User:Sukifan/Suki Article
| Suki | |
|---|---|
| Native to |  Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 3,512 [1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sui |
Suki is a language isolate spoken by about 3500 people along the Fly River in southwestern Papua New Guinea. Suki is spoken in approximately six villages several miles inland along the Fly River. The villages are Gwaku, Iwewi, Ewe, Gwibaku, Duru, and Isala. Its genetic classification is Trans-New Guinea, Main Section, Central and Western, Gogodala-Suki, Suki. Suki is closely related to three other languages (Gogodala, Ari, and Waruna). It is considered a family-level isolate within the Suki-Gogodala stock. Due to the relative lack of information on Papuan languages, there is still disagreement on the proper genetic classification of these languages. There are very few published materials on the language. There has also been limited Christian missionary activity in the Suki-speaking villages The New Testament of the Bible has been published by the Bible Society of Papua New Guinea. The literacy rate in Suki is between 5 and 15%. English is the language of instruction in schools and Hiri Motu is also spoken.
Alternate Names
Suki is also known as Wiram[2] and was also earlier incorrectly referred to as Nausaku, after a village where Suki was spoken. The village no longer exists, but was located near present-day Isala.[3]
Phonology
The phonology of Suki is relatively simple. It has a five-vowel system, much like many of the non-Austronesian languages of Papua New Guinea.[4] The consonant system is also fairly simple, containing 13 phonemes. The tables below list the phonemes and their allophones;[5] allophones are given in parentheses.
Orthography
Suki is written using the Roman alphabet without diacritics. It follows standard English conventions of capitalizing proper names and the first words of sentences. Punctuation is mostly as in English, though question marks and exclamation points are not used. The following letters are used to write Suki: a b d e g i k m n o p r s t u w y z. The letters w and y are used both as consonants and vowels.
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | p b (β) | t (tʰ) d | k (kʰ) g (ɣ) | |
| Fricatives | s z | |||
| Nasals | m | n | ||
| Approximants | w | ɾ (l) | j |
Vowels
| i (ɪ) (e) | u (ʊ) | |
| ɛ (æ) | o (ɔ) | |
| a (ɑ) |
Morphology
Pronouns
Numerals
Syntax
Literature
Several books of the New Testament have been translated into Suki over the course of several years. The complete New Testament was published in 1981.[6]
References
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/, Suki entry [1]
- ^ needed
- ^ needed
- ^ needed
- ^ needed
- ^ The New Testament in Suki / Godte Gi Amkari Titrum Ine. Port Moresby: The Bible Society of Papua New Guinea 1981, ISBN
Bibliography
- Capell, A. A Survey of New Guinea Languages. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1969, ISBN
- Capell, Arthur. A Linguistic Survey of the South-Western Pacific. South Pacific Commission. Vol. Technical Paper No. 136. Noumea: South Pacific Commission, 1962, ISBN
- McElhanon, K.A., and C.L. Voorhoeve, eds. The Trans-New Guinea Phylum: Explorations in Deep-Level Genetic Relationships. Vol. B #16. Sydney: The Australian National University, 1970, ISBN
- Wurm, S.A., ed. New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study. Vol. 1. Canberra: Australian National University, 1977, ISBN
- Wurm, S.A., and D.C. Laycock, eds. Pacific Linguistic Studies in Hounour of Arthur Capell. Vol. Series C #13: The Australian National University, 1970, ISBN