The Ottilien or Watam-Awar-Gamay languages languages are a small
family of clearly related languages,
:
Watam
Marangis a.k.a. Watam is a Ramu language of Papua New Guinea. Like Bosmun, it shares a number of irregular plural markers with the Lower Sepik languages, supporting the proposal of a Ramu – Lower Sepik language family.
It is spoken in the t ...
–
Kaian
Kaian (Kayan) is a Ramu language of Kaian village () in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New ...
,
Gamei (Mbore), and
Bosman–
Awar.
They are generally classified among the
Ramu languages of northern
Papua New Guinea.
The Ottilien languages are all spoken in
Yawar Rural LLG, in locations mostly along the coast of
Madang Province,
Papua New Guinea.
Watam and Bosman share plural morphology with
Lower Sepik (Nor–Pondo), supporting the
Ramu – Lower Sepik language-family proposal.
The family is named for the mouth of the
Ottilien River
The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea.
Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...
, now known as the
Ramu
The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea.
Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...
.
Phonemes
Usher (2020) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows:
[New Guinea World, Ramu Coast]
/ref>
:
:
Pronouns
Pronouns in proto-Watam-Awar-Gamay (proto-Ottilien) reconstructed by Foley (2005) are:[
:
]
Proto-Ottilien
A phonological reconstruction
Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include:
# to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
# ...
of proto-Watam-Awar-Gamay (proto-Ottilien) has been proposed by Foley (2005).Tanggu languages
The Ataitan languages, also known as the Tanggu or Moam River languages, are a small family of clearly related languages spoken in the region of the Moam River in Papua New Guinea. They are,
* Andarum (Kaje)
* Tanguat
* Igom + Tangu (Tanggu)
Z ...
Tangu and Igom.
References
*
External links
* Timothy Usher, New Guinea World
Proto–Ramu Coast
{{Ramu–Lower Sepik languages
Lower Ramu languages
Languages of Madang Province