Mawes language
Language in Papua
title: "Mawes language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["foja-range-languages", "languages-of-western-new-guinea", "language-isolates-of-new-guinea", "extinct-languages-of-indonesia"] description: "Language in Papua" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawes_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Language in Papua ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mawes |
| region | Papua, Sarmi Regency, to the west of the Buri River: |
| ref | e18 |
| familycolor | Papuan |
| fam1 | Northwest Papuan? |
| fam2 | Foja Range |
| iso3 | mgk |
| glotto | mawe1251 |
| glottorefname | Mawes |
| extinct | by 2024 |
| :: |
| name = Mawes | region = Papua, Sarmi Regency, to the west of the Buri River:
- Bonggo District: Maweswares
- Bonggo Timur District: Mawesday, Mawes Mukti villages | ref = e18 | familycolor = Papuan | fam1 = Northwest Papuan? | fam2 = Foja Range | iso3 = mgk | glotto = mawe1251 | glottorefname = Mawes | extinct = by 2024
Mawes is a recently extinct Papuan language of Indonesia.
Usher (2020) proposes that it may be related to the Kwerbic languages. Foley (2018) classifies Mawes as a language isolate, and so does Hammarström (2010). It had 850 native speakers in 2006, but was extinct by 2024.
Pronouns
Pronouns are:
:{| ! !! sg !! pl |- ! 1 | kidam || inim |- ! 2 | nam || nɛm |- ! 3 | ɛbɛ || mia |}
Basic vocabulary
Basic vocabulary of Mawes listed in Foley (2018):
:{| |+ Mawes basic vocabulary ! gloss !! Mawes |- | ‘bird’ || ikinin |- | ‘blood’ || wɛrɛi |- | ‘bone’ || tuan |- | ‘ear’ || bɛr |- | ‘eat’ || nan |- | ‘egg’ || siwin |- | ‘eye’ || nonsum |- | ‘fire’ || kani |- | ‘leg, foot’ || yaʔ |- | ‘louse’ || sene |- | ‘name’ || dimanɛ |- | ‘one’ || mɛndakai |- | ‘see’ || nomo |- | ‘sky’ || kowan |- | ‘stone’ || fɛt |- | ‘sun’ || ɛsar |- | ‘tooth’ || wan |- | ‘tree’ || dengkin |- | ‘two’ || yakɛneu |- | ‘water’ || bo |- | ‘woman’ || yei |}
The following basic vocabulary words are from Voorhoeve (1975), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database:
:{| class="wikitable sortable" ! gloss !! Mawes |- | head || defar |- | hair || tere |- | eye || nonsom |- | tooth || wan |- | leg || ija |- | dog || wede |- | pig || was |- | bird || ikinin |- | egg || siwin |- | blood || werei |- | bone || tuan |- | skin || dukunen |- | tree || deŋkin |- | man || ke |- | sun || esar |- | water || bo |- | fire || kani |- | stone || feyt |- | name || dimane |- | eat || nano |- | one || mendakai |- | two || yakenew |}
Sentences
Of the few sentences that have been documented for Mawes, some example sentences are:
|ɛbɛ marsya nomtak |3SG yesterday come |‘He came yesterday.’}}
|wɛdɛ ɛbɛ ketes |dog 3SG bite |‘The dog bit him.’}}
|ke-me totoso kida-wɛn mamɛnta fɛn tamu(k) |man-? money 1SG-POSS father DAT/ALL give |‘That man gave money to my father.’}}
|ɛbɛ-mɛ dengkin nambuak kom sorna |3sg-? tree machete INSTR cut |‘He is cutting wood with a machete.’}}
|ke-me sau fɛn banak |man-? village DAT/ALL go |‘That man went to the village.’}}
|ke-me sau-er nom |man-? village-ABL come |‘That man came from the village.’}}
|ke-me yei dete banak |man-? woman COM go |‘That man went with his wife.’}}
References
References
- [https://newguineaworld.linguistik.uzh.ch/families/northwest-new-guinea/foja-range/west-foja-range/masep New Guinea World]
- Harald Hammarström. 2010. The Genetic Position of the Mawes Language. Paper presented at the Workshop on the Languages of Papua 2, 8–12 February 2010, Manokwari, Indonesia.
- (8 March 2024). "11 Indigenous Languages Declared Extinct: Education Ministry".
- Foley, William A.. (2018). "The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide". De Gruyter Mouton.
- Voorhoeve, C.L. ''Languages of Irian Jaya: Checklist. Preliminary classification, language maps, wordlists''. B-31, iv + 133 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1975. {{doi. 10.15144/PL-B31
- Greenhill, Simon. (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea".
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