Mairasi language

Mairasi (a.k.a. Faranyao and Kaniran) is a Papuan language of the Bomberai Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia.

The Northeastern dialect may be a distinct language.

Distribution
Locations:


 * Kaimana Regency
 * Interior villages: Umbran, Jamna Fata, Matna, Tarwata, Sara, Kasira, Orai, Wangatnau, Faranyau, and Sarifan
 * Coastal villages: Sisir, Foroma Jaya, Warasi, Lobo, Lomira, Morona, Nanggwaromi, Omay (May may), and Warika
 * Teluk Wondama Regency
 * Naikere District villages: Sararti, Oya, Yabore, Wosimo, Undurara, and Inyora

Pronouns
Mairasi possessor prefixes are:

! !! sg !! pl ! 1 ! 2 ! 3
 * o- || ee-
 * ne- || e-
 * na- || ne-
 * }

Case markers
Noun phrase case markers in Mairasi:
 * instrumental suffix -t
 * locative postposition ar
 * allative postposition ev(i)

Some examples: ovuru-t

machete-INSTR

‘with a machete’ weso ar

house LOC

‘in the house’ mundu evi

village ALL

‘to the village’

Possessors
Mairasi possessor prefixes:

! !! sg !! pl ! 1 ! 2 ! 3
 * o- || ee-
 * ne- || e-
 * na- || ne-
 * }

Examples of inalienable possessors: ee-rovo

1PL.POSS-hand

‘our hands’ na-iambi

3SG.POSS-skin

‘his skin’

Directionals
Mairasi has two directional suffixes, which are only used with movement verbs.
 * -aʔi ‘up, inland’
 * -ari ‘down, seaward’

Examples of directional suffixes in use: o-is-aʔi

1SG.SBJ-stand-up

‘I stand up’ o-fon-ari

1SG.SBJ-sit-down

‘I sit down’

Animacy
Animacy is marked by the adjective modifier n-, as exemplified by the contrast in the following two noun phrases.

fariri Ø-avwer

word INAN-big

‘a big word’

fariri n-avwer

word ANIM-big

‘a long-winded person’

Vowel changes can modify the number of animate nouns:

uratu n-avwer

fish ANIM-big.SG

‘a big fish’

uratu n-evwer

fish ANIM-big.PL

‘big fishes’