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
20 core words in Makasae
Water
ira
/ˈira/
Fire
ata
/ˈata/
Sun
watu
/ˈwatu/
Moon
uru
/ˈuru/
Mother
ina
/ˈina/
Father
baba
/ˈbaba/
Eat
nawa
/ˈnawa/
Drink
gehe
/ˈɡɛhɛ/
Love
—
/—/
Heart
—
/—/
Tree
ate
/ˈate/
House
oma
/ˈoma/
Dog
defa
/ˈdɛfa/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
tana
/ˈtana/
Eye
nana
/ˈnana/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
u
/ʔu/
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 | Dyirbal | Walmajarri | Bukar-Sadong Bidayuh | Kavalan | Etruscan | Abau |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ira /ˈira/ | bana /ˈbana/ | ngapa /ˈŋapa/ | piin /piːn/ | zanum /zaˈnum/ | — /—/ | hu /hu/ |
| Fire | ata /ˈata/ | buni /ˈbuni/ | warlu /ˈwaɭu/ | apui /aˈpui/ | ramax /raˈmax/ | — /—/ | ya /ja/ |
| Sun | watu /ˈwatu/ | garri /ˈɡari/ | ngalyarra /ŋaˈʎara/ | biduh /biˈduh/ | siban /siˈban/ | usil /ˈuzil/ | ey /ej/ |
| Moon | uru /ˈuru/ | gagara /ɡaˈɡara/ | pira /ˈpira/ | bulan /buˈlan/ | buran /buˈran/ | tiur /ˈtiur/ | yen /jɛn/ |
| Mother | ina /ˈina/ | gumbu /ˈɡumbu/ | ngamaji /ŋaˈmaɟi/ | sindo /sinˈdoʔ/ | tina /ˈtina/ | ati /ˈati/ | ipey /ˈipej/ |
| Father | baba /ˈbaba/ | ngumi /ˈŋumi/ | kirta /ˈkiɭa/ | samah /saˈmah/ | tama /ˈtama/ | apa /ˈapa/ | aio /aˈio/ |
| Eat | nawa /ˈnawa/ | janganyu /ɟaŋˈaɲu/ | nga- /ŋa/ | kuman /kuˈman/ | quman /quˈman/ | — /—/ | ra /ɾa/ |
| Drink | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | jiwuli /ɟiˈwuli/ | nga- /ŋa/ | ŋinum /ŋiˈnum/ | mimum /miˈmum/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | mugu /ˈmuɡu/ | kurturlu /kuɭˈtuɭu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ate /ˈate/ | yugu /ˈjuɡu/ | watiya /waˈtija/ | kayuh /kaˈjuh/ | kasuy /kaˈsuj/ | — /—/ | nɔw /nɔw/ |
| House | oma /ˈoma/ | mija /ˈmiɟa/ | ngurra /ˈŋura/ | ramin /raˈmin/ | lepaw /ləˈpaw/ | śuthi /ˈsuθi/ | a /a/ |
| Dog | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | guda /ˈɡuda/ | kunyarr /kuˈɲar/ | kaso /kaˈsoʔ/ | wasu /waˈsu/ | — /—/ | nwoh /nwɔh/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ngiyaw /ŋiˈjaw/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | tana /ˈtana/ | mala /ˈmala/ | marnin /ˈmaɳin/ | təŋən /tə̆ˈŋən/ | rima /riˈma/ | — /—/ | yiha /jiha/ |
| Eye | nana /ˈnana/ | jili /ˈɟili/ | purlka /ˈpuɭka/ | baten /baˈten/ | mata /maˈta/ | — /—/ | nene /ˈnɛnɛ/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | u /ʔu/ | yara /ˈjara/ | kanyjarra /kaɲˈɟara/ | isaʔ /iˈsaʔ/ | issa /ˈissa/ | thu /θu/ | rin /ɾin/ |
| Good | rau /rau/ | — /—/ | ngurnu /ˈŋuɳu/ | biis /biːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | yapre /japɾɛ/ |
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