# Mailuan languages

The Mailuan or Cloudy Bay languages are a small family of Trans–New Guinea languages spoken around Cloudy Bay in the "Bird's Tail" (southeastern peninsula) of New Guinea. They are classified within the Southeast Papuan branch of Trans–New Guinea.

## Languages

The languages, which all share about half of their vocabulary, are,
* Domu, Binahari–Binahari-Ma, Morawa, Mailu (Magi), Laua
Bauwaki–O'oku is closely related to the Mailuan languages.

## Classification

Dutton (1971) said Bauwaki was a link to the Yareban languages. It has greater lexical similarity with Aneme Wake (Yareban) than the closest Mailuan language, Domu. Usher (2020) classifies Mailuan, Bauwaki and Yareban together.
Magi shows evidence of language shift from an Oceanic language in many Oceanic words.

## Pronouns

Usher (2020) reconstructs the proto-Mailuan–Yareban pronouns as:
    sgdupl 1excl *na*ge 1incl *gu*i 2 *ga*ja 3 *e*ema
Ross (1995) reconstructs the Mailuan pronouns as:
    sgdupl 1 *i*gu-*ge 2 *ga*[j]a*[j]a, *mee 3 *emu

## Vocabulary comparison

The following basic vocabulary words are from Thomson (1975) and various SIL field notes, as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database.
The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. kuma, uma, tuma for “louse”) or not (e.g. baka, ulim, muruu for “egg”).
| gloss | Bauwaki | Binahari | Mailu | Mailu (Delebai d.) | Mailu (Asiaoro d.) | Mailu (Baibara d.) | Mailu (Geagea d.) | Mailu (Ilai d.) | Mailu (Domara d.) | Morawa |
| head | awara | sol | moru; uru | moru | moru | moru | ioru | ilolo | moru | din |
| hair | i'iri | git | limuu | ʔuru | liʔimu | limuʔu | ʔuru | liʔimu | ʔuru | bo |
| ear | ome | ofi | ope | ʔope | ʔope | ʔope | ʔope | ʔope | ʔope | ope |
| eye | ni'aba | ni | ini | ini | ini | ini | ini | ini | ini | nikaba |
| nose | iru | lilim | durumu | durumu | durumu | durumu | durumu | durumu | durumu | dunun |
| tooth | ni'o | maʔa | gagina; maa | maʔa | maʔa | maʔa | maʔa | maʔa | maʔa | ma'akisa |
| tongue | meana | koba | goba | goba | goba | goba | goba | goba | goba | goba |
| leg | doboro | aᵘ | | ʔau | ʔau | ʔau | ʔau | ʔau | ʔau | au |
| louse | kuma | uma | tuma | tuma | tuma | tuma | tuma | tuma | tuma | tuma |
| dog | wa'ai | waʔaⁱ | waai | waʔai | dari | waʔai | dari | dari | dari | va'ai |
| pig | boro | boro | | boraʔa | boraʔa | boraʔa | boraʔa | talae | natu | |
| bird | adau | adaᵘ | manu | manu | manu | manu | manu | manu | manu | adau |
| egg | baka | ulim | muruu | muruʔu | muruʔu | muruʔu | muruʔu | muruʔu | muruʔu | unimi |
| blood | dana | lala | lala | lala | lala | | | lala | lala | |
| bone | i sa | gisa | kisa | kisa | tara | kisa | kisa | kisa | iriga | |
| skin | ofe | ofi | opi | ʔopi | ʔopi | ʔopi | ʔopi | ʔopi | ʔopi | ubu |
| breast | ama | ⁱama | hama | ama | ama | ama | ama | ama | ama | ama |
| tree | ana | ʔana | | ana | ana | ana | ana | ana | ana | ana |
| man | eme | ɛmɛkʰ | egi | egi | egi | egi | egi | egi | egi | emegi |
| woman | aveka | aveha | | avesa | avesa | avesa | avesa | avesa | avesa | aveha |
| sky | | | nogara | nogara | nogara | nogara | nogara | nogara | nogara | |
| sun | evaka | budiwa | | nina | nina | nina | nina | nina | nina | rina |
| moon | manabe | debaʔaʰ | dovele | | dovele | | dovele | dovele | dovele | deveni |
| water | ya'a | yaʔah | aʔaʔma; mami | ʔaʔama | ʔaʔama | ʔaʔama | ʔaʔama | ʔaʔama | ʔaʔama | ya'ama |
| fire | yo | kɛu | eu | eu | eu | eu | eu | eu | badau | eu |
| stone | oma | bagᵃ | budi; nabua; gomagomana | gomana | | gomana | gomana | gomana | korau | korao |
| road, path | da'aba | legaʰ | laea | laea | laea | laea | laea | laea | laea | nara |
| name | ibi | im | omu | omu | omu | omu | omu | omu | omu | |
| eat | isi | kihi | isiisi | isiisi | isiisi | isiisi | isiisi | isiisi | ʔiʔa | isi |
| one | dim dai | opmigau | omu | ʔomu | ʔomu | ʔomu | ʔomu | ʔomu | ʔomu | obumiya |
| two | yara | haᵘřa | ava | ʔava | ʔava | ʔava | ʔava | ʔava | ʔava | hauna |
Additional word lists can be found in Ray (1938).

## Evolution

Mailuan reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are:
Mailu language:
* ama ‘breast’ < *amu
* maa ‘mouth’ < *maŋgat[a]
* kisa ‘bone’ < *kondaC
* tupa ‘short’ < *tu(p,mb)a(C)
* guia ‘cassowary’ < *ku(y)a
Bauwaki language:
* baba ‘father’ < *mbapa
* idi ‘hair’ < *iti[C]
* (ine) ibi ‘name’ < *imbi
* iini- ‘sleep’ < *kin(i,u)-