Enga questions : structural and semantic studies

Abstract

Enga is the language of approximately 150,000 speakers in the Wapenamanda, Wabag, and Laiagam areas of the Western Highlands of New Guinea. Enga is the name given them by outsiders, in this case the Melpa of the Mt. Hagen area to the east. No feeling of "Enganess" existed before the Pax Australiana, although it is slowly developing now as the Enga begin to discover that their universe is considerably larger than their own clan territory and that of the people with whom they customarily traded or fought. They have now discovered that there is a large group of people with whom they share one particular feature which at the same time sets them apart from other such large groups: their language, edakáli pií 'people talk' or aé pií 'local talk'.