Salt-Yui language
| Salt | |
|---|---|
| Yui | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Chimbu Province |
Native speakers | (6,500 cited 1981)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sll |
| Glottolog | salt1242 |
Salt, or Yui, is a Trans–New Guinea language of Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea.[2]
Basics
The following are some basic examples of phrases and nouns in Salt-Yui:[3][4]
| Salt-Yui | English translation or meaning |
|---|---|
| yahuno | Basic greeting |
| ere po | Basic farewell |
| na hana ___ | my name is ___ |
| na pimgi | i understand |
| ni han dalo | tell me your name |
| akio | don't touch this |
| Salt-Yui | English translation or meaning |
|---|---|
| gànbá | ground |
| kuŕìá | magic |
| há | language |
| hóng | prayer |
| daang | slope |
| owó | yes |
Pronunciation
Vowels
The following is how you pronounce certain vowels in Salt-Yui:[3]
- /a/ is pronounced as in father
- /e/ is pronounced as in peg
- /i/ is pronounced as in tin
- /o/ is pronounced as in more
- /u/ is pronounced as in put
Consonants
Most consonants are similar to English, except for the following:[3]
- r between vowels is flapped i.e. like 'd'. And if placed at the end of a word it is not voiced but trilled.
- l between vowels is flapped i.e. like 'd'. but if not, it has the same friction as the English 'l'.
- ng is normally pronounced as in 'sing', but if it is in the 2nd person it should be pronounced as a sequence of 'n+g'
Pronouns
Most nouns may show ownership this way:[3]
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | -na | -ni | -ng |
| Plural | -na | -ni | -ng |
Example:
| Noun | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person |
|---|---|---|---|
| wa (son) | wana (my son) | wani (your son) | wang (his/her son) |
| Noun | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person |
|---|---|---|---|
| wa (son) | wana (our son) | wani (your son) | wang (their son) |
Personal pronouns are shown like this:[3]
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | na (I) | ni (You) | yali (He/She/It) |
| Plural | na (We) | ni (?) (You) | yali (?) (Them) |
Verbs
The following is how to conjugate verbs with personal pronouns shown with an example:[3][5]
| 1st Person (Alone) | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | digi (I alone say) | dimgi (I say) | dingi (you say) | dungwi (he/her/it says) |
| Plural | X | dimgi (we say) | dingi (you all say) | dungwi (they say) |
| 1st Person (Alone) | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | diralgi (I alone shall say) | dinamgi (I shall say) | dinangi (you will say) | dinangwi (he/she/it will say) |
| Plural | X | dinamgi (we shall say) | dinangi (you all will say) | dinangwi (they will say) |
| 1st Person (Alone) | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | dikigi (I alone didn't say) | dikimgi (I didn't say) | dikingi (you didn't say) | dikungw(i/o) (he/her/it didn't say) |
| Plural | X | dikimgi (we didn't say) | dikingi (you all didn't say) | dikungw(i/o) (they didn't say) |
| 1st Person (Alone) | 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | dilo (Did i alone say?) | dimno (Did i say?) | dino (Did you say?) | dimo (Did he/she/it say?) |
| Plural | X | dimno (Did we say?) | dino (Did you all say?) | dimo (Did they say?) |
As seen above, Salt-Yui has a special form for verbs with 'I alone'; why this is is still unknown.
Other example verbs:[3]
| Salt-Yui | English |
|---|---|
| di/du | to be (inanimate) |
| mol | to be (animate) |
| ol | to do |
| ke pai | to live |
| ne/no | to eat/to drink |
| te/to | to give |
All of these verbs can follow the previous conjugations for verbs.
Adjectives
In Salt-Yui, adjectives usually follow the noun, here are some examples of adjectives in Salt-Yui:[3][4]
| Salt-Yui | English |
|---|---|
| migiga | small |
| obilga | small amount |
| miki | many |
| nol | red/pink |
| mori | blue/green |
| pege | white |
Numerals
There are five cardinal numerals that have been written down, which are the following:[3][4]
| Salt-Yui | English |
|---|---|
| taniga | one |
| sutani | two |
| suitai dire | three |
| sui sui dire | four |
| ana holulu | five |
Locatives
The following are examples of known locatives in Salt-Yui:[3]
| Salt-Yui | English |
|---|---|
| yolbi | down |
| manala | under |
| mibi | above |
| ala | in |
| mala | near |
| bina | beside, edge |
References
- ^ Salt at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Yui | Ethnologue Free at Ethnologue
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Salt-yui language (sil.org) at SIL International (1962 to 1980) (Irwin, Barry S. and Irwin, Ruth)
- ^ a b c Salt-Yui Swadesh List : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive made by The Rosetta Project and The Long Now Foundation (16 Sep. 2010) (If source doesn't show up click on 'Text' at 'Download Options')
- ^ Irwin, Barry (1974). "Salt-Yui Grammar".
Further reading
- Glottolog 5.0 - Barry Irwin 1974 Salt-Yui Grammar by Barry Irwin. 1974, published by the Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University
- Salt-Yui New Testament Salt-Yui New Testament. 1978, published by the Wycliffe Bible Translators
External links
- OLAC resources in and about the Salt-Yui language (language-archives.org)
