Table of Contents

South Ramu River

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

Situation

The South Ramu River family consists of three languages spoken along and around the middle Ramu river in the South Ramu subdistrict of Papua New Guinea's Madang province. One of the languages, Rao, is spoken also across the border in East Sepik Province as far as the upper Keram River (Z'graggen 1971: 83-85.) It is called the Annaberg Group in the works of Z'graggen after the name of a mission station in Rao .

Subclassification

The internal classification of South Ramu River is as follows:

South Ramu River

Rao

Aram-Aren

Aram (Anor)

Aren (Aiome)

Rao and Aram-Aren are very different from one another, but more similar than either is to any other Ramu River family. Z'graggen (1971: 86) gives lexicostatistical relationships between the languages of the Annaberg Group as follows:

Rao Anor Aiome
Rao 13 10
Anor 13 58
Aiome 10 58

It's possible that Z'graggen's figures understate the degree of resemblance between Rao and Anor and Aiome respectively, as the shapes of many roots have undergone substantial transformation in Rao.

Z'graggen (1971: 83-86) includes Banaro in his Annaberg group, giving 9% and 5% resemblance between Banaro and Anor and Aiome respectively and 11% with Rao.

Note that the term Atemble or Atemble, the name of a village, has been used to designate both Aram and Aren as well as the Mand language of the Sogeram River subgroup of Madang immediately upriver to the east (Z'graggen 1971: 60, 1975: 141, q.v. Capell 1951-1952: 182.)

Sources

[under construction]

Capell (1951-1952: 182) grammar sketches of and (pp. 201-203) 79 comparative terms for Anaberg of Tjigurubu village and Atemble (Aram)

Z'graggen (1969, 1971) …

Z'graggen (1972) 431 comparative terms forf Anor (Aram,) Aiome (Aren) and Rao

Kaspruś (n.d.) vocabulary of Atemple (Aram) (unobtained)

Kaspruś (1973) …

Davies and Comrie (1985: 283-411) 46 comparative terms for Rao of Gokto village elicited by Lyle Scholtz

Stanhope (1980) grammar of Rao including (pp. 13-17) 368-term vocabulary and 34 inflected verb stems

Historical phonology

[under construction]

Proto-South Ramu River had at least 15 consonants and perhaps 6 vowels as follows:

*m *n
*p *t *s *k
*mb *nd *ndz *ŋg
*w *r *j
*i *u
*e *o
*a





Initial consonants correspond as follows:

S. Ramu Rao Aram Aren
*…
*…
*…

Subinitial consonants correspond as follows:

S. Ramu Rao Aram Aren
*…

Medial consonants correspond as follows:

S. Ramu Rao Aram Aren
*…

Vowels correspond as follows:

S. Ramu Rao Aram Aren
*…

These correspondences are exemplified as follows, with Rao attestations drawn from Stanhope (1980: 13-17,) Rao, Anor (Aram) and Aiome (Aren) from Z'graggen (1972) and Anaberg (Rao) and Atemple (Aram) from Capell (1951-1952: 201-203.)


… initial consonants …

Initial bilabial nasal /*m/ … It is retained as such in all three languages:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*m- m m m m m m
3 pl.*me

One example of initial /*m/ is a regional loan:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*m- m m m m
ancestor*mʉro mrɔ mró ~ m̩̀ró mʉro mʊr̃o

Initial velar prenasalized voiced stop /*ŋg/ is found only in the first person singular pronouns. It is retained as such in all three languages:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*ŋg- ŋg ŋg ŋg ŋg ŋg ŋg
1 sg.*ŋgu ŋgʊ ŋgu ŋgo ŋgʊ ŋgɔa ŋgu

… subinitial consonants …

Subinitial bilabial nasal /*m/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-m-/#ʉ_

Subinitial apical nasal /*n/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-n-/#ʉ_
taro*ʉnam nam nam

When subinitial /*n/ is followed by high front vowel /*i/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-n-/#ʉ_i

Subinitial velar nasal /*ŋ/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ŋ-/#ʉ_

Subiniital bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-p-/#ʉ_

Subinitial apical voiceless stop /*t/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-t-/#ʉ_
pour *ʉturi- -(u)ri- turi-
mosquito*ʉtʉɣam ha ɣʌ ja tɨɣam 'tɛgem

Subinitial laminal voiceless /*s/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-s-/#ʉ_
vulva*ʉso so so so

Subinitial velar voiceless stop /*k/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-k-/#ʉ_
dig *ʉku- ku(a)- ku-
pig/meat*ʉkun ʔrʊ ~ tʊr̩ʊ ~ tʊ ~ ʔuṛu kʊn gun kun
cold *ʉku-ʉku ʔʊʔʊ uʔu kuku
ear *ʉkur rʊ-m ro-mʊ, ro-s rɔ-mu kʊr-pí gulu-pɛkʊr ʊmʉn

Subinitial bilabial prenasalized voiced stop /*mb/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-mb-/#ʉ_
spear*ʉmbV mbɯ m̩bɨ́ mbí

Subinitial … /*mv/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-mv-//#ʉ_
lung(s)*ʉmvun–ʉmvun mfʉmfo fʊnfʊn

Subinitial apical prenasalized voiced stop /*nd/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-nd-/#ʉ_d nd nd d nd
head *ʉndi ndi ndi di ndi
mouth/lip(s)*ʉndo dɔ-mɔ doː-mo do

Subinitial laminal prenasalized voiced /*ndz/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ndz-/#ʉ_
name *ʉndzi dʒɪ tʃiː nzɨ nze
armpit*ʉndz[ʉ/u]pi tsʉpi zupi

Subinitial velar prenasalized voiced stop /*ŋg/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor Atemble Aiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ŋg-/#ʉ_
white *ʉŋguar gro 'ugurɔ guar-guar'ŋgʷar-ŋgʷarŋgʷara-ŋgʉn
fruit *ʉŋgʉn grə krɨ gɨn -gn ŋgʉn
testicles*ʉŋgʉn ŋgrɨ-za kɨn (?) kʉn (?)

Subinitial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-w-/#ʉ_
vine*ʉwʉn brə-də brɨ ~ bʊ-do bʉn

… subinitial /*w/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-w-/#ʉ_
man/person*ʉwʉrʉ vrɨ-pam vrʉ vəṛa vrᶶ

Subinitial apical non-stop /*r/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-r-/#ʉ_

Subinitial palatal non-stop /*j/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-j-/#ʉ_
fish *ʉjaw jawʊ zʌbə cab
dream*ʉjarʉm zarʉm zrʌm

Subinitial velar non-stop /*ɣ/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ɣ-/#ʉ_
sun *ʉɣar gra grá gəˈra gʌr gar ɪŋʌr
sap *ʉɣu guː gu
wash/bathe*ʉɣu- go- ~ gʷ- gu-

… medial consonants …

Medial bilabial nasal /*m/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-m-
who? *ami mɪ-ndu ami ami
eat/drink *am[ʉ]- mə/m-ɪ -m(u)- am(ba)- ʌm-
right (side)*am[u] -mʊ amí (?)
louse *amʉna mʊna am(ʊ)in amʊ-ŋgʉn

Medial apical nasal /*n/… :

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-n-
axe *ina[ŋ] inag
louse*amʉna mʊna am(ʊ)in amʊ-ŋgʉn

When medial /*n/ is followed by high front vowel /*i/ … :

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-n-/_i
1 pl.*ani nʲɪ ni ni aɲə anʲa aɲɪ
2 pl.*[o/u]ni nʲɔ noː no ʊɲə ? ʊɲɪ

Medial velar nasal /*ŋ/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
Stanhope Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-ŋ-
yesterday*iŋ[o/u]n ŋnɔ ~ ŋrɔŋɔrɔ íŋun íŋun
go down *[e/a]riŋ- -ari(ŋ)- ɛrin(g)- (?)

Medial bilabial stop /*p/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-p-
saliva*ipan prɛː-mvo ípaɲ
armpit*ʉndz[ʉ/u]pi tsʉpi zupi
liver *apʉn prɨ ~ pr̃ʉ-do apɨ́n
swell *ap[ʉ/u]- pʉ- apʷi- aːpu-
eye *apa[r]-ʉŋgʉn apa-gɨn a'pa-gnapa-ŋgʉn

… /*f/ …

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-f-
sing *af[ʉ]- -f- -fi- ʌf-
man/male*afar[i]-ʉndʉfrɛ-ndə frɛ-ndə vrɪ-nda afari-ndᵊ

Medial apical voiceless stop /*t/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-t-
ashes*itu nf-itu ́nf-itʊ itu
put *ati- -ti- ati- ʌc-
tooth*atʉr tra-gə tr̩ʌː-gɨ atɨr(ə) ~ atər(ə) atʌr
yam *atum mʊ (?) mu (?) atum
roast*ut[a]- uta- ut-

Medial laminal voiceless /*s/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-s-
shoot (v.)*as[ʉ]- -s- asɨ- as-
buy *usi- -si- usi- c-

Medial velar voiceless stop /*k/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-k-
ground possum*ikʉn gr̃ɨ-m ɪkɨn ikʉn
two *ikaw kawʊ-kʊ kaβ-kə ikaβ ikaʊ
cold *ʉku-ʉku ʔʊʔʊ uʔu kuku
wallaby *akʉre krɛ kr̃ɛ́ akre
chop/fell *ak[a]- -k- aka- ʌk-
chin/jaw *akam-[a]kam akam-ka akam-gam
penis *aku ku ʌkʊ ʌkʊ
bite *aku- -k(ʷ)- akʷa- ʌku-
sleep *aku- aku-
blood *akum kʊː ku akum ~ akʊmˈakum akum ~ akʊm
bird *ukʉra krɔ ḳr̃ó kuˈrɔ ukra ˈugra ʊkᵊr
nape *ukar krɔ́ okrʌ-ta ukʌr-ga

Medial bilabial prenasalized voiced stop /*mb/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-mb-
go inside*ambu- ambu-

… /*mv/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor Atemble Aiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-mv-
nose *imvʉra ta(-tə) r̃ʌː-t ra-tø ɪmvra-ta ivəˈra-daivra-sʉn
lung(s) *ʉmvun–ʉmvun mfʉmfo fʊnfʊn
woman *amve(-ʉndʉ) mvɛ-ndə vɛ-ndə nfɛ-ntuamvi(-nda) avʲɛ-nda
fire/firewood*amvʉ mvɯ(-də)mvʉ ~ nfʊ(-də) amvɨ ~ amfɨ aβu

Medial apical prenasalized voiced stop /*nd/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-nd-
hand drum *andu ndʊ ndʊ́ andu andʊ
older sister*undaM ndam ndam udam dʌm
tree possum *undan ndr̃o
male *undar ndr̃ɔ ʊndʌr

Medial laminal prenasalized voiced /*ndz/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-ndz-
bird sp. *indzVrV ndʒɛrə n̩dʒɛːrɛ inzaɪraː
excrement*andzVn tʃa tsʌː ~ tsʌ adʒan ~ adʒən ʌdʒɪ
breast *undzi tsʊː tʲu udʒi

Medial velar prenasalized voiced stop /*ŋg/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ŋg-
sore (n.) *iŋgʉr ŋgrɯ ŋ̩grɨ ɪŋgɨr
arrow sp. *aŋgem ŋgeː aŋgɛm aŋgɛm
possum sp.*aŋgʉr[e]wukrɛvʊ graʔʊ aŋgr̃aβʊ

Medial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-w-
possum sp.*aŋgʉr[e]wukrɛvʊ graʔʊ aŋgr̃aβʊ
hot/td> *awi wíː-wí awi
be angry *awʉ- (u)vʉ- avʉ-
tanget *awar wʌːrᶶ awar
wind *uwiɣurim gʊrɪ guri guri vɨgrɨm
coconut *uwaŋ vo

Medial apical non-stop /*r/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor Atemble Aiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-r-
nose *imvʉra ta(-tə) r̃ʌː-t ra-tø ɪmvra-ta ivəˈra-daivra-sʉn
bird sp. *indzVrV ndʒɛrə n̩dʒɛːrɛ inzaɪraː
bean *ira[ŋ/ŋg]Vn r̩ɪaŋʊ iraŋgʉn
go down *[e/a]riŋ- -ari(ŋ)- ɛrin(g)-
good *arum aruam arom
pour *ʉturi- -(u)ri- turi-
ma/person *ʉwʉrʉ vrɨ-pam vrʉ vəṛa vrᶶ
dream *ʉjarʉm zarʉm zrʌm
man/male *afar[i]-ʉndʉfrɛ-ndə frɛ-ndə vrɪ-nda afari-ndᵊ
wallaby *akʉre krɛ kr̃ɛ́ akre
possum sp. *aŋgʉrewu krɛvʊ graʔʊ aŋgr̃aβʊ
rain *arʉm ṛɨ ḷø ar̃ʉm
bird *ukʉra krɔ ḳr̃ó kuˈrɔ ukra ˈugra ʊkᵊr
wind *uwiɣurim gʊrɪ guri guri vɨgrɨm
day b. yest.*urV ṛu urɛ urᵊ
path *urʉn rɯ-dɔ r̩ʊ-do lu-dɔ urɨn ˈuːrun uːrʉŋalə

Medial palatal non-stop /*j/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-j-
weep/cry*aji- dʒɪ -zi- azɛ- adʒ-
vomit *ujV- zoa- uʒa- uʒɛ-

Medial velar non-stop /*ɣ/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ɣ-
dog *iɣam ɣa ɣʌː ɣʌ iɣʌm ˈigam igʌm
mosquito *ʉtʉɣam ha ɣʌ ja tɨɣam 'tɛgem
back/spine*aɣʉn ɣr̃ʌ aɣən agan-gʉn
bone *aɣar gra-tɔ ɣra(-tə) ~ ɣr̃a-tglaː-t
wind *uwiɣurim gʊrɪ guri guri vɨgrɨm

… final consonants ….

Final bilabial nasal /*m/ is dropped in Rao:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-m ø ø ø m m m
dog *iɣam ɣa ɣʌː ɣʌ iɣʌm ˈigam igʌm
taro *ʉnam nam nam
mosquito *ʉtʉɣam ha ɣʌ ja tɨɣam 'tɛgem
dream *ʉjarʉm zarʉm zrʌm
yam *atum mʊ (?) mu (?) atum
chin/jaw *akam-[a]kam akam-ka (?) akam-gam
blood *akum kʊː ku akum ~ akʊmˈakum akum ~ akʊm
arrow sp.*aŋgem ŋgeː aŋgɛm aŋgɛm
rain *arʉm ṛɨ ḷø ar̃ʉm
good *arum aruam arom
wind *uwiɣurim gʊrɪ guri guri vɨgrɨm

One unexplained exception may be a loan into Rao gtom Anor or Aiome:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-M m m m m m m
older sister*undaM ndam ndam udam dʌm

Final apical nasal /*n/ …:

South Ramu Rao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-n ø ø n º
bean *ira[ŋ/ŋg]Vn r̩ɪaŋʊ iraŋgʉn
lung(s) *ʉmvun–ʉmvun mfʉmfo fʊnfʊn
excrement*andzVn tʃa tsʌː ~ tsʌ adʒan ~ adʒən ʌdʒɪ
crayfish *umasen masɛ mase umasen ʊmasɛn
path *urʉn rɯ-dɔ r̩ʊ-do lu-dɔ urɨn ˈuːrun uːrʉŋalə

… /*n/ … :

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
Stanhope Z'graggen Capell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-n
saliva *ipan prɛː-mvo ípaɲ
yesterday *iŋ[o/u]n ŋnɔ ~ ŋrɔŋɔrɔ íŋun íŋun
ground possum*ikʉn gr̃ɨ-m ɪkɨn ikʉn
pig/meat *ʉkun ʔrʊ ~ tʊ r̩ʊ ~ tʊ ~ ʔuṛu kʊn gun kun
fruit *ʉŋgʉn grə krɨ gɨn -gn ŋgʉn
testicles *ʉŋgʉn ŋgrɨ-za kɨn (?) kʉn (?)
vine *ʉwʉn brə-də brɨ ~ bʊ-do bʉn
liver *apʉn prɨ ~ pr̃ʉ-do apɨ́n
back/spine *aɣʉn ɣr̃ʌ aɣən agan-gʉn
tree possum *undan ndr̃o

Final velar nasal /*ŋ/ is supported only by outcomparison:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-ŋ Ø
coconut*uwaŋ vo

Neither voiceless stops /*p *t *s *k/ nor prenasalized voiced stops /*mb *nd *ndz *ŋg/ occur finally.

Final bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*-w
two*ikaw kawʊ-kʊ kaβ-kə ikaβ ikaʊ

Final apical non-stop /*r/… :

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor Atemble Aiome
StanhopeZ'graggen Capell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
*-r
sore (n.)*iŋgʉr ŋgrɯ ŋ̩grɨ ɪŋgɨr
ear *ʉkur rʊ-m ro-mʊ, ro-s rɔ-mu kʊr-pí gulu-pɛ kʊr ʊmʉn
white *ʉŋguar gro 'ugurɔ guar-guar 'ŋgʷar-ŋgʷarŋgʷara-ŋgʉn
sun *ʉɣar gra grá gəˈra gʌr gar ɪŋʌr
tooth *atʉr tra-gə tr̩ʌː-gɨ atɨr(ə) ~ atər(ə) atʌr
tanget *awar wʌːrᶶ awar
bone *aɣar gra-tɔ ɣra(-tə) ~ ɣr̃a-tglaː-t
male *undar ndr̃ɔ ʊndʌr
nape *ukar krɔ́ okrʌ-ta ukʌr-ga

…:

…:


…vowels ….

Rao reduces the first syllable of disyllabic roots. There are two ways in which this occurs, depending upon whether the root begins with a consonant or a vowel. In disyllabic roots with initial consonants, the vowel of the first syllable is dropped and carried over to the second, leaving an initial cluster which is in some instances simplified:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
*…
*…



South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggenCapell Z'graggen
rib(s)*… tsiː-rə didʒ
navel *… t̩rʊmbɪ dʒɨnʊmba iːnʊmbᵊ

Pronouns

[under construction]

South Ramu nominative pronouns are as follows, with attestations drawn from Capell (1951-1952: 183, 186-187,) Z'graggen (1972) and Stanhope (1980: 9) as indicated:

South RamuRao Rao AnabergAnor AtembleAiome
StanhopeZ'graggenCapell Z'graggen Capell Z'graggen
1 sg.*ŋgu ŋgʊ ŋgu ŋgo ŋgʊ ŋgɔa ŋgu
2 sg.*ʉnʉ
3 sg.*… mu man man man
1 pl.*ani nʲɪ ni ni aɲə anʲa aɲɪ
2 pl.*[o/u]ni nʲɔ noː no ʊɲə ? ʊɲɪ
3 pl.*me maɲi ~ mʉɲi
1 dl.*… nʲɪ-makəni-makə nʌːk; ŋgʊmᶷnʌknag aɲi mnag
2 dl.*… nə-makə nə-makə ʊɲə mᶷnʌk nədʲa ʊɲi mnag
3 dl.*… makə mɛ-makə mɛ mᶷnʌk mandʲa mani mnag

….

Verbal morphology

[under construction]

Loans from neighboring languages

Both Aram and Aren have borrowed basic terms from the Sogeram River subgroup of Madang, specifically from Mand and Nend immediately to the east which like South Ramu River languages drop most initial consonants (Daniels 2010.) Anor (Aram) and Aren (Aiome) attestations are drawn from Z'graggen (1972,) Paynamar (Manat,) Angaua (Nend) and Atemple (Mand) from Z'graggen (1980: 1-80) and proto-Sogeram and proto-West Sogeram from Daniels (2010: 186-192, 2015: 356-392):

Sogeram W. SogeramPaynamar Angaua Atemple Anor Aiome
Daniels Daniels Z'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggen
sun *iŋar iŋʌr ɩŋʌr
ground possum*iŋkɨn iŋkr̩ ɪkɨn ikʉn
areca nut *akʷasa *akʷas awusa ʌwʌs aguas awas agʷas
liver *mapɨ́n apɨ́n
net bag *βaŋan *aŋan aŋʌn aŋan aŋan aŋʌn
short/piece *tɨm *tɨm tɨm tim tɨm tʉm
salt *tutɨm *utɨm tɨm utʉm utɨm ʊtʊmʊ
bamboo sp. *kinaŋ indaŋ indaŋ
coconut *kuimaŋ u:ma koim koim
arm *kuman *oman uman ʊman ʊman
forest *kura (?)*ura- urʌ ura

A few of these etymologies deserve comment: 1) /*iŋkɨn/ “ground possum” is found also not only in Rao (above) but in Moam River /*iŋgʉan/ and Ruboni Range /*iŋgan/, an atymology which might be considered stronger than Daniels' Sogeram ,but developments wihin the latter may explain why the Aram-Aren medial is /*k/ rather than /*ŋg/ (cf. Daniels' Mend /(bor)ikɨn/, not in Z'graggen 1972,) . 2) /*akʷasa/ “areca nut” is found only in Atemple, Mand and Manat (a.k.a. Paynamar,) and is considered proto-Sogeram only because Daniels places Manat with Central Sogeram rather than with West Sogeram, as we suggest to be more accurate. 3) /*βaŋan/ “net bag” (/*paŋan/ 2010) is most likely related to Ramu River [*waɣan] (presumably really /*paɣan/) but the change /*ɣ/ to /*ŋ/ would be irregular. 4) Daniels glosses /*kinaŋ/ as “axe,” which is no doubt the same root as [*ɣinaŋ] found in other subgroups of Ramu River; however the Mand reflex is given as“bamboo knife” while Z'graggen (1972. 1980: 33) gives both Atemple and Aiome words as “bamboo”. 5) /*kura/ “forest” is appended with a question mark hy Daniels (2010: 188-189) himself for reasons which are not immediately obvious, but a similar and possibly related root /*uraŋ/ is found also in Ramu River; however the loss of final /*ŋ/ here would be irregular.

Some loans may have propagated in the other direction as they have etymologies in South Ramu River but not in Sogeramn River:

South RamuPaynamar Angaua Atemple
Z'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggen
dog *iɣam egam
arrow sp.*aŋgem aŋgajam aŋgɛm
mosquito *ʉtʉɣam təgʌm tɨgam
fish *ʉjaw ɟau
sap *ʉɣu ugu
tooth *atʉr atʌrᵊ
big/good *arum arum- arom

Again, some comments are in order: 2) “dog” is found also in Emerum (Apalɨ) as [iŋam] (Z'graggen 1972) though Daniels doesn't reconstruct it for proto-Sogeram River (cf. 2015: 390 /*upri/ “dog”.) 2) Daniels (2015: 363) reconstructs Sogeram River /*iau/ “fish” on the basis of the Mand (Atemple) word and outcomprison to Tauya /jau/. 3) Daniels (2015: 362) reconstructs Sogeram River /*arum/ “good” based upon Mand /arom/ “good”, Manat /arum/ “big, old”; and Mum /aru/ “good”; however Ramu River /*ɣarum/ “big/old” is better-supported, the initial consonant cannot be explained as a loan from Sogeram River and the meaning “good” is a development peculiar to Aram-Aren. Z'graggen (1972) gives Paynamar (Manat) [arumandiɛ] as “big”.

Still others have no known etymologies in either family:

Anor Aiome Paynamar Angaua Atemple
Z'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggenZ'graggen
grass skirt íkat ekatᵊ
bow iːrəp irɨp irəbə irwᵊ
bean apr̃am apram
coconut aŋɨm aŋʉm aŋɨm aŋɨm
bamboo sp. ʌki age
sago aʊʉŋ awaŋ
snake ukri ukri ukri
banana moːkʊr mɔgrᶶ
ripe (coconut)
betel pepper tɨmʉn tʉmʉn tumɨn
star tʊmbag tɨmbʌg
wooden plate tuʌr tuwʌr tɔr tɔr
mother ŋam ŋʌm ŋam
basket kʉmʉmba kʉmamp gamʌmp
arrow sp. kʊrigʌt kurig
g-string zamən jamʉŋ jimun zamʉn