# Yuat languages

The Yuat languages are an independent family of five Papuan languages spoken along the Yuat River in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. They are an independent family in the classification of Malcolm Ross, but are included in Stephen Wurm's Sepik–Ramu proposal. However, Foley and Ross could find no lexical or morphological evidence that they are related to the Sepik or Ramu languages.
It is named after the Yuat River of northern Papua New Guinea. Yuat languages are spoken mostly in Yuat Rural LLG of East Sepik Province.

## Languages

The Yuat languages proper are:
* Changriwa
* Mekmek
* Kyenele (Miyak)
* Biwat (Mundugumor)
* Bun

## Classification

Foley (2018) provides the following classification.

### Yuat family

* Changriwa
* Mekmek
* Miyak; Bun, Mundukumo (Biwat)
Changriwa and Mekmek are attested only by short words, and are tentatively grouped as separate branches by Foley (2018: 226) due to scanty evidence.

## Pronouns

The pronouns Ross (2005) reconstructs for proto-Yuat are:
    I*ŋunwe*amba thou*ndiyou*mba s/he*wuthey ?
Mundukumo and Miyak pronouns are:
    personMundukumoMiyak 1SG ŋəŋə 2SG dədə 3SG uu 1EXCL ini 1INCL abəaba 2PL yabe 3PL wavara

## Vocabulary comparison

The following basic vocabulary words are from Davies & Comrie (1985), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database.
The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. ŋkaᵐbaᵐgat∘, ŋgambaŋ for “leg”) or not (e.g. fufuimaye, ϕə'ziru for “hair”).
    glossBiwatKyenele (Kyaimbarang dialect)Kyenele (Miyak dialect) head fop; fopehϕɔp∘ᵽop hair fufuimaivi; fufuimayeϕə'zirufusibɩľu ear tuanhe; tundu'twantandu eye siketeh; sipta'ɕikɯsɩpʰala nose gerekeh; ŋerek'ŋəŋərɩnʌnɛlɩŋ tooth andu; andusivahe'ŋanduŋandu tongue be; behe'mbᴶempe leg gambang; geambangehŋkaᵐbaᵐgat∘ŋgambaŋ louse uta; utaehutawututʰoma dog ken; kenhekᴶɛngɛn pig vereh; vreβɛrɩƀeǏe bird kaok; kaokhekhɔpᴶɛwanma egg momoateh; mumuat'majmumawanmuma blood amberaeh; ambraambaraambala bone amfuva; amfuvahehamϕuamᵽuwa skin gamfuin; iaveteh'vɨzanᵽɩsakʰ breast meru; meruhemimiřu tree mung; mungehmumï man foakpa; fuakpaheaβɨdaƀɷt woman arepa; arepahemᴶemiandu sun va; vaehβanmaƀanma moon mumere; mumereh'gəŋat∘ŋgɨŋat water mam; mumeh'maŋammaŋam fire mehen; menmɨnmɨn stone ghateh; yiakmɨndəmmɨndɩm road, path maikua; miakuahemajmayt name vu'geh; vuŋwuŋ eat ueh jiveh; u-u giveɕɛnɕɛntšɛntšɛntšuƀa one nategeh; natekŋajkəŋaykʰʌkʰ two arauu; aravuehaɽawiaǏawin

## Grammar

Yuat languages distinguish inclusive and exclusive first person pronouns, a feature not found in most other Papuan languages. This tyopological feature has also diffused from Yuat into the Grass languages, which are spoken contiguously to the Yuat languages.
Yuat grammar and phonology are similar to those of the neighboring Ramu languages. Yuat verbal morphology is relatively simple.$^{:230}$
Yuat languages are accusative, unlike many other Papuan languages, e.g., Trans New Guinea, East Cenderawasih Bay, Lakes Plain, South Bougainville, which are all ergative.
Word order in Yuat languages, like in the Yawa languages, is rigidly SOV, whereas in many other Papuan families, OSV word order is often permitted (as long as the verb is final).$^{:920}$