In this article, we will explore in depth the topic of Oksapmin language, a topic of great relevance in today's society. From its origins to its impact today, we will delve into different aspects related to Oksapmin language to offer a complete and enriching perspective. Along these lines, we will analyze its influence in different areas, its evolution over time and the different perspectives that exist around Oksapmin language. Furthermore, we will examine the implications that Oksapmin language has in our daily lives and in the future, highlighting its importance in the current context. With this article, we aim to provide a broad and detailed overview of Oksapmin language that will be of interest to all types of readers.
Oksapmin | |
---|---|
Oksap | |
nuxule meŋ 'our language' | |
Native to | Papua New Guinea |
Region | Oksapmin Rural LLG, Telefomin District, Sandaun |
Native speakers | 12,000 (2005) |
Trans–New Guinea
| |
Dialects |
|
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | opm |
Glottolog | oksa1245 |
ELP | Oksapmin |
![]() Map: The Oksapmin language of New Guinea
The Oksapmin language
Other Trans–New Guinea languages
Other Papuan languages
Austronesian languages
Uninhabited | |
Oksapmin is a Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Oksapmin Rural LLG, Telefomin District, Sandaun, Papua New Guinea. The two principal dialects are distinct enough to cause some problems with mutual intelligibility.
Oksapmin has dyadic kinship terms and a body-part counting system that goes up to 27. Notable ethnographic research by Geoffrey B. Saxe at UC Berkeley has documented the encounter between pre-contact uses of number and its cultural evolution under conditions of monetization and exposure to schooling and the formal economy among the Oksapmin.
Oksapmin has been influenced by the Mountain Ok languages (the name "Oksapmin" is from Telefol), and the similarities with those languages were attributed to borrowing in the classifications of both Stephen Wurm (1975) and Malcolm Ross (2005), where Oksapmin was placed as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea. Loughnane (2009) and Loughnane and Fedden (2011) conclude that it is related to the Ok languages, though those languages share innovative features not found in Oksapmin. Usher finds Oksapmin is not related to the Ok languages specifically, though it is related at some level to the southwestern branches of Trans–New Guinea.
There are six monophthongs, /i e ə a o u/, and one diphthong, /ai/.
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | |||||
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
Stop | voiceless | t | k | kʷ | ||
prenasal | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | ||
Fricative | ɸ | s | x | xʷ | ||
Lateral | l | |||||
Semivowel | j | w |
Phoneme | Allophone |
---|---|
/t/ | [t], [tʰ] |
/k/ | [k], [kʰ] |
/ᵐb/ | [ᵐb], [m] |
/ⁿd/ | [ⁿd], [n] |
/ᵑɡ/ | [ᵑɡ], [ŋ] |
/ɸ/ | [ɸ], [β], [p], |
/s/ | [s], [z] |
/x/ | [x], [ɣ], [ç], [ʝ] |
Oksapmin contrasts two tones: high and low.