Yau language (Trans–New Guinea)

Yau
Uruwa
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionMorobe Province
Native speakers
(2,400 cited 2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3yuw
Glottologyaum1237

Yau is on of the two major dialects of the Uruwa Language that is spoken by the Uruwa people. It is a Finisterre language of Papua New Guinea.

It is spoken in Boit, Boksawin, Komdaron, Sapmanga, Sapurong, Sindamon, and Sugan villages in Morobe Province.[1] The Southern dialects are called Nungon or Nuon, and are spoken in the Kotet, Mitmit, Mup, Towet, Worin, and Yawan villages. The dialects are fairly equally divided among the 3,000 people that live in the Uruwa River valley.[2]

The two major dialects are about 60-65% related based on shared vocabulary and don't have great clarity in understanding one another.

[edit]
  • Paradisec's open access collection of Selected Research Papers of Don Laycock on Languages in Papua New Guinea (DL2) includes materials on the Yau language

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Yau at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Sarvasy, Hannah; Ögate, Eni (2019). Sherris, Ari; Peyton, Joy Kreeft (eds.). Early Writing in Nungon in Papua New Guinea. New York: Routledge. pp. 186–187.