Yale
Timothy Usher, Santa Fe Institute
Situation
[under construction]
Yale, also known as Kosarek, is spoken by … people living in eight villages (1992) in the valley of the Denkomne and In rivers … central mountain range … Indonesia's Papua province. The people call themselves the Yalenang /ʝalɛnaŋ/ “east-people” and their language Yale Yubu /ʝalɛ ʝubu/ “east language.” The term Kosarek, used by missionaries and the Indonesian government, properly refers to the area around the airstrip. The staple crop of the Yale region is the sweet potato (Heeschen 1992: 7.)
Sources
Bromley (n.d.) unpublished survey vocabulary of Wanam (unobtained)
Voorhoeve (1975: 117) 39 comparative terms for Wanam after Bromley (n.d.)
Heeschen (1978) comparative notes and (pp. 41-44) 100 comparative terms for Kosarek
Heeschen (1982) comparative notes
Heeschen (1992) grammar and dictionary of Yale (Kosarek)
Heeschen (2000) (unobtained)
Phonology
Heeschen (1992: 9-14) gives 15 consonants and 5 vowels for Yale as follows:
| m | n | ŋ | ||
| [pʰ] | [tʰ] | |||
| k | ||||
| b | d | |||
| [f] | s | h | ||
| β | l | ʝ | ʕ |
| i | u | |
| ɛ | ɔ | |
| a |
[under construction]
…
Six diphthongs are found as follows:
| ɛⁱ | ɔᵘ |
| aⁱ | aᵘ |
| aᵋ | aᵓ |
…
Pronouns
Heeschen (1992: 16) gives Yale free pronouns and verbal objects as follows:
| nominative | object | |
| 1 sg. | na | -nɛ- |
| 2 sg. | an | -kɛ- |
| 3 sg. | ɛl | -ø- |
| 1 pl. | nu(n) | -sɛ- |
| 2 pl. | ʕaᵘn | -sɛ- |
| 3 pl. | sin | -ø- |
…
Verbal morphology
[under construction]
Heeschen (1992: 27-28) gives subject desinences for Kosarek final and medial verbs as follows:
| present | future | remote past | near past | potential | imperative | medial | |
| 1 sg. | -na ≈ -n | -nu-n | -si | -nɔ | -sɛ-nɛ | — | -nɛ |
| 2 sg. | -lam | -lu-lam | -lum | -ɔm | -s-ɔm | -ɛ | -mɛn |
| 3 sg. | -la ≈ -l | -lu-l | -ɔk | -ɔ | -s-ɔ | — | -lɛ |
| 1 pl. | -ab | -uk-ab | -ubu | -ɔbɔ | -sɛ-bɛ | -lam-dud | -bɛ |
| 2 pl. | -lɔm | -lu-lɔm | -lum | -ɔm | -s-ɔm | ? | -mum |
| 3 pl. | -aŋ | -uk-aŋ | -ɛk | -ɔŋ | -sɛ-ŋ | — | -ɛk |
| 1 dl. | -nam | -nu-nam | -numu | -nɔmɔ | -sɛ-nɛmɛ | -lam-kud | -nɛmɛb |
| 2 dl. | -dɔm | -du-dɔm | -dum | -dɔm | -sɛ-dɔm | -lam-sud | -dumun |
| 3 dl. | -daŋ | -dukaŋ | -dɛk | -dɔŋ | -sɛ-dɛŋ | — | -dɛk |
…
Counting system
Yale has a body-part counting system of the type characteristic of the central west New Guinea region, in which, excepting one, two, and three, the term for the number is generally the same as that for the body part which is touched during tallying. Counting begins from the left pinkie at one, proceeding to the thumb and then up the left side of the body until reaching the top of the head, then proceeding downward on the right side of the body as follows (Heescben 1992: 23):
| left side | right side | |||
| [pinkie] | 1 | nhɔn | 27 | sɛlɛk, dɛŋ nhɔn |
| [ring finger] | 2 | pʰɛndɛ | 26 | pʰɛndɛ-ba |
| [middle finger] | 3 | βilindi | 25 | βilindi-ba |
| index finger | 4 | dɔm-badɛ | 24 | dɔm-dada |
| thumb | 5 | lam-badɛ | 23 | lam-dada |
| wrist (pulse) | 6 | naʕɔb-badɛ | 22 | naʕɔb-dada |
| forearm | 7 | saᵋk-badɛ | 21 | saᵋk-dada |
| elbow (inside) | 8 | lin-badɛ | 20 | lin-dada |
| upper arm | 9 | subna-badɛ | 19 | subna-dada |
| shoulder | 10 | saʕɔ-badɛ | 18 | saʕɔ-dada |
| side of neck | 11 | kɔʕɔlɔm-badɛ | 17 | kɔʕɔlɔm-dada |
| ear | 12 | aᵓ-badɛ | 16 | aᵓ-dada |
| temple | 13 | nɔᵘβal-badɛ | 15 | nɔᵘβal-dada |
| top of skull | 14 | mɛk-badɛ | — | — |