Dem language
| Dem | |
|---|---|
| Lem | |
| Region | Papua: Western highlands along Rouffaer River headwaters |
Native speakers | (1,000 cited 1987)[1] |
Trans–New Guinea
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dem |
| Glottolog | demm1245 |
| ELP | Dem |
 Map: The Dem language of New Guinea
The Dem language
Other Trans–New Guinea languages
Other Papuan languages
Austronesian languages
Uninhabited | |
Dem (Lem, Ndem) is a divergent Papuan language of West New Guinea. Although Palmer (2018) leaves it unclassified,[2] it was tentatively included in the Trans–New Guinea family in the classification of Malcolm Ross (2005), and Timothy Usher ties it most closely to Amung.[3]
The only pronouns which have been recorded are 1sg nau, 2sg aŋ, and 1pl yu.
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from the Trans-New Guinea database:[4]
gloss Dem head yagabuak hair ari; yakuli eye eŋgio tooth yavkasa leg abuo louse nduu dog kwa pig uwam; uwom bird bela egg au; onde blood miet skin aran; asi tree niye man ŋo sun uweməja water da; yat fire kunu stone (da)ŋat name aluŋ; gago eat nenawe one yagaŋ two ugwaŋ
References
- ^ Dem at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Palmer, Bill (2018). "Language families of the New Guinea Area". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ NewGuineaWorld
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
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- 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. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.