| Mufian | |
| Nativename: | Southern Arapesh |
| States: | Papua New Guinea |
| Region: | Bumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province (36 villages) |
| Speakers: | 11,000 |
| Date: | 1998 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Papuan |
| Fam1: | Torricelli |
| Fam2: | Arapesh |
| Iso3: | aoj |
| Glotto: | mufi1238 |
| Glottorefname: | Mufian |
Mufian (Muhian, Muhiang), or Southern Arapesh, is an Arapesh language (Torricelli) of Papua New Guinea. Dialects are Supari, Balif, Filifita (Ilahita), Iwam-Nagalemb, Nagipaem; Filifita speakers are half the population, at 6,000 in 1999. It is spoken in 36 villages, most of which are located within Bumbita-Muhian Rural LLG, East Sepik Province. It is also spoken in Supari ward of Albiges-Mablep Rural LLG.[1] [2]
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labialized | plain | labialized | |||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Stop | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
/ʔʷ/ is a coarticulated glottal stop with lip rounding that occurs only in final word positions.
| High | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Low | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
Southern Arapesh pronouns are:
| sg | pl | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1incl | apə | ||
| 1excl | aeʔ | afə | |
| 2 | inəʔ | ipə | |
| 3m | ənən | əmom | |
| 3f | əkoʔʷ | aowou |
There are 17 classes for count nouns in Mufian, plus two extra classes, i.e. proper names and place names. Noun classes are expressed in noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, and verb prefixes.
Although Southern Arapesh has more than a dozen noun classes, only four noun classes are determined by semantics, while the other noun classes are determined phonologically using the final root segment (a feature typical of the Lower Sepik languages). The four semantically determined noun classes are:[3]
The membership of the other twelve classes is determined phonologically, by the final segment of the root, as in the Lower Sepik languages.[3]
Some examples of Mufian noun classes from Alungum (1978):
| Class | Form (sg.) | Form (pl.) | Gloss | Sg. Noun Suffix | Sg. Adjective Suffix | Sg. Verb Prefix | Pl. Noun Suffix | Pl. Adjective Suffix | Pl. Verb Prefix | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | bol | bongof | pig | -l | -li | l- | -ngof | -ngufi | f- | |
| Class 2 | éngel | angof | name | -ngél | -ngili | g- | -ngof | -ngufi | f- | |
| Class 3 | nalof | nalelef | tooth | -f | -fi | f- | -lef | -lefi | f- | |
| Class 4 | lowaf | lu'ongof | clothes | -f | -fi | f- | -nguf | -fi | f- | |
| Class 5 | batéwin | batéwis | child | -n | -ni | n- | -s | -si | s- | |
| Class 6 | alupini | alupisi | friend | -ni | -ni | n- | -si | -si | s- | |
| Class 7 | nombat | nombangw | dog | -t, -ta | -tei | t- | -ngw | -ngwi | gw- | |
| Class 8 | nemata'w | nematawa | woman | -'w | -kwi | kw- | -wa | -wei | w- | |
| Class 9 | nam | naep | eye | -m | -mi | m- | -p | -pi | p- | |
| Class 10 | lawang | lawah | tree | -g, -ga | -gwei | g- | -h | -ngéhi | h- | |
| Class 11 | bemb | bembeh | betel nut | -b | -mbi | b- | -h | -mbihi | h- | |
| Class 12 | nongwatop | nongwatoh | knife | -p | -pi | p- | -h | -hi | h- | |
| Class 13 | wambel | walemb | village | -mbel | -mbili | b- | -lemb | -lembi | b- | |
| Class 14 | mai'una | ma'unamb | pigeon | -a | -ni | n- | -amb | -mbi | b- | |
| Class 15 | usin | usimb | crested pigeon | -n | -ni | n- | -b | -mbi | b- | |
| Class 16 | aman | amam | man | -n | -nei | n- | -m | -mi | m- | |
| Class 17 | kos | kos | course | -s | -si | s- | -s | -si | s- |
There are a few irregularities in these noun classes.[4]
Languages of the World
. 22nd . Eberhard . David M. . Simons . Gary F. . Fennig . Charles D. . 2019 . Dallas . SIL International.. William A. Foley . Palmer . Bill . 2018 . The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide . The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs . The World of Linguistics . 4 . Berlin . De Gruyter Mouton . 197–432 . 978-3-11-028642-7.