Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
Odoodee is spoken by approximately 500 people (2007) living in three villages, Kalamo, Hasalibi and Tulusi (Lake Campbell,) located east of the Strickland River and south of the Tomu River in the foothills of Mt Bosavi at the edge of the Strickland plain, in the Balimo and Nomad districts of Papua New Guinea's Western province, immediately west of the border with Southern Highlands province. The speech varieties of Kalamo and Hasalibi contistute a single dialect, with that of Tulusi, which Shaw calls Hesif, differentiated primarily by lexicon (Shaw 1986: 61, Hays and Hays: 2003: 2-6, 2007: 4.)
Shaw (1986: 62-64) 100 comparative terms for Kalamo and Hesif
Hays and Hays (2002) grammar of Odoodee of Kalamo village
Hays and Hays (2003) sketch phonology of Odoodee
Hays and Hays (2003) dialect survey of Odoodee
Hays and Hays (2007) phonology of Odoodee of Kalamo
Hays and Hays (2002: 7-11, 2007: 4, ibid.) give 13 consonants and 7 vowels for Odoodee as follows:
| m | n | ||
| t | k | ||
| b | d | g | |
| ɸ | s | h | |
| w | l | j |
| i | u | |
| e | o | |
| ɛ | ɔ | |
| a |
Vowels are further distinguished by the presence or absence of nasalization:
| i | ĩ |
| u | ũ |
| e | ẽ |
| o | õ |
| ɛ | ɛ̃ |
| ɔ | ɔ̃ |
| a | ã |
Neither final consonants nor consonant clusters occur.
Word-level tone is contrastive, and is distinguished by either a high level or a falling tone on the last syllable. Falling tone is unmarked in the practical orthography:
| high level | falling | ||
| butterfly | sagɔbɔ́ | bird of paradise | sagɔbɔ̂ |
| bird | sɔ́ | dog | sɔ̂ |
Hays and Hays (2002: 34-37) give pronouns for Odoodee in six case forms as follows:
| absolutive | ergative | genitive | emphatic | refl. benefactive | reflexive | |
| 1 sg. | ã | ã-jɔ̃ | mɔ̃ | mɔ̃-busɔmɔ | mãwɔ | mãwɔ nɛdilijɔ |
| 2 sg. | nɔ̃ | nã-jɔ̃ | nẽ | nɔ̃-busɔmɔ | nɔ̃ | nɔ̃ nɛdilijɔ |
| 3 sg. animate | jɔ̃ | jã-jɔ̃ | ɔ̃/ɛ̃jɔ̃ | ɔ̃-busɔmɔ | ɔ̃jɔ | ɔ̃jɔ nɛdilijɔ |
| 3 sg. inanimate | ɛge | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 pl. | i-ba | i-jɔ̃ | i-bada | i-busɔmɔ | i-jɔ̃ | ɔsiɔ nɛdilijɔ |
| 2 pl. | ni-ba | ni-jɔ̃ | ni-bada | ni-busɔmɔ | ni-jɔ̃ | ni-sɔ nɛdilijɔ |
| 3 pl. | di-ba | dia-jɔ̃ | di-bada/dia | di-busɔmɔ | dia-jɔ̃ | di-sɔ nɛdilijɔ |
Hays and Hays (2002: 41) describe a body part counting system for Odoodee similar in concept to other New Guinean systems, in which, most typically, counting begins from the left pinkie at one and proceeds up the left side of the body, then proceeds downward on the right side to form higher numbers. The system is used only infrequently by older speakers; it is unclear if counting then continues on the other side of the body:
| pinkie | 1 | hɔ̃ |
| ring finger | 2 | hɔ̃-mãkɔ̃lã |
| middle finger | 3 | wɔlugu-mãkɔ̃lã |
| index finger | 4 | wɔlugu |
| thumb | 5 | ɛmedi |
| palm | 6 | de bɔ |
| wrist | 7 | gɛbɛsigili |
| forearm | 8 | de tɔ |
| elbow | 9 | dima |
| upper arm | 10 | dɛbɛgɛ kãlẽ |
| shoulder | 11 | ɛi |
| clavicle | 12 | tɛbigi |
[under construction]
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