Misplaced Pages

Telefol is a language spoken by the Telefol people in Papua New Guinea, notable for possessing a base-27 numeral system.

History

The Iligimin people also spoke Telefol, but they were defeated by the Telefol proper.

Orthography

Single ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ represent both their single and long vowels, since they rarely contrast.

/b/ is written ⟨p⟩ pre-consonantally and word-finally.

Single /k/ is written ⟨g⟩ intervocalically, and /kk/ is written ⟨k⟩ intervocalically.

/kd/ and /ŋd/ are written ⟨kg⟩ and ⟨ngg⟩ (since they're pronounced and respectively).

Initial /ɡ/ is also written with ⟨g⟩ in loan words, e.g., Got 'God'.

Phonology

Consonants

/ʔ/ and /h/ only appear in a few particles and some exclamations. /p/ and /ɡ/ only appear in a few loans.

Vowels

There are two contrastive phonemic tones in Telefol, high and low. For example, ùlín 'club' vs. úlìn 'planted'.

/e/ and /eː/, /o/ and /oː/, are nearly in complementary distribution. Also, single /e/ and /o/ don't occur in one-syllable words or in terminal syllables.

Vowel length only contrasts in initial syllables. However, in initial syllables single /u/ and /o/, and /i/ and /e/, don't contrast.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(ː)(C).

/l/ does not occur word-initially.

/ŋ/ is allowed in medial, but not word-initial, onsets.

Grammar

Telefol is a subject–object–verb language.

Verbal aspect

Telefol has a rich aspectual system. Telefol verbs have "punctiliar" (momentary/completed) and "continuative" stems.

Counting system

Telefol uses a base-27 counting system. This is mapped onto the body by counting each of the following: the left pinky to the left thumb (1-5); the wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder (6-10); the side of the neck, ear, and left eye (11-13); the nose (14); and similarly on the right side in reverse order, from the right eye to the right pinky (15-27).

Kinship

Telefol has dyadic kinship terms (terms referring to the relationship two or more people have to each other), which are uncommon in the world's languages and not prevalent in Papua New Guinea. However, they are a salient feature of the Ok languages. Related terms are found in Oksapmin, Mian, and Tifal.

Evolution

Below are some reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea proposed by Pawley (2012):

See also

• Ok languages

References

1. Telefol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Golub, Alex (2007). "Ironies of Organization: Landowners, Land Registration, and Papua New Guinea's Mining and Petroleum Industry". Human Organization.
3. ^ Healey 1992, p. 1.
4. Healey 1992, p. 3.
5. Healey 1964, p. 12.
6. "Phonotactic restrictions across prosodic domains" (PDF). p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2008.
7. Aspectual stem distinctions in the Mian verb (PDF). Morphology of the World's Languages. Leipzig. 11–13 June 2009. p. 1.
8. Foley 1986, p. 146.
9. Derzhanski, Ivan A (29 September 2004). "Codex Seraphinianus: Some Observations". Institute of Mathematics and Informatics. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
10. Laycock, Donald (1975). "Observations on Number Systems and Semantics". In Wurm, Stephen (ed.). New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study, I: Papuan Languages and the New Guinea Linguistic Scene. Pacific Linguistics C-38. Canberra: Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. p. 223.
11. "The Oksapmin Kinship System". Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
12. Pawley, Andrew (2012). Hammarström, Harald; van den Heuvel, Wilco (eds.). "How reconstructable is proto Trans New Guinea? Problems, progress, prospects". History, Contact and Classification of Papuan Languages (Language & Linguistics in Melanesia Special Issue 2012: Part I). Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea: 88–164. hdl:1885/38602. ISSN 0023-1959.

Bibliography

• Foley, William A. (1986). The Papuan Languages of New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-28621-2. OCLC 13004531.
• Healey, Alan (September 1992). "Telefol Organised Phonology Data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012.
• Healey, Alan (1974). "A problem of Telefol verb classification". In Loving, Richard (ed.). Studies in languages of the Ok family. Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages. Vol. 7. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics. pp. 167–175.
• Healey, Alan (1964). Telefol phonology. Pacific Linguistics, Series B. Vol. 3. Canberra: Australian National University. doi:10.15144/PL-B3.

External links

• Telefol on globalrecordings.net
• WALS - Telefol
• PNG Language Resources: Telefol information
• Paradisec has a number of collections that include Telefol language materials.

• Languages of Sandaun Province
• Languages of Western Province (Papua New Guinea)
• Ok languages