Dem language

Not to be confused with Kaba Dem language.
Dem
Lem
RegionPapua: Western highlands along Rouffaer River headwaters
Native speakers
(1,000 cited 1987)[1]
Trans–New Guinea
Language codes
ISO 639-3dem
Glottologdemm1245
ELPDem
Map: The Dem language of New Guinea
  The Dem language
  Other Trans–New Guinea languages
  Other Papuan languages
  Austronesian languages
  Uninhabited

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]

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.

References

  1. ^ Dem at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Palmer, Bill (2018). "Language families of the New Guinea Area". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. ^ NewGuineaWorld
  4. ^ Voorhoeve, C.L. Languages of Irian Jaya: Checklist. Preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists. B-31, iv + 133 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. doi:10.15144/PL-B31
  5. ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  • Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley; Robert Attenborough; Robin Hide; Jack Golson (eds.). Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.


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