Piame language
| Piame | |
|---|---|
| Biami | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | East Sepik Province |
| Ethnicity | Hewa |
Native speakers | (Less than 100 cited 1988)[1] |
Sepik
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pin |
| Glottolog | piam1243 |
| ELP | Piame |
Piame, or Biami, is a Sepik language, which in 1988 was spoken in the village of Piame in northwestern Papua New Guinea.[2]: 249
Relationship to other languages
[edit]Piame is closely related to Niksek, with cognate percentages ranging from 44% to 53% for the different Niksek dialects.[2]: 249
Sociolinguistics
[edit]In 1988, it was spoken by less than a hundred people, in the single village of Piame.[2]: 249 The village was primarily monolingual. Two or three men had begun to learn Tok Pisin, the lingua franca of Papua New Guinea.[2]: 254
The language is today described as moribund.[3][4]
Vocabulary
[edit]The table below is a sample of words in Piame:[2]: 261
| Piame | English |
|---|---|
| pasikofi | afternoon |
| bawe | arrow |
| mokuawo | baby |
| mekia | back |
| wɔřou | cassowary |
| a yopakaři | chin |
| yabi | dog |
| peni | ear |
| yelia kaia | egg |
| wauwuo | fat |
| aise | father |
| mɔmiyaři məməni moku'awo | girl |
| yelia kowane | good |
| kouřinobo | hair |
| nɔti | hand |
| u'kwəti | knee |
| misaři | knife |
| mekwa | leaf |
| yelia meisa | long |
| məmini'nɔni | man |
| ake/kɔřisib̵ab̵e | many |
| ka'lami | neck |
| ake/akutu | new |
| akelmeisi | old |
| mekwa | one |
| a'kaifɔ/fɔ | pig |
| nou | rain |
| wamo | rat |
| kařinei | sand |
| yelia nɔpo | short |
| fɔ'yəni | tail |
| sawi | taro |
| you'wei | vine |
| akaipəsi | wallaby |
| a'sei | water |
| kařu | yam |
| nɔifi | yesterday |
References
[edit]- ^ Some language and sociolinguistic relationships in the Upper Sepik region of Papua New Guinea.
- ^ a b c d e "Some language and sociolinguistic relationships - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. ProQuest 1297882138. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ^ "Glottolog 5.1 - Piame". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ^ "Piame | Ethnologue". 2013-06-03. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 2025-02-22.