Wipi, also known as Gidra, Jibu or Oriomo, is a
Papuan language
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 ...
of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
. It is a member of the
Eastern Trans-Fly family, the other languages of this family being
Gizrra,
Meriam Mir
Meriam ( ulk, Meriam Mìr; also ''Miriam, Meryam, Mer, Mir, Miriam-Mir'', etc. and ''Eastern, Isten, Esten'' and ''Able Able'') or the Eastern Torres Strait language is the language of the people of the small islands of ''Mer'' ( Murray Island ...
and
Bine. The family has influenced the neighbouring
Kiwai language
Kiwai is a Papuan language, or languages, of southern 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 bilon ...
as well as
Kalau Lagau Ya
''Kalau Lagau Ya'', ''Kalaw Lagaw Ya'', ''Kala Lagaw Ya'' (), or the ''Western Torres Strait language'' (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. O ...
.
Distribution
Wipi is spoken in fourteen main villages, with the Wipim village as the centre. Wipi speakers occupy a broad swathe of inland territory in the eastern plains between the
Fly River
The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of and the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its cat ...
and the
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
, specifically around the
Oriomo River
The Oriomo River is located in southern Papua New Guinea. Originating on the Oriomo Plateau, it enters the sea near the town of Daru.
See also
*Oriomo-Bituri Rural LLG
*Oriomo languages
*Oriomo Plateau
The Oriomo Plateau is a plateau in Wester ...
and
Binaturi River.
Phonology
Phonology of the Wipi language:
Consonants
Vowels
References
Eastern Trans-Fly languages
Languages of Western Province (Papua New Guinea)
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