[Mihalic] More etymology

[Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies]

Obviously Tom has put a lot of work into digging up relations between some
vernacular and TP words. I've attempted to go through most of these using
Ross (1992). I think his article is important because of the systematic way
in which he goes through much TP vocabulary in comparing it to vernacular
terms, seeking relationships.

Also, please note Ross's caution that "because the languages of the
north-east New Britain/New Ireland area ARE quite closely related to each
other and in some cases still in regular contact with each other, many
words have the same form in a number of languages, and it is difficult to
source exactly some Tok Pisin adoptions" (p. 369).

Ross then attempts to try to sort out which TP words are most likely
derived from Kuanua, Ramoaaina (=Duke of York), or some southern New
Ireland language, or for which TP words it is not possible to be very sure
of origins. I think we should be similarly cautious, as tempting as it may
be to do otherwise sometimes. I also wouldn't place to much faith on Mennis
(1975) as a source for etymological data.

Below I reproduce part of Tom's email, with my additions preceded by **.
Some of this also overlaps with posts from Bryant Allen and Ross Clark. I
hope that the following does not seem to be overly critical or too picky.

Don

Don Niles
Head & Senior Ethnomusicologist
Music Department
Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies
P.O. Box 1432
Boroko 111
PAPUA NEW GUINEA

tel.:	[675] 325-4644
fax:	[675] 325-0531
email:	ipngs at global.net.pg
___________________________
Aibika: "Ibika" is a "native vegetable" in the Kuanua Language (Tolai
People) (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 155).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372); Ross further explains that the TP word
is adopted with the Tolai article "a" attached, i.e., a + ibika

Aila: "Ela" is the Tahitian chestnut, Inocarpus fagiferus, in the Kuanua
Language (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 143).
**OK, from Kuanua, although Ross gives "aila" as the Kuanua word (Ross
1992:372)

Ainaga: "Inaga" in the Kuanua Language is a species of fish that is "rather
like a herring both in appearance and habits, also the whitebait"
(Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 160).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "inanga", again
with the Kuanua/Ramoaaina article prefixed in TP, so the TP word could be
from either

Baret: "Paret" is the Kuanua word for trench (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 312).
"Parit" is the Indonesian word for trench (Echols & Shadily, 1989: 410).
**Ross (1992:381) notes Indonesian "parit"

Bilum: This is also the Kuanua word for bag (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 120).
**Ross (1992:378) suggests with "reasonable certaintly" from Jabêm (Yabim,
near Fischhafen) "abilung" or in Jabêm orthography "abêlôN" (where the "N"
is an "n" with a tail for a nasal velar) (Streicher 1982:2). Ross further
observes "The netbag is not a traditional item in Tolai culture, and the
term was apparently brought back home by Tolai labourers working on the
German plantations around Finschhafen, where Yabem is spoken natively.
Deletion of the Yabem initial a- is apparently due to its reinterpretation
as the Tolai article a" (ibid.).

Buai: Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 127) confirms that this is from the Kuanua.
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Bung: The current etymology on the Web site is from Kuanua for "night", but
"bung" ("ng" is the velar nasal sound) means day in Kuanua according to
Tryon, 1995, part 4, p. 140). Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 128) on the other hand
says that "bug" means "day" or "market". Night is "lewu", marum" or
"warawadiawai" in Kuanua (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 577).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "bung", meaning
'day, market' and Patpatar (in southern New Ireland) has "bung" meaning
'night'. As a result, it is "impossible to attribute the item to one
language or the the other"

Daka: Tryon (1995, part 3, p. 8) lists the Kuanua word for pepper as "dake"
(where "e" is schwa). Mennis (1975: 118) and Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 134)
confirm that this is the betel pepper (Piper betle).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that Kuanua has "daka" and Ramoaaina has "daaka",
so the TP word could be from either

Demdem: Tryon (1995, part 2, p. 391) lists demdem as an introduced word for
snail into the Dami Language (Papua Province [ex-Irian Jaya], Indonesia),
but gives no explanation as to its origin. Both Bergmann (1982: 156) and
Tietze (1996: 36) suggest that "demdem" applies to more than just the
introduced African snail. Bergmann (1982: 156) says, "Wanpela kain demdem i
stap, em i save kaikai kiau bilong bikpela demdem bilong Afrika." Tietze
says, "Kain kain demdem i stap long PNG. Tasol wanpela nupela kain demdem i
save bagarapim moa kaikai. Dispela demdem bilong ol ples hat ol i save
kolim 'Afrika' demdem."
Bergmann (1982: 156) says that the African snail was introduced to PNG
during World War II by the Japanese for use as a food source. This does not
appear to be a Japanese word, though, e.g.,
http://www.freedict.com/onldict/jap.html gives esu"karugo", "katatsumuri",
"makigai", and "kagyuu" for snail. The Kuanua word for snail is "iem-den"
(Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 156). Perhaps this is the origin or perhaps it is
from a nearby language?
**Ross (1992:380) lists this as with "no known source".

Diwai: Tryon (1995, part 3, p. 229) gives "devai" (where "e" is schwa) as
Kuanua for tree. Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 136) spells it "dawai".
**Ross (1992:371) suggests the TP word is probably from Ramoaaina "diwaai"
rather than Kuanua "dawai"

Epa: Sounds like its of Austronesian in origin. Tryon (1995, part 2, pp.
347-348) lists several languages with possible cognates.
**Ross (1992:376-77), says there is "insufficient data" to trace its
source, but he notes Tolai and Kandas "var", Ramoaaina "waar", and Label
"war". Further, "all three forms are reflexes of Proto Oceanic *paRi, and
the form epa is the expected reflex in Lamasong of central New Ireland
(where e- is the article). However the relevant datum is not available to
check this form."

Galip: "Qalip" is the tree and nut of Terminalia sp. (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960:
338).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Garamut: This is the Kuanua word for "long drum" (Tryon, 1995, part 4, p.
519). The Kuanua word "kudu" is the source of the Tok Pisin "kundu" (not
on-line yet). Mennis (1975: 118-119) confirms these. Lanyon-Orgill (1960:
147, 210) gives "galamu" as the Kuanua word for slit drum and "kudu" as the
word for a long small drum covered with iguana skin.
**Ross (1992:374) notes that Kuanua has "garamut", Ramoaaina has
"garaamut", and Kandas (southern New Ireland) has "garamut", so the TP word
could be from any. And for "kundu", Kuanua, Ramoaaina, and Kandas have
"kudu", hence the TP word could also be from any of these (ibid.). And for
my own note: both "kudu" and "garamut", in various forms, are found in a
number of languages in the region.

Guria (1): Tryon (1995, part 2, p. 66) confirms that this is from Kuanua.
Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 349) spells it as "quria".
**Ross (1992:374) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "guria", and
Kandas has "guri" so the TP word could be from any

Kaikai is currently listed as deriving from PPE on the Web site. The OED
has the origin as ultimately from the Maori for food ("kai" or "kaikai"):
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00125073/00125073se1?single=1&query_type=wor
d&queryword=kaikai [note: the above link requires subscription, but you can
also find it in the printed version in a library] Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 171)
lists "kaikai" as meaning "food" or "to eat" in Kuanua.
**Ross (1992:365) derives this from Proto Polynesian *kai 'eat; food'.
Furthermore, it is found in early Pacific Pidgin, and today in Bislama,
Palm Island Creole of North Queensland, Solomon Islands Pijin, Cape York
and Roper River creoles, and Torres Strait Islands Broken (ibid.).

Kambang: "Kabag" is lime (calcium oxide) in the Kuanua Language
(Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 165).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that Kuanua has "kabang", Ramoaaina has "kabaang",
and Label (southern New Ireland) has "kabang", so the TP word could be from
any

Kanda: Currently, the Web site suggests this might be from Malay. I think
this is unlikely; the words for rattan and rope in Indonesian are: rotan
and tali (Echols & Shadily,1989: 466, 491).
"Kada" in the Kuanua Language is a cane used for making fish traps
(Lanyon-Orgill: 1960: 168).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that Kuanua has "kada" and Ramoaaina has "kadaa",
so the TP word could be from either

Kapiak: "Kapiaka" is the "breadfruit tree, Artocarpus incisa, also other
sp." (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 182).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Kaukau: Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 187) says this is the "sweet potato, Dioscorea
sativa". However, Dioscorea is the yam genus, not the sweet potato genus,
which is Ipomoea.
**Ross (1992:380) lists this as having "no known source".

Kiau: This is the Kuanua word for egg (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 192).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that Kuanua has "kiau", Ramoaaina has "kiaau", and
Kandas has "kiau", so the TP word could be from any

Kumul: This is a bird species in the Kuanua Language, unspecified by
Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 214).
**Ross (1992:374) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "kumul", so the
TP word could be from either

Kunai: "kunei" (where "e" is schwa) is the Kuanua word for long grass
according to Tryon (1995, part 3, p. 218). Mennis (1975: 119) confirms
this. Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 349) spells it "qunei" and says that it is a
grass that grows on mountain slopes.
**OK, from Kuanua, although Ross lists "kunai" as the Kuanua word (Ross
1992:372)

Kwila: "Kuila" is a tree species in the Kuanua Language, unspecified by
Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 210).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Lang: "Laga" is the blowfly in the Kuanua Language (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 219).
**Ross (1992:376) notes Kuanua "lang" and Ramoaaina "laang". Could be from
either.

Luluai: This is the Tolai word for chief, explained by "lua", "lue" (where
"e" is schwa) or "luai-ne" (where "e" is schwa) meaning "first" (Tryon,
1995, part 4, pp. 78-79, 536-537). Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 238-240) confirms
this.
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Mami: This is a Mbula (Umboi Island, Morobe Province) word for yam (Tryon,
1995, part 3, p. 255). This is the yam species Dioscorea rubicosa in the
Kuanua Language (Lanyon-Orgill: 1960: 253).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:372)

Marita: This is a pandanus species used for making nets (Lanyon-Orgill,
1960: 259).
**Ross (1992:375) notes that Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "marita", while
Patpatar has "marite", Sursurunga "marit", and Barok (central New Ireland)
has "maite", so the origin of the TP word is hard to specify

Mau: This means "ripe" or "cooked" in Tolai (Tryon, 1995, part 2, pp. 634,
636). Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 264) confirms this.
**OK, from Kuanua, although Ross writes "mao" for the Kuanaua (Ross 1992:372)

Muruk: "Murup" is the Tolai word for cassowary (Mennis, 1975: 120).
Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 276) confirms this.
**Ross (1992:375) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "murup", so the
TP word could be from either. Further, "how Tolai/Ramoaaina murup became
Tok Pisin muruk, with changed final consonant is not known. Dempwolff (n.d.
a) still records the Tok Pisin form as murup" (ibid.).

Palai: This is the Kuanua word for iguana (Gonocephalus sp.)
(Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 300).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:373)

Pamuk: The Tongan word for prostitute is "pa?umutu" (where "?" is a glottal
stop) (Tryon, 1995, part 4, p. 586).
**Ross (1992:367) notes this is a post-arrival term from Colloquial Samoan
"pa?umuku". He notes that unlike words such as "kaikai", "pamuk" is not
found in other Pacific pidgins, and therefore there is no evidence for
their presence in pre-arrival Pacific Padgin. He suggests that "pamuk" and
"malolo" "were current only in the pidgin of the Samoan plantations, where
the majority of New Guinean plantation labourers learned their pidgin
(Mühlhäusler 1976, 1979:193)" (pp. 367-68). In a footnote Ross observes:
"Don Laycock suggested an alternative etymology, Tahitian pa'umotu (in some
dialects pa'umoku) means 'Tuamotuan'. Apparently the term was used by other
Pacific Islanders to refer to Tahitians in general, and might have acquired
its Tok Pisin sense through popular association of ideas" (p. 367, n. 15).

Pekpek: Mühlhäusler (unpublished) says that pekpeke means to defecate in
the Label Language. Tryon (1995, part 2, p. 550) lists "peke" as the word
for defecate from the Kuanua Language. No other PNG Austronesian languages
have words for defecate that sound like pekpek, but the Fijian is ßeke
(Tryon, part 2, p. 550) (ß is a bilabila fricative). Lanyon-Orgill (1960:
314) says that "pekapeke" is the reduplicative form of "peke", meaning "to
defecate" in Kuanua.
**Ross (1992:376) notes Kuanua "pekapeke", Ramoaaina and Kandas "peke", and
Label "pekpeke", concluding that it is "not precisely sourceable".

Pitpit: Mühlhäusler (unpublished) says this is from the Kuanua "pit" ("wild
sugar cane"). Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 323) confirms that "pit" is wild sugar
cane (Saccharum floridulum and Miscanthus japonicus).
**OK, from Kuanua, although Ross lists "pitpit" for the Kuanua (Ross 1992:373)

Rai: The Motu word for wind is "lai" (Tryon, 1995, part 2, p. 89).
**While this is true, it probably doesn't have anything to do with the TP
form! Ross (1992:378) notes Ali, Roinji, and Barriai have "rai", and Tumleo
has "riei", and suggests that Ali is the likely source for TP "rai" and
"taleo" (Ali "taleo, Tumleo "taliau"). Neither word is listed in an early
TP vocabulary by Dempwolff (n.d. a). Ross goes on to show how TP probably
spread from Rabaul to other areas of PNG. These winds would have been
important to life on the coast, both for locals and German administrative
staff at Ali, with the TP words disseminating from Ali to other parts of
PNG (pp. 378-79).

Talai: This is the Kuanua word for a very small species of fish,
unspecified by Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 379).
**Ross (1992:375) notes that Kuanua has "talai" and Ramoaaina has "talaai",
so the TP word could be from either

Tambu: This is now listed as possibly deriving from Kuanua. I think this
may be PPE though. Here are parallel words: Solomon Islands Pijin
(tambu/abu/apu/ambu/tapu/tabu): Jourdan (2002: 237-238) Bislama
(tabu/tambu): Crowley (1995: 239, 241) Broken: apparently no cognate
(Shnukal, 1988). The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites the origin of
the English word "taboo" as deriving from Captain Cook's voyage to Tonga:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00245891?query_type=word&queryword=taboo and
the word was widely used in English in the Pacific during the 1800s. Tryon
(1995, part 1, p. 1145) gives *tapu or *tampu as the
proto-Malayo-Polynesian word for "ancestor". The only cognates of the
ancestor meaning of "tambu" listed among PNG Austronesian languages listed
in Tryon is for Manam, "tubu" and Nyindrou (Manus Island), "tubu-n", and
there are several cognates among other Austronesian languages (Tryon, 1995,
part 2, p. 214-216). Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 370-371) confirms that "tabu" in
Kuanua means prohibition, sacred or forbidden, as well as traditional shell
money. Note that this last meaning is currently not on-line even though it
was in Mihalic (1971).
**Ross (1992:375) notes that both Kuanua and Ramoaaina have "tabu". But
then in a footnote (1992:375, n. 32), he states "Ross Clark pointed out
that "tambu" 'taboo, sacred' may be a pre-arrival item, as it also occurs
in Solomon Islands Pijin and Vanuatu Bislama. If it is a pre-arrival item,
it differs from those ... [discussed in another part of his paper] in that
it is not from a Polynesian source (which would give "tapu" or "kapu") but
from a Melanesian source (there are also several possible source languages
in the Solomon Islands and Vanutatu)."

Tarangau: "Taraqau" or "taragau" is a species "of large fish-hawk or
osprey, Pandion haliaetus" (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 392).
**Ross (1992:375), who spells the TP word as "taranggau", notes that Kuanua
has "taragau" and Ramoaaina has "taragaau", so the TP word could be from
either

Taun (2): Mühlhäusler (unpublished) says this is from the Mioko and Malot
languages for Pometia pinnata.
**This is the same as what Ross (1992:376) writes as TP "tauan" or "ton (p.
373), both meaning Pometia pinnata. On p. 376, he notes the Patpatar
"tauan", Tolai "ton", and Ramoaaina "taan", further: "The form tauan is a
doublet of ton, listed under (5) [where the form "ton" is suggested as
coming from Kuanua]. It is evidently a Patpatar form ... and is now current
in Tok Pisin in Rabaul, whilst ton, apparently of Tolai origin, is current
in Madang." Can anyone confirm these regional pronunciation differences.

Tultul: Mühlhäusler (unpublished) says this is from the Kuanua Language for
"messenger". Lanyon-Orgill (1960: 424) confirms this, but in the Duke of
York Island dialect this can also mean "a living spirit of a man which eats
the corpses of his enemies"!
**OK, from Kuanua, although Ross notes that Kuanua "tul" means 'send' (Ross
1992:373)

Umben: "Ubene" is the Kuanua word for fish net (Lanyon-Orgill, 1960: 434).
**OK, from Kuanua (Ross 1992:373)

 Mennis, Mary (1975). The Time of the Taubar. Madang: Kristen Pres. [This
is a Tolai folktale book with a 5 page glossary.]

SOURCES
Dempwolff, Otto
	n.d. a	"Pidgin-English von Deutsch-Neuguinea: Wörterverzeichnis."
Manuscript, Dempwolff's papers, Seminar für Indonesische und
Südseesprachen, University of Hamburg.

Mühlhäusler, Peter
	1976	"Samoan Plantation Pidgin English and the Origins of New
Guinea Pidgin: An Introduction." Journal of Pacific History 11: 122-25.
	1979	Growth and Structure of the Lexicon of New Guinea Pidgin.
Pacific Linguists, C-52. Canberra: ANU.

Ross, Malcolm
	1992	"The Sources of Austronesian Lexical Items in Tok Pisin."
In The Language Game: Papers in Memory of Donald C. Laycock, ed. Tom
Dutton, Malcolm Ross, & Darrell Tryon, pp. 361-84. Pacific Linguistics, C
110. Canberra: Australian National University.

Streicher, Johann F.
	1982	Jabêm-English Dictionary; Reproduction of the Jabêm-English
Wörterbuch Compiled by Rev. H. Zahn 1917 Logaweng - Neuguinea. Pacific
Linguistics, C 68. Canberra: Australian National University.