Grand Valley Dani language

Grand Valley Dani
Grand Valley Dani
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Highlands of Irian Jaya
Ethnicity	Dani
Native speakers	(90,000 cited 1990–1996)[1]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea West Trans–New Guinea Irian Highlands ? Dani languages Dani proper Grand Valley Dani; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; dni – Lower; dnt – Mid; dna – Upper; hap – Hupla
Glottolog	gran1246

Grand Valley Dani, or simply Dani,[2] is one of the most populous Papuan languages in Indonesian New Guinea. The Dani people live in the Baliem Valley of the Western Highlands.

Dialects

Dialectical differentiation is great enough that Ethnologue assigns separate codes to three varieties:

Lower
Mid or Central, also known as Tulem
Upper

Lower Grand Valley Dani contains subdialects Lower Grand Valley Hitigima (Dani-Kurima, Kurima), Upper Bele, Lower Bele, Lower Kimbin (Kibin), and Upper Pyramid. Hupla, traditionally considered a separate language, is closer to Lower Grand Valley than the varieties of Grand Valley Dani are to each other.

Semantics

The Dani language differentiates only two basic colours, mili for cool/dark shades such as blue, green, and black, and mola for warm/light colours such as red, yellow, and white. This trait makes it an interesting field of research for language psychologists, such as Eleanor Rosch, investigating the Whorf hypothesis.

Grammar

Verbs

Verbs in Grand Valley Dani are rich in verb tenses.

Non-finite tenses

Infinitive	-in

Finite tenses

		Singular			Plural
		First	Second	Third	First	Second	Third
Future	Near	-ikin			-ukun
Future	Indefinite	-isikin			-isukun
Past	Near	-hy	-hen	-he	-ho	-hep	-hem
	Remote	-hyky	-heken	-hikhe	-huku	-hikip	-hukha
	Perfect	-hytik	-hettik	-hesik	-hosik	-hesip	-hasik
Habitual	Main	-hytek	-hettek	-hetek	-hotek	-hesep	-hatek
Habitual	Perfect	-hytesik	-hettesik	-hetesik	-hotesik	-hetesip	-hatesik
Progressive		-hylahy	-hylaken	-iako	-hylako	-hylakep	-iakoei

Phonology

The phonology of the Central Grand Valley Dani language:[3]

Consonants
		Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k	ʔ
	voiced	b	d		ɡ
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ
Fricative			s			h
Lateral			l
Semivowel		w		j

/p, t, k/ have allophones [β, ɾ, ɣ] in intervocalic positions. They may also be realized as aspirated stops [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] in word-initial position.

Vowels
	front	central	back
high close	i		u
high close	ɪ		ʊ
mid	e		o
low		a

Notes

Lower at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Mid at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Upper at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Hupla at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Compare Lani
Nijhoff, Martinus (1966). Outline of Dani Morphology (PDF). Van Het Koninklijk Instituut Voor Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2019.

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[e18-1] Lower at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Mid at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Upper at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Hupla at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Compare Lani

[3] Nijhoff, Martinus (1966). Outline of Dani Morphology (PDF). Van Het Koninklijk Instituut Voor Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2019.