Skou language
# Skou language

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 Regency. 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 Sai villages
* Skou Sai [id] (Skou name: Te Bapúbi), the easternmost and least populous Skou village

## Phonology

### Consonants

The Skou consonants are:

| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | | k | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | | ɟ~ɡʲ | ɟ~ɡʲ | |
| Fricative | Fricative | f | | | | h |
| Liquid | lateral | | l | | | |
| Liquid | rhotic | | r | | | |
| Semivowel | Semivowel | w | | j | | |

### Vowels

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

| | Front | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | oral | nasal | oral | nasal | oral | nasal |
| Close | i | ĩ | ɨ | | u | |
| Mid | e | ẽ | ə | ə̃ | o | õ |
| Open | a | ã | | | | |

### Tone

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

| Pitch | Oral | Nasal |
| - | - | - |
| 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.

| | Free Pronouns | Genitive Pronouns | Dative Pronouns |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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˨] |
