Ambai language
Austronesian language
| Ambai | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | Ambai Islands |
Native speakers | 10,100 (2000)[1] |
Language family | Austronesian
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | amk |
| Glottolog | amba1265 |
The Ambai language is an Austronesian language spoken in Indonesian New Guinea (Papua Province), mostly on the Ambai Islands as well as the southern part of Yapen Island.[2] The number of speakers is estimated to be 10,000. Dialects are Randawaya, Ambai (Wadapi-Laut), and Manawi.[3]
Phonology
Ambai has 19 consonants and 6 vowels, shown on the tables below.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Laryngeal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | k ɡ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Fricative | ɸ | s | ç ʝ | ħ/h | |
| Approximant | w | j |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | a |
Morphology
Pronouns
All pronouns in Ambai mark for number, person and clusivity (in first person).
The following bound pronouns are obligatorily added as affixes to the verb to stand as the subject of the sentence. Every verb in Ambai takes a subject, even if it is a 'dummy' third-person pronoun.
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | exclusive | i-/dj- | au(r)- | anto(r)- | ame(r)- |
| inclusive | tu(r)- | to(r)- | ta(r)- | ||
| 2nd person | b- | mu(r)- | munto(r)- | me(r)- | |
| 3rd person | d- | u(r)- | co(r)- | e(r)- | |
The following pronouns are independent and are more restricted in use. They do not appear as subjects – since the subject is marked already on the verb – but can appear as objects, in prepositional phrases and in subordinate clauses. Some verbs allow the object pronoun to be omitted.
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | exclusive | jau | auru | antoru | amea |
| inclusive | turu | totoro | tata | ||
| 2nd person | wau | muru | muntoro | mea | |
| 3rd person | i | uru | coru | ea | |
Examples of pronouns used in everyday language:
(1)
b-oti
2SG-see
suru
3DU.OBJ
b-oti suru
2SG-see 3DU.OBJ
'Look at them (two).'
(2)
uru
3DU
u-minohi
3DU-sit
uru u-minohi
3DU 3DU-sit
'They sit.'
References
- ^ Ambai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "AMBAI" (PDF). PapuaWeb. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
- ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Papua New Guinea languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
Further reading
- P.J. Silzer Ambai, an Austronesian Language of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, Ph.D. Australian National University, 1983.
External links
- The Ambai Language Documentation Page
- A Short Description of Ambai Grammar, by Ariel Gutman
- A Grammar Sketch of Ambai, by Fannie St-Pierre-Tanguay
