Mabulap-Numugen River

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

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The Mabulap-Numugen River family consists of as many as seven languages spoken …

The internal classification of Mabulap-Numugen River is as follows:

Mabulap-Numugen River

Mabulap (Amaimon)

Numugen River

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Z'graggen (1980: 1-159) 320 comparative terms and (p. 164-165) pronominal paradigms for Wanuma (Usan,) Yaben, Yarawata, Bilakura (Karian,) Parawen, Ukuriguma and Amaimon

Reesink (1981) (unobtained)

Reesink (1983) subordination in Usan (unobtained)

Reesink (1984) grammar of Usan (unoibtained)

Reesink (1987) grammar of Usan

Reesink (1993) (unobtained)

Reesink (1994) (unobtained)

Reesink (2013) “give” in Usan

Lillie (2001) sketch phonology of Amaimon (Mabulap) of Tebesarik village

Pick (2020: …) grammar sketch of Karian, (pp. …) grammar sketch of Yaben and (pp. 397-429) reconstruction of proto-Numugen including (pp. 415-429) …

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Z'graggen (1971: 54-55, 1975: 29) considers Amaimon to be a family-level isolate in the Pihom Stock subgroup of his Northern Adelbert Superphylum.

…Ross …

Pick (2020: 188-194) excludes Amaimon) from his Norht Delbert classification, saying of Amaimon as well as Omosan, Bargam (Mugil,) and Amako-Waskia (Isumrud Strait) (p. 192,) “I have not excluded these languages because I don't believe they are related to Northern Adelbert. They likely are related, and there are promising potential cognates between the Northern Adelbert languages and other languages in the area, and further research may show that the boundaries of NorthernAdelbert need to be adjusted.”

We find Mabulap (Amaimon) to be the nearest relative of the Numugen River subgroup within Adelbert Range.

[under construction]

Proto-Mabulap-Numugen River had 13 to 19 consonants and 4 vowels as follows:

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Initial consonants correspond as follows:

Medial consonants correspond as follows:

Final consonants correspond as follows:

Vowels correspond as follows:

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These corerspondences are exemplified as follows, with Amaimon (Mabulap) attestations drtawn from Z'graggen (1980: 1-159) and Pick's proto-Numugen from Pick (2020: 215-288, 415-429.) In most instance Pick arrived at the same forms that we did, and his identifications of mid-central vowel /*ə/ (Pick's <e>) were more reliable, prompting improvements to our forms; however there remain a minrotiy of substantive differences which warrant two separate Numugen River columns as are given below.

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Any consonant except apical non-stop /*ɺ/ and prenasalized voiced stops /*mb *ŋg/ can occur initially.

Initial bilabial nasal /*m/ is retained as such in both subgroups:

Initial apical nasal /*n/…:

Initial velar nasal /*ŋ/…:

Initial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ …:

Initial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is generally retained as such in both subgroups:

No examples of initial /*t/ followed by high front vowel /*i/ have been found, suggesting that it was fricated to and merged with /*s/ (below); however there are several examples of /*s/ followed by mid central vowel /*ə/ such that it cannot in all instances be reduced to a conditioned variant of /*t/

Initial laminal voiceless /*s/ is dropped in Numugen River:

Initial velar voiceless stop /*k/ …:

Initial rounded velar voiceless stop /*kʷ/ s retained as such in both subgroups:

Initial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ sometimes devoiced to [p] in Mabulap; it's unclear if this is phnemically distinct from initial /b/:

Iniital apical voiced stop /*d/ …:

When initial /*d/ is followed by high front vowel /*i/ …:

Initial velar voiced stop /*g/ …:

In one example initial /*g/ is seemingly irregularly dropped from Amaimon form, perhaps becaue it is followed by another /*g/; here we know /intiial /*g/ to be original because it has outcomparisons in KumilRiver and in KaukombarRiver:

Initial rounded velar voiced stop /*gʷ/ …:

Initial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

Initial palatal non-stop /*j/ is droppped in Amaimon:

Any consonant can occur medially.

Medial bilabial nasal /*m/ is retained as such in both subgroups:

Medial apical nasal /*n/ is retained as such in both subgroups:

When apical /*n/ is preceded or follow by high front vowel /*i/ …:

Medial velar nasal /*ŋ/…:

Medial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ has been found in only one example, where it is reatained as such in both subgroups:

Medial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is uncommon. It is generally retained aas such in both subgroups:

When medial /*t/ is preceded by high front vowel /*i/ is is fricated to /s/ in Amaimon:

No examples of medial /*t/ followed by /*i/ have been found, suggesting that it was fricated to and merged with /*s/ (below); however there are at least one examples of /*s/ followed by low central vowel /*a/ such that it cannot in all instances be reduced to a conditioned variant of /*t/

Medial laminal voiceless /*s/ is dropped in Numugen River:

Medial velar voiceless stop /*k/ is retained as such in both subgroups:

Medial rounded velar voiceless stop /*kʷ/ is retaained as such in both subgroups:

Medial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ is retained as such in both subgroups, sometimes with subphonemic lention to [β w] in Amaimon:

Medial apical voiced stop /*d/ …:

When medial /*d/ is preceded or followed by high front vowel /*i/ …:

Medial velar voiced stop /*g/ si retained as such in both subgroups, soemetimes with subphonemic lenition to [ɣ] in Amaimon:

Medial rounded velar voiceled stop /*gʷ/ is retained as such in both subgroups:

Medial bilabial prenasalized voiced stop /*mb/ …:

Medial apical prenasalized stop /*nd/ …:

Medial velar prenasalized voiced stop /*ŋg/ …:

Medial bilabial non-stop /*w/ is generally retained as scuh in both subgroups:

Medial apical non-stop /*ɺ/ …:

Medial palatal non-stop /*j/ … :

… finally …

Final bilabial nasal /*m/ …:

Final apical nasal /*n/ …:

Final velar nasal /*ŋ/…:

Final bilabial voiceless stop /*p/…:

Final apical voiceless stop /*t/…:

Final laminal voiceless /*s/…:

Final velar voiceless stop /*k/…:

Final bilabial voiced stop /*b/…:

Final apical voiceless stop /*d/…:

Final velar voiceless stop /*g/…:

Final bilabial non-stop /*w/ is dropped in Amaimon:

Final apical non-stop /*ɺ/…:

Final palatal non-stop /*j/is dropped in Amaimon:

… vowels …

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Mabulap-Numiugen River subject pronouns are reconstructed as follows, with Amaimon attestations drawn from Z'graggen (1980: 165) and proto-Numugen from Pick (2020: 201-212, 409-411):

Possessive pronouns are reconstructed as follows. The Mabulap possessive suffix /-kana/ is unrelated to Numugen River /*-nəɺ/; however the latter is shown to be original by comparison to other subgroups of Adlbert Range (Pick 2020: 210-211):

… verbal object prefixes for “see” …Unfortunately, these are are not attested for Amaimon, but the Numugen River forms are seen to be archaic by comparison to those of Barem-Manep (Pick 2020: 211-212):

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Several Mabulap-Numugen River forms appear to be loans from Sogeram River or possibly vice-versa; the direction of borrowing is difficult to immediately determine because they are firmly established for both protolanguages::

(Note: Daniels gives Sogeram /*nd *ŋg/ as <*nt *ŋk>.)

Additionally there are a number of loans from Sogeram River languages in Mabulap; that are not shared with Numugen River and are probably more recent borrowings, perhaps all from Sirva, with Sileibi (Sirvam,) Emerum (Apalɨ) and Musak (Aisi Mabɨŋ) attestations drawn from Z'graggen (1980: 1-80) and proto-Sogeram from Daniels (…):

There are also a number of terms shared with the Tomui River subgroup of Sogerma and Tomui Rivers, which is not currently adjacent to Mabulap-Numugen River…the term for “lime” has a curious distribution in languages which are not adjecent to one another. It is not attested for Amaimon as Z'graggen's [wamu ~ wam] really means “ashes”:

…:

Kare of the Hansemann subgroup of Mabuso …:

Numugen River has loaned several words into Manep (Malas) and Barem of the Gilagil River family, spoken by the coast to the northeast. In light of the geography, the immediate sources are likely Karian and Yaben, which form a subgroup of Numugen River. Bilakura (Karien,) Yaben, Malas (Manep) and Bunabun (Barem) attestations are drawn from Z'graggen (1980: 1-159.) These words are not found in Mabulap

… Oceanic …It is possible that, as Pick asserts, some of these date to before the time of time of proto-Numugen; in the case of /*buɺuk/ “pig” this seems doubtful as Mabulap /wasi/ is the native Adelbert Range form and could not have been borrowed from anywhere, but final apical nasal in /*tabin/ is unique to Mabulap-Numugen River, and it is difficult to understand why Mabulap would have borrowed /*t[ə/a]t/ “sky” from Numugen River had it not already been present. It is not the case, as might otherwise be expected, that Oceanic terms found in Numugen River are necessarily found in Barem-Manep, though “pig” is and “vine” is found in Malas (Manep) as [usɔkɔr] (Z'graggen 1980: 67) with regular loss of medial /*s/ in Numugen River: