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Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages

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Raja Ampat–South Halmahera
Halmahera Sea
Geographic
distribution
Halmahera Sea and Raja Ampat Islands
Linguistic classificationAustronesian
Proto-languageProto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera (Proto-RASH)
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottolograja1255

The Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages are a branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages of eastern Indonesia. They are spoken on islands in the Halmahera Sea, and on its margins from the south-eastern coast of Halmahera to the Raja Ampat Islands off the western tip of New Guinea.

The languages of the Raja Ampat Islands show a strong Papuan substratum influence; it is not clear that they are actually Austronesian as opposed to relexified Papuan languages.[1]

Remijsen (2001) and Blust (1978) linked the languages of Raja Ampat to the South Halmahera languages.

Historical morphology

[edit]

Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Raja Ampat–South Halmahera proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation:

Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera:

1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.)
2sg. *my- (V), *m-y- (C) 2pl. *m-
3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. *d-
1sg. *-g 1pl. *-nd (incl.), *-mam (excl.)
2sg. *-m 2pl. *-meu
3sg. *-∅ 3pl. *-ndri, *si-

Proto-Ma'ya-Matbat:

1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *m-? (excl.)
2sg. *my- (V), *m-y- (C) 2pl. *m-
3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. ?
1sg. *-g 1pl. *-n (incl.), *-m (excl.)
2sg. *-m 2pl. *-m
3sg. *-∅ 3pl. *-n

Subject markers and personal pronouns of Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2023):

1sg. *-y- 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.)
2sg. *m-y- 2pl. *m-
3sg. *n- 3pl. *l-
1sg. *yak 1pl. *tit (incl.), *am (excl.)
2sg. *aw 2pl. *mew
3sg. *i 3pl. *si

Languages

[edit]

From Kamholz (2024). The earlier classification in Kamholz (2014) grouped Ambel and Biga together, but the innovation posited for Proto-Ambel-Biga (innovation of the inalienable possessive plural suffix -n/-no) did not in fact exist:

Laura Arnold (2024) presents a revised classification, placing Biga within Ma'ya and unifying all Raja Ampat languages into a branch with two subgroups, one containing most Raja Ampat languages into a Nuclear Raja Ampat subgroup and the other containing Ambel and As.

Lexical reconstructions

[edit]

Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2020, 2025):

Proto-RASH Gloss
*tela 'banana'
*fa- 'causative prefix'
*fi 'good'
*su 'fart'
*-opak 'to fly'
*boe 'to give'
*kuita 'octopus'
*wu 'rainbow'
*du 'rattan'
*lu 'two'
*pnu 'village'
*mora 'wind'

Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati according to Arnold (2023, 2024, 2025):

Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati Gloss
*hayˈwa³n 'animal'
*-sa³ 'to ascend'
*kaˈla¹²p 'ash'
*go³f 'bamboo'
*ˈtala³ 'banana'
*faˈnyi³ 'bat'
*-sʊ³p 'to bathe'
*du¹²w (?) 'beetle'
*ˈnyana³ 'betel pepper'
*ˈmani³ 'bird'
*ˈmete³m 'black'
*ˈlomo³s 'blood'
*maˈla³w 'blue'
*kaˈbo³m 'bone'
*su³s 'breast'
*faˈsi³l (?) 'to breathe'
*saˈsa¹²y (?) 'broom'
*wa³g 'canoe'
*kaˈlo³w 'cassowary'
*fa- 'causative prefix'
*si³f 'cloth'
*mnye³t 'cloud'
*aˈko³p 'cockatoo'
*kaˈliti³f 'cockroach'
*nyu¹²w 'coconut'
*kaˈbluti³ 'cold'
*si¹²w (?) 'comb'
*-bʊ³t 'to come'
*wi¹²f 'crocodile'
*-ˈtini³s 'to cry'
*mo¹²y 'current'
*-ˈale³ 'to descend'
*-ma³t 'to die'
*-maˈnya¹²l 'to dream'
*ˈsili³p 'drum'
*baˈla³ 'earth'
*-aˈpo³n 'to eat (intr.)'
*-a 'to eat (tr.)'
*ˈtolo³ 'egg'
*-su³n 'to enter'
*-ˈsapa³n 'to exit'
*kaˈli³ 'feces'
*la³p 'fire'
*ˈyini³ 'fish'
*ˈwana³t 'flesh'
*-ˈapo³ 'to fly'
*panˈpo³n 'food'
*fo³n 'full'
*-bɪy 'to give'
*kalaˈbe³t 'goanna'
*fi³y 'good'
*maˈna³ 'grease'
*-ˈdono³ 'to hear'
*maˈsyono³ 'heavy'
*haˈba³t (?) 'to hit'
*-bu³n 'to kill'
*ˈfunu³ 'king'
*-un 'to know'
*ˈlʊnʊ³ 'ladder'
*kaˈnya³t 'land turtle'
*kaˈlu¹²w (?) 'leech'
*-ˈene³f 'to lie down'
*maˈla¹²s 'long'
*mʊ³s 'low tide'
*kaˈya³w 'machete'
*ˈmana³ 'man'
*pɪ¹²t 'moon'
*ˈlyama³ 'needle'
*galaˈwa¹²w 'new'
*maˈle³m 'night'
*si³w 'nine'
*kɪ³t 'octopus'
*kaˈte³m 'one'
*ˈpʊsʊ³ 'paddle'
*-ˈbyaya³ 'to play'
*ˈgoli³m 'rain'
*wu¹²w 'rainbow'
*kaˈlu³f 'rat'
*ˈbulu³f 'raw'
*maˈme³ 'red'
*lefˈli³f 'roof'
*ˈwali³ 'rope'
*faˈyow³ 'rose apple'
*-ˈtati³ 'to run'
*bi³y 'sago'
*le³n 'sand'
*binsaˈla¹²y (?) 'sandfly'
*fɪ³n 'sea turtle'
*kaˈwa¹² 'seaweed'
*-ten 'to share (food)'
*ˈwono³m 'six'
*na¹² (?) 'sky'
*ko³k 'snake'
*-fa³n 'to shoot'
*-ˈene³f 'to sleep'
*ˈsulu³ 'spoon'
*kaˈpa³t 'stone'
*tʊ³p 'sugarcane'
*kaˈlene³ 'taro'
*ˈlafe³ 'ten'
*tʊ³l 'three'
*taˈbaka³ 'tobacco'
*taˈmi³ 'urine'
*pnu³w 'village'
*ˈwali³ 'vine'
*-da³g 'to walk'
*kanˈdyɪ³n 'wall'
*ˈwVyV³ 'water'
*-faˈnyo³w 'to wash'
*-faˈba¹²m 'to wash clothes'
*maˈlomo³ 'wet'
*ˈlaba³t 'wound'
*-ma¹²h 'to yawn'

Further reading

[edit]
  • Kamholz, David (2015). The reconstruction of Proto-SHWNG morphology
  • Arnold, Laura (2020). Highs and lows: A previously unattested tone split from vowel height in Metnyo Ambel
  • Arnold, Laura (2023). Multiple uncommon word-prosodic changes in the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
  • Arnold, Laura (2023). Progress report on the subclassification of the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
  • Arnold, Laura (2024). A closer look at *ə in South Halmahera-West New Guinea
  • Kamhold, David (2024). "Historical linguistics of the South Halmahera–West New Guinea subgroup". In Alexander Adelaar; Antoinette Schapper (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Malayo-Polynesian Languages of Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press. pp. 181–187. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198807353.003.0012.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ *Remijsen, Albert Clementina Ludovicus (2001). Word-prosodic systems of Raja Ampat languages (PDF). Utrecht: LOT. ISBN 978-90-76864-09-9.