[Papuanlanguages] 'Eating water' and elsewhere: a summary

[dryer at buffalo.edu]

This is a belated response to add two more languages to the list of Papuan 
languages using the same verb for 'eat' and 'drink': Walman (Torricelli; 
aka Valman) and Poko-Rawo (Sko; aka Rawo).

What wasn't clear from the responses was how many languages have DIFFERENT 
verbs for 'eat' and 'drink', since the query asked for cases where they are 
the same.   Sasha mentioned some in the Sepik area, but I think there was 
only one response that identified such a case.  Are there other languages 
that people on this list work on that employ different verbs for these?

Matthew Dryer

--On Tuesday, September 12, 2006 6:07 PM +1000 Alexandra Aikhenvald 
<A.Aikhenvald at latrobe.edu.au> wrote:

> Dear fellow Papuanists,
>
> As promised here is a brief summary of the wonderful responses to my
> query posted a month or so ago.
>
> Summary: 'Kaikaim wara' in Tok Pisin, and associated expressions
> elsewhere in the New Guinea area: a summary
>
> The original questy concerned a weird expression 'kaikaim wara' used in a
> word list of Boikin (Yengoru dialect), compiled by A. Freudenburg (1975;
> SIL archives) as a Tok Pisin equivalent of the English verb 'drink'.
> Boikin, like most (though not all) Ndu languages has one word covering
> 'eat', 'drink', and perhaps also 'smoke'. Manambu, also Ndu, has one
> verb, k?- meaning 'eat, drink, smoke' and also 'suck' and 'consume
> (mortuary payment)' (and 'drown' and 'burn, that is, be devoured by
> fire').
>
> I am very grateful to everyone who reacted to this query.
>
> 	The majority reply was that of surprise at this aberrant usage: Jan
> Gossner suggested that this could be 'an instance of the language
> speakers, if they are the source of the gloss, modifying their Tok Pisin
> usage to fit their grammar, especially if their Tok Pisin wasn't very
> strong'. Liisa Berghäll suggested that it may have made its way to the
> local variety of TP. Les Bruce hypothesized: 'Perhaps this type of
> substratum influence showed in in the past in the Pidgin of the Yengoru
> area if those languages have a similar generic term. Pidgin speakers in
> that same region, or perhaps around Maprik, use the expression harim smel
> , which is the same Pidgin verb for hearing sounds, through influence of
> the vernaculars there.'
>
> Most interestingly, Carol Priestly has heard 'kaikai wara' (not 'kaikaim
> wara') in the past (1960-70s) in the Eastern Highlands area. She
> hypothesises that this usage may have been restricted to the times, and
> the locations 'when was less influence from English, no primary schools
> etc'. So, it is possible that A. Freudenburg did indeed hear 'kaikai
> wara', or even 'kaikaim wara' (as he documented it) back in 1975!
>
> 	The existence of a single 'ingest/consume' verb was pointed out for the
> following languages: 	Kalam (Kalam-Kobon) - Andy Pawley
> 	Yahang (Torricelli) - Colin Filer
> 	Ku Waru (East New Guinea Highlands) - Alan Rumsey
> 	Duna (Duna-Bogaya) - Lila San Roque
> 	Kewa (Engan) - Karl Franklin
> 	Orokaiva (Binanderean) - Lise Dobrin
> 	Korafe Yegha and Tafota Baruga (Binanderean) - Cindi Farr
> 	Arapeshan languages (Torricelli) - Lise Dobrin
> 	Biangai (Goilalan) - Ngawae Mitio
> 	Alamblak (Sepik Hill) - Les Bruce
> 	Koromu (Evapia group, Rai Coast, Madang)- Carol Priestley
> 	Awiyakay (Arafundi) - Darja Hoenigman
>
> 	This polysemous pattern can be considered an areal feature shared by
> many New Guinea languages. Andy Pawley suggests that this is a feature
> shared by all languages of the hypothetical Trans-New Guinea Phylum. An
> example of a similar polysemy outside New Guinea is ngarni in Warlbiri
> (Australian: Mary Laughren, p.c.). 	It is absent from a few languages in
> the Sepik area, such as Sare (or Kapriman: Sepik Hill - Ken Sumbuk), and
> two Ndu languages, Yelogu (according to Laycock 1965: 165), and Gala
> (also known as Ngala, or Swagup; pace Laycock 1965). Kwoma has one word,
> a- which covers 'eating' and 'drinking' but not smoking (Ross Bowden, and
> Renée Lambert-Brétière). 	An interesting turn for this topic was offered
> by Darija Hoenigman. She pointed out that in Awiakay (Arafundi) the same
> term is used for 'hungry' and for 'thirsty', which is rather logical
> given that 'eat' and 'drink' are expressed with the same term. This is
> definitely not the case in Manambu, where 'hungry', 'thristy', and
> 'hungry for a smoke' are expressed with different lexemes. 	Any further
> ideas?
> 	Les Bruce commented:
> 	'A comparative semantic study of such concepts would be interesting.
> This summer I have been collecting samples from different languages for
> concepts for hair (head and body hair), feathers, fur, and grass. Pidgin
> uses gras for all of these referents. How about starting a database for
> semantic typology to map different concepts around the world? I'd be
> interested.' 	We would be, too!
>
> Very best wishes
>
> Sasha
>
> Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald, PhD, DLitt, FAHA
> Associate Director and Postgraduate Coordinator
> Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
> La Trobe University
> Victoria 3086
> Tel: 61-(0)3-9479 6402
> Fax: 61-(0)3-9467 3053
> http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/StaffPages/aikhenvald.htm
>
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