Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
[under construction]
The Digul River-Ok family is comprised of perhaps 32 or more languages spoken …
The internal classification of Digul RIver-Ok is as follows:
Digul River-Ok
Ok
Ngalum
Kopkaka-Kwer
Nakai-Tangko
Lowland Ok
Mountain Ok
Digul River
Sawuy
Central Digul River
Awyu
Ndeiram River
Dumut
North Digul River
Awbono-Bayono
Becking and Dawi Rivers
It is not clear that Oksapmin belongs with Ok, as is argued by Loughnane and Fedden (2011,) or if the similarities reflect mutual influence between Oksapmin and Mountain Ok, especially Bimin (Healey 1964: 115) alongside a core of common inheritence from Trans New Guinea (i.e. personal pronouns and gender.)
[under construction]
Drabbe (1950, 1957, 1059) Awju group
Healey (1964) Proto-Mountain Ok, Proto Lowland Ok and Proto-Ok
Voorhoeve (1968: 3-5) Asmat-Awyu-Ok Family in proposed Central and South New Guinea Stock.
Healey (1970) proto-Awyu-Dumut with some comparisons to his (1964) Mountain Ok reconstructions.
Voorhoeve (1971) adds Sawuj.
Greenberg (1971: 825-829) Ok and Awju subgroups of Southwest New Guinea alonside Marind, Tirio and Kukukuku (Angan) subgroups. Greenberg's Ok group wrongly includes Dumut.
Voorhoeve (2000) adds Kombai
Voorhoeve (2005) compares his (1980) proto-Asmat-Kamoro to Healey's proto-Awyu-Dumut and proto-Mountain Ok. Despite his equivocal conclusions, the data presented show Awyu-Dumut and Ok to be much more similar to one another than either is to Asmat.
Loughnane and Fedden (2011) Oksapmin and Ok
de Vries (2012) …
van den Heuvel, de Vries et al. (CITE) independently propose the inclusion of Becking-Dawi with Awyu-Dumut in a Greater Awyu family upon the basis of shared morphology.
The following presentation is necessarily greatly indebted to Healey's (1964) proto-Ok, Lowland Ok and Mountain Ok and (1970) Awyu-Dumut. Many of the comparisons presented below are also found in Voorhoeve (2005: 154-158,) with some differences in their details.
[under construction]
Digul River-Ok had 15 consonants and … vowels as follows:
| *m | *n | |||
| *p | *t | *s | *k | *kʷ |
| *mb | *nd | *ndz | *ŋg | *ŋgʷ |
| *w | *ɾ | *j |
| *i | *u | |
| *… | *… | |
| *… | *… | |
| *a |
Any consonant and any vowel can occur initially, medially or finally. Consonant clusters occur only in compounds.
Initially and medially, consonant values are generally unchanged:
| Digul-Ok | Digul | Ok |
| *m | *m | *m |
| *n | *n | *n |
| *p | *p | *p |
| *t | *t | *t |
| *s | ? | *s |
| *k | *k | *k |
| *kʷ | *kʷ | *kʷ |
| *mb | *mb | *mb |
| *nd | *nd | *nd |
| *ndz | *ndz | *ndz |
| *ŋg- | *ŋg | *k |
| *-ŋg- | *ŋg | *ŋg |
| *ŋgʷ | ||
| *ɾ | *ɾ | *ɾ |
| *j | *j | *j |
| *w | *w | *w |
The contrast between final plain and prenasalized stops is neutralized in Digul River:
| Digul-Ok | Digul | Ok |
| *-m | *m | *m |
| *-n | *n | *n |
| *-p | *p | *p |
| *-t | *t | *t |
| *-s | ? | *s |
| *-k | *k | *k |
| *-mb | *p | *mb |
| *-nd | *t | *nd |
| *-ndz | ? | *ndz |
| *-ŋg | *n | *ŋg |
| *-ɾ | *ɾ | *ɾ |
These correspondences are exemplified as follows:
[under construction]
[vowels undergoing major revision]
Initial and medial nasals /*m *n/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *m | *m | *m | |
| star | *min | *min | *min- |
| hot | *mam[y]n | *mam[y]n | *mam[y]n |
| mouth/tooth | *maŋgot | *maŋgot | *maŋgot |
| dog | *majaːn | *m[a]jan | *majaːn |
| mother's br. | *moːm | *mom | *moːm |
| gall/bile | *muːŋg | *mun | *muːŋg |
| *n | *n | *n | |
| rattan/rope | *n[aː/oː]ŋg | *nan | *n[aː/oː]ŋg |
Initial voiceless stops /*p *t *k/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *p- | *p | *p | |
| tongue | *poːŋg | *pon-kat | *poːŋg |
| blow | |||
| good | *ja[:]p[i/eː] | *jap[i/e] | *ja[:]p |
| *t- | *t | *t | |
| dog | *t[i/eː]nd | *t[i/e]t | *tind |
| hole | *t[eː/oː]mb | *top | *teːmb |
| armpit | *taŋgon | *taŋgon | *taŋgon |
| fat/grease | *tukur | *tukur | *tukur |
| *k- | *k | *k | |
| eye | *kiːn(-roːp) | *kin-rop | *kiːn(-roːp) |
| flower | *keːt | *ket | *keːt |
| blood/m's house | *kaim | *kaim | *kaim |
| hornbill | *kaweːr | *kawer | *kaweːr |
| bitter | *k[aː/oː]k | *k[a/o]k | *k[aː/oː]k |
| die | *k[oː/y]m[i] | *k[o/y]m[i] | |
| side of neck | *kum[a] | *kum[a] | *kum |
| goura pigeon | *k[oː/u]t[i/eː]m | *k[o/u]t[i/e]m | *k[u]t[i]m |
| bone | *kundoːR | *kundor | *kundoːR |
Laminal /*s/ is rare:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *s | *s | ||
| far | *… | *… | *samaːn |
Initial anterior prenasalized stops /*mb *nd *ndz/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *mb- | *mb | *mb | |
| wing | |||
| not | *mb[eː/a] | *mb[e] | *mba |
| elbow | *mbVn-[k/ŋg]up | *mb[o]n-[k/ŋg]up | *mb[a/o]ŋgup |
| mouth/lip(s) | *mboːn(-kaːnd) | *mbon(-kat) | *mboːn(-kaːnd) |
| *nd- | *nd | *nd | |
| heart | *nd[y]mb-roːp | *… | *nd[y[mb-roːp |
| *ndz- | *ndz | *ndz | |
| banana | *ndzuːmb | *ndzup | *ndzuːmb |
There is conflicting evidence in regard to the disposition of initial velar /*ŋg/. The bases of the second-person pronouns are reflected as /*ŋg/ in Digul River but as /*k/ in Ok, where comparison to other subfamilies of Trans New Guinea shows /*ŋg/ to be original:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *ŋg- | *ŋg | *k | |
| 2 sg. m. | *ŋge(-p) | — | *ke(-p) |
| 2 sg. f. | *ŋgu(-p) | *ŋgup | *ku(-p) |
| 2 pl. | *ŋgi(-p) | *ŋgip | *ki(-p) |
…
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *ŋg- | *ŋg | *ŋg | |
| kidney | *ŋg[ai][nd/r] | *ŋg[ai][nd/r] | *ŋg[ai][nd/r] |
Medial nasals /*m *n/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-m- | *m | *m | |
| die | *k[oː/y]m[i] | *k[o/y]m[i] | |
| side of neck | *kum[a] | *kum[a] | *kum |
| *-n- | *n | *n | |
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-p- | *p | *p | |
| good | *ja[:]p[i/eː] | *jap[i/e] | *ja[:]p |
| *-t- | *t | *t | |
| goura pigeon | *k[oː/u]t[i/eː]m | *k[oː/u]t[i/eː]m | *k[u]t[i]m |
| *-k- | *k | *k | |
| fat/grease | *tukur | *tukur | *tukur |
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-mb- | *mb | *mb | |
| buttocks | *[eː]mbVm | *mbVm | *[eː]mbim |
| laugh | *ambiVn | *amb[e]n | *ambiVn |
| *-nd- | *nd | *nd | |
| bone | *kundoːR | *kundor | *kundoːR |
| egg | *w[ai]ndin | *w[ai]ndin | *windin |
| *-ŋg- | *ŋg | *ŋg | |
| mouth/tooth | *maŋgoːt | *maŋgot | *maŋgoːt |
The medial reflex of /*ndz/, if one existed, is not known.
Apical non-stop /*r/ is retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *r | *r | *r | |
| boil (n.) | *[i]r[y:]n | *ryn | *[i]r[y:]n |
| seed | *[i]roːp | *rop | *[i]roːp |
| thorn | *[a]ruk | *[a]ruk | *ruk |
| wing |
/*j *w/:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *j | *j | *j | |
| breadfruit | *jawoːt | *jawoːt | *jawoːt |
| good | *ja[:]p[i/eː] | *jap[i/e] | *ja[:]p |
| *w | *w | *w | |
| egg | *w[ai]ndin | *w[ai]ndin | *windin |
| left | *wakan | *wakan | *wakan |
| moon | *wakoːr | *wakor | *wakoːr |
| drum | *woːsV | *… | *woːs |
| hornbill | *kaweːr | *kawer | *kaweːr |
| breadfruit | *jawoːt | *jawot | *jawoːt |
FInal nasals /*m *n/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-m | *-m | *-m | |
| buttocks | *[eː]mbVm | *mbVm | *[eː]mbim |
| breast | *[aː/oː]m | *[a/o]m | |
| mother's br. | *moːm | *mom | *moːm |
| blood/m's house | *kaim | *kaim | *kaim |
| goura pigeon | *kVtVm | *k[o/u]t[i/e]m | *k[o/u]t[i]m |
| liver | *wVm | *wVm | *wVm |
| *-n | *-n | *-n | |
| laugh | *ambiVn | *amb[e]n | *ambiVn |
| star | *min | *min | |
| hot | *mam[y]n | *mam[y]n | *mam[y]n |
| dog | *majaːn | *m[a]jan | *majaːn |
| breast | *noːn | *non | |
| armpit | *taŋgoːn | *taŋgon | *taŋgoːn |
| eye | *kiːn | *kiːn | |
| lime/gourd | *kameːn | *kamen | *kameːn |
| sweat | *koːtin | *kotin | *k[oː]tin |
| boil (n.) | *[i]r[y:]n | *r[y]n | *[i]ir[y:]n |
| egg | *w[ai]ndin | *w[ai]ndin | *windin |
Final voiceless stops /*p *t *k/ are retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-p | *-p | *-p | |
| level ground | *ip | *ip | *ip |
| sun/day | *[a]taːp | *[a]ta[:]p | *[a]taːp |
| wind | *p[oːwu]p | *p[owu]p | *puːp |
| elbow/wrist | *mbVn[k/ŋg]up | *mb[o]n[k/ŋg]up | *mb[a/o]ŋgup |
| tail | *ka[:]ndi[:]p | *kandip | |
| seed | *[i]roːp | *rop | *[i]roːp |
| *-t | *-t | *-t | |
| mouth/tooth | *maŋgot | *maŋgot | *maŋgot |
| flower | *keːt | *ket | *keːt |
| breadfruit | *jawoːt | *jawot | *jawoːt |
| *-k | *-k | *-k | |
| thorn | *[a]ɾuk | *[a]ɾuk | *ɾuk |
| water | *[aː/oː]k | *[a/o][:]k | *oːk |
| shoulder | *maːk | *ma[:]k | *maːk |
| white | *kajoːk | *kajok | *kaj[oː]k |
| bitter | *k[aː/oː]k | *k[a/o]k | *k[aː/oː]k |
Final prenasalized stops /*mb *nd/ are merged with voiceless stops /*p *t/ in Digul River:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-mb | *-p | *-mb | |
| house | *amb | *ap | *amb |
| hole | *t[eː/oː]mb | *to[:]p | *teːmb |
| banana | *ndzuːmb | *ndzuːp | *ndzuːmb |
| heavy | *[i]ɾu[:]mb | *ɾup | *[i]ɾuːmb |
| *-nd | *-t | *-nd | |
| vein/tendon | *mend | *met | *mend |
| dog | *tind | *tit | *tind |
| skin/bark | *kaːnd | *ka[:]t | *kaːnd |
| bandicoot | *kajaːnd | *kaja[:]t | *kajaːnd |
Final prenasalized stop /*ŋg/ is merged with nasal /*n/ in Digul RIver:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-ŋg [ŋ] | *-n | *-ŋg [ŋ] | |
| gall/bile | *muːŋg | *muːn | *muːŋg |
| rattan/rope | *n[aː/oː]ŋg | *na[:]n | *n[aː/oː]ŋg |
The difference between this Digul Reflex reflex and those of /*mb *nd/ requires that the allophonic expression of final /*ŋg/ as [*ŋ] predates Digul River's loss of contrastive voice and prenasalization in final stops.
Final apical non-stop /*ɾ/ is retained as such in both families:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| *-ɾ | *-ɾ | *-ɾ | |
| excrement | *[ɒ/o]ɾ | *[ɒ/o]ɾ | *oːɾ |
| fat/grease | *tukuɾ | *tukuɾ | *tukuɾ |
| hornbill | *kaweːɾ | *kaweːɾ | *kaweːɾ |
| moon | *wakoɾ | *wakoɾ | *wakoɾ |
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok |
| * | * | * |
[under construction]
Digul River-Ok free pronouns are reconstructed as follows:
| Digul River-Ok | Digul River | Ok | |
| 1 sg. | *ne | *nup | *ne |
| 2 sg. m. | *ŋge-p | — | *ke-p |
| 2 sg. f. | *ŋgu-p | *ŋgup | *ku-p |
| 3 sg. m. | *eː | *eː | |
| 3 sg. f. | *u | *u | |
| 1 pl. excl. | *nu | *nu | |
| 1 pl. incl. | *nu-p | — | *nu-p |
| 2 pl. | *ŋgi-p | *ŋgip | *ki-p |
| 3 pl. | *i | *i |
Digul River no longer distinguishes masculine from feminine gender in the second person singular.
It was originally considered, based upon analogy with the vowel alternations which distinguish genders in the second and third persons, that Digul River first person singular /*nup/ might reflect a feminine form which had been generalized in Digul River and lost in Ok. There are two reasons why this was rejected. The first is that the first person plural does not observe the expected ablaut to /*ni/. Further, the pronominal augment /*-p/ is found to have a meaning in Ngalum (Hylkema 1996,) where it distinguishes inclusive /nu-p/ from exclusive /nu/. It seems then that /*-p/ was specifically identified with the second person, such that its appearance upon a first singular feminine base would make little sense. Instead, we posit that the first person plural inclusive was generalized to include the exclusive, as it has been in Lowland Ok, and was then further generalized to include the singular, motivating subsequent disambiguation by the addition of a suffix to the plural.
Comparison with Fly River base forms confirms the originality of gender vocalism:
| Digul River-Ok | Fly River | |
| 3 sg. m. | *e | *e |
| 3 sg. f. | *u | *u |
| 3 pl. | *i | *i |