Sumuri or Sumeri (one of two
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non-Australian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands, by around 4 million people. It is a strictly geogra ...
also known as
Tanah Merah) is a language spoken in Sumuri District,
Teluk Bintuni Regency
Teluk Bintuni Regency (or Bintuni Bay Regency) is a regency of West Papua Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 18,637 km2, comprising administrative districts on three sides of Bintuni Bay, a gulf that separates the Bird's Head Peninsula an ...
on the
Bomberai Peninsula
Bomberai Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Bomberai), otherwise known as the Bird's Beak Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Paruh Burung), is located in the Western New Guinea region, opposite to and to the south of the Bird's Head Peninsula. To the west lies ...
by about a thousand people.
Distribution
In Sumuri District of
Teluk Bintuni Regency
Teluk Bintuni Regency (or Bintuni Bay Regency) is a regency of West Papua Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 18,637 km2, comprising administrative districts on three sides of Bintuni Bay, a gulf that separates the Bird's Head Peninsula an ...
, Sumuri people reside in Tofoi (district capital), Materabu Jaya, Forada, Agoda, Saengga, Tanah Merah Baru, Onar Lama, and Onar Baru villages.
Classification
In the classifications of
Malcolm Ross (2005) and Timothy Usher (2020), Sumeri forms an independent branch of the
Trans–New Guinea family, but Palmer (2018) classifies it as a
language isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...
.
It does not fit in with any of the established branches of TNG, but based on what little data there is, it would seem to be closest to either the Berau Gulf branches (i.e.
South Bird's Head
The South Bird's Head or South Doberai languages are three families of Papuan languages. They form part of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classifications of Malcolm Ross (2005) and Timothy Usher (2020), though Pawley and Hammarström (2 ...
,
West Bomberai
The West Bomberai languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula of western New Guinea and in East Timor and neighboring islands of Indonesia.
Languages
Two of the languages of the mainland, Baham and Iha, are clo ...
etc.) or the
Asmat–Mombum languages
The Asmat–Muli Strait languages are a branch of the Trans–New Guinea languages
Trans–New Guinea (TNG) is an extensive family of Papuan languages spoken on the island of New Guinea and neighboring islands ‒ corresponding to the country ...
and their relatives further east.
Sumeri has previously been linked to the
Mairasi languages
The Mairasi languages, also known as Etna Bay are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classifications of Malcolm Ross and Timothy Usher, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal. They are named after E ...
, but those do not share the TNG pronouns of Sumeri. The Sumeri pronouns are:
:
There are no 3rd-person personal pronouns, only demonstratives. The pronouns appear to reflect pTNG *na 1sg, *ga 2sg, and *gi 2pl.
Vocabulary
The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:
:
See also
*
Mairasi languages
The Mairasi languages, also known as Etna Bay are a small independent family of Papuan languages in the classifications of Malcolm Ross and Timothy Usher, that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea proposal. They are named after E ...
References
Notes
{{Papuan languages
Trans–New Guinea languages
Languages of western New Guinea
Language isolates of New Guinea