South Pauwasi River

Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute

Situation

[under construction]

The South Pauwasi River family consists of four languages spoken … Its nearest linguistic relative within the greater Pauwasi River family is Yetfa (Biksi,) which was formelry wrongly classificed as a member of the invalid Sepik-Ramu Phylum (CITE.)

Subclassification

The internal classification of South Pauwasi River is as follows:

South Pauwasi River

Kimki

Lepki-Murkim

Kembra

Lepki

Murkim

Sources

[under construction]

Langeler (1915) 15 terms for …

Reimer and Songkilawong (1980) … comparative terms for Kimgi (Kimki)

Rumaropen (2004) … comparative terms for Kimki of Batom and Sabi villages

Wambaliau (2004: 22-28) 258 comparative terms for Murkim of Mot and Milki villages

Anderson (2007: 72) 64 terms for Lepki

Donohue (n.d.) … comparative terms for Lepki

Konel (n.d.) … Kembra

HIstory of classification

The South Pauwasi River languages were recognized only in recent times and only the scantest documentation of them has been published.

Silzer and Heikkinen (1984: 55,) in possession of Reimer and Songkilawang's (1980) Kimki data, write of the language they call Sukubatong (Aipki, Kimgi) “May be the same as Biksi (301) or Pyu (315) language.” Yetfa (Biksi) and Pyu are basically unrelated to one another, but It is true that Kimki is closely related to Yetfa, and there are a number of loans shared with Pyu (below.)

Wambaliau (2004: 13) in her survey of Murkim writes, “Tingkat kesamaan leksikal di antara bahasa Murkim dengan bahasa Kimki dan Yetfa adalah 8% samapai 14%. Biasanya tingkat kesamaan leksikal seperti ini menunjukkan bahasa bahwa bahasa-bahasa ini berhubungan, tetapi, karena penutur bahasa Murkim kadang-kadang mencampurkan percakapan mereka dengan bahasa Kimki dan Yefta, tingkat kesamaan leksikal ini oleh karena pinjaman kata-kata.” In other words, the lexical similarity figures between Murkim and Yetfa and Kimki respectively are high enough to indicate a relationship, but they are attributed here to borrowing due to multilinguialism.

Hammarström (2010: 188-189, 189, 190) rebuts an unattributed (Grimes ed., though tracing back to at least Silzer and Heikkinen) placement of Kimki with Yetfa in particular, which (p. 193) he considers an isolate, while treating also Lepki and Murkim as isolates, writing of Lepki, “Wherever it appears, the language is listed as “unclassified” (Lewis 2009; Silzer and Heikkinen-Clouse 1991). The label “isolate” is more appropriate, as the wordlist shows no significant relationship to any of the neighboring languages” and of Murkim, “It has some lexical matches with neighboring languages, but they look more like loans than the outcome of genetic inheritance.”

Wichmann's (2012: 329-330) Automated Similarity Judgment Program (ASJP) correctly placed Lepki with Murkim based upon a small number of mostly valid comparisons. Foley (2017: 463-469) likewise places Lepki and Murkim and possibly Kembra together in a Lepki family while maintainng Kimki and Yetfa as isolates, though his actual text about Kimki is palpably equivocal about a possible relationship with Lepki-Murkim. (p. 468): “The Kimki plural pronouns in Table 37 share the formative –me with those ofMurkim of the Lepki family (section 4.11), but in Kimki this is spread throughoutthe pronoun paradigm except for first person singular. The stems of the first and second person plural pronouns are also the same as in Murkim. There are also a few similar shared lexical forms, compare ‘moon’, ‘ear’, ‘give’, and ‘hair’ with Murkim. All of this may indicate a genetic relationship with Lepki family languages, but the bulk of the evidence suggests otherwise; there are too many usual cognates not shared, like ‘tooth’ (‘tooth’ may be shared with Yetfa) and ‘water’. If Kimki and Murkim are not genetically related, the pronoun resemblances are either due to chance or to borrowing, and the high degree of similarity suggests the latter to me.”

The classification presented here was developed in the early to mid-2000s as Paul Whitehouse (Usher and Whitehouse 2007) assembled unpublished vocabularies of these languages obtained from the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Whitehouse (2006: 268) refers to an early version of this classfication, writing, “Tim Usher (pers. comm.) has suggested that the Pauwasi family of central New Guinea should be expanded to include a number of other languages hitherto considered isolates of various degree, namely Molof, Tofanma, Usku, Biksi and Yuri…To this group may also be added a couple of recently discovered neighbors, Kimgi and Lepki.”

HIstorical phonology

[under construction]

Proto-South Pauwasi River had at least 11 consonants and … vowels as follows:

*m *n
*p *t *s *k
*b *d
*w *j
*i *u
*e̝ *o̝
*a

In addition to the simple vowels given above at least two diphthongs are found as follows:

*aⁱ *aᵘ







Initial consonants correspond as follows:

S. Pauwasi Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim
*m-
*n-
*p-
*t-
*s-
*k-
*b-
*d-
*w-
*ɺ-
*j-
*j-/_N

Medial consonants corresopnd as follows:

S. Pauwasi Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-
*-…-

Final consonants correspond as follows:

S. Pauwasi Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…
*-…

Vowels and diphthongs correspond as follows:

S. Pauwasi Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim
*…
*…
*…
*…
*…
*…
*…
*…
*…

These correspondences are exemplified as follows, wtih Kimki attestations drawn from Rumaropen (2004: pages,) Kembra from Konel (n.d.,) Lepki from Donohue (n.d.) and Murkim from Wambaliau (2004: 22-28.) Due to the brief and prephonemic nature of the underlying data, some details of the reconstructions presented below, especially vowel qualities, are necessarily tentative.


Initial consonants ….

Initial bilabial nasal /*m/ is retained as such in all descendants:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropen Konel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*m- m m m m m m
speech *mi mi mi mi- miː mi
house *me̝ me me mi mi
bamboo *mVda m̩la ~ mlãːmela
path *mVsaⁱn maŝin mesain msan
sago palm *ma ma- ma
garden/village*maⁱs -mais mais mais
tree *mVɺ mauɽ ~ maul -mul -mul
breast *mom nom (?) mom mom
nose *m… mogwan mwa mõa
laugh *mwVɺ -mwel-o-mʷalo mʷalo-

Initial apical nasal /*n/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue WambaliauWambaliau
*n- n n n n
rain *ne̝do -nido -nilo -nelo
egg *neɺ -lěl dɛl ~ -dɛn (?)nel nel
wallaby*naⁱɺ nail nail
1 pl. *nakme naˈme name nakme nakme

Initial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ …

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*p-
hear *pa[s] ɸas ɸas- -fa- ha ɸa-
2 sg.*pV pu-ˈme ɸu-me hak (?) hako (?)

Initial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is retained as such in all descendants:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliau Wambaliau
*t- t t t t t t
night *tis tis tisla disla
wind/cold*taⁱɺ tair tail tail ~ tailotailo
knife *tma tma tma tə̌ˈma tma tma
cuscus *tmaᵘ tomou ~ tmou
wash *to̝p[o̝] toɸ- toɸ tuɸu tuɸu-
blind *tɺVɺ -trã -trãl tlel -tlel

Initial laminal voiceless /*s/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*s-
this *si si si si ~ sɪ- si
shoot/kill *sV… sim sim sejo selo
dog *saⁱ sa sai sai
2 pl. *sakme same same sakme-re sakme-re
kunai grass*sVɺ sal sol sol
die *sVbV sub sub
green/blue *sɺa sra sra sra sra

Initial velar voiceless stop /*k/ is generally lost in Kimki:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*k- ø ø k k k k
small *kis kɪs ~ -ɣis kis kis
rattan/rope*k[ij]eɺ jer jel kɛl
name *k[ij]V kiá gje
give *ken[e] ken- kne kne-
water *kedi diː di er kɛl kel kel
fish *kVn -kɛn kaːn kaːn
two *kaⁱs kais kaisi kaɪs kais
lime *kaⁱɺ k̂ɪl kail kail
teeth/mouth*kaɺ kal ~ gal kal kal
crocodile *kajVn kɛn kaɲẽm kajan
canoe *kVp õːp õːp kuβ kuɸ kuɸ
cloud/smoke*kVs kos- ~ -ɣoskos- ~ -koskũs- ~ -kus
taro *kVb kub̚ kup kup
where? *kum[a] guma- kum-
come *k[u]wi -ki- guj- kʷi kʷi-

Apparent exceptions in which root-initial /*k/ is retained in Kimki are attributable to the roots appearing only as the second memebr of compounds:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*(-)k- k k k k k k
sun/moon*kaja -kaja -kaja kaja kaja-
paddle *kwoɺ -kʷõr -kol kwɔr-

Initial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ is retained as such in all descendants:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliau Wambaliau
*b- b b b b b [b p]b [b p]
wet *be̝t[e̝] bitʰ bitʰ bete biti-ko
meat/flesh *baⁱn bɛn pain bain ~ pain
~ -ban
old (person)*baᵘ bau bou
sweet potato*baᵘk baukʰ bouk
see *bo bo- bo bo-
sit *bokn[o] bon bokno bokno-
split *b…
hit *bu bu- bu- bu- bu-
goanna *buk[u] buk buku
ear *bwV bʷa bʷa bwi bʷi bʷi
beach *bwaⁱp -bʷaiɸ -ˈbʷaiɸ -boɸ
leaf *bwaⁱk bwaitʰ -βai bʷaik bʷaik
old (thing) *bɺi bli bli bili
worm *bɺe̝p briɸ brɛp̚ breɸ briɸ
&nbsptongue *bɺaᵘk braw porouk prouk
cassowary *bɺVb brab brop brop

Initial apical voiced stop /*d/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*d-
mosquito*dVɺip dɪliɸ leliɸ
mountain*dV dei li li
axe *dVkV də̌ˈɣa lake laka
white *do[ɺ] dol- lol lol

Initial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen Rumaropen Konel Donohue WambaliauWambaliau
*w- w [w u]w [w u]w w w w
man *wiɺ -wil -wil
far *wije udʒe uje ~ udʒe w̌ijɛ wije uje-
coconut*waⁱs was- wejs ~ wæjs
&nbsp~ wajs
wais- wais-

Initial apical non-stop /*ɺ/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*ɺ-
knee *ɺik[a] -ˈlikʰ -ˈlikʰ -lka -lka
husband *ɺ]a]t[e] latʰ latʰ -lte -lte
teeth/mouth*ɺV lʊː lʊː

Initial palatal non-stop /*j/ when followed by a non-nasal consonant or only a vowel is lost in Kimki, often after the fronting and raising of the following vowel:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen RumaropenKonel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*j- ø ø j j j j
eye *j… ẽ ~ ɛ̃ ɜ̃ ji jɛ-mɔn
hair *jet itʰ itʰ -jet jɛt
ashes *jedi di-ep ~ di-ɛpdi-eɸ ɟɛndi
arm/hand *jaⁱ a- a- ji-
skin/bark *jaⁱt it-ˈba it-ˈba jit jaitʰ jaitʰ
fruit/seed *jaⁱs es jasi ~ ja(j)is
sago porridge*jat aːtʰ jat jetʰ jet
fire/wood *jaᵘ ja jo ~ jo- ~ ja-jo ~ ja-
thorn *jaᵘ[p] ʊː ~ ʊ -jauf jaːu jaːu
paddle *jVteb -jatep jotep jotep
foot/leg *jVp ʊpʰ ʊpʰ

One apparent exception in which initial /*j/ is retained in Kimki may be a loan from Lepki:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue WambaliauWambaliau
*j₂- j j [j ɟ]
snake*j₂Vɺ jal jɛl ~ ɟel

When followed by a nasal /*m *n/, initial /*j/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliau Wambaliau
*j-/_VN ø n n j [j ɲ]j [j ɲ]
louse *jim nɪm nim nɪm ɪm im
excrement*jaⁱn (?) ain ain -ɲa n̩jah ~ iãhjãh ~ -ja
child *jamV[m/n] amum amum ɲamin ɲamin
tail *jVNkwa[t] nókwa jouk jakʷat ɲakʷat

Medial consonants …

Medial bilabial nasal /*m/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliau Wambaliau
*-m-
1 pl. *nakme naˈme name nakme nakme
knife *tma tma tma tə̌ˈma tma tma
cuscus*tmaᵘ tomou ~ tmou
2 pl. *sakme same same sakme-re sakme-re
child *jamV[m/n] amum amum ɲamin ɲamin

Medial apical nasal /*n/ is retained as such in all descendants:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-n- n n n n n
tired*VkVn[e] ekʷin- ekʷin- jekune aigune aigune
head *anok anok anok no-tɛl anok anok
sit *bokn[o] bon bokno bokno-
give *ken[e] ken- kne kne-

Medial bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue WambaliauWambaliau
*-p- p ɸ ɸ [f h ø]ɸ ɸ [ɸ ø]
bird *apV afai ~ hai- aɸi aɸi
person*apɺa ap kra (?) ~ rá-ra ɸra ra
wash *to̝p[o̝] toɸ- toɸ tuɸu tuɸu-

Medial apical voiceless stop /*t/ is retained as such in all desscendats:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen Rumaropen Konel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-t- t [t -tʰ]t [t -tʰ] t t t
locative*-ten -tɛn -ten -ten
all *itip -itip itiɸ itiɸ itiɸ
wet *be̝t[e̝] bitʰ bitʰ bete biti-ko
husband *ɺ]a]t[e] latʰ latʰ -lte -lte
paddle *jVteb -jatep jotep jotep

Medial laminal voiceless /*s/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-s- s s s
path*mVsaⁱn maŝin mesain msan

Medial velar voiceless stop /*k/ is generally retained as such in all descendants, unlike initial /*k/ which is lost in Kimki (above):

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen Rumaropen Konel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*-k- k [k -kʰ]k [k -kʰ] k [k ɣ]k [k g]k [k g]
tired *VkVn[e] ekʷin- ekʷin- jekune aigune aigune
in front*akaⁱb akab- akab- akaɪp-
yellow *VkVɺ aker- aker- kol- (?) õkr ogru-
goanna *buk[u] buk buku
axe *dVkV də̌ˈɣa lake laka
knee *ɺik[a] -ˈlikʰ -ˈlikʰ -lka -lka
tail *jVNkwat nókwa jouk jakʷat ɲakʷat

Medial consonant cluster /*km/ is simplified to /m/ in Kimki:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-km- m m km km
1 pl.*nakme naˈme name nakme nakme
2 pl.*sakme same same sakme-re sakme-re

… /*kn/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-kn-
sit*bokn[o] bon bokno bokno-

Medial bilabial voiced stop /*b/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*-b- b b b [β]b [b p]b
father*aba aba aba apa aba
rat *aɺbe arβej arbe arbe

Medial apical voiced stop /*d/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen RumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliau Wambaliau
*-d-
star *ide ire ile ɛndi ile ili
bamboo*mVda m̩la ~ mlãːmela
rain *ne̝do -nido -nilo -nelo
water *kedi diː di er kɛl kel kel
ashes *jedi di-ep ~ di-ɛpdi-eɸ ɟɛndi

Medial bilabial non-stop /*w/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-w- w w w w
grandchild*awa ãwã awa awa awa
come *k[u]wi -ki- guj- kʷi kʷi-

Medial apical non-stop /*ɺ/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-ɺ-
mosquito*dVɺip dɪliɸ leliɸ

When/*ɺ/ is a member of a conconsant cluster //*ɺC/ or /*Cɺ/, it is realized as …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*=ɺ-/_C
rat *aɺbe arβej arbe arbe
*-ɺ-/C_
person *apɺa ap kra ~ rá-ra ɸra ra
old (thing)*bɺi bli bli bili
&nbsptongue*bɺaᵘk braw porouk prouk
cassowary *bɺVb brab brop brop
blind *tɺVɺ -trã -trãl tlel -tlel
green/blue *sɺa sra sra sra sra

Medial palatal non-stop /*j/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen Rumaropen Konel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-j- j [j dʒ]j [j dʒ] j j
sun/moon*kaja -kaja -kaja kaja kaja-
far *wije udʒe uje ~ udʒe w̌ijɛ wije uje-

… /*j/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-j-/_VN j j [ɲ]j
crocodile*kajVn kɛn kaɲẽm kajan

Final consonants …

Final bilabial nasal /*m/ is generally retained as such in all four lagnuages:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-m m m m m m
net bag *am æːm am am
breadfruit*om õm õm
breast *mom nom (?)mom mom
louse *jim nɪm nim nɪm ɪm im

Final apical nasal /*n/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-n
path *mVsaⁱn maŝin mesain msan
meat/flesh*baⁱn bɛn pain bain ~ pain
~ -ban
locative *-ten -tɛn -ten -ten
fish *kVn -kɛn kaːn kaːn
crocodile *kajVn kɛn kaɲẽm (?)kajan

Final bilabial voiceless stop /*p/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-p
all *itip -itip itiɸ itiɸ itiɸ
beach *bwaⁱp -bʷaiɸ -ˈbʷaiɸ -boɸ
worm *bɺVp briɸ brɛp̚ breɸ briɸ
mosquito*dVɺip dɪliɸ leliɸ
canoe *kVp õːp õːp kuβ kuɸ kuɸ
foot/leg*jVp ʊpʰ ʊpʰ

Final apical voiceless stop /*t/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-t
hair *jet itʰ itʰ -jet jɛt
skin/bark *jaⁱt it-ˈba it-ˈba jit jaitʰ jaitʰ
sago porridge*jat aːtʰ jat jetʰ jet

Final laminal voiceless /*s/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*-s s s s s s
garden/village*maⁱs -mais mais mais
night *tis tis tisla disla
small *kis kɪs ~ -ɣis kis kis
two *kaⁱs kais kaisi kaɪs kais
cloud/smoke *kVs kos- ~ -ɣos kos- ~ -koskũs- ~ -kus
coconut *waⁱs was- wejs ~ wæjs
&nbsp~ wajs
wais- wais-
fruit/seed *jaⁱs es jasi ~ ja(j)is

Final velar voiceless stop /*k/ is lost in Lepki:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropen Konel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-k k k [k kʰ] ø k k
head *anok anok anok no-tɛl anok anok
sweet potato*baᵘk baukʰ bouk
leaf *bwaⁱk bwaitʰ (?) -βai bʷaik bʷaik
&nbsptongue *bɺaᵘk braw porouk prouk

Final bilabial voiced stop /*b/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-b
in front *akaⁱb akab- akab- akaɪp-
cassowary*bɺVb brab brop brop
taro *kVb kub̚ kup kup
paddle *jVteb -jatep jotep jotep

Final apical non-stop /*ɺ/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropen Konel Donohue Wambaliau Wambaliau
*-ɺ
yellow *VkVɺ aker- aker- kol- (?) õkr ogru-
tree *mVɺ mauɽ ~ maul -mul -mul
egg *neɺ -lěl dɛl ~ -dɛn (?)nel nel
wallaby *naⁱɺ nail nail
wind/cold *taⁱɺ tair tail tail ~ tailotailo
blind *tɺVɺ -trã (?) -trãl tlel -tlel
kunai grass*sVɺ sal sol sol
rattan/rope*k[ij]eɺ jer jel kɛl
lime *kaⁱɺ k̂ɪl kail kail
teeth/mouth*kaɺ kal ~ gal kal kal
paddle *kwoɺ -kʷõr -kol kwɔr-
man *wiɺ -wil -wil
snake *j₂Vɺ jal jɛl ~ ɟel

… /*ɺ/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*-[ɺ]
white*do[ɺ] dol- lol lol

Vowels and diphthongs …

High front vowel /*i/ …:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*i

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

South PauwasiKimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
*…

Pronouns

Free pronouns for South Pawuasi languages are given as follows, with Kimki forms drawn from Rumaropen (2004,) Kembra from Konel (n.d.,) Lepki from Donohue (n.d.) and Murkim from Wambaliau (2004:22.) It is doubtful that any of the Kembra or Lepki forms given here are accurate:

South PauwasiKimki Kimki Kembra Lepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
Rumaropen Rumaropen Konel Donohue WambaliauWambaliau
1 sg. ? win win mu (?) aro (?) nuːk nuːk
2 sg. *pV pu-ˈme ɸu-me amágrei (?)jojo (?) hak hako
3 sg. ? ma-m ma-me ugílo (?) jiris (?)kne (?) jak
1 pl. excl.*na-kme na-ˈme na-me utuós (?) ? na-kme na-kme
1 pl. incl.na-me-ˈpaːrna-me ? jiris (?)na-kme-rena-kme-re
2 pl. *sa-kme sa-me sa-me robke (?) ? sa-kme-resa-kme-re
3 pl. ? ma-me; ɛ ma-me; eɸaf? ? ɪre ire

Foley (2018: 468) obseves “The Kimki plural pronouns in Table 37 share the formative –me with those of Murkim of the Lepki family (section 4.11), but in Kimki this is spread throughout the pronoun paradigm except for first person singular. The stems of the first and second person plural pronouns are also the same as in Murkim.” The suggestion would seem to be that Murkim has borrowed its first and second person plural pronouns from Kimki, in keeping with the concept that all of the lexical resemblances between Kimki and Murkim are the result of borrowing. This is a priori possible, but would require am extreme level of language mixture which has not otherwise been found in New Guinea.

Evaluating the situation with the pronouns is hobbled by the fact that the reliability of both Konel's Kembra and Donohue's Lepki pronouns are highly questionable. For example, Donohue's second person singular [jojo] would appear to mean “that”, while [jiris] is given for both the third person singular and the first person plural inclusive, while Konel's forms seem to bear no relationship to anything else at all. If taken at face value, both Kembra and Lepki would likewise need to be isolates, with their numerous lexical resemblances to Murkim attributed to loans.

Besides the first and second person plurals, Kimki's second person singular has obvious cognates elsewhere in the Pauwasi River family, most immediately to Yetfa [po(-wo) ~ pu-wo] (Kim 2006) as well as to Afra and Tebe-Towei forms; Yetfa's first and second person plurals would also appear to be cognate (q.v. Foley 2018: 165.) The picture then is while complicated not as dismal as it first appears, and will likely be improved by more extensive and reliable data, especially for Kembra and Lepki.

Verbal morphology

No information about the verbal morphology of any South Pauwasi River languages is currently available to us.

Loans to and from neighboring languages

….

The most problematic loans are very often between those of genuinely related languages because their mutual retention is a priori plausible and because there are sometimes no violated sound change rules which flag the comparisons as loans. Wambaliau (2005: 13) suggests that the high level of lexical resemblance between Murkim and Kimki and Yetfa respectively is attributable to loans due to multilingualism, but the sheer volume of comparisons and the number of non-trivial sound changes which affect especially Kimki as well as the fact that many are shared also with other Pauwasi languages including Lepki militate against this interepretation. Still, the following word is so lengthy as well as uncannily identical that skepticism is warranted:

Kimki Kimki Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot
RumaropenRumaropenWambaliau
many*baⁱte̝kwaɺ (?)baitegʷarbaitegʷarbaitikʷar
~ baɪtɪgʷar

It might also be asked if there are loans in South Pauwasi languages to or from the closely related Yetfa. …



Kimki shares at least a few words from the basically unrelated Pyu to the east, which helps to explain Silzer and Heikkinen's (1984: 55,) suggestion that Kimki might belong with or even be the same language as Pyu, with Pyu attestations drawn from Conrad and Dye (1975: 25-29.) “Fire/wood” has a convincing cognate in Arai and Samaia Rivers /*ka/ “tree” and is certainly not Pauwasi (cf. /*jaᵘ/ above) so is most likely a loan from Pyu, especially as Kimki drops initial /*k/ in native words (above.) “House” and “sago palm” on the other hand both have cognates in Murkim (above) and no known analogues in Arai and Samaia Rivers, though this wouldn't rule out the possibioity of mutual loans from Pyu:

Pyu Kimki Kimki Kimki
Batom Sabi
Conrad & DyeReimerRumaropenRumaropen
house mæʔ mæː meː me
sago palmmãʔ ma-
fire/woodka ~ kʌ- ka ka- ka-
cassowarylɛgiʔ laikʰ

There is also one very salient comparison between Pyu and Lepki-Murkim, although again here the existence of a local cognate would seem to suggest Pyu to be the borrower:

Pyu KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Mot Milki
Conrad & DyeKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
twokasi kais kaisi kaɪs kais

… regional …:

Kimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
cassava tai taːi taːi
sweet potato ˈsiburɔsobru

… Tok Pisin … both are also found in Yetfa as [sot] and [dais] respectively…:

Kimki Kimki KembraLepki Murkim Murkim
Batom Sabi Mot Milki
RumaropenRumaropenKonel DonohueWambaliauWambaliau
saltsorʊ sol saru
rice lais dais