Nabak language

Nabak (also known as Wain) is a Papuan language spoken by around 16,000 people in the Morobe Province located in the western Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea. Nabak follows the SOV typology. It uses Latin script in its written form.

Classification and language status
Nabak is sub-grouped into the Trans-New Guinea, Finisterre-Huon, Western, Huon language family. The Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGDIS) has the Nabak level 5. A level 5 language is considered as “developing”, meaning that Nabak is thriving but a standardized form is not widespread. Level 1 speakers, or native speakers, on average are about 50 to 75 percent fluent in Nabak. The language is spread throughout approximately 30 settlements, totaling 52 villages in the Busu river east headwaters.

Consonants
Allophones of /kʷ, ɡʷ/ can be heard as [k͡p, ɡ͡b]. Allophones of sounds /s, z, l, w/ can be heard as [t͡s, d͡z, ɾ, β].

Vowels
Written form: â, a, e, i, o, u

Nouns
Nouns can be pluralized and/or possessed. If a noun is pluralized, then the possessive noun indicator must also be present. Nouns that are body-parts are typically in the possessive form, unless making an objective statement.

Examples

 * bet = a hand
 * bedi = your hand


 * zikat = an eye
 * zikalidne = their (dual) eyes


 * kwaŋ = grass
 * kwaŋaŋ = his grass
 * tunne = my rivers

Pronouns
There are many pronouns in the Nabak language. Formal genitive pronouns are not as widespread there is no direct translation to English third-person pronouns. Formal genitive pronouns only exists in the interrogative form.

Adjectives
Adjectives and nouns are part of the same word class in the Nabak Language. This category only serves to illustrate nouns that can modify a head noun. Though, a dilemma occurs because these modifier nouns can also act as the head nouns that they are modifying. It is important to identify when describing ‘adjectives’ in Nabak, what is being described are words that are part of the noun class.

Examples
Quality:


 * dolak-ŋaŋ = good
 * sambubu-ŋaŋ = rotten

Size:


 * tembe = big
 * isik-ŋaŋ = little

Dimensions:


 * teep-maŋ = tall/long
 * Da-naŋ = short

Color


 * ŋa-maŋ = red
 * sat-naŋ = white

Weight


 * nuk-ŋaŋ = heavy
 * Imbela-ŋaŋ = light

Numbers

 * 1) kwep = one
 * 2) zut = two
 * 3) tuk = three

(*Note that phrases represent higher numbers *)

Verbs
Verbs consists of an optional prefix, with a verb stem, then with an optional first-order aspect suffix.

There are medial verbs and final verbs. Final verbs are located at the end of a sentence. Medial verbs can be located anywhere but at the end of a sentence.

Interrogatives
Polar interrogatives are made from declarative statements simply by changing the vocal intonation so that there is a higher pitch at the end of a sentence.

Non-polar interrogatives are made by using the words equivalent to “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, etc.

Emotion and interrogatives
Interrogatives can also be used to introduce emotion into a story. This is done by the storyteller making the participant in a story ask a question to themselves, letting the listeners of the story what emotion they are dealing with.