Table of Contents

Kamula-Elevala River

Timothy Usher (Santa Fe Institute) and Edgar Suter

Publication


Edgar Suter and Timothy Usher 2017. “The Kamula-Elevala language family” Language and Linguistics in Melanesia 35: 106-131.


Situation

The Kamula-Elevala River family consists of at least three languages, Aekyom (Awin,) Pa (Ba, Pare) and Kamula (Kamura,) spoken across the lowlands south of New Guinea's central cordillera and east of the Fly River in Papua New Guinea's Western province.

Subclassification

The internal classification of Kamula-Elevala River is as follows:

Kamula-Elevala River

Kamula

Elevala River

Aekyom

Pa

Aekyom is spoken in at least four dialects, the northeastern dialect being the most divergent and possibly representing a distinct language (q.v. Depew 1986: 12-14;) however the data currently available to us is too scant and disorganized to arrive at a definitive conclusion in this respect.

Sources

Austen (1921-1922: 161) 109 comparative terms for Amnat on the Eastern side of the Tedi (Alice) River

Ray (1923: 339) 2 pronouns, (p. 345) 5 numerals and (p. 354-356) 19 comparative terms for Amnat after Austen (1921-1922)

Austen (1924-1925: 75) 38 comparative terms for Awin of Eastern Tedi River, Awin of Western Fly River near Palmer Junction, Awin of Western Donaldson Range and for Upper Fly River (mix of Aekyom and Faiwol) near the Star Mountains, 597 miles from the mouth of the Fly

Champion (1926-1927: 117) 55 comparative terms for Plain Country between the 500-mile mark on Palmer (Luap) river and the foot of the mountains

O'Connor (1936-1937) (unobtained)

O'Connor (1937-1938) (unobtained)

Rule and Rule (1970) grammar of Aekyom (unobtained)

Rule and Rule (1990) phonology of Kamula (unobtained)

Rule and Rule (1990) grammar of Kamula (unobtained)

McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970) includes Awin and Pare comparisons

Voorhoeve (1975: 389-390) grammar sketch of southwest Awin (Aekyom) between Kiunga and Rumginae and (390-391) grammar sketch of Pa

Voorhoeve (2007) 210 comparative terms for Awin, North Awin, West Awin, East Awin, Minumin, Ba and East Ba

Shaw (1971) comparative vocabulary of Debepare of Wakiyana village

Franklin (ed. 1973: 590) 97 comparative terms for Pa after Shaw

Shaw (1986: 68) 99 comparative terms for Kamula and (p. 70) 100 comparative terms for Pare

Reesink (1976: 31-34) 97 comparative terms for Kamula

Depew (1986) ethnography of Upper Fly River Aekyom

Stewart (1989) phonology and grammar sketch of Lower Maeri River Aekyom

Stewart (2016) dictionary of Aekyom

Routamaa (1994) grammar of Kamula

Routamaa and Routamaa (1995) phonology for Kamula of Kesiki village

Routamaa and Routamaa (1996) dialect survey of Kamula

Routamaa and Routamaa (1997) orthography for Kamula

Routamaa (1997) Kamula events and participants

Routamaa (1997) Kamula tail head linkage

Routamaa and Routamaa (2002) sketch phonology of Kamula

Routamaa and Routamaa (2007) dictionary of Kamula

Waldeck (2016) 459 comparative terms for Pa

Waldeck (2017) 133 additional comparative terms for Pa

Suter ed. (2017) comparative vocabularies for Kamula, Pa and Aekyom after Routamaa and Routamaa (2007,) Waldeck (2016, 2017) and Stewart (2016)

In addition to these, Paul Whitehouse provided comparative vocabularies of Aekyom of Karana and Kawandere villages via the Summer Institute of Linguistics Ukarumpa; however they are undated and unattributed.

History of classification

[under construction]

Ray (1923: 336) places Austen's (1921-1922: 161) Amnat in a Tedi Group which is otherwise equivalent to the family later known as Lowland Ok.

Greenberg (1971: 825-826) divided the attestations of Aekyom dialects between Lowland Ok and Mountain Ok, apparently upon the basis of their inclusion in Austen (1924-1925: 75) and Champion (1926-1927: 117) respectively, and upon a number of loans into Aekyom from both Ok subfamilies. Although this placement is broadly consistent with Healey's (1964) proposal, the failure to recognize that Austen's and Champion's vocabularies represent a single language suggests Greenberg's placements to result from oversight. Greenber's roundup of Annual Report vocabularies is usually quite thorough, but in this instance neglects to mention Austen's (1921-1922) Amnat.

Healey (1964: 108, 115, 115-116) … “The Awin-Pare Family of 9,000 speakers is a tentative grouping by the present author, and includes Akium-Awin (Aekyom), Akium-Pare, and Pare (Pari).” On p. 110 he states that initial consonant clusters /kr tr pr gr dr sr sm/ occur in Awin-Pare, as do many diphthongs. On page 111 he states that Aekyom has a body part counting system up to 35 (i.e. apex is 18) but Pare has a quinary system using the fingers and toes. He doesn't give any pronouns or verbal morphology. On page 115 he gives a lexicostatistical resemblances between Awin and Pare at 36% and above, substantially lower than Voorhoeve's figures. The most important passages are on page 115-116: “Awin shows about 10% possible cognates with the Ok Family and with the Awyu-Dumut Family, but more detailed investigation is necessary before regular sound correspondences can be established.” That's the same figure he estimates between Awyu-Dumut and Ok, hence, “It is the author's impression that a close study of the Awyu materials would demonstrate regular sound correspondences between the Awyu (or Awyu-Dumut) proto-forms and Ok proto-forms. It may eventually prove possible to demonstrate that the Ok, Awin-Pare, and Awyu-Dumut Families belong to a single linguistic stock or phylym, or perhaps that there was extensive borrowing between the parent languages of these families.”

Voorhoeve (1968: 1, 3-4, 6, 1975a, 1975b) … (1968: 1) Awin-Pare group after Healey (1964) … (p: 3) South and Central New Guinea Stock … (p: 6) Awin-Pare division of Pare-Samo-Beami-Bosavi Family, division level: 85% (74%) for 82 terms between West Awin (Pampenae near Ningerum) and East Awin (Drimska near Palmer Junction (Fly River ),) 51% (41%) for 101 terms between West Awin and Ba, 45% (36%) for 102 terms between East Awin and Ba, Family level: 36% (32%) for 153 terms between Samo and Ba, 25% (18%) for 112 terms between Beami and Ba … (pp. 7-8) Stock-level: 25% (21%) for 148 terms between Kati and Ba, 30% (24%) for 132 terms between Teléfól and Ba, 23% (19%) for 142 terms between Kiwai and Ba … (pp. 10-11) Awin and Ba are from Voorhoeve's own elicitations … McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970: 10) the Awin-Pare Family is given as separate group alongside the Bedamini (Beami) Family, which includes both Strickland River and Papuan Plateau, in the larger Central and South New Guinea Stock, within the larger Central and South New Guinea Phylum which is then related to McElhanon's Finisterre-Huon Phylum to form the Trans-New Guinea Phylum … Voorhoeve (1975: 346-348, 388-391) Awin-Pa Family within Central and South New Guinea Stock of Trans-New Guinea Phylum …

The first known mention of Kamula in the literature was in Capell (1962: 129, 1969,) who showed a language called Kamura in the jungle between the village in which Kamula is spoken today but otherwise provided no data.

The first published materials for the Kamula language appeared in Reesink (1976: 13-18) who wrote (p. 15): “Efforts to relate this unknown language to languages of the Lake Murray area (see Voorhoeve 1970b) or languages to the north were futile. Comparing Kamula material with the 53 items McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970) list in their Trans New Guinea Phylum points to the direction of languages of the Ok and Bedamini Families. But these relationships are indeed very remote. More promising seemed a comparison with Pa (Franklin 1973: 590, Appendix J.4) which suggests a relationship on Stock level (see Chart 10). This language was included in the Pare-Samo-Beami-Bosavi-Family by Voorhoeve (1968) on the basis of 36% shared cognates with Samo. But more recent comparative work by Shaw (1973) puts this figure down to 12%, which leaves only a Stock level relationship with the East-Strickland Family of the Bosavian Stock. A correction, in this direction was already made in McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970), where Pa (included in Pare) and Awin formed a separate family within the Central and South New Guinea Stock.” … (pp. 16-17) 37 Kamula-Pa comparisons …

Wurm (1982: 131, 132, 136-138,) following Voorhoeve (1975a, 1975b,) Reesink (1976) and Rule (p.c.), gives Kamula as a member of the Central South New Guinea Stock but not of Awin-Pa. Wurm's logic here was likely that Reesink had proved a reasonably close relationship with Pa, but not that it is a member of Awin-Pa. Reesink (1976: 15) gives an upper limit of 20% lexicostatistical relationship between Kamula and Pa, compared to Voorhoeve's (1968: 6) 42%-50% between Awin and Ba. Meanwhile Voorhoeve's (1968: 7-8) stock level figures range from 14%-32%, where Reesink's number would fit right in. Moreover, Kamula's pronouns do not show the degree of similarity as do those of Awin and Pa as presented in Voorhoeve (1975: 388-391,) nor are Kamula verbs marked for the number of their subjects, providing typological or criterionalistic reasons to have rejected an immediate relationship.

Shaw (1973, 1986) … (1973: 192-193, 195-196) lexicostatistical figures between 9& and 13% between Pa, Strickland River, Papuan Plateau and Duna-Bogaia… “Finally by comparing all the groups of the East Strickland Plain with the Pa, inhabiting the region west of the Strickland River from the Cecelia River south almost to Lake Murray, an average of 12% lexicostatistic relationship is noted. This is considerably lower than the 36% figure presented by Voorhoeve (1968), and may result from our unfamiliarity with phonetic shifts and other factors which result in relationships not apparent by simple inspection.” … (1986) Kamula member of Bosavi Watershed alongside Bainapi and the Mount Bosavi languages … (p. 53) … 22% between Kamula and Pare, 41% between Kamula and Bainapi, 38-55% between Kamula and Mount Bosavi languages, Pare 18% with Bainapi, 19-23% with Mount Bosavi languages … pp. (50-51) 17 selected lexical comparisons between Kamula …

Stewart (1989: 1) writes of Aekyom, “Related languages are Pa to the S.E., Konai to the east, and Awyu in Irian Jaya.” Konai is a member of the basically unrelated Strickland River family, but the inclusion of Awyu in this list is uncanny. Perhaps Stewart had seen Healey's (1970) reconstruction of proto-Awyu-Dumut and noticed some of the very strong similarities in the basic lexicon, but, as she presents no evidence in support of this statement, nor does the paper include citations or a bibliography, it's difficult to say why Awyu was included in particular was included.

Routamaa and Routamaa (Routamaa 1994: 7, Routamaa and Routamaa 1995: 3, 1997: 2.) write in review, “Wurm (1981) classifies Kamula as a family level isolate of the Central and South New Guinea stock and superstock of the Trans New Guinea Phylum. Shaw (1986) proposes that Kamula be placed in the Bosavi family and in the Bosavi Watershed subfamily. Lexically and grammatically, our investigations to date show very few similarities with the Bosavi family languages and so Wurm's classification is possibly more accurate.” While it's true that Wurm didn't place Kamula directly with Bosavi Watershed (Mount Bosavi, Papuan Plateau) as would Shaw a few years later, Wurm's order of presentation, which begins with “Bosavi, Kamula, East Strickland, Awin-Pa,” carrries forward Voorhoeve's (1968: 6) concept of a Bosavi regional group which Shaw (1986) continued and the dichotomy between the two arrangements is overstated.

Our findings here support Reesink's (1976) contention that Kamula belongs with Pa, but per Wurm (1982) is not quite as close to Pa and Aekyom as they are to one another. In the bigger picture, we confirm Healey's (1964) suggestion that, together with Kamula about which nothing was known at the time, the Elevala River languages belong with the Awyu-Dumut (Digul River) and Ok families in a larger group, while contra Voorhoeve (1968,) Wurm (1982) and Shaw (1973, 1986) there is only a distant relationship with Bosavi (Papuan Plateau) and even less with East Strickland (Strickland River,) which is itself not closely related to Bosavi.

Ross …

Historical phonology

[under construction]

Proto-Kamula-Elevala River had 11 consonants and at least 7 vowels as follows:

*m *n
*p *t *s *k
*b *d *g
*w *j
*i *u
*e̝ *o̝
*a

In addition to the simple vowels given above, at least one diphthong is found as follows:

*aⁱ

What are shown here as voiceless and voiced biliabial stops /*p *b/ might have been reconstructed as /*h/ and /*p/ respectively. …

There is scant evidence for a rounded velar voiceless stop /*kʷ/ … (below) …



… nasalization … Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 23) state that Kamula nasalization, which is not indicated in their practical orthography, is not exclusively but very conspicuously associated with adjacent /ɺ/, in keeping with its dual origin from apicil nasal /*n/ and voiced stop /*d/. We can tentatively posit that there are two causes of nasalization in Kamula-Elevala River languages, that which results from the reinterpretation of segments /*nV/ as /ɺṼ/ and final nasalized vowels /Ṽ/, which reflect earlier final nasal consonants /*m *n/ that were reduced to a nasal archiphoneme /*N/ by proto-Elevala River as they were in proto-Awyu and proto-Awbono-Bayono as well as the more distantly related but geographically adjacent Papuan Plateau family to the northeast, some members of which have likewise reinterpreted segments /*nV/ as /ɺṼ/.


Excepting nasal archiphoneme /*N/, neither final consonants nor consonant clusters occurå.

Stress is contrastive, as is discernible in Aekyom where destressed nuclear vowels are dropped leading to consonant clusters and destressed final vowels are dropped when preceded by nasals /*m *n/ (below.)

Initial consonants correspond as follows:

K.-Elevala. Kamula Aekyom Pa
*m- m b m
*m₂- m m m
*n- n n n
*p- h h h
*t- t t t
*s- s s s
*k- ø k k
*b- p p p
*d- d d d
*g- ø g g
*w- w w w
*j- j j j

Medial consonants correspond as follows:

K.-Elevala. Kamula Aekyom Pa
*-m- m m m
*-n- ɺ n ɺ
*-n₂- ? ɺ ɺ
*-t- t t ɺ
*-s- s s ?
*-k- k k ɣ
*-b- p p b
*-d- ɺ ɺ ø
*-w- w w w
*-j-

Vowels and diphthongs correspond as follows:

K.-Elevala. Kamula Aekyom Pa
*i i i i
*u u u u
*e̝ e ɛ e
*o̝ o u o
ɔ o ɔ
*ɔ/_w o
*æ/CV æ æ æ
*æ/CVCV æ ɛ æ
*a a a a
*a/_w a a ɔ
*a/_Cæ a ɛ æ
*aⁱ e æ (?) i æ
*iCa iCa iCæ
*uCi- uCu- uCi-
*o̝Ci- oCu- uCi
*aCi aCi aCi
*aCæ aCæ ɛCɛ æCæ

These correspondences are exemplified as follows, with Kamula attestations drawn from Routamaa and Routamaa (2007,) Aekyom from Stewart (1989, 2016,) Pa from Waldeck (2016, 2017) and Awin and Ba (Pa) drawn from Voorhoeve (1975: 389-391, 2007.)


Any consonant can occur initially.

Initial bilabial nasal /*m/ …:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*m- m b [b ᵐb m] m m
child/small *mi bi mi miː
light fire *mi- mi-(ma) b-
head/brain *mini bin ~ bi- miɺi-
knowledge *man[æ/a] maɺa- bɺæ- bɾe- ma- mã- ~ maɾa-
thigh *madina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
shoulder *makæ makæ bɛkɛ ~ ᵐbɛkɛ
~ mɛkɛ
bεkε mæɣæ megè
ear *m[ɔ/o̝]d[ɔ/o̝]moɺo mo- mo-
egg/fruit/seed*m[ɔ/o̝]k[ɔ/o̝]moko mo ~ mɔ
fish *mo̝ne̝ bun bunε moɺɛ ~ mɔɺe
~ muɺɛ
munε
stem *mo̝n₂æ buɺɛ moɺæ
below *mo̝ka buk- moɣa- ~ mɔɣæ-
body *mo̝te̝ mot̪o butɛ butε ~ botε

As initial /*m/ is regularly realized as /b/ in Aekyom (above,) there are only a swall number of Aekyom words with initial /m/ in Stewart's dictionary (2016: 20.) Several of these, /mom/ “nephew, maternal” ([monaⁱ] “cassowary” is underlyingly /mom-naⁱ/, see Depew 1986: 150-154, 349 for the semantics,) /mon/ “rubbish” and (p. 10) /mgat-ɺam/ “mouth” are loans from Mountain Ok (below,) others are loans from Motu (/moɺu/ “medicine”) or English (/mosoɺu/ “boat (powered with a motor),” while still others are of unkown origin.

A handful of examples in which an Elevala River original /*m/ appears to have been retained as /m/ in Aekyom are marked here with the symbol /*m₂/. The first of these may be a loan into Aekyom from Pa or into both from an unidentified third source, or the retention of /*m/ is governed by a rule which is not understood:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*m₂- m m m m
pig*m₂aⁱnæ minɛ ~ miːnɛminɛ́ ~ menémæɺæ mεɾε

In two examples, Aekyom's retention of initial /m/ may be due to the their tendency to appear between other words and clauses:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*m₂- m m m
and*m₂[e̝/æ]
and*m₂a ma ma

Initial apical nasal /*n/ is uncommon. It is retained as such in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*n- n n n n n
1 dl./pl. *ni ni ni
1 sg. refl.*næ
what?/who? *nV næ- ~ na- ne- ~ na-
1 sg. abs. *nɔ no no no nɔ ~ nɔ̃
cuirass *nabo̝ napu nabɔ ~ nabu
~napo

Initial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ is deoccluded to /h/ in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*p- h h h h h
name *pi hi hi ~ hiːhi hi hiː
this/here *pi hi hj-
breath/spirit *pine̝ hinɛ hiɺe
count/read *pijakV- hjæk- hjãɣæ
stand/stay *pæ- hæ- h- hε- he he-/ha-
that/there *pa ha- ha-
hold *pamV- ham- ham-
put inside *pamV- hama- ham-
stand/stay *pane̝- haɺe- haɺe ~ haɺi
make/do *pɔmV- hom- homæ
light (weight)*po̝dVkV hoɺoka- hukʷæ howa-
taro *pVwa hwa- hɤwa
sin/taboo *p[u] h- hu-
rot/decay *pu[tu]- hut̪u- hu-

Initial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is retained as such in all descendants. Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 5) specify that Kamula /t/, unlike /n/ and /d/, is dental:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*t- t [t̪]t [tʰ t t̪ʰ t̪]t [tʰ t]t t
dog *ti ti tií
make/do *ti- t̪i- tʰ-(ɺʲa)
embers/ashes *tine̝ t̪iɺe tʰin tɛɺɛ tεnε
rattan/rope *tike̝ tʰikɛ tʰikè ~ tike-tiɣi ~ -tiɣɛtigi
yesterday *te̝ tɛ ~ tʰ- tɛ́- te te
sago thatch *te̝mæ tʰɛm temæ
bird *te̝ja t̪ea teɣæ tigεː ~ tegεː
go up *tæ- t̪æ- tʰ-
tongue/flame *taⁱ t̪e tʰi ~ t̪ʰi tʰêː ~ tʰee tεː
go *ta- t̪a- t-
afternoon *tamidæ t̪amiɺæ- tɛme tεme
knee/leg *tama tʰama tʰama tamá-
earth/ground *tɔ tʰo tòò to tóò
wild *tɔnV tʰona tɔ̃ɺæ
cleared ground*tɔbɔ t̪opopo tʰop-
bow *t[ɔ/o̝] t̪o tòː
upstream *t[ɔ/o̝]t[ɔ/o̝]t̪ot̪o tɔɺɔ
one *tV[n/d]o̝ t̪ɺo tɺu tɾu-
thorn/fin *tu t̪u tʰu tʰuː tu tuː

In one example, assuming cognacy between the Kamula and Aekyom forms, Kamula /t/ is seemingly irregularly answered by Aekyom /d/. This might be explained as assimilation to following /*m/ in a derived initial cluster (below):

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa StewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*[t/d]- t [t̪]d d
banana*[t/d]uma t̪uma dma dumã

Initial laminal voiceless /*s/ is uncommon. It is retained as such in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*s- s s s s s
speech/say *sa sa- sa sa
rafter *saka saka ska sãgã ~ sãɣã
flesh *sVjɔ saⁱjo sajo ~ sajúsijɔ ~ siɣuseí ~ siu
goanna *sɔnɔmæ sɺom sɔɺɔmæ
paddle *so̝de̝ soɺe- sūɺɛ
tail of bird*sumV sum siʉmε

Initial velar voiceless stop /*k/ is dropped in Kamula as is voiced /*g/ (below.) It is retained in Aekyom and in Pa, with Aekyom /k/ undergoing intermittent aspiration to [kʰ] in parallel with the initial reflexes of voiceless /t/ (above) and voiced /b/ (below):

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*k- ø k [kʰ k] k [kʰ k] k k
thunder *kima[nV] kʰma ~ kʰim- kimɛɺɛ
nose *kine̝ kʰi- kʰε- -kenε
eye *kinɔ i- kʰɺo- ~ kʰɺno- kɛɺa- ~ keɺa-
~ keɺe- ~ keɺæ
beetle sp. *kijame̝ kʰjamɛ kimɛ
sharp/angry *kVjɔma kʰjoma kiòma
flower/fruit*ke̝ kʰɛ ~ -kɛ ke
head *ke̝ba keba keba
bone *ke̝dɔ eɺo kɺo ~ kʰɺo kɾoː ~ kʰɾò koː ~ ko
set on fire *kamV- kʰam- kamæ
seed *kane̝ aɺe
coconut *kɔbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokεkɔbowæ kɑbogε
white *kɔnæ kon- kɔ̃- kònε ~ kõ-
sky/cloud *kɔwe̝ kʰʷoᵋ kʰoε kũ- ~ -ɣuwɛ kow-
man *k[ɔ/o̝]b[a/ɔ] opa kobo ~ kɔbo kobo
fence *ko̝ko̝ ɣɔɣɔ kòː ~ kògò
now/today *k[o̝/u]wa(-tV)wa-t̪a kʰʷa- ~ -kʷa kʷa-tɛ

Initial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ is devoiced to /p/ in all descendants, with Aekyom /p/ undergoing intermittent aspiration to [pʰ] in parallel with the initial reflexes of voiceless /t k/ [tʰ kʰ] (above.) Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 4) state that Kamula /p/ is optionally realized as fricative [ɸ]:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*b- p [p ɸ]p [pʰ p]p [pʰ p]p p
drum sp. *bi pi pi pi
skin disease *be̝se̝ni peseɺi psɛn
tusk/tooth *bate̝ pat̪e pʰɛtɛ pʰεtε pɛ́ɾε
sit *bV- po- pʰ- pʰ- pε-/pa-
smell *b[a/ɔ]mV- pa- pʰom pomæ
soft *bɔ-bɔtæ- po-pt̪æ- pʰo-pʰot-
heart/feelings*bɔdɔwV poɺoa- pʰɺoᵋ pʰɾõε
buttocks *bo̝ pʰu pʰuː ~ pʰo pɔ- pò-
die/dead *bo̝- po- pʰu- po- pwòː
tie/wrap *bo̝di- poɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
pierce/burst *bo̝ko̝- poko- pku- põɣu ~ pɔɣu
brideprice *bun₂e̝ pʰuɺɛ pũɺɛ
close eyes *budi- puɺu- pʰuɺʲ-

Initial apical voiced stop /*d/ is retained as such in all descendants. As with initial velar /*g/ (below,) it is occasionally realized as prenasalized [ⁿd] in Aekyom::

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*d- d [d ⁿd]d d d d
navel/middle *di di di di-
see/look *d[i]- d- ~ di- dε- de dε-
meat *dinæ dinɛ diɺæ
flea/mite *dide̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
black *di[ki] diki- dĩ- di-
eat/drink *de̝- de- d- ~ ⁿd- de- de da-/di-/de-
do *de̝- de-
father (1 sg.)*dæ n-de
give *dæ- dæ- da de-
forehead *dVbV-tVnV dapt̪aɺa dibitæɺæ
sand *d[a]ni dɺi ~ dɺni dɐni deɺe- dɐɾi ~ dεni
where? *daⁱ di di- dæ-
hear *dade̝- daɺe- dare- dae da-
sago *daja daja ~ da- da ~ ⁿda ~ ⁿdaːdaː da daː
sap/juice *d[a/ɔ]d[æ/a] daɺa doɺɛ
flat bark/nail*d[a/ɔ]kæ dokɛ dokε -daɣæ dagɛ́
penis *do̝ doú
crocodile *do̝be̝ dupɛ dupè ~ dopεdobɛ dobé
whistle/yodel *do̝wV dowe-ɺe- duwa
straight *do̝wa do- duwa ~ du- dowa ~ dua du-
cook/burn *du- du- du- dʉ- dʉ-
island *dubi dupi
heart *duba dupa
inside/between*dunu duɺu dunu

Initial velar voiced stop /*g/ is dropped in Kamula as is voiceless /*k/ (above.) It is retained in Aekyom and in Pa. As with initial apical /*d/ (above,) it is occasionally realized as prenasalized [ᵑg] or even as nasal [ŋ] in Aekyom:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*g- ø g [g ᵑg ŋ]g [g ᵑg] g g
2 dl./pl. *gi gi gi gi gi
sing *gi- g-(ɺʲaⁱ) gi
leech *gimada imaɺa gimæ gemε
gum(s) *gine̝ -ŋgin -gilɛ
heel/ankle *gije̝ gjε ge ~ gi gé ~ gi
belly *ge̝ne̝ eɺe- gɛnɛ gɛnɛ ~ ŋgεnε
sugarcane *ga ga ~ ŋa ~ ᵑga gã ~ ga ga gaː
beak *ga ga ~ ŋa ~ ᵑga ga
sun/day *gani aɺi- gɛɺɛ ~ -kɛɺɛgeɾε ~ gelε
crab/crayfish *gaji gaⁱ gɛ̃ĩ
younger brother*gɔmɔdV gmoɺɛ ŋgɐmoɾé ~
ŋgɐmonε
gomo gòmò ~ gamu-
2 sg. abs. *go̝ gu gu ~ go go go
2 pl. *gu[jV] uw- ~ wu-gʷjo guo
stick. *gum[a/ɔ] gumɔ guma

Initial bilabial non-stop /*w/ is uncommon. It is retained as such in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*w- w w w w
left/crooked *we̝ke̝ weke wɛkɛ wɛ-
grub *wæja wæja we
inside (?) *wamu wamu
not know/forget*wɔ wo-wo- wɔ-
liver *wume̝ wumɛ wumè

Initial palatal non-stop /*j/ is uncommon. …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*j- j j j ~ ø
3 pl. *ji ji
3 sg. refl.*jæ
3 sg. abs. *jɔ jo jo
hit/kill *ju- ju- j- jæ ~ ja

Initial /*j/ … Cental Digul River /*je̝n/ “tree/fire” …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*j/_e̝ ø j ø ø
tree *je̝ ĩ ~ ɪ ~ e
sago thatch*je̝me̝ eme jɛm-

… /*j/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*j/_ɔ j ø
song*jɔkæ jokɛ eɣæ ~ iɣæ

It is probably the case that any consonant could occur medially. The expected medial disposition of bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ is not yet known; presumably it was either merged with the medial reflexes of voiced /*b/ or first deoccluded to [h] as are its initial reflexes above and then dropped altogether. Similarly, there is no clear trace of a medial /*g/, which perhaps has merged with /*k/ or some other sound, or disappeared.

Medial bilabial nasal /*m/ is generally retained as such in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*-m- m m m m m
tuber *-me̝ -m -mɛ
participle *-ma -ma -ma
hold *pamV- ham- ham-
put inside *pamV- hama- ham-
make/do *pɔmV- hom- homæ
hole *-ˈnamæ -nam ~ -ɺam -namε ~ -lamε
-ɾamε
-ɺamæ ~-namæ
~ -damæ
daːmε ~ -ɾamε
~ -ɾɐmε~-damε
sago thatch *te̝mæ tʰɛm temæ
afternoon *tamidæ t̪amiɺæ- tɛme tεme
knee/leg *tama tʰama tʰama tamá-
banana *[t/d]uma t̪uma dma dumã
flea/mite *dide̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
tail of bird *sumV sum siʉmε
thunder *kima[nV] kʰma ~ kʰim- kimɛɺɛ
beetle sp. *kijame̝ kʰjamɛ kimɛ
sharp/angry *kVjɔma kʰjoma kiòma
set on fire *kamV- kʰam- kamæ
leech *gimada imaɺa gimæ gemε
younger brother*gɔmɔdV gmoɺɛ ŋgɐmoré ~
ŋgɐmonε
gomo gòmò ~ gamu-
stick. *gum[a/ɔ] gumɔ guma
inside (?) *wamu wamu
liver *wume̝ wumɛ wumè
sago thatch *je̝me̝ eme jɛm-

In several verbs stems with a final syllable /*mV/, Kamula …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-m- ø m m
plant (v.)*e̝mV- e-ma emæ
smell *b[a/ɔ]mV- pa-ma pʰom pomæ

Medial apical nasal /*n/ is generally retained as such in Aekyom and denasalized to non-stop /ɺ/ in Kamula and in Waldeck's Pa. Voorhoeve's (2007) Ba and Shaw's (1986: 70) Pare often give [n] rather than [ɺ] suggesting /n/ to have been outright retained or, perhaps more likely, synchronically an allophone of /ɺ/ following now-nasalized vowels. Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 23) state that Kamula nasalization, which is not indicated in their practical orthography, is overwhelmingly associated with adjacent /ɺ/, in keeping with its dual origin:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*-n- ɺ [ɺ n]n n ɺ n ɾ l
bush *ab[a/ɔ]n[ɔ/o̝]apaɺo aboɺɔ
head/brain *mini bin ~ bi- miɺi-
pig *m₂aⁱnæ minɛ ~ miːnɛminɛ́ ~ mené mæɺæ mεɾε
thigh *madina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
fish *mo̝ne̝ bun bunε moɺɛ ~ mɔɺe
~ muɺɛ
munε
breath/spirit *pine̝ hinɛ hiɺe
stand/stay *pane̝- haɺe- haɺe ~ haɺi
skin disease *be̝se̝ni peseɺi psɛn
embers/ashes *tine̝ t̪iɺe tʰin tɛɺɛ tεnε
wild *tɔnV tʰona tɔ̃ɺæ
meat *dinæ dinɛ diɺæ
forehead *dVbV-tVnV dapt̪aɺa dibitæɺæ
inside/between*dunu duɺu dunu
nose *kine̝ -kenε
adj. suffix *-kaⁱna -kina -kena ~ -kina-ɣæɺæ -gɐnε ~ -genε
seed *kane̝ aɺe
white *kɔnæ kon- kònε
gum(s) *gine̝ -ŋgin -gilɛ
belly *ge̝ne̝ eɺe- gɛnɛ gɛnɛ ~ ŋgεnε
sun/day *gani aɺi- gɛɺɛ ~ -kɛɺɛ geɾε ~ gelε

/*n/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*n/CVˈ_ ɺ ~ ɺn ɺ
sand *d[a]ni dɺi ~ dɺni dɐni deɺe- dɐɾi ~ dεni
goanna*sɔnɔmæ sɺom sɔɺɔmæ
eye *kinɔ i- kʰɺo- ~ kʰɺno- kɛɺa- ~ keɺa-
~ keɺe- ~ keɺæ

In at least one example, root-medial /*n/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-n- ɺ ɺ ø
knowledge*man[æ/a] maɺa- bɺæ- bɾe- ma- mã- ~ maɾa-

… /*n/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*… n ~ ɺ ɺ ~ n ~ d
hole*-ˈnamæ -nam ~ -ɺam-namε ~ -lamε
-ɾamε
-ɺamæ ~-namæ
~ -damæ
daːmε ~ -ɾamε
~ -ɾɐmε~-damε

… /n₂/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-n₂- ɺ ɺ ɺ
sg. purposive-[i/e̝]n₂a -ɺa -iɺa ~ -ɛɺa -iɺa
stem *mo̝n₂æ buɺɛ moɺæ
brideprice *bun₂e̝ pʰuɺɛ pũɺɛ

Medial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ almost certainly existed, but it's not entirely clear whether it was deoccluded to [h] (as are intiials above) and then dropped or merged with the medial reflexes of voiced /*b/ [p b] (below):

Root-medial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is lenited to non-stop /ɺ/ in Pa, in parallel with the lenition of /*k/ to [g ɣ] (below.) As with initial /*t/ (above,) Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 5) specify that Kamula /t/ is dental::

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*-t- t [t̪]t t ɺ ɾ
urine *ute̝ ut̪i utɛ utɛ́ uɺɛ uɾi
waterfall *utu utu- utu ~ tu–
body *mo̝te̝ mot̪o butɛ butε ~ botε
tusk/tooth*bate̝ pat̪e pʰɛtɛ pʰεtε pɛ́ɾε
soft *bɔ-bɔtæ- po-pt̪æ- pʰo-pʰot-
upstream *t[ɔ/o̝]t[ɔ/o̝]t̪ot̪o tɔɺɔ

Pa medial [t] indicates a compound or a loan:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa StewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*-t- t [t̪]t t
another *a-te̝ atɛ ate-
forehead*dVbV-tVnV dapt̪aɺa dibitæɺæ

Medial laminal voiceless /*s/ … the only known example of Pa medial /s/ with a clear outcomparison, /wasi/ “war,” is probably a loan from Mountain Ok (below):

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-s- s s ?
skin disease*be̝se̝ni peseɺi psɛn

Medial velar voiceless stop /*k/ is lenited to voiced [g] in Voorhoeve's Ba and Shaw's Pare and to fricative [ɣ] in Waldeck's Pa, in parallel with the lenition of medial /*t/ to [ɺ] (above) :

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*-k- k k ɣ
being *-ke̝-da -k-ɺa -ke-ɾa ~ -ge-ɾa-ɣ-a -g-a
adj. suffix *-kaⁱna -kina -kena ~ -kina -ɣæɺæ -gɐnε ~ -genε
stone *ike̝ ikɛ ikè igj- igi
shoulder *makæ makæ bɛkɛ ~ ᵐbɛkɛ
~ mɛkɛ
bεkε mæɣæ megè
below *mo̝ka buk- moɣa- ~ mɔɣæ-
count/read *pijakV- hjæk- hjãɣæ
pierce/burst *bo̝ko̝- poko- pku- põɣu ~ pɔɣu
rattan/rope *tike̝ tʰikɛ tʰikè ~ tike -tiɣi ~ -tiɣɛtigi
flat bark/nail*d[a/ɔ]kæ dokɛ dokε -daɣæ dagɛ́
rafter *saka saka ska sãgã ~ sãɣã
coconut *kɔbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokε kɔbowæ (?) kɑbogε
fence *ko̝ko̝ ɣɔɣɔ kòː ~ kògò
song *jɔkæ jokɛ eɣæ ~ iɣæ

… /*k/ …:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-k- k ø
egg/fruit/seed*m[ɔ/o̝]k[ɔ/o̝]moko mo ~ mɔ

… /*k/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-k- k k
left/crooked*we̝ke̝ weke wɛkɛ wɛ-kæɺæ

Medial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ is devoiced to /p/ in Aekyom and in Kamula. Most likely it was devoiced in pre-Pa as well before leniting in parallel with voiceless stops /t k/ (below,) a process which likewise affects Voorhoeve's Awin. As with initial /*b/ (above,) Routamaa and Routamaa (1995: 4) state that Kamula /p/ is optionally realized as fricative [ɸ], while Reesink's (1976: 2) Kamula [dɾaβa] “fire” (cf. Routamaa's /dɺapa/) suggests that this fricative can be voiced as well:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa StewartVoorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*-b- p [p ɸ]p p [p b] b b
bush *ab[a/ɔ]n[ɔ/o̝]apaɺo aboɺɔ
cuirass *nabo̝ napu nabɔ ~ nabu
~napo
cleared ground*tɔbɔ t̪opopo tʰop-
forehead *dVbV-tVnV dapt̪aɺa dibitæɺæ
crocodile *do̝be̝ dupɛ dupè ~ dopε dobɛ dobé
island *dubi dupi
heart *duba dupa
head *ke̝ba keba keba
man *k[ɔ/o̝]b[a/ɔ] opa kobo ~ kɔbokobo

… /*b/ …

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*CVˈb- Cw CVb
coconut*kɔbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokεkɔbowæ kɑbogε

Aspiration in Aekyom word-medial /p/ [pʰ] (< /*b/) indicates a morpheme boundaty, in this instance due to reduplication:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*(-)b- p p [pʰ]
soft*bɔ-bɔtæ- po-pt̪æ-pʰo-pʰot-

One example … /p/ [pʰ] …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*(-)b- p p [pʰ] p
heavy*[u]bije̝[na] upie- pʰjɛna pienà pɛɺa peɾà

Medial apical voiced stop /*d/ is lenited to apical non-stop /ɺ/ in Aekyom and in Kamula and dropped altogether in Pa:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*-d- ɺ ɺ ø
presemt *-da -ɺa -ɾa -a -a
scar *udV uɺu uɺɛ uɾε u ùː
thigh *madina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
ear *m[ɔ/o̝]d[ɔ/o̝]moɺo mo- mo-
light (weight) *po̝dVkV hoɺoka- hukʷæ howa-
heart/feelings *bɔdɔwV poɺoa- pʰɺoᵋ pʰɾõε
tie/wrap *bo̝di- poɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
close eyes *budi- puɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
afternoon *tamidæ t̪amiɺæ- tɛme tεme
flea/mite *dide̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
hear *dade̝- daɺe- daɾe- dae da-
sap/juice *d[a/ɔ]d[æ/a] daɺa doɺɛ
paddle *so̝de̝ soɺe- sūɺɛ
being *-ke̝-da -k-ɺa -ke-ɾa ~ -ge-ɾa -ɣ-a -g-a
bone *ke̝dɔ eɺo kɺo ~ kʰɺokɾoː ~ kʰɾò koː ~ ko
leech *gimada imaɺa gimæ gemε
younger brother*gɔmɔdV gmoɺɛ ŋgɐmoɾé ~
ŋgɐmonε
gomo gòmò ~ gamu-

Because the medial reflexes of /*n *d/ are distinguished only in Pa and in Aekyom only intervocalically, the medial consonant in one root attested only in Kamula and in Aekyom is indeterminate between /*n/ and /*d/:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-[n/d]- ɺ ɺ ɾ
one*tV[n/d]o̝ t̪ɺo tɺu tɾu-

Velar voiced stop /*g/ has not been found to occur medially.

Medial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*-w- w
louse *awV aᵘwɛ ɔ òː
grandmother *awa awa ɔwo òwò
house post *uwe̝ -wé -wɛ uwɛ
taro *pVwa hwa- hɤwa
whistle/yodel*do̝wV dowe-ɺe-duwa
straight *do̝wa do- duwa ~ du- dowa ~ dua du-
sky/cloud *kɔwe̝ kʰʷoᵋ kʰoε -ɣuwɛ kow-
now/today *k[o̝/u]wa(-tV)wa-t̪a kʰʷa- ~ -kʷa kʷa-tɛ

Medial palatal non-stop /*j/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-j- j
sharp/angry*kVjɔma kʰjoma kiòma
*-j- ø
heel/ankle *gije̝ gjε ge ~ gigé ~ gi
*-j-/æ_a j ø ø
grub *wæja wæja we
*-j-/a_a j ø ø
house *aja aja a a
house post *aja uwe̝ æ-wɛ æ-wé a uwɛ
sago *daja daja ~ da-da ~ ⁿda ~ ⁿdaːdaː da daː

… /*j/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*-j-/e̝_ ø j [ɣ]
bird *te̝ja t̪ea teɣæ tigεː ~ tegεː
*-j-/V_ j j [j ɣ]
flesh*sVjɔ saⁱjo sajo ~ sajúsijɔ ~ siɣuseí ~ siu

This process of alternation is synchronically ative in Pa, as is demonstrated in Waldeck's variant attestations of roots including [siɣa ~ sija] “skin/bark” and [kiɣɛ ~ kijɛ] “son”.

… nasal archiphoneme /*N/ … nasaliztion …

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*-N

… vowels and diphthongs …

High front vowel /*i/ is generally retained as such in all descendants:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*i i i i
carry on head*i i- i-
child/small *mi bi mi miː
name *pi hi hi ~ hiː hi hi hiː
this/here *pi hi hj-
drum sp. *bi pi pi pi
1 dl./pl. *ni ni ni
dog *ti ti tií
navel/middle *di di di di-
2 dl./pl. *gi gi gi gi gi
3 pl. *ji ji
black *di[ki] diki- dĩ- di-
head/brain *ˈmini bin ~ bi- miɺi-
stone *ike̝ ikɛ ikè igj- igi
breath/spirit*pine̝ hinɛ hiɺe
gum(s) *gine̝ -ŋgin -gilɛ
meat *dinæ dinɛ diɺæ
beetle sp. *kijame̝ kʰjamɛ kimɛ
count/read *pijakV- hjæk- hjãɣæ
leech *gimada imaɺa gimæ gemε
island *dubi dupi
skin disease *be̝se̝ni peseɺi psɛn

In a number of Aekyom verbs, the presence of /*i/ in the root is discernible by the palatalization of following present tense suffix /-ɺa -ɺaⁱ/ to [-ɺʲa ɺʲaⁱ] (q.v. Stewart 1989, n.d.: no page number):

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*i i i [ʲ] i
light fire*mi- mi- b-(ɺʲa)
make/do *ti- t̪i-
sing *gi- g-(ɺʲaⁱ) gi

…:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*… [ʲ]
hit/kill*ju- ju- ø jæ ~ ja

… /*aCi/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*aCi aCi aCi eCe
sand *d[a]ni dɺi ~ dɺnidɐni deɺe- dɐɾi ~ dεni (?)
sun/day *gani aɺi- gɛɺɛ ~ -kɛɺɛgeɾε ~ gelε
thigh *madina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
afternoon*tamidæ t̪amiɺæ- tɛme tεme

… /*aCi/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*aji
crab/crayfish*gaji gaⁱ gɛ̃ĩ

…:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*…
eye*kinɔ i- kʰɺo- ~ kʰɺno- kɛɺa- ~ keɺa-
~ keɺe- ~ keɺæ

… /*uCi *o̝Ci/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*uCi uCu uCi
close eyes*budi- puɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
*o̝Ci oCu uCi
tie/wrap *bo̝di- poɺu- pʰuɺʲ-

… /*uCe̝/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*uCe̝ uCi uCɛ uCe
urine*ute̝ ut̪i utɛ utɛ́ uɺɛ uɾi

High back rounded vowel /*u/ … [u ʉ] …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*u u u u [u ʉ]u u [u ʉ]
theft/adultery*u u- u u- ~ wu-
cloud/fog *u u u-
thorn/fin *tu t̪u tʰu tʰuː tu tuː
cook/burn *du- du- du- dʉ- dʉ-
2 pl. *gu
waterfall *utu utu- utu ~ tu–
rot/decay *pu[tu]- hut̪u- hu-
2 pl. *gu[jV] uw- ~ wu-gʷjo guo
inside/between*dunu duɺu dunu
tail of bird *sumV sum siʉmε
close eyes *budi- puɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
island *dubi dupi
urine *ute̝ ut̪i utɛ utɛ́ uɺɛ uɾi
house post *uwe̝ -wɛ -wé uwɛ
brideprice *bun₂e̝ pʰuɺɛ pũɺɛ
liver *wume̝ wumɛ wumè
scar *udV uɺɛ uɺu uɾε u ùː
banana *[t/d]uma t̪uma dma dumã
straight *do̝wa do- duwa ~ du-dowa ~ dua du-
heart *duba dupa
stick. *gum[a/ɔ] gumɔ guma
inside (?) *wamu wamu

High-mid front vowel /*e̝/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*e̝ e ɛ e [e ɛ]
tuber *-me̝ -m -mɛ
yesterday *te̝ tɛ ~ tʰ- tɛ́- te te
eat/drink *de̝- de- d- ~ ⁿd- de- de da-/di-/de-
do *de̝- de-
flower/fruit*ke̝ kʰɛ ~ -kɛ ke
belly *ge̝ne̝ eɺe- gɛnɛ gɛnɛ ~ ŋgεnε
left/crooked*we̝ke̝ weke wɛkɛ wɛ-
sago thatch *je̝me̝ eme jɛm-
skin disease*be̝se̝ni peseɺi psɛn
brother *e̝ji ei ẽĩ
bone *ke̝dɔ eɺo kɺo ~ kʰɺokɾoː ~ kʰɾò koː ~ ko
plant (v.) *e̝mV- e- emæ
sago thatch *te̝mæ tʰɛm temæ
bird *te̝ja t̪ea teɣæ tigεː ~ tegεː
head *ke̝ba keba keba
flea/mite *dide̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
house post *uwe̝ -wɛ -wé uwɛ
brideprice *bun₂e̝ pʰuɺɛ pũɺɛ
liver *wume̝ wumɛ wumè
fish *mo̝ne̝ bun bunε moɺɛ ~ mɔɺe
~ muɺɛ
munε
crocodile *do̝be̝ dupɛ dupè ~ dopε dobɛ dobé
paddle *so̝de̝ sūɺɛ soɺe-
sky/cloud *kɔwe̝ kʰʷoᵋ kʰoε -ɣuwɛ kow-
another *a-te̝ atɛ ate-
tusk/tooth *bate̝ pat̪e pʰɛtɛ pʰεtε pɛ́ɾε
stand/stay *pane̝- haɺe- haɺe ~ haɺi
hear *dade̝- daɺe- daɾe- dae da-
seed *kane̝ aɺe
beetle sp. *kijame̝ kʰjamɛ kimɛ

… /*iCe̝/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*e̝
stone *ike̝ ikɛ ikè igj- igi
breath/spirit*pine̝ hinɛ hiɺe
embers/ashes *tine̝ t̪iɺe tʰin tɛɺɛ tεnε
nose *kine̝ kʰi- kʰε- -kenε
heel/ankle *gije̝ gjε ge ~ gigé ~ gi
heavy *[u]bije̝[na] upie- pʰjɛna pienà pɛɺa peɾà

… /*e̝/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*e̝/j_ e i ~ e
tree*je̝ ĩ ~ ɪ ~ e

…:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*e̝ o ɛ
body*mo̝te̝ mot̪o butɛ butε ~ botε

High-mid back rounded vowel /*o̝/ is merged with the reflexes of high back rounded /*u/ in Stewart's Aekyom, but Voorhoeve's materials show the distinction between /*o̝/ [o u] and /*u/ [u ʉ] on the one hand and /*ɔ/ [o] on the other to be synchronically needed for at least some Aekyom dialects. Waldeck's Pa … Routamaa's Kamula …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*o̝ o u o̝ [o u]o̝ [o ɔ u] o̝ [o u oᵘ]
charcoal *o̝ u òː ɔ ~ o ô
buttocks *bo̝ pʰu pʰuː ~ pʰo pɔ- pò-
die/dead *bo̝- po- pʰu- po- pwòː
penis *do̝ doú
2 sg. abs. *go̝ gu gu ~ go go go
pierce/burst *bo̝ko̝- poko- pku- põɣu ~ pɔɣu
fence *ko̝ko̝ ɣɔɣɔ kòː ~ kògò
one *tV[n/d]o̝ t̪ɺo tɺu tɾu-
tie/wrap *bo̝di- poɺu- pʰuɺʲ-
fish *mo̝ne̝ bun bunε moɺɛ ~ mɔɺe
~ muɺɛ
munε
body *mo̝te̝ mot̪o butɛ butε ~ botε
stem *mo̝n₂æ buɺɛ moɺæ
below *mo̝ka buk- moɣa- ~ mɔɣæ-
crocodile *do̝be̝ dupɛ dupè ~ dopε dobɛ dobé
whistle/yodel *do̝wV dowe-ɺe-duwa
straight *do̝wa do- duwa ~ du-dowa ~ dua du-
paddle *so̝de̝ soɺe- sūɺɛ
light (weight)*po̝dVkV hoɺoka- hukʷæ howa
cuirass *nabo̝ napu nabɔ ~ nabu
~napo

Low-mid back rounded vowel /*ɔ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
o [o ɔ]ɔ ɔ [ɔ o]
excrement o
1 sg. abs. *nɔ no no no nɔ ~ nɔ̃
earth/ground *tɔ tʰo tòò to tóò
not know/forget*wɔ wo-wo- wɔ-
3 sg. abs. *jɔ jo jo
cleared ground *tɔbɔ t̪opopo tʰop-
make/do *pɔmV- hom- homæ
wild *tɔnV tʰona tɔ̃ɺæ
white *kɔnæ kon- kɔ̃- kònε ~ kõ-
soft *bɔ-bɔtæ- po-pt̪æ- pʰo-pʰot-
goanna *sɔnɔmæ sɺom sɔɺɔmæ
coconut *kɔbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokε kɔbowæ kɑbogε
heart/feelings *bɔdɔwV poɺoa- pʰɺoᵋ pʰɾõε
younger brother*gɔmɔdV gmoɺɛ ŋgɐmoɾé ~
ŋgɐmonε
gomo gòmò ~ gamu-
sharp/angry *kVjɔma kʰjoma kiòma
bone *ke̝dɔ eɺo kɺo ~ kʰɺokɾoː ~ kʰɾò koː ~ ko

In one example where /*ɔ/ is followed by bilabial non-stop /*w/, it is given as [u] in Waldeck's Pa; compare the backing and rounding of /*a/ followed by /*w/ (below):

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*ɔ/_w
sky/cloud*kɔwe̝ kʰʷoᵋ kʰoε kũ- ~ -ɣuwɛkow-

Because the reflexes of low-mid back rounded /*ɔ/ are reliably distinguished from those of high-mid /*o̝/ only in Aekyom (above) and by outcomparison, a number of roots attested only in Kamula and in Pa have vowels which are indeterminate between /*o̝ *ɔ/:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
*[ɔ/o̝] o
bow *t[ɔ/o̝] t̪o tòː
ear *m[ɔ/o̝]d[ɔ/o̝]moɺo mo- mo-
egg/fruit/seed*m[ɔ/o̝]k[ɔ/o̝]moko mo ~ mɔ
upstream *t[ɔ/o̝]t[ɔ/o̝]t̪ot̪o tɔɺɔ
man *k[ɔ/o̝]b[a/ɔ] opa kobo ~ kɔbokobo
mushroom *ab[ɔ/o̝][wV] apo abowæ

Low front vowel /*æ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
æ æ
give *dæ- dæ- da de-
1 sg. refl.*næ
2 sg. refl.*gæ kæ (?)
3 sg. refl.*jæ

Monosyllabic roots of the form /*æ/ become /e/ in Routamaa and Routamaa's Kamula:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*æ/#_# e æ æ
this/that e æ
lie down/sleep*æ- e- æ æ

… /*æ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
æ æ
grub*wæja wæja we

… /*æ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
æ ɛ æ
meat *dinæ dinɛ diɺæ
flat bark/nail*d[a/ɔ]kæ dokɛ dokε -daɣæ dagɛ́
song *jɔkæ jokɛ eɣæ ~ iɣæ
coconut *kɔbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokεkɔbowæ kɑbogε
pig *m₂aⁱnæ minɛ ~ miːnɛ minɛ́ ~ mené mæɺæ mεɾε
shoulder *makæ makæ bɛkɛ ~ ᵐbɛkɛ
~ mɛkɛ
bεkε mæɣæ megè

Low central vowel /*a/ …:

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
Routamaa Stewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*a a a a a
arm *a- a- a- a-
same sbj. seq.*-a -a -a
and *m₂a ma ma
participle *-ma -ma -ma
that/there *pa ha- ha-
presemt *-da -ɺa -ɾa -a -a
speech/say *sa sa- sa sa
sugarcane *ga ga ~ ŋa ~ ᵑga gã ~ ga ga gaː
beak *ga ga ~ ŋa ~ ᵑga ga
house *aja aja a a
knee/leg *tama tʰama tʰama tamá-
sago *daja daja ~ da-da ~ ⁿda ~ ⁿdaːdaː da daː
rafter *saka saka ska sãgã ~ sãɣã
hold *pamV- ham- ham-
set on fire *kamV- kʰam- kamæ
inside (?) *wamu wamu
another *a-te̝ atɛ ate-
stand/stay *pane̝- haɺe- haɺe ~ haɺi
hear *dade̝- daɺe- daɾe- dae da-
seed *kane̝ aɺe
cuirass *nabo̝ napu nabɔ ~ nabu
~napo
mushroom *ab[ɔ/o̝][wV] apo abowæ
bush *ab[a/ɔ]n[ɔ/o̝]apaɺo aboɺɔ
knowledge *man[æ/a] maɺa- bɺæ- bɾe- ma- mã- ~ maɾa-
put inside *pamV- hama- ham-
banana *[t/d]uma t̪uma dma dumã
heart *duba dupa
head *ke̝ba keba keba
being *-ke̝-da -k-ɺa -ke-ɾa ~ -ge-ɾa-ɣ-a -g-a
below *mo̝ka buk- moɣa-
sharp/angry *kVjɔma kʰjoma kiòma
now/today *k[o̝/u]wa(-tV)wa-t̪a kʰʷa- ~ -kʷa kʷa-tɛ

… /*a/ followed by /*w/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*a/_w a a ɔ
louse *awV aᵘwɛ ɔ òː
grandmother*awa awa ɔwo òwò

… /*aCæ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*aCæ aCæ ɛCɛ æCæ
shoulder*makæ makæ bɛkɛ ~ ᵐbɛkɛ
~ mɛkɛ
bεkε mæɣæ megè

This phenomenon is synchronically visible in Waldeck's Pa where several roots with final low central /a/ are followed by locative suffix /-pæ/ [-bæ] or the adjective-deriving suffix /-kæɺæ/ [-xæɺæ -kæɺæ]:

base location
aæ-bæ
below moɣa mɔɣæ-bæ
base adjective
aæ-ɣæɺæ
unripepwa pwæ-ɣæɺæ

…:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*ˈamæ am amε amæ amε
hole*-ˈnamæ -nam ~ -ɺam-namε ~ -lamε
-ɾamε
-ɺamæ ~-namæ
~ -damæ
daːmε ~ -ɾamε
~ -ɾɐmε~-damε

… /*iCa/ … see also Pa /kjæ-xɔ/ “nettle” which is a loan from Papuan Plateau / (below):

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*iCa a æ a æa ε
count/read*pijakV- hjæk- hjãɣæ
leech *gimada imaɺa gimæ gemε

… /*iCa/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*iCa a ø
beetle sp.*kijame̝ kʰjamɛ kimɛ

Front rising diphthong /*aⁱ/ …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve WaldeckVoorhoeve
*aⁱ e i æ
tongue/flame*taⁱ t̪e tʰi ~ t̪ʰi tʰêː ~ tʰee tεː
*aⁱ ? i æ
pig *m₂aⁱnæ minɛ ~ miːnɛminɛ́ ~ mené mæɺæ mεɾε
adj. suffix *-kaⁱna -kina -kena ~ -kina-ɣæɺæ -gɐnε ~ -genε
*aⁱ æ i æ
where? *daⁱ di di- dæ-

… stress …

Aekyom … initial clusters … :

Kamula-Elevala Kamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*#CVˈC CC CVC CVC
knowledge *maˈnV maɺa- bɺæ- bre- ma- mã- ~ maɾa-
pierce/burst *bo̝ˈko̝- poko- pku- põɣu ~ pɔɣu
banana *[t/d]uˈma t̪uma dma dumã
one *tVˈ[n/d]o̝ t̪ɺo tɺu tɾu-
sand *d[a]ˈni dɺi ~ dɺni dɐni deɺe- dɐɾi ~ dεni
rafter *saˈka saka ska sãgã ~ sãɣã
thunder *kima[nV] kʰma ~ kʰim- kimɛɺɛ
eye *kiˈnɔ i- kʰɺo- ~ kʰɺno- kɛɺa- ~ keɺa-
~ keɺe- ~ keɺæ
bone *ke̝ˈdɔ eɺo kɺo ~ kʰɺo kroː ~ kʰrò koː ~ ko
now/today *k[o̝/u]ˈwa(-tV)wa-t̪a kʰʷa- ~ -kʷa kʷa-tɛ
thigh *maˈdina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
skin disease *be̝ˈse̝ni peseɺi psɛn
heart/feelings *bɔˈdɔwV poɺoa- pʰɺoᵋ pʰɾõε
flea/mite *diˈde̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
coconut *kɔˈbɔkæ kʰwokε kʰokε ~ kwokε kɔbowæ kɑbogε
younger brother*gɔmɔdV gmoɺɛ ŋgɐmoɾé ~
ŋgɐmonε
gomo gòmò ~ gamu-

… monosyllabic verb roots /*CV-/ … Aekyom … using present tense /-ɺa/ (< /*-da/) for illustration:

Kamula-ElevalaAekyom
*CV- C
*…
*ˈCV CV
die*bo̝- pu-ɺa
see*d[i]- di-ɺa

Aekyom is unique among Kamula-Elevala River lagnuages in allowing either of two final consonants, nasals /m n/. In both instances these became final when destressed final vowels were dropped:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*ˈCVmV# CVmVCVm CVmV
smell *ˈb[a/ɔ]mV- pa- pʰom pomæ
hole *-ˈnamæ -nam ~ -ɺam-namε ~ -lamε
-ɾamε
-ɺamæ ~-namæ
~ -damæ
daːmε ~ -ɾamε
~ -ɾɐmε~-damε
sago thatch *ˈte̝mæ tʰɛm temæ
tail of bird*ˈsumV sum siʉmε
flea/mite *diˈde̝me̝ dɺʲɛm dɛmɛ
goanna *sɔˈnɔmæ sɺom sɔɺɔmæ
*ˈCVnV# CVɺVCVn CVɺV
head/brain *ˈmini bin ~ bi- miɺi-
fish *ˈmo̝ne̝ bun bunε moɺɛ ~ mɔɺe
~ muɺɛ
munε
embers/ashes*ˈtine̝ t̪iɺe tʰin tɛɺɛ tεnε
gum(s) *ˈgine̝ -ŋgin -gilɛ
thigh *maˈdina maɺɺa bɺin bɾinε meɺe- mene
skin disease*be̝ˈse̝ni peseɺi psɛn

Stressed final vowels were not dropped:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewart Voorhoeve Waldeck Voorhoeve
*CVˈmV# CVmVCVmV
banana *[t/d]uˈma t̪uma dma dumã
*CVˈnV# CVɺVCVnV CVɺV
pig *m₂aⁱˈnæ minɛ ~ miːnɛminɛ́ ~ mené mæɺæ mεɾε
breath/spirit *piˈne̝ hinɛ hiɺe
wild *tɔˈnV tʰona tɔ̃ɺæ
meat *diˈnæ dinɛ diɺæ
sand *d[a]ˈni dɺi ~ dɺni dɐni deɺe- dɐɾi ~ dεni
inside/between*duˈnu duɺu dunu
adj. suffix *-kaⁱna -kina -kena ~ -kina-ɣæɺæ -gɐnε ~ -genε
belly *ge̝ne̝ eɺe- gɛnɛ gɛnɛ ~ ŋgεnε

… reduction …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa Ba
RoutamaaStewartVoorhoeveWaldeckVoorhoeve
*…

Pronouns

[under construction]

… with Aekyom attestations drawn from Stewart (1989: 49-50, 2016,) Awin (Aekyom) from Voorhoeve (1975: 389-390,) Pa from Voorhoeve (1975: 390-391) and Waldeck (2016, 2017) and Kamula from Routamaa (1994: 14-15, 45, Routamaa and Routamaa 2007):

… absolutive subject …:

Kamula-ElevalaAekyom Awin Pa Pa
StewartVoorhoeveWaldeck Voorhoeve
1 sg.*nɔ no no nɔ ~ nɔ̃
2 sg.*go̝ gu gu go go
3 sg.*jɔ jo jo [heɣa] ?
1 pl. kʷjo kʉo [ni(-ɣi) ~ ni(-ki)]neke
2 pl. gʷjo guo [gi] geke
3 pl.*… ko ka (?) [heɣa] ?
1 dl.*ni; *ki ki ki ni(-ɣi) ~ ni(-ki) ni(-gi)
2 dl.*gi gi gi gi gi
3 dl.*… ti ? [heɣa] ?

… possessive and active or object …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom Awin Pa
RoutamaaStewart VoorhoeveVoorhoeve
1 sg.*nɔ-aN no-ø ~ n-an-a nɔ̃-ã
2 sg.*go̝-aN gu-a go-a gɔ-ã
3 sg.*j[ɔ]-aN j-a j-a ?
1 pl. kʷj-a ku-a nek-ã
2 pl. gʷj-a gu-a gek-ã
3 pl. k-a k-a ?
1 dl.*ni-aN; *ki-aN ki-a ki-a ni-ã
2 dl.*gi-aN gi-a gi-a gi-ã
3 dl. ti-a ? ?

… possessed object …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Pa
RoutamaaVoorhoeve
1 sg.*… n-oɺe
2 sg.*… w-oɺe
3 sg.*… j-oɺe
1 pl.*… di-oɺe
2 pl.*… uw-oɺe
3 pl.*… ji-oɺe
1 dl.*…
2 dl.*…
3 dl.*…

… emphatic subject …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom
RoutamaaStewart
1 sg.*n-æ n-æ n-æ
2 sg.*g-æ w-æ k-æ (?)
3 sg.*j-æ j-æ j-æ
1 pl. [di(-æ)]?
2 pl.wu-æ ?
3 pl. ji(-æ) ?

… inalienable possessor …:

Kamula-ElevalaKamula Aekyom
Routamaa Stewart
1 sg. næ- ~ n-
2 sg. wæ- ~ w-
3 sg. jæ- ~ j-
1 pl. [di-]
2 pl. uw- ~ wu-
3 pl. ji-

Verbal morphology

[under construction]


Counting system

[under construction]


Loans from neighboring families

[under construction]

Aekyom… Mountain Ok and Lowland Ok sufamilies of Ok …

Aekyom Mountain OkLowland Ok
grandmother ahwoᵋ *… *apok
mountain ægu ~ æŋu
~ æŋgu
*am-ŋgo̞
turtle ambum(ɛ) *ambɔːm *ambom
rhino beetleubinɛ *umiːn
carpet snakeutan *utaːn
nose tʰumɛ *mítuːm *mitu
fat/grease ptokɛ *mitak
dog psæn *mVjaːn
mouth gat- ~ mgat- *maŋgat *maŋgot
mother's br.mom *mɔːm *mom
rubbish mon *mɔːn
bow/gun dimin ~ dɛmin *tinim *tinim
bat spp. smin *sVmiːn
man/person kɺu *kino̝m
bamboo pipe kʰɛtɛ *ke̝ːt *ket
ear kʰɛndokɛ *kindɔːŋg *kende
hornbill kʰʷiɺɛ *kawe̝ːɾ *kaweɾ
skin kʰatɛ *kaːɾ *kaɾ
canoe kɺo ~ kʰno *kono
widow kʰʷiɺɛ *kʷe̝ːt
garden ɺoŋ *ɾaŋg *joŋg

(Mountain Ok tone is contrastive but is not indicated here.)

At least one of these is found also in Pa:

AekyomPa Mountain Ok
enemy/warwasi wasi*waːsi

Austen's (1924-1925: 75) Upper Fly River vocabulary includes a number of Mountain Ok and Lowland Ok words not found in other attested varieties of Aekyom, to the point where it appears to be a mixed language (or a corrupt elicitation):

Upper FlyMountain OkLowland Ok
taro iman *jVmæn *jamen
house am *am *am
bird un *aw̝ɔːn *on
net bag men *me̝ːn *men
hole -tem *te̝ːm *tem
cassowarybia
finger teŋ *taⁱŋ͜g *taŋgi
tobacco suk *sawuk *…
cucumber kimit *kimit *kumit
eye kin *kiːn *kin
pig kuŋ *kVŋ͜g *kʷaŋg
drum wɔːs *wɔːs *wot
water wox *ɔːk *ok
leg ian *jaːn *jon

(Mountain Ok and Lowland Ok “tobacco” must be loans as well.)

(The term for “cucumber” is also given for Austen's Awin of Western Donaldson Range.)

… “shoulder” …:

… ultimately from Central Mandobo via Muyu, with Kati I (Katì Metòmka, i.e. South Muyu) and Kaeti (Central Mandobo) attestations drawn from Drabbe (1959: 170-171.) The reason for assuming this to be a loan rather than a legitimate retention of Central Digul River /*waki/ is that low central vowel /*a/ has been raised to in Central Mandobo due to the influence of high front /*i/ in the next syllable (q.v. Healey 1970: 1004, 1007-1008, 1047,) which is not known to be a rule in Aekyom:

AekyomKati IKaetiWambon
bamboo knifewɛki wɛki wɛgi *waki

… Strickland River …

AekyomStrickland River
good duwa *d[uwe]
waterwai *hʷṼⁱ

… with Konai from Arsjö (2016: 111):

Aekyom KonaiMount Sisa
inner earkʰɛhɛ-namkɛhɛ̃*kɛ̃hɛ

The term for “paddle” may well come from Strickland River despite its presence in Aekyom and reconstructability for Kamula-Elevala River, with Odoodee attestation drawn from Hays and Hays (2016: 47):

KamulaAekyomOdoodee
paddlesoɺe- sūɺɛ suda

By far the least adulterated Kamula-Elevala River language is Pa … Pa initial /b/ cannot occur in roots descending from proto-Kamula-Elevala River …

Pa
breast bu
fat/greasesa

A good number of Kamula words are shared with Dibiyaso (Bainapi) of the Papuan Plateau family and/or the Soari River languages, Doso and Turumsa, to the south, with Dibiyaso, Doso and Turumsa attestations drawn from Rueck, MacKenzie and Alemán (2005: 8-20, Dibiyaso after MacKenzie and Carr, Doso and Turumsa after Carr):

Kamula DibyasoDoso Turumsa
father a
sand asiɺa ˈasiɾa
blood omaɺi oˈmali ˈomari
cloud uwaɺa ˈwaɾa
shoulder makæ makea
egg/seed moko moˈko ˈboko boˈko
taro bipi ˈbipi
older brotherbapa ˈbapa ˈbapa
older sister nana ˈnana ˈnana
nape t̪umuku tiˈmoku
fire dɺapa daɾuaˈu
round siɾi-dəna [gr] ˈsiridimi ˈsiridomo
sweet potato siapuɺu siˈaplisiˈabuɾu siabiɾi
dog es-emaɺa kaˈsa ˈkasa
wallaby kapija kaˈpia kapia
arrow sp. koseɺe kosɛdeⁱ [rds]
belly koko kùˈkŏ
mother wai ˈwai ˈwai ˈwai
cassowary wat̪ɺa waːtaɾa waːtaɾa
yes jo [gr] jao

… Papuan Plateau, probably via Dibiyaso …:

KamulaPa P. Plateau
pandanus oka *o̝ga
mother's br.bapo babo*babɔ

… Fasu from May and Loeweke (1981):

Pa P. PlateauFasu
nettlekjæ-xɔ*k[i/e̝]jakĩã̀

… Aramia River … with Gogodara (Gogodala,) Adiba and Waruna attestations drawn from Riley (1930-1931: 172-189):

KamulaWarunaAdibaGogodara
taro bipi bibi bibi
paddle kijaɺikeari kearikeari
breadfruitkoke kawaki
canoe koa gwawa gawa gawa
fowl gagapokakaba
yam wisa waisawaisa

In addition to these, Routamaa and Routamaa (2007) identify a number of other Kamula words as being loans from Gogodala where we have no direct attestation in Aramia River available to us. It may be observed that most of these terms together with those above refer either to crop cultivation or to waterfaring, in opposition to the Kamula's traditionally inland hunting and gathering mode of subsistence:

Kamula
fishing neteɺeke
mango mimi
papaya menat̪o
arrow sp. beni
rust bekeɺe-
rubbish kakapa

As we have only survey vocabularies for these southern languages, it is probable that there remain many more loans between them and Kamula to be found. An estimate of how many might be projected from the very large number of entries in Routamaa and Routamaa's (2007) Kamula dictionary with initial stops /b k g/, which cannot occur in roots descending from proto-Kamula-Elevala River (nor is initial apical non-stop /ɺ/ found in native words, but all four examples with this are loans from English.)

Several terms found in Aekyom and Pa, and thus reconstructed for proto-Kamula-Elevala River, might suggest that Aramia River languages were once spoken well to the northwest of their current range:

Kamula-ElevalaAekyomPa WarunaAdibaGogodara
crocodile*do̝be̝ dupɛ dobɛdupa dupa dupa
crab *gaji gaⁱ gɛ̃ĩkaia kaia kaia

… Mount Bosavi … with Kaluli drawn from Schieffelin and Feld (1998) and Onobasulu from Dondop (2007):

KamulaKaluli Onobasulu
leg bandgæhæɺagɛheɺa ~ gɛhɛɺa
~ gehena
gɛhala

… Fly River (Anim) … (Usher and Suter 2015: 128-129):

Kamula DibiyasoInland GulfFly River
napet̪umukutiˈmoku *tumuku *temuk
seedaɺe *kane *kan[e/a]

… Fly River (Anim) …:

KamulaPa DibyasoInland GulfLake MurrayFly River
egg/fruit/seedmoko mo ~ mɔmoˈko *mo-moko *moko *moko

… Fly River (Anim) …:

PaLake MurrayFly River
excrementna *na

… “crocodile” … Fasu from May and Loeweke (1981)…:

KamulaKaluli OnobasuluFasu Omati RiverKiwai
crocodilesipaɺasijɔbeɺasiobɛlo sipinà*sibita *sibaro

The Kamula word for “dog” is suffixed with diminitive /-jemaɺa/ and derives ultimately from Malayo-Polynesian /*asu/ (Blust.) It was introduced to the Morehead region alongside a number of other Central Malayo-Polynesian terms, where the Morehead River languages regularly add velar nasal /*ŋ/ to roots beginning with low vowels /*æ *a/. This /*ŋ/ was reinterpreted by neighboring languages as a prenaasalized or plain voiced stop /*ŋg *g/ and it spread throughout the region (Usher and Suter 2015: 131;) /*g/ was then regularly dropped (above) in Kamula:

Kamula Soari RiverInland GulfWest MoreheadBanda Sea
doges-emaɺa*kasa *gaso *ŋɐθɒ *asu

… “tobacco” … here the failure of medial /k/ to lenit to voiced fricative [ɣ] in Pa indicates a loan rather than a compound:

AekyomPa
tobaccoskupɛ sokobæ

… “sweet potato” …:

Kamula Pa Kaluli Onobasulu Fasu
sweet potatosiapuɺusubu-siabuɺuisabulu (?)supuɾù

Loans from Motu (Petterson 1999: 112, p.c) are found in all three languages:

Kamula Aekyom Pa Motu Tok Pisin
citrus sipoɺo sɔpɔɺɔsiporo
mosquito nett̪enamatʰɛnam~tʰɛⁱnam tainamutaunam