Skou (Sekol, Sekou, Sko, Skouw, Skow, Sukou), or Tumawo (Te Mawo), is a Papuan language of Indonesia.

Distribution

Skou is spoken in three villages of Muara Tami District[id], Jayapura City. The villages are:

  • Skou Yambe[id] (Skou name: Te Tángpe), the westernmost and most populous Skou village
  • Skou Mabo[id] (Skou name: Te Máwo), located between Skou Yambe and Skou Sae villages
  • Skou Sae[id] (Skou name: Te Bapúbi), the easternmost and least populous Skou village

Phonology

Consonants

The Skou consonants are:

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalmn
Plosivevoicelessptk
voicedbɟ~ɡʲ
Fricativefh
Liquidlaterall
rhoticr
Semivowelwj

Vowels

Vowels can be nasalized, except for /ɨ/ and /u/.

FrontCentralBack
oralnasaloralnasaloralnasal
Closeiĩɨu
Mideẽəə̃oõ
Openaã

Tone

Skou contrasts three different tones in monosyllables: high, low and falling, which can be combined with nasality for a six-way contrast.

PitchOralNasal
high [˥]ta 'grass'tã 'bird'
low [˨]ta 'hair'tã 'canoe'
falling [˥˩]ta 'arrow'tã 'machete'

Tone in Skou is affiliated with each word, rather than with each syllable.

In addition to lexical differences in tone, tone has grammatical functions.

For instance, tense in Skou is differentiated by tone.

non-past tense forms
[ni hu] falling-falling 'I sew'[ni ha] falling-high 'I stand'[ni hũ] falling-low 'I drink'
past tense forms
[ni hu] falling-low 'I sewed'[ni ha] falling-low 'I stood'[ni hũ] falling-low'I drank'

Pronouns

Skou differentiates three types of pronouns: free pronouns, genitive pronouns and dative pronouns.

Pronouns
FreeGenitiveDative
1SG[ni˥˩][ni˥˩][nɛ˨]
1PL[nɛ˨][nɛ˥˩][nɛ˨]
2SG[mɛ˥˩][mɛ˥˩][mɛ˨]
2PL[ɛ˨][ɛ˥˩][ɛ˨]
3SG.NF[kɛ˨][kɛ˥][kɛ˨]
3SG.F[pɛ˨][pɛ˥˩][pɛ˨]
3PL[tɛ˨][tɛ˥˩][tɛ˨]
  • Donohue, Mark. 2004. . Singapore: National University of Singapore. Available at .