The Manambu language of East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

This book is the first comprehensive description of the Manambu language of Papua New Guinea and is based entirely on the author's immersion fieldwork. Manambu belongs to the Ndu language family, and is spoken by about 2,500 people in five villages: Avatip, Yawabak, Malu, Apa:n, and Yambon (Yuanab) in East Sepik Province, Ambunti district. Manambu can be considered an endangered language. The Manambu language has many unusual properties. Every noun is considered masculine or feminine. Feminine gender - which is unmarked - is associated with small size and round shape, and masculine gender with elongated shape, large size, and importance. The Manambu culture is centered on ownership of personal names, and is similar to that of the Iatmul, described by Gregory Bateson. After an introductory account of the language and its speakers, Professor Aikhenvald devotes chapters to phonology, grammatical relations, word classes, gender, semantics, number, case, possession, derivation and compounding, pronouns, morphohology, verbs, mood and modality, negation, clause structure, pragmatics, discourse, semantics, the lexicon, current directions of change, and genetic relationship to other languages. The description is presented in a clear style in a framework that will be comprehensible to all linguists and linguistically oriented anthropologists. Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgements......Page 17 List of Plates......Page 20 List of Charts, Schemes, and Tables......Page 21 Organization and Cross-references......Page 24 Abbreviations and Conventions......Page 25 Map 1. Location of Manambu villages......Page 27 1.1 Linguistic type......Page 28 1.2.1 Environment and subsistence......Page 31 1.2.2 The Manambu villages......Page 33 1.2.3 Dwelling patterns: the structure of villages......Page 35 1.2.4 Houses and their structure......Page 36 1.3.1 Clan membership, kinship, and mortuary ritual......Page 38 1.3.2 Name ownership and name debates......Page 40 1.4.1 Indigenous neighbours and traditional warfare......Page 42 1.4.2 Relationships with outsiders......Page 44 1.5.1 The Ndu language family......Page 47 1.5.3 Origins and putative prehistory......Page 49 1.6 Linguistic situation......Page 51 1.7 What we know about the Manambu language......Page 54 Appendix 1.1 Early documentation of Manambu......Page 56 2.1.1 Consonants......Page 63 2.1.2 Vowels......Page 68 2.1.3 Unusual phonetic patterns......Page 71 2.2.1 Syllable types......Page 72 2.2.2 Vowel sequences and diphthongs......Page 73 2.3.2 Stress shift......Page 74 2.4.1 Phonological structure of verbal and non-verbal roots......Page 75 2.4.2 Syllable weight and evidence for iambic stress in verbs......Page 76 2.5.1 General properties......Page 77 2.5.2 When one grammatical word corresponds to more than one phonological word......Page 78 2.5.3 When two or three grammatical words form one phonological word......Page 80 2.6 Phonological processes......Page 82 2.7 Intonation patterns......Page 85 3.1 Cross-referencing......Page 88 3.2 Grammatical relations marked on noun phrases......Page 94 3.3 'Reactivated topic' demonstratives......Page 96 3.4 Grammatical relations in Manambu: a summary......Page 97 4.1.1 Morphophonological subclasses of nouns......Page 98 4.1.2 Semantically and grammatically determined subclasses of nouns......Page 100 4.2.2 Semantically and grammatically determined subclasses of verbs......Page 105 4.3.1 Agreeing and non-agreeing adjectives......Page 118 4.3.2 Adjectives in comparison with nouns and verbs......Page 121 4.3.3 Semantics of adjectives......Page 125 4.4 Adverbs......Page 127 4.5.1 Modal words......Page 130 4.5.2 Postpositions......Page 131 4.5.3 Particles and connectives......Page 134 4.5.4 Interjections and onomatopoeia......Page 135 4.5.5 'Pro-sentences'......Page 136 4.5.6 Word class assignment of loans and code-switches......Page 137 5.1.1 Agreement contexts......Page 139 5.1.2 Gender and number agreement forms......Page 140 5.1.3 Additional gender and number forms......Page 142 5.2.1 The semantics of gender choice......Page 143 5.2.2 Mismatches in gender agreement......Page 150 5.2.3 Markedness relations......Page 151 5.3 Overt gender marking......Page 154 6.1 Number marking on nouns......Page 157 6.2 Number agreement......Page 163 6.2.1 Number agreement with mass and collective referents......Page 164 6.2.2 Agreement with associative non-singular......Page 166 6.2.3 'Argument elaboration' constructions and number agreement......Page 167 6.2.4 Markedness in the number system......Page 169 7.2 Functions of a noun unmarked for case......Page 171 7.3 Accusative-locative case......Page 174 7.4 Dative-aversive case......Page 179 7.5 Allative and instrumental cases......Page 182 7.6 Terminative case......Page 184 7.7 Transportative cases......Page 185 7.9 Comitative case......Page 186 7.10 Summary: how many cases does Manambu have?......Page 191 7.11 Case morphology on verbs......Page 194 8.1.1 Possessive noun phrases......Page 195 8.1.2 Possessive noun phrases in Manambu: a comparison......Page 201 8.2.1 Verb 'have'......Page 202 8.2.2 Identification construction......Page 203 8.2.3 Possessor cross-referencing on the verb......Page 204 9.1.1 Full reduplication of verbal root and its functions......Page 206 9.1.2 Other nominalizations and an adjectivizing derivation......Page 211 9.2 Non-word class-changing derivations......Page 213 9.3 Compounding......Page 219 10.1 Personal pronouns......Page 224 10.2.1 Nominal demonstratives......Page 227 10.2.2 Manner adverbial demonstratives......Page 242 10.2.3 'Reactivated topic' demonstratives......Page 246 10.3 Indefinites......Page 249 10.4 Interrogatives......Page 251 10.5 Quantifiers......Page 258 10.6.1 Numerals from one to ten......Page 261 10.6.2 Numerals higher than ten......Page 266 10.7 Closed classes: an overview......Page 269 11.1.1 Inflected and uninflected verbs......Page 271 11.1.2 The structure of verbal predicate......Page 273 11.2 The structure of non-verbal predicate heads......Page 276 11.3.1 Automatic alternations in verbs......Page 277 11.3.2 Other root-specific alternations in verbs......Page 278 12.1.1 Non-future tenses......Page 281 12.1.2 Action focus......Page 282 12.2 Future......Page 284 12.3 Habitual aspect......Page 285 12.4 Complete involvement of S/O......Page 287 12.5 Confirmation marker......Page 288 12.6 Completive aspect......Page 289 12.7 Customary aspect......Page 290 12.8.1 Derivational suffixes -r(omitted)b 'fully' and -d(omitted)ka 'only' on verbs......Page 291 12.8.2 Reduplication of the verb root......Page 294 12.8.3 Repetition of the verb......Page 300 13.2.1 Formal aspects of imperative......Page 303 13.2.2 Semantics of imperative......Page 305 13.2.3 Optative modality......Page 310 13.3 Irrealis......Page 311 13.4.1 Same-subject purposive......Page 313 13.4.2 Different-subject purposive......Page 315 13.5 Desiderative......Page 317 13.6 Frustrative......Page 320 13.7 Nominalizations marked with dative-aversive case......Page 321 13.8 Summary......Page 324 14.1.1 Negation of verbal predicates......Page 325 14.1.2 Negation of non-verbal predicates......Page 327 14.1.3 Contiguity in non-future negative constructions, and the scope of negation......Page 330 14.2 Negation of habitual clauses......Page 334 14.3.1 Negation of irrealis and optative......Page 336 14.3.2 Negation of same-subject purposive and of desiderative......Page 339 14.3.3 Negation of nominalizations......Page 341 14.4.1 Non-first person negative imperatives......Page 344 14.4.2 Third person negative imperatives......Page 349 14.5 Negation of dependent clauses, questions, and focus structures......Page 351 14.5.1 Negating dependent clauses......Page 352 14.5.2 Negating questions......Page 356 14.5.3 The negator -ma:r- in independent clauses......Page 357 14.6 Inherently negative lexemes and negative pro-clauses......Page 359 14.7 Summary......Page 363 15.1 An overview......Page 365 15.2.1 Sequencing compounds......Page 366 15.2.2 Manner compounds......Page 370 15.2.3 Cause-effect and manner compounds......Page 371 15.2.4 Fully lexicalized idiomatic compounds......Page 374 15.3.1 Major verb precedes minor verb......Page 376 15.3.2 Minor verb precedes major verb......Page 396 15.4 Combinations of verb compounds......Page 400 15.5 Reduplication in compounds......Page 402 15.6 Summary......Page 403 16.1.1 Formal aspects of directionals......Page 404 16.1.2 Directionals: semantics and functions......Page 412 16.1.3 Bound directionals and directional suffixes: a comparison......Page 425 16.1.4 How directionals co-occur......Page 430 16.1.5 Directionals on verbs and on demonstratives: similar systems, different pathways......Page 431 16.2.1 Morphological means for marking valency increase......Page 433 16.2.2 Biclausal causative strategies......Page 439 16.2.3 Transitivity-neutralizing construction......Page 443 16.2.4 Reciprocal-associative, and reflexives......Page 445 17.1 Complex predicates containing auxiliaries......Page 451 17.1.1 Aspectual and positional complex predicates......Page 452 17.1.2 Imminent modality......Page 455 17.2.1 Support verbs with uninflected verbs and deverbal nominalizations......Page 457 17.2.2 Support verbs with loan verbs......Page 458 17.2.3 Support verbs with nominals, onomatopoeia, and expressives......Page 459 17.2.4 How to choose a support verb for a nominal......Page 462 17.3 Lexicalized complex predicates......Page 463 17.4 Body part constructions as complex predicates......Page 466 17.5 Transitivity-neutralizing constructions involving clause chaining......Page 469 17.6 Comparison of complex predicates......Page 471 18.1 Clause linking and dependent clauses: an overview......Page 473 18.2 Sequencing -n......Page 475 18.3 Completive -ku 'same subject'/-k 'different subject'......Page 479 18.4 Cotemporaneous clause marked with -ta:y......Page 483 18.5 Immediate sequence clause marked with -taka......Page 486 18.6 Temporal overlap marked with -k(omitted)b 'as soon as'......Page 487 18.7 Causal clauses marked with -l(omitted)k......Page 488 18.8 Unlikely condition -ga:y......Page 489 18.9 Generic completive verb napa-......Page 490 18.10 Clause chaining and sentence structure......Page 491 19.1 Juxtaposition of a dependent clause and a main clause......Page 493 19.2 Relative clauses......Page 495 19.2.1 Relative clauses with an inflected verb......Page 496 19.2.2 Verb-noun compounds as a relativization strategy......Page 502 19.2.3 Relative clauses and verb-noun compounds: a comparison......Page 505 19.3 Clause linking via case marker 'instead' and suffix 'like'......Page 507 19.4.1 Purposive clauses......Page 508 19.4.2 Desiderative clauses......Page 510 19.5.1 Speech report constructions and their properties......Page 511 19.5.2 Direct speech reports......Page 512 19.5.3 Reported commands as indirect speech reports......Page 513 19.5.4 Semi-direct speech reports......Page 514 19.5.5 Syntactic role of speech reports......Page 515 19.5.6 Polysemous patterns in speech reports......Page 518 19.6 Clause linking involving connectives......Page 520 19.7 Juxtaposition of main clauses......Page 522 19.8 Complementation strategies......Page 524 19.9 Desubordination of dependent clauses......Page 531 20.1.1 The structure of noun phrases......Page 534 20.1.2 The structure of complex predicates......Page 543 20.1.3 Clause types and their properties......Page 545 20.1.4 Grammatical relations: an overview......Page 558 20.2 Constituent order: its syntactic and pragmatic motivations......Page 562 20.3 Highlighting focus constructions......Page 567 20.4 Further issues in discourse organization......Page 570 20.4.1 Linking sentences......Page 571 20.4.2 Finalizing a paragraph and taking a break......Page 572 20.4.3 Ellipsis......Page 573 21.1 Verb semantics......Page 578 21.1.1 'Eating', 'drinking', and 'chewing': ingestive verbs......Page 579 21.1.2 'Seeing' and 'hearing'......Page 582 21.1.3 Speech verbs......Page 587 21.2.1 Specific notions in the Manambu lexicon......Page 591 21.2.2 How grammar helps disambiguate polysemy......Page 593 21.2.3 The polysemy of value terms......Page 595 21.2.5 Generic verbs......Page 597 21.3 General noun and general verb......Page 598 21.3.1 The general noun ma:gw......Page 600 21.3.2 The 'lazy' verb......Page 602 21.4 'Body' in the expression of emotions and mental processes......Page 605 21.5.1 Manambu 'small' talk......Page 611 21.5.2 Imperatives in greetings......Page 612 21.5.3 Further greetings and tokens of 'speech etiquette'......Page 613 21.5.4 How to address each other......Page 614 22.1 Manambu as a Ndu language......Page 618 22.2.1 Linguistic diversity in the Sepik area of New Guinea......Page 622 22.2.2 Motivations for linguistic similarities......Page 623 22.2.3 Manambu and Kwoma......Page 624 22.3 Loans from Western Iatmul and elsewhere......Page 627 22.4 Influence of Tok Pisin and of English: borrowing and code-switching......Page 632 22.4.1 Borrowings or code-switches?......Page 633 22.4.2 Morphological and syntactic integration of Tok Pisin and English code-switches and calques......Page 635 22.4.3 Functions of code-switches and borrowings......Page 640 22.5 New developments in the Manambu lexicon......Page 645 22.6.1 Signs of language obsolescence......Page 646 22.6.2 The 'Manambu revival' movement and perspectives for language survival......Page 650 Appendix 22.1 Personal pronouns in Ndu languages......Page 651 Texts......Page 654 Vocabulary......Page 692 List of Affixes......Page 703 References......Page 706 A......Page 716 C......Page 717 D......Page 719 F......Page 720 H......Page 721 I......Page 722 M......Page 723 N......Page 724 P......Page 725 Q......Page 726 S......Page 727 T......Page 728 Z......Page 729 This book presents the first comprehensive description of the Manambu language of Papua New Guinea. Manambu belongs to the Ndu language family, and is spoken by about 2,500 people in five villages in East Sepik Province, Ambunti district. The book is based entirely on the author's fieldwork. - ;This book presents the first comprehensive description of the Manambu language of Papua New Guinea. Manambu belongs to the Ndu language family, and is spoken by about 2,500 people in five villages: Avatip, Yawabak, Malu, Apa:n, and Yambon (Yuanab) in East Sepik Province, Ambunti district. About 200-400