Magɨ
Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
Situation
Magɨ, also known as Aisi or Aisi Magɨ, is spoken by an unknown number of people living in a single village, Wanang, located to the east of the upper Wanang river between the Ramu to the south and the Sogeram to the north, in the Usino Bundi district of Papua New Guinea's Madang province. The term Magɨ /magɨ/ means “no” wheras Aisi /aⁱ si/ means “why?' but the latter is used also to refer to Magɨ's nearest relative Aisi Mabɨŋ spoken immediately to the south, which is more usually called merely Aisi (Daniels 2015: 766-768, 2016: 199-202.)
Sources
Daniels (2015: 356-392) 151 reflexes of Proto-Sogeram for and (pp. 766-882) grammar of Aisi Magɨ of Wanang village
Daniels (2016) Magɨ of Wanang village
Daniels (2020) (unobtained)
Phonology
Daniels (2015: 771-775) gives 10 to 13 consonants and 6 vowels for Aisi Magɨ as follows:
| \m | n | ŋ | |
| p | t | s | k |
| b | d | g | |
| [w] | [ɾ] | [j] |
| i | ɨ | u |
| e | o | |
| a |
In addition to the simple vowels given above, two diphthongs are found as follows
| aⁱ | aᵘ |
This is nearly identical to the inventory given for Aisi Mabɨŋ, with the sole exeption that back rising diophthong /aᵘ/ is /oᵘ/ in Aisi Mabɨŋ.
Pronouns
Daniels (2015: 785-788) gives free pronouns for Aisi Magɨ in five case forms as follows:
| subject | object | possessive | benefactive | emphatic | |
| 1 sg. | jɨ | ja-dɨŋ | ja-ka | ja-si | ja-bɨ |
| 2 sg. | na | na-dɨŋ | na-ka | na-si | ? |
| 3 sg. | nɨ | nɨ-dɨŋ | nu-ku | nɨ-si | nɨ-bɨ- |
| 1 pl. | a-ɾɨ | a-dan-ɨŋ | a-ɾɨ-kuŋ | a-dan-si | a-ɾɨ-b |
| 2 pl. | na-ɾɨ | na-dan-ɨŋ | na-ɾɨ-kuŋ | na-dan-si | ? |
| 3 pl. | nɨ-ɾɨ | nɨ-dan-ɨŋ | nu-ɾu-kuŋ | nɨ-dan-si | ? |
Verbal morphology
Daniels (2015: 811-826) gives subject desinences for Aisi Magɨ indicative final verbs in five tense paradigms as follows:
| immediate past | habitual | far past | future | counterfactual | |
| 1 sg. | -iŋ | -ite-ŋ | -s-iŋ | -b-jaŋ | ? |
| 2 sg. | -aŋ | -itj-aŋ | -s-aŋ | -beɾ-aŋ | -b-aŋ |
| 3 sg. | -i | -ite-i | -s-i | -beɾ-Ø | ? |
| 1 pl. | -aɾ | -ite-ɾ | -s-aŋ | -beɾ-aɾ | ? |
| -2 pl. | -aɾ | -ite-ɾ | -s-aɾ | -beɾ-aɾ | -b-as |
| 3 pl. | -uŋ | -itja-uŋ | -s-uŋ | -beɾ-uŋ | ? |
Imperative verbs take an entirely different set of subject suffixes. They are not found on first persons:
| imperative | |
| 2 sg. | -o(k)~-i(k); -am |
| 3 sg. | -kuɾ |
| -2 pl. | -maⁱ(t); -ke(t) |
| 3 pl. | -kiɾ-uŋ |
Medial verbs are distinguished according to whether their subjects are the same as or different from the subject of the final verb:
| different subject | different subject | different subject | same subject | same subject | same subject | same subject | |
| unmarked | frustrative | desiderative | unmarked | desiderative | delayed | participle | |
| 1 sg. | -ɨk-iŋ | — | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |
| 2 sg. | -ɨk-aŋ | — | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |
| 3 sg. | -ɨn-ɨŋ | -eg | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |
| 1 pl. | -ɨk-aɾ | — | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |
| -2 pl. | -ɨk-aɾ; -ɨsɨ-ɾ | — | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |
| 3 pl. | -ɨn-uŋ | -og | -(ɨ)bis ~ -bes | -i | -(ɨ)bis-i~-bes-i | -ta(-ŋa) | -(ɨ)ba |