West Morehead River

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

The West Morehead River family, also known as Tonda, consists of as many as 14 languages spoken between the Maro river to the west and the Morehead river in the east, north of the coast and south of the Fly River, in the Merauke regency of Indonesia's Papua province and the Morehead district of Papua New Guinea's Western province (Evans et al. forthcoming, q.v. Carroll 2014: 3, Döhler 2015: 3.). Tonda is the name of a single Kánchá-speaking village on the east bank of the lower Morehead River, but came to be officially, if erronously, applied to a conflation of the languages to the northwest, and the term is recognized by West Morehead speakers in Papua New Guinea as a general designation for their linguistic group (Lyons 1913-1914: 193-194, Wurm 1971: 154-155.)

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The internal classification of West Morehead River is as follows:

West Morehead River

Arammba

West Morehead River

Central Morehead River

Kánchá

Kémä

Wérè

Anta

Kómnzo

Wára

Warta Thuntai

Bensbach River

Upper Bensbach River

Blafe-Ránmo

Blafe

Ránmo

Ngarna-Rema

Rema

Ngarna

Kanum

Ngkolmpu

Bädi

Ngkâlmpw

South Kanum

Tämer

Bârkâli-Smärki

Bârkâli

Smärki

Kómnzo and Wára are lexically similar enough to be considered dialects of a single language; however there are very significant differences in their free pronouns that are difficult to explain (q.v. Evans et al.) The same comment applies equally to Blafe and Ránmo. Ngkântr and Bädi varieties of Ngkolmpu (Ngkâlmpw) are nearly identical and must be considered the same language. South Kanum varieties are all quite similar to one another, especially Bârkâli and Smärki (Carroll p.c. offered this assessment of Kanum varieties independently.)

While the unity of the Central Morehead River subfamily is obvious (Döhler 2013: 6,) that of Bensbach River has not previously been noted, most likely due to the obscurity of several of the languages for which robust materials did not become publically available until very recently (Carroll ed. 2015.) All the Bensbach River languages of Indonesian Papua were placed in a Kanum subfamily, including Ngarna (Sota) the closet relative of which is in fact Rema across the border; this Kanum group has at times been considered … … (CITE.)

As the basis for our placement is shared and apparently exclusive resemblance in the basic lexicon, the following chart presents terms which are found in each of Bensbach River's primary subgroups, Blafe-Ránmo, Ngarna-Rema and Kanum, but have not been found elsewhere, contrasted with their semantic equivalents in Arammba, Central Morehead River, Warta Thuntai and Yei respectively (Arammba forms from Bouvé and Bouvé 2003, 2005, Warta Thuntai from Quinn 2013, 2014, 2015, Yei from Drabbe 1954):

Additionally, there are a handful of terms found in each of Bensbach River's subgroups as well is in Yei; these might be loans but if so the direction of borrowing is uncertain:

(Yei /par/ means “skin/bark” and is shared with Marind, although Marind cannot be the ultimate source as Marind-Yaqay has no native /*p/; Drabbe's ['gu-par] and Geurtjens' [ŋgu-pa] are glossed as “body.”)

Where there is a difference between Central Morehead River and Bensbach River roots for a given term, Warta Thuntai typically groups with one or the other, both lexically and phonologically presenting the appearance of branch intermediate between the two in contrast to Arammba; it is difficult to say how much of this is due to loans from one subgroup or the other into Warta Thuntai or vice-versa:

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Anonymous (1895-1896: 106-120) 258 comparative terms for Bangu (Kánchá)

Ray (1907: 292-293) brief sketch and (pp. 391-412) 71 comparative terms for Bangu after Anonymous (1895-1896)

Lyons (1913-1914: 193-194) 85 comparative terms for Wandatokwe (Anta) of Tumgaka and Perem villages and Tokwasa (Kánchá) of Tonda, Asingabara and Babiri villages

Flint (1916) (unobtained)

Ray (1923: 337) pronouns for Peremka (Anta) after Riley, (p. 343) numerals and (p. 347-350) 20 comparative terms for Bangu after Anonymous (1895-1896,) Wandatokwe after Lyons (1913-1914,) Peremka after Riley (n.d.) and Tokwasa after Lyons (1913-1914)

Rentoul (1924-1925: 78-79) 109 comparative terms for Kebanagara (Arammba) of Suki (Sega), Iame and Bagibu villages

Lambden (1926) (unobtained)

Zimmer (1928) (unobtained)

Riley (1930-1931: 832-850) 278 comparative terms for Peremka (Anta)

Williams (1936: 30-31) 7 comparative terms for Bolotana ’Uwai (Bârkâli) after Flint (1916,) Kuarakari (Bârkâli) after Lambden (1926,) Kundarisa (Blafe) after Lambden (1926,) Kubirikar (Ngarna) after Flint (1916) and Lambden (1926,) Yendorador (Ránmo) after Lambden (1926) and Zimmer (1928,) Torou (Warta Thuntai) after Lambden (1926) and Zimmer (1928,) Asingabara (Kánchá) after MacGregor (1895-1896,) Yetakuma (?Wára) after Lambden, Kanifok (Wérè) after Lambden, Rouku (Kómnzo) after Lambden, Setavi (Arammba) and Serki (Arammba) after Rentoul (1924-1925) and Zimmer

Nevermann (1939) comparative vocabularies of Kanum (Bädi) of Oṅgaia and Meliu villages, Kanum (Bädi) of Tomer village, Kanum (Ngkontar) of Semandir and Jaṅgandur village … N'gówu̱gá̱r (Arammba) and Mani (Warta Thuntai) …

Boelaars (1950: …) recension of Drabbe's then-unpublished grammar of Kanùm (Ngkontar)

Drabbe (1954: 36-52) grammar and (pp. 53-68) 418 comparative terms for Kanùm (Ngkontar) of Jénggalntjùr (Janggàndur) village

Drabbe (1954) …

Voorhoeve (1975: 94) 39 comparative terms for Kanum after Drabbe (1954)

Capell (1962) …

Wurm and Sarsa (2001) sketch phonology of Wára based upon unpublished work by Wurm

Reesink (1974) 167 comparative terms for Aramba of Serki village

Reesink (1992) 109 comparative terms for Aramba of Mukfədəbən village

Hull (1990) 130 comparative terms for Aramba, Blafe (Ránmo) of Indorso (Indororo) village, an unnamed language (Wérè) of Kanfok village, Tonda (Rema) of Wuriefer village and Rouku (Wára) of Yokwa village

Hull and Hull (n.d.) grammar of Aaramba (unobtained)

O'Rear (1991) 120 comparative terms for Guntai (Warta Thuntai) of Wando village, Kʌnǰa (Kánchá) of Bondobol village, 'Kʌma 'Wanana (Kémä) of 'Wemɛnɛvɛr̃ village, Randa (Wérè) of Tokwa village, B̵ær̃æ (Wára) of Iokwa village, Komčo/Kʌmčo (Kómnzo) of Røuku village, 'Blæᵽe Wa'nana (Blafe) of Weam village, R̃ema (Rema) of Wereave village, Řanmo (Ránmo) of Indořod̵o village and Anda (Anta) of Uparua village

O'Rear (1992) 104 comparative terms for Aramba of Kiriwo, Gowi (Goe) and Setavi villages

O'Rear (1993) survey of West Morehead (unobtained)

Donohue (1996: 18-50) 163 comparative terms for Ngkântr (Ngkontar) of Yanggandur village, Bädi of Onggaya and Tomer villages, Ngkrn (Ngarna) of Sota village, Ngkântia (Tämer) of Tämer village, Bârkâli of Kurkari village and Ngkrnc (Smärki) of Tomerau and Rawa Biru villages

Bouvé (1997-1998) … comparative terms for Aramba of …,, …, …, …, …, … and Setéfi villages

Bouvé (2000) 167 comparative terms for Anda (Anta) of Ufarua village (collected in Sedéfi,) Renemo (Ránmo) (collected in Kiriwà,) Were/Wəˈrɛ (Wérè) of Tokʷo village and Kʌntsja/Kɜ̆ntsja (Kánchá) of Bondobol village

Bouvé and Bouvé (2003) grammar of Arammba

Bouvé and Bouvé (2005) phonology of Arammba

Sarsa (2001) phonology of Wára of Yokwa village

Sarsa (2001) verbal morphology of Wára of Yokwa village

Sohn, Lebold and Kriens (2009: 31-42) 220 comparative terms for Smärky Kanum of Rawa Biru village, Sota Kanum of Sota village and Ngkâlmpw Kanum of Yanggandur village

Parker (2009) Arammba third person masculine absolutive prefix

Hammarström (2009) Kanum numerals

Döhler (2011) Komnzo positional verbs (unobtained)

Döhler (2012) … (unobtained)

Döhler (2013) review of Grummitt and Masters (2012)

Döhler (2013) notes on Komnzo morphology

Döhler (2014) dictionary of Kómnzo of Rouku village

Döhler (2015) Komnzo morphology

Grummitt and Masters (2012) sociolinguistic survey of Tonda family

Evans (2012) grammar sketch of Kómnzo after Döhler

Evans, Arka, Carroll, Döhler, Kashima, Mittag, Quinn, Siegel, Tama and van Tongeren (forthcoming) comparative study of proto-Tonda

Baku and Wood (2013) grammar of Arammba

Quinn (2013) verbal morphology of Warta Thuntai of Wando village

Quinn (2014) verbal morphology of Warta Thuntai of Wando village including (pp. 89-90) 100 verb stems

Quinn (2015) vocabulary of Thuntai

Lee (2014) split ergativity in Ranmo

Lee (2014) root allomorphy in Ranmo of Indorodoro village

Lee (2014) stem allomorphy in Ranmo of Indorodoro village

Lee (2014) verb allomorphy in Ranmo of Indorodoro village

Lee (2015) middle verbs in Ranmo of Yenthoroto village

Lee (2015) pluractionaity in Ranmo of Yenthoroto village

Lee (2015) root alternation in Ranmo of Yenthoroto village

Lee (2015) verbal morphological syncretism in Ranmo of Yenthoroto village

Lee (2015) valancy alternation in Ranmo of Yenthoroto village

Carroll (2014) verbal number and aspect for Ngkntra (Ngkontar) of Yanggandur village

Mittag (2015) comparative vocabularies of Arammba of Kiriwa village, Ngarna of Sota village and Rema of Wereave village in Carroll ed. (2015)

Döhler (2015) comparative vocabularies of Blafe of Weam village, Kánchá of Bondobol village, Kémä of Wäménefér village, Kómnzo of Masu (?) village, Ránmo of Yéndorodoro village and Wérè of Indorodoro (?) village in Carroll ed. (2015)

Carroll (2015) comparative vocabularies of Ngkontar Ngkolmpu of Yanggandur village and Smerki of Rawa Biru village in Carroll ed. (2015)

In addition to these, Paul Whitehouse provided in comparative spreadsheet form vocabularies of Marer and Waratha villages (Warta Thuntai) via the Summer Institute of Linguistics Ukarumpa, however these are both undated and unattributed.

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Proto-West Morehead River had as many as 30 consonants and 10 vowels as follows:

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From Marind …:

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From Suki …:

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… Torres Strait region …

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From Motu …

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From Indonesian …

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From Tok Pisin …

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Proto-West Morehead River …

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Free pronouns are reconstructed as follows:

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First and second person absolutives have in many languages been replaced by the corresponding locative (below.)

Locative pronouns are reconstructed as follows:

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Oblique pronouns are reconstructed as follows:

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