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Language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kairiru is one of three Kairiru languages spoken mainly on Kairiru and Mushu islands and in several coastal villages on the mainland between Cape Karawop and Cape Samein near Wewak in East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.
Kairiru | |
---|---|
Region | East Sepik Province, northern Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 3,200 (2000 census)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | kxa |
Glottolog | kair1263 |
ELP | Kairiru |
Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Velar | Back- velar | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | b | t | k | k̠ | |||
Affricate | tʃ | ||||||
Fricative | voiceless | ɸ | s | (ʃ) | |||
voiced | β | ||||||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
Lateral | l | ||||||
Rhotic | ɾ | r | (ɻ) | ||||
Approximant | w | j |
One remarkable feature of the pronoun system of Kairiru is that it appears to have lost the distinction between first-person inclusive and exclusive pronouns throughout its affix paradigms, but then recreated inclusive forms in its independent pronouns by combining first-person and second-person forms along the lines of Tok Pisin yumi (< yu + mi). The inclusive-exclusive distinction is almost universal among Austronesian languages but generally lacking in Papuan languages.
Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
---|---|---|---|
1st person inclusive | taqam | tuyieq | |
1st person exclusive | kyau | qait | tu |
2nd person | yieq | qam | qum |
3rd person | ei | rri | rru |
Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
---|---|---|---|
1st person inclusive | taqait | taqatu | |
1st person exclusive | wokyau | tamoit | taqatu |
2nd person | yieqayieq | maqam | moqum |
3rd person | yaqai | rraqarri | rraqarru |
Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
---|---|---|---|
1st person inclusive | -qait | -tu | |
1st person exclusive | -k | -qait | -tu |
2nd person | -m | -qam | -qum |
3rd person | -ny | -rri | -rru |
Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
---|---|---|---|
1st person inclusive | ta- | ti- | |
1st person exclusive | wu- | ta- | ti- |
2nd person | qo- | ka- | qu- |
3rd person | a- | rra- | rri- |
Person | Singular | Plural | Dual |
---|---|---|---|
1st person inclusive | -qait | -tu | |
1st person exclusive | -(ky)au | -qait | -tu |
2nd person | -(y)ieq | -qam | -qum |
3rd person | -i/-Ø | -rri/-Ø | -rru |
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