Waskia | |
---|---|
Region | Papua New Guinea |
Native speakers | 20,000 (2007) [1] |
Trans–New Guinea?
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
wsk |
Glottolog |
wask1241 |
Waskia (Vaskia, Woskia) is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea. [2] It is spoken on half of Karkar Island, and a small part of the shore on the mainland, by 20,000 people; language use is vigorous. The Waskia share their island with speakers of Takia, an Oceanic language which has been restructured under the influence of Waskia, which is the inter-community language. Waskia has been documented extensively by Malcolm Ross and is being further researched by Andrew Pick.
Waskia is spoken in Tokain ( 4°42′56″S 145°38′02″E / 4.715575°S 145.633995°E), a village in Malas ward, Sumgilbar Rural LLG on the coast of mainland New Guinea, and on Karkar Island, with the island and mainland varieties being lexically divergent from each other. [3] [4]
Below are some Waskia lexical forms compared with Amako and Proto-Northern Adelbert. [2]: 473
gloss | Waskia | Amako |
Proto-Northern Adelbert |
---|---|---|---|
hornbill | baram | bar | *baram |
pig | buruk | bur | *buruk |
sit | – | beng- | *bug- |
year | barat | – | *barat |
skin | guang | – | *guaŋ |
thick | gurum | uŋur | *gurum |
liver | gomang | gom | *gemaŋ |
turn | gira- | girka- | *girik- |
breadfruit | – | kid | *kidar |
banana | – | kud | *kudi |
lime | kaur | ka | *kapur |
day, sun | kam | – | *kam |
nape | komang | kumandup | *kumaŋ |
plate | tawir | taw | *tabir |
LOC | te | te | *te |
rain | tiwik | tiv | *t(e/i)ik |