Table of Contents

Foia Foia

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

Situation

Foia Foia (Foiafoia, Foeafoea, Foyafoya) is spoken in several small villages in at least two enclaves inland of the northwest coast of the Papuan Gulf, one between the Wawoi and Guavi rivers just east of the Mubami language in Papua New Guinea's Western province, and one along the lower reaches of the Paibuna and Omati Rivers in Gulf province, with the Kiwai languages Morigi to the south and west, Kerewo to the east and Omati of the Omati River family to the north. The Foia Foia can paddle accross most of this swampy region by canoe (Franklin 1973: 269, Petterson 2014: 1.)

The term Foia Foia [ɸoeaɸoea] means “speech” or “language,” with foia [ɸoea] meaning “speak” (Petterson 2014: 1, q.v. Carr 2006: 5.) According to Petterson (p.c.,) the term Minanibai, as found in Franklin (1973,) isn't recognized by speakers, and was probably a mistaken translation of the phrase “let's go!” Johnston's (1919-1920: 120) designation Eme-Eme is mostly likely based upon the word /emi/ meaning “people.” Pepeha is the name of a village in which Foiafoia is spoken.

Sources

Johnston (1919-1920: 120) 120 comparative terms for Eme-Eme of Korariperamesina or Pepeha village

Franklin (1973: 270-273) miscellaneous notes including pronouns for Minanibai of Pepeha

Franklin ed. (1973: 577-578,) Franklin (1975: 264-268) 100 comparative terms for Minanibai of Pepeha

Carr (1991) 120 comparative terms for Foyafoya of Bibisa village

Carr (1991) 99 comparative terms for Minanibai

Carr (2006) 164 comparative terms and 20 comparative phrases for Pepeha

Allen and Keneqa (2006) sketch phonology of Foia Foia with no glosses

Petterson (2014) 204 comparative terms and 26 comparative phrases for Foeafoea of Bibisa village

Phonology

Foia Foia has 12 or 13 consonants and at least 5 vowels as follows:

m n
p t k
b d g
ɸ s
w ɾ [ɣ̃]
i u
e o
a

Velar nasalized non-stop /ɣ̃/ is attested only initially and in only one term, Franklin's second person singular free pronoun, which is given with intial [ŋg n]; this merges with /w/ in other varieties of (below.) Its originality is premised upon outcomparison to other Inland Gulf languages, as well as to Fly River in general.

There is no palatal non-stop /j/ because Inland Gulf initial /*j/ has been occluded to apical /ɾ/.

Neither final consonants nor consonant clusters occur.

[under construction]



Bilabial nasal /m/ is retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
m- m m m m
sit mi 'mɔ-mi-e
sand miɾi 'miɾi miri
two masi 'maˑsi masi mɑsi masi
pig maɸa mɑhɑ mah-au
mouth mamoto mɒ'mɒˑtɒ momout 'mamoto momoto
fire maɸi mɑˑ'ɸi ~ mɒɑ'ɸimafi mɑ'ɸi mafi
seed momoko mo'moko
-m- m m m m
person (pl.)[e]mi emi
sing ami 'mɔː ˌʔami-e
singular -ame -'aˑme -ame
person ama (ʔ)a'ma ama ama ama
baby (m.) omone o'mone
baby (f.) om[u]nu 'omunu
know umoɾo ˌumɔ'ɾɒ-e umo'ro-rio
mouth mamoto mɒ'mɒˑtɒ momout 'mamoto momoto
seed momoko mo'moko
all botakumi bo'taˑku'mi botakumi
y. sib (m.) name 'naˑme
y. sib (f.) numu 'numu
sago dama dɑmɑ dam-au
house daɾimo ˌdaɾi'mɒ dɑrimo darimo
big (m.) gamise gɒˑ'mise gɑmise
big (n.) gamiso gamiso 'gɑmiso
thumb/five wak[e]mu wa'kemu wakumu ~
wakomu ~
wakomo
spear wasumu 'wa'sumu wɑ'sumu
morning ɾika-monolika-'mɒnɒ nikɑ-mono
drink ɾemi 'mɒ-demi-e ɛ-demi-o e-'remi-o

Apical nasal /n/ is retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
n- n n n n
1 pl. ni ni ni ni
blood nikana nika'na nikana nikana-au
skin nikopi ni'kɔpi nikopi nikopi nukupi-au
1 sg. obj. na- na-
y. sib (m.) name 'naˑme
banana napeɾo naˑ'peɾo nɑ́pero napewa
mosquito noniti nunutia
1 sg. no no no no-
breast nono no'no nono nunu
y. sib (f.) numu 'numu
-n- n n n n
fall inawV mo 'ku-iˌnaβ-ɛ mo-i'nɑw-o
hair/featherinutu 'inutu ~i'nut(ˑ)uinutu 'inutu inutu
leg idini idini
meat ainu ai:nu
baby (m.) omone o'mone
baby (f.) om[u]nu 'omunu
forearm pipini pipini ipini
ashes paneɸo ɸaniɸo [sic]
shoulder beno 'benɒ 'beno beno
canoe bonio bɒniɒ bunio
blood nikana nika'na nikana nikana-au
mosquito noniti nunutia
breast nono no'no nono nunu
hand sania sɒniˌɒ sɑ'nia ~ 'sɑniɑsonia
taro sagani 'sagaˌni sɑgɑni
knee kiwonu kiβɒ'nu kiwonu
bark kVpana keˌpana kiapana
areca nut kani[o] kanio
wind konobo ko'nobo konobo
eye kuɸino ku'ɸi:nɒ kuɸino kuɸino kupina
morning ɾika-monolika-'mɒnɒ nikɑ-mono

Bilabial voiceless stop /p/ is retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
p- p p p p
forearm pipini pipini ipini [sic]
chin/jawpetu pe'tu pétu
dry paetV petioi pɑ'ɑeto
hot papato pɑ'pato~pa'patopapatoe papato
ashes paneɸo ɸaniɸo [sic]
leaf paso pasɔ ~ paso paho 'pɑso pasi-paso-a
ashes pawo 'pɑwo
foreheadpawoto pawɒ'tɒ pɑwoto pauwoto
-p- p p p p
lip(s) itupu itobo [sic]
hot papato pɑ'pato~pa'patopapatoe papato
skin nikopi ni'kɔpi nikopi nikopi nukupi-au
banana napeɾo naˑ'peɾo nɑ́peronapewa
fish tope tope
bark kVpana keˌpana kiapana

Apical voiceless stop /t/ is retained as such in all dialects. Initial /t/ is much less common than medial /t/ or initials /p k/:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
t- t ? t t
wallaby tebeɾe 'tebere tebe
tooth ta ta ta
wing taɸu 'taˑɸu taɸu
fish tope tope
-t- t t t t
hair/featherinutu 'inutu ~i'nut(ˑ)uinutu 'inutu inutu
lip(s) itupu itobo
3 pl. eti itiˑ eti
3 sg. m. ete ɛtɛ eti
3 sg. f. etu itu
mouth mamoto mɒ'mɒˑtɒ momout 'mamoto momoto
chin/jaw petu pe'tu pétu
dry paetV petioi pɑ'ɑeto
hot papato pɑ'pato~pa'pato papatoe papato
forehead pawoto pawɒ'tɒ pɑwoto pauwoto
chest bita bita
earth/groundboti bo'ti boti
all botakumi bo'taˑku'mi botakumi
mosquito noniti nunutia
shin dete de'te dete
smoke koɸuto kofuto ko'βuto kohoto
belly kuti kuti
who? wotei wɒ'te: wote: wotei
dance ɾetV 'mo: det-e 'mo-ret-e

Velar voiceless stop /k/ is retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
k- k k k k
woman/wife kiɸa ki'ɸɑ kiɸa kiɸa kifau ~ kifai
cold kigio kiːgjɒˑ kigio 'kigio
knee kiwonu kiβɒ'nu kiwonu
bark kVpana keˌpana kiapana
axe kabi kaː'bi kɑbi
areca nut kani[o] kanio
not koi(-ne) 'kɔi(-ne) ~koi-nɛ koi-ne
smoke koɸuto kofuto ko'βutokohoto
wind konobo ko'nobokonobo
tongue koda ko'da goda koda koda
flying fox kubiai ku'biai kubiɑi
eye kuɸino ku'ɸi:nɒ kuɸino kuɸino kupina
belly kuti kuti
-k- k k k k
star iki 'iki 'iki iki
lime eka eka
light (weight)ekako e'kaˑko ekɑko
ashes uk[u] 'uku ~ 'ʔuku uko
seed momoko mo'moko
throat ɸoko foko
all botakumi bo'taˑku'mi botakumi
blood nikana nika'na nikana nikana-au
skin nikopi ni'kɔpi nikopi nikopi nukupi-au
heavy dioku di'ɒku
bamboo diki dikiˑ -diki
bean dukoɾo du'koɾo
navel dukumu duku-
night ɾika li'kɑ ~ li'ka ri:ko 'rika lik-au
thumb/five wak[e]mu wa'kemuwakumu ~
wakomu ~
wakomo

Bilabial voiced stop /b/ ia retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
b- b b b b
chest bita bita
shoulder beno 'benɒ 'beno beno
canoe bonio bɒniɒ bunio
earth/groundboti bo'ti boti
all botakumi bo'taˑku'mi botakumi
moon bubei bu'bei bubei
wet bubuɾV bu'buɾi bu'buro
-b- b b b b
fish (sg.) ebi-ame ʔebi-'aˑme ebi-ame
moon bubei bu'bei bube
wet bubuɾV bu'buɾi bu'buro
wallaby tebeɾe 'tebere tebe
axe kabi kaː'bi kɑbi
wind konobo ko'nobo konobo
flying fox kubiai ku'biai kubiɑi
walk/go [w]oba 'moː ʔoˌba-ee-woba-o e-wo'bɑ-wo

Apical voiced stop /d/ is retained as such in all dialects:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
d- d d d d
heavy dioku di'ɒku
tomorrow diɸu di'ɸu di'ɸu
bamboo diki dikiˑ -diki
path digei ˌdi'ɣeiˑ ~ˌdi'geiˑdige dige
tree de dɛ ~ 'deˑ de de
shin dete de'te dete
nose desi de'si desi de'si dese
sago dama dɑmɑ dam-au
house daɾimo ˌdaɾi'mɒ dɑrimodarimo
good daɾo(e) da'ɾɔɛ ~ da'ɾɒ daroe
yesterday doso dɒ'sɒ 'doso
bean dukoɾo du'koɾo
navel dukumu duku-
-d- d d d d
leg idini idini
afternoon adimo a'dimɒ ɑdimo
tongue koda ko'da goda koda koda
fat/greasegadi 'gɑdi gadi gɑdi

Velar voiced stop /g/ is generally retained as such in all dialects. Ocassionally it is lenited to [ɣ] in Petterson's Foeafoea:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
g- g [g ɣ] g g g
head gia gjɑ ~ gjʌ gio gʲa gi-au
big (m.) gamise gɒˑ'mise gɑmise
big (n.) gamiso gamiso 'gɑmiso
fat/greasegadi 'gɑdi gadi gɑdi
dog gaso 'gaˑsɒˌi~'ɣaˑsɒˌi gahoi gaso gaso
long goɾiwo 'gɒɾiβo ~'gɒɾiwo gorivo go'riβo
-g- g [g ɣ] g g g
what? aogei ɑɔ'geː augeə ɑgei
give ago e-n-agu e-'ɑgo
hear ugi 'moˑ-ugi-ɛ e-ugi-o e-'ogiʲ-o
path digei ˌdi'ɣeiˑ ~ˌdi'geiˑdige dige
taro sagani 'sagaˌni sɑgɑni
cold kigio kiːgjɒˑ kigio 'kigio
name ɾiga digɑh ~di(ˌ)gɑ(:) digɔ -riga
one ɾaigio 'laiˌgiɔ raiegio 'lɑigio raigi ~ raige-

Bilabial fricative /ɸ/ is generally retained as such in all descendants. It is occasionally deoccluded to [h] in Carr's Pepeha and Johnston's Eme-Eme. Initial /ɸ/ is much less common then medial /ɸ/:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
ɸ- ɸ ɸ [ɸ f] ? ?
bone ɸia 'ɸiɑ ~ ɸiʌ ɸia
throat ɸoko foko
-ɸ- ɸ ɸ [ɸ f] ɸ [ɸ β h]ɸ <f p h >
mountain iɸia 'iˑˌɸiɑ ifia
fire maɸi mɑˑ'ɸi ~ mɒɑ'ɸimafi mɑ'ɸi mafi
pig maɸa mɑhɑ mah-au
ashes paneɸo ɸaniɸo [sic]
wing taɸu 'taˑɸu taɸu
tomorrow diɸu di'ɸu di'ɸu
woman/wifekiɸa ki'ɸɑ kiɸa kiɸa kifau ~ kifai
smoke koɸuto kofuto ko'βuto kohoto
eye kuɸino ku'ɸi:nɒ kuɸino kuɸino kupina
rain ɾaɾeɸo da'ɾeɸo dareɸo 'rɑ'reɸo larefo

Fricative /s/ is generally retained as such in all dialects. It is sometimes deoccluded to [h] in Franklin's Minanibai. Initial /s/ is much less common than medial /s/:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
s- s s s s
sun/day siwio siβjɔ sivio siβi'o sivi-au
hand sania sɒniˌɒ sɑ'nia ~ 'sɑniɑsonia
taro sagani 'sagaˌni sɑgɑni
-s- s s [s h]s s
bird ewesa ˌʔeβɛ'sɑ eβeso
egg usu u'su usu usu utu-au [sic]
two masi 'maˑsi masi mɑsi masi
leaf paso pasɔ ~ paso paho 'pɑso pasi-paso-a
nose desi de'si desi de'si dese
yesterdaydoso dɒ'sɒ 'doso
big (m.) gamise gɒˑ'mise gɑmise
big (n.) gamiso gamiso 'gɑmiso
dog gaso 'gaˑsɒˌi~'ɣaˑsɒˌigahoi gaso gaso
tail wasiɾi 'waˑsiɾi wasiri
spear wasumu 'wa'sumu wɑ'sumu

Bilabial non-stop /w/ is retained as such in all dialects. Medially, it tends to be occluded to bilabial or labiodental [β v]:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
w- w w w w
thumb/fivewak[e]mu wa'kemu wakumu ~
wakomu ~
wakomo
tail wasiɾi 'waˑsiɾi wasiri
spear wasumu 'wa'sumu wɑ'sumu
who? wotei wɒ'te: wote: wotei
-w- w [β w] w [v β]w [β w]w [v]
fall inawV mo 'ku-iˌnaβ-ɛ mo-i'nɑw-o
liver iwa ʔi'βɑ ~ i'βʌ liva iva
bird ewesa ˌʔeβɛ'sɑ eβeso
water awo ʔa'u ~ aˌuː ao ɑʔu
ashes pawo 'pɑwo
forehead pawoto pawɒ'tɒ pɑwoto pauwoto
sun/day siwio siβjɔ sivio siβi'o sivi-au
knee kiwonu kiβɒ'nu kiwonu
long goɾiwo 'gɒɾiβo ~'gɒɾiwogorivo go'riβo

Initial apical non-stop /ɾ/ is historically an occlusion of Inland Gulf palatal /*j/. It may be fortited to voiced stop [d nd], realized as lateral non-stop [l] or retained as [ɾ]:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
ɾ- ɾ [d l] ɾ [d nd ɾ]ɾ [ɾ l]ɾ [l ɾ]
eat ɾi 'mɒ-di-ɛ i-di-e 'e-ri-o
nightɾika li'kɑ ~ li'ka ri:ko 'rika lik-au
name ɾiga digɑh ~di(ˌ)gɑ(:)digɔ -riga
drinkɾemi 'mɒ-demi-e ɛ-demi-o e-'remi-o
danceɾetV 'mo: det-e 'mo-ret-e
ear ɾeɾa de'ɾa dera rerɑ́
one ɾaigio 'laiˌgiɔ raiegio 'lɑigio raigi ~ raige-
rain ɾaɾeɸo da'ɾeɸo dareɸo 'rɑ'reɸo larefo
2 pl.ɾo ndo

Medial /ɾ/ is generally realized as such in all dialects. It is sometimes dropped in Johnston's Eme-Eme:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr Johnston
-ɾ- ɾ ɾ ɾ ɾ [ɾ ø]
know umoɾo ˌumɔ'ɾɒ-e umo'ro-rio
sand miɾi 'miɾi miri
wet bubuɾV bu'buɾi bu'buro
banana napeɾo naˑ'peɾo nɑ́pero napewa
wallabytebeɾe 'tebere tebe
house daɾimo ˌdaɾi'mɒ dɑrimo darimo
good daɾo(e) da'ɾɔɛ ~ da'ɾɒ daroe
bean dukoɾo du'koɾo
long goɾiwo 'gɒɾiβo ~'gɒɾiwogorivo go'riβo
tail wasiɾi 'waˑsiɾi wasiri
ear ɾeɾa de'ɾa dera rerɑ́
rain ɾaɾeɸo da'ɾeɸo dareɸo 'rɑ'reɸo larefo

There is no palatal non-stop /j/. Inland Gulf initial /*j/ has been occluded to apical /ɾ/ (above.)

Velar nasalized non-stop /ɣ̃/ is only attested in one example, in which it appears initially. We tentatively assume Franklin's initial to be original rather than in error, because its value is supported by outcomparison to Mubami, where it is reflected as /g/, and because it is consistent with the historical origin of the Inland Gulf sound:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
ɣ̃- w ŋg w ?
2 sg.ɣ̃o ŋgo wo



High front vowel /i/ …:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
i

High back vowel /u/ …:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
u

Mid back vowel /e/ …:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
e

Mid back vowel /o/ …:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
o

Low central vowel /a/ …:

Foia FoiaFoeafoea MinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
phonemic PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
a

Gender ablaut

[under construction]

… with attestations drawn from Petterson's (2014) Foeafoea:

masculinefeminineplural
e u i
3 sg./pl.ɛtɛ itu itiˑ
y. sib 'naˑme 'numu
3 sg./pl.'tetɑ 'tutɑ 'titɑ

Pronouns

Foia Foia free pronouns are as follows, with attestations drawn from Franklin (1973: 270-273, ed. 577-578,) Carr (2006) and Petterson (2014: 5-6):

Foia FoiaFoeafoea Minanibai Pepeha
phonemic Petterson Franklin Carr
1 sg. no no no
2 sg. ɣ̃o ŋgo ~ nṍ ~ nɔ̃́wo
3 sg. m.ete ɛtɛ/'tetɑ ~ 'tetʌ eti [sic] letɑ
3 sg. f.etu itu/'tutɑ ~ 'tutʌ ? ?
1 pl. ni 'ni ~ ni: ni ?
2 pl. ɾo ? ndo ?
3 pl. eti itiˑ/'titɑ 'diɑ ~ diʌeti ?

Verbal morphology

[under construction]

Loans from and to neighboring languages

[under construction]



Loans from Kiwai …:

Kiwai Foeafoea MinanibaiPepeha Eme-Eme
PettersonFranklin Carr Johnston
breast *amo ɑmo
afternoon *adimo a'dimɒ ɑdimo
know *umoɾo ˌumɔ'ɾɒ-e umo'ro-rio
heavy *mikibo miibo
dark cloud*bubu 'bubu bubu
louse *nimo ni'mɔ nimo nimo
belly *niɾo nirɒ niro
house *daɾimoˌdaɾi'mɒ dɑrimo darimo
root *sipi hipi
sun/day *siwio siβjɔ sivio siβi'o sivi-au
blood *kaɾima 'kɑrimɑ
back *gimini gi'mini
bandicoot *geneɸogenɒ'hɒ genehó
fat/grease*gadi 'gɑdi gadi gɑdi
sand *wio 'βio
tail *wapo wɑpo

Loans from Dibiyaso … with Dibiyaso attestations drawn from (CITE):

DibyasoFoeafoeaMinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
birdmeta 'metɑ met-au

Loans from Motu …:

Motu FoeafoeaMinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
cloud oɾi ori
bean bini bini
sweet potatokaema'kaɛma

Loans from Mouwase … with Mouwase attestations drawn from Petterson (2014 ibid.):

Mouwase/td>FoeafoeaMinanibaiPepehaEme-Eme
white clouduru-mu 'uɾuˌmu

Loans to Omati River … with Barikewa, Kaser and Mowase attestations drawn from Carr (2006):

Foia FoiaBarikewaKaser Mowase
wallaby tebeɾe 'tebeɾe'tebeɾe
path digei 'dike 'dike
good daɾo daɾo 'daɾo 'daɾo
bean dukoɾo du'kɔ̄:̀dukoɾ
flying foxkubiai kúbɛ̀i kubei kubei

Flint (1917-1918: 96) gives 94 comparative terms for the Karami people of Kikimairi and Aduahai villages, living in the forest alongside a fork of the Turama river. in Papua New Guinea's Western province, just across the border from Gulf province. …:

Foia FoiaKaramiKiwaiBamu KiwaiOmati River
water awo auwo
fire maɸi mavio maɸi
shoulder beno bina *benabena
earth/groundboti borti
moon bubei bube
wallaby tebeɾe teberi
path digei ige
navel dukumu dumu
woman/wife kiɸa kipa
dog gaso kao
rain ɾaɾeɸo darepudaɾoɸo