Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
The Kainantu family is comprised of perhaps fifteen languages spoken in the Kainantu, Obura-Wonenara and Okapa subdistricts of Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands province, with one language, Waffa, spoken just across the border in Morobe province to the east.
The internal classification of Kainantu is as follows:
Kainantu
Kenati
East Kainantu
Waffa
Afaqina-Tairora
Afaqina (Binumarien)
Tairora
North Tairora
Omwunra
Vinaata
West Kainantu
North Kainantu
Agarabi
Kambaira
Gadsup
Oyana
Ontena
Akuna-Tompena
Central and South Kainantu
Central Kainantu
Awiyaana
Usarufa
South Kainantu
Awa
Oweina
The placement of Oyana above is based upon McKaughan (1964: 99-101, 1973: xvi, 403, 695-698, 699) and Frantz (1976: 75,) as no Oyana data is available to us at this time.
Wurm (1961: 20-23, 1971: 551-557, McKaughan 1973: 698 after Wurm p.c.) calculates lexicostatistical relationships between eight Kainantu languages as follows; question marks indicate figures which are not given:
| Binum. | Tairora | Agarabe | Oyana | Gadsup | Usarufa | Auyana | Awa | |
| Binum. | — | 69 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Tairora | 69 | — | 36 | 34 | 35 | ? | 33 | ? |
| Agarabe | ? | 36 | — | 66 | ? | ? | 49 | ? |
| Oyana | ? | 34 | 66 | — | 69 | ? | 53 | ? |
| Gadsup | ? | 35 | ? | 69 | — | ? | 46 | ? |
| Usarufa | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | 76 | ? |
| Auyana | ? | 33 | 49 | 53 | 46 | 76 | — | 46 |
| Awa | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 46 | — |
(Binum. = Binumarien, Gadsup i.e. Akuna)
McKaughan (1964: 99-101, 1973: 695-698) calculates lexicostatistical resemblances between twelve Kainantu villages as follows:
| Tairora | Gadsup | Auyana | Awa | ||||||||||
| Baira | Batain. | Abiqera | Oyana | Akuna | Tompena | Kawaina | Kosena | Asempa | Tauna | Ilakia | Mobuta | ||
| Tairora | Baira | — | 87.9 | 87.7 | 55.1 | 55.5 | 54.1 | 54.5 | 55.1 | 55.5 | 55.7 | 53.6 | 54.6 |
| Batain. | 87.9 | — | 97.8 | 60.2 | 60.0 | 57.6 | 57.1 | 60.2 | 60.8 | 61.8 | 59.6 | 61.2 | |
| Abiqera | 87.7 | 97.8 | — | 60.8 | 61.2 | 60.2 | 60.2 | 60.8 | 62.2 | 62.5 | 60.8 | 61.4 | |
| Gadsup | Oyana | 55.1 | 60.2 | 60.8 | — | 85.7 | 84.7 | 70.4 | 72.2 | 71.4 | 66.7 | 63.5 | 63.5 |
| Akuna | 55.5 | 60.0 | 61.2 | 85.7 | — | 97.9 | 65.6 | 66.3 | 67.7 | 66.0 | 63.9 | 63.3 | |
| Tomp. | 54.1 | 57.6 | 60.2 | 84.7 | 97.9 | — | 64.6 | 65.3 | 69.4 | 64.6 | 63.5 | 61.8 | |
| Auyana | Kawaina | 54.5 | 57.1 | 60.2 | 70.4 | 65.6 | 64.6 | — | 93.9 | 91.9 | 76.3 | 73.2 | 72.4 |
| Kosena | 55.1 | 60.2 | 60.8 | 72.2 | 66.3 | 65.3 | 93.9 | — | 97.9 | 76.0 | 73.9 | 71.9 | |
| Asempa | 55.5 | 60.8 | 62.2 | 71.4 | 67.7 | 69.4 | 91.9 | 97.9 | — | 78.3 | 75.2 | 74.2 | |
| Awa | Tauna | 55.7 | 61.8 | 62.5 | 66.7 | 66.0 | 64.6 | 76.3 | 76.0 | 78.3 | — | 82.6 | 86.3 |
| Ilakia | 53.6 | 59.6 | 60.8 | 63.5 | 63.9 | 63.5 | 73.2 | 73.9 | 75.2 | 92.6 | — | 88.4 | |
| Mobuta | 54.6 | 61.2 | 61.4 | 63.5 | 63.3 | 61.8 | 72.4 | 71.9 | 74.2 | 86.3 | 88.4 | — |
(Batain. = Batainabura, Tomp. = Tompena)
[under construction]
…
[under construction]
Eastern Highlands …
The special relationship with Goroka (Scott 1978: CITE,) Foley (1986: CITE), Haiman (CITE)
The position of Kenati … (Lloyd 1973: 93, Wurm 1975: 491, Gajdusek 1980: 142.)
[under construction]
Proto-Kainantu had 7 or 8 consonants, 6 simple vowels and … diphthongs as follows:
| *m | *n | |
| *p | *t | *s |
| *w | [*ɾ] | *j |
| *i | *u | |
| *e: | *ɐ | *o: |
| *ɑ: |
…
Final consonants are reduced in West Kainantu and droppped in East Kainantu. More frequently, thematic or postthematic final segments /*CV/ are retained as such in East Kainantu, but reduced in West Kainantu in the same manner as a final consonant. Consequently, all East Kainantu roots have final vowels. Final vowels occur in West Kainantu, but comprise a minority of roots.
…
…
…:
| Kainantu | East Kainantu | West Kainantu | Kenati | Kenati |
| *… | Dodd (PW) | Gajdusek | ||
| *… | ||||
| *… |
…
[under construction]
…
[under construction]
…
[under construction]
…
| Huon Gulf | Kainantu | ||||
| dog | *kijam [Mk] | ||||
| woman's bro. | |||||
| taro | |||||
| sugarcane | |||||
… specifically from Markham River …:
| Markham | Adzera | Kainantu | ||||
| axe | ||||||