Dem language

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]

Not to be confused with Kaba Dem language.

Dem
Lem
Region	Papua: Western highlands along Rouffaer River headwaters
Native speakers	(1,000 cited 1987)[1]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea West Papuan Highlands (Irian Highlands) Amung–Dem Dem
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

Pronouns

The only pronouns which have been recorded are:

	singular	plural
1st person	nau	yu
2nd person	aŋ

Vocabulary

The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975),^[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:^[5]

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

Further reading

Word lists

• de Bruijn, J. V. 1941. Verslag van een Tocht naar Beura, het Stroomgebied van de Beurong en Lelop, het Stroomgebiet van de Ielorong in Centraal Nieuw Guinea door den Controleur der Wisselmeren van 9 Juni 1941 tot 7 Augustus 1941 [Report of a Survey Trip to Beura, the Beurong and Lelop Watersheds, the Ielorong Watershed in Central New Guinea by the Wissel Lakes Administrator the 9th of June. 1941 to the 7th of August 1941]. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Ministerie van Koloniën: Kantoor Bevolkingszaken Nieuw-Guinea te Hollandia: Rapportenarchief, 1950–1962, nummer toegang 2.10.25, inventarisnummer 256.
• Galis, Klaas Wilhelm. 1955. Talen en dialecten van Nederlands Nieuw-Guinea [Languages and dialects of Netherlands New Guinea]. Tijdschrift Nieuw-Guinea 16: 109–118, 134–145, 161–178.
• Larson, Gordon F. 1977. Reclassification of some Irian Jaya Highlands language families: A lexicostatistical cross-family subclassification with historical implications. Irian 6(2): 3–40.
• Le Roux, C. C. F. M. 1950. De Bergpapoea’s van Nieuw-Guinea en hun Woongebied [The Mountain Papuans of New Guinea and their Habitat], Vol 2. Leiden: E. J. Brill. (pages 852–862, 892–895)
• Voorhoeve, Clemens L. 1975. Languages of Irian Jaya, Checklist: Preliminary Classification, Language Maps, Wordlists. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.