The Torricelli languages are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of about fifty languages of the northern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
coast, spoken by about 80,000 people. They are named after the
Torricelli Mountains
The Torricelli Mountains are a mountain range in Sandaun Province, north-western Papua New Guinea. The highest peak in the range is Mount Sulen at 1650 meters. The Bewani Mountains are located to the west, and the Prince Alexander Mountains ar ...
. The most populous and best known Torricelli language is
Arapesh
The Arapesh languages are several closely related Torricelli languages of the 32,000 Arapesh people of Papua New Guinea. They are spoken in eastern Sandaun Province and northern East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Arapesh languages are am ...
, with about 30,000 speakers.
The most promising external relationship for the Torricelli family is the
Sepik languages
The Sepik or Sepik River languages are a family of some 50 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea, proposed by Donald Laycock in 1965 in a somewhat more limited form than presented here. They tend to have ...
. In reconstructions of both families, the pronouns have a plural suffix ''*-m'' and a
dual suffix ''*-p''.
History
The Torricelli languages occupy three geographically separated areas, evidently separated by later migrations of
Sepik-language speakers several centuries ago. Foley considers the Torricelli languages to be autochthonous to the
Torricelli Mountains
The Torricelli Mountains are a mountain range in Sandaun Province, north-western Papua New Guinea. The highest peak in the range is Mount Sulen at 1650 meters. The Bewani Mountains are located to the west, and the Prince Alexander Mountains ar ...
and nearby surrounding areas, having been resident in the region for at least several millennia. The current distribution of
Lower Sepik-Ramu
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...
and Sepik (especially
Ndu) reflects later migrations from the south and the east.
Foley notes that the
Lower Sepik and
Ndu groups have lower internal diversity comparable to that of the
Germanic and
Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
languages, while internal diversity within the Torricelli family is considerably higher.
Typological overview
Syntax
The Torricelli languages are unusual among Papuan languages in having a basic clause order of SVO (subject–verb–object). (In contrast, most Papuan languages have SOV order.) It was previously believed that the Torricelli word order was a result of contact with Austronesian languages, but Donohue (2005) believes it is more likely that SVO order was present in the Torricelli proto-language.
Torricelli languages display many typological features that are direct opposites of features typical in the much more widespread
Trans-New Guinea languages.
[Foley, Bill. 2005]
Papuan languages
as written for the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics 2003.
*''Torricelli'':
preposition
Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...
s, SVO,
left-branching
In linguistics, branching refers to the shape of the parse trees that represent the structure of sentences. Assuming that the language is being written or transcribed from left to right, parse trees that grow down and to the right are ''right-branc ...
*''Trans-New Guinea'':
postposition
Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...
s, SOV,
right-branching
However,
Bogia and
Marienberg
Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...
languages have SOV word order and postpositions, likely as a result of convergence with
Lower Sepik-Ramu
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...
and
Sepik languages
The Sepik or Sepik River languages are a family of some 50 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea, proposed by Donald Laycock in 1965 in a somewhat more limited form than presented here. They tend to have ...
, which are predominantly SOV.
Torricelli languages also lack
clause
In language, a clause is a constituent that comprises a semantic predicand (expressed or not) and a semantic predicate. A typical clause consists of a subject and a syntactic predicate, the latter typically a verb phrase composed of a verb with ...
chaining constructions, and therefore have no true
conjunction
Conjunction may refer to:
* Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech
* Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator
** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic
* Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...
s or clause-linking affixes.
Clauses are often simply juxtaposed.
Nouns
In Torricelli and
Lower Sepik-Ramu languages
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
, phonological properties of nouns can even determine gender.
Like in the
Yuat and
Lower Sepik-Ramu
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...
languages, nouns in Torricelli languages are inflected for number, which is a typological feature not generally found in the
Trans–New Guinea,
Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...
,
Lakes Plain,
West Papuan,
Alor–Pantar, and
Tor–Kwerba language families.
Classification
Wilhelm Schmidt linked the Wapei and Monumbo branches, and the coastal western and eastern extremes of the family, in 1905. The family was more fully established by David Laycock in 1965. Most recently, Ross broke up Laycock and Z’graggen's (1975) Kombio branch, placing the Kombio language in the Palei branch and leaving Wom as on its own, with the other languages (
Eitiep,
Torricelli (Lou),
Yambes,
Aruek) unclassified due to lack of data. Usher tentatively separates Monumbo, Marienberg, and the
Taiap (Gapun) language from the rest of the family in a 'Sepik Coast' branch.
*Sepik Coast
**
Marienberg
Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...
branch:
Bungain,
Wiarumus (Mandi),
Muniwara (Juwal),
Urimo,
Kamasau,
Elepi,
Buna
**
Monumbo branch (see)
** ''
Taiap''
*Torricelli Range
** ''
Wom''
**
Arapesh
The Arapesh languages are several closely related Torricelli languages of the 32,000 Arapesh people of Papua New Guinea. They are spoken in eastern Sandaun Province and northern East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Arapesh languages are am ...
branch (see)
**
Maimai branch:
Nambi
Nambi is a pastoral lease and sheep station located about north east of Leonora and south east of Leinster in the Goldfields of Western Australia.
The station was established in 1899.
The property was owned by the Leonora Pastoral company ...
(Nabi),
Wiaki (Minidien),
Beli,
Laeko, Maimai proper (
Siliput,
Yahang–
Heyo)
**
West Wapei branch:
Seti
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...
,
Seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
,
One (a dialect cluster)
**
Wapei branch:
Gnau
The card game ''Gnau'' or ''Ngau'' or "Ngao" (British Chinese) meaning Ox in English ({{zh, c=牛; Cantonese: Ngau) is a card game played in Malaysia where it originated. It can be played casually or as a gambling game. It can be played with as ma ...
,
Yis,
Yau,
Olo,
Elkei,
Au,
Yil,
Ningil,
Dia–
Sinagen (both Alu, Galu),
Yapunda,
Valman
**
Palei branch:
Urim,
Urat Urat may refer to:
* Urad, or Urat, a region in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia
** Urad Front Banner
** Urad Middle Banner
** Urad Rear Banner
*Urat language
Urat (Wasep, Wusyep) is a Torricelli language spoken by a decreasing number of people in Papu ...
,
Kombio,
Agi
Silver iodide is an inorganic compound with the formula Ag I. The compound is a bright yellow solid, but samples almost always contain impurities of metallic silver that give a gray coloration. The silver contamination arises because AgI is hig ...
,
Aruop,
Wanap (Kayik),
Amol
Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people.
Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less than ...
(Alatil, Aru),
Aiku
Yangum is a Torricelli dialect cluster of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niug ...
(
Ambrak,
Yangum)
Foley (2018)
Foley (2018) provides the following classification.
*
Bogia group
**
Mambuwan (
Monumbo)
**
Lilau
*
Marienberg Hills group
**
Buna,
Blabla (
Elapi /
Samap)
**
Kamasau
**
Bungain
**
Muniwara,
Urimo,
Mandi
Mandi may refer to:
Places
* Mandı, Azerbaijan
India
* Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir
* Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh
** Mandi State, former princely sta ...
(
Wiarumus)
*
Arapeshan group:
Mountain Arapesh (
Bukiyip),
Southern Arapesh (
Muhiang /
Mufian),
Bumbita (
Weri),
Abu'
*
Urim group:
Urim,
Urat Urat may refer to:
* Urad, or Urat, a region in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia
** Urad Front Banner
** Urad Middle Banner
** Urad Rear Banner
*Urat language
Urat (Wasep, Wusyep) is a Torricelli language spoken by a decreasing number of people in Papu ...
,
Kombio, etc.
*
Maimai group
**
Beli,
Laeko-Libuat
**
Wiaki
**
Siliput,
Yahang,
Heyo
*
Wapei-Palei group
**
Wapei group:
Yis,
Yau,
Olo,
Elkei,
Au,
Yil,
Alu,
Ningil,
Gnau
The card game ''Gnau'' or ''Ngau'' or "Ngao" (British Chinese) meaning Ox in English ({{zh, c=牛; Cantonese: Ngau) is a card game played in Malaysia where it originated. It can be played casually or as a gambling game. It can be played with as ma ...
,
Yapunda,
Walman (
Valman)
**
Palei group:
Nambi
Nambi is a pastoral lease and sheep station located about north east of Leonora and south east of Leinster in the Goldfields of Western Australia.
The station was established in 1899.
The property was owned by the Leonora Pastoral company ...
,
Agi
Silver iodide is an inorganic compound with the formula Ag I. The compound is a bright yellow solid, but samples almost always contain impurities of metallic silver that give a gray coloration. The silver contamination arises because AgI is hig ...
,
Aruop (
Srenge),
Kayik,
Aiku
Yangum is a Torricelli dialect cluster of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niug ...
,
Braget,
Aru,
Ambrak
*
One group:
One,
Seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
,
Seti
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...
, etc.
Foley rejects Laycock's (1975)
Kombio-Arapeshan grouping, instead splitting up into the
Arapesh
The Arapesh languages are several closely related Torricelli languages of the 32,000 Arapesh people of Papua New Guinea. They are spoken in eastern Sandaun Province and northern East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Arapesh languages are am ...
and
Urim groups.
''Glottolog'' 3.4
''
Glottolog
''Glottolog'' is a bibliographic database of the world's lesser-known languages, developed and maintained first at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (between 2015 and 2020 at the Max Planck Institute for ...
'' 3.4 presents a vastly different classification for the "Nuclear Torricelli" languages.
*
Au-
Olo-
Elkei
*''
Beli''
*
Galu-Alu
*''
Gnau
The card game ''Gnau'' or ''Ngau'' or "Ngao" (British Chinese) meaning Ox in English ({{zh, c=牛; Cantonese: Ngau) is a card game played in Malaysia where it originated. It can be played casually or as a gambling game. It can be played with as ma ...
''
*
Kombio-
Arapesh
The Arapesh languages are several closely related Torricelli languages of the 32,000 Arapesh people of Papua New Guinea. They are spoken in eastern Sandaun Province and northern East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Arapesh languages are am ...
-
Urat Urat may refer to:
* Urad, or Urat, a region in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia
** Urad Front Banner
** Urad Middle Banner
** Urad Rear Banner
*Urat language
Urat (Wasep, Wusyep) is a Torricelli language spoken by a decreasing number of people in Papu ...
(10 languages)
*
Laeko-Libuat
*
Marienberg
Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...
(7 languages)
*''
Minidien''
*
Nabi
Nabi may refer to:
People
* Adil Nabi (born 1994), English footballer
*Heiki Nabi (born 1985), Estonian wrestler
*Isadore Nabi, satirical pseudonym of Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, scientists in the 1960s
*Mohammad Nabi (born 1985), Afghan ...
-Metan
*
Ningil-
Yil
*Nuclear
Maimai (3 languages)
*Nuclear
Palai
Pallai ( ta, பளை, si, පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka.
It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula, approximately south-east of Jaffna.
...
(7 languages)
*''
Urim''
*''
Wanap''
*West Palai (3 languages):
Walman,
Agi
Silver iodide is an inorganic compound with the formula Ag I. The compound is a bright yellow solid, but samples almost always contain impurities of metallic silver that give a gray coloration. The silver contamination arises because AgI is hig ...
-
Yeri Yeri may refer to:
* Yeri, Cyprus
* Yeri, Tajikistan
*Yeri (singer) (born Kim Ye-rim, 1999), South Korean female singer, member of Red Velvet.
*Yery
Yeru or Eru (Ы ы; italics: ), usually called Y in modern Russian or Yery or Ery historic ...
*
West Wapei (8 languages)
*''
Wom''
*
Yau-
Yis
Pronouns
The pronouns Ross (2005) reconstructs for proto-Torricelli are
:
Foley (2018) reconstructs the independent personal pronouns *ki ‘I’ and *(y)i ‘thou’, and *(y)ip ‘you (pl)’. Foley considers the second-person pronouns to be strong diagnostics for determining membership in the Torricelli family.
Foley (2018) reconstructs the following subject agreement prefixes for proto-Torricelli.
:
Lexical comparison
The lexical data below is from the Trans-New Guinea database.
Cognate sets
A cognate set for 'louse' in Torricelli languages as compiled by Dryer (2022):
:
See also
*
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 ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
Laycock, Donald C. 1968. Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea. ''
Oceanic Linguistics
''Oceanic Linguistics'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the indigenous languages of the Oceanic area and parts of Southeast Asia, including the indigenous Australian languages, the Papuan languages of New Guinea, ...
'', 7 (1): 36-66.
*
External links
Torricelli languages database at TransNewGuinea.org
{{language families
Language families
Languages of Momase Region
Subject–verb–object languages