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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Pacific > Papua New Guinea > Haruai

Haruai

A language of Papua New Guinea

ISO 639-3: tmd

Population  2,000 (2000 SIL). Many monolingual.
Region  Madang Province, southwest corner, southwest Mid-Ramu (Simbai) District, west Schrader Range, west of the Kobon.
Language map  Papua New Guinea, Map 6, reference number 286
Alternate names   Harway, Taman, Waibuk, Wiyau, Wiyaw, Wovan
Dialects  North Waibuk (Hamil), Central Waibuk (Mambar), South Waibuk (Arama). Related to Pinai-Hagahai [pnn], though not inherently intelligible. Word taboo practiced, but does not seem to impede intelligibility among related language varieties. Lexical similarity: 37% with Pinai-Hagahai, 35% with Kobon [kpw].
Classification  Piawi
Language use  Speeches and sermons by outsiders always translated into Haruai. All ages. Most also use Tok Pisin [tpi] or Kobon.
Comments  ‘Haruai’ is self name. Some similarities to Kalam languages due to borrowing (Comrie). More loanwords from Kobon are used in the northern area. SOV; postpositions (few); genitives precede noun heads; possessives, adjectives, numerals, relative clauses follow noun heads; postclitic demonstratives; suffixes; V, CV, VC, CVC. Swidden agriculturalists.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

TONSON, John, author. 1976. The languages in the Schraeder ranges.  Available online