Proto-Trans–New Guinea language

Proto-Trans–New Guinea is the reconstructed proto-language ancestral to the Trans–New Guinea languages. Reconstructions have been proposed by Malcolm Ross and Andrew Pawley.

Phonology
Proto-Trans–New Guinea is reconstructed with a typical simple Papuan inventory: five vowels,, three phonations of stops at three places, (Andrew Pawley reconstructs the voiced series as prenasalized ), plus a palatal affricate , the fricative , and the approximants. Syllables are typically (C)V, with CVC possible at the ends of words. Many of the languages have restricted tone systems.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

! !!Bilabial!!Apical!!Palatal!!Velar !style="text-align: left"|Plosive !style="text-align: left"| Prenasalised plosives !style="text-align: left"|Nasals !style="text-align: left"|Fricatives !style="text-align: left"|Laterals !style="text-align: left"|Semivowels
 * +Consonants
 * +Consonants
 * p || t|| || k
 * ᵐb || ⁿd
 * ᶮʤ|| ᵑg
 * m || n|| ɲ || ŋ
 * s
 * s
 * || l|| ||
 * w || || j ||
 * }

The Proto-Trans–New Guinea vowels are reconstructed as having a cross-linguistically frequent five-vowel system:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

! ! Front !Central ! Back ! Close ! Mid ! Open
 * +Vowels
 * +Vowels
 * a
 * }
 * }
 * }

Pronouns
Ross reconstructs the following pronominal paradigm for Trans–New Guinea, with *a~*i ablaut for singular~non-singular:


 * {| class=wikitable


 * I || *na || we || *ni
 * thou || *ga || you || *gi
 * s/he || *(y)a, *ua || they || *i
 * }
 * s/he || *(y)a, *ua || they || *i
 * }
 * }

There is a related but less commonly attested form for 'we', *nu, as well as a *ja for 'you', which Ross speculates may have been a polite form. In addition, there were dual suffixes *-li and *-t, and a plural suffix *-nV, (i.e. n plus a vowel) as well as collective number suffixes *-pi- (dual) and *-m- (plural) that functioned as inclusive we when used in the first person. (Reflexes of the collective suffixes, however, are limited geographically to the central and eastern highlands, and so might not be as old as proto-Trans–New Guinea.)

Morphology
Studies group Madang, Finisterre-Huon, and Kainantu-Goroka together as part of a larger Northeast New Guinea (NENG) group on the basis of morphological evidence, such as mutually reconstructable verbal suffixes that mark subject:


 * Proto-Northeast New Guinea subject-marking verbal suffixes


 * {| class="wikitable"

! !! singular !! dual !! plural ! 1st person ! 2nd person ! 3rd person
 * *-Vn || *-u(l,t) || *-un, *-i
 * *-an
 * rowspan="2" | *-i(l,t)
 * *-ai, *-i, *-a
 * *-a, *-i || *-ai
 * }


 * Comparison of reconstructions of subject-marking verbal suffixes


 * {| class="wikitable"

! !! proto-Northeast New Guinea !! proto-Madang !! proto-Finisterre-Huon !! proto-Kainantu-Goroka !! Proto-Trans–New Guinea (tentative) ! 1sg ! 2sg ! 3sg ! 1du ! 2/3du ! 1pl ! 2/3pl
 * *-Vn || *-in || ? || *-u || *-Vn
 * *-an || *-an,*-i || *-an || *-an || *-Vn
 * *-a,*-i || *-a,*-an || *-a,*-i || *-ai,*-i || *-a,*-i
 * *-u(l,t) || -*-u(l,t) || *-u(l,t) || *-ur || *-u(l,t)
 * *-i(l,t) || *-i(l,t) || *-i(l,t) || ? || *-i(l,t)
 * *-un,*-i || *-un || *-un || *-un ||
 * *-ai,*-i,*-a || *-ai,*-i || *-e,*-i || *-a ||
 * }

Lexicon
Lexical words, such as *niman 'louse', may also be reconstructed:


 * Reflexes of *niman 'louse', which attest to an intermediate *iman in the east:
 * Chimbu–Wahgi: Mid/Nuclear Wahgi numan
 * Engan: Enga & Kewa lema
 * Finisterre–Huon: Kâte imeŋ, Selepet imen
 * Gogodala mi
 * Kainantu–Goroka: Awa nu, Tairora nume, Fore numaa, Gende (tu)nima
 * Southern Kiwai nimo
 * Koiarian: Managalasi uma
 * Kolopom: Kimaghama nome, Riantana nome
 * Kwale nomone
 * Madang: Kalam yman, Watiwa (Rai Coast) im, Sirva (Adelbert) iima
 * Mek: Kosarek ami
 * Marori nemeŋk
 * Paniai Lakes: Ekari yame (metathesis?)
 * Timor–Alor–Pantar: Western Pantar (h)amiŋ, Oirata amin (metathesis?)
 * Wiru nomo
 * Questionable branches:
 * Pauwasi: Yafi yemar
 * Central Sentani mi

The Proto-Trans–New Guinea negative is reconstructed as *ma-. Negatives in Trans–New Guinea languages usually have either an mV- or nV- form.
 * *mV (often *ma): Angaatɨha (Angan); Apalɨ, Waskia, Kalam (Madang); Kâte, Kombe (Finisterre-Huon)
 * *na ~ *naa: Awara (Finisterre-Huon); Enga, Ku Waru, Middle Wahgi (Chimbu-Wahgi); Oksapmin

Lexical comparison
Lexical comparison between Trans-New Guinean languages

For other lexical comparison tables of Papuan languages, see also:
 * West Papuan languages
 * West Bomberai languages
 * West Papuan Highlands languages
 * Northwest Papuan languages
 * Trans-Fly–Bulaka River languages
 * Papuan Gulf languages
 * Torricelli languages
 * Sepik–Ramu languages
 * East Papuan languages