Language name and locationː Amam, Papua New Guinea [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 阿马姆语 (Weri韦里语), 巴布亚新几内亚莫罗贝省戈伊拉拉县

1. naːɾ

2. naraɾ

3. naraɾ naːɾ (2+1)

5. mornants

10. mornantiaɾ

Linguist providing data and dateː Mr. Ryan Pennington, SIL International, Papua New Guinea through Ms. Lucille (Sissie) D’Jernes, November 21, 2013.

提供资料的语言学家: Mr. Ryan Pennington, 2013 年 11 月 21 日.

Other comments: Amam is until now considered a dialect of Weri, Amam language is spoken by approximately 700 speakers in Goilala district, Morobe province, Papua New Guinea. Amam uses traditional numbers for one and two, and sometimes three. For other numbers they usually only use Tok Pisin or English. On the above table, where there are blanks Tok Pisin is used.

Other notesː

·       Numerals in Amam are handled in a unique manner. Numerals are built from a generic numeral marker na. That is, somewhere after a noun in the noun phrase, a word beginning with na will occur. If the noun is singular, then a noun class suffix will follow the numeral marker. If the noun is dual, then the noun class suffix will be followed by the dual suffix -ar. The noun class that is composed of people and animals does not take a class suffix in the dual forms, so after na simply comes -ar.

·        In summary, Amam has a generic numeral na, and then the suffixes indicate the actual number. No numeral suffix indicates singularity, while the -ar suffix indicates duality. The -roa suffix indicates plurality for animates, while the -t suffix indicates plurality for inanimates.

·        As an example, the word for 5 is composed of three morphemes: mor ‘fist’ + na ‘numeral’ + tsi ‘noun class’. Therefore, it literally means ‘one fist’. The word for ten is composed of four morphemes: mor ‘fist’ + na ‘numeral’ + ti ‘noun class’ + ar ‘dual’. Therefore, it literally means ‘two fists’.

·    Amam has 19 letters in its alphabet, including 14 consonants and 5 vowels. These letters, along with the phonemes they represent, are listed below:
/d/, /g/, /ʔ/, /k/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /p/, /ɾ/, /r/, /s/, /t/, /w/, /y;

     /a/, /ɛ/, /i/, /o/, /u/

Language name and locationː Amam of Weri, Papua New Guinea [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 阿马姆语 (Weri韦里语), 巴布亚新几内亚莫罗贝省戈伊拉拉县

1. kopɪt naʊ (litː ''one one.SG..CL'')

2. naʊʊɹaɹ (litː ''one.DL.CL'')

3. naʊʊɹaɹ naʊ (lit: ''one.DL.CL one.SG..CL'') 

4. koŋ nent  (lit: ''fourth.finger one.SG..CL'')

5. moɹ nas (litː ''hand one.SG..CL'' )

6. moɹ nas nas-iaan naʊ (litː ''hand one.SG..CL one.SG.CL-from one.SG.CL'')

7. moɹ nas nas-iaan naʊʊɹaɹ

8. moɹ nas na-siaan naʊʊɹaɹ naʊ

9. moɹ nas na-siaan koŋ nent  

10. moɹ-esiaɹ (litː ''hand-DL.CL'')

11. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ-es-iaan naʊ (litː ''hand-DL.CL foot-SG.CL-from one.SG..CL'')

12. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ-es-iaan naʊʊɹaɹ

13. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ-es-iaan naʊʊɹaɹ naʊ

14. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ-es-iaan koŋ nent

15. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ nas [litː ''hand-DL.CL foot one.SG.CL'']

16. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ nas nas-iaan naʊ [litː ''hand-DL.CL foot one.SG.CL foot-SG.CL-from

     one.SG.CL'']

17. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ nas nas-iaan naʊʊɹaɹ  

18. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ nas nas-iaan naʊʊɹaɹ naʊ

19. moɹ-esiaɹ iŋ nas nas-iaan koŋ nent

20. omm namp ulpɪɪn (litː ''person one.SG.CL whole'')

21. omm namp ulpɪɪn kopɪt naʊ, etc, etc

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Maurice Boxwell, SIL International, Papua New Guinea, July 4, 2011.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Maurice Boxwell, 2011 年 6 月 4 日

Other comments: Amam or Weri system is a digit-tally one with a (2, 5, 20 ) cyclic pattern and a basic numeral set (1, 2, 4). Using body language a person counting in Weri starts with an open hand and progressively folds in one finger after another from “one” reaching a clenched fist for “five”. Similarly, continuing from “six” with a clenched fist and open hand, (s)he repeats the process on the second hand reaching two clenched fists, two hands at “ten”. Likewise for numbers “eleven” to “twenty”, first one foot and then the other are consecutively added to the two clenched fists. Technically, counting continues in multiples of “twenty”, one person, two people, etc. However, these become more and more unwieldy. In practice, specific numbers larger than six, apart from possibly round numbers such as “ten” and “twenty” are rarely used in natural language situations; in reality general number forms such as “many” are used. Where there is need to express larger and more complex numbers English loanwords, for example “tuwenti sikis”, are generally used or in written text the digits such as “26”.

Note thatː

1. Abbreviations: SG=singular, DL=dual, CL= noun classificatory suffix

2. phonetic and orthographic scripts are largely the same. The three differences

   represent two additional vowels in the Weri 7-vowel system and a flap lateral:

   [ɪ]=ë, [ʊ]=ö, and [ɺ]=r