Gapun
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Gapun | |
|---|---|
  Gapun Location within Papua New Guinea | |
| Coordinates: 4°01′43″S 144°30′11″E / 4.028746°S 144.50304°E | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Province | East Sepik Province |
| LLG | Marienberg Rural LLG |
| Languages | |
| • Main languages | Tok Pisin and Tayap |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) |
Gapun is a village in Marienberg Rural LLG, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, located near the mouth of the Sepik River. The language isolate Tayap is traditionally spoken in Gapun by the Tayap people. Gapun village is the sole Tayap settlement, while all other neighboring villages are inhabited by non-related ethnic groups.[1] The sociolinguistic history of the village has been presented in textbooks as a case study on how and why language shift and language death occur.[2]
The village is called Saŋgap in the Kopar language.[3]: 47
In 2018, the village was burned down and abandoned due to violence among households. The former residents fled to the nearby villages of Wongan (3°59′58″S 144°31′56″E / 3.999326°S 144.532123°E), Watam (3°54′24″S 144°32′43″E / 3.906592°S 144.545246°E), and Boroi.[3]: 16
Gapun is located on a small hill overlooking the southern banks of the Sepik. The hill on which Gapun is located is part of a plateau that stretches from the village of Bosmun (4°10′35″S 144°38′55″E / 4.176323°S 144.648727°E) in Yawar Rural LLG, Madang Province in the east to Gapun in the west. The hill used to be an island a few thousand years ago before alluvial sediment deposits pushed the coastline further northeast.[1]
The village is located about 10 kilometers from the coast with an estimated a population of 110 in 1992.[4]
