Manam language
Manam is a Kairiru–Manam language spoken mainly on the volcanic Manam Island, northeast of New Guinea.
| Manam | |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern New Guinea |
Native speakers | 8,000 (2003)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mva |
| Glottolog | mana1295 |
| ELP | Manam[2] |
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | b | t | d | k ~ ʔ ~ q | ɡ |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Fricative | (t)s | (d)z | ||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Flap | ɾ ~ r | |||||
Allophony
Some vowels become glides in diphthongs, e.g. /u/, /o/ > [w] and /i/, /e/ > [j]. /i/ and /u/ are 'weaker' than /e/ and /o/, so that the syllable /kuo/ becomes [kwo] and not *[kuw]
According to Turner, /k/ is more and more often realized as [ʔ], while some older speakers have [q].
Syllable structure
The Manam syllable is (C)(V1)V(V1)(C1), the only exception is a syllabic [m̩].
There are some phonotactic restrictions on the prevalent syllable structure. E.g. V1 cannot be [a], whereas V must be [a] as long as it's not the syllable's sole vowel. C can be any consonant, whereas C1 must be a nasal consonant.
Stress
Stress is phonemic: /ˈsara/ 'palm tree', /saˈra/ 'seagull'. The stress falls on one of the three last syllables of a word, and stressing the penult syllable is the most common: /ˈnatu/ 'child', /maˈlipi/ 'work'. If the last syllable ends in a nasal consonant, it will be stressed instead: /naˈtum/ 'your child'. Some inflections and affixes do not alter the stress of the root word: /iˈto/ 'he learned' (i- is a 3rd person prefix), /siˈŋabalo/ 'in the bush' (-lo is a locative suffix).
In the orthography, stressed vowels can be underlined in order to avoid ambiguities. Ie. /ˈsara/ ⟨sara⟩ 'palm tree', /saˈra/ ⟨sara⟩ 'seagull'.
Syntax
Word order
The basic, unmarked word order in Manam is SOV:
tamoata boro i-un-i man pig 3SG.SUB-hit-3SG.OBJ - "The man hit the pig."
Predicator
Lichtenberk defines the predicator as the primary element within a clause.[3]:92 The predicator of a Manam clause can be realised in a variety of different ways, such as verb phrases Ex. (1), noun phrases Ex. (2), postpositional phrases Ex. (3), numbers Ex. (4), etc.[3]:93
Ex. (1): verb phrase predicator[3]:94
| (1) | natu | masa | ŋa-eno |
| child | INIR | 3SG.IRR-sleep | |
| ‘the child will sleep’ | |||
Ex. (2): noun phrase predicator[3]:94
| (2) | aine | ene | i-tui=tui | tina-gu |
| woman | over | 3SG.IRR-stand-RPL | mother-1SG.AD | |
| ‘the woman who is standing over there is my mother’ | ||||
Ex. (3): postpositional phrase predicator[3]:94
| (3) | tamoata | ŋe-ø | paŋana-ø | patu | boʔana |
| man | this-3SG.AD | head-3SG.AD | stone | SIM | |
| ‘this man’s head is like a stone’ i.e. this man is stubborn as a mule | |||||
Ex. (4): numeral predicator[3]:94
| (4) | boro | ne-gu | wati |
| pig | POSS-1SG.AD | four | |
| ‘I have four pigs’ (lit. my pigs are four) | |||
Negation
Negation in Manam is primarily expressed using one of two negative markers: moaʔi and tago. moaʔi is used exclusively in direct speech prohibitions; whilst tago is used for all other cases.[3]:384
Scope of negation
The use of tago is primarily categorised by its scope of negation, which further indicates the focus of the clause. The spectrum of scope runs from negating one or more elements within a single clause, to negating an entire clause. The concept of scope of negation can be demonstrated in English: ‘I did not go to the party’ is an example of a broad scope of negation, i.e. the verb phrase (VP) is negated, therefore act of going to the party is negated; ‘not one person went to the party’ is an example of a narrow scope of negation, i.e. the subject is negated, not the act of going to the party.
Broad scope
A broad scope of negation is expressed in Manam by negating the predicator—this is done so by placing the negative marker tago before the predicator,[3]:385 as demonstrated in the following examples:
Ex. (5): broad scope negation–1 element[3]:385
| (5) | tago | u-loŋo |
| NEG | 1SG.REAL-hear | |
| ‘I did not hear’ | ||
Ex. (6): broad scope negation–2 elements[3]:385
| (6) | tamoata | tago | ŋa-te-a |
| man | NEG | 3SG.IRR-see-1SG.OBJ | |
| ‘the man will not see me’ | |||
Ex. (7): broad scope negation–3 elements[3]:385
| (7) | baʔaraʔa | nora | tago | ʔu-pura? |
| why | yesterday | NEG | 2SG.REAL-come | |
| ‘why didn’t you come yesterday?’ | ||||
Additionally, the negative marker tago can also function as a predicator of existential and possessive clauses.[3]:387 Compare the following examples:
Ex. (8): negative existential sentence[3]:387
| (8) | ewa | tago |
| fire | NEG | |
| ‘there is no fire’ | ||
Ex. (9): negative possessive sentence[3]:387
| (9) | mone | ne-gu | tago |
| money | POSS-1SG | NEG | |
| ‘I have no money’ | |||
Narrow scope
As a general rule, Manam primarily expresses narrow scope negation by placing tago before the element which is being negated i.e. the object of focused negation within the clause.
Ex. (10): narrow scope negation[3]:387
| (10) | ŋai | tago | toʔa-ø | di-pura-budu-ru |
| 3SG.IP | NEG | older.brother-3SG.AD | 3PL.REAL-come-together-DL | |
| ‘he came without his brother’ | ||||
In example (10), it is not the act of coming that is being negated, rather the negation is narrowly focused in negating the presence of the brother.
Ex. (11): narrow scope negation[3]:387
| (11) | tago | ara-ø-n-oti | i-ʔila-i |
| NEG | name-3SG.AD-BF-INSTR | 3SG.REAL-call-3SG.OBJ | |
| ‘he did not call him by his name’ (i.e. he called him not by his name but by some other name) | |||
Similarly, in example (11), it is not the act of calling one's name that is being negated, rather the negation focuses the fact that someone was called, but by some other name that was not their own.
Negative quantifiers
Additionally, the negative marker tago can be used in conjunction with the quantifiers teʔe ‘one’ and alu ‘some’ to produce the negative expressions, tago teʔe ‘no; not any’ and tago alu ‘no; not any’.[3]:386 These expressions function as attributes within the noun phrases that they modify, as seen in the following examples (NP are enclosed within brackets):
Ex. (12): negation using tago teʔe[3]:386
| (12) | ŋau | [ʔana | tago | teʔe-ø] | u-te-ø |
| 1SG.IP | thing | NEG | one-3SG.AD | 1SG.REAL-see-3SG.OBJ | |
| ‘I did not see anything’ (lit. I saw not one thing) | |||||
Ex. (13): negation using tago teʔe[3]:386
| (13) | [tamoata | tago | teʔe-ø] | taun-lo | i-laʔo |
| person | NEG | one-3SG.AD | town-to | 3SG.REAL-go | |
| ‘no one went to town’ (lit. not one person went to town) | |||||
More specifically, tago alu is used to modify noun phrases whose head are mass nouns; tago teʔecomparatively modifies count nouns.[3]:386 Compare the following two examples:
Ex. (14): negative quantifier mass noun[3]:386
| (14) | [daŋ | tago | alu-ø] | di-eno |
| water | NEG | one-3SG.AD | 3PL.REAL-exist | |
| ‘there is no water’ (lit. not some water exists) | ||||
Ex. (15): negative quantifier count noun[3]:386
| (15) | [daŋ | tago | teʔe-ø] | di-eno |
| water | NEG | some-3SG.AD | 3PL.REAL-exist | |
| ‘there is no (containerful) of water’ | ||||
Intensified negation
Negation in Manam can be intensified by appending the buffer element –na and the intensifier suffix –tina to tago,[3]:388 as seen in the following example:
Ex. (16): intensifier suffix[3]:389
| (16) | ŋai | tago-ø-na-tina | i-pile=pile |
| 3SG.IP | NEG-3SG.AD-BF-INT | 3SG.REAL-speak-RPL | |
| ‘he does not speak at all’ | |||
The buffer element –na, however, is not included when tago acts as the predicator of a clause,[3]:388 as seen in the following example:
Ex. (17): intensified predicator[3]:389
| (17) | ŋau | bua | tago-tina |
| 1SG.IP | betelnut | NEG-INT | |
| ‘I have no betelnuts at all’ | |||
Additionally, negation in Manam can be intensified using sesu ‘little’,[3]:389 as seen in the following example:
Ex. (18): intensifier sesu[3]:389
| (18) | tamoata-ŋe | tago | sesu | u-tea=te-ø |
| man-this | NEG | little | 1SG.REAL-RPL-see-3SG.OBJ | |
| ‘I don’t visit (see) this man at all’ | ||||
Moreover, sesu ‘little’ can be used in conjunction with –tina within the same clause, as seen in the following example:[3]:388
Ex. (19): intensifier sesu + suffix –tina[3]:389
| (19) | tago-ø-na-tina | sesu | di-ra=raŋ-aʔ-idi |
| NEG-3SG.AD-BF-INT | little | 3PL.REAL-talk about-RPL-TRANS-3PL.OBJ | |
| ‘they do not talk about themselves at all’ | |||
Furthermore, the suffix –tina may be appended to the prohibitive marker moaʔi (with the presence of the buffer –na),[3]:419 as seen in the following example:
Ex. (20): suffix –tina + prohibitive marker moaʔi[3]:340
| (20) | moaʔi-ø-na-tina | niu-be | ʔulu | ʔu-buiriʔapotaʔ-i |
| PROH-3SG.AD-BF-INT | coconut-and | breadfruit | 2SG.REAL-mix-3PL.OBJ | |
| ‘don’t mix the coconuts and the breadfruit’ | ||||
Prohibitions
Manam expresses prohibitions in two basic ways: using finite verbs—defined as verb (phrase) forms that can occur on their own in a main clause;[4]:183 using gerunds and verbal nouns. Lichtenberk defines gerunds as verb nuclei used to indicate ‘non-specific’ events, whereas verbal nouns are used to indicate ‘specific’ events.[3]:243–244 Compare the following examples:
Ex. (21): gerund[3]:244
| (21) | udi | tano-ø | tago | u-ʔawa |
| banana | plant-3PL.OBJ | NEG | 1SG.REAL-know | |
| ‘I don’t know how to plant bananas’ (in general) | ||||
Ex. (22): verbal noun[3]:244
| (22) | udi | tanom-a-di | tago | u-ʔawa |
| banana | plant-NOM-3PL.AD | NEG | 1SG.REAL-know | |
| ‘I don’t know to plant the bananas’ (specific bananas) | ||||
Prohibitive constructions with finite verbs
The basic structure of prohibitive constructions using finite verbs is moaʔi followed by a verb with a realis subject/mood prefix,[3]:438 as seen in the following examples:
Ex. (23): prohibitive construction finite verb[3]:418
| (23) | moaʔi | ʔu-pereʔ-i |
| PROH | 2SG.REAL-lose-3SG.OBJ | |
| ‘don’t lose it’ | ||
Ex. (24): prohibitive construction finite verb w/ subject NP[3]:419
| (24) | ŋai | moaʔi | i-raʔe-i |
| 3SG.IP | PROH | 3SG.REAL-put up-3SG.OBJ | |
| ‘he should not boast’ (lit. he should not put himself up) | |||
Ex. (25): prohibitive construction finite verb w/ direct object NP[3]:419
| (25) | botolo | moapesa-di | moaʔi | ʔu-roʔaʔ-i-ramo |
| bottle | broken-3PL.AD | PROH | 2SG.REAL-throw-3PL.OBJ-all | |
| ‘don’t throw broken bottles around!’ | ||||
Sometimes, however—the subject or direct object NP may occur between moaʔi and the verb,[3]:419 as in the following example:
Ex. (26): prohibitive construction finite verb[3]:419
| (26) | moaʔi | taburi-miŋ | di-raya |
| PROH | fear-2PL.AD | 3PL.REAL-be bad | |
| ‘don’t be afraid!’ (lit. your fear should not be bad) | |||
Prohibitive constructions with gerunds and verbal nouns
Prohibitive constructions using gerunds or verbal nouns are formed by placing the prohibitive/negative marker moaʔi after the gerund or verbal noun,[3]:420 demonstrated in the following example:
Ex. (27): prohibitive construction using gerund/verbal noun[3]:421
| (27) | taŋ | moaʔi |
| cry | PROH | |
| ‘don’t cry’ / ‘we/they/... should not cry’ | ||
:412The distinction between using a gerund or a verbal noun is determined by whether the source verb is transitive (verbal noun) or intransitive (gerund).[3]:420
Additionally, the form raʔania ‘never mind’ may also be used in forming prohibitive constructions using gerunds and verbal nouns. The location of raʔania within the clause is more dynamic than the prohibitive/negative marker moaʔi, as raʔania may occur both following or preceding the verbal noun or gerund.:420[3] Compare the following two examples:
Ex. (28): prohibitive construction using raʔania (following)[3]:412
| (28) | misaʔa | raʔania |
| smack lips | never mind | |
| ‘stop smacking your lips!’ | ||
Ex. (29): prohibitive construction using raʔania (preceding)[3]
| (29) | raʔania | soaʔi-baya |
| never mind | sit-LIM | |
| ‘you/we/... should not be just sitting doing nothing’ | ||
Indirect prohibitive constructions
The negative marker tago is used when expressing prohibitions in indirect speech[3]:422—its behaviour is identical as in its regular usage: tago is placed before the element which is being negated, as seen in the following example:
Ex. (30): indirect prohibitive construction[3]:422
| (30) | di | tago | ga-taga-di | ʔana | di-ra-ʔama |
| 3PL.RP | NEG | EXC.IRR-follow-3PL.OBJ | PROSP | 3PL.REAL-talk to-EXC.OBJ | |
| ‘they told us not to follow them’ (lit. we were/are not going to follow them; they told us) | |||||
Morphology
Number
Manam has an unusual, though regionally common, four-way distinction between singular, dual, trial, and plural number. Singular and plural are marked on the verb and sometimes on the adjective, but not on the noun.
Pronouns
| Person | Number | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | ||
| 1st | Inclusive | kitaru | kitato | kita | |
| Exclusive | ngau nga |
keru | keto | keka | |
| 2nd | kaiko kai |
kamru | kamto | kam kakaming | |
| 3rd | ngai | diaru | diato | di | |
Reduplication
Reduplication can be either leftward (sa-salaga) or rightward (salaga-laga). There is no point in distinguishing 'partial' and 'total' reduplication, since at most two syllables are reduplicated.
Nouns
Rightwards reduplicated nouns can either take on a meaning related to the original word, or function as an agentive marker:
moata snake moata-moata worm malipi the work malipi-lipi worker
Adjectives
Here are two examples of how number can be marked on the adjective through the different kinds of reduplication:
Rightward reduplication (singular)
udi noka-noka ripe banana tamoata bia-bia the big man
Leftward reduplication (plural)
udi no-noka ripe bananas tamoata bi-bia the big men
The verb
The verb always marks the subject and the mood; these are fused together. Optional suffixes includes such things as object, direction, aspectual markers, benefactive and various kinds of intensifiers and quantifiers. Here's a schematical overview of the Manam verb:
| Outer prefixes | Verb nucleus | Outer suffixes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner prefixes | Root | Inner suffixes | ||
| Subject/mood marking | Manner prefix aka- transitive |
Verb root | -ak- transitive | Object marking Optional suffixes |
Subject marking
The marking of subject is obligatory. In addition to expressing number and person, the pronouns have fused with the mood markers (see below) called realis and irrealis.
| Person | Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real | Irr | Real | Irr | ||
| 1st | Inclusive | ta- | |||
| Exclusive | u- | m- | ki- | ga- | |
| 2nd | ku- | go- | ka- | kama- | |
| 3rd | i- | nga- | di- | da- | |
Mood
The realis mood (REAL) is used for actual events of the past or present, i.e. things that are certain to have happened, things that are "real". Accordingly, the irrealis (IRR) mood describes anticipated events in the future, or events that the speaker wishes were real.
ura nga-pura rain 3SG.IRR-come - "it will rain"
u-noku 1SG.REAL-jump - "I jumped"
nga-pile i-bebe 3SG.IRR-say 3SG.REAL-unable - "he will say that he is unable" (he still hasn’t said anything, but when he does, his inability will be stated as actual)
tama-gu i-rere zama go-pura father-1SG.POSS 3SG.REAL-want tomorrow 2SG.IRR-come - "my father wants you to come tomorrow" (the father’s wanting is real, whereas the anticipated coming is still unreal)
Manner prefixes
Manner prefixes are found between the subject/mood marker and the verb root. The manner prefixes describe in what manner the verb action was done, such as 'biting', 'cutting', 'throwing' etc.
boro u-tara-paka-i pig 1SG.REAL-spearing-miss-3SG.OBJ - "I speared at the pig but missed it"
Object marking
| Person | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Inclusive | -kita | |
| Exclusive | -a | -kama | |
| 2nd | -(i)ko | -kaming | |
| 3rd | -i | -di | |
| -Ø | |||
mi-ang-ko 1SG.IRR-give-2SG.OBJ - "I will give (it) to you"
niu u-sing-Ø coconut 1SG.REAL-drink-3SG.OBJ - "I drank a coconut"
go-ang-kama 2SG.IRR-give-EXCL - "give it to us"
Transitivization
There are three different morphologically overt methods for turning intransitive verbs into transitive ones:
- The preffix -aka- can occur between the person/mood marker and the verb root.
- The suffix -ka- can occur between the verb root and the outer suffixes.
- The so-called "transitive consonant" (TC) can occur between the verb root and the outer suffixes.
These methods can be combined.
dang i-aka-gita-i water 3SG.REAL-TRANS-be_hot-3SG.OBJ - "he heated the water"
aka-tukura--ng-ak-i TRANS-be_short-TC-TRANS-3SG.OBJ - "to shorten it"
Optional suffixes
The object suffixes are also optional, but rather common. Here are a few examples of some of the more unusual suffix types:
Direction
go-dok-a-mai 2SG.IRR-bring-3SG.OBJ-hither - "bring it here"
Spreading
| pipia | i-rokaki-ramoi |
| rubbish | 3SG.REAL-throw_away-all_over |
- "he throws rubbish all over the place"
Intensifying
u-rere-tina 1SG.REAL-like-very - "I like it very much"
Benefactive
go-moasi-n-a 2SG.IRR-sing-BEN-1SG.OBJ - "sing for me"
Adjectives
Most adjectives are derived by reduplication from a verb or a noun. As seen above, some reduplicated adjectives have a number distinction, but some others don't, e.g. siki-siki 'small' (singular and plural). Some adjectives use the possessive pronouns to mark person and number, e.g. kapisa-Ø 'selfish' (singular) and kapisa-di 'selfish' (plural).
Possession
As in many other Austronesian languages, Manam expresses different degrees of possession. In addition to the most common differentitation between alienable and inalienable possession, Manam uses a particular morphological processes to describe belongings that are edible or associated with eating.
Possessive pronouns
| Person | Number | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | ||
| 1st | Inclusive | -da-ru | -da-to | -da | |
| Exclusive | -gu | -ma-i-ru | -ma-i-to | -ma | |
| 2nd | -m / -ng | -ming-ru | -ming-to | -ming | |
| 3rd | -Ø | -di-a-ru | -di-a-to | -di | |
Inalienable possession
In this class, we find 'belongings' that are involuntary, such as body parts, family members and different kinds of necessary 'parts of a whole'. This class is characterized by simply a possessive suffix attached to the word in question:
mata-gu eye-1SG.POSS - "my eye"
niu labu-di coconut base-3PL.POSS - "the bases of the coconut trees"
Edible possession
In this class, we find things that are edible and 'used to obtain, prepare or store food'. This class is characterized by the word kana, which is placed after the possessed thing and to which the possessive suffix is attached:
udi kana-gu banana FOOD-1SG.POSS - "my banana"
Alienable possession
In this class, we find belongings that are voluntary; things that we can cease to own, unlike body parts or family. This class is characterized by the word ne, which is placed after the possessed thing and to which the possessive suffix is attached:
kati ne-gu canoe ALIEN-1SG.POSS - "my canoe"
natu keu ne-di child dog ALIEN-3PL.POSS - "the children’s dogs"
Cross-class possession
One fascinating thing is that the same word can occur in all three possession classes, and then of course its meaning will differ. Here are two examples:
| boro-gu | my pig (as part of one's wealth) | |
| boro kana-gu | my pork (which I am going to eat) | |
| boro ne-gu | my pig (which I may or may not eat later) |
| dang-i-gu | my water (or rather 'body fluids') | |
| dang kana-gu | my water (to drink) | |
| dang ne-gu | my water (to wash with) |
Directional System
Manam, like most Oceanic languages primarily uses an absolute reference directional system, even on a local scale, (as opposed to many European languages which primarily use relative reference systems). This system is oriented on a land-sea axis.[5] However, Manam's system is unique because it has taken on a circular nature, becoming intrinsically linked to the geography of the island which is almost perfectly circular. Below are the directional terms associated in Manam:[3]
| Ilau | toward the sea |
| Auta | toward the land |
| Ata | to one's right when one is facing the sea |
| Awa | to one's left when one is facing the sea |
This directional system has only been attested in three languages: Manam, Boumaa Fijian,[6] and Makian Taba.[7]
Abbreviations
| AD | adnominal |
| BF | buffer |
| DL | dual |
| EXC | exclusive |
| INIR | indefinite irrealis |
| INSTR | instrumental |
| INT | intensifier |
| IP | independent pronoun |
| IRR | irrealis |
| LIM | limiter |
| NEG | negator |
| NOM | nominaliser |
| OBJ | object |
| PL | plural |
| POSS | possessive |
| PROH | prohibitive |
| REAL | realis |
| RPL | reduplication |
| SG | singular |
| SIM | simulative |
| TRANS | transitiviser |
Resources
- Lichtenberk, Frantisek (1983) A grammar of Manam. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication No. 18. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press. (Available in JSTOR.)
- Turner, Blaine (1986) A teaching grammar of the Manam language
- Short description of Manam culture
- Paradisec has a number of collections with Manam materials
- Crystal, David (2008) A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
References
- Manam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- Endangered Languages Project data for Manam.
- Lichtenberk, F. 1983. A grammar of Manam. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications, (18), i-647.
- Crystal, David (2008). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- François, A. 2004. Reconstructing the geocentric system of Proto-Oceanic. Oceanic linguistics, 43(1), 1-31.
- Dixon, R. M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. University of Chicago Press.
- Bowden, J. 1997. The meaning of directionals in Taba. In Referring to space. Studies in Austronesian and Papuan languages, ed. by Gunter Senft, 251-268. Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.