Mundugumor (Munduguma, Mundukomo) Biwat is a Yuat language of Papua New Guinea. It is spoken in Biwat village () of Yuat Rural LLG, East Sepik Province.
Phonology Mundukumo consonants are:
| p || t || || k |- | ᵐb || ⁿd || ᶮʤ || ᵑg |- | m || n || ɲ || ŋ |- | f || s || || |- | ᵐv || || || |- | || r || || |- | w || || j || |} Mundukumo vowels are: iueəoa
Nouns Some examples showing Mundukomo nouns and their irregular plural forms:
! gloss !! singular !! plural |- | ‘snake’ || mas || mase |- | ‘tooth’ || adusuva || adusuvavi |- | ‘bone’ || avu || avuvavi |- | ‘nose’ || ŋlək || ŋlu |- | ‘thigh’ || guak || go |- | ‘hand’ || klik || klia |- | ‘dog’ || ken || kidu |- | ‘betelnut’ || siman || simadu |- | ‘ear’ || tuan || tuadu |- | ‘fire’ || mən || məda |- | ‘basket’ || ban || bada |- | ‘mouth’ || balaŋ || balaji |- | ‘house’ || klaŋ || klagi |- | ‘star’ || susuaŋ || susuagi |- | ‘water’ || mam || mabi |- | ‘neck’ || volam || volabi |- | ‘ball’ || muŋmam || muŋmabi |- | ‘cassowary’ || kalim || kalimu |- | ‘girl’ || analom || analomu |- | ‘paddle’ || dum || dumu
Similar patterns of complex nominal plural allomorphy are also found in the Lower Sepik-Ramu languages.
External links Paradisec has a collection of recordings of Biwat language. They also have a collection of recordings from Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Pacific from Don Laycock that includes Biwat materials.
Further reading McDowell, Nancy. 1991. The Mundugumor: From the Fieldnotes of Margaret Mead and Reo Fortune. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. McElvenny, James. 2007. Notes on Mundukumo. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.
References