Manam

Phonology

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 is 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:

Predicator

Lichtenberk defines the predicator as the primary element within a clause. 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.

Ex. (1): verb phrase predicator

Ex. (2): noun phrase predicator

Ex. (3): postpositional phrase predicator

Ex. (4): numeral predicator

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.

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, the 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.

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, as demonstrated in the following examples:

Ex. (5): broad scope negation–1 element

Ex. (6): broad scope negation–2 elements

Ex. (7): broad scope negation–3 elements

Additionally, the negative marker tago can also function as a predicator of existential and possessive clauses. Compare the following examples:

Ex. (8): negative existential sentence

Ex. (9): negative possessive sentence

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

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.

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; 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. Compare the following examples:

Ex. (21): gerund

Ex. (22): verbal noun

The basic structure of prohibitive constructions using finite verbs is moaʔi followed by a verb with a realis subject/mood prefix, as seen in the following examples:

Ex. (23): prohibitive construction finite verb

Ex. (24): prohibitive construction finite verb w/ subject NP

Ex. (25): prohibitive construction finite verb w/ direct object NP

Sometimes, however—the subject or direct object NP may occur between moaʔi and the verb, as in the following example:

Ex. (26): prohibitive construction finite verb

Prohibitive constructions using gerunds or verbal nouns are formed by placing the prohibitive/negative marker moaʔi after the gerund or verbal noun, demonstrated in the following example:

Ex. (27): prohibitive construction using gerund/verbal noun

The distinction between using a gerund or a verbal noun is determined by whether the source verb is transitive (verbal noun) or intransitive (gerund).

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. Compare the following two examples:

Morphology

Number

Manam has an unusual, though regionally common, four-way distinction between singular, dual, paucal, and plural number. Singular and plural are marked on the verb and sometimes on the adjective, but not on the noun.

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.

Rightwards reduplicated nouns can either take on a meaning related to the original word, or function as an agentive marker:

Here are two examples of how number can be marked on the adjective through the different kinds of reduplication:

Rightward reduplication (singular)

Leftward reduplication (plural)

The verb

The verb always marks the subject and the mood; these are fused together. Optional suffixes include such things as object, direction, aspectual markers, benefactive and various kinds of intensifiers and quantifiers.

Here is a schematical overview of the Manam verb:

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.

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.

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.

There are three different morphologically overt methods for turning intransitive verbs into transitive ones:

The prefix -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.

The object suffixes are also optional, but rather common. Here are a few examples of some of the more unusual suffix types:

Direction

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 do not, 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 differentiation between alienable and inalienable possession, Manam uses a particular morphological processes to describe belongings that are edible or associated with eating.

In this class are '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:

In this class are 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:

In this class are belongings that are voluntary; things that one 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:

One notable aspect is that the same word can occur in all three possession classes, and then of course its meaning will differ. Here are two examples:

Demonstratives

Manam has two kinds of demonstratives. This two-way system distinguishes between proximal demonstratives, which indicate proximity to a speaker, and distal demonstratives, which indicate distance from a speaker. Both demonstratives occur after the noun phrase. They are formed from the demonstrative marker ŋa, followed by either the proximal suffix -e or the distal marker -ra, followed by either the third-person singular marker -∅ or the third-person plural marker -di as shown in the table below:

Data from WALS suggests that both the Austronesian and Papuan languages, which are geographically close to the Manam language community, show an approximately even distribution of two-way and three-way distinction systems for demonstratives. In fact, despite Ross's observation that "Schouten family members are … much more closely related to each other than to any other members of the [North New Guinea] Linkage", Kairiru, which like Manam is a member of the Schouten family, shows a three-way distinction in its demonstratives. The reconstructed proto language Proto-Oceanic (POc), from which the Schouten family is descended, was determined to have a three-way distinction system. POc's system is believed to have included an additional demonstrative compared to Manam, the medial demonstrative which indicates an intermediate distance, or proximity to the listener rather than the speaker. However, Manam does show the same noun-demonstrative word order which was reconstructed for POc.

In Manam, the proximal form is often contracted from ŋa-e- to ŋe-. It can also be cliticised to a proceeding word when it is not followed by a suffix. Because the 3sg adnominal suffix has a zero form, ŋe- can be cliticised for this construction. This means that Examples (1), (2), and (3) are all acceptable ways to construct 'this woman', while example (4) but not Example (5) is an acceptable construction of 'these women'.

It is also acceptable to remove the head noun, for instance in the comparative construction in Example (6).

A selective form can be derived from the proximal demonstrative (but not the distal demonstrative). It is formed by adding the suffix -ni after the proximal marker and before the adnominal suffix, as per Example (7) below, and indicates selection out of a set or group of options.

Directional system and spatial deixis

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. 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:

This directional system has only been attested in four languages: Manam, Boumaa Fijian, Taba, and Savosavo.

The suffix -lo can be added to any of these terms to indicate movement towards that direction, as in Example (3). No suffix is needed to indicate movement away from a direction – this is inferred from the context of the sentence (contrast Examples (1) and (2) with Example (3)).

Spatial deixis

Spatial deixis describes how speakers can 'point out' the location of an object in relationship to their own position. Manam has two main spatial deictical terms. These are ma?a ('here') and ma?a-ra ('there'). Ma?a-ra is constructed by suffixing the distal marker -ra to ma?a. These two terms are used regardless of which direction the speaker is indicating. If it is necessary to specify direction, this can be done by adding the directional term after the deictical term, as is done in Example (4).

Manam has three additional spatial deixis, which are used to specify spatial relationships in a specific direction. These terms refer to the land-sea directional system described above, and are listed below:

Interestingly, unlike Manam's two-way distinction for demonstratives, these directional spatial deictical terms show the same three-way distinction that was reconstructed for Proto-Oceanic (POc). To indicate an intermediate distance, the distal suffix -ra can be added to each directional spatial deictic. If the object described is so far away as to be out of sight, the spatial dialectical term can be combined with a directional term to indicate extreme distance. This is illustrated in the table below:

Similar to directional terms, to indicate movement towards the most distant directional spatial dialectical terms, the suffix -lo is added as in Example (5). For the less distant terms, no affix is needed, illustrated by Example (6).

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.