Busa language (Papuan)


The Busa language, also known as Odiai, is spoken in three hamlets of northwestern Papua New Guinea. There were 244 speakers at the time of the 2000 census. One of the hamlets where Busa is spoken is Busa in Rawei ward, Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Busa speakers are in extensive trade and cultural contact with Yadë, a distantly related language spoken in six villages to the north of the Busa area.

Classification

Busa may be one of the Kwomtari languages. Foley classifies Busa as a language isolate, but does not exclude the possibility that it may have a distant relationship with the Torricelli languages.

Pronouns

Pronouns are:

Basic vocabulary

Busa basic vocabulary listed in Foley :

Affixes

Busa subject agreement affixes are:
The Busa possessive suffix -ni is also found in proto-Sepik as the dative suffix *ni, as well as in Ama, a Left May language.