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Kewa is a Trans–New Guinea language complex of the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. ==Kewa pandanus language== Kewa's elaborate pandanus avoidance register, which is used only in the forest during the pandan harvest, has been extensively documented.〔William Foley, 1986. ''The Papuan Languages of New Guinea,'' p. 43 ''ff''.〕 The grammar is regularized and the vocabulary is restricted, with about a thousand words that differ from normal language. Pandanus-register words have a broader semantic scope. For example, ''yoyo'', a reduplication of ''yo'' 'leaf', refers to hair, ear, breast, and scrotum, all things which hang from the body as pandanus leaves hang from the tree. ''Palaa,'' 'limb,' (either thigh or branch) is used for any reference to trees, including root, firewood, and fire. (Even in normal Kewa, ''repena'' means both 'tree' and 'fire'.) ''Maeye'' or 'crazy' refers to any non-human animal except dogs. It contrasts with the rational world of humans. Many words are coined from Kewa morphology but have idiosyncratic meanings in the forest. ''Aayagopa'', from ''aa'' 'man', ''yago'' 'fellow', and ''pa'' 'to do, to make', refers to man, knee, skin, and neck. Many idiosyncratic phrases are then built on this word. For example, ''ni madi aayagopa-si'' (I carry man-) means "my father". The grammar has also been simplified. Clause-linking morphology is lost and replaced by simple juxtaposition of the clauses. In standard Kewa, there are two sets of verbal endings, one indicating actions done for the speaker's benefit. That set is missing from the pandanus language. The other inflection differs somewhat. For example, the forms of 'to be' are: (The ''-nu'' in ''aayagopanu'' is a collective suffix.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kewa language」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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