| Ndu | |
| Region: | East Sepik Province, in the Sepik River basin of Papua New Guinea |
| Familycolor: | Papuan |
| Fam1: | Sepik |
| Fam2: | Middle Sepik |
| Child1: | 8–12 languages |
| Glotto: | nduu1242 |
| Glottorefname: | Ndu |
The Ndu languages are the best known family of the Sepik languages of East Sepik Province in northern Papua New Guinea. Ndu is the word for 'man' in the languages that make up this group. The languages were first identified as a related family by Kirschbaum in 1922.
Along with the Arapesh languages, Ndu languages are among the best documented languages in the Sepik basin, with comprehensive grammars available for many languages.
A diagnostic innovative feature in the Ndu languages is the replacement of the proto-Sepik pronoun *wun ‘I’ with proto-Ndu *an ~ *na.[1]
Abelam is the most populous language, with about 45,000 speakers, though Iatmül is better known to the outside world. There are eight to twelve Ndu languages; Usher (2020) counts nine:[2]
Iatmul, Manambu, Yelogu (Yalaku), Abelam (Ambulas), Boiken–Koiwat, Gaikundi, Sos Kundi (Sawos Kundi)
Also sometimes distinguished are Keak (close to Iatmul or Sos Kundi), Kwasengen (or Hanga Hundi, close to Ambulas), Burui (close to Gai Kundi), and Sengo.
Most Sepik and neighboring languages have systems of three vowels, pronounced as //ɨ ə a//, that are distinct only in height. Phonetic pronounced as /[i e u o]/ are a result of palatal and labial assimilation of pronounced as //ɨ ə// to adjacent consonants. The Ndu languages may take this reduction a step further: In these languages, pronounced as //ɨ// is used as an epenthetic vowel to break up consonant clusters in compound words. Within words, pronounced as //ɨ// only occurs between similar consonants, and seems to be explicable as epenthesis there as well, so that the only underlying vowels that need to be assumed are pronounced as //ə/ and /a/}}. That is, the Ndu languages may be a rare case of a two-vowel system, the others being the Arrernte and Northwest Caucasian languages. However, contrasting analyses of these same languages may posit a dozen vowel monophthongs.[3]
For Ndu languages, the glottalized low vowel pronounced as //a̭// is often written as pronounced as //aʔa//. This does not signify pronounced as //a// followed by a glottal stop and another pronounced as //a//.
Ndu languages mark first and second person possessors with -n, and third person possessors with -k.
Ndu languages make use of the general locative case suffix -mb (-m in Manambu):
Ndu languages have two dative-type case markers, with the forms and meanings varying across languages:
Examples of dative case markers in Ambulas and Manambu:
Dative case markers are also used to mark animate objects of transitive verbs, which is a Sepik-Ramu areal feature. An example of the Ambulas allative case marker -t:
| Proto-Ndu | |
| Familycolor: | Papuan |
| Target: | Ndu languages |
Reconstructed proto-Ndu pronouns by Foley (2005):
| sg | du | pl | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
|
|
| 2m |
|
|
|
| 2f |
| ||
| 3m |
|
| |
| 3f |
|
Note that there is a gender distinction for first-person pronouns.
A phonological reconstruction of proto-Ndu has been proposed by Foley (2005). Lexical reconstructions from Foley (2005) are listed below.[4] The homeland of proto-Ndu is located just upstream of Ambunti.
| one |
| nək | kɨta | nek | kɨtak | napə | nək | |
| man |
| ntiw | ntɨw | ntɨw | tɨw | riw | ||
| water |
| ŋkɨw | ŋkɨw | ŋkɨw | ŋkɨw | kɨw | ŋkɨw | |
| rain |
| war | mayk | mac | wirɨ | macɲ | mac | |
| fire |
| ya | ya | ya | hwɨypa | ya | ||
| sun |
| ɲə | ɲa | ɲa | ɲa | ɲa | ||
| moon |
| mpapɨw | mpwap | mpapmɨw | pwapwə | kamwɨ | ||
| house |
| wɨy | ŋkəy | ŋkəy | ŋkay | kəy | ŋkəy | |
| breast |
| mɨwɲ | mɨpə | mɨwɲə | mwɨyɲ | mɨwɲ | ||
| tooth |
| ɨwk | nɨmpɨy | nɨmpɨy | nɨmpɨy | nɨmpɨy | ||
| bone |
| ap | avə | apə | yapə | ampɨ | ||
| tongue |
| tɨkalɨr | tɨkat | tɨkŋalɨn | tɨkŋalɨ | tɨkan | ||
| eye |
| mɨyr | mɨynɨy | mɨynɨy | mɨynɨy | mɨyl | ||
| nose |
| tam | tamə | tamə | tamə | tamwə | ||
| leg |
| man | man | man | man | man | rawɨ | |
| ear |
| wan | wan | wan | wan | |||
| tree |
| mɨy | mɨy | mɨy | mɨy | mɨy | ||
| name |
| cɨ | cɨ | ɨy | cɨ | cɨ | ||
| pig |
| mpar | mpak | mpalɨ | pwalɨ | mpwal | ||
| dog |
| ac | warə | wacə | warə | pyəp | ||
| snake |
| kampay | kampwəy | kampwəy | hampwəy | mapwɨcɨ | ||
| mosquito |
| kɨvɨy | kɨvyə | kwɨyə | mɨkɨycɨ | cɨvyə | ||
| see |
| vɨ | vɨ | vɨ | vɨ | təyf | ||
| eat |
| kɨ | kɨ | kə | hə | kɨ | ||
| go |
| yɨ | yɨ | yɨ | yɨ | yɨ | yɨ | |
| come |
| ya | ya | ya | ya | ya | ||
| sit |
| rɨ | rɨ | rə | rə | yəlkɨy | ||
| stand |
| rap | rap | rapm | rapm |