Makasae
Trans-New Guinea (Timor-Alor-Pantar, Eastern Timor)
Makasae is the most widely spoken Papuan (non-Austronesian) language west of mainland New Guinea, with roughly 100,000 speakers in the Baucau and Viqueque municipalities of eastern Timor-Leste. It belongs to the Eastern-Timor branch of the Timor-Alor-Pantar (Trans-New Guinea) family, closest to Makalero (with which it forms a dialect chain), then Fataluku and Oirata. Makasae is strongly isolating with SOV word order, and contains a heavy Austronesian loan layer from Tetum and the Kawaimina languages.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Makasae
Water
ira
/ˈira/
Fire
ata
/ˈata/
Sun
watu
/ˈwatu/
Moon
uru
/ˈuru/
Star
ipi
/ipi/
Mother
ina
/ˈina/
Father
baba
/ˈbaba/
I
ani
/ani/
You
ai
/ai/
Name
naran
/naran/
Eye
nana
/ˈnana/
Hand
tana
/ˈtana/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
ate
/ˈate/
House
oma
/ˈoma/
Dog
defa
/ˈdɛfa/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
nawa
/ˈnawa/
Drink
gehe
/ˈɡɛhɛ/
One
u
/ʔu/
Two
lolae
/loˈlae/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
rau
/rau/
Sources
- Huber, J. (2008) First Steps Towards a Reference Grammar of Makasae: A Language of East Timor. LINCOM Studies in Austronesian Linguistics 195.
- Brotherson, A. (2003) A Spatial Odyssey: Referring to Space in Makasae. MA thesis, Leiden Univ.
- Stokhof, W. A. L. (1975) Preliminary notes on the Oirata language. Pacific Linguistics B-43.
- Schapper, A. (ed.) (2017) The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar, Vol. 2. De Gruyter Mouton.
- Glottolog: Makasae
Words compared
Compared with related Trans-New Guinea (Timor-Alor-Pantar, Eastern Timor) languages
| Meaning | Makasae | Kavalan | Dyirbal | Luwian | Bukar-Sadong Bidayuh | Walmajarri | Abau |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ira /ˈira/ | zanum /zaˈnum/ | bana /ˈbana/ | wār /waːr/ | piin /piːn/ | ngapa /ˈŋapa/ | hu /hu/ |
| Fire | ata /ˈata/ | ramaz /raˈmaz/ | buni /ˈbuni/ | — /—/ | apui /aˈpui/ | warlu /ˈwaɭu/ | ya /ja/ |
| Sun | watu /ˈwatu/ | siban /siˈban/ | garri /ˈɡari/ | 𔖖𔓚 /ˈtiwad/ | biduh /biˈduh/ | ngalyarra /ŋaˈʎara/ | ey /ej/ |
| Moon | uru /ˈuru/ | buran /buˈran/ | gagara /ɡaˈɡara/ | 𔓜𔒄𔗦 /ˈarmas/ | bulan /buˈlan/ | pira /ˈpira/ | yen /jɛn/ |
| Star | ipi /ipi/ | bituqan /bituqan/ | gijiny /ɡiɟiɲ/ | — /—/ | bitun /bitun/ | wirl /wiɭ/ | por /por/ |
| Mother | ina /ˈina/ | tina /ˈtina/ | gumbu /ˈɡumbu/ | anni- /ˈanni/ | sindo /sinˈdoʔ/ | ngamaji /ŋaˈmaɟi/ | ipey /ˈipej/ |
| Father | baba /ˈbaba/ | tama /ˈtama/ | ngumi /ˈŋumi/ | 𔐞𔑣𔓯𔗔 /ˈtadis/ | samah /saˈmah/ | kirta /ˈkiʈa/ | aio /aˈio/ |
| I | ani /ani/ | aiku /aiku/ | ngaja /ŋaɟa/ | 𔐀 /ˈamu/ | aku /aku/ | ngaju /ŋaɟu/ | hane /hane/ |
| You | ai /ai/ | aisu /aisu/ | nginda /ŋinda/ | tu /tu/ | muh /muh/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | hme /hme/ |
| Name | naran /naran/ | nangan /naŋan/ | yidyi /jiɟi/ | 𔐓𔓇𔒄𔖪 /ˈalamantsa/ | ngaran /ŋaran/ | yini /jini/ | non /non/ |
| Eye | nana /ˈnana/ | mata /maˈta/ | jili /ˈɟili/ | tawi- /ˈtawi/ | bateh /baˈteh/ | purlka /ˈpuɭka/ | nene /ˈnɛnɛ/ |
| Hand | tana /ˈtana/ | rima /riˈma/ | mala /ˈmala/ | 𔑁𔓯𔑶𔖸 /ˈistri/ | təŋən /tə̆ˈŋən/ | marnin /ˈmaɳin/ | yiha /jiha/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | mugu /ˈmuɡu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | kurturlu /kuɭˈtuɭu/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ate /ˈate/ | kasuy /kaˈsuj/ | yugu /ˈjuɡu/ | — /—/ | kayuh /kaˈjuh/ | watiya /waˈtija/ | nɔw /nɔw/ |
| House | oma /ˈoma/ | lepaw /ləˈpaw/ | mija /ˈmiɟa/ | 𔔙𔐤𔖪 /ˈparnantsa/ | ramin /raˈmin/ | ngurra /ˈŋura/ | a /a/ |
| Dog | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | wasu /waˈsu/ | guda /ˈɡuda/ | zuwana- /tsuˈwana/ | kaso /kaˈsoʔ/ | kunyarr /kuˈɲar/ | nwoh /nwɔh/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | ngiyaw /ŋiˈjaw/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | nawa /ˈnawa/ | quman /quˈman/ | janganyu /ɟaŋˈaɲu/ | ad- /ad/ | kuman /kuˈman/ | nga- /ŋa/ | ra /ɾa/ |
| Drink | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | mimum /miˈmum/ | jiwuli /ɟiˈwuli/ | — /—/ | ŋinum /ŋiˈnum/ | nga- /ŋa/ | — /—/ |
| One | u /ʔu/ | issa /ˈissa/ | yara /ˈjara/ | — /—/ | isaʔ /iˈsaʔ/ | kanyjarra /kaɲˈɟara/ | rin /ɾin/ |
| Two | lolae /loˈlae/ | zusa /zusa/ | bulgany /bulɡaɲ/ | — /—/ | duɔh /duɔh/ | kujarra /kuɟara/ | sei /sei/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | rau /rau/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | wasu- /ˈwaːsu/ | biis /biːs/ | ngurnu /ˈŋuɳu/ | yapre /japɾɛ/ |
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