Piame language

Sepik language of Papua New Guinea From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Piame, or Biami, is a Sepik language, which in 1988 was spoken in the village of Piame in northwestern Papua New Guinea.[2]:249

EthnicityHewa
Native speakers
(Less than 100 cited 1988)[1]
Quick facts Native to, Region ...
Piame
Biami
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionEast Sepik Province
EthnicityHewa
Native speakers
(Less than 100 cited 1988)[1]
Sepik
Language codes
ISO 639-3pin
Glottologpiam1243
ELPPiame
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Relationship to other languages

Piame is closely related to Niksek, with cognate percentages ranging from 44% to 53% for the different Niksek dialects.[2]:249

Sociolinguistics

In 1988, it was spoken by less than a hundred people, in the single village of Piame.[2]:249 The village was primarily monolingual. Two or three men had begun to learn Tok Pisin, the lingua franca of Papua New Guinea.[2]:254

The language is today described as moribund.[3][4]

Vocabulary

The table below is a sample of words in Piame:[2]:261

More information English ...
Piame English
pasikofi afternoon
bawe arrow
mokuawo baby
mekia back
wɔřou cassowary
a yopakaři chin
yabi dog
peni ear
yelia kaia egg
wauwuo fat
aise father
mɔmiyaři məməni moku'awo girl
yelia kowane good
kouřinobo hair
nɔti hand
u'kwəti knee
misaři knife
mekwa leaf
yelia meisa long
məmini'nɔni man
ake/kɔřisib̵ab̵e many
ka'lami neck
ake/akutu new
akelmeisi old
mekwa one
a'kaifɔ/fɔ pig
nou rain
wamo rat
kařinei sand
yelia nɔpo short
fɔ'yəni tail
sawi taro
you'wei vine
akaipəsi wallaby
a'sei water
kařu yam
nɔifi yesterday
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References

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