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

语言名称和分布地区: 翁乔布语, 巴布亚新几内亚奥罗省

1. kema

2. ameg

3. towa  

4. rome 

5. yanisiwi

6. yanisiforkema

7. yanisiforkema ameg

8. yanisiforkema towa

9. yanisiforkema rome

10. yani sisi

11. amandi i ta kema (ama' as the word for 'foot')

15. amandi i ta kema ameg ('one foot two)

17. amandi i ta kema kema ameg ('foot other two' or 'foot second-two')

20. yote kema

40. yote ameg

60. yote towaga

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Glen A. Lean, Department of Communications, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1991.

Sourceː Glendon A. Lean. Counting systems of Papua New Guinea, volume 5, Northern (Oro) Province. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea, 1991.

Sources:

Onjob: Macdonnell (1917.p.171), Ray (1938,p.185) Kluge (1941.p.24).

Strong (1911)       

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Glen A. Lean, 1991 年.    

Other comments: Onjob is an endangered language spoken by about 163 speakers in two villages a few kilometres inland from the coast of Collingwood Bay, Oro province, Papua New Guinea. Onjob has a (5, 20) cyclic pattern with distinct words to 5, and 20. The word for 'hand' in both Macdonnell's and Strong's word lists is 'yani'. System A's number word for 5 is 'yanisiwi', as is System B's, and this contains the morpheme for 'hand' as does 10, 'yani sisi'. The implied construction, then for these is respectively 'hand one' and 'hands two', though in neither case do the num 1 and 2 appear. Strong gives 10 as simply 'yani', meaning probably 'hands'.

   The number words for 6 to 9 have the construction '5+c+n' where n take values 1 to 4 and c is 'forkema' which contains 'kema', the morpheme for 'one morpheme for 'five' is 'yanisi' rather than 'yanisiwi'. The number word for 6 is given as 'yanisi forkema' and by comparison with the other data should perhaps, for the sake of consistency, be 'yanisi forkema kema'.

    The number words for 11 to 19 contain the word 'amandi' and Macdonnell's word list gives 'ama' as the word for 'foot', the implication being that tallying shifts from hands to feet. The number word for 11 is 'amandi i ta kema' and, like the number word for 6, ought perhaps to be 'amandi i ta kama kema' for the sake of consistency. With the second 'kema' omitted perhaps it is understood that tallying has reached the first toe of one foot. The number word for 12 is then amandi i ta kema ameg' or 'one foot two and 15 is 'amandi i ta kema siwi, the 'siwi' possibly indicating that tallying on toes has reached a half-way point. The data for 16 to 19 all contain the words 'amandi i ta kema kema', the second 'kema' appearing to indicate that tallying has shifted to the other foot. Thus 17 is, for example, 'amandi i ta kema kema ameg' which may, roughly, have the translation 'foot other two' or 'foot second-two'.