Tonda languages
{{Short description|Branch of the Yam language family of southern New Guinea}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=Tonda
|altname=West Morehead River
|region=Southern New Guinea
|familycolor=Papuan
|fam1=Yam
|glotto=tond1250
|glottorefname=Tonda
|child1=
|map=Morehead and Upper Maro River languages.svg
|mapcaption=Map: The Yam languages of New Guinea
{{legend|#FF5E5F|Yam languages}}
{{legend|#7BB5B6|Trans–New Guinea languages}}
{{legend|#D9D9D9|Other Papuan languages}}
{{legend|#E09D00|Austronesian languages}}
{{legend|#f4f861|Australian languages}}
{{legend|white|Uninhabited}}
}}
The Tonda languages form a branch of the Yam language family of southern New Guinea. There are over 10 languages.
Tonda languages share some areal features are shared with the Kolopom languages.
Languages
The Tonda languages are:{{cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Evans (linguist) |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}}[https://newguineaworld.linguistik.uzh.ch/families/morehead-river/west-morehead-river West Morehead River]
;Tonda / West Morehead River
- Arammba
- Central Morehead River: Anta, Kómnzo, Wára, Wérè, Kémä, Kánchá
- Warta Thuntai
- Bensbach River
- Upper Bensbach River
- Mblafe–Ránmo
- Ngarna–Rema
- Nggarna (Sota)
- Rema
- Kanum
- Ngkolmpu: Ngkâlmpw/Ngkontar, Bädi
- South Kanum: Bârkâli-Smärki, Tämer
Notes (see Evans 2018: 681):
- Each terminal bullet point lists a different dialect chain.
- Ránmo is linguistically a dialect of Mblafe, but Ránmo speakers consider their language to be a separate, distinct language.
- Wérè is linguistically a dialect of Wára, but Wèré speakers consider their language to be a separate, distinct language.
Numeral typology
{{further|Senary#Natural languages}}
Tonda languages are unique for their base-6 numeral systems, which likely originated from counting yams (rather than fingers or body parts as with most other languages).Hammarström, Harald. (2009) [https://cl.lingfil.uu.se/~harald/hhpub/hammarstrom_rarities-numeral2010.pdf Whence the Kanum Base-6 Numeral System?]. Linguistic Typology 13(2). 305-319.
References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Evans (linguist) |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}}
External links
- Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, [https://newguineaworld.linguistik.uzh.ch/families/morehead-river/west-morehead-river Proto–West Morehead River] (under construction 2020)
Further reading
- Grummitt, John and Janell Masters. 2012. [https://pnglanguages.sil.org/resources/archives/48321 A Survey of the Tonda Sub-Group of Languages]. SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2012-018.
{{Yam languages}}