Telefol language
| Telefol | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun Province, Telefomin District |
| Ethnicity | Telefol people |
Native speakers | (5,400 cited 1994)[1] |
Trans–New Guinea
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tlf |
| Glottolog | tele1256 |
| ELP | Lua error in Module:Endangered_Languages_Project at line 21: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Telefol is a language spoken by the Telefol people in Papua New Guinea, notable for possessing a base-27 numeral system.
History
[edit | edit source]The Iligimin people also spoke Telefol, but they were defeated by the Telefol proper.[2]
Orthography
[edit | edit source]| Phonemic | ɑ | ɑː | e | eː | i | iː | o | oː | u | uː | b | d̪ | ɸ | k | kʷ | l | m | n̪ | ŋ | s̪ | t̪ | w | j |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowercase | a | aa | e | e | i | ii | o | o | u | uu | b, p | d, g | f | k, g | kw | l | m | n | ng | s | t | w | y |
| Uppercase | A | Aa | E | I | Ii | O | U | Uu | B | D | F | K | Kw | M | N | S | T | W | Y |
Single ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ represent both their single and long vowels, since they rarely contrast.
/b/ is written ⟨p⟩ pre-consonantally and word-finally.
Single /k/ is written ⟨g⟩ intervocalically, and /kk/ is written ⟨k⟩ intervocalically.
/kd/ and /ŋd/ are written ⟨kg⟩ and ⟨ngg⟩ (since they're pronounced [ɡ] and [ŋɡ] respectively).
Initial /ɡ/ is also written with ⟨g⟩ in loan words, e.g., Got 'God'.
Phonology
[edit | edit source]Consonants
[edit | edit source]| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | (Glottal) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n̪ | ŋ | |||
| Plosive | (p) b | t̪ d̪ | k kʷ (ɡ) | (ʔ) | ||
| Fricative | f | s̪ | (h) | |||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Semivowel | w | j |
/ʔ/ and /h/ only appear in a few particles and some exclamations. /p/ and /ɡ/ only appear in a few loans.
| Phoneme(s) | Condition | Allophone |
|---|---|---|
| /b/ | intervocalic | [b~β] |
| syllable-final | [pʰ] | |
| /f/ | free-variation | [f~ɸ] |
| /k/ | intervocalic | [ɣ] |
| /l/ | intervocalic | [ɾ] |
| /kd/ | (everywhere) | [ɡ] |
| /ŋd/ | (everywhere) | [ŋɡ] |
Vowels
[edit | edit source]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open | ɑ ɑː |
There are two contrastive phonemic tones in Telefol, high and low. For example, ùlín 'club' vs. úlìn 'planted'.
/e/ and /eː/, /o/ and /oː/, are nearly in complementary distribution. Also, single /e/ and /o/ don't occur in one-syllable words or in terminal syllables.
Vowel length only contrasts in initial syllables. However, in initial syllables single /u/ and /o/, and /i/ and /e/, don't contrast.
Phonotactics
[edit | edit source]Syllable structure is (C)V(ː)(C).[citation needed]
/l/ does not occur word-initially.[citation needed]
/ŋ/ is allowed in medial, but not word-initial, onsets.[6]
Grammar
[edit | edit source]Telefol is a subject–object–verb language.[citation needed]
Verbal aspect
[edit | edit source]Telefol has a rich aspectual system.[7] Telefol verbs have "punctiliar" (momentary/completed) and "continuative" stems.[8]
Counting system
[edit | edit source]Telefol uses a base-27 counting system. This is mapped onto the body by counting each of the following: the left pinky to the left thumb (1-5); the wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder (6-10); the side of the neck, ear, and left eye (11-13); the nose (14); and similarly on the right side in reverse order, from the right eye to the right pinky (15-27).[9][10]
Kinship
[edit | edit source]Telefol has dyadic kinship terms (terms referring to the relationship two or more people have to each other), which are uncommon in the world's languages and not prevalent in Papua New Guinea. However, they are a salient feature of the Ok languages. Related terms are found in Oksapmin, Mian, and Tifal.[11]
Evolution
[edit | edit source]Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012):[12]
| proto-Trans-New Guinea | Telefol |
|---|---|
| *m(o,u)k ‘milk, sap, breast’ | müük, mɔk ‘spittle’ |
| *maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’ | (Faiwol makat-kalim ‘whiskers’) |
| *maŋgV ‘compact round object’ | magap ‘round object, fruit, seed, etc’’ |
| *m(i,u)ndu ‘nose’ | mutu ‘nose’ |
| *k(o,u)ma(n,ŋ)[V] ‘neck, nape’ | kum ‘left side of neck’ |
| *kumut, *tumuk ‘thunder’ | tumuun ‘thunder’ |
| *niman ‘louse’ | tim ‘louse’ |
| *kal(a,i)m ‘moon’ | kaliim ‘moon’ |
| *k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’ | kutim ‘morning’ |
| *na ‘1SG’ | na- |
| *ni, *nu ‘1PL’ | nu |
| *mbena ‘arm’ | ban ‘forearm’ |
| *[w]ani ‘who?’ | wan(tap), waan(ta) ‘who?’ |
| *pVnum ‘wind’ | inim |
| *kinV ‘shoulder’ | tiŋ (Faiwal kiiŋ) |
| *mbilaŋ ‘tongue’ | fɔŋ (cf. Faiwol falaŋ, Tifal filaŋ) |
| *mbena ‘arm’ | ban ‘forearm’ |
| *amba ‘sibling’ | baab |
| *(kambu)-sumbu ‘ashes’ | (ku)-tab |
| *mbilaŋ ‘tongue’ | foŋ (Tifal filaŋ) |
| *(mb,p)ututu- ‘to fly’ | (?) fúlúluú (+ V.) |
| *pVnum ‘wind’ | (?) inim |
| *m(i,u)ndu ‘nose’ | mutuum |
| *kumut, *tumuk ‘thunder’ | tumuun |
| *k(i,u)tuma ‘night, morning’ | kutim |
| *ŋgatu(k,n) ‘knee’ | katuun |
| *k(a,e)(nd,t)ak ‘neck’ | ditak (Faiwal getak) |
| *saŋ ‘story, song’ | saŋ ‘myth, story’ |
| *sumbu ‘ashes’ | (ku-)tab |
| *maŋgV ‘compact round object’ | (úún) makáb ‘egg’ |
| *maŋgat[a] ‘teeth, mouth’ | (Faiwal makat-kalim ‘whiskers (lit. chin-hair)’) |
| *kal(a,i)m ‘moon’ | kaliim |
| *k(o,u)ma(n,ŋ)[V] ‘neck, nape’ | kum ‘left side of neck’ |
| *k(o,u)ndVC ‘bone’ | kun |
| *kutV(mb,p)(a,u)[C] ‘long’ | (Kati M. kudub) |
| *kinV ‘shoulder’ | tiŋ- |
| *m(o,u)k ‘milk, sap, breast’ | múúk |
| *ok[V] ‘water’ | óók |
| *(ŋg,k)a(nd,t)apu ‘skin, bark’ | káál |
| *kal(a,i)m ‘moon’ | *kaliim |
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Telefol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Healey 1992, p. 1.
- ^ Healey 1992, p. 3.
- ^ Healey 1964, p. 12.
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- ^ Foley 1986, p. 146.
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Bibliography
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