Koiarian languages

The Koiarian languages /kɔɪˈɑːriən/[3] Koiari are a small family of Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in the "Bird's Tail" (southeastern peninsula) of New Guinea. They are classified within the Southeast Papuan branch of Trans–New Guinea.

Koiarian
Koiari – Managalas Plateau
Geographic distribution	Southeastern peninsula of Papua New Guinea: Central Province and Oro Province
Linguistic classification	Trans–New Guinea Papuan Peninsula Owen Stanley Range[1] Koiarian
Subdivisions	Koiari Baraic (Managalas Plateau)
Glottolog	koia1260[2]

Languages

The languages are:

• Koiaric branch (Koiari): Grass Koiari, Mountain Koiari–Koitabu
• Baraic branch (Managalas Plateau): Barai–Namiae, Ese (Managalasi), Ömie

Dutton (2010) classifies the Koiarian languages as:[4]^:3

• Baraic
  • Ömie
  • Barai–Managalasi (incl. Namiae)
• Koiaric
  • Mountain Koiari
  • Koita – Grass Koiari

Pronouns

Usher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns as:[1]

	sg	pl
1	*na	*no
2	*a	*ja
3	*aɸu	*[i/e]abu

Evolution

Koiarian reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:[5]

Koiari language:

• muka ‘lump’ < *maŋgV ‘round object’
• uni ‘egg’ < *mun(a,i,u)ka
• idu ‘tree’ < *inda
• iya ‘cassowary’ < *ku(y)a
• karika ‘dry’ < *(ŋg,k)atata
• muni ‘stone < *(na)muna
• nana ‘older same-sex sibling’ < *nan(a,i)
• u-tuvu ‘ashes’ < *kambu-sumbu

Managalasi language:

• ata ‘bone’ < *kondaC
• muka ‘lump’ < *maŋgV ‘round object’
• iha ‘name’ < *imbi
• uma ‘louse’ < *iman
• uka ‘bird’ < *yaka
• tuua ‘short’ < *tukumba[C]
• muna ‘stone’ < *(na)muna
• ija ‘tree’ < *inda
• otoka ‘knee’ < *(k,ŋg)atuk
• kora ‘dry’ < *(ŋg,k)atata

Phonotactics

Like the Binanderean languages, Barai and other Koiarian languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.[5]^:87

References

1. New Guinea World, Owen Stanley Range
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Koiarian". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
4. Dutton, Tom. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family. (Pacific Linguistics, 610.) Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
5. Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

Further reading

• Proto-Koiarian. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Proto-Koiariac. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Proto-Baraic. TransNewGuinea.org. From Dutton, T.E. 2010. Reconstructing Proto Koiarian: The history of a Papuan language family, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.