Melpa language

 ( Chimbu–wahgi Languages ) 

Melpa ( Medlpa, Mbowamb) is a Papuan languages spoken by about 130,000 people predominantly in Mount Hagen and the surrounding district of Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. It is spoken by the Kawelka people

and other related tribes.

Melpa is a pandanus language used during karuka harvests. Melpa has a voiceless velar lateral fricative, written as a double-barred el (Ⱡ, ⱡ). Melpa is notable for its Binary number counting system. A dictionary of Melpa has been compiled by Stewart, Strathern and Trantow (2011).Stewart, Pamela J., Andrew Strathern and Jürgen Trantow. 2011. Melpa-German-English Dictionary. Pittsburgh: University Library System.

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Phonology

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Consonants

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Vowels

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Numeral system

"one"

"two"

"two-one"

"four"

"one past four"

"two past four"

"two-one past four"

"eight"

"one past eight"

"two past eight"

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Media Temboka, a dialect of Melpa, is the native language of the Ganiga tribe, who featured prominently in the Highlands Trilogy of documentaries by Robin Anderson and Bob Connolly ( First Contact, Joe Leahy's Neighbours, and Black Harvest).

The documentary Ongka's Big Moka also has Melpa dialogue.

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External links

• Melpa laterals
• Kay Owens. "The Work of Glendon Lean on the Counting Systems of Papua New Guinea and Oceania", section "The Melpa Counting System". Mathematics Education Research Journal vol. 13 (April 2001),
• Melpa Phonology

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