Seimat language


The Seimat language is one of three Western Admiralty Islands languages, the other two being Wuvulu-Aua and the extinct Kaniet. The language is spoken by approximately 1000 people on the Ninigo and the Anchorite Islands in western Manus Province of Papua New Guinea. It has subject–verb–object word order.

Names

The alternate names for Seimat are Admiralitäts-inseln and Ninigo.

Numbers

Seimat has a quinary numeral system; numbers from one to five are unique, whereas most all other numbers are simply combinations of these. For example, numbers from six to nine are compounds based on five, combined with the words for one to four. Twenty is also a unique word, meaning "person"; it presumably refers to a full set of fingers and toes.
SeimatEnglish
tehuone
hũõhutwo
toluhuthree
hinalofour
te-panim five
te-panim tehusix
te-panim hũohuseven
te-panim toluhueight
te-panim hinalonine
hũõ-panim ten
hũõ-panim tehueleven
hũõ-panim hũõhutwelve
tolupa  fifteen
tolupa tehusixteen
tolupa hũõhuseventeen
seilon tel twenty
seilon tel tehutwenty-one
seilon tel hũõhutwenty-two
seilon toluthirty
seilon hinaloforty
patei telhundred