Tairora-English Dictionary

Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., 2010 - 642 p. ISBN: 9980036001
The Tairora language is a member of the Eastern family of the East New Guinea Highlands Stock, and the language is spoken by approximately 13,000 people most of whom live in the Wonenara-Kainantu sub-district in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. There are a number of dialects spoken, and the major division is between north and south. The entries in this dictionary are from the North Tairora. This group numbers approximately 5,000 who live in villages near Kainantu and in villages as far south as Suwaira, Motokara and Kovara.
The material in this dictionary was collected by the authors during short periods of field work and residency in Aupora and Bantura villages followed by 49 years living in Vaa’era village in the Suwaira area in the North Tairora under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Data was gathered from everyday conversations, written texts and observations. This is not an exhaustive dictionary of so rich a language as Tairora. It is hoped that there will be some who will use this as a base to produce an even fuller dictionary. As well as this dictionary helping to preserve the Tairora language, it is hoped that it will encourage school children and the community at large to value their mother tongue and not consider it inferior to Tok Pisin and English. It may also be a benefit to non-Tairora speakers living in the community.