Burmeso language
The Burmeso language, also known as Taurap, is spoken by some 300 people in Burmeso village along the mid Mamberamo River in :id:Mamberamo Tengah, Mamberamo Raya|Mamberamo Tengah subdistrict, Mamberamo Raya Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is surrounded by the Kwerba languages to the north, the Lakes Plain languages to the south, and the East Cenderawasih Bay languages to the west.
It forms a branch of Malcolm Ross's family of East Bird's Head – Sentani languages, but had been considered a language isolate by Stephen Wurm and William A. Foley.
Burmeso has very distinct grammatical structure. It has SOV word order.Phonology
Consonants:
Probable sound changes proposed by Foley :
Vowels:Pronouns
Burmeso independent pronouns are:Nouns
Burmeso has six noun classes, which are:
Burmeso nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Singular concordial suffixes are:
- -ab ‘masculine’
- -an ‘feminine’
- -ora ‘neuter’
Examples of nominal concordial suffixes in usage:Basic vocabulary
Basic vocabulary of Burmeso listed in Foley :
Many Burmeso nouns display irregular and suppletive plural forms.
