In today's world, Kamula language is a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide audience. The importance of Kamula language is reflected in its impact on society, the economy and culture. Both experts and amateurs show great interest in this topic, seeking to understand its implications and consequences. Furthermore, Kamula language is a constantly evolving topic, with new research and developments keeping people interested and engaged in its study. In this article, we will explore Kamula language and its influence in different areas in depth, offering a comprehensive vision that allows us to understand its impact in today's world.
Kamula | |
---|---|
Wawoi | |
Region | Western Province, Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | (1,100 cited 2000)[1] |
Trans–New Guinea or unclassified
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | xla |
Glottolog | kamu1260 |
ELP | Kamula |
![]() Map: The Kamula language of New Guinea
The Kamula language
Other Trans–New Guinea languages
Other Papuan languages
Austronesian languages
Uninhabited | |
Coordinates: 6°57′07″S 142°39′17″E / 6.951833°S 142.654804°E |
Kamula (Kamira, Wawoi) is a Trans–New Guinea language that is unclassified within that family in the classification of Malcolm Ross (2005). Noting insufficient evidence, Pawley and Hammarström (2018) leave it as unclassified.[2]
Kamula is spoken in two widely separated areas,[2]: 80 including in Kamiyami village of the Wawoi Falls area in Bamu Rural LLG, Western Province, Papua New Guinea.[3]
Routamaa (1994: 7) estimates that there are about 800 speakers of Kamula located in 3 villages in Western Province, with no dialectal differences reported.[4] This is because the Kamula had originally lived in camps near Samokopa in the northern area, but a group had split off and moved to Wasapea in the south only around 50 years ago.[5]: 14
In the northern villages of Kesiki and Samokopa, Kamula children were reported as preferring to speak Doso over Kamula. A minority of Kamula people in the northern area also live in Dibiyaso-speaking villages, where they are multilingual in Kamula, Doso, and Dibiyaso. Kamula people in the southern village of Wasapea are also fluent in Gogodala.[6]
The little data that exists for Kamula pronouns does not fit in with the neighboring East Strickland or Bosavi languages (though 1sg nê likely reflects proto-TNG *na), so Kamula is best left as an unclassified language an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea pending further study.
Attested pronouns are 1sg nɛ̃, 2sg wɛ̃, and ̩pl diɛ.
Kamula phonology:[8]
Kamula has 12 consonants.
Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plosive | p | t̪ | d | k ɡ | ||
nasal | m | n | ||||
fricative | s | h | ||||
approximant | w | j | ||||
lateral approximant | l |
Kamula has 7 vowels.
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
close | i | u | |
close-mid | e | o | |
open-mid | ɛ ⟨a꞉⟩ | ɔ ⟨o꞉⟩ | |
open | a |
The following basic vocabulary words are from Dutton (2010),[9] Reesink (1976),[10] and Shaw (1986),[11] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[12]
gloss | Kamula |
---|---|
head | dokupala; tɔkɔnʌlʌ |
hair | kokosasi; kɔkɔsʌse |
ear | molo; mɔlɔ |
eye | inʌma; inoma |
nose | mu; mũ |
tooth | ɛpe |
tongue | te; tɛ |
leg | ɛtɛ; hetei |
louse | iyʌ; iya |
dog | ɛsemala; esemʌlʌ |
pig | ʌľiʌ |
bird | tea |
egg | temoko; temɔkɔ |
blood | umali; umʌ:li |
bone | ɛľu; ɛro |
skin | kapala; kʌpʌlʌ |
breast | mɛmɛ |
tree | dali; tʌli |
man | ɔpɔlʌimi; opřami |
woman | eya; ɛ̃yã |
sun | sali; sʌľi |
moon | mama; mʌmʌ |
water | yu |
fire | deľʌpʌ; dřaƀa |
stone | ewʌľʌ; yawařa |
road, path | api |
name | hi |
eat | dampřoma; tʌɛdɔma |
one | hatropɛ; hʌtɔlɔp |
two | dapiamɛtɛ; depiʌmɛtɛ |
Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley; Robert Attenborough; Robin Hide; Jack Golson (eds.). Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. doi:10.15144/PL-572. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.