Neko
Trans-New Guinea (Madang, Rai Coast — Yaganon)
Neko is a Trans-New Guinea language of the Madang Rai Coast (Yaganon family), spoken by roughly 640 people in coastal Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. Its name is a homophone with Japanese "cat" (neko), which has made it an occasional curiosity among internet language hobbyists, though the autonym is unrelated and the language is part of a small Rai Coast cluster of mutually distinct Trans-New Guinea languages (alongside Ham, Neko, Nekgini and Ngaing). It uses SOV word order with a Latin orthography developed by SIL and Lutheran missionaries; documentation remains sparse, with most modern references citing Z'graggen's 1971 Madang lexicon surveys.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Neko
Sources
- McElhanon, K. & Voorhoeve, C.L. (1970) The Trans-New Guinea Phylum: Explorations in Deep-level Genetic Relationships. Pacific Linguistics B-16, Canberra.
- Bullock, J., Gray, R., Paris, H., Pfantz, D. & Richardson, D. (2016) A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Yabong, Migum, Nekgini, and Neko. SIL Electronic Survey Report.
- Ethnologue: nej
- Glottolog: Neko
- Wiktionary: wai (Neko)
- TransNewGuinea.org: Neko
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Trans-New Guinea (Madang, Rai Coast — Yaganon)
| Meaning | Neko | Goguryeo | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Iberian | Venetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wai /wai/ | 買 /*mai/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ouriom /ˈouriom/ |
| Fire | titɛ /titɛ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | aatʌ /aːtʌ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | kumba /kumba/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Rain | wai /wai/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | matur /ˈmatur/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | na /na/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | eχo /ˈexo/ |
| You | ga /ɡa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | iwi /iwi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Head | pit /pit/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eye | ta /ta/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Ear | asipi /asipi/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nose | ura /ura/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mouth | mak /mak/ | 古次 /*kutsi/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tooth | maati /maːti/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | melepi /mɛlepi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Foot | tar /tar/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | tei /tei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | gonʌ /ɡonʌ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | nom /nom/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bird | nuŋ /nuŋ/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | nei /nei/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ban /ban/ | — /—/ |
| Two | iri /iri/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | bi /bi/ | — /—/ |
| Three | tabe /tabe/ | 密 /*mit/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | irur /irur/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Red | kanb /kanb/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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