Manam language

Manam
Region	Northern New Guinea
Native speakers	8,000 (2003)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Western Oceanic Schouten Kairiru–Manam Manam Manam
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mva
Glottolog	mana1295
ELP	Manam

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	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. 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

(1)	natu	masa	ŋa-eno
	child	INIR	3SG.IRR-sleep
	‘the child will sleep’

Ex. (2): noun phrase predicator

(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)	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

(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.

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, as demonstrated in the following examples:

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

(5)	tago	u-loŋo
	NEG	1SG.REAL-hear
	‘I did not hear’

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

(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

(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. Compare the following examples:

Ex. (8): negative existential sentence

(8)	ewa	tago
	fire	NEG
	‘there is no fire’

Ex. (9): negative possessive sentence

(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

(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

(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’. 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

(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

(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. Compare the following two examples:

Ex. (14): negative quantifier mass noun

(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

(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, as seen in the following example:

Ex. (16): intensifier suffix

(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, as seen in the following example:

Ex. (17): intensified predicator

(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’, as seen in the following example:

Ex. (18): intensifier sesu

(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:

Ex. (19): intensifier sesu + suffix –tina

(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), as seen in the following example:

Ex. (20): suffix –tina + prohibitive marker moaʔi

(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; 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

(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

(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, as seen in the following examples:

Ex. (23): prohibitive construction finite verb

(23)	moaʔi	ʔu-pereʔ-i
	PROH	2SG.REAL-lose-3SG.OBJ
	‘don’t lose it’

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

(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

(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, as in the following example:

Ex. (26): prohibitive construction finite verb

(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, demonstrated in the following example:

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

(27)	taŋ	moaʔi
	cry	PROH
	‘don’t cry’ / ‘we/they/... should not cry’

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:

Ex. (28): prohibitive construction using raʔania (following)

(28)	misaʔa	raʔania
	smack lips	never mind
	‘stop smacking your lips!’

Ex. (29): prohibitive construction using raʔania (preceding)

(29)	raʔania	soaʔi-baya
	never mind	sit-LIM
	‘you/we/... should not be just sitting doing nothing’

Indirect prohibitive constructions

The negative marker tagois used when expressing prohibitions in indirect speech—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

(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. 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:

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, and Makian Taba.

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.