Mauwake language

Mauwake (Mawake), or Ulingan, is a Papuan language of Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. It is spoken along the North coast of Madang province, which lies in the North-east of Papua New Guinea.^[3] Mauwake is principally spoken about 120 km northwest of Madang town, an area of about 100 square kilometres.

There are 15 villages where Mauwake is the main language, seven of them on or near the coast along a stretch of 15 km between the Kumil and Nemuru rivers, and up to 12 km inland from the coast.

Mauwake speakers generally agree that the language migrated to Madang from further inland; a fact supported by the compacted diversity of the coastal area in particular, as well as by the comparatively minor role in Mauwake culture of fishing, which focuses more on gardening for both food and profit. Though not a uniform group socially or politically, Mauwake society typically follows a patrilineal tradition. Villages are based around a system of extended families and clans, with adoption a common practice.

The Madang area was strongly affected by the Second World War, when it was occupied by Japanese soldiers and consequently bombed by Allied forces. Although The Japanese forces were not hostile to the local people, their presence was uneasy, and many fled inland. Prior to the war, the majority of external contact had been with missionaries. At the end of the war, and after contact with both the Japanese and Allied military forces, many Mauwake speakers left to work afield, with broadened horizons. This was helped by the establishment of a local high school, as well as a new highway along the North Coast.

Phonology

A map of Papua New Guinea and Madang province

Though not the most simple of Papuan languages, Mauwake has a small phonological spread, with only 14 consonants and 5 vowels. It also lacks the glottal stop that is typical of many Papuan languages.

References

Literature

Berghäll, Liisa (2015). A grammar of Mauwake. Berlin: Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/67