Morori
AltnameMarori, Moraori
RegionKampung Wasur, Merauke Regency, South Papua, Indonesia[1]
EthnicityMarori; 250 (1998)[2]
Speakers50
Date1998
Refe18
FamilycolorPapuan
Fam 1Trans–New Guinea
Fam 2Southwest Coast
Fam 3Kolopom
Iso 3mok
Glottomoro1289
GlottorefnameMarori
Dia 1Menge

Morori (Marori, Moaraeri, Moraori, Morari) is a moribund Papuan language of the Kolopom branch of the Trans–New Guinea family. It is separated from the other Kolopom languages by the intrusive Marind family.[3] All speakers use Papuan Malay or Indonesian as L2, and many know Marind.[2]

A dialect extinct in 1997, Menge, is remembered from ceremonial use.

Marori is spoken in Kampung Wasur, which in 2010 had 413 people (98 families) total and 119 Marori people (52 Marori families).[1]

Phonology

Marori has 22 consonants and 6 vowels, which are:[1]

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalmnɲŋ
Plosiveprenasalᵐbⁿdⁿʤᵑɡ
voicedbdɡ
voicelessptk
Fricativeɸsh
Approximantwlj
Rhoticr
Vowels
i, e, æ, a, o, u

On the other hand, the majority of Trans-New Guinea languages usually have around 10–15 consonants.[1]

Pronouns

Pronouns, but little else, connect it to TNG:

{|

! !!sg!!pl |- !1 |na||ni-ɛ |- !2 |ka||ki-ɛ |- !3 |ŋɡafi||ŋɡamdɛ |}

Vocabulary

The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975),[4] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:[5]

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! gloss !! Morori |- ! head | merao |- ! hair | pu |- ! eye | ayix |- ! tooth | terox |- ! leg | tegu |- ! louse | nemeŋk |- ! dog | koro |- ! pig | bosik |- ! bird | ujif |- ! egg | vi |- ! blood | ŋgorom |- ! bone | ŋgwar |- ! skin | par |- ! tree | kwi |- ! man | yexri |- ! sun | kum |- ! water | deke |- ! fire | sir |- ! stone | mere |- ! name | nex |- ! eat | kef |- ! one | sekodu |- ! two | yenadu |}

Evolution

Marori reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:[6]

  • mam ‘breast’ < *amu
  • mam ‘mother’ < *am(a,i)
  • nemeŋk ‘louse’ < *niman
  • sa ‘sand’ < *sa(ŋg,k)asiŋ
  • ŋwar ‘bone’ < *kondaC

Further reading

  • Gebze, Wilhelmus and Mark Donohue. 1998. Kamus Kecil Bahasa Moraori. [Marori picture dictionary]: Distributed in Wasur, Papua.

References

  1. ^ Evans, Nicholas (2018). "The languages of Southern New Guinea". The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. Vol. 4. The World of Linguistics. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 641–774. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  2. ^ e18
  3. ^ New Guinea World, Kolopom
  4. ^ Voorhoeve, C.L. Languages of Irian Jaya: Checklist. Preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists. B-31, iv + 133 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. doi:10.15144/PL-B31
  5. ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  6. ^ Pawley, Andrew & Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. Vol. 4. The World of Linguistics. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–196. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  • Arka, I Wayan. 2012. Projecting morphology and agreement in Marori, an isolate of southern New Guinea. In Nicholas Evans and Marian Klamer (eds.), Melanesian Languages on the Edge of Asia: Challenges for the 21st Century, 150-173. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.