Left May-Kwomtari languages

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The Left May-Kwomtari languages are a small family of Papuan languages proposed by Malcolm Ross, which links the Left May (Arai) family with the Kwomtari-Baibai proposal (Loving & Bass 1964). It specifically excludes the Pyu language isolate added to that family by Laycock (1973).

[edit] Classification

• Left May or Arai family: Rocky Peak (Yinibu), Nakwi, Iteri, Bo, Ama, Nimo, and Owiniga
• Kwomtari family:
  • Guriaso language
  • Kwomtari-Nai: Kwomtari, Nai (Biaka)
• Baibai family: Baibai, Fas

Note: most classifications, including Ethnologue, mix up the membership of the Kwomtari and Baibai families. This has been corrected here.

Timothy Usher at the Rosetta Project states that most classifications, including Ross's, perpetuate an early copy error, placing the Baibai language Fas in the Kwomtari family and the Kwomtari language Nai in the Baibai family. This makes the two families look much closer than they actually are. Taking this into account weakens the case for both the Left May-Kwomtari and the Kwomtari-Baibai proposals. Some relevant pronouns are shown below:

family	language	I	thou	he	she	they
Kwomtari	Kwomtari	[i]nɛ	wunu			mai
	Nai	nombwirə, mau	wana, ku	mane		mowei
Baibai	Baibai	ati	aŋgi	wɔʔ		aniʔ
	Fas	tɛ	ai	fa
Arai	Yinibu	asi, na-	na, nɛni, nan-	ani, w-	wa, tat-	mwa
Pyu		kwa	no	na

It appears that for Arai and Baibai a pronoun *ati might be reconstructed for "I", and a *fa for "s/he", while for Arai and Kwomtari only a pronoun *mwai might be reconstructed for "they". No pronouns obviously connect Kwomtari and Baibai, nor is there enough to connect any of these families to Pyu.

[edit] See also

• Papuan languages

[edit] Reference

• Malcom Ross (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages." In: Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Robin Hide and Jack Golson, eds, Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, 15-66. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.