Neko
Trans-New Guinea (Madang, Rai Coast — Yaganon)
Neko is a Trans-New Guinea language of the Madang Rai Coast (Yaganon family), spoken by roughly 640 people in coastal Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. Its name is a homophone with Japanese "cat" (neko), which has made it an occasional curiosity among internet language hobbyists, though the autonym is unrelated and the language is part of a small Rai Coast cluster of mutually distinct Trans-New Guinea languages (alongside Ham, Neko, Nekgini and Ngaing). It uses SOV word order with a Latin orthography developed by SIL and Lutheran missionaries; documentation remains sparse, with most modern references citing Z'graggen's 1971 Madang lexicon surveys.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Neko
Water
wai
/wai/
Fire
titɛ
/titɛ/
Sun
aatʌ
/aːtʌ/
Moon
—
/—/
Star
kumba
/kumba/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
—
/—/
I
na
/na/
You
ga
/ɡa/
Name
iwi
/iwi/
Eye
ta
/ta/
Hand
—
/—/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
tei
/tei/
House
—
/—/
Dog
gonʌ
/ɡonʌ/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
nei
/nei/
Drink
—
/—/
One
—
/—/
Two
iri
/iri/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- McElhanon, K. & Voorhoeve, C.L. (1970) The Trans-New Guinea Phylum: Explorations in Deep-level Genetic Relationships. Pacific Linguistics B-16, Canberra.
- Bullock, J., Gray, R., Paris, H., Pfantz, D. & Richardson, D. (2016) A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Yabong, Migum, Nekgini, and Neko. SIL Electronic Survey Report.
- Ethnologue: nej
- Glottolog: Neko
- Wiktionary: wai (Neko)
- TransNewGuinea.org: Neko
Words compared
Compared with related Trans-New Guinea (Madang, Rai Coast — Yaganon) languages
| Meaning | Neko | Goguryeo | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) | Proto-Hmong-Mien | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Meroitic | Tartessian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wai /wai/ | 買 /*mai/ | — /—/ | *ʔuwm /ʔuwm/ | — /—/ | 𐦠𐦶 /ato/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | titɛ /titɛ/ | — /—/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | aatʌ /aːtʌ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐦨𐦯 /ˈmasa/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | kumba /kumba/ | — /—/ | l*i /ʎ͡ʘi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | na /na/ | — /—/ | n!aa /ŋ͡ʘaː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | ga /ɡa/ | — /—/ | n!uu /ŋ͡ʘuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | iwi /iwi/ | — /—/ | m!ii /m͡ʘiː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | ta /ta/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | tei /tei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | gonʌ /ɡonʌ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | nei /nei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | iri /iri/ | — /—/ | r!ii /ɽ͡ʘiː/ | *ʔwei /ʔwei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.