Telefol language

Language spoken in Papua New Guinea From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Telefol is a language spoken by the Telefol people in Papua New Guinea, notable for possessing a base-27 numeral system.

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...
Telefol
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionSandaun Province, Telefomin District
EthnicityTelefol people
Native speakers
(5,400 cited 1994)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3tlf
Glottologtele1256
ELPTelefol
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History

The Iligimin people also spoke Telefol, but they were defeated by the Telefol proper.[2]

Orthography

More information Phonemic, Lowercase ...
Telefol alphabet[3]
Phonemic ɑɑːeioubɸklmŋwj
Lowercase aaaeeiiioouuub, pd, gfk, gkwlmnngstwy
Uppercase AAaEIIiOUUuBDFKKwMNSTWY
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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

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Consonants

More information Labial, Dental ...
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/ʔ/ and /h/ only appear in a few particles and some exclamations. /p/ and /ɡ/ only appear in a few loans.

More information Phoneme(s), Condition ...
Allophones[4][5]
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]
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Vowels

More information Front, Central ...
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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

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

Telefol is a subject–object–verb language.[citation needed]

Verbal aspect

Telefol has a rich aspectual system.[7] Telefol verbs have "punctiliar" (momentary/completed) and "continuative" stems.[8]

Counting system

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

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

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Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012):[12]

More information proto-Trans-New Guinea ...
proto-Trans-New GuineaTelefol
*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
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See also

References

Bibliography

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