Meriam language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Meriam |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Torres Strait Meriam Mir |
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| Region | Murray Island, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia | |||
| Ethnicity | Meriam | |||
| Native speakers | 217 (2016 census) | |||
| Language family |
Trans-Fly
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| AIATSIS | Y3 | |||
| Linguasphere | 20-OD(A-a) | |||
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The Meriam language (called Meriam Mìr by its speakers) is also known as the Eastern Torres Strait language. It is spoken by people living on the small islands of Mer (Murray Island), Waier, Dauar, Erub (Darnley Island), and Ugar (Stephens Island). These islands are located in the eastern Torres Strait in Queensland, Australia.
In the Western Torres Strait language, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Meriam is called Mœyam or Mœyamau Ya. Meriam is special because it is the only Papuan language found in Australia. Most other languages in Australia are from a different language family.
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What Kind of Language is Meriam?
Meriam is part of a language group called the Eastern Trans-Fly languages. These languages are found in the area near the Fly River in New Guinea and the Torres Strait.
Experts have studied Meriam to see how it is related to other languages. Some studies show that Meriam Mir shares many words with its sister languages in the Trans-Fly group. This means they likely came from the same older language.
Meriam also has words from other languages. About 78% of its words are from its Papuan family. The rest come from Australian languages.
How Many People Speak Meriam?
The Meriam language is currently considered an endangered language by UNESCO. This means it is at risk of disappearing.
In the 2016 Australian census, 217 people said they spoke Meriam. This was a small increase from the 2011 census, which recorded 186 speakers.
People in North Queensland are working hard to keep the language alive. For example, in Mackay, there are only four people who speak Meriam fluently. A group of Torres Strait Islander people there are teaching traditional songs (hymns) sung in Meriam Mir. They hope this will help more people learn the language and pass it on to future generations. They also hope to introduce these hymn-singing programs into schools.
Meriam and its Neighbours
Meriam shares about 40% of its words with Kala Lagaw Ya. This is a different language from the Western Torres Strait, and it belongs to the Australian language family. Even though they are from different language families, they have many words in common.
These shared words include things like body parts, family names, and words for nature. However, they do not share many verbs (action words). This suggests that while the languages are different, they have influenced each other over time.
Here are a few examples of words that are similar in both languages:
| Kala Lagaw Ya | Meriam | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dhangal(a) | deger | "dugong" (a sea animal) |
| gamu | gem | "body" |
| saamu | sam | "cassowary" (a large bird) |
| ùmai | omái | "dog" |
Some words are a little different or have changed their meaning:
| Kala Lagaw Ya | Meaning | Meriam | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| wati | "bad, evil" | wìt | "wrong doing" |
| Baba, Baab(a) | "Dad, Daddy" | bab | "father" |
| ngœna | "breath, intellect, memory" | ner | "breath" |
And some words have different meanings even if they sound similar:
| Kala Lagaw Ya | Meaning | Meriam | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| thapi | "thin piece of bark or wood" | tep | "fruit skin" |
| maitha | "belly" | mait | "chest" |
| buudh(a) | "white paint" (for mourning) | bud | "mourning" |
New Words in Meriam
Since the mid-1800s, Meriam has borrowed many words from other languages. The main sources are Torres Strait Creole (a local language mix) and English.
Some words also come from other places like:
- Lifu/Drehu
- Polynesian languages (like Samoan and Rotuman)
- Indonesian
- Philippine languages
- Japanese
- Other European languages
Many people from these places came to the Torres Strait in the 1800s. Some were pearl divers or worked in the marine industry. Others, like those from Lifu and Samoa, were missionaries who came to share their religion.
Meriam Dialects
Today, the Meriam language does not have different dialects. However, in the past, there was a separate dialect spoken on Erub (Darnley Island) and Ugar (Stephens Island) islands.
This older dialect had some different sounds. For example, the 'ng' sound in the Erub dialect changed to 'n' or 'g' in modern Meriam. Also, the 'n' sound often became 'r' within words.
Here is an example from an old folktale that shows the difference:
- Erub: Aka nade ki andinane? Ge au?
- Meriam: Aka nade ki ardirare? Ge au?
- Meaning: Where will we put it? There?
This shows that some sound changes happened fairly recently in the Meriam language.
Sounds of Meriam
The Meriam language has its own unique set of sounds, just like any other language.
Vowel Sounds
Meriam has several vowel sounds. They are made by changing the shape of your mouth and tongue.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i ⟨i⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ |
| Retracted High | ɪ ⟨i⟩⟨e⟩⟨ì⟩ | ʊ ⟨u⟩⟨ù⟩ |
| Mid | e ⟨e⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ |
| Low | a, ʌ ⟨a⟩ | ɔ ⟨o⟩⟨ò⟩ |
Some of these vowel sounds can change slightly depending on where they are in a word or who is speaking. Older speakers tend to keep the vowel sounds more distinct.
Consonant Sounds
Meriam also has a variety of consonant sounds.
| Lips | Teeth Ridge | Alveolar | Alveo-Palatal | Back of Mouth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | No Voice | p | t | k | ||
| With Voice | b | d | ɡ | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Fricative | No Voice | s | ||||
| With Voice | z | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Trill/Tap | r | |||||
| Semivowel | w | j | ||||
Word Stress
In Meriam, the way you say a word can change its meaning based on which part of the word you emphasize. This is called stress. For example:
- tábo means 'snake' (stress on the first part)
- tabó means 'neck' (stress on the second part)
Sign Language in Torres Strait
The people of the Torres Strait Islands also have signed versions of their languages. This means they use hand movements and gestures to communicate, similar to how people use spoken words. While these signed languages exist, they might not be as fully developed as some other Australian Aboriginal sign languages.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma meryam mir para niños
