Tabo language
{{Short description|Isolate language spoken in Papua New Guinea}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Waia
|nativename=Tabo
|region=Western Province, Papua New Guinea
|speakers=3,000
|date=2002
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Papuan
|fam1=Language isolate or Trans-Fly
|fam2=
|iso3=knv
|glotto=tabo1241
|glottorefname=Tabo
|glottofoot=no
|map=Waia language.svg
|mapcaption=Map: The Waia language of New Guinea
{{legend|#FF5E5F|The Waia language (south center)}}
{{legend|#7BB5B6|Trans–New Guinea languages}}
{{legend|#D9D9D9|Other Papuan languages}}
{{legend|#E09D00|Austronesian languages}}
{{legend|white|Uninhabited}}
}}
{{GeoGroup}}
Tabo, also known as Waia (Waya), is a Papuan language of Western Province, Papua New Guinea, just north of the Fly River delta. The language has also been known as Hiwi and Hibaradai.{{Glottolog|tabo1241}}
Tabo means ‘word, mouth’ and is the name of the language, whereas Waia is the name of one of the ten villages where Tabo is spoken.{{cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |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 Southern New Guinea |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=641–774 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}
Classification
Tabo is not close to other languages. Evans (2018) classifies it as a language isolate. Usher (2020) includes it in the Trans-Fly family.[https://newguineaworld.linguistik.uzh.ch/families/east-trans-fly NewGuineaWorld] Part of the uncertainty is because many of the attested words of Tabo are loans from Gogodala or Kiwai, reducing the number of native Tabo words that can be used for comparison and thus making classification difficult.
Demographics
In Gogodala Rural LLG, Western Province, Papua New Guinea, Tabo is spoken in:{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/PG/languages |title=Papua New Guinea 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}}{{cite web |url=https://data.humdata.org/dataset/village-coordinates-lookup |title=Papua New Guinea Village Coordinates Lookup |author=United Nations in Papua New Guinea |work=Humanitarian Data Exchange |version=1.31.9 |date=2018}}
- Lower Aramia River: Alagi ({{coord|-8.053774|142.961739|type:city_region:PG|name=Waligi}}), Galu, Saiwase ({{coord|-7.958242|143.203232|type:city_region:PG|name=Saiwase}}), and Waya ({{coord|-7.984933|143.182042|type:city_region:PG|name=Waya}}) villages
- Bamu River: Alikinapi village
- Lower Fly River: Kenedibi ({{coord|-8.240667|143.380404|type:city_region:PG|name=Kenedibi}}), Urio ({{coord|-8.239063|143.394333|type:city_region:PG|name=Urio}}), and Wagumi-Sarau villages
- Segero Creek: Segero village ({{coord|-8.232149|143.536743|type:city_region:PG|name=Sagero}})
It is spoken by 3,500 people mainly in the southern part Bamu Rural LLG of Western Province.
Phonology
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Reesink (1976) and Wurm (1973), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:{{Cite web |url=http://transnewguinea.org/language/tabo |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 !! Tabo | |
| head | wato |
| hair | hinibó; hinibɔ |
| ear | galo |
| eye | ba ͥdi; baidi |
| nose | dopo; dɔ:pɔ |
| tooth | lalo; lolo |
| tongue | mɛlpila; merapira |
| leg | nato |
| louse | tamani |
| dog | gaha |
| bird | hola; hola: |
| egg | kikipo |
| blood | hawi; {{lang|knv|haᵘwi}} |
| bone | goha; goha: |
| skin | tama |
| breast | nono |
| tree | ke'ha; kɛha |
| man | dubu; tubu |
| woman | kamena |
| sun | kadepa; kadɛpa |
| moon | manome; manomi |
| water | bea |
| fire | koe; kue: |
| stone | -nadi; naki |
| road, path | gabo |
| name | mahiro; mahiřo |
| eat | hɛna; nɛ:na |
| one | kapia |
| two | nete'ewa |
Further reading
- Schlatter, Tim. 2003. Tabo language grammar sketch (Aramia River Dialect). Unpublished m.s.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://transnewguinea.org/language/tabo TransNewGuinea.org database]
{{Papuan languages}}
{{language families}}
{{Languages of Papua New Guinea}}
Category:Trans-Fly–Bulaka River languages
Category:Languages of Western Province (Papua New Guinea)