Guam and Moam Rivers

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

The Guam and Moam Rivers family consists of eight to eleven languages spoken along and around the Guam and Moam rivers, tributaries of the Ramu, in the Bogia and Middle Ramu subdistricts of Papua New Guinea's Madang province (Z'graggen 1971: 79-83) It is called the Goam Stock in the works of Z'graggen, who first recognized the unity of the family.

The internal classification of Guam and Moam Rivers is as follows:

Guam and Moam Rivers

Moam River

Kaje (Andarum)

Tanguat

Igom-Tangu

Igom

Tangu

Guam River

Chini (Akrukay)

Breri-Romkun

Breri

Romkun

Itutang-Midsivindi

Itutang

Midsivindi

Kominimung and Igana are listed as Tamolan (Guam River) languages in Z'graggen (1972, Laycock and Z'graggen 1975: 739-740) but no vocabularies were elicited. Also listed in Z'graggen (1972) is Isarikan, which according to Z'graggen (1971: 81) is a village in which Itutang is spoken. It might be asked if Itutang and Midsivindi aren't dialects of a single language.

Z'graggen (1971: 82-83) gives lexicostatistical relationships between languages of the Goam Stock as follows:

The unexpectedly high figures between Itutang and the Moam River languages relative to those between Moam River and other Guam River languages, such as Itutang's nearest relative Midsivindi, do not match our observations.

Capell (1951-1952: 141-143) grammar sketches of and (pp. 198-200) 78 comparative terms for Igom and (pp. 201-209) 81 terms for Tanggum

Z'graggen (1969, 1971: 79-83) brief descriptions and (pp. 90-91) 20 comparative terms for Tangu, Igom, Tanguat, Andarum, Itutang, Midsivindi, Akrukay, Breri and Romkun

Z'graggen (1972) 431 comparative terms for Tangu, Igom, Tanguat, Andarum, Itutang, Midsivindi, Akrukay, Breri and Romkun

Burridge (1969) ethnography of Tangu

Lotterman (1992) sketch phonology of Tanggu (Nai)

Lotterman (2005) Tanggu (unobtained)

Foley (2005: 119-121) 59 comparative terms for Tangu and 60 terms for Igom drawn from Capell (1951-1952)

Brooks (2018) Chini of Andamang village

In addition to these, survey vocabularies of seven Inapang (Midsivindi) villages were provided to us in digitalized form by Paul Whitehouse via the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Ukarumpa; however they are undated and unattributed.

[under construction]

Proto-Guam and Moam Rivers had 13 or 14 consonants and at least 4 vowels as follows:

Any consonant can occur medially.

Only a restricted set of consonants occurs initially:

Initial apical nasal /*n/ is uncommon, having been identified only in the roots of the first and second person dual pronouns as well as the first person singular object (below).

Only a restricted set of consonants occurs finally:

The majority of roots are of the form /*(C)VCVC(VC)/. Final vowels are not found on roots with more than two syllables. There are a small number of vowel-final roots /*(C)VCV/. Several pronouns are monosyllables /*CV *VC/. Consonant clusters do not occur.

Initial consonants correspond as follows:

Medial consonants correspond as follows:

Final consonants correspond as follows:

These correspondences are exemplified as follows. For clarity of presentation, the general dispositions of initial consonants will presented first, then those of medial consonants, then those of final cononants. Some details of the forms which follow are necessarily tentative.

Only a restricted set of consonants occurs initially, including nasals /*m *n/ and non-stops /*w *r *j *ɣ/. The most consequential phonological trend in Moam and Guam River languages is the loss of these initial consonants, which were invariably destressed on roots with more than one syllable..

This development is broadly shared with the Tomui River and West Sogeram River subgroups of Ramu Tributaries to the east and southeast as well as with Ruboni Range and South Ramu Coast to the north. In Guam River, this loss is nearly exceptionless, with only one clear example in which initial /*r/ is retained. In Moam River, Andarum and Tanguat also drop most initial consonants, such that most of the values given here are based upon Igom and Tangu forms as well as, in some instances, outcomparison.

Initial bilabial nasal /*m/ is dropped in Guam River:

The only clear examples of initial apical nasal /*n/ are found in the first person singular accusative pronoun, and in the first and second person duals which are likely to be compounds; here /*n/ is dropped in Guam River:

Velar nasal /*ŋ/ does not occur initially.

Neither plain stops /*p *t *s *k/ nor prenasalized stops /*mb *nd *ndz *ŋg/ occur initially.

Initial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

Initial apical non-stop /*r/ …:

Initial non-stop /*j/ …:

Initial velar non-stop /*ɣ/ …:

Any consonant can occur medially.

Medial /*m/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial apical nasal /*n/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial velar nasal /*ŋ/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial bilabial plain stop /*p/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial apical plain stop /*t/ is retained as such in both families when followed by non-high front vowels /*ʉ *a *u/:

Medial /*s/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial velar plain stop /*k/ is retained as such in both families when followed by non-high front vowels /*ʉ *a *u/:

When followed by high front vowel /*i/, medial /*k/ is palatalized to /*s/ in Guam River:

Medial prenasalized bilabial stop /*mb/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial apical prenasalized stop /*nd/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial velar prenasalized stop /*ŋg/ is retained as such in both families when followed by non-high front vowels /*ʉ *a *u/:

When followed by high front vowel /*i/, medial /*ŋg/ is palatalized to /*ndz/ in Guam River:

Medial /*w/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial /*r/ is retained as such in both families:

Medial /*j/ …:

Medial /*ɣ/ is retained as such in both families:

Only a restricted set of consonants occurs finally, including nasals /*m *n *ŋ/, plain stops /*p *t *s *k/ and non-stops /*r *j *ɣ/.

Final /*m/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*n/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*ŋ/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*p/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*t/ is merged with /*r/ in Guam River:

Final /*s/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*k/ is retained as such in both families:

Prenasalized stops /*mb *nd *ŋg/ do not occur finally.

Bilabial non-stop /*w/ does not occur finally.

Final /*r/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*j/ is retained as such in both families:

Final /*ɣ/ is retained as such in both families:

Guam and Moam Rivers nominative pronouns are reconstructed as follows:

In addition to these, Capell (1951-1952: 142) gives Tanggum first person singular object /na/, the only person in which this distinction is drawn. The originality of /*na/ is demonstrated by outcomparison to Ruboni Range /*na/ with the same meaning (q.v. Capell 1951-1952: 139, Stanhope 1972: 57-58.)

[under construction]

… shared with the Tomui River and Sogeram River subgroups of the Ramu Tributaries subfamily of Madang. While some are demonstrably loans as evidenced by otherwise irregular correspondences, it cannot at this point be ruled out that others are legitimate genetic retentions: