Meriam language

Trans Fly language of the Australian Torres Strait Islands

Meriam (; also Miriam, Meryam, Mer, Mir, Miriam Mir, etc. and Eastern, Isten, Esten and Able Able) or the Eastern Torres Strait language is the language of the people of the small islands of Mer (Murray Island), Waier and Dauar, Erub (Darnley Island), and Ugar (Stephens Island) in the eastern Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. In the Western Torres Strait language, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, it is called Mœyam or Mœyamau Ya. It is the only Papuan language in Australian territory.

Meriam was classified in the Eastern Trans Fly family of the Trans–New Guinea Phylum by Stephen Wurm, who however felt that these have retained remnants of pre Trans–New Guinea languages; this is followed by Ethnologue (2005). In 2005 Malcolm Ross concluded that the Eastern Trans Fly languages were not part of the Trans–New Guinea phylum. R. M. W. Dixon (2002) regards claims of a relationship between the Fly River languages and Meriam as unproven, though what he bases his claim on is not clear, as Meriam Mir has a high cognacy rate with its sister languages, and a certain amount of mutual intelligibility is claimed by Meriam speakers. Mitchell finds that Meriam Mìr has 78% cognates with its sister Trans Fly Papuan languages, the remaining vocabulary being mainly of Australian origin. Such Trans Fly cognates include personal pronouns, and verbal and nominal morphology. +Percentages of Australian, Papuan and Austronesian content (2) = number of items; Mitchell, Holman et al. 40 word list Source WCL MM Australian 22.5% (9) 5% (2) Papuan 22.5% (9) 62.5% (25) Derivations/Compounds 20% (8) 17.5% (7) [common to Eastern Trans Fly 15% (6)] Austronesian 12.5% (5) 2.5% (1) More than one possible origin 15% (6) 17.5% (7) Unclassifiable 32.5% (13) 20% (8)

The main source of loan words to the language since the mid 1800s has been Yumplatòk (Torres Strait Creole) and English. There are also some minor loans from Lifu/Drehu, Polynesian (in particular Samoan and to a lesser extent Rotuman), Indonesian, Philippine, Japanese, and European origin. Many such outsiders were recruited – or in some rare cases black birded – in the 19th century for pearl diving and other marine work, while others (from Lifu and Samoa) were missionaries with the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Stress is contrastive in Meriam and can occur on the first or second syllable. Examples include tábo 'snake', tabó 'neck'.

The Torres Strait Islanders have signed forms of their languages, though it is not clear from records that they are particularly well developed compared to other Australian Aboriginal sign languages.