Sumuri language
{{Short description|Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Indonesia}}
{{distinguish|Sumerian language}}
{{About|the "Tanah Merah" language spoken on Bomberai Peninsula on the western coast of Papua|the "Tanah Merah" language spoken on Tanahmerah Bay on the northern coast of Papua|Tabla language}}
{{Infobox language
|name = Sumuri
|altname = Sumeri
|nativename = Tanah Merah
|ethnicity = Sumuri
|region = Sumuri District, Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua (Bapai Rover and Gondu River areas)
|speakers = 500
|date = 1978
|ref = e18
|familycolor = Papuan
|fam1 = Trans–New Guinea or language isolate
|iso3 = tcm
|glotto = tana1288
|glottorefname = Tanahmerah
|map = Sumuri language.svg
|mapcaption = Map: The Sumeri language of New Guinea (located at left, in the Bird's Head)
{{legend|#FF5E5F|The Sumeri language}}
{{legend|#7BB5B6|Other Trans–New Guinea languages}}
{{legend|#D9D9D9|Other Papuan languages}}
{{legend|#E09D00|Austronesian languages}}
{{legend|white|Uninhabited}}
}}
Sumuri or Sumeri (one of two Papuan languages also known as Tanah Merah) is a language spoken in Sumuri District, Teluk Bintuni Regency on the Bomberai Peninsula by about a thousand people.
Distribution
In Sumuri District of Teluk Bintuni Regency, Sumuri people reside in Tofoi (district capital), Materabu Jaya, Forada, Agoda, Saengga, Tanah Merah Baru, Onar Lama, and Onar Baru villages.{{cite book |last=Ronsumbre |first=Adolof |year=2020 |title=Ensiklopedia Suku Bangsa di Provinsi Papua Barat |location=Yogyakarta |publisher=Penerbit Kepel Press |isbn=978-602-356-318-0}}
Classification
In the classifications of Malcolm Ross (2005) and Timothy Usher (2020), Sumeri forms an independent branch of the Trans–New Guinea family, but Palmer (2018) classifies it as a language isolate.{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Bill |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=Language families of the New Guinea Area |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=1–20 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}
It does not fit in with any of the established branches of TNG, but based on what little data there is, it would seem to be closest to either the Berau Gulf branches (i.e. South Bird's Head, West Bomberai etc.) or the Asmat–Mombum languages and their relatives further east.
Sumeri has previously been linked to the Mairasi languages, but those do not share the TNG pronouns of Sumeri. The Sumeri pronouns are:
:
| class=wikitable
! !!sg!!pl |
| 1ex
|rowspan=2|na-fea||kiria |
|---|
| 1in
|kigokomaka |
| 2
|ka-fea||ki-fia |
There are no 3rd-person personal pronouns, only demonstratives. The pronouns appear to reflect pTNG *na 1sg, *ga 2sg, and *gi 2pl.
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975),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/tanahmerah |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 !! Tanah Merah | |
| head | breŋka; kidaso |
| hair | nisa; nua |
| eye | ka-bita; ndou |
| tooth | eti; kioni |
| leg | kiwi; oto |
| louse | ia; miŋ |
| dog | ibe; yoku |
| pig | opo; tayna |
| bird | awə; finanaburu |
| egg | doŋ; no |
| blood | kinatera; sa |
| bone | naso; oro |
| skin | ele; katane |
| tree | o; ono; taya |
| man | do; maopa |
| sun | soniŋ; weti |
| water | bu; moda |
| fire | avonabe; siŋ |
| stone | kenade; oru |
| name | nigia; wado |
| eat | anine; taue |
| one | besika; naduma |
| two | bi; wanitabo |
See also
References
{{Malcolm Ross Pronouns}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
{{Papuan languages}}
Category:Trans–New Guinea languages