Manam language

Manam
Region Northern New Guinea
Native speakers
 8,000 (2003)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mva
Glottolog mana1295[2]

Manam is a Kairiru–Manam language spoken mainly on the volcanic Manam Island, northeast of New Guinea.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Velar
Stop p b t d k ~ ʔ ~ q a
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

The main word order in Manam is SOV:

tamoataboroi-un-i
manpig3SG.SUB-hit-3SG.OBJ
"The man hit the pig."

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:

moatasnake
moata-moataworm
malipithe work
malipi-lipiworker

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-nokaripe banana
tamoata bia-biathe big man

Leftward reduplication (plural)

udi no-nokaripe bananas
tamoata bi-biathe 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.

uranga-pura
rain3SG.IRR-come
"it will rain"
u-noku
1SG.REAL-jump
"I jumped"
nga-pilei-bebe
3SG.IRR-say3SG.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-gui-rerezamago-pura
father-1SG.POSS3SG.REAL-wanttomorrow2SG.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.

borou-tara-paka-i
pig1SG.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"
niuu-sing-Ø
coconut1SG.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:

These methods can be combined.

dangi-aka-gita-i
water3SG.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

pipiai-rokaki-ramoi
rubbish3SG.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"
niulabu-di
coconutbase-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:

udikana-gu
bananaFOOD-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:

katine-gu
canoeALIEN-1SG.POSS
"my canoe"
natukeune-di
childdogALIEN-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-gumy pig (as part of one’s wealth)
   boro kana-gumy pork (which I am going to eat)
   boro ne-gumy pig (which I may or may not eat later)
   dang-i-gumy water (or rather 'body fluids')
   dang kana-gumy water (to drink)
   dang ne-gumy water (to wash with)

Resources

References

  1. ↑ Manam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Manam". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
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