Nalca
Trans-New Guinea
Nalca is a Trans-New Guinea Mek-family language of the central Highlands of Papua, Indonesia, spoken by ~10,000 people in the Yahukimo Regency. The Mek family (Eipo, Yale, Una, Nalca, Mek, etc. — ~12 languages, ~50,000 total speakers) is one of the smaller Trans-New Guinea subgroups, occupying the Star Mountains and the western Eastern Highlands. Linguistically, Nalca shares Mek-family features with classical Trans-New Guinea typology: SOV constituent order, postpositions, complex verb morphology with hierarchical agreement, and noun classifiers. SIL Bible translation work since the 1990s has produced literacy materials in Nalca; the Mek-family Eipo Bible (1992) was a notable Mek-family Bible translation project.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Nalca
Water
mi
/mi/
Fire
lakil
/lakil/
Sun
nyem
/ɲem/
Moon
lakum
/lakum/
Star
gura'
/guraʔ/
Mother
ne
/ne/
Father
ke
/ke/
I
na
/na/
You
an
/an/
Name
si
/si/
Eye
nye
/ɲe/
Hand
ku
/ku/
Heart
ngal
/ŋal/
Love
ngam
/ŋam/
Tree
ye
/je/
House
kim
/kim/
Dog
ngal
/ŋal/
Cat
kucing
/kutʃiŋ/
Eat
ne
/ne/
Drink
mi ne
/mi ne/
One
mom
/mom/
Two
phein
/pʰein/
Hello
silok
/silok/
Thank you
amole
/amole/
Good
ko
/ko/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Trans-New Guinea languages
| Meaning | Nalca | Mian | Faiwol | Kanite | Mizo | Mapos Buang | Aari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mi /mi/ | ot /ot/ | ok /ok/ | nai /nai/ | tui /tui/ | vuur /vuːr/ | waki /waki/ |
| Fire | lakil /lakil/ | aon /aon/ | baal /baːl/ | lo /lo/ | mei /mei/ | ehe /ehe/ | mola /mola/ |
| Sun | nyem /ɲem/ | kep /kep/ | kibel /kibel/ | suka /suka/ | ni /ni/ | gum /ɡum/ | háy /haj/ |
| Moon | lakum /lakum/ | ham /ham/ | ulup /ulup/ | ika /ika/ | thla /tʰla/ | mha /mha/ | arfi /arfi/ |
| Star | gura' /guraʔ/ | fut /fut/ | milum /milum/ | ka'nefi /kaʔnefi/ | arsi /arsi/ | betuheng /betuheŋ/ | manka /ˈmanka/ |
| Mother | ne /ne/ | na /na/ | anim /anim/ | nene /nene/ | nu /nu/ | ne /ne/ | inde /inde/ |
| Father | ke /ke/ | ki /ki/ | atim /atim/ | nafa /nafa/ | pa /pa/ | ma /ma/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | na /na/ | naka /naka/ | na /na/ | nagaya /naɡaja/ | kei /kei/ | sa /sa/ | ita /ʔiˈta/ |
| You | an /an/ | keba /keba/ | kaba /kaba/ | kagaya /kaɡaja/ | nang /naŋ/ | honġ /hoŋ/ | ahna /ahˈna/ |
| Name | si /si/ | weng /weŋ/ | win /win/ | agi /aɡi/ | hming /hmiŋ/ | arë /arə/ | naami /naːˈmi/ |
| Eye | nye /ɲe/ | tan /tan/ | nin /nin/ | avu /avu/ | mit /mit/ | mata /mata/ | aafi /aːfi/ |
| Hand | ku /ku/ | kun /kun/ | miim /miːm/ | azana /azana/ | kut /kut/ | mok /mok/ | kushum /kuʃum/ |
| Heart | ngal /ŋal/ | tem /tem/ | kayem /kajem/ | agu /aɡu/ | thinlung /tʰinluŋ/ | minga /miŋa/ | lubba /lubːa/ |
| Love | ngam /ŋam/ | na /na/ | kunum /kunum/ | avesi /avesi/ | hmangaih /hmaŋai/ | vong /voŋ/ | gaya /ɡaja/ |
| Tree | ye /je/ | yel /jel/ | biin /biːn/ | yafa /jafa/ | thingkung /tʰiŋkuŋ/ | leng /leŋ/ | miza /miza/ |
| House | kim /kim/ | am /am/ | am /am/ | no /no/ | in /in/ | ya /ja/ | kara /kara/ |
| Dog | ngal /ŋal/ | kowok /kowok/ | kuyak /kujak/ | ovava /ovava/ | ui /ui/ | nyam /ɲam/ | kana /kana/ |
| Cat | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | pus /pus/ | kit /kit/ | pusi /pusi/ | zawhte /zɔʔte/ | pus /pus/ | shanɡo /ʃaŋɡo/ |
| Eat | ne /ne/ | naka /naka/ | nemin /nemin/ | ne /ne/ | ei /ei/ | gen /ɡen/ | itte /itːe/ |
| Drink | mi ne /mi ne/ | an /an/ | ok ne /ok ne/ | ne /ne/ | in /in/ | nung /nuŋ/ | ushe /uʃe/ |
| One | mom /mom/ | alok /alok/ | kowin /kowin/ | magoke /maɡoke/ | pakhat /pakʰat/ | lon /lon/ | kollo /kolːo/ |
| Two | phein /pʰein/ | ata /ata/ | alep /alɛp/ | tole /tole/ | pahnih /pahniʔ/ | luu /luː/ | qasken /qasˈken/ |
| Hello | silok /silok/ | aben /aben/ | ben kaba /ben kaba/ | naipa /naipa/ | chibai /tʃibai/ | miig /miːɡ/ | saro /saro/ |
| Thank you | amole /amole/ | hok /hok/ | ngam ngam /ŋam ŋam/ | susu /susu/ | ka lawm e /ka lɔːm e/ | vog ehog /voɡ ehoɡ/ | galatoma /ɡalatoma/ |
| Good | ko /ko/ | kep /kep/ | kanim /kanim/ | knaga /knaɡa/ | tha /tʰa/ | vovo /vovo/ | goodi /ɡoːdi/ |
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