Suarmin
Asaba
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionSandaun Province
Native speakers
140 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3seo
Glottologsuar1238
ELPAsaba
Suarmin is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Suarmin, or Asaba, is a Sepik language spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua-New Guinea. Alternative names are Asabano, Akiapmin, Duranmin.

Glottolog leaves it unclassified.

Pronouns

Pronouns are:[2]

sgdupl
1incl adiabe
1excl anadinesine
2 aboaboduaapa
3 yoataduaata

Noun classes

In Asaba, noun class affixes are suffixed to nouns. There are five noun classes. Examples:[2]

classsingular (ex.)plural (ex.)gloss (ex.)
class 1nu-bunu-lehouse(s)
class 2mena-dumena-nopig(s)
class 3kabia-sikabia-lestone(s)
class 4moko-nimoko-lefork(s)
class 5nomo-sonomo-lstone adze(s)

Class 1 is the default noun class.

Modifying adjectives agree with head nouns in class:[2]

na-bu

tree-I.SG

kamaya-bu

big-I.SG

na-bu kamaya-bu

tree-I.SG big-I.SG

‘tall tree’

kaiyebe-du

cassowary-II.SG

kamaya-du

big-II.SG

kaiyebe-du kamaya-du

cassowary-II.SG big-II.SG

‘big cassowary’

References

  1. Suarmin at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
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