rasawa language, but it is not clear that they were related. Saponi shared none of its pronouns with the Lakes Plain family that Rasawa is part of; indeed its basic pronouns {{lang|spi|mamire}} "I, we" and {{lang|spi|ba}} "thou" are reminiscent of proto–East Bird's Head *meme "we" and *ba "thou".