| Mairasi | |
|---|---|
| Native to | West Papua, Indonesia |
| Region | Bomberai Peninsula |
| Native speakers | (3,300 cited 1996) |
| Language family | Mairasi
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | zrs |
| Glottolog | nucl1594 |
Mairasi (a.k.a. Faranyao and Kaniran) is a Papuan language of the Bomberai Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia.
The Northeastern dialect may be a distinct language.
Distribution
Locations:
- Kaimana Regency
- Interior villages: Umbran, Jamna Fata, Matna, Tarwata, Sara, Kasira, Orai, Wangatnau, Faranyau, and Sarifan
- Coastal villages: Sisir, Foroma Jaya, Warasi, Lobo, Lomira, Morona, Nanggwaromi, Omay (May may), and Warika
- Teluk Wondama Regency
- Naikere District villages: Sararti, Oya, Yabore, Wosimo, Undurara, and Inyora
Phonology
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Plosive | voiceless | t | ʔ | |||
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | ɸ | s | |||
| voiced | β | |||||
| Liquid | r | |||||
| Semivowel | w | |||||
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Back | a | |
Pronouns
Mairasi possessor prefixes are:
sg pl 1 o- ee- 2 ne- e- 3 na- ne-
Morphology
Case markers
Noun phrase case markers in Mairasi:
- instrumental suffix -t
- locative postposition ar
- allative postposition ev(i)
Some examples:
ex:ovuru-t
machete-INSTR
ovuru-t
machete-INSTR
‘with a machete’
ex:weso
house
ar
LOC
weso ar
house LOC
‘in the house’
ex:mundu
village
evi
ALL
mundu evi
village ALL
‘to the village’
Possessors
Mairasi possessor prefixes:
sg pl 1 o- ee- 2 ne- e- 3 na- ne-
Examples of inalienable possessors:
ex:ee-rovo
1PL.POSS-hand
ee-rovo
1PL.POSS-hand
‘our hands’
ex:na-iambi
3SG.POSS-skin
na-iambi
3SG.POSS-skin
‘his skin’
Directionals
Mairasi has two directional suffixes, which are only used with movement verbs.
- -aʔi ‘up, inland’
- -ari ‘down, seaward’
Examples of directional suffixes in use:
ex:o-is-aʔi
1SG.SBJ-stand-up
o-is-aʔi
1SG.SBJ-stand-up
‘I stand up’
ex:o-fon-ari
1SG.SBJ-sit-down
o-fon-ari
1SG.SBJ-sit-down
‘I sit down’
Animacy
Animacy is marked by the adjective modifier n-, as exemplified by the contrast in the following two noun phrases.
ex:fariri
word
Ø-avwer
INAN-big
fariri Ø-avwer
word INAN-big
‘a big word’
ex:fariri
word
n-avwer
ANIM-big
fariri n-avwer
word ANIM-big
‘a long-winded person’
Vowel changes can modify the number of animate nouns:
ex:uratu
fish
n-avwer
ANIM-big.SG
uratu n-avwer
fish ANIM-big.SG
‘a big fish’
ex:uratu
fish
n-evwer
ANIM-big.PL
uratu n-evwer
fish ANIM-big.PL
‘big fishes’
References
- Mairasi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Ronsumbre, Adolof (2020). Ensiklopedia Suku Bangsa di Provinsi Papua Barat. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kepel Press. ISBN 978-602-356-318-0.
- ^ Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.