Reptiles and amphibians

Reptiles

aipambu small-eyed python (juvenile)
anelau (‘taro leaf’) green tree python
eloma amethystine python
gaweta monitor lizard type, emerald monitor
kamuzinga yellow tree python (small-eyed)
mambuluwa monitor lizard type (larger, spotted)
mota snake, worm, caterpillar
nano didi (‘fat/funny face’) green tree skink
siliwo ground skink
ubela gecko type
wawala monitor lizard
yowala tree boa
yuwaya crocodile; saltwater crocodile
zelema banded sea snake
zimoka python

Amphibians

ambangganggali turtle eggs
anabobo turtle (freshwater, pit-shelled?)
gelenggau tree frog
nagobu turtle, leatherback turtle
numbala turtle type, green sea turtle
sawali sea turtle (in general), hawksbill turtle
oma green tree frog

2 Comments

Filed under vocabulary

2 responses to “Reptiles and amphibians

  1. I’ve been reading as you post these – I really appreciate the insights into another language. But I was wondering: does progressive denasalization in Numbami have different rates for different semantic categories as well as phonetic categories?

  2. I don’t think so. I suspect that any salient (but noncontrastive) nasalization in specialized vocabulary reflects the source language from which it came, most probably the Kela (or Kala) dialects spoken in every village up the coast as far as Salamaua. Kela speakers greatly outnumber Numbami speakers and have long intermarried with them.

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