Kwalia language
| Tayam | |
|---|---|
| Teyam, Taiyam, Enaawata táɨyám | |
| Pronunciation | [táɨ̀jám] |
| Region | southern Awating |
| Ethnicity | Tayam |
| Native speakers | unknown: - possibly extinct (2009) - about 590 speakers claimed (2020) |
| Language family | Language isolate (previously classified as Ngerupic) |
| CWS code | ytm |
 | |
Tayam (autonym: táɨyám), previously known as Taiyam, Teyam, or Enaawata, is a language isolate spoken in southeastern Awating.
Discovery
Classification and number of speakers
Tayam has been proven to be a language isolate, unrelated to any other languages. There have been numerous controversies about its classification, stemming from prior lack of reliable information about the language.
Debate on Tayam as a Ngerupic language
From when study of the language began in the early 1960s to about 2014, very little reliable data was available about the language, due to the relative inaccessibility and isolation of the Tayam-speaking area and small number of speakers. While the sparse data did suggest that it may have been an isolate, linguists at the time generally classified Tayam as a Ngerupic language, owing to shared areal features in common with the Ngerupic languages of Awating.
Debate on Tayam as an Aga-Buod language
A few linguists, primarily Amang Řąziya Ngunrą Zahang, have posited that Tayam is related to the Ngigu language of southern coastal Awating, and therefore related to the Aga-Buod languages of Lahan via a Trans-Umo-Aga-Buod language macrofamily. This has not been accepted by mainstream academia and is regarded as a fringe theory.
Debate on Tayam as a constructed or artificial language
Some scholars have claimed that Tayam was invented by groups of rural bandits as a method of concealing information, citing its areally unusual phonology and grammar.
Phonology
Phonemes
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Labiovelar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Plosive | p ᵐb | t ⁿd | k ᵑg | ʔ | ||
| Fricative | h | |||||
| Lateral flap | ɺ | |||||
| Approximant | j | w |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | í ì | ɨ́ ɨ̀ | ú ù |
| Mid | é̞ è̞ | ó̞ ò̞ | |
| Open | á à |