Meyah, a language of West ,

Pacific Linguistics 619

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Meyah, a language of , Indonesia

Gilles Gravelle

Pacific Linguistics College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Published by Pacific Linguistics School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia

Copyright in this edition is vested with Pacific Linguistics

First published 2010

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Author: Gravelle, Gilles

Title: Meyah, a language of West Papua, Indonesia/ Gilles Gravelle

ISBN: 9780858836259 (pbk.)

Notes: Includes bibliographical references

Subjects: Meax language Papua (Indonesia)--Languages

Dewey number: 499.12

Copyedited by Lila San Roque Typeset by Jeanette Coombes Cover design by Julie Manley Printed and bound by Addcolour Digital Pty Ltd, Fyshwick, Canberra Table of contents

Abbreviations and conventions ...... xii Map 1: Location of Meyah and Moskona in relation to other languages...... xiii Map 2: Location of Meyah and Moskona villages...... xiii

Chapter 1: Introduction...... 1 1.1 The language setting...... 1 1.2 Geography ...... 2 1.3 Demography ...... 2 1.4 Economy...... 3 1.5 History ...... 3 1.6 Kinship ...... 5 1.7 Traditional beliefs and the introduction of Christianity ...... 5 1.8 Language attitudes...... 6 1.9 The language...... 7 1.9.1 Previous studies ...... 7 1.9.2 Linguistic classification...... 7 1.9.3 Relations with other languages...... 8 1.9.4 The relationship between Meyah and Moskona ...... 9 1.9.5 Other dialect regions...... 18 1.10 Period of field research...... 20 1.11 Data collection and methods...... 20 1.12 Purpose and framework...... 21

Chapter 2: Phonology and morphophonemics ...... 22 2.0 Introduction ...... 22 2.1 Some notational conventions...... 22 2.2 Segmental inventory...... 23 2.2.1 Consonants...... 23 2.2.2 Vowels...... 30 2.3 Phonotactics...... 32 2.3.1 Vowel sequences...... 32 2.3.2 Consonant sequences...... 34 2.4 Meyah syllable and root structure ...... 37 2.5 Pitch accent...... 39

v vi

2.5.1 Contrastive pitch accent ...... 39 2.5.2 The acoustic and perceptual correlates of Meyah pitch accent...... 40 2.5.3 Syllable weight and accent placement...... 44 2.5.4 Lexical roots with more than one accented syllable...... 45 2.6 Morphophonemics...... 48 2.6.1 Vowel harmony...... 48 2.6.2 Vowel coalescence...... 49 2.6.3 Nasal assimilation ...... 50 2.6.4 Sample paradigms showing morphophonemic processes ...... 51 2.7 Reduplication ...... 53 2.7.1 Constraints on reduplication...... 53 2.7.2 Reduplication rules...... 53 2.7.3 Reduplication of monosyllabic bases...... 55 2.7.4 Reduplication of disyllabic bases...... 55 2.7.5 Reduplication of trisyllabic bases ...... 56 2.7.6 Reduplication and vowel sequences...... 56 2.7.7 Reduplication of CV(C) roots ...... 57 2.7.8 Reduplication with nasal ...... 57 2.7.9 Syllable repetition ...... 58 2.7.10 Roots that are inherently reduplicated...... 58 2.7.11 Incorporation of Indonesian reduplication patterns...... 58 2.8 Phonological adaptation of Indonesian loan words...... 59

Chapter 3: A summary of Meyah morphological typology...... 60 3.0 Introduction ...... 60 3.1 Morphological processes...... 60 3.2 Morphological units ...... 62 3.2.1 Lexical roots...... 62 3.2.2 Affixes ...... 62 3.2.3 Clitics ...... 63 3.2.4 The word...... 63 3.3 Derivational morphology ...... 63

Chapter 4: Word classes ...... 65 4.0 Introduction ...... 65 4.1 Person deixis ...... 65 4.1.1 Pronominal prefixes ...... 69 4.1.2 Pronominal enclitics...... 69 4.1.3 Possessive pronouns...... 71 4.1.4 Reflexive pronouns ...... 72 4.1.5 Reciprocal pronoun moguma ...... 73 4.2 Verbs...... 74 4.2.1 Classes of verbs...... 74 4.2.2 Intransitive verbs...... 75 4.2.3 Transitive verbs ...... 79 4.2.4 Reciprocal verbs...... 80 vii

4.2.5 Ambitransitive verbs...... 81 4.2.6 Complex predicates ...... 83 4.2.7 Overview of verb structure...... 83 4.2.8 Aspect ...... 83 4.2.9 Irrealis prefix em- ...... 92 4.2.10 Instrument prefix er-...... 94 4.2.11 Loanword prefix ebe- ...... 96 4.2.12 The function of reduplication ...... 96 4.3 Nouns...... 100 4.3.1 Alienable nouns ...... 100 4.3.2 Proper nouns...... 102 4.3.3 Nouns that refer to people ...... 103 4.3.4 Inalienable nouns...... 104 4.3.5 Kinship nouns...... 106 4.3.6 Spatial relator nouns ...... 111 4.3.7 Compound nouns...... 114 4.3.8 Numerals and classifiers...... 117 4.4 Spatial deixis...... 124 4.4.1 Distance clitics if, uma, unj ...... 124 4.4.2 ...... 126 4.4.3 Locative adverbials...... 127 4.4.4 Elevational clitics -inda and -imba...... 127 4.4.5 Directionals...... 128 4.4.6 Anaphoric insa ...... 130 4.4.7 Cardinal directions...... 131 4.5 ...... 132 4.5.1 Manner adverbs ...... 133 4.5.2 Aspectual adverbs...... 134 4.5.3 Negative adverbs ...... 134 4.5.4 Focus adverbs ...... 135 4.5.5 Temporal adverbials...... 136 4.5.6 Locative adverbials...... 138 4.5.7 Adverbial adjuncts joug and keingg...... 138 4.6 Prepositions ...... 141 4.7 Conjunctions...... 141 4.8 Question words...... 142

Chapter 5: The ...... 144 5.0 Introduction ...... 144 5.1 The structure of a noun phrase ...... 144 5.2 The head of a noun phrase...... 145 5.3 Minimal noun phrase...... 147 5.4 Modifers of a head noun 147 5.4.1 Possessor...... 147 5.4.2 Classifiers ...... 150 5.4.3 ...... 150 5.4.4 Numerals...... 151 viii

5.4.5 Quantifiers...... 153 5.4.6 ...... 154 5.4.7 Demonstratives and elevationals...... 155 5.4.8 Interrogatives...... 157 5.4.9 Nominal modifiers...... 157 5.4.10 Adverbial modifiers 159 5.5 Noun phrase coordination ...... 160

Chapter 6: Prepositional phrases...... 162 6.0 Introduction ...... 162 6.1 Phrase structure ...... 162 6.2 Prepositions ...... 163 6.2.1 Spatial prepositions ...... 163 6.2.2 Location prepositions ...... 164 6.2.3 Time prepositions ...... 167 6.2.4 Accompaniment preposition...... 167 6.2.5 Beneficiary prepositions...... 167 6.2.6 Goal/Recipient prepositions ...... 168 6.2.7 Manner adverbial preposition...... 169 6.2.8 Verbal prepositions...... 171 6.3 Recursive prepositions ...... 172 6.4 Omission of prepositions...... 172

Chapter 7: The clause ...... 174 7.0 Introduction ...... 174 7.1 Constituent order...... 174 7.2 Subjects ...... 175 7.3 Objects...... 177 7.3.1 Fronted /undergoer ...... 178 7.3.2 Object omission...... 179 7.4 Beneficiary ...... 180 7.5 Clause types...... 180 7.5.1 Verbal clauses...... 181 7.5.2 Non-verbal clauses ...... 198 7.6 Verb sequences ...... 200 7.6.1 Juxtaposed verbs ...... 201 7.6.2 Motion verb sequences...... 202 7.6.3 Motion-action sequences...... 203 7.6.4 Grammaticalization of eja ‘go’ ...... 204 7.6.5 Motion-direction sequences ...... 205 7.6.6 Grammaticalization of direction verb oksons ‘return’ ...... 205 7.6.7 Directional verb sequences...... 206 7.6.8 Lexicalization of motion verb sequences ...... 208 7.6.9 Posture verb sequences...... 209 7.6.10 Emotional state verb sequences...... 210 7.6.11 Resultative verb sequences...... 211 ix

7.6.12 Causative verb sequences ...... 212 7.6.13 Sequences involving adverbials keingg and joug...... 213 7.6.14 Instrument verb sequences...... 213 7.7 Adverbials...... 215 7.7.1 Time...... 216 7.7.2 Location...... 217 7.7.3 Manner...... 218 7.7.4 Focus adverbs ...... 219 7.7.5 Return sons ...... 222 7.7.6 Aspectuality ...... 222 7.7.7 Status adverb si...... 227 7.7.8 Adverbial nom...... 227 7.7.9 Position of negatives...... 228

Chapter 8: Relative clauses...... 230 8.0 Introduction ...... 230 8.1 Relative clause forming strategies...... 230 8.2 Restrictive relative clauses ...... 230 8.3 Syntactic positions that can be relativized...... 231 8.3.1 relative clause ...... 232 8.3.2 Oblique relative clause ...... 233 8.3.3 Instrument relative clause...... 234 8.3.4 Temporal noun relative clause...... 234 8.3.5 Possessor relative clause...... 235 8.4 Pronoun retention ...... 235 8.5 Headless relative clause...... 236 8.6 Multiple RC modifiers of a single head noun ...... 237 8.7 Relative clauses not marked by ongga ...... 237 8.8 Morphosyntactic properties of relative clauses ...... 238 8.9 Nominal items expressed as RC’s ...... 239 8.10 Non-restrictive parenthetical clauses...... 240

Chapter 9: Complementation...... 242 9.0 Introduction ...... 242 9.1 -taking predicates...... 243 9.1.1 Utterance verbs...... 243 9.1.2 Mental perception verbs ...... 246 9.1.3 Physical perception verbs ...... 248 9.2 The structure of a complement clause ...... 248 9.3 Position and scope of adverbs ...... 249

Chapter 10: Clause conjoining ...... 251 10.0 Introduction ...... 251 10.1 Conjoining through juxtaposition...... 251 10.2 Conjoining with linking devices...... 254 x

10.2.1 Sequencing conjunctions...... 254 10.2.2 Contrasting conjunctions...... 260 10.3 Adverbial clauses...... 263 10.3.1 Reason/purpose/result clauses...... 264 10.3.2 Cause fogora ...... 268 10.3.3 Through oisouska ...... 269 10.3.4 Manner clause erek...... 270 10.3.5 Complex conjunctions...... 271

Chapter 11: Pragmatics ...... 272 11.0 Introduction ...... 272 11.1 Negation ...... 272 11.2 Scope of negation ...... 274 11.3 Questions...... 275 11.3.1 Polar questions ...... 275 11.3.2 Content questions ...... 276 11.3.3 Animate object questions...... 276 11.3.4 Inanimate object questions ...... 276 11.3.5 Locative questions...... 277 11.3.6 Manner questions...... 277 11.3.7 Reason questions ...... 278 11.3.8 Quantity questions...... 278 11.3.9 Time questions...... 278 11.3.10 Disjunctive questions...... 279 11.4 Commands...... 279 11.5 Speaker attitude ...... 281 11.5.1 Emphasize...... 281 11.5.2 Complaining ...... 282 11.5.3 Appealing...... 282 11.6 Topic focus ...... 283 11.6.1 New topics...... 284 11.6.2 External topic constructions ...... 285 11.6.3 Bera-marked frames ...... 286 11.6.4 Types of frames ...... 286 11.6.5 Given topics...... 289

Appendix: Texts Text 1: About water spirits (Story Telling)...... 291 Text 2: Advice I give to me sons (Warning)...... 306 Text 3: How to make a corn garden (Procedural Teaching)...... 314

References ...... 317

xi

Diagrams Diagram 1: Clause types...... 181

Figures Figure 1: West Papuan Phylum...... 8 Figure 2: óku mós ‘pull fish’ ...... 41 Figure 3: ekér gìj méi ‘remain in water’...... 41 Figure 4: morotoótuma ‘together’ ...... 42 Figure 5a, b: ágeya ‘scoop’ vs abowá ‘grandmother’ ...... 43 Figure 6: of en-éjgina gurú ‘he/she DUR-know NEG’...... 44 Figure 7: orohúhúr ‘insult strongly’...... 46 Figure 8: didif dik mós ‘I see rain’...... 47

Tables Table 1: Consonant ...... 23 Table 2: Vowel phonemes...... 30 Table 3: Vowel sequences ...... 32 Table 4: Consonant sequences as onsets or codas ...... 34 Table 5: Consonant sequences across syllable boundaries...... 36 Table 6: Changes on stem-initial /e/ vowels involving the verb et ‘eat’ ...... 51 Table 7: Changes on stem-initial /o/ vowels involving the verb ok ‘carry’...... 51 Table 8: The effect of the stem vowel /a/ from áha ‘put/place’ on prefix vowels...... 52 Table 9: Personal pronouns...... 66 Table 10: Inalienable noun possessor prefixes ...... 105 Table 11: Possessor kinship morphemes ...... 106 Table 12: Numeral classes ...... 120 Table 13: Numeral classifiers ...... 120 Table 14: Noun sortal classifiers ...... 122 Table 15: Demonstrative pronoun and locative noun morphology ...... 130 Table 16: Question forms ...... 142 Table 17: Possible constituents of a noun phrase ...... 145 Table 18: Prepositions ...... 163

Abbreviations and conventions

1 First person INST Instrument 2 Second person INT Intensifier 3 Third person MOD Mode Ø 3SG unmarked form (null morpheme) N Homorganic nasal DU Dual NEG Negative EXC Exclusive NOM Nominalizer INC Inclusive ORD Ordinator ADV Adverbial PERF Perfective ANAP Anaphora PL Plural APP Appeal POSS Possessor CL: PRO Protest COMP Complementizer RED Reduplication COP Copula REP Repetitive DUR Durative REF Reflexive EMF Emphasis REL Relativizer EMP Emphatic mood SG Singular ENT Entreaty

Other conventions In the text examples, Meyah is italicized and the grammatical morphemes are in small caps and are separated by hyphens. The perfective aspect is an infix, and so it is indicated by < >. English is in a regular font. In chapter one, the brackets [ ] represent IPA phonetic forms, and the slant lines / / represent phonemic forms. In other chapters brackets represent the realized forms.

xii xiii

Map 1: Location of Meyah and Moskona in relation to other languages

Map 2: Location of Meyah and Moskona villages

1 Introduction

1.1 The language setting The is spoken in the eastern Bird’s Head peninsula of West Papua,1 Indonesia. The language region extends from the northward to the Pacific Ocean and eastward to the town of Manokwari on the shores of Cenderawasih Bay (see Map 1). The language boundaries fall within the subdistricts (Kecamatan) of Manokwari and Merdei in the Regency (Kabupatan) of Manokwari. Meyah people generally remain within their ancestral lands and only move to other regions for the purpose of higher education.2 Even in the regional town of Manokwari they live for the most part in Meyah enclaves within the town.

Map 3: Location of Meyah in Indonesia

1 The province was formerly called Irian Jaya. 2 There are small groups of Meyah people living in Sorong (West Bird’s Head) and Jayapura, the provincial capital, where they attend Seminary or University. 1 2 Chapter 1

The Meyah traditionally refer to themselves by their individual clan names. The name ‘Meyah’ comes from the Mpur phrase ma-ye ‘who are outside’ (lit. ‘REL-outside’). Coastal Mpur speakers refer to Mpur speakers in the Kebar valley bordering the Meyah as Maye (Odé 2002:47). Forrest (1778:10) used the name ‘Alfur’ as a generic label for the people living in the Manokwari area.3 The term is presumably a reduction of the name ‘Arafura’, which was used by one of Forrest’s Malay crew-members referring to the people living in the Manokwari area. Arafura is the name of the sea that lies southeast of the Bird’s Head. In 1858, Alfred Wallace4 used the name ‘Arfak’ to described the people from the ‘hill behind Dorey Bay’, which was a Meyah settlement at the time and where Meyah people still live to this day. Therefore, the name ‘Arfak’ is possibly from ‘Alfur’. Wirz (1923) and Cowan (1953, 1957, 1960) use ‘Mansibabēr’ in reference to the Meyah people. However, it is a pejorative term from the Biak/Numfor language which means ‘naked savage’ (Kamma 1981). Voorhoeve (1975) used the spelling ‘Meax’ with the alternatives names Mejach and Mansibaber. Silzer and Clouse (1991) used the spelling ‘Meyah’ with the alternative ‘Meyach’. I used the spelling ‘Meah’ in Gravelle (1990) and in Gravelle and Gravelle (1991). Later, I began using the spelling ‘Meyah’ according to the orthography established in the literacy program.

1.2 Geography The area that is home to the Meyah includes plateaus and river valleys of the Arfak Mountains. The mountains are rugged and marked by high relief with peaks as high as 2926 meters above sea level.5 Meyah settlements can be found as high as 1800 meters. There is an active fault zone (Sorong fault) trending east to west along the north flank of the mountains. Settlements are also found along the broad coastal plains that border the Pacific Ocean. Due to drainage from the mountain slopes and valleys, the soil in this region is generally more fertile and so it supports a greater variety of food plants. Flooding in this region can be extensive during periods of heavy rainfall, particularly between the months of November through March. There are also Meyah settlements along the Pacific Ocean shoreline extending from the border on the west and eastward as far as the town of Manokwari. In this region the soil is rich in alluvial materials, therefore gardens produce a greater variety and abundance of food. However, the stagnant backwaters are breeding ponds for the anopheles mosquito, thus malarial infection results in a higher mortality rate, especially among infants and children, in comparison to mountain settlements. There is no marked dry season, although less rainy periods can occur from April to September. Annual rainfall in the region is between 200 and 300 centimeters.

1.3 Demography Official figures on the population and distribution of Meyah speakers are non-existent. This is because Government census figures only take into consideration the population of subdistricts and regencies, which include a mixture of speakers from different language groups. My own estimate places the number of Meyah speakers at approximately 16,000– 20,000. This is based on the number of Meyah villages, including enclaves in and around

3 I do not know if the term ‘Alfur’ had wider usage at the time. 4 See Wallace (2000). 5 See Ratman (1998:719–756) for more information on the geology of the East Bird’s Head. Introduction 3

Manokwari. The area where Meyah is spoken encompasses approximately 800 square kilometers. There are about 50 major villages with an unknown number of smaller hamlets (see Map 2). In 1984, the Indonesian government instituted a program called translokasi (translocation). The aim of this program was to move Meyah people from isolated mountain villages and hamlets to the coastal areas where they could have easier access to medical services and schools. They were placed in population units called Desas.6 Land in the new location was owned by Meyah clans that were more distantly related to the translocated Meyah. Therefore, the government had to pay financial compensation to the local Meyah landowners to allow the transplanted Meyah to live on their land. Over the years the translokasi program has had a significant impact on the distribution of Meyah speakers. Before the program was instituted approximately 50% of the people lived in the upper mountain regions, 25% lived in the coastal lowlands and 25% lived in and around the town of Manokwari. Now the population distribution is more likely about 25% in the mountains and about 75% in the coastal regions including the area around Manokwari. This population shift has significantly increased Meyah interaction with non- Papuan peoples. In fact, one of the largest Meyah translocation areas is also connected to an extensive transmigration destination for migrants from Java and Bali.

1.4 Economy Traditionally, the Meyah are a seminomadic hunter/gather society mixed with low intensity agriculture. Agriculture production increased in the coastal regions due to Government development programs. In the early 1980s, large tracts of land were cleared in several locations along the coast for the planting of cocoa trees. Although the program continues, it remains a small-scale industry among the Meyah. Local concessions for oil and mineral exploration have not had an impact on the Meyah economy due to the lack of discovery on traditional Meyah lands to date. An extensive large liquid natural gas plant is planned for the MacCluer Gulf. That project could draw Meyah people to the area in search of work. There has been some lumbering in the region, but forested areas are still extensive. The main food staple of the Meyah living in mountain and coastal settlements is cassava. In the coastal region taro and sweet potatoes, introduced by 17th century explorers, is also cultivated. The staple food is supplemented with leafy vegetables that grow wild. In recent years the Meyah have begun to cultivate vegetables, such as carrots, string beans, tomatoes and corn, much of which is sold at local markets. Wild deer and pig are occasionally hunted for meat, but they are somewhat scarce. Tree marsupials as well as a variety of birds are more abundant and they add to the food supply. Pigs are raised as a source of wealth and are mostly used for the payment of dowries or fines.

1.5 History There is not a great deal known about the prehistory of the Bird’s Head region. Even though research on the region began in the 1930s, only a small amount of prehistoric research has been conducted since that time (Simanjuntak 1998). During the 1990s,

6 A Desa has 300–600 residents. 4 Chapter 1 researchers with the ISIR7 project began cave excavation work in the area, Ayamaru subdistrict (see Pasveer 2003). Their work reveals three distinct periods of early occupation. The oldest site dates from the Late Pleistocene, beginning around 26,000 B.P. Finds in other caves are dated around 8000 B.P. Limestone tools, seeds and animal bones found in other cave excavations have been dated around 3000 B.P. The environmental history of the Bird’s Head during the late Tertiary to Quaternary period has not been established conclusively. Miedema and Reesink (2004), summarizing prehistorical research, maintain the Bird’s Head region was less affected by glaciation than other areas of . Although landforms are the result of young tectonic activity, increased erosion stemming from human activity has resulted in higher levels of sedimentation of the valley floors and foothills. The most recent environmental change took place after the last glacial period. At that time the climate was probably moist and cool due to the inundation of the Arafura Shelf, which led to increased cloudiness. The current environmental conditions (the modern period) have been the same for about 6000 years, as evidenced by the type of vertebrate fauna found in the Ayamaru cave excavations, which are the same as that found in the lowlands today. Little is know about Meyah early history and migration. Reesink (2002b:22–26), summarizing earlier research done by others and information gained from Sougb informants, suggests that the Meyah, Sougb and Hatam people probably originated from the area between Bintuni on the MacCluer Gulf and Merdei.8 Three major Arfak mountain rivers, the Rawara, Timoforo and Timbuni, generally drain into this region. Groups of people moved northward into various regions of the Arfak Mountains following these river systems. The Meyah people eventually crossed over the mountains arriving on the north coast of the Bird’s Head.9 This suggested migration pattern is supported by Meyah oral traditions, which give accounts of movement from the Igomu area of the Arfak Mountains to the Meyekiba area and then to Sidei on the north coast (see Map 2). From there they moved eastward toward Manokwari. Contact with people from other regions is described by Kamma (1981). He states that ships from Ternate and Tidore paid regular visits to the Manokwari area as early as the 16th century. The Raja of Tidore considered the area to be part of his expansive kingdom. However, Meyah oral history speaks of mostly negative relations with Raja Didoren (the Raja of Tidore) in the area of Manokwari called Kwawi (Mei Kwau) on the north end of Dorei bay. In addition, stories tell of encounters with the Ambonir (people from Ambon, Maluku) in the Kwawi area. These days, the hill just above Kwawi is called Kampung Ambon (Ambon village) (Gravelle and Tibiyai 1994b). The earliest recorded meeting between Europeans and Arfak mountain people was in 1745 when Captain Thomas Forrest and a crew made up of Malays, Tidorese, Filipinos and Indians sailed to Manokwari from Borneo (Forrest 1778). Later, Captain John Hayes, an officer of the British East India Company, paid visits to Manokwari in 1793 and 1795 (Lee 1912). Around 1855, the first European missionaries to New Guinea settled on Mansinam Island in Dorei Bay close to the Manokwari shoreline. Their journals give several accounts of problems with people from the Arfak Mountains, assumed to be the Meyah (see Kamma 1981, 1982). Subsequent to the arrival of missionaries were visits by naturalists, such as

7 Irian Jaya studies program, Leiden University. 8 Meyah speakers still inhabit the Merdei area. The area south of Merdei is inhabited by Moskona speakers. 9 Reesink (1998:636) also suggests that a number of Bird’s Head languages, including Meyah, may have remained until recently in the central Bird’s Head region. Introduction 5

Alfred Russell Wallace in 1858 and L.M. D’Albertis in the 1870s. Both of them make mention of contact with the Arfak mountain people.10

1.6 Kinship The Meyah trace their origin to a common ancestor, although the ancestor is too far removed to be traced within their genealogy. The common ancestor of all the Meyah people is believed to be a woman called Ejemes who is said to be the offspring of a dog named Tibiyai. She married a man from an area called Igomu (Map 2). Today the Igomu area forms a border between Meyah and Moskona speakers. The Meyah kinship system is basically a Hawaiian system. That is, Ego distinguishes between relatives only on the basis of sex and generation. Siblings of Ego’s parents are referred to as ‘father’ or ‘mother’, thus there are no terms for ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’. However, there is a term for mother’s brother (adeina). All cousins are classified as brothers and sisters; therefore there is no term for ‘cousin’, whether parallel or cross. The term efesa ‘child’ is used by Ego for the children of Ego’s siblings, as well. Terminology only extends through the second ascending generation. Beyond that, the term runa ensis ‘people of old’ is used as a generic term for ancestors. Miedema (1984) reports that the Meyah living near the Kebar valley also have a Hawaiian system, but it only extends to Ego’s generation and not to the children of those siblings, parallel and cross cousins. See §4.3.5 for a list of Meyah kinship terms. There are three levels that form the Meyah social hierarchy. The first level is the whole Meyah group, which is segmented into three patrilineal descent groups called ‘clans’. The three clans, Mandacan, Dowansiba and Meydodga all have separate founders who originated from the Meyekiba area of the Arfak Mountains. Each clan is comprised of several lineages based on traceable ancestry that may go back four or five generations. The original ancestors of the lineages are frequently male siblings. The Meyah may marry within their clan, but must marry outside of their local lineage. Gravelle (1992) provides a more detailed description of Meyah kinship and marriage. It also contains consanguinal and affinal kinship charts, all kinship terms, and maps of clan locations.

1.7 Traditional beliefs and the introduction of Christianity The Meyah traditional belief system is based on animism. They believe they have spirits, hence the term efena ebah ‘spirit raw’ for ‘alive’. When people die their spirits become efej ‘dry’ or ‘ripe’. Then their spirits go to isolated places in the mountains. Some informants maintain that the spirits of the dead also go to the Anggi lakes in the Sougb language area. Specific terms are used to identify various types of spirits. For instance, a spirit that dwells near a particular river is called a kuara mei. A spirit that dwells in a certain part of the jungle or on a particular hill is called a moncusu. The spirit of a deceased person is sometimes called meranghi mei (see Appendix A, Text 1). The term is probably a fused reduction of meren Anggi ‘Lake Anggi’ plus mei ‘water’. An avenging spirit is called merej. It is generally equivalent to the local term suanggi ‘avenger’. Personal names are given to spirits that are associated with particular taboos. For instance, Kinomu, Monghu, Meski and Amerera are names given to spirits that take the form of humans. They capture, assault or afflict people if they break the traditional taboo of eating

10 See Wallace (2000:376–382) and D’Albertis (1881:59–113). 6 Chapter 1 certain kinds of ‘ripe’ foods, such as pumpkin, papaya and pandanus. Therefore, these items are supposed to be eaten before they fully ripen. Kinonsa is the name of the spirit associated with the taboo of eating cassowary. Various methods can be used to exorcize a spirit from their victim. The methods are common knowledge, hence a moisu (traditional healer/sorcerer) does not need to be called on. A moisu can be called upon to help determine the source of an illness. The moisu can also be hired to work their magic against an enemy, causing the enemy to become ill and eventually die. They also have knowledge of various types of medicinal plants, thus they can concoct remedies as a cure for common illnesses. Meyah informants do not profess knowledge of benevolent spirits. This is attested to some extent by the Meyah vocabulary which has the term ejiteyi ‘placate’ used only in reference to spirits, but apparently their vocabulary lacks a term for ‘worship’ or ‘honor’ in relation to the spirit world. These days, all Meyah people refer to themselves as Christians, although some facets of their traditional belief system are retained. Christianity was no doubt first introduced to the Meyah around the 1850s by missionaries in the Manokwari area. By the 1920s most Meyah living near Manokwari had converted to Christianity through contact with Dutch Reformed church missionaries. The earliest missionaries used indigenous Biak evangelists to reach the interior Meyah (Kamma 1981). Christianity became more deeply rooted in the Meyah interior areas beginning in the late 1950s when missionaries with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) arrived on the scene. Around 1965 they established a mission station in the Testega area. Currently, Meyah Christians belong to three church denominations: The Christian Church of Indonesia (GKI), The Evangelical Alliance church (Gereja Persukuan Kristen Alkitabl Indonesia or GPKAI) and to a lesser extent the Catholic Church (Gereka Kristen or GK).

1.8 Language attitudes Meyah speakers living in the isolated mountain regions are, for the most part, monolingual. In the border regions there is a greater degree of bilingualism between vernacular languages, as can be expected due to marriage exchange and more frequent contact in general. Correspondingly, there is far less bilingualism with the neighboring language groups away from border regions. Many middle-aged men have some limited functional ability in standard Indonesian, the national language. What is labeled as ‘standard Indonesian’ is actually a mixture of regional Malay and standard Indonesian spoken with varying levels of proficiency by speakers of various ethnic groups outside of government and education circles (see Grimes 1996). This form of regional Malay functions as the lingua franca between Meyah people and other language speakers in the area. Most Meyah women from interior areas have little to no ability in Indonesian. This is due to the fact that the local government elementary schools, where Indonesian is taught, are poorly attended by school-age girls. School-age boys are more likely to attend school at least until grade six, so they generally have better ability in Indonesian. Meyah people living in population centers in and around Manokwari have greater ability in Indonesian due to their long term contact with non-Meyah speakers. However, even in the town of Manokwari there are pockets of homogenous Meyah villages where monolingualism among the older women is still common. As I mentioned in §1.3, during the last twenty years a large number of people from Bali and Java have settled in transmigration camps that are situated in areas where the Meyah Introduction 7 live. This influx has resulted in a much higher level of contact between the Meyah people and non-Papuan peoples. To date it appears that their interaction with these groups has not greatly affected their attitudes toward their own language and culture. Meyah is still the preferred language of communication for church services, cultural ceremonies, recitation of oral traditions and the correction and teaching of children in the home. In gatherings, such as church services where non Meyah speakers are in attendance, preaching is commonly done first in Meyah and then it is repeated in Indonesian.11 The language situation may change because Meyah men are now marrying non-Papuan woman at a greater rate. One of the reasons often cited for this is in order to avoid the burdensome system of marriage exchange and bride price payments within the Meyah system.

1.9 The language 1.9.1 Previous studies Very little previous language research has been done on Meyah. This is surprising considering the size of the Meyah group, their early contact with Westerners and their close proximity to Manokwari, a once-thriving Dutch administrative center. The first person to provide some linguistic data on Meyah was Wirz (1923), when he produced a short vocabulary, some notes on pronouns, and a discussion of some kinship terms and verb conjugations. Cowan (1953) provided some lexical items, pronoun sets and a few short sentences. Later, Cowan (1957, 1960) added some typological information on the linguistic region in general. Voorhoeve (1975) provided a 40-item wordlist. His (1987) comparative work in the region provides some information on Meyah person and spatial deixis, as well as basic typology. Miedema’s (1984) study of the Kebar includes a Meyah word list and some kinship terminology. Since then various studies on aspects of the language have appeared by the present author (Gravelle 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001b, 2001b, 2002, 2004) and Gravelle and Gravelle (1991, 1999).

1.9.2 Linguistic classification Voorhoeve (1975, 1984, 1987) classified Meyah as a non-Austronesian language and part of the East Bird’s Head Phylum stock. Although Meyah is classified as a Papuan language, it lacks some of the typical features that Foley (1998:509ff.) gives for Papuan languages. The most striking difference is that Meyah has the word order SVO, whereas Papuan languages generally have the order SOV. In addition, Meyah inflectional morphology is relatively simple in comparison to many Papuan languages and the inflections are prefixal whereas most Papuan languages are suffixal. On the other hand, Meyah, like other Papuan languages in the region (see Reesink 1998, 2000a), has some features that are more typical of . Besides the obvious SVO word order, Meyah has pre-nominal possession constructions, an inclusive/exclusive opposition for first person plural and dual pronouns and a reduplication template that is similar to those in Austronesian languages.

11 This is true for the Evangelical churches. Two vernacular Bible schools operate using Meyah as the first language and Indonesian as the second language. Services in Meyah churches that are part of the more traditional Protestant church use Indonesian. There tends to be a greater mixture of Meyah and non- Meyah people at those services 8 Chapter 1

The closest other languages of contact are Hatam (pop. 16,000) to the south and east and Sougb (pop. 11,000) further south and east.12 Northwest of the Meyah are Mpur speakers who number about 5000.13 A small area within the central Bird’s Head where Meyah is spoken also borders the Maybrat language (pop. 22,000).14 In addition, there are Biak/Numfor language villages intermixed with Meyah villages along the north coast as well as in the Amban, Fanindi, Kwawi and Pasir Putih areas of Manokwari.

1.9.3 Relations with other languages As noted above, Voorhoeve (1975) reached the conclusion that Meyah (Meax) together with Sougb (Manikion) did not belong to the West Papuan Phylum (WPP) or the Trans- New Guinea Phylum, but formed their own group, which he called the East Bird’s Head Phylum.15 Later, Voorhoeve (1987, 1989) recognized Meyah and Moskona (Meninggo) as closely related dialects and distantly related to Sougb on the basis of a 28% shared cognacy. He listed Meyah and Sougb as a stock-level family under the West Papuan Phylum (WPP), as illustrated in Figure 1.

West Papuan Phylum

North Maluku Stock West Bird’s Head Stock East Bird’s Head Stock Kebar (Mpur)

North Halmahera Seget Meyah Sahu Moi (Moskona) Ternate-Tidore Tehit Sougb Moraid Figure 1: West Papuan Phylum

Maybrat and Abun (Karon Pantai) in the West Bird’s Head Stock and Hatam in the East Bird’s Head Stock are listed as isolates. This dichotomy was formed on the basis of some typological features shared between the languages of the Bird’s Head and Halmahera, such as subject prefixing, an inclusive/exclusive option and an SVO word order correlated with the use of prepositions. Voorhoeve demonstrated some possible genetic links between the WPP languages, including Meyah, through their pronominal forms and assumed that cognates could be found that would show a genetic relationship between the subgroups. Reesink (1996:18) noted that, although there are many typological similarities between the WPP languages, the lack of shared vocabulary items suggest seven unrelated linguistic groups. However, he does propose some evidence for genetic relationships between WPP

12 The figures for Hatam and Sougb are based on Reesink (2002:183). 13 The figure is based on Odé (2002). 14 The figure is based on Dol (1999). 15 This conclusion is more explicitly stated in Voorhoeve (1984:74). Introduction 9 languages on the basis of free pronouns, pronominal subject markers as well as a few lexical items in (Reesink 1998, 2002b). Nevertheless, he notes if a relationship is inferable, then the eastern and western Bird’s Head languages diverged from one another a very long time ago. Hence, he maintains the languages should be viewed as separate linguistics groups. Typological similarities between Meyah and Sougb are quite close. Besides the subject prefixes, Meyah and Sougb both have irrealis and instrument markings on verbs. However, Sougb lacks the durative and perfective aspect prefixes that Meyah has. Both generally share the same pronominal categories. Reesink shows a likely genetic link between Meyah and Sougb on the basis of their pronominal forms, the nominalizer k-, the 3SG possessive prefix me- in Sougb which corresponds to the fused prefix m- on Meyah alienable nouns, as well as some plausible sound correspondences. The traceable relation with the is tenuous. Reesink provides some evidence that Meyah and Hatam may be remotely related. Besides the areal features of the Bird’s Head languages, mentioned above, Hatam also uses an initial clause to introduce an instrument along with an instrument prefix on the main verb. Reesink also suggests further evidence for a genetic link between the two languages, such as the 2PL and 3PL pronominal forms; the consonant /t/ in a few body-part nouns in Meyah that might be related to an old possessor prefix -t- on kinship terms in Hatam; the Meyah nominalizer prefixes k- and si- used on deictic elements which occur on verbs in Hatam; and forms indicating reciprocal action. Lexical ties between the two languages are negligible, however a few items that might link Meyah and Hatam (and Sougb) are the terms for ‘mountain’, ‘rock’ and the vocative form for ‘mother’. The material presented by Reesink provides some good evidence that Meyah and Sougb most likely diverged from a common language. However, a genetic relationship between Meyah and Hatam is still a matter of speculation.

1.9.4 The relationship between Meyah and Moskona The , referred to as Meninggo in Voorhoeve (1975), is spoken in the lower mountain and foothill regions along the southern flank of the Arfak Mountains. Moskona speakers also live in the lowlands further south towards the MacCluer Gulf. Most settlements are located along the Timoforo and Rawara rivers and their tributaries. There are an estimated 6000–8000 Moskona speakers living in approximately sixteen major village areas and an unknown number of smaller hamlets. Dialect variation involving phonological changes occurs between Meyerga to the south and Moyeba on the Meyah border to the north (see Map 4 in §1.9.5). According to Moskona informants, the name Moskona means ‘western people’, that is, ‘those living to the west of other people’.16 Meyah oral traditions tell about a Moskona person called Iwari who became angry with his relatives. As a result he left the Igomu area and moved into the Arfak mountains. He eventually arrived at Sidei on the Pacific coast.17 The Meyah people of Sidei consider him to be one of their ancestors. The linguistic relationship between Meyah and Moskona can be considered as dialects of one language, as Voorhoeve (1975) showed with his comparative word list. A more

16 The term is possibly the reduced phrase mau oska ona ‘sun slacken/descend male’ [moskona], literally, ‘the men where the sun descends’. 17 Gravelle and Tibiyai (1991); Gravelle, Mandacan, and Tibiyai (1991). 10 Chapter 1 recent lexical comparison between the two dialects shows a high degree of vocabulary similarity at 85%. One would expect two languages having such a high degree of lexical similarity to be mutually intelligible. However, informal testing has shown that the degree of mutual intelligibility between Meyah and Moskona is relatively low at about 40%–50% in the border regions with Meyah and about 20%–30% in the areas more distant from Meyah speakers (Gravelle and Gravelle 1999). This is due to the degree of sound changes in shared vocabulary items. In addition, the two languages have reversed vowel correspondences in which whole syllables are metathesized between the dialects (§1.9.4.1). In addition, different phonological reduction patterns affect mutual intelligibility. Meyah and Moskona morphosyntax is quite close with only a few features that differ (§1.9.4.2). I do not propose either language as being closer to the protolanguage that they diverged from. In the sections that follow, I provide examples of how Meyah and Moskona diverge in the areas of phonology and morphology. In this section, as in Chapter 2, phonetic examples are shown in brackets and the phonemic forms are shown in slant lines. Italics indicate the orthographic representation. The chapter ends with a Swadesh word list comparing Meyah and Moskona vocabulary items (§1.9.4.3).

1.9.4.1 Phonology Moskona has the same inventory of consonant and vowel phonemes as Meyah and only two minor differences are found with . Meyah has the [S] that occurs regularly in certain vocabulary items (see §2.2.1). In Moskona [S] does not occur. Meyah has the allophone [¯] following high front vowels in an intervocalic position whereas Moskona has [n] in the same environment (1). (1) Meyah Moskona [mahí¯a] /mahina/ ‘husband’ [mahína] /mahina/ ‘husband’ [έi¯έi¯a] /eineina/ ‘shake’ [ínamug] /inamug/ ‘arrowhead’ No regular sound correspondences between Meyah and Moskona can be posited. However, there are tendencies towards certain kinds of sound correspondences. For example, a Meyah front (or mid) vowel often corresponds to a Moskona back vowel in the same position. The same thing occurs in vowel sequences. When the second vowel in Meyah is a front or central vowel, the same vowel in Moskona is sometimes a back vowel. With these kinds of correspondences, the reverse also occurs where a Meyah back vowel corresponds to a Moskona front or mid vowel in the same positions.18 The Moskona examples are from Gloria Gravelle (2000).

(2) Meyah [E] and Moskona [o]: [έsid] /esij/ ‘on top’ [osúd] /osuj/ ‘on top’ [Edí] /edi/ ‘hit’ [od] /od/ ‘strike’ [E∏έn] /efen/ ‘possess’ [o∏ón] /ofon/ ‘possess’ [έra] /era/ ‘use’ [or] /or/ ‘use’

18 Reesink (2002b:10–12) shows the same kinds of sound correspondences and reversals between Meyah and Sougb. Introduction 11

(3) Meyah [o] and Moskona [E]: [ónsa] /onsa/ ‘kiss’ [Ems] /ems/ ‘kiss’ [orúg] /orug/ ‘yellow’ [Erík] /erik/ ‘yellow’ [móna] /mona/ ‘time’ [mέna] /mena/ ‘time’ (4) Meyah [a] and Moskona [u]: [oská] /oska/ ‘bad’ [oskúr] /oskur/ ‘bad’ [mEká] /meka/ ‘father’ [mEkέu] /mekeu/ ‘father’ [óu∏a] /oufa/ ‘good’ [ói∏u∏] /oifuf/ ‘good’ (5) Meyah [u] and Moskona [a]: [okowú] /okowu/ ‘debt’ [okówa] /okowa/ ‘debt’ [gurú] /guru/ ‘no’ [gurá] /gura/ ‘no’ [móiSú] /moisu/ ‘sorcerer’ [móisa] /moisa/ ‘sorcerer’ (6) Meyah [oi] and Moskona [ou]: [skóita] /skoita/ ‘toward’ [skóud] /skoud/ ‘toward’ [kóisóisa] /koisoisa/ ‘carefully’ [koúskamók] /kouskamok/ ‘carefully’ [móigú] /moigu/ ‘bee’ [mou∏únah] /moufunah/ ‘bee’ (7) Meyah [ou] and Moskona [oi]: [óu∏a] /oufa/ ‘good’ [ói∏a] /oifa/ ‘good’ [óun] /oun/ ‘fold’ [oiNgá] /oinga/ ‘fold’ [ouka] /ouka/ ‘dance’ [óika] /oika/ ‘dance’ (8) Where Meyah does have a word-final vowel [a], Moskona sometimes lacks the vowel: [odóna] /ojona/ ‘woman’ [Edέn] /ejen/ ‘woman’ [mEmagá] /memaga/ ‘mountain’ [mEmέg] /memeg/ ‘mountain’ [mogúma] /moguma/ ‘each other’ [mógum] /mogum/ ‘each other’ A few irregular sound correspondences can be identified with consonants, as well. For instance, in Moskona the contrast between [w] and [b] is often neutralized in word-medial and some word-final positions. (9) [mέwka] ~ [mέbka] ‘mango’ [mEwέt] ~ [mEbέt] ‘squash’ [mEwugi∏] ~ [mEbEgi∏] ‘Nibun palm’ [ow] ~ [ob] ‘pluck’ (10) The Meyah [∏] often corresponds to the Moskona [w]. [E∏Esí] /efesi/ ‘inside’ [Ewέs] /ewes/ ‘inside’ [o∏os] /ofos/ ‘skin’ [owos] /owos/ ‘skin’ [E∏Ekέsa] /efekesa/ ‘among’ [EwEkέsa] /ewekesa/ ‘among’ [o∏ók] /ofok/ ‘vegetable’ [owók] /owok/ ‘bud’ 12 Chapter 1

(11) Where Meyah has the nasal [n] preceding [s] Moskona often has [m] instead. [o∏óns] /ofons/ ‘wage’ [o∏óms] /ofoms/ ‘wage’ 19 [ónsa] /onsa/ ‘kiss’ [oms] /oms/ ‘kiss’ [ónsos] /onsos/ ‘amazing’ [osmóms] /osmoms/ ‘amazing’ (12) In some items, the Meyah nasal [n] is a liquid [r] in Moskona. [toumná] /toumna/ ‘openly’ [toumrór] /toumror/ ‘openly’ [nómnagá] /nomnaga/ ‘all’ [rómrEg] /romreg/ ‘all’ Some Meyah vocabulary items have lost segments or whole syllables that Moskona retains. However, the reverse is more common where Meyah retains segments and syllables that Moskona lacks: (13) Meyah Moskona [gú] /gu/ ‘to’ [gug] /gug/ ‘to’ [έt] /ec/ ‘dip’ [Etέm] /ecem/ ‘dip’ [didi∏] /didif/ ‘I’ [di∏] /dif/ ‘I’ [Ebír∏agá] /ebirfaga/ ‘head’ [Ebír] /ebir/ ‘head’ [έdginaga] /ejginaga/ ‘know’ [έdgEn] /ejgen/ ‘know’ [tumú] /tumu/ ‘on’ [tum] /tum/ ‘on’ A number of items have vowels or syllables that show a reversal between the two dialects (14). (14) Meyah Moskona [gid] /gij/ ‘in’ [dig] /jig/ ‘in’ [ogu∏ú] /ogufu/ ‘blood’ [o∏ugá] /ofuga/ ‘blood’ [Egrís] /egris/ ‘left’ [έrga] /erga/ ‘left’ [oNga] /onga/ ‘REL’ [nogá] /noga/ ‘REL’ [osu∏o¤u] /osufou/ ‘light’ [o∏usi¤] /ofusi/ ‘light’ Moskona has the same pitch accent system that Meyah has (see §2.5). Accent placement in similar vocabulary items sometimes differs. (15) Meyah Moskona [E∏agá] /efaga/ ‘body’ [E∏έga] /efega/ ‘body’ [mogúma] /moguma/ ‘each other’ [mógum] /mogum/ ‘each other’ [oirá] /oira/ ‘enter’ [óura] /oura/ ‘enter’ [E∏Esí] /efesi/ ‘inside’ [Ewέs] /ewes/ ‘inside’ [únsos] /onsos/ ‘amazing’ [osmóms] /osmoms/ ‘amazing’ [okowú] /okowu/ ‘debt’ [okówa] /okowa/ ‘debt’ The application of morphophonemic rules in Moskona generally parallels Meyah. One difference has to do with the vowel [a]. With Meyah coalescence rules, the vowel /a/ overrides other vowels whether /a/ is the first or second vowel in the sequence (see §2.6.2). In Moskona, the vowel [a] always deletes when a prefix is added.

19 The Meyerga dialect of Moskona uses oms ‘kiss’ whereas the Moskona dialect, closer to the Meyah border, uses ems ‘kiss’. Introduction 13

(16) Meyah Moskona di-agób [dagób] di-ahác [dihát] 1SG-strike 1SG-tie me-áha [máha] mi-ahadá [mihadá] 1DU.EXC-put 1PL.INC/EXC-open

1.9.4.2 Morphology There is very little difference between Meyah and Moskona morphology. The few features that do differ will be given in this section.

1.9.4.2.1 Pronominal forms The free and bound pronominal forms are generally the same in both languages. However, Moskona does not distinguish the inclusive/exclusive opposition as Meyah does. On the other hand, Meyah uses one item to neutralize second and third person dual categories in one form, whereas Moskona has separate items for those person categories. In addition, some of the free pronouns in Meyah are fused reduplicated forms and the same forms in Moskona are not reduplicated (e.g. didif ‘1SG’as opposed to dif). (17) Meyah Moskona Number Pronoun Prefix Number Pronoun Prefix 1SG didif di- 1SG dif di- 2SG bua bi- 2SG bua bi- 3SG ofa - 3SG ofa - 1DU.INC nagif na- 1DU.INC/EXC yef ye- 1DU.EXC magif ma- – – – 2/3DU goga ge- 2DU yoga yo- – – – 3DU ergog yi- 1PL.INC mimif mi- 1PL.INC/EXC mif mi- 1PL.EXC memef me- – – – 2PL iwa i- 2PL yuwa yi 3PL rua ri- 3PL eri i-

1.9.4.2.2 Object clitics Meyah has a full paradigm set of clitics that specify human objects (§4.1.2), although free pronouns can also be used in place of the clitics. Moskona only uses free pronouns to indicate human object arguments of regular verbs. (18) Meyah Moskona Eita menei gu-id Eita meni gug dif give banana to-1SG give banana to me ‘He/she gave a banana to me.’ ‘He/she gave a banana to me.’ 14 Chapter 1

1.9.4.2.3 Perfective infix Meyah and Moskona have the same durative aspect prefix en-, instrument er- and irrealis em-. However, Moskona does not have the perfective infix (a nasal) that Meyah has. Perfective aspect is only indicated by the use of the aspectual adverb jog ‘already’. (19) Meyah Moskona Ofij ofa Ofjig ofa jog help him/her help him/her already ‘He/she helped him/her.’ ‘He/she helped him/her.’

1.9.4.2.4 Negative marking As noted above, both Meyah and Moskona have the irrealis prefix em-. Negation in Meyah requires the addition of the durative aspect prefix en- on the verb root, whereas Moskona (and Sougb) require the irrealis prefix em- on the verb. (20) Meyah Moskona Di-en-ek ofa guru20 Di-em-eg ofa gura 1SG-DUR-see him/her NEG 1SG-IRR-see him/her NEG ‘I do not see him/her.’ ‘I do not see him/her.’

1.9.4.2.5 Spatial deixis Meyah uses a three-way distance system for indicating spatial reference: ‘near speaker’, ‘away from speaker’ and ‘more distant from speaker’. Moskona uses the two-way system ‘near speaker’ and ‘away from speaker’. (21) Meyah Moskona kef ‘this’ nokef ‘this’ koma ‘that’ nomi ‘that’ konj ‘that yonder’ – sif ‘here’ nogi ‘here’ suma ‘there’ nomej ‘there’ sunj ‘there yonder’ – The Meyah independent spatial determiners are complex forms involving a nominalizer or an adverbializer prefix plus a spatial deictic base (see §4.4). It appears Moskona determiners are fused forms involving no- as a nominalizer and adverbializer plus a deictic base, some of which resemble the Meyah free forms, especially the Moskona item no-kef ‘NOM-this’. The Meyah deictic bases also productively attach to nouns and prepositions, whereas only independent forms are used in Moskona.

1.9.4.2.6 Modal adverbs The only modal adverbs that are found in my text corpus are nom ‘able’ and the status clitic si ‘must/probably’ (see §7.7). Moskona has a larger set of modal adverbs. The

20 Sentence-final punctuation is not used in Meyah text except in examples that include more than one sentence. Introduction 15 modals, like other adverbials, mostly occur in the clause-final position. Besides the equivalents of Meyah nom and si, Moskona also has: deke ‘may’, jef ‘should’, sof ‘instead’, smen ‘maybe’ and the polite command form roga ‘please’. (22) Eri noga i-osos ni i-ahobta telefisi era deke they REL 3PL-rub so.that 3PL-watch television TOP may ‘As for those who want to watch television, they may.’ (23) Bua bi-ef mes nomi jef 2SG 2SG-shoot dog that should ‘You should shoot that dog.’ (24) Bua bi-ot jig migak nokef sof 2SG 2SG-stand in pants this instead ‘Wear these pants instead.’ (25) Smen ofa em-osorn era maybe he/she IRR-hunger NEG ‘Maybe he is not hungry.’ (26) Bua bi-eker hah dif roga you 2SG-sit await me please ‘Wait for me please.’

1.9.4.2.7 Complementizer Both languages use an invariant morpheme to introduce a complement clause, which as in many languages is derived from a speech verb, such as ‘say’. However, the Meyah complementizer is apparently the Moskona speech verb ouda ‘say’, which corresponds to oida in Meyah (see §1.9.4.1) and the Moskona complementizer is the Meyah speech verb agot ‘say’, which corresponds to ohot in Moskona. (27) Meyah Moskona Ofa agot oida … Ofa ouda ohot … he/she say COMP he/she say COMP ‘He/she say that …’ ‘He/she says that …’

1.9.4.2.8 Experiential verbs Meyah and Moskona have similar experiential constructions. In Meyah, the experiencer can be indicated by a free pronoun or an enclitic attached to the experiential verb. However, Moskona lacks pronominal clitics so a free pronoun is used. In Meyah, different verbs can be used in the construction, whereas Moskona only uses en ‘come’. (28) Meyah Moskona Merei ok rua Momha en eri crazy carry them crazy come them ‘They are crazy.’ ‘They are crazy.’ (lit. ‘craziness carries them’) (lit. ‘craziness comes to them’) 16 Chapter 1

Marei et ofos Makek en ofa scale eat skin skin.disease come him/her ‘He/she has a skin disease.’ ‘He/she has a skin disease.’ (lit. ‘scales eat his/her skin’) (lit. ‘skin disease comes to him/her’) In other cases, Moskona has normal intransitive verbs, whereas Meyah has a fossilized form that includes the agent mar ‘thing’ or another item, the verb en ‘come’ and a clitic indicating the experiencer (see §7.5.1.8). The realized forms are shown in slant lines. (29) Meyah Moskona Mar-en-id /márenid/ di-esirna /disirna/ thing-come-1SG 1SG-sick ‘I’m sick.’ ‘I am sick.’ (lit. ‘something comes to me’) Moj-en-ir /mojénir/ i-ogorna /igorna/ embarrass-come-3PL 3PL-embarrass ‘They are embarrassed’ ‘They are embarrassed.’ (lit. ‘embarrassment comes to them’)

1.9.4.3 Swadesh word list (Meyah-Moskona) English Mehah Moskona English Mehah Moskona all nomnaga romreg dog mes mes and dokun dokun drink ej et animal marska marsa dry efej efej ashes mongkoru mofra blunt ofoj ofoj back ejmeg ejmeg dust mebi ofou mou ofui bad oska oskur ear osu osui bark mega ofos merga wos earth mebi mou because jeska esha eat et et belly otkonu otkon egg mem ofou mem ofui big eteb eteu eye eiteij eitej bird mem mem fall esiri esir bite eska eska far yes masen black ahta ahta fat efes ewes blood ogufu ofuga father meka mekeu blow ofc ofca fear emesa emesa bone ofora oforna feather efej efej breathe ahamaha emsa few egekegka ergakak burn mah et merah et fight rimedima imedima child oforoka eferiok fire mah merah cloud mocgoj ofog merofog fish mos mos cold meifirna mifirna five cinja cija come en en float ofka etuk count ofosut osot flow eyah eya cut eris ersa flower marfok marok day mona mona fly ofu of die agos ogos fog mocgoj mockeja dig eji ow foot aki egak dirty ahtahta ahtahta four tohkuru tahgur Introduction 17

English Mehah Moskona English Mehah Moskona fruit ofos owos other egema ergem give eita eita person osnok osnok good oufamofa oifomof play ahaisomu osioma grass marfenen marefen pull oku okui green ofraha ofraha push edei ed guts otkonu otkon ewes rain mos mas hair efeji efej red ekeni ekena hand etma etma correct tenten decir he ofa ofa right ognosk orojuj head ebirfaga ebir river mei mi hear eg eg road moroju moroj heart efemebi efembej root ofom ofom heavy okum okum rope mofun mofun here kef jikef rotten emba emba hit obu obui rub os os hold agei oruskej sand mebsta mebsta how teinefa tinefa say agot ohot hunt okub okuk scratch eragrina ahah husband mahina mahina sea mei mojum mi mojum I didif dif see ek ek if erek ekek seed efej efej in gij jig sew eb ob kill agob ogou sharp efei etka efietka know ejginaga ejgen short estir esta mug lake meren meren sing of of laugh otut oitut sit eker eker leaf efei efi skin ofos owos left egris erga sky mebaga mebaga leg aki egak sleep ah jah ah jig lie ah ah small oskiyai oskaitok live eker eker smell eg emsa liver odou odui smoke efa mosoku ef misomok long aksa aksa smooth efeta egirna louse mej mej snake magosu mogos man ona orna some eneya enia many ofoukou ognunui spit os osrof meat ofogu ofoga split ebriyi ebri mother mosu mosu squeeze ebid ebda mountain memaga memeg stand ot ot mouth awesi ohes star motur motur name ofoka owoka stick moskur moskur narrow emeinma okuckok stone mamu mogom near doida etkebra straight aharuka ohurka neck orukaga orkos suck efa efa new efeinah efenirah sun mowa mau night motu mot swell efifij esejga nose osum osum swim era mei ah mi not guru gura tail oiraga oirega stab oduis oduc that koma nomi one egens erges there suma ida 18 Chapter 1

English Mehah Moskona English Mehah Moskona they rua eri wash ot ot thick efek ewek water mei mi thin ahanuka ahabnuk we mimif mif think osujohu orusoht wet etefa etefa this kef nokef what meidu mida thou bua bua when mona egaho echa three orgomu orgoum where sinefa hadefa throw eij eij white ebsi efsa tie akid ahac who idu ida tongue arni ornouj wide efefi otoh tooth ofon ofon wife mohona mohena tree mega merga wind mof mof turn oksef oksef wing efembra efembra two egeka ergak wipe osuna osun vomit aha meisohu aha mou with jera jera walk ecira ecira woman ojona ejena warm ofoufem ofufom woods merembrah merembah worm mofunfou marewet

1.9.5 Other dialect regions Minor dialect variation exists between four general areas where Meyah is spoken. The areas are Testega, Meyekiba Efej, Sidei and to some extent Manokwari. Map 4 also shows Meyah’s close relative Moskona, with two dialects identified in that language.

Map 4: Meyah and Moskona dialect areas

Introduction 19

Manokwari area speakers tend to use the same vowel sequences that Sidei area speakers use (e.g. oi as opposed to ou), but they also tend to use bilabial stops in the same positions that Meyekiba speakers do (e.g. agob ‘strike’ as opposed to agou). Variation between the other three areas mostly involves sound changes. A small number of vocabulary items differ, but they are too few to affect communication. Some examples of sound changes are: (30) Speakers in the Testega area tend to use [∏] in positions where Meyekiba area speakers use [b] and Sidei area speakers use [w]. Testega Meyekiba Sidei efesa ebesa ewesa ‘child’ efet ebet ewet ‘scorch’ ofons obons owons ‘wage’ ogufu ogubu/ofugu oguwu/ogofi ‘blood’ (31) Or, the correspondence is between /u/, /b/ and /w/ in other items. Testega Meyekiba Sidei agou agob agow ‘strike’ mocu mocub mocuw ‘rat’ mowa moba mowa ‘sun’ (32) Testega area speakers tend to use the labialized velar stops /kw, gw/ in a word- medial position, whereas speakers in the other areas use /k, g/. Labialized stops do not occur word-finally. Testega Other areas orkwa orka ‘carry’ oskwa oska ‘bad’ okweibi okeibi ‘knee’ ogwa oga ‘voice’ (33) Some metathesized forms also occur. Testega Meyekiba Sidei gago goga gaha ‘they/we two’ tago toga taha ‘different’ ogufu ofugu ogofi ‘blood’ Meyah speakers from the Meyekiba area use the prefix em- to indicate 1PL.INC possession on kinship nouns, rather than mi- as in the other areas.21 The Meyekiba prefix is 22 possibly a borrowing of the Sougb 1PL.EXC pronominal prefix em-. Meyekiba area speakers use the same prefixes that other dialects use for all other number categories. A partial list of kinship terms marked for 1PL.INC em- is given in (34). See §4.3.5 for possessor marking on the equivalent Meyah terms from other areas.

21 The prefix em- ‘1PL.INC’ is different from the modal prefix em- and the em- of the circumfix em-ma. They all occur in different positions in a verb. 22 See Reesink (2002a:218). 20 Chapter 1

(34) em-imowa [emimowa] ‘1PL.INC-grandfather’ em-owa [emwa] ‘1PL.INC-grandmother’ em-eka [emka] ‘1PL.INC-father’ em-osu [emsu] ‘1PL.INC-mother’ em-oko-sa [emkosa] ‘1PL.INC-younger.sibling-same.sex’ em-oko-ra [emkora] ‘1PL.INC-older.sibling-same.sex’ em-ie-sa [emiesa] ‘1PL.INC-younger.sibling-opposite.sex’ em-ie-ra [emiera] ‘1PL.INC-older.sibling-opposite.sex’ em-esa [emsa] ‘1PL.INC-child’

1.10 Period of field research I first began to study the Meyah language under the auspices of a cooperative program between the Indonesian Department of Education and Culture and The Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) from 1985–1991. Later I studied Meyah under a cooperative between the Indonesian Department of Social Affairs and SIL from 1993–1997. The purpose of my work under both programs was to carry out community development projects, which included the translation of resource materials into Meyah and to promote literacy. After conducting a language survey of Meyah in 1985, Meyah people in a number of villages invited my wife and me to live and work amongst them. We chose to live in the village of Nuni located on the Pacific coast approximately 25 kilometers west of Manokwari. Three years earlier, the Government had moved a large number of Meyah people from the Arfak Mountains to Nuni under a relocation program (see §1.3). Therefore, the middle-aged and older people living in Nuni were still for the most part monolingual. The younger generation had a limited proficiency in standard Indonesian having attended government schools. Although I lived for extended periods of time with the Meyah in Nuni, I also visited villages in all the regions where Meyah is spoken. When not in the village of Nuni, I lived in Manokwari where I also associated with Meyah speakers on a regular basis.

1.11 Data collection and methods There are approximately 1800 numbered interlinear text examples in this description. Much of the material is taken from recordings of traditional stories (oral history). Other material is from recordings of people speaking spontaneously on various topics, such as advice parents give to their children, general social behaviour, manufacturing procedures, travel narratives, children’s stories, songs and sermons. While most texts were recorded by me, some were also recorded by Meyah assistants at times when I was not present. A small number of examples are also from Meyah written literature, such as the New Testament and community development booklets. Those are noted as such where they occur. The use of elicitation to obtain data was rare, but did occur when examples from my text corpus were lacking. I also used elicitation to fill in paradigm sets for pronominal forms and kinship terms. Elicited examples are also noted as such where they occur. In the collection and transcription of texts, I worked with young, middle-aged and old Meyah speakers. Texts were collected from both male and female speakers. All texts were transcribed with a native speaker, sometimes with speakers other than the ones who provided the text. Some informants that I worked with had no formal education. Others had Introduction 21 education through the sixth grade and some had completed twelve years of school. Two informants had University degrees. Informants were from a variety of regions where Meyah is spoken. In the beginning I used regional Malay (non-standard Indonesian) when communicating with informants. Eventually, Meyah became the primary form of communication between researcher and informant.

1.12 Purpose and framework The purpose of this present study is to provide a detailed linguistic description of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the Meyah language. In doing so I do not offer explanations on how the language got to be the way it is. That does not mean my approach lacks a theoretical framework. The theory that I use to describe Meyah is what Dixon (1997) and Dryer (2003) refer to as ‘basic linguistic theory’. It is an informal theory of form that is based on traditional grammar, but modified in various ways by other traditions, such as structuralism and typological studies. However, it differs from traditional grammar in that it attempts to describe the language on its own terms rather than force the language into a theoretical model, hence it is not a restrictive theory. This allows for certain facets of language to be more easily described and as such it has significance for typological theory. Although this work is meant to be descriptive, I do not downplay idiosyncrasies or lexical grammaticalizations. I offer some explanations as to how certain forms may have come about. However, the comments are meant to be parenthetical and not necessarily part of the description. Only within the last ten years have linguists given more attention to the languages of the Bird’s Head region.23 Yet the region is of particular interest and importance because the languages spoken there do not show many of the typical traits that linguists generally associate with Papuan languages. That is, they also have features that are more typical of Austronesian languages (see §1.9.2). Hence, another purpose of this study is to provide data on one of those apparent hybrid languages in order to broaden our understanding of what the languages in the region are like.

23 Irian Jaya Studies program (ISIR) researchers from Leiden University have recently produced some detailed descriptions and discussions on a number of languages in the region. That work has greatly added to our understanding of the linguistic area in general.

2 Phonology and morphophonemics

2.0 Introduction This chapter is a description of Meyah phonology and morphophonemics. The Meyah sound system has a segmental inventory of thirteen consonants and five vowels. A description of each phoneme with its allophones and contrastive evidence for each phoneme is given in §2.2. Meyah allows vowel sequences (§2.3.1) that occur across syllable boundaries and form simple nuclei of separate syllables. Other vowel sequences involve a high vowel as the second vowel, which does not receive full pronunciation. That type of sequence forms the nucleus of a syllable. The shape of the Meyah syllable is (C)V(C) allowing for canonical syllable types CV, V, VC and CVC. Examples of possible syllable and root structures will be given in §2.4. Meyah is a pitch accent language. The higher pitch of (usually) one syllable is the main diagnostic feature of Meyah pitch accent. The section on pitch accent (§2.5) includes examples of contrastive accent (§2.5.1), along with a description of its acoustic and phonetic correlates (§2.5.2). Syllable structure and accent placement will be discussed in §2.5.3. Evidence for words bearing more than one accented syllable will also be given in §2.5.4. Meyah has a somewhat complicated morphophonemic system when various kinds of affixes, clitics and one infix are added to roots. The process involves vowel harmony (§2.6.1), vowel coalescence (§2.6.2) and nasal assimilation (§2.6.3). Tables 6–8 are provided at the end of that section to show the phonemic realizations of morphophonemic changes on various types of verb stems. However, not all realized forms are easily explained (see Chapter 3). The process of reduplication in Meyah results in phonological alterations of both the base and the reduplicant hence its inclusion in this chapter. I will describe the reduplication process generally in terms of McCarthy and Prince (1995) in §2.7. In the final section (§2.8), I will describe how the use of a Meyah loan word prefix on Indonesian loan words produces a prosodic word shape that allows the loan word to interface morphophonologically with Meyah affixes.

2.1 Some notational conventions In this chapter, for the purpose of contrast between phonetic and phonemic forms, the phonemic representations will be shown between slant lines ‘/ /’ and the phonetic transcription will be shown in square brackets ‘[ ]’. Phonemic representations use the roman alphabet (rather than the IPA alphabet), following the correspondences outlined in 22 Phonology and morphophonemics 23

Tables 1 and 2. Phonetic transcriptions use standard IPA symbols. In this chapter, forms represented in italics are morphemic, using orthographic sound-symbol correspondences (see Gravelle and Gravelle 1991). Morphemic representations occasionally differ from phonemic representations in predictable ways (see §2.6.) For examples found in this chapter, accented syllables will be indicated by an acute accent mark, as in age¤n ‘promise’. The absence of an acute accent mark indicates a non-accented syllable. Some non-accented syllables in §2.7 will be indicated by a grave accent, as in èg ‘listen’, for the purpose of contrast. Examples in other chapters will not contain accent marking in keeping with the established orthography.

2.2 Segmental inventory 2.2.1 Consonants Table 1 shows Meyah consonants. As the table reveals, Meyah lacks a voiceless opposition to the voiced bilabial stop [b], although [b] can devoice to [p] in certain environments. Instead, the voiceless opposition to [b] is realized in [∏]. This is a common pattern in New Guinea languages (see Foley 1986:55ff.). The [w] and [y] do not occur in word-initial position except in the case of the 2PL morpheme /i-/, which is phonetically realized as an approximant when preceding a vowel. Also, a small number of loan words do begin with [w] and [y]. In all other cases they are non-syllabic in an intervocalic position. Hence, I do not give them consonantal status. Additional evidence for why these are regarded as approximants is given in §2.7.6. For allophones, refer to the description of each phoneme in the sections to follow.

Table 1: Consonant phonemes Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal voiceless t t (c) k voiced b d d (j) g Fricative ∏ (f) s h Nasal m n Liquid R (r) Approximant (w) (y)

Before describing the phonemes, two general properties of consonants will be noted here. Firstly, there are no limitations as to what position a consonant can take in a word. All phonemes (except /h/) can occur in initial, medial and final positions, although /c, j, f/ and /n/ are infrequent word-initially. Secondly, in connected speech voiced consonants tend to devoice in syllable and word-final positions. This is only a tendency related to rapid speech phenomena and should not be construed as a complete neutralization of the voice-voiceless opposition in those positions.1

1 Voiced consonants do occur syllable-finally (e.g. majmeg ‘porch’), but they are infrequent in that position. 24 Chapter 2

/b/ The lenition of the voiced bilabial stop [b] to the fricative [B] is common intervocalically as a result of rapid speech. There is also a tendency to devoice word-finally to [p], as in the last example below. This is the only position where [p] is found.2 [bú´] /búa/ ‘you’ [bókoR] /bókor/ ‘dish’ [Ebsí] /ebsí/ ‘white’ [Ebáh] [EBáh] /ebáh/ ‘raw’ [Ebís´] [EBís´] /ebísa/ ‘cry’ [E∏έb] /eféb/ ‘color’ [agób] [agóp] /agób/ ‘strike’ [έgib] [έƒip] /égib/ ‘pick’ [mEitέb] [mEitέp] /meitéb/ ‘machete’ /d/ The voiced alveolar stop [d] contrasts with the voiceless stop [t] except that it sometimes devoices word-finally, so the contrast is lost. [dέis] /déis/ ‘center’ [didi∏] /didif/ ‘me’ [Edagá] /edagá/ ‘pay back’ [Edέi] /edéi/ ‘push’ [mEdέb] /medéb/ ‘sago’ [mod] [mot] /mod/ ‘house’ [akíd] [akít] /akíd/ ‘tie’ [o∏od] [o∏ot] /ofod/ ‘extra’

/j/ The voiced [d] occurs word-initially in only a small number of words, but it more regularly occurs intervocalically and word-finally. It sometimes devoices to [t] in word-final position, which is normally a contrastive position for [d] and [t] and so the contrast can be lost. [dEsk´] /jeska/ ‘from’ [dE∏Edá] /jefedá/ ‘therefore’ [dúomú] /júomú/ ‘third’ [odón´] /ojóna/ ‘woman’ [mEdgá] /mejgá/ ‘fence’ [Edέk´] /ejéka/ ‘ask’ [ádaid] [ádait] /ádaij/ ‘enough’ [á∏id] [á∏it] /áfij/ ‘wade’ [gid] [git] /gij/ ‘in’

/g/ The voiced velar stop [g] lenites to the fricative [ƒ] in intervocalic position when it occurs as an onset of unaccented syllables.

2 Hatam, Kebar, Maybrat and Abun all have a phoneme /p/.

Phonology and morphophonemics 25

[gid] /gij/ ‘in’ 3 [gískÒní] /gískiní/ ‘usual’ [gú] /gú/ ‘at’ [Egέns] /egéns/ ‘one’ [góg´] [góƒ´] /góga/ ‘2/3DU’ [magosú] [maƒosú] /magosú/ ‘snake’ [Eg] /eg/ ‘hear’ [aiúg] /aiúg/ ‘coconut’ [Edmέg] /ejmég/ ‘back’ /t/ The voiceless alveolar stop [t] occurs word-initial, medially and finally. [tÒná] /tiná/ ‘but’ [tEntEn] /tenten/ ‘true’ [tEin] /tein/ ‘also’ [Etέb] /etéb/ ‘large’ [áht´] /áhta/ ‘black’ [mέst´] /mésta/ ‘moon’ [Et] /et/ ‘eat’ [agót] /agót/ ‘speak’ [EREbέnt] [EREBέnt] /erebént/ ‘custom’ /c/ There are only three known occurrences of a word-initial voiceless affricate [t]. The phoneme more commonly occurs in word-medial and final positions. [tÒndá] /cinjá/ ‘five’ [tkog] /ckog/ ‘day after tomorrow’ [tENgέ] /cengé/ ‘clay’ [έtiR´] /écira/ ‘travel’ [dέti] /déci/ ‘slow’ [áhtEt] /áhtec/ ‘touch’ [Ebít] /ebíc/ ‘group’ [Et] /ec/ ‘scratch’ /k/ Word-initial occurrences of [k] are limited to a small number of roots. Word- medial and final is the more common position of [k]. [kέ∏] /kéf/ ‘this’ [konosá] /konoá/ ‘nearly’ [kERmóm] /kermóm/ ‘iron’ [ókum] /ókum/ ‘heavy’ [έkRis] /ékris/ ‘tear’ [akí] /akí/ ‘foot’ [ok] /ok/ ‘carry’ [mok] /mok/ ‘cup’ [moi¯έk] /moinék/ ‘walnut’

3 The vowel [Ò] is a high, front, lax vowel. See §2.2.2 . 26 Chapter 2

/m/ The phoneme [m] is a bilabial nasal occurring in all environments. [mEs] /mes/ ‘dog’ [mEi] /mei/ ‘river’ [mamú] /mamú/ ‘rock’ [Egέm´] /egéma/ ‘another’ [EkEmEdí] /ekemejí/ ‘chase away’ [mámas] /mámas/ ‘garbage’ [osúm] /osúm/ ‘nose’ [mEtRέm] /metrém/ ‘corn’ [o∏om] /ofom/ ‘ripe’

/n/ Word-initial occurrences of [n] are small in number. In non-initial positions it has the allophone [] preceding velars /g, k, h/. Meyah does not have the cluster /mg/ in any position, hence the analysis of [] before velars as /ng/. It also has the palatal allophone [] when it occurs intervocalically following [i], as in [amέi´] ‘mother’ and [έiέi´] ‘shaky’. In the Meyah orthography, the alveolar and palatal allophones are represented as n, and the velar allophone is represented as ng. [nέk´] /néka/ ‘yesterday’ [nómnagá] /nómnagá/ ‘all’ [nági∏] [ńaƒi∏] /nágif/ ‘1DU.INC’ [óRn´] /órna/ ‘male’ [E∏Ená] /efená/ ‘spirit’ [móná] /móná/ ‘day’ [o∏on] /ofon/ ‘tooth’ [έ∏En] /éfen/ ‘trim’ [mέREn] /méren/ ‘lake’ [tέiE∏´] /téinefa/ ‘why’

/f/ The voiceless bilabial fricative [∏] occurs in all positions. [∏ob] /fob/ ‘already’ [∏í∏i] /fífi/ ‘money’ [∏anín] /fanín/ ‘bottle’ [o∏óg] /ofóg/ ‘round’ [E∏Eyí] /efeyí/ ‘leaf’ [E∏έR] /efér/ ‘offspring’ [mó∏] /móf/ ‘wind’ [έ∏] /éf/ ‘shoot’ [óugi∏] [óuƒi∏] /óugif/ ‘bow’

Phonology and morphophonemics 27

/s/ The alveolar fricative [s] has the allophone [S] that often occurs following a high front vowel in an intervocalic position. However, the realization of [S] is not consistent in that environment, as there are other items where it does not occur following a high front vowel. Accent placement does not have an effect. [óiSa] /óisa/ ‘finish’ [έisa] /éisa/ ‘light’ [dEiSέ∏] /deiséf/ ‘today’ [sέtk´] /sétka/ ‘ten’ [skíd´] /skída/ ‘above’ [sis] /sis/ ‘earlier’ [ískusk] /ískusk/ ‘diligent’ [E∏Esá] /efesá/ ‘child’ [Ebsí] /ebsí/ ‘white’ [έdis] /édis/ ‘stick into’ [mós] /mós/ ‘rain’ /h/ The glottal fricative [h] only occurs in word-medial and final positions. [áhtah] /áhtah/ ‘black’ [áh´] /áha/ ‘put’ [áht´] /áhca/ ‘sleep’ [ah] /ah/ ‘lie down’ [έh] /éh/ ‘snap’ [Esáh] /esáh/ ‘put away’

/r/ The liquid [r] freely varies with the lateral approximant [l] intervocalically. No strict rule can be given as to their occurrence, but [l] seems to occur more often in words uttered in isolation. [rú´] /rúa/ ‘they’ [Ráhah] /ráhah/ ‘morning’ [Rót] /rót/ ‘concerning’ [mέbER´] /mébera/ ‘platform’ [maRsí] /marsí/ ‘seed’ [έtiR´] /écira/ ‘travel’ [mEdEmέR] /medemér/ ‘song’ [maR] /mar/ ‘thing’ The examples in (1) show contrast between phonemes in initial, intervocalic and final positions for each opposition. Only the phoneme /h/ does not occur in word-initial position: (1) /b/ vs /f/ bókor ‘dish’ fogóra ‘result’ obu ‘punch’ ofú ‘fly’ éb ‘sew’ ef ‘shoot’ 28 Chapter 2

/b/ vs /m/ bebín ‘2SG.POSS’ mebí ‘ground’ mebagá ‘sky’ memagá ‘mountain’ mosíb [mosu-ib] ‘mother-2SG’ mékim ‘female pig’

/t/ vs /d/ téisis ‘direct’ deiséf ‘today’ otúb ‘finger’ odúb ‘slice’ efét ‘scorch’ eféd ‘ingredient’

/k/ vs /g/ kóma [kέ-uma] ‘NOM-that’ gonú ‘with’ okú ‘flee’ ogú ‘write’ ék ‘see’ eg ‘hear’

/t/ vs /c/ tiná ‘but’ cinjá ‘five’ etití ‘full’ eciyí ‘realize’ ot ‘stand’ éc ‘dip’

/t/ vs /j/ tera ‘spanning’ jerá ‘with’ etéi ‘coax’ ejéi ‘disagree’ efét ‘scorch’ eféj ‘seedling’

/d/ vs /j/ dah ‘I lie down’ jáh ‘to’ edí ‘collide’ ejí ‘dig’ ed ‘start, light up’ éj ‘drink’

Phonology and morphophonemics 29

/d/ vs /c/ din [di-En] ‘1SG-come’ cinjá ‘five’ edí ‘strike’ ecí ‘male genitals’ ed ‘start light up’ ec ‘shake off’

/t/ vs /s/ téra ‘above’ sérag ‘metal bracket’ otób ‘nail’ osók ‘climb’ et ‘eat’ és ‘female genitals’

/t/ vs /r/ tumú ‘onto’ rúa ‘they’ efetá ‘fine’ eféra ‘wound’ et ‘eat’ er ‘grow’

/d/ vs /r/ din [di-En] ‘1SG-come’ rin [ri-En] ‘2SG-come’ bedá ‘then’ berá ‘TOP’ ed ‘start, light up’ er ‘grow’

/c/ vs /j/ cinjá ‘five’ juéns ‘once’ ecí ‘male genitals’ ejí ‘dig’ ec ‘shake off’ ej ‘peel back’

/k/ vs /h/ okú ‘flee’ ohú ‘sell’ ok ‘carry on shoulder’ oh ‘hand over’

/g/ vs /h/ ogú ‘write’ ohú ‘sell’ oug ‘bend over/sweep’ oh ‘hand over’ 30 Chapter 2

2.2.2 Vowels The inventory of Meyah vowels is given in Table 2. There are some limitations as to where certain kinds of vowels can occur in a root. For instance, mid vowels do not occur in the root-final position. The back vowel /u/ never occurs in a root-initial position. Contrastive pairs for each vowel are given in (2) following the description of the vowel phonemes.

Table 2: Vowel phonemes Front Central Back High i u Mid E (e) o Low a

/i/ In most positions /i/ is a high close vowel [i]. It is more of a high front lax vowel [Ò] when preceding a nasal in unaccented syllables and between consonants in unaccented syllables. [Edí] /edí/ ‘strike’ [si∏] /sif/ ‘here’ [mEbí] /mebí/ ‘ground’ [aƒEbέn] /agebέn/ ‘submerge’ [E∏Eyí] /efeyí/ ‘leaf’ [EsÒnsá] /esinsá/ ‘self’ [έnsÒs] /énsis/ ‘old’

/E/ The mid open front vowel [E] only occurs in word-initial and word-medial positions. It can shift slightly to a more centralized [´] when it occurs in open, unaccented, syllables. [Er´ní] /erení/ ‘try’ [´tέb] /etéb/ ‘big’ [´kέr] /ekér/ ‘remain’ [έi] /éi/ ‘build’ [mEtRέm] /metrém/ ‘corn’ [mEk] /mek/ ‘pig’

/a/ The open central vowel [a] can occur in most positions within a syllable. It can become more centralized as [´] when it occurs in unaccented, word-final, open syllables. [agós] /agós/ ‘die’ [á∏id] /áfij/ ‘wade’ [έkRar´] /ékrara/ ‘loose’

Phonology and morphophonemics 31

[ERakíd] /erakíd/ ‘tie up’ [mέbER´] /mébera/ ‘platform’ [mEgá] /megá/ ‘tree’

/o/ The phoneme /o/ is a mid back close vowel [o] in most positions. When it occurs in word-initial closed unaccented syllables the realization sometimes shifts slightly to the open mid vowel [√] [√tkonú] /otkonú/ ‘stomach’ [osós] /osós/ ‘urge’ [mosóm] /mosóm/ ‘axe’ [mós] /mós/ ‘fish’ [Rót] /rót/ ‘concerning’

/u/ The high open back vowel [u] occurs in word-medial and final positions. [guRú] /gurú/ ‘no’ [motú] /motu¤/ ‘dark/night’ [ogugú] [oƒugú] /ogugú/ ‘powder’ [o∏ogú] /ofogú/ ‘blood’ [otkonú] /otkonú/ ‘stomach’ [mósuw´] /mósuá/ ‘dry season’ [mów´] /mówa/ ‘sun’ The examples in (2) show phonemic contrast between vowels in similar and identical environments. (2) /i/ vs /e/ ébis ‘heap’ ébes ‘avoid’ ófij ‘help’ eféj ‘seed/sprout’ éfin ‘spin’ efén ‘3SG.POSS’ /e/ vs /a/ eh ‘snap’ ah ‘lie down’ agéb ‘lean/bend’ ága ‘weave’ ekíd ‘kill with poison’ akí ‘foot’ /a/ vs /u/ ofa ‘he/she’ ofu ‘fly’ oská ‘bad’ oskú ‘bottom’ áha ‘put’ ohú ‘sell’ 32 Chapter 2

/u/ vs /o/ ókum ‘heavy’ okómfoj ‘waist’ ofúj ‘lip’ ofój ‘blunt’ osúira ‘final’ osóra ‘hang, dangle’ /o/ vs /a/ ogá ‘voice’ ága ‘weave’ óha ‘smear’ aha ‘put’ eforú ‘palm sugar’ efá ‘suck’ /o/ vs /e/ ot ‘stand’ et ‘eat’ ofóns ‘wage’ erféns ‘one’ otób ‘nail’ etéb ‘big’

2.3 Phonotactics In this section I will describe the sequential arrangements of phonological units within Meyah syllables and roots.4 I will begin by showing the possible vowel phoneme sequences in §2.3.1, followed by the possible consonant phoneme sequences in §2.3.2. The structure of a syllable and a root will be discussed last in §2.4.

2.3.1 Vowel sequences Meyah allows vowel sequences within the syllable and across syllable boundaries. The possible sequences are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Vowel phoneme sequences V2→ i e a o u V1↓ i ie ia io e ei a ai au o oi ou u ui ue ua

4 See §3.2.1 for the definition of a root.

Phonology and morphophonemics 33

Two kinds of vowel sequences can be identified based mostly on height. The first sequence involves a [-high] vowel and a [+high] vowel. In this type of sequence, the second vowel does not receive full pronunciation nor does it occur across a syllable boundary. In addition, there is no evidence that the [+high] vowel can receive its own accent when it occurs as the second vowel.5 The sequence forms the nucleus of the syllable. High vowels are often susceptible to interpretation as consonants on the basis of their distribution (Goldsmith 1990:152). In Meyah, they may be realized as the consonantal approximants [w] and [y].6 See §2.7.6 for additional evidence for this analysis. The distribution of these kinds of vowel sequences within a root depends on the type of vowel that occurs as the first segment in the sequence. The mid vowel plus high vowel sequences /ei, oi/ occur in root-initial, medial and final positions. The low vowel plus high vowel sequences /ai, au/ only occur in the root-medial and final positions.7 (3) /ei/ [έid] /éij/ ‘throw’ [kέing] /kéing/ ‘press’ [áƒEi] /á.gei/ ‘grab’ /ai/ [aháis] /a.háis/ ‘lasting’ [o∏okái] /o.fo.kái/ ‘small’ /au/ [maudgír] /mauj.gír/ ‘termite’ /oi/ [o∏óit´] /o.fói.ta/ ‘pulp’ [oirჴ] /oi.rá.ga/ ‘tail’ /ou/ [óu∏´] /óu.fa/ ‘good’ [o∏ou∏έm] /o.fou.fém/ ‘hot’ [mou] /mou/ ‘yam’ The examples in (4) show that this type of vowel sequence is contrastive with single vowel phonemes. (4) [E] vs [Ei] [έd] /éj/ ‘drink’ [έid] /éij/ ‘throw’ [a] vs [ai] [o∏oká] /o.fo.ká/ ‘name’ [o∏okái] /o.fo.kái/ ‘small’ [o] vs [ou] [ó∏a] /ó.fa/ ‘he/she’ [óu∏a] /óu.fa/ ‘good’ The second type of sequence involves a [+high] vowel followed by some other vowel (non-high except in the sequence /ui/). With this type of sequence the second vowel always occurs across syllable boundaries with each vowel forming the nucleus of separate syllables. Either vowel in the sequence can receive a pitch accent, showing that they are clearly syllabic. The vowels also differ in their degree of frontness and backness. One near exception to this is the sequence /ie/ in which [i] is a close front vowel and [E] is an open front vowel and slightly more central than [i]. That sequence is found in only a few words. The [+high] and [-high] vowel sequences occur in root-medial and final positions.

5 High vowels in this type of sequence tend to be non-syllabic (see Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996:323). 6 In the orthography, w and y correspond to /u/ and /i/ except in intervocalic position. 7 Only one item with a root-initial /ai/ sequence (aioska ‘lasting’) is attested thus far. 34 Chapter 2

(5) /ie/ [EbiEdí] [EBiEdí] /e.bi.edí/ ‘relate to’ [mom∏iέd´] /mom.fi.éda/ ‘viper’ /ia/ [aRiáun] /a.ri.áun/ ‘medicine’ [ERiagá] /e.ri.a.gá/ ‘weak’ [maRiám] /ma.ri.ám/ ‘machine gun’ /io/ [moNkiók] /mon.ki.ók/ ‘tuber’ [sirióu] /si.ri.óu/ ‘pearl’ /ui/ [odúis] /o.dú.is/ ‘stab’ [osúira] /o.sú.i.ra/ ‘last child’ /ue/ [duέns] /ju.éns/ ‘first’ [dúEka] /jú.eka/ ‘second’ /ua/ [Rú´] /rú.a/ ‘they’ [dúaho] /jú.a.ho/ ‘when’ [mósuwá] /mó.su.á/ ‘dry season’

2.3.2 Consonant sequences In this section I will discuss consonant sequences that occur as complex syllable onsets or codas (Table 4), as well as those that occur across syllable boundaries of monomorphemic words (Table 5).

Table 4: Consonant sequences as onsets or codas

C2→ b d j g t k m n f s c h r C1↓ b bk br d j jg g gr t k kr m n nd nj ng nt nk ns f s st sk c cg ck cm h r rj rf rc

Phonology and morphophonemics 35

There are not many kinds of consonant clusters that are onsets or codas, as in (6), and examples are few of those that do occur. Most of the consonants in the clusters are stops. The consonants /r/ and /s/ are the only exceptions. The only codas are the homorganic 8 sequences [Nk] [Ng] [nt] and [ns]. This suggests that the words containing onset and coda consonant clusters are derived synchronically or historically from more typical syllable types. See also §2.5.4 on words with more than one accent. (6) Some examples of consonant clusters in syllable-onset and coda positions. /br/ mo.fom.brá ‘grass’ e.fém.bra ‘edge’ om.bre.ra ‘dense’ /gr/ gró.gra ‘glowing hot’ e.fés.grei ‘fin’ i.grá.ko.wu¤ ‘orchid’ /kr/ e.fes.kre.ní ‘glowing hot’ més.krem ‘wild dog’ /ng/ kéingg ‘press’ /nt/ a.hái.sent ‘swear at, insult’ e.re.bént ‘customize’ /nk/ éngk ‘purchase’ eng.kínk ‘knock’ ma.sínk ‘wasp’ /ns/ ok.sóns ‘return’ ju.éns ‘once’ /st/ meb.stá ‘sand’ /sk/ skói.ta ‘whatever’ og.nósk ‘right’ /cg/ ckog ‘tomorrow’ /cm/ cmug ‘day after tomorrow’

Table 5 shows that geminate consonants do not occur. Homorganic sequences mb, nt, ng and ns never occur as onsets but are common at the syllable boundary environment. The examples in (7) show the kinds of consonant sequences that occur across syllable boundaries ordered according to place of articulation.

8 The consonant [N] is written as the digraph ng in the orthography (see Gravelle and Gravelle 1991) since there are some instances in which /n/ is realized as an alveolar [n] before [g] across syllable boundaries, as in the reduplicated form gun.gun ‘intermittent’ (see §2.7), or in fused compounds, as in e.fen.gí.gí ‘fish scale’. The special conditions under which these occur makes it seem unlikely that the two nasals are actually distinct phonemes and yet the orthography allows them to be distinguished. 36 Chapter 2

Table 5: Consonant sequences across syllable boundaries

C2→ b d j g t k m n f s c h r C1↓ b bd bj bg bk bn bf bs bc bf d dg dr j jb jg jk jm jr g gb gk gm gn gh gr t tk tm tn tr k kn ks kr m mb md nk mn mf n nd nj ng nt nm nf ns nc nr f ft fm fn fr s sb sg st sk sm sn sr c cg ck cm ch h ht hk hm hr r rb rj rg rt rm rn rf rs

(7) /bg/ mob.gós.ka ‘tape worm’ eb.gá ‘torn’ o.kóub.gá ‘stem’ /dg/ med.gé.bin ‘whale’ e.rad.go.dú ‘hurry’ od.gá ‘stuck’ /bs/ mob.sis ‘sandfly’ eb.sí ‘white’ meb.stá ‘sand’ /jm/ ej.még ‘back’ /nj/ an.jód ‘cockroach’ méin.ji ‘rainbow’ cin.já ‘five’ /st/ es.tir ‘short’ mes.ta ‘moon’ tos.tos ‘checkered’ /sk/ as.ke.sí ‘meanwhile’ os.kú ‘bottom’ mon.ska ‘bark wall’ /sm/ es.ma ‘receive’ es.mef ‘turn’ o.fos.má ‘times’

Phonology and morphophonemics 37

/sb/ mis.bá ‘ceremonial food’ es.be.sí ‘distrust’ mós.bur ‘cicada’ /sr/ os.rá ‘faint, wither’ os.roj ‘rib’ mos.rúns ‘Hatam people’ /ht/ ah.tá ‘itch’ mah.te.yí ‘ancient tale’ óh.ta ‘lick’ /hk/ ah.ké.na ‘shave’ toh.kurú ‘four’ o.súm.boh.ká ‘first, oldest’ /bn/ meb.néi ‘poison flower’ en.eb.na ‘naughty’ /fn/ éf.na ‘flash’ ef.níf ‘glance’ /gm/ eg.má ‘tame’ /nf/ mofún.fou ‘worm’ As mentioned in §2.2.1, the approximants [w] and [y] are only realized in an intervocalic position. Therefore I do not give them full consonantal status, as shown in Table 1 of §2.2.1 (see Ladefoged 1975:54–56). The reduplication process (§2.7.6) shows that they cannot occur in sequence with another consonant since they force the deletion of the consonant they precede. Juxtaposition of morphemes within a word does not generally give rise to consonant sequences. This is mostly due to the prosodic shape of Meyah roots and affixes (§2.6). The only exception to this has to do with the perfective aspect infix , a nasal that assumes the point of articulation of the consonant it precedes. When added to verbs, a consonant sequence within a syllable or across a syllable boundary is produced (8). (8) ófij ‘help’ > ófij /ómfij/ ‘help’ okú ‘flee’ > okú /onkú/ ‘flee’ ef ‘shoot’ > ef /emf/ ‘shoot’ ah ‘lie down’ > ah /angh/ ‘lie down’ ót ‘stand’ > ót /ónt/ ‘stand’ The process of reduplication (§2.7) frequently gives rise to consonant sequences at the base and reduplicant morpheme boundary. Some of the sequences are illicit which causes the deletion of one of the segments. Other sequences are allowed and are maintained in the reduplicant.

2.4 Meyah syllable and root structure The shape of the Meyah syllable is (C)V(C) allowing for canonical syllable types CV, V, VC and CVC within monomorphemic roots. I noted in §2.3.2 that the syllable shapes VCC 38 Chapter 2 and CCV occur infrequently, and these are probably the result of vowel elision and thus not typical. Examples of possible syllable types are in given in (9). A minimal word can be a one-syllable V(C) or CV root. There is only one occurrence of a root consisting only of V, and this is actually a [-high] and [+high] vowel sequence where the second vowel does not receive full pronunciation. Disyllabic and trisyllabic roots are common. Four-syllable roots are less common and are probably the result of reduction of phrasal boundaries. The disyllabic word shape CVC.CVC is listed below as a possible root structure. Most occurrences of this word shape are actually reduced compound noun constructions involving the proform mar ‘thing’, as in már ofók ‘thing bud’ → márfók ‘flower’. The forms have become lexicalized. This process usually results in the loss of the initial vowel of the second member. (9) Examples of syllable shape and root structures. 1 Syllable V éi ‘build’ VC ék ‘see’ CV mei ‘river’ CVC mok ‘cup’ 2 Syllable V.CV a.kí ‘leg’ V. C V C é .fen ‘3SG.POSS’ VC.CV eb.gá ‘tear’ VC.VC ey.áh ‘break’ VC.CVC ef.níf ‘glance’ CV.CV ma.mú ‘stone’ CV.CVC mo.jén ‘embarrass’ CVC.CV mah.ta ‘lily’ CVC.CVC már.fok ‘flower’ 3 Syllable V.CV.CV é.be.ra ‘full’ V.CV.CVC a.rú.gus ‘mosquito’ (small type) V.CVC.CV o.kok.si ‘fold of leg’ V.CVC.CVC o.roh.rús ‘escort’ VC.CV.CV ok.ná.ma ‘other side’ VC.CVC.CV on.túm.ba ‘thick’ CV.CV.CV mo.mé.sa ‘crayfish’ CV.CV.CVC mo.so.dúm ‘elephant grass’ (type of) CV.CVC.CV mo.rong.sú ‘room’ CVC.CV.CV mong.ko.rú ‘ash’ 4 Syllable V.CV.V.CV e.ri.a.gá ‘weak' V. C V. C V. C V e.fe.me.bí ‘heart’ VC.CV.CV.CV ot.kí.na.j¤a ‘pour, spill’ CV.CV.CV.CV mo.rói.re.bí ‘wooden head rest’

Phonology and morphophonemics 39

2.5 Pitch accent A range of New Guinea accent systems are described in the literature. Early descriptions include Pike and Kindberg (1956) and Pike and Scott (1963).9 E.V. Pike (1964) categorized Papuan languages that have only one contrastive tone on stressed syllables as being word- tone languages; see also E.V. Pike (1974). Foley (1986:63) generalized that Papuan languages having a single contrast between a high and low tone were better analyzed as pitch accent languages. More recent surveys by Hendriks (1996) and Donohue (1997) have documented the various kinds of pitch accent systems found in New Guinea languages. On a continuum of tone to languages, pitch accent is said to occupy a middle position between the two (see van der Hulst and Smith 1988:9 and Hendriks 1996:203). Pitch accent languages are common in New Guinea and the parameters that define them as having pitch accent vary (see Donohue 1997:366, 367). A relative change in pitch marking one syllable as more prominent than another syllable is the main component of pitch in Meyah. The small East Bird’s Head family, consisting of Meyah, Moskona and Sougb, are the only languages in the region that have pitch accent systems. Of the other languages that border Meyah, Hatam has metrical (sentence) stress (Reesink 1999), Mpur has syllable tone (Odé 1996) and Maybrat has lexical stress (Dol 1999). The , a little further west of Meyah, has lexical tone (Berry and Berry 1999). Although Meyah is a pitch accent language, Meyah writers do not need to indicate accent because context normally disambiguates meaning between accent pairs, such as those shown in (10). In subsequent chapters on morphology and syntax accent is not indicated.

2.5.1 Contrastive pitch accent Meyah is a typical type of pitch accent language, generally allowing only one fixed accent position in polysyllabic words. Some pitch accent languages of New Guinea show contrast between accented and unaccented monosyllabic words and this is also the case with Meyah. However, as expected with pitch accent languages, there are few minimal pairs solely differentiated by accent placement (see Dik 1997:453). Contrastive accent placement is found with one, two and three syllable words. I have no examples of contrast with four-syllable words. Accent placement is not predictable, however some general statements can be made regarding the kinds of syllables that have a greater tendency to attract accent (see §2.5.3). In the following examples, an accented syllable is indicated by a rising pitch accent mark, e.g. ésma ‘receive’. For the purpose of contrast some unaccented syllables are indicated by a falling accent mark, as in mòs ‘frog, toad’. (10) One-syllable words éj ‘drink’ vs èj ‘peel’ éf ‘hang’ vs èf ‘shoot ék ‘see’ vs èk ‘poke’ én ‘blow’ vs èn ‘come’ mós ‘fish’ vs mòs ‘frog, toad’ ót ‘wash’ vs òt ‘stand’ óf ‘close’ vs òf ‘chop down’

9 Scott has since revised his analysis on Fore pitch (Scott 1990). 40 Chapter 2

(11) Two-syllable words éfes ‘young’ vs efés ‘fat’ éfen ‘trim’ vs efén ‘3SG.POSS’ ésma ‘snatch’ vs esmá ‘fall’ vs esma ‘receive’ (12) Three-syllable words érera ‘spicy hot’ vs eréra ‘hug’ óboha ‘skull’ vs obóha ‘tools’ vs obohá ‘spoiled’ oforà ‘dry’ vs oforá ‘bone’ (13) Four-syllable words éfeyaga ‘expound’ morotótuma ‘together’ eradgodú ‘push’

2.5.2 The acoustic and perceptual correlates of Meyah pitch accent The characteristic features of pitch accent are a change in pitch (fundamental frequency) accompanied by a change in amplitude and duration. All of these features contribute to making one syllable more prominent than another syllable in a word, albeit pitch is still the most significant acoustic property (see van der Hulst 1998 and Dik 1997:446–448). Van Heuven and Sluijter (1996:263) point out that some studies have shown pitch to be the only significant acoustic feature of certain pitch accent languages, for example Japanese. With Meyah pitch accent, both pitch and amplitude appear to be significant features. A change in duration between accented and unaccented syllables is slight, hence less significant. A Meyah accented syllable exhibits a rising pitch and an increase in amplitude. An unaccented syllable exhibits a falling pitch and a decrease in amplitude. These properties are illustrated in the voice waveform graph shown in Figure 2. To avoid confusion over terminology I will simply refer to an accented syllable as having a high pitch and an unaccented syllable as having a low pitch. The example in Figure 2 gives the phrase óku mós ‘pull fish’ (i.e., the predicate ‘catch fish’). The high pitch with increased amplitude on the first syllable (V) of óku, as well as the low pitch with decreased amplitude on the second syllable (CV) of óku shows that the first syllable is accented. The word mós ‘fish’ shows high pitch and increased amplitude, which also indicates that mós is accented.

Phonology and morphophonemics 41

Figure 2: óku mós ‘pull fish’

As mentioned earlier, pitch accent is the prominence of one syllable over another indicated mostly through the degree of pitch change. The actual pitch level (fundamental frequency) in a word is relative and can differ. The phrase ekér gìj mèi ‘remain in water’ in Figure 3 shows three types of pitch: high, rising-falling and low. The short rising-falling contour on the preposition gij ‘in’ is transitional pitch occurring between an accent-bearing syllable in e.kér and an unaccented syllable in mèi. It is considered a low-degree accent by virtue of its position in the phrase (see van Heuven and Sluijter 1996:244). However, the amplitude of gij is greatly decreased following ekér showing it is unaccented.

Figure 3: ekér gìj méi ‘remain in water’ 42 Chapter 2

Pitch accent languages can have stretches of pitch over more than one word-medial syllable, as opposed to syllable tone languages, which show contrastive pitch on each syllable of a word assigned from left to right (see Wright 1988). The four-syllable word morotótuma ‘together’ in Figure 4 shows relatively higher pitch stretching over the two word-medial syllables with a corresponding increase in amplitude. In rapid speech Meyah speakers merge the two high pitch word-medial syllables into one, as in moro¤tma ‘together’.

Figure 4: morotótuma ‘together’

According to Baart (1999), a general phonetic correlate of pitch accent is that unaccented syllables are not fully articulated. As a result, the vowels tend to shift towards the central vowel [´]. However, this characteristic vowel shift is not widespread in Meyah. Only the mid low unrounded vowel [a] and the front mid vowel [E] in unaccented positions show a shift to a , as in ágeya [á.gE.y´] ‘scoop’ in Figure 5a. In comparison, the vowel [a] occurring in the word-final accented syllable of [a.bo.wá] ‘grandmother’ in Figure 5b does not shift.

Phonology and morphophonemics 43

Figure 5a, b: ágeya ‘scoop’ vs abowá ‘grandmother’

As mentioned earlier, a typical characteristic of pitch accent languages is that the position of accent placement in the word is fixed and only one accent is associated with one phonological word. Meyah prefixes are not accented, therefore their presence has no effect on accent placement on polymorphemic words. (14) agób vs ri-em-agób-ma [rimagóbma] strike 3PL-RECIP-strike-RECIP ‘They are fighting.’ (lit. ‘striking one another’). (15) ejéka vs di-en-ejéka-ib guru [dinejékib] question 1SG-DUR-ask-2SG NEG ‘I did not question/ask you.’

To illustrate further, the phrase of en-éjgina gurú ‘he/she DUR-know NEG’ in Figure 6 below shows a durative aspect prefix marking a verb.10 The durative aspect prefix en- shows a rising-falling transitional accent between an unaccented syllable of and an accented syllable éj. The first syllable of the root éjgina is the accented syllable characterized by the high pitch and greater amplitude. This shows that the added prefix does not affect the placement of accent. The high pitch and greater amplitude on the second syllable of guru makes it clear that the second syllable is accented.

10 The example in Figure 6 actually involves vowel coalescence at word boundaries as well as the deleted root-final syllable /ga/. The unreduced phrase is ofa enéjginaga gurú. The term ofa ‘he/she/’ does not have an accented syllable. 44 Chapter 2

Figure 6: of en-éjgina gurú ‘he/she DUR-know NEG’

2.5.3 Syllable weight and accent placement I mentioned in §2.5.1 that accent placement is not predictable in Meyah and placement is not influenced by the internal structure of a syllable. The examples below show contrastive accent placement in polysyllabic roots having the same syllable shape. There are no four-syllable roots that show contrastive accent based on syllable shape. See §2.4 for a list of all possible syllable types. In the examples provided below the accented syllables in the left column are underlined. (16) Accent placement in two-syllable words V.CV é.ba ‘weave’ V. C V e.bá ‘wrap’ V.CVC é.bah ‘raw’ V. C V C a.háh ‘grate’ VC.CVC áh.tah ‘black’ VC.CVC ef.níf ‘glance’ CVC.CV mós.ta ‘skeleton’ CVC.CV dos.ká ‘very’ CVC.CVC mér.fej ‘bead’ CVC.CVC mam.fúk ‘handle’

Phonology and morphophonemics 45

(17) Accent placement in three-syllable words V.CV.CVC ó.ro.huh ‘crouch’ V. C V. CVC o.gó.tot ‘noisy’ V. C V. C V C a.go.sús ‘carve’ V.CV.CV ó.ko.ja ‘shove’ V. C V .CV o.bó.ha ‘skull’ V.CV.CV o.co.ká ‘tie down’ VC.CV.CV óc.ro.ra ‘cling’ VC.CV.CV ah.ké.na ‘scrape’ VC.CV.CV ér.fe.ka ‘two’ CV.CV.CV me.fí.na ‘parent-in-law’ CV.CV.CV mo.so.kú ‘tobacco’ CV.CV.CVC mo.só.nen ‘hunger’ CV.CV.CVC mo.so.dúm ‘elephant grass’ CVC.CV.CV mós.ko.ka ‘jungle rat’ CVC.CV.CV moh.té.fa ‘mud’ CVC.CV.CV mor.bu.hí ‘red ant’ As the examples in (16) and (17) show, syllable weight does not appear to be a strong factor in attracting accent since accent can fall on light or heavy syllables in words of mixed syllable weight. That is indicative of languages that are not quantity-sensitive (Goldsmith 1990:177–178). Still, a survey of accent placement shows that some generalizations can be made regarding the effect of syllable weight on accent placement. With disyllabic words that have one light and one heavy syllable, accent has a greater tendency to fall on the heavy syllable. Disyllabic words of equal syllable weight do not show any clear tendencies to attract accent to one syllable over another. There are not enough examples of trisyllabic words to draw conclusions on the effect of syllable weight on accent placement.

2.5.4 Lexical roots with more than one accented syllable A lexical root is the base form of a word that cannot be further analyzed.11 It consists of only one morpheme. Although most Meyah polysyllabic roots contain only one accented syllable, there are some roots that contain two or even three accented syllables. Those exceptions will be discussed in this section. All Meyah inflectional morphemes and most clitics are unaccented forms. Therefore lexical roots marked for various grammatical categories generally have only one accented syllable. The spatial determiner clitics íf ‘here’, úma ‘there’ and únj ‘yonder’ are accented. They can also receive the nominalizers ke- or si- and function as independent words (see §4.4.1). As a result, adding these clitics to nouns or verbs produce words that have two accented syllables, as in (18) and (19). The example mod-íf ‘house-this’ in (18) has an accent only on the deictic clitic íf. The word mod ‘house’ is unaccented, therefore the deictic clitic carries accent and so it is not the result of a tone melody spreading from an accented syllable to the adjacent clitic. Example (19) shows accent on a locative adverb clitic in contrast to accent on a freestanding locative adverb in (20). Example (18) shows ièf

11 See §3.2.1 for a more in-depth discussion of a ‘root’ and my definition of a ‘word’. 46 Chapter 2 on a monosyllabic accented base. This is one situation where two accented syllables can occur in one phonological word. (18) Asók-íf eyáhehir joug mod-íf /modíf/ girl-this forbid ADV house-this ‘This girl rebuked this house (concerning a spirit).’ (19) Bi-ekér-íf /bikéríf/ 2SG-sit-here ‘Stay here.’ (20) Bi-ekér jah si-i¤f /bikér jah síf/ 2SG-sit at NOM-here ‘Stay over here.’ Another situation in which words can have more than one accented syllable is based on the process of reduplication (see §2.7). The accent of a reduplicated syllable is generally maintained in the reduplicated morpheme as well, as in (21) and (22). (21) mamú etéb-téb rock RED-large ‘very large rock’ (22) Ogú-gúg merefi¤ ke-úma RED-cut vegetable NOM-that ‘He/she diced those vegetables.’ The high pitch and greater amplitude of the last two syllables in Figure 7 shows that accent on the verb orohúr ‘insult’ is maintained on the reduplicated syllable in orohú-húr ‘insult strongly’.

Figure 7: orohúhúr ‘insult strongly’

Phonology and morphophonemics 47

There are a small number of polysyllabic roots that apparently have more than one accented syllable (23). Some of the accented syllables are adjacent to one another while others are not. (23) érabirmá ‘scatter, spread’ érerá ‘hug’ ijúrbahí ‘butterfly’ eskéirá ‘bright, clear’ ókowú ‘base, debt’ étidá ‘palm of hand’ There are also a small number of polysyllabic roots in which accent is neutralized, meaning no prominent accent is detectable (24). The syllables are either high pitch or both low pitch. (24) efei ‘liquid’ mekim ‘female pig’ ofog ‘round’ For other examples, Figure 8 provides acoustic evidence that roots can have two unaccented (=low pitch) syllables. The figure shows the pronoun didif ‘I, me’ as having two low pitch syllables in contrast to dik ‘I see’ and mos ‘rain’, which both have an accented syllable.

Figure 8: didif dik mós ‘I see rain’ 48 Chapter 2

The examples in (23) and (24) above and in (25) below may be the result of historic change involving phonological reduction and fusion of syllable or word boundaries where an accented or unaccented syllable has been dropped. The result produces disyllabic words that have two accented syllables or no accented syllables (indicated by grave accidents) or trisyllabic words that have two accented syllables. This is especially evident in fused compounds, all of which begin with már ‘thing’. (25) èsah jàh ‘store in/at’ → èsèjàh ‘prepare’ mebí ekení ‘ground red’ → mékení ‘garden’ mèi ébàh ‘water raw’ → mèibàh ‘contaminated’ okúm ofój ‘waist rim’ → okómfój ‘waist’ mér eféb ‘thing string’ → márféb ‘string’ már ofók ‘thing bud’ → márfók ‘flower’ mér éij ‘thing throw’ → máréij ‘trash’ When a word-final accented syllable is elided its accent does not float rightward to the next word-initial syllable if that syllable is not accented, as seen in most of the examples above. Yet, a few examples are found where accent has apparently floated rightward to the next word-initial syllable if that syllable is not accented, as in (26). Therefore, some kind of ‘leftward’ assimilation seems to have occurred. 12 (26) mebi@ ekeńi ‘ground red’ → mékeńi ‘garden’ efagá etmá ‘body hand’ → efétmá ‘branch’

2.6 Morphophonemics This section discusses the kinds of morphophonemic changes that apply in Meyah when subject, aspect, irrealis and instrument prefixes, as well as object and mood enclitics, are added to verb roots. The initial segment of a verb root is always a [-high] vowel /e/, /a/ or /o/. Nearly all prefixes have the syllable shape of CV or VC. One exception is the 2PL prefix /i-/, which is only V. When prefixes are added to verb roots there are two types of morphophonemic changes that can occur, namely vowel harmony (§2.6.1) and vowel coalescence (§2.6.2). Meyah also has a perfective aspect infix , a nasal, which assimilates to the point of articulation of the consonant it precedes (§2.6.3). The transcriptions will generally show the underlying forms of morphemes, with morpheme boundaries marked by hyphens, e.g. mi-ohca ‘1PL.INC-search’. Where convenient, the phonemic forms resulting from the application of morphophonemic rules will also be shown in slant lines, e.g. /muhca/. The phonemic form is actually written in the normal orthography, e.g. without the marking of accent and with the use of the letters y and w.

2.6.1 Vowel harmony Vowel harmony applies only to VC prefixes that contain /e/: DUR en-, IRR em- and INST er-. As mentioned above, the initial segment of a verb stem is limited to the vowels /e/, /a/

12 One informant explained that newly tilled soil has a reddish colour to it, hence the name ‘red ground’ for ‘garden’.

Phonology and morphophonemics 49 and /o/. If a VC prefix is added to a stem that begins with /o/, then the prefix vowel /e/ also becomes /o/, as in (27). Vowel harmony only affects o-stems because a-stems do not harmonize or coalesce. Stem-initial /e/ does not change since the prefix vowel is the same, as in (28). The vowel harmony rule takes place before the vowel coalescence rule. (27) Em-ok /omok/ (28) En-et /enet/ IRR-carry DUR-eat ‘He/she might carry.’ ‘He/she is eating.’

2.6.2 Vowel coalescence Vowel coalescence almost always occurs when two vowels come together at a morpheme boundary. CV prefixes only have one of the vowels /i/, /e/ or /a/ and never /u/ or /o/. The prefix vowels and root-initial vowels that come together coalesce as follows: (a) if the prefix vowel is /i/ or /e/ and the following root-vowel is /o/, then the coalesced vowel is /u/ or /o/ respectively, i.e. retaining the height of the prefix vowel but the backness of the following vowel. (29) Mi-óhca /múhca/ (30) Me-óhca /móhca/ 1PL.INC-search 1PL.EXC-search ‘We search.’ ‘We search.’ (b) If the stem vowel is /e/ then the /i/ or /e/ of the prefix vowel remains as the result and the stem vowel is dropped. (31) Di-ekér /dikér/ (32) Me-ekér /mekér/ 1SG-sit 1PL.EXC-sit ‘I sit.’ ‘We sit.’ When there is both a CV prefix and a VC prefix, e.g. a subject marker and an aspect/ mood marker, then the VC vowel rule applies first and the CV vowel rule applies following that. (33) Di-en-ok /dunok/ (34) Ri-em-ófij /rumófij/ 1SG-DUR-carry 3PL-IRR-help ‘I am carrying …’ ‘They intend to help.’ (c) The vowel /a/ has a special status. If either the CV prefix-final vowel or the stem-initial vowel is /a/, the result of the coalescence is always /a/. That is, the vowel /a/ overrides other vowels whether /a/ is the first or second vowel in the sequence. Accent remains in the same position in the word. (35) Di-agób … /dagób/ (36) Na-ófij /náfij/ (37) Me-áha /máha/ 1SG-strike 1DU.INC-help 1DU.EXC-put ‘I strike …’ ‘We two help.’ ‘We put.’ A less predictable rule for coalescence has to do with the prefix /i-/ ‘2PL’. When /i-/ is added to /a/ stems, such as agób ‘strike’, it is realized phonetically as [yagób] ‘2PL-strike’. If /i/ is added to /o/ stems, such i-of ‘2PL-cut.down’, then /i/ is realized as [y] and the /o/ is raised to /u/, as in [yuf]. When added to /e/ stems, as in ekér ‘sit’, /i/ remains and the verb is phonetically [ikEr]. 50 Chapter 2

When an object clitic (§4.1.2) is added to transitive verbs that have the root-final vowel /a/, the clitic vowel and the root vowel coalesce as /e/. If the vowels are similar, then one of the two vowels elides, as in (39). The vowels /e/ and /o/ are not attested root-finally on transitive verbs. Occurrences of root-final /u/ are few and do not coalesce with a clitic vowel, as shown in (40). Accent remains in the same position. (38) Eska-id /ésked/ (39) Edi-ib /edib/ (40) Ohú-ib /ohúib/ bite-1SG strike-2SG sell-2SG ‘It bit me.’ ‘He/she struck you.’ ‘He/she sold you.’ The speaker attitude clitics a, i and o (§11.5) and the interrogative clitic ei (§11.3) do not coalesce. They simply replace any preceding root-final vowel. If the word-final vowel is accented, it is not maintained when replaced by a clitic, hence the example in slant lines in (42) does not exhibit an accented syllable. (41) Bi-osok méga-o /mégo/ (42) En-eita mat gurú-i /guri/ 2SG-climb tree-ENT DUR-get food not-PRO ‘Climb the tree.’ ‘Why didn’t you get food?’ The rule mentioned above does not hold with vowel + consonant clitics. For example, when the pluralizer enclitic -ir (§4.1.2) is added to a word root that ends with a vowel, the initial /i/ of the pluralizer coalesces with the final root vowel, as in efesa-ir /efeser/ ‘children’. Likewise, when the nominalizer prefixes ke- and si- (§4.4) combine with spatial deictic clitics, which begin with vowels, the vowels at the morpheme boundary coalesce, as in ke-unj /konj/ ‘that yonder’ and si-if /sif/ ‘here’.

2.6.3 Nasal assimilation The perfective aspect infix , a nasal, is inserted before the first consonant of the stem and assumes the point of articulation of the consonant it precedes. (43) et vs et /ent/ eat eat ‘He/she eats.’ ‘He/she had eaten.’ (44) oku vs oku /ongku/ flee flee ‘He/she flees.’ ‘He/she had fled.’ (45) ofij vs ofij /omfij/ help help ‘He/she helps.’ ‘He/she had helped.’

2.6.4 Sample paradigms showing morphophonemic processes Tables 6–8 provide examples of the morphophonemic changes that take place when verb stems are marked by the affixes described earlier. The resultant phonemic/ orthographic forms are shown between slant lines.

Phonology and morphophonemics 51

Table 6 (2 charts): Changes on stem-initial /e/ vowels shown for the verb et ‘eat’

Person/Number Stem + DUR en- + MODE em- 1SG di-et /dit/ di-en-et /dinet/ di-em-et /dimet/ 2SG bi-et /bit/ bi-en-et /binet/ bi-em-et /bimet/ 3SG O-et /et/ O-en-et /enet/ O-em-et /emet/ 1DU.INC na-et /nat/ na-en-et /nanet/ na-em-et /namet/ 1DU.EXC ma-et /mat/ ma-en-et /manet/ ma-em-et /mamet/ 2/3DU ge-et /get/ ge-en-et /genet/ ge-em-et /gemet/ 1PL.INC mi-et /mit/ mi-en-et /minet/ mi-em-et /mimet/ 1PL.EXC me-et /met/ me-en-et /menet/ me-em-et /memet/ 2PL i-et /it/ i-en-et /inet/ i-em-et /imet/ 3PL ri-et /rit/ ri-en-et /rinet/ ri-em-et /rimet/

Person/Number + PERF + INST er- 1SG di-et /dint/ di-er-et /diret/ 2SG bi-et /bint/ bi-er-et /biret/ 3SG O-et /ent/ O-er-et /eret/ 1DU.INC na-et /nant/ na-er-er /naret/ 1DU.EXC ma-et /mant/ ma-er-er /maret/ 2/3DU ge-et /gent/ ge-er-et /geret/ 1PL.INC mi-et /mint/ mi-er-et /miret/ 1PL.EXC me-et /ment/ me-er-et /meret/ 2PL i-et /int/ i-er-et /iret/ 3PL ri-et /rint/ ri-er-et /riret/

Table 7 (2 charts): Changes on stem-initial /o/ vowels shown for the verb ok ‘carry’

Person/Number Stem + DUR en- + MODE em- 1SG di-ok /duk/ di-en-ok /dunok/ di-em-ok /dumok/ 2SG bi-ok /buk/ bi-en-ok /bunok/ bi-em-ok /bumok/ 3SG O-ok /ok/ O-en-ok /onok/ O-em-ok /omok/ 1DU.INC na-ok /nak/ na-en-ok /nanok/ na-em-ok /namok/ 1DU.EXC ma-ok /mak/ ma-en-ok /manok/ ma-em-ok /mamok/ 2/3DU ge-ok /gok/ ge-en-ok /gonok/ ge-em-ok /gomok/ 1PL.INC mi-ok /muk/ mi-en-ok /munok/ mi-em-ok /mumok/ 1PL.EXC me-ok /mok/ me-en-ok /monok/ me-em-ok /momok/ 2PL i-ok /yuk/ i-en-ok /inok/ i-em-ok /imok/ 3PL ri-ok /ruk/ ri-en-ok /runok/ ri-em-ok /rumok/

52 Chapter 2

Person/Number + PERF + INST er- 1SG di-ok /dungk/ di-er-ok /durok/ 2SG bi-ok /bungk/ bi-er-ok /burok/ 3SG O-ok /ongk/ O-er-ok /orok/ 1DU.INC na-ok /nangk/ na-er-ok /narok/ 1DU.EXC ma-ok /mangk/ ma-er-ok /marok/ 2/3DU ge-ok /gongk/ ge-er-ok /gorok/ 1PL.INC mi-ok /mungk/ mi-er-ok /murok/ 1PL.EXC me-ok /mongk/ me-er-ok /morok/ 2PL i-ok /yungk/ i-er-ok /irok/ 3PL ri-ok /rungk/ ri-er-ok /rurok/

Table 8 shows all possible morphophonemic changes with regard to stem-initial /a/ vowels. Some homophonous forms occur, i.e. 1PL.INC mi-áha ‘we put’, ma-aha 1DU.EXC-put ‘we (inclusive) two put’ and me-áha 1PL.EXC-put ‘we (exclusive) put’.

Table 8 (2 charts): The effect of the stem vowel /a/ from áha ‘put/place’ on prefix vowels

Person/Number Stem + DUR en- + MODE em- 1SG di-aha /daha/ di-en-aha /dinaha/ di-em-aha /dimaha/ 2SG bi-aha /baha/ bi-en-aha /binaha/ bi-em-aha /bimaha/ 3SG O-aha /aha/ O-en-aha /enaha/ O-em-aha /emaha/ 1DU.INC na-aha /naha/ na-en-aha /nanaha/ na-em-aha /namaha/ 1DU.EXC ma-aha /maha/ ma-en-aha /manaha/ ma-em-aha /mamaha/ 2/3DU ge-aha /gaha/ ge-en-aha /genaha/ ge-em-aha /gemaha/ 1PL.INC mi-aha /maha/ mi-en-aha /minaha/ mi-em-aha /mimaha/ 1PL.EXC me-aha /maha/ me-en-aha /menaha/ me-em-aha /memaha/ 2PL i-aha /yaha/ i-en-aha /inaha/ i-em-aha /imaha/ 3PL ri-aha /raha/ ri-en-aha /rinaha/ ri-em-aha /rimaha/

Person/Number + PERF + INST er- 1SG di-aha /dangha/ di-er-aha /diraha/ 2SG bi-aha /bangha/ bi-er-aha /biraha/ 3SG O-aha /angha/ O-er-aha /eraha/ 1DU.INC na-aha /nangha/ na-er-aha /naraha/ 1DU.EXC ma-aha /mangha/ ma-er-aha /maraha/ 2/3DU ge-aha /gangha/ ge-er-aha /geraha/ 1PL.INC mi-aha /mangha/ mi-er-aha /miraha/ 1PL.EXC me-aha /mangha/ me-er-aha /meraha/ 2PL i-aha /yangha/ i-er-aha /iraha/ 3PL ri-aha /rangha/ ri-er-aha /riraha/

Phonology and morphophonemics 53

2.7 Reduplication In this section I discuss the kinds of phonological alterations that take place when a reduplicative morpheme is added to a root.13 The grammatical function of reduplication will be discussed in §4.2.12. A minimal base that can be reduplicated is a one-syllable root. Non-minimal reduplicative bases are two and three-syllable roots. The reduplication of four-syllable roots is not attested. A reduplicative base is most commonly a verb, including the subclass of adjectival verbs. A few other categories, such as demonstrative pronouns, the temporal noun móná ‘time’, the locative adverb súma ‘there’ and the numeral egéns ‘one’ can function as reduplicative bases (§4.2.12.6). Reduplication is total, as attested in the reduplication of one-syllable roots (§2.7.3) and two-syllable roots (§2.7.4). However, due to phonological constraints at the base/reduplicant juncture of most polysyllabic roots, partial copying of phonological material occurs as well. Reduplication of verbal bases expresses iterativity, durativity and intensity. Reduplication of the temporal noun, the locative adverb and the numeral ‘one’ expresses indefiniteness. The process and function of reduplication among other languages of the East Bird’s Head (e.g. Sougb, Hatam, Moskona and Mpur) is generally similar to that of Meyah. Reduplicated nouns hardly occur in these other languages. While reduplication is productive in Meyah, it is said to be less significant in Hatam (Reesink 1999) and Mpur (Odé 2002).

2.7.1 Constraints on reduplication The addition of a reduplicative morpheme to a root in Meyah is subject to normal word formation rules involving affixes and roots. The addition of prefixes and clitics in §2.6 was shown to involve vowel assimilation, vowel coalescence and vowel harmony. With Meyah reduplication processes, the addition of a reduplicative morpheme to a root involves deletion of phonological material due to violations of constraints on certain kinds of vowel and consonant sequences. McCarthy and Prince (1995:12, 41, 78) claim, ‘In the domain of input- output faithfulness, incompleteness is phonological deletion’. With Meyah reduplication processes, phonological constraints force the deletion of illicit segments until a valid sequence is achieved, as the formula in §2.7.5 illustrates. Phonological alteration is ‘parallel’, meaning that either the base or the reduplicant provides an environment that can impose phonological change on the other. This allows for the best possible satisfaction of the constraint on vowel or consonant sequences. The effect makes the reduplicant more closely resemble the base. However, the correspondence between a base and its reduplicant in Meyah is not always exact because, as McCarthy and Prince (1995:81) point out, identity is subordinate to phonological constraints, as the data to follow will show. Other kinds of inflectionals, such as subject, aspect and mode prefixes with their associated morphophonemic rules, apply after reduplication has taken place.

2.7.2 Reduplication rules Meyah reduplicative bases generally have root-initial vowel onsets because reduplication involves mainly verbs. The root-final syllable is either open or closed. Thus

13 Croft (1990:75) asserts that reduplicants share features with independent morphemes in that they represent continuous pieces of phonological material and are outside the foot. 54 Chapter 2 the canonical syllable structure of a reduplicative base is most commonly VC(V). Because phonological material can be lost from both the base and the reduplicant, it is not easy to tell if the reduplicant is prefixal or suffixal. However, considering that Meyah is predominantly a prefixing language, my assumption is that the reduplicative morpheme is a prefix. There are four basic rules that apply: a. The kinds of vowel sequences that develop as a result of reduplication are illicit. Therefore, when a VCV base is reduplicated as VCV-VCV, it is the final V of the reduplicant that is deleted, as in obu > obobu ‘strike repeatedly’. b. When a VCVCV base is reduplicated, the final V of the reduplicant and the initial V of the base are deleted, as in ejeka > ejek-jeka ‘ask repeatedly’. c. When a VCVC base is reduplicated, the initial V of the base is deleted, as in orúg > orúg-rúg ‘bright orange’. d. Consonant sequences can also develop as a result of vowel deletion. Some of those sequences, such as /fn/ in enefa > enef-nefa ‘sneeze repeatedly’ are valid. Some sequences, such as /nr/ of ereni > *eren-reni are not valid. In that case, the C of the base or reduplicant is also deleted resulting in a valid VC sequence, as in /er/ of ere-reni ‘try hard’. A simpler explanation that accounts for a large number of reduplicative forms is that a CV(C) reduplication template seeks its material from right to left. In (46) the copied material is shown in parenthesis and the realized form is in brackets. (46) o(bú) → o-bú-bú [obúbú] ‘hammer repeatedly’ o(tút) → o-tút-tút [otútút] ‘laugh repeatedly’ e(téb) → e-téb-téb [etébtéb] ‘very large’ Whether seeking material from right to left, or left to right, this type of partial reduplication does not explain a number of other forms, such as those shown in brackets in (47). Those forms can only be explained if reduplication is total and the illicit vowel sequences are deleted, as shown in §2.7.3–§2.7.5. In the examples below, an asterisk indicates invalid forms generated by a CV(C) reduplication template. The valid forms are in brackets. (47) e(fá) → *e-fá-fá [efefá] ‘suck strongly’ é(ra) → *é-ra-ra [éréra] ‘use repeatedly’ déi(ka) → *déi-ka-ka [déikéika] ‘even more’ ágos(ká) → *á-gos-ka-ká [ágosgoská] ‘scratch continuously’ e(rís) → *e-rís-rís [erírís] ‘cut repeatedly’ ere(ní) → *e-reni-ní [ereneni¤] ‘try repeatedly’ In addition, items that have consonant clusters at syllable boundaries never display what could be considered CV(C) reduplication. (48) eb(gá) → *ebgá-gá [ebgebgá] ‘tear repeatedly’ os(ká) → *oská-ká [oskoská] ‘very bad’ eréj(gei) → *eréjgei-gei [eréjgéjgei] ‘ask repeatedly’

Phonology and morphophonemics 55

The difference between the two processes is purely phonological as there are no semantic senses or syntactic features that are signaled by the kind of reduplication that takes place. Although CV(C) reduplication can account for a number of forms, total reduplication with deletion of illicit material can account for all reduplicative forms, as illustrated in the sections that follow.

2.7.3 Reduplication of monosyllabic bases A minimal reduplicative base is one syllable, always a closed syllable (VC). The base totally reduplicates with no loss of segments since reduplication does not violate any constraints on vowel or consonant sequences. (49) ah → ah-ah ‘lie down continuously’ éb → éb-éb ‘fry continuously’ ef → ef-ef ‘shoot repeatedly’ óg → óg-óg ‘stare’

2.7.4 Reduplication of disyllabic bases Reduplicative disyllabic bases are most commonly V.CV and VC.CV structures. When these bases reduplicate an illicit VV sequence is produced at the base and reduplicant juncture. Meyah vowel sequences (§2.3.1) always involve a high vowel and a non-high vowel (except for sequence /ui/). They must also differ in their degree of frontness or backness. The sequence /ou/ is the only exception to this latter rule. Reduplication of those bases produces geminate sequences, as in (50), or mid vowel plus low vowel sequences, as in (51), both of which are illicit. Thus the V of the reduplicant is deleted. Although the /uo/ sequence in the last example of (51) matches the requirement for a high and low vowel sequence, it does not differ in degree of backness, so it is also an illicit sequence. Meyah also appears to be developing another way of preventing illicit vowel sequences in reduplications through epenthesis (see §2.7.8). (50) áksa → *áksa-áksa → áks-áksa ‘very tall’ ága → *ága-ága → ág-ága ‘weave continuously’ (51) oská → *oská-oská → osk-oská ‘very bad’ éra → *éra-éra → ér-éra ‘use continuously’ efá → *efá-efá → ef-efá ‘suck repeatedly’ óbu → *óbu-óbu → ób-óbu ‘hammer repeatedly’ When a V.CVC base is reduplicated, the initial V of the base is deleted. With this kind of reduplicative base, consonant sequences that develop at the base-reduplicant juncture after vowel deletion has taken place are always valid and so no further deletions are necessary. See §2.3.2 concerning the kinds of consonant sequences that are allowed. (52) orúg → orúg-rúg ‘very yellow’ ejér → ejér-jér ‘force repeatedly’ éres → éres-res ‘spray continuously’ óroh → óroh-roh ‘rub repeatedly’ 56 Chapter 2

2.7.5 Reduplication of trisyllabic bases Trisyllabic reduplicative bases have an open syllable structure V.CV.CV. As expected, reduplication violates a constraint on vowel sequences at the base-reduplicant juncture. However, with trisyllabic bases both vowels of the illicit sequence are deleted. (53) ejéka → ejék-jéka ‘ask repeatedly’ enéfa → enéf-néfa ‘sneeze repeatedly’ ówosa → ówos-wosa ‘very painful’ oróisa → oróis-róisa ‘flow continuously’ When the deletion of a segment leads to yet another illicit structure, then the higher ranked prosodic shape constraints will force further adjustments, i.e. further deletions (see Spaelti 1997:72; McCarthy and Prince 1995:90). With Meyah reduplication, the deletion of vowels can lead to illicit consonant sequences. In this case the C of the base is also deleted. The third example in (54) shows that two Cs of the base are deleted due to an additional violation of constraints on consonant sequences. (54) Base Deletion Reduplicant-base erení erení erení ere-rení ‘try hard’ ágoská a¤goská ágoská ágosk-oská ‘shake strongly’ eskembá eskembá eskembá ekemb-embá ‘many kinds’ osurú osurú osurú osur-urú ‘very insane’ ébah ébah ébah ébah-ah ‘very raw’ ofóg ofóg ofóg ofóg-óg ‘very sharp’ déika déika déika déik-éika ‘over and over’ toumná toumná toumná toumn-oumná ‘very visible’ The formula below illustrates the multiple deletion process using a root with an open syllable structure syllabified as V.CV.CV, which is the most common syllable structure of Meyah reduplicative bases.

V C V C ←→ V C V C V → V C V C – V C V

(0) (0) (0)

2.7.6 Reduplication and vowel sequences As noted in §2.3.1, the /i/ and /o/ of a [-high] with [+high] vowel sequence are analyzed as the consonantal approximants [y] and [w]. Support for this analysis can be seen when the glides occur intervocalically as a result of reduplication. If the segments were analyzed as vowels in a reduplicated word, then the rule governing VCV roots in §2.7.4 would apply. The result would be eféi > *efe-féi and odou > *odo-dou. The realization of the segment as a vowel would also produce an illicit vowel sequence, therefore two vowels would be deleted. When the glides are analyzed as approximants, the result is the word shape V.CVC, hence the rule in §2.7.4. The result is eféi > eféy-éi ‘very wet’ and odou > odow-ou ‘reject/refuse’. Other examples are:

Phonology and morphophonemics 57

(55) Base Deletion Reduplicant-Base ejéi ejéy ejéi ejéy-éi ‘argue strongly’ ágei a¤gey agei ágey-ei ‘grab/hold repeatedly’ ereyá ereyá ereyá erei-reyá ‘very satisfied’ The third example in (55) shows that the intervocalic position of the glide has been removed as a result of reduplication, hence the glide is interpreted as a vowel and no consonants are deleted. Since the approximants [w] and [y] are realized in intervocalic positions, they do not occur in sequence with other consonants, unless as a result of reduplication. However, the reduplication process reveals that they cannot occur in sequence with another consonant since they force the deletion of the consonant they precede. This is further evidence for their status as approximants.

2.7.7 Reduplication of CV(C) roots Only a few CV(C) bases undergo reduplication, such as the demonstratives kéf ‘here’, kóma ‘there’ and kónj ‘over yonder’ (see §4.4.3). (56) Base Deletion Reduplicant-base kéf kéf-kéf ké-kéf ‘this!’ kóma kóma-kóma kó-kóma ‘that!’ kónj kónj-kónj kó-kónj ‘that yonder!’

2.7.8 Reduplication with nasal epenthesis Another way that Meyah reduplicates words is by inserting the nasal /m/ between the base and the reduplicant. McCarthy and Prince (1993) refer to this as morpheme edge epenthesis because it is external to the root. In addition, the epenthesis does not derive its material from the root. However, this kind of reduplication is not productive and is only attested in a small number of words. The example áksa ‘tall’ in (57) can also be reduplicated according to the regular process discussed in §2.7.4. The other two examples only reduplicate with the epenthetic /m/. (57) áhah ‘breathe’ áhah-m-áhah ‘pant’ áksa ‘tall’ áksa-m-áksa ‘very tall’ óufa ‘good’ óufa-m-óufa ‘really good’ A small number of examples from natural texts show only partial reduplication of adjectival verb bases with morpheme edge nasal epenthesis. Regular deletion rules for illicit vowel and consonant sequences at the base-reduplicant juncture do not apply. Instead it appears that the final VCV sequence is copied and the epenthetic nasal /m/ is inserted at the morpheme edge, which results in a CVCV structure.14 The other examples in (58) show that the epenthetic /m/ and the reduplicant (or base) are becoming reanalyzed as an intensifier morpheme, as suggested in parentheses in (59).

14 Marantz (1982:438) and Burquest (1998:290) provide evidence showing that sequences that do not form a prosodic unit can be copied. I do not have enough examples to make a definitive statement regarding the copying of a non-prosodic sequence in Meyah. 58 Chapter 2

(58) ériaga ‘weak’ ériaga-m-aga ‘very weak’ eskéira ‘healthy’ eskéira-m-éira ‘very healthy’ ofráha ‘blue’ ofraha-m-aha ‘bright blue’ tenten ‘true’ tenten-m-en ‘very true’ (59) onkóska ‘beautiful’ onkóska-m-oka (onkoska-moka) ‘very beautiful’ aharuká ‘straight’ aharuk-m-oka (aharuka-moka) ‘very straight’

2.7.9 Syllable repetition A few bases, such as the preposition in (60) and the exclamations in (61), (62) can be repeated (REP) twice as part of the phonological unit. They do not appear to be subject to normal reduplication rules. The repetition of the preposition expresses a continuous state. The repetitions of the exclamations express intensity. (60) Mowa edi gij-ij-ij beda moworu sun strike in-REP-REP then afternoon. ‘The sun blazed on (us all day long), then it was afternoon.’ (61) Ou-ou-ou asok-if ej-agei ri-osnok egema ou-REP-REP girl-this INCEP-grab 3PL-person other ‘Oh! This girl is beginning to grab/hold other people.’ (62) Ei-ei-ei i-oideka montoj-o hey-REP-REP 2PL-block door-EMP ‘Hey, block the door!’

2.7.10 Roots that are inherently reduplicated There are a number of verbs that appear to be inherently reduplicated forms in that they do not occur as unreduplicated forms. As expected, they express intensity, repetition or continual action. (63) ofof (of-of) ‘run’ eséiséifa (eséi-séifa) ‘lost’ oduíduí (oduí-duí) ‘increasingly’ ofokok (ofok-ok) ‘tiny’ ofonon (ofon-on) ‘large’ ofóukóu (ofóu-kóu) ‘many’ ogúgúr (ogú-gúr) ‘noisy’ (non-human)

2.7.11 Incorporation of Indonesian reduplication patterns A number of examples from natural texts show full reduplication of a polysyllabic base with no vowel deletion or nasal epenthesis affecting the base-reduplicant juncture.15 This is

15 I am not sure how the Indonesian reduplicated form tulis-menulis ‘write continuously’ would be adapted into Meyah by ebe- (§2.8), if they would adapt it at all. Hence, further work is needed on the topic of loan word marking.

Phonology and morphophonemics 59 most likely a functional borrowing from Indonesian reduplication. The reduplication construction in both Meyah and Indonesian expresses indefiniteness. (64) Meyah Indonesian súma-súma mana-mana ‘wherever’ toga-toga lain-lain ‘various’ móna-móna kapan-kapan ‘whenever’ egéns-egéns satu-satu ‘each one’ déci-déci pelan-pelan ‘very slow’ toutou-toutou diam-diam ‘very quietly’ ojgomuja-ojgomuja terus-terus ‘on and on’

2.8 Phonological adaptation of Indonesian loan words Meyah phonologically adapts Indonesian verbs and adjectives by marking the loan word with the VCV prefix ebe- ‘loan’. Many Indonesian verbs and adjectives have a root-initial consonant. The addition of the Meyah VCV prefix produces a prosodic word shape that is consistent with the shape of Meyah verbs. However, contrary to normal processes, coalescence between the final vowel of the loan word prefix and the root-initial vowel of loan word does not occur. Thus a normally illicit vowel sequence, such as /eu/, is allowed. Stress placement on the loan word is maintained. See §4.2.11 for examples of the kinds of verbs that take the loan-word prefix. 3 A summary of Meyah morphological typology

3.0 Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader an overview of the morphological processes involved in Meyah word formation so that the forms described throughout this work will be more easily understood. Definitions of the kinds of morphological units that Meyah uses are also provided in this chapter. The next chapter will give the criteria for identifying word classes.

3.1 Morphological processes Morphological processes in verb formation show Meyah to be an agglutinating language, as attested by forms such as di-agob-ir ‘1SGstrike-3PL’ or ‘I struck them’. As the example shows, the verbal affixes are clearly segmentable. Comrie (1989) explains that there are degrees by which units are ‘fused’ into single morphological shapes.1 Although verbal affixes in Meyah are segmentable, phonological alterations that take place in both the affix and the inflected verb root blur the morpheme boundary. Thus the morphemes of surface forms, such as duh ‘I sell’ and nah ‘we sell’, are not easily segmented without understanding the morphophonemic rules that change di-oh ‘1SG- hand.over’ into duh and na-oh ‘2DU.INC-hand.over’ into nah. Those rules are given in §2.6. Because the morphemes are still segmentable, the process of verb formation involves a low degree of fusional morphology. Croft (1990:40, 42) maintains that morphological typology can also be applied to different parts of a language (also see Anderson 1985:10). In Meyah, word classes such as pronouns, nouns, question words, numerals and conjunctions appear to be polymorphemic. However, the morphemes are no longer segmentable.2 Thus, these categories involve a high degree of fusional morphology, as explained below.

1 Bickel and Nichols (2001) refer to the degrees of fusion as ISOLATING > CONCATENATIVE > NONCONCATENATIVE. Concatenative is an alternate label for agglutinating. Nonconcatenative affixes are not segmentable into linear strings. 2 In Chapter 4 some of these forms are segmented to show diachronically the possible prefix that may have existed at one time. 60 Morphological typology 61

(1) Pronouns Free pronouns appear to have spatial determiner enclitics that are no longer segmentable. The first person pronouns all show what appears to be a near deictic clitic. The second and third person pronouns all show the remnant of a far deictic (see §4.1). Possessive pronouns were formed by what used to be a possessive prefix and a possessor verb root (see §4.1.3). (2) Alienable nouns The noun subclasses all show some degree of fusional morphology. Approximately 90% of alienable nouns begin with the consonant /m/, which appears to be the remnant of an alienable noun classifier prefix. However, the boundary between the prefix and the root is not clear (see §4.3.1). Inalienable kinship nouns also appear to have fused possessive prefixes, which vary depending on the original phonological shape of the root (see §4.3.5). Alienable nouns are also formed through nominal compounding when the generic noun mar ‘thing’ is juxtaposed with another noun. With a number of these kinds of compounds the two members have become fused as single lexical items (see §4.3.7). (3) Numerals Meyah numerals ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ appear to be formed by the addition of a numeral classifier prefix to a numeral stem. Three kinds of classifier prefixes can be roughly identified, but the boundaries between the prefixes and the numeral stems are not easily explained, thus segmentation is a matter of speculation (see §4.3.8). (4) Question words Although questions words are monomorphemic forms, there is some evidence that suggests several of the forms are derived from phonologically reduced phrases that have become single lexical items (see §4.8). (5) Conjunctions Meyah conjunctions are all monomorphemic forms. However, most show the phonological characteristics of being reduced fused phrases that involve the combination of the directional preposition ‘from’ with other stems (see §4.7). (6) Reduplicated verbs As shown in §2.7.10, non-segmentable reduplication mostly involves verbs in Meyah. The morphological process of reduplication results in phonological alteration of both the base and the reduplicative morpheme where segments and even whole syllables can be elided. This makes it difficult to distinguish the boundary between the reduplicative morpheme and the root (see §2.7). Some roots only occur as reduplicated forms, meaning the boundary between the reduplicative morpheme and the root has become fused. In summary, this section has shown that verbal affixes are segmentable but morpheme boundaries are often blurred by morphophonemic alterations between affixes and roots. The phonological properties of other word classes show some degree of morphological complexity, but morphemes are not for the most part segmentable. Some fossilized forms show evidence that they are reduced phrases. Thus, Meyah morphological typology can be categorized as agglutinating with varying degrees of fusion. 62 Chapter 3

3.2 Morphological units In the following sections the kinds of morphological units that Meyah uses will be defined and a basic description of their function will be given. Each unit will be discussed in more detail in their appropriate sections in the chapters to follow.

3.2.1 Lexical roots A basic unit of meaning in Meyah is a lexical root. As defined by Crystal (1997), a lexical root is the base form of a word that cannot be further analyzed. It consists of only one morpheme, which can be monosyllabic or polysyllabic and is a non-dependant form. It carries the main component of meaning in a word. A summary of the criteria used to define lexical classes in Meyah is given in §4.0. Lexical classes are also listed in this section for the purpose of convenience. Meyah lexical roots can be divided into two types: those that take inflectional morphology and those that do not, as shown in (7). Although the roots listed in the second column do not take affixes, they can act as a host to a few kinds of clitics. While pronouns show some fusional morphology they do not take any kind of inflection. As noted in §3.1, the numerals for ‘one, ‘two’ and ‘three’ are a special subclass of numerals that appear to have been complex forms at one time, hence some morpheme segmentation is suggested there. However, numeral roots above ‘three’ lack evidence for fused prefixes. Demonstrative pronouns and locative adverbials are derived forms that consist of a spatial deictic base plus a derivational prefix. (7) Roots that can be inflected Roots that are not inflected Nouns Pronouns Verbs Adverbs Numerals Prepositions Coordinators Subordinators Question words

3.2.2 Affixes Meyah affixes are a closed class of bound morphemes that are added to a root or stem. They have a fixed order within the word and they add grammatical information to the root. Meyah is predominantly a prefixing language utilizing six types of grammatical prefixes. Other kinds of affixes include one infix and one circumfix. The maximum number of affixes added to a root is three. Contrary to cross-linguistic assumptions for agglutinative languages (Payne 1997:48), Meyah does not utilize suffixes. One possible exception is the second member of the circumfix, which attaches to a verb root in the post-position. However, it is also possible that the second member of the circumfix is a clitic. Reduplication in Meyah (§2.7) involves leftward copying of the root template and expresses various aspectual categories or intensity in adjectival verbs. Hence I have included the reduplicant as a prefix in the list below. There are two prefixes that only function in deictic bases to derive demonstratives and locatives (see §3.3). Morphological typology 63

(8) Grammatical affixes

 Subject possessor prefix  Aspect prefix  Irrealis prefix  Instrument prefix  Reduplicant prefix  Aspect infix  Reciprocal circumfix

3.2.3 Clitics Meyah clitics are mostly unaccented forms that attach to noun and verb roots. They can also attach to phrasal constituents, such as adjectivals, adverbs, demonstratives and prepositions. Although their position is not fixed, there are some limitations as to where certain kinds of clitics can occur. There are enclitics that mark an object person. They are clearly derived from their free pronoun counterparts. There are two clitics that indicate dual and plural number on human nouns (with some exceptions). There are two modal clitics that only occur in the clause-final position. There are four mood clitics that indicate speaker attitudes. They mostly occur in an utterance-final position. The deictic bases if ‘here’, uma ‘there’ and unj ‘there yonder’ differ somewhat from the aforementioned clitics in that they are accented forms that can attach to a word or a phrasal constituent. They can also take the nominalizer prefixes ke- or si- and occur as independent accented words. The only proclitic is the form ai-, an intensifier. It can attach to hosts from several different word classes. The grammatical functions of Meyah clitics are discussed more fully in Chapter 4.

3.2.4 The word There is much to be found in the literature on criteria for wordhood. However, addressing the theoretical difficulties associated with distinguishing words from other morphological units is beyond the scope of this present study. Thus, in this section I will only provide a very general definition for wordhood with regard to Meyah. Words are phonologically and syntactically independent units. They may be morphologically complex or simple forms. They can govern or be governed by another word, such as a preposition governing a noun. Words are semantic units in that they can be uttered in isolation and have meaning. Meyah affixes and clitics could be uttered in isolation, but they would not express meaning. They only add meaning to words. Words can combine with other words in serial verb constructions to express single verbal meanings. They can also combine in compound constructions to express single nominal meanings, although serial verbs and compounds involve two prosodic units.

3.3 Derivational morphology Derivational morphology is not a highly productive feature of Meyah. Nouns and verbs are for the most part not derived from items of differing word classes. The only exception to this is the reciprocal circumfix em-ma on the kinship noun for ‘sibling’, which derives the ‘related’. Verbs can be derived from other verbs by the reciprocal 64 Chapter 3 circumfix to form reciprocal verbs. Meyah uses the adverbial elements keingg and joug (§4.5.7) in combination with different kinds of verbs to produce different verbal meanings. Some derivational morphology is employed with minor word classes. The nominalizer prefixes ke- and si- added to deictic bases are used to derive demonstrative pronouns and locative adverbials. The same prefixes can be added to the interrogative stem enefa to derive interrogative question words, such as ‘which’ and ‘where’ (§4.8). The quantifier stem gaho ‘how many’ requires a numeral classifier prefix to form quantity question words, although morpheme boundaries are not always clear. The prefix ju- on numeral classifiers (§4.3.8.4) derives numerators. The same prefix on the stem gaho derives a temporal question word. Finally, compounding (§4.3.7) is the process whereby roots of similar or differing lexical classes combine to form nominal or verbal meanings that function syntactically as single words. 4 Word classes

4.0 Introduction In the previous chapter I provided a summary of Meyah morphological typology and defined the kinds of morphological units that Meyah uses. This chapter describes the forms and functions of Meyah word classes. As an overview, I will first give the criteria used to distinguish different word classes. Firstly, major word class membership can be generally identified by the root-initial phoneme. Verbs only begin with a vowel and alienable nouns mostly begin with the consonant m-. Minor word classes, such as adverbs, demonstratives, locatives, question words, prepositions and conjunctions only begin with a consonant other than /m/. Secondly, word class membership can also be identified through morphological criteria. Only verbs can take a subject agreement prefix as well as other optional inflections. Nouns only receive one inflectional morpheme, which is the possessor prefix on inalienable nouns. The minor word classes do not receive inflections. There is some overlap between nouns and verbs. Inalienable nouns, like verbs, only begin with a vowel. They can also take verbal inflections and function predicatively when they occur as the subject of a complex verb that expresses emotional states (see §7.5.1.6). Another area of overlap involves adjectives and verbs. Lexical roots that denote physical properties and dimensions have a root-initial vowel as regular verbs do and they can be used as stative intransitive verbs. They can also occur as attributive modifiers in a noun phrase. Regular verbs, however, cannot function attributively unless they are expressed as a relativized form. Therefore, only syntactic criteria differentiate adjectives from verbs. I will begin with person deixis in §4.1 so that the Meyah language examples given throughout the chapter are more understandable. Then I will commence with the two major word classes verbs and nouns in §4.2 and §4.3, respectively. Demonstratives will be covered under the rubric of spatial deixis in general in §4.4. Following that, the small closed word classes will be discussed in §4.5–§4.8.

4.1 Person deixis Meyah personal pronouns are words used to refer to the speaker, the person spoken to or other persons presumably clear in the context (see Schachter 1985:25), in other words only to humans. Table 9 lists the pronominal forms found in Meyah. These forms distinguish three number categories: singular, dual and plural. The first person dual and plural categories demonstrate the opposition inclusive/exclusive. Meyah speakers do not make a gender distinction in the pronominal system. Consequently, the 3SG pronoun is glossed as 65 66 Chapter 4

‘he/she’ in the interlinear text examples. Emphatic pronouns can express the manner adverbial ‘alone’ or be used as an emphatic or a reflexive pronoun, depending on their syntactic position. They will also be discussed in this section because they also show a person/number distinction.

Table 9: Personal pronouns Free pronoun Prefix Clitic Possessive Emphatic 1SG didif di- -id dedin di-esinsa 2SG bua bi- -ib bebin bi-esinsa 3SG ofa Ø Ø Ø-efen Ø-esinsa 1DU.INC nagif na- -na nafnan na-esinsa 1DU.EXC magif/magef ma- -ma mafman ma-esinsa 2/3DU góga ge- -irga gegán ge-esinsa 1PL.INC mimif mi- -mi mifmin mi-esinsa 1PL.EXC memef me- -me mefmen me-esinsa 2PL í wa i- -i yeyín i-esinsa 3PL rúa ri- -ir rerín ri-esinsa

The free pronouns can be divided into two sets based on their morphological and prosodic properties. All first person pronouns have a root-final if, which appears to reflect the spatial deictic enclitic -if ‘this/here’. One minor exception is the 1PL.EXC pronoun, which ends in -ef.1 All of the first person pronouns, including singular, dual and plural forms do not have a pitch-accented syllable. All second and third person singular, dual and plural pronouns have the word-final vowel /a/, which could be a remnant of the reduced spatial deictic clitic -um(a) ‘that/there’. These are accented or unaccented forms as indicated in Table 9. In Meyah, deictic clitics added to nouns mark spatial orientation in relation to the speaker as the deictic center (see §4.4). They are also obligatorily added to existential verbs in presentative constructions (see §7.5.1.7). Thus, it is possible that they serve the same function on person pronouns. The possessive pronouns probably involve a subject prefix and the possessor verb root, efen ‘possess’. However, the morpheme boundaries are fused and the morpheme forms unclear. The emphatic pronouns, on the other hand, are more clearly polymorphemic forms composed of a subject prefix and an emphatic pronoun root. Verbs are obligatorily prefixed for subject or possessor and can stand alone as a complete sentence. Hence, free personal pronouns are optional. The free personal pronouns are used to focus on new participants in the discourse or to re-establish topic focus on participants mentioned earlier. For this reason, they often occur as pronominal subjects in topicalized constructions (see §11.6). Personal pronouns operate as subject, object or oblique arguments in prepositional phrases (1)–(5). They can occur as single-word utterances in answer to a question:

1 An alternate spelling of 1DU.EXC magif is magef. I hear Meyah speakers use both pronunciations. The latter pronunciation conforms to the ‘exclusive’ form used for the first person plural. Word classes 67

(1) Rua ri-en jeska monuh Meimas they 3PL-come from place Meimas ‘They came from Meimas village.’ (2) Ri-em-er-edi didif 3PL-IRR-INST-hit me ‘They will hit me with something.’ (3) Ofa tein agot gu rua ongga Meyah-ir he/she also say to they REL Meyah-PL ‘He/she also talked to the Meyah people.’ (4) Japang egens-egens ongga ri-eker rua ri-oksons Japan one-one REL 3PLsit they 3PL-return ‘As for the Japanese that had remained, each of them went back (to their home country).’ (5) Bua bera bi-en jeska ofa you TOP 2SG-come from him/her. ‘As for you, you came from him/her.’ The second person and third person dual pronouns share the same form goga ‘2/3DU’, thus it is not always clear in written texts which of the two person categories the form refers to. Context is needed to interpret which is correct. (6) Tina efesa Yulia jera Yeta goga tein ge-oitij rot but child Yulia with Yeta 2/3DU also 2/3DU-agree concerning ‘But her children Yulia and Yeta, they agreed to (that).’ (7) Di-ejeka goga ongga goga ge-odou eskeira-ei 1SG-ask 2/3DU COMP 2/3DU 2/3DU-liver clean-QU ‘I asked them, “Are you satisfied (lit. liver clean)?” ’ (Or, ‘I asked you if you were satisfied.’) A free may occur in possessive constructions with a possessive pronoun. Use of the pronoun is optional. (8) Di-agot mar osoka gij didif dedin ind-imowa 1SG-say thing about in I 1SG.POSS 1SG-grandparent ‘I am talking about my grandparents.’ (9) Rua rerin ri-ojga2 mebi-if monuh Munukwar they 3PL.POSS 3PL-origin ground-this place Manokwari ‘Their origin is from this place in Manokwari.’ Since a personal pronoun can function as a head of a noun phrase, it can also be determined by the demonstrative pronouns kef ‘this’ or koma ‘that’, or the universal quantifier nomnaga ‘all’. The use of a demonstrative pronoun with a personal pronoun marks the pronoun as emphatic. The determined pronouns are underlined in examples (10)–(13). As head nouns, pronouns can also take adjectives and relative clauses (see §5.1).

2 Like other inalienable nouns, the item ojga can function predicatively or be possessed (see §4.3.4). It differs from other inalienable nouns in that it is not a body-part noun. 68 Chapter 4

(10) Ri-efesij mar osoka meidu ecirej ofa ke-uma 3PL-tell thing jump what happen he/she NOM-that ‘They talked about what had happened to him/her.’ (11) Beda rua ke-uma ri-agot oida … then they NOM-that 3PL-say COMP ‘Then those people said …’ (12) En-agot mar gu didif ke-if nom-ei DUR-say thing to me NOM-this MOD-QU ‘Is he/she able to speak to me?’ (13) Eker rot rua nomnaga sit concerning they all ‘He/she waited for all of them.’ Although free personal pronouns already indicate number, they can be further specified for number by the use of numerals, which take a coreferential subject prefix.3 Only the 2/3DU and 3PL pronouns modified by a numeral are attested in the text corpus: (14) Goga ge-egeka tein ge-oira mofun efaga 2/3DU 2/3DU-two also 2/3DU-enter vine body ‘Those two also entered the jungle.’ (15) Rua ri-orgomu ri-eja jah mod they 3PL-three 3PL-go to house ‘Those three went to the house.’ Personal pronouns are not used when referring to animals. Normally the name of the animal is introduced with no explicit anaphoric pronominal reference made in subsequent clauses, as in (16). Informants say that a personal pronoun could be used to refer to a dog, as attested in (17). The first Meyah person is said to have come from a dog named Tibiyai (see §1.6) and the dog is referenced as ofa ‘he/she’ in oral traditions (Gravelle and Tibiyai 1991). This may explain why a dog is the only animal that can be referred to with the use of a personal pronoun. (16) Okub mek-uma beda agos esma gu mebi noba edebecki sons shoot pig-that then die fall to ground and rise return beda oku rot ogufu then flee concerning blood ‘He/she shot that pig then (it) died, fell to the ground, got back up and then fled bleeding.’ (17) Tina mes orka mek beda oku. Ofa ahafij gu mofrena. but dog bring pig then flee he/she cross.over to garden.plot ‘But the dog chased the pig then ran away. He/she crossed over to the unplanted garden.’

3 It is possible the pronoun prefixes on numerals are reduced relative clauses, such as rua ongga orgumu ‘they who are three’, although such phrases are not found in my text corpus. Word classes 69

4.1.1 Pronominal prefixes Pronominal prefixes are obligatorily used to mark the person and number of subject on all verbs. The same forms indicate the possessor on inalienable nouns. The prefixes are clearly related to the free pronouns since they include the first syllable of their free form counterparts. However, the 2SG and 3PL prefixes differ slightly from the free forms in that the final vowel has become a front high vowel, as shown in Table 9. The second and third person dual pronoun prefixes share the same free and bound forms and so are collapsed into ‘2/3DU’, as in (21). However, that prefix has a mid rather than front vowel. The reason for this difference is unexplained. (18) Di-en-esaga gij meren efembra 1SG-DUR-arrive in lake edge ‘I was arriving at the lakeshore.’ (19) Ri-en-eker gu memaga ofos deika guru 3PL-DUR-sit at mountain peak more NEG ‘They no longer live in the mountains.’ (20) Me-ecira me-aki ojgomuja 1PL.EXC-travel 1PL.EXC-foot continuous ‘We walked continuously.’ (21) Goga ge-eja dektek 2/3DU 2/3DU-go long.time ‘You/two should take your/their time.’ There is no subject prefix for the third person singular category. Therefore, 3SG is unmarked for subject on verbs and for possessor on inalienable body-part nouns. (22) Ofa eker gij efen monuh he/she sit in 3SG.POSS place ‘He/she stayed in his/her village.’ (23) Of montoj shut door ‘He/she shut the door.’ (24) Otkonu eyet ejmeg fob-i stomach glue back already-COMP ‘He is starving to death.’ (lit. ‘stomach stuck to back’)

4.1.2 Pronominal enclitics The free pronouns that function as objects can be substituted by a pronominal enclitic. The object enclitics resemble subject prefixes. However, the 1SG, 2SG and 3PL forms show a reversal with /i/ as the initial segment. Another exception is the 2/3DU enclitic. Instead of reflecting its subject prefix counterpart, it uses an obligatory 3PL -ir, which also functions as a pluralizer, plus the last syllable of the 2/3DU free pronoun goga, producing -irga ‘you/they.plural.two’. The prosodic properties of these clitics provide additional evidence of their relatedness to the subject pronouns. The first person free pronouns are unaccented forms as are the first person object clitics. The second and third person free pronouns are accented forms as are the second and third person object clitics. A third person singular 70 Chapter 4 object enclitic has not developed because there is no 3SG prefix to derive its form. Consequently, only the free 3SG pronoun is used as the pronominal object argument of a verb. (25) Ombug eja edi-mi jah marfenen Ombug go strike-1PL.INC at elephant.grass ‘Ombug went to attack us in the elephant grass.’ (26) Di-eita kermom efaga beda di-agob-ib 1SG-take iron body then 1SG-strike-2SG ‘I will take a metal bar and strike you.’ (27) Motu edemi-ir fogora ri-ahca night hide-3PL cause 3PL-sleep ‘The night hid them causing them to fall asleep.’ These object pronominal forms are considered to be clitics because they can be added to other phrasal constituents, such as prepositions and adverbs, in place of free pronoun /a/ as in (28)–(31). (28) Ofa agot gu-irga … he/she say to-2/3DU ‘He/she said to them …’ (29) Mebi ebga rot-id ground split concerning-1SG ‘The ground split open under me.’ (30) Mosiu eij mohkowu keingg-id Mosiu throw blanket ADV-1SG ‘Mosiu covered me with a blanket.’ (31) Ge-ejeka mar otoij-ib 2/3DUask thing follow-2SG ‘They had asked something after you (did).’ An object pronoun clitic can be used to indicate the experiencer of uncontrolled states or events, such as sickness, thirst and embarrassment, as shown in (32) (also see §7.5.1.8). (32) a. Maren-id sick-1SG ‘I am sick.’ b. Meifirna-ib shiver-2SG ‘You are cold.’ c. Mojen-mi embarrass-1PL.INC ‘We are embarrassed/ashamed.’ The 2/3DU object clitic -irga and the 3PL object clitic -ir are also used to indicate plurality on human nouns. The only non-human nouns that take the pluralizer clitics are dogs and pigs, possibly because of their cultural importance. Word classes 71

(33) Me-ohuj-irga ge-agot gu oida … 1PL.EXC-friend-2/3DU 2/3DU-say to COMP ‘Our two friends said to (someone) that …’ (34) Me-ona-ir me-ohca mar erek ke-uma 1PL.EXC-male-3PL 1PL.EXC-search thing like NOM-that ‘We men look for things like that.’ (35) Beda mes-ir-uma ri-osok then dog-PL-that 3PL-climb ‘Then those dogs went up.’ Although an obligatory subject prefix indicates number on human nouns, the nouns can still be pluralized by the 2/3DU and 3PL object pronoun clitics, as in the first example in (36) and (38). The second occurrence of 2/3DU in (36) is an object pronoun clitic. (36) Tina ge-ona-irga insa ge-eker-irga fob but 2/3DU-male-2/3DU.PL ANAP 2/3DU-sit-2/3DU already ‘However, the two men mentioned earlier had already sat (waiting) for them.’ (37) Di-oskotu ge-ojaga-irga ge-egeka-if 1SG-grip 2/3DU-female-2/3DU 2/3DU-two-this ‘I married (lit. grip) these two women.’ (38) Ri-ojaga-ir tein ri-eita mar erek ke-uma 3PL-female-3PL also 3PL-give/take thing like NOM-that ‘The women also did things like that.’

4.1.3 Possessive pronouns Possessive pronouns appear to include a subject agreement prefix. However, the boundary between the prefix and the pronoun is apparently fused, thus no longer segmentable. Subject prefixes on possessive pronouns in Sougb can still be separated from the pronoun (see Reesink 2002a:218). However, the Sougb prefixes differ from those used on other verbs. In Meyah, the pronouns function as pre-head noun modifiers in a possessive noun phrase (see §5.4.1). When a regular verb is not present in the clause, the possessive pronoun can function as a predicate (see §7.5.1.4). (39) Didif di-ei dedin mod I 1SG-build 1SG.POSS house ‘I built my house.’ (40) Eker gij efen mer efesi sit in 3SG.POSS room inside ‘He/she stayed in his/her room.’ (41) Rerin marfok tein adaij 3PL.POSS plant also enough ‘Their plants were also enough.’ 72 Chapter 4

4.1.4 Emphatic pronouns Emphatic pronouns, comprised of an obligatory subject prefix and an emphatic pronun, follow subject pronouns (42) or proper nouns (43), or are used alone (44), (45). (42) Rua ri-esinsa ri-odou ebriyi rot they 3PL-EMF 3PL-liver split concerning ‘They themselves understood (lit. liver split) concerning (that).’ (43) Saibis esinsa bera erek moruj Saibis 3SG.REF TOP like coral ‘As for Saibis himself, he has become a coral rock.’ (44) Ge-ot gu di-oka koisoisa erek di-esinsa 2/3DU-stand at 1SG-footprint correct like 1SG-EMF ‘You should follow my examples (lit. stand in my footprints) like I myself (follow other people’s examples).’ (45) Beda esinsa tein et egema then 3SG.REF also eat some ‘Then he/she him/herself ate some.’ Emphatic pronouns are compatible with the use of possessive pronouns (46): (46) Eker gij didif di-esinsa dedin mod sit in I 1SG-EMF 1SG.POSS house ‘He/she is staying in my own house.’ The form -iai may attach as a clitic to emphatic pronouns as a type of focus marker. The morpheme is probably derived from the manner adverb oskiai ‘a little’. It appears to increase the intensity expressed by the emphatic pronoun. The initial vowel of the clitic replaces the final vowel of the emphatic pronoun: di-esinsa-iai > [disinsiai] ‘only myself’. (47) Ma-osnok ma-egeka Yusuf jera didif bera 1DU.EXC-person 1DU.EXC-two Yusuf with me TOP ma-esinsa-iai ma-en jeska Meirenkei 1DU.EXC-EMF-INT 1DU.EXC-come from Meirenkei ‘As for we two people, Yusuf and I, only we came from Meirenkei.’ (48) Didif di-eker gu di-esinsa-iai I 1SG-sit at 1SG-EMF-INT ‘Only I remained alone.’ (49) Ofa esinsa-iai ejginaga rot mega ke-uma he/she 3SG.REF-INT know concerning tree NOM-that ‘Only he/she knows about that tree.’ Emphatic pronouns can also have a reflexive function when they are interpreted as being coreferential with another nominal (Schachter 1985:26). In Meyah, emphatic pronouns are used when the object of an active transitive verb is coreferential with the subject. The obligatory use of pronominal prefixes in emphatic pronouns cross-references the person and number of the subject. In (51) the object of the verb ok ‘carry/possess’ is omitted. Word classes 73

(50) Bi-eseda bi-esinsa jeska rua 2SG-separate 2SG-EMF from them ‘Separate yourself from them.’ (51) Merei ok fogora obu esinsa spirit carry cause strike 3SG.REF ‘A spirit possessed (him/her) causing him/her to beat himself/herself.’ The reflexive function occurs when the beneficiary or goal of an action is coreferential with the actor (52)–(54). (52) Ri-engk mat nou ri-esinsa 3PL-buy food for 3PL-EMF ‘They bought food for themselves.’ (53) En-eb meisoufa nou esinsa DUR-sew clothing for 3SG.REF ‘He/she sewed clothing for him/herself’ (54) Isok-uma odou efey rot esinsa guy-that liver liquid concerning 3SG.REF ‘That guy was worried (lit. liver liquid) about himself.’ When the pronouns occur as oblique arguments of the preposition gu ‘to, at’ they express the manner adverbial ‘alone’ or ‘only’ (55)–(57). (55) Bua bi-en-ah gu bi-esinsa guru you 2SG-DUR-lie.down to 2SG-EMF NEG You should not remain alone.’ (56) Ri-osiomu gij mei gu ri-esinsa 3PL-play in water to 3PL-EMF ‘They washed alone in the water.’ (57) Ri-ei mod egens gu ri-esinsa 3PL-build house one to 3PL-EMF ‘They built a house by themselves.’

4.1.5 Reciprocal pronoun moguma The pronoun moguma ‘each other (RECIP)’ occurs with stative verbs and expresses a mutual condition or attitude. (58) Ri-eskeira moguma 3PL-clean RECIP ‘They are pleased with each other.’ (59) Ri-odou oufa moguma 3PL-liver good RECIP ‘They are kind to one another.’ (60) Ri-osum oskusk moguma 3PL-face frown RECIP ‘They were disgruntled with each other.’ 74 Chapter 4

The reciprocal pronoun can also occur with a small number of active verbs expressing reciprocal action (61), (62). There are some examples in my text corpus of moguma functioning as an object reciprocal pronoun of transitive verbs (63). (61) Ri-agot moguma 3PL-say RECIP ‘They talked with each other.’ (62) Ge-esiri moguma gu mebera 2/3DU-fall RECIP to platform ‘They had sex together on the platform.’ (lit. ‘fell down together’) (63) Ge-oftuftu moguma 2/3DU-teach RECIP ‘They taught each another.’ The pronoun can indicate reciprocal actions that are expressed as whole clauses. (64) Ri-efesij mar ofoukou moguma 3PL-tell thing many RECIP ‘They discussed many things with each other.’ (65) Ri-ekeba efen meisoufa dogdog moguma 3PL-divide 3SG.POSS clothing one.by.one RECIP ‘They divided his/her clothing piece-by-piece with one another.’ (66) Ri-otunggom mar ongga oska moguma 3PL-make thing REL bad RECIP ‘They did things that were bad to each other.’

4.2 Verbs As I noted in §4.0, there are some significant morphological properties that distinguish verbs from other word classes in Meyah. One such property is their root-initial vowel, which is limited to /e/, /a/ and /o/. Another property is their inflectional possibilities. Verbs are obligatorily inflected for person and number of the subject and they can receive prefixes that indicate aspect, mode, instrument and reciprocal action. Finally, verbs can be reduplicated to express intensity, durativity or iterativity. Other word classes generally lack the properties just described, hence verbs are clearly distinguished as a separate word class.

4.2.1 Classes of verbs Meyah verbs can be divided into two types based mostly on syntactic criteria. Intransitive verbs take one core argument, a subject, whereas transitive verbs take two core arguments, a subject and an object. Intransitive verbs subdivide into three types: (a) regular intransitive verbs, which generally express processes, positions or activities; (b) adjectival verbs, which denote properties, such as dimension, age, color, value and speed; (c) quantifying verbs. There are two minor subclasses of transitive verbs. One is a type that can take clausal objects. The other is the verb eita ‘give/take’. There are also hybrid verbs in Meyah that are indeterminate as to their transitivity status: (a) posture verbs and motion verbs can take prepositional objects and be used like regular intransitive verbs, or they can take a direct object and operate as a transitive verb; Word classes 75

(b) emotional and physical state verbs are complex predicates that involve a body-part noun and a transitive or intransitive verb; (c) the copular verb erek is optionally used with adjectival verbs in stative clauses or with nominal predicates in equative clauses; (d) bodily function verbs are expressed through a variety of syntactic strategies depending on the function.

4.2.2 Intransitive verbs In this section, the three types of intransitive verbs are presented according to the order given in §4.2.1.

4.2.2.1 Regular intransitive verbs The only core argument associated with a regular intransitive verb is its subject. However, verbs are obligatorily inflected for subject agreement; subsequently the subject noun phrase argument is optional. Intransitive verbs mostly express processes or activities, such as ‘think’, ‘sing’, ‘sit’ and ‘run’. They are not used as attributive modifiers in a noun phrase except as relativized forms. (67) Examples of some regular intransitive verbs agebin ‘sink’ ofof ‘run’ agosuit ‘listen’ ogif ‘whistle’ ecira ‘walk’ ageb ‘lean’ ofc ‘blow’ ebisa ‘cry’ esiri ‘fall’ ogrogra ‘rattle’ The cause or reason for an event expressed by an intransitive verb is indicated by an oblique object, which is optional (68)–(70). (68) Ofa ebisa rot efen ef-esa he/she cry concerning 3SG.POSS 3SG-child ‘He/she cried for his/her child.’ (69) Ri-ecira rot mat 3PL-travel concerning food ‘They went to get food.’ (70) Bi-ogif nou ob-ahina 2SG-bow for 2SG-husband ‘Show respect for your husband.’ When regular intransitive verbs are modified by the adverbial adjuncts keingg or joug (see §4.5.7), they behave more like transitive verbs in that they can take an object. Thus they are, in a sense, derived transitive verbs. The forms keingg and joug are difficult to gloss. In the Sougb and Hatam languages, similar forms express ‘press’, but in Meyah they have lost their semantic content, hence they are labeled below for their grammatical function. The examples contrast unmodified intransitive verbs with the same verbs modified by keingg and joug. 76 Chapter 4

(71) Orogna vs Orogna keingg rua go.out go.out ADV them ‘He/she goes out.’ ‘He/she startled them.’ (72) Ofa eyajga vs Ofa eyajga joug montoj he/she watch he/she watch ADV door ‘He/she watches.’ ‘He/she guards the door.’ Intransitive verbs can express the resulting state of the causative verb otunggom ‘make/do’, as illustrated below. This is a case where a verb takes a direct object, but it only expresses intransitive states. Transitive verbs do not occur with otunggom in causative constructions. However, the object of otunggom can take a transitive complement, as in (75). (73) Otunggom ofa agos make him/her die ‘He/she caused him/her to die.’ (74) Ke-uma bera otunggom Wilem maren ekirsa NOM-that TOP make Wilem sick more ‘That made Wilem become sicker.’ (75) Ofa otunggom ri-osnok ri-et mou he/she make 3PL-person 3PL-eat taro ‘He/she made the people come down.’

4.2.2.2 Adjectival verbs Meyah adjectival roots have all the formal properties of verbs. Like other verbs, their root-initial phonemes are limited to a [-high] vowel. They are obligatorily marked for subject agreement. They take other inflectional categories that regular intransitive verbs take and they can be negated by a sentence final negative. They express stative notions that denote properties, such as value, dimension, age and colour (Dixon 1977). Therefore, it is difficult to argue for a separate adjectival word class. Instead, I treat them as a subclass of intransitive verbs. The examples in (76) show antonymic pairs of adjectival verbs. (76) oufa ‘good’ oska ‘bad’ aksa ‘long, tall’ estir ‘short’ ontumba ‘thick’ efebr ‘thin’ okum ‘heavy’ osufou ‘light’ ahta ‘black’ ebsi ‘white’ ofoj 4 ‘blunt’ ofog ‘sharp’ Adjectival verbs can be intensified through the process of reduplication as can regular intransitive verbs (see §2.7). Examples of intensified adjectival verbs are given below. (77) Manggera orug-rug papaya RED-yellow ‘The papaya is bright yellow.’

4 Forms accent pair with ofój ‘tip, point’. Word classes 77

(78) Meiteb ofog-og machete RED-sharp ‘The bush knife is very sharp.’ (79) Efen efaga eteb-teb 3SG.POSS body RED-large ‘His/her body is very large.’ Adjectival verbs occur as uninflected forms following a copular verb (§7.5.1.7). Regular intransitive verbs do not occur with a copular verb. (80) Bua bi-en-erek eteb enesi you 2SG-DUR-COP big NEG ‘You are not big yet.’ (81) Rua nomnaga tein ri-en-erek oska rot they all also 3PL-DUR-COP bad concerning ‘All of them were also angry about that.’ Syntactically, adjectival verbs are distinguished from regular intransitive verbs on the basis of their functionality as an attributive modifier in a noun phrase, optionally expressed in a relative clause. Regular intransitive verbs can only be used attributively in a noun phrase when they are expressed as relative clauses, as in (84). (82) Me-ohoda mekeni eteb 1PL.EXC-dismantle garden big ‘We cleared a big garden.’ (83) Efen ebirfeji estir 3SG.POSS hair short ‘His/her hair was short.’ (84) Ri-oforoka ongga efeinah … 3PL-child REL new ‘The children who are new …’

4.2.2.3 Quantifying verb Quantifiers are adjectival verbs that describe totalities, such as ‘all’ or they describe units, such as ‘a little’ or ‘some’ (Croft 1991:134). Meyah quantifiers are listed in (85). (85) Quantifiers ofoukou ‘many’ (pertains to the same item) eskemba ‘many’ (pertains to kinds of an item) efeda ‘many’ (pertains to plants items only) oskiai ‘a few/a little’ eneya ‘some’ nomnaga ‘all’ The first four quantifiers in (85) have the same verbal properties that adjectival verbs have. That is, their stem-initial vowel is limited to /e/, /a/ or /o/. They can be inflected for subject agreement, take aspect and irrealis prefixes, be intensified through reduplication 78 Chapter 4 and be negated by the negative adverb guru ‘not’. Hence, they can function as stative intransitive verbs, as in (86) and (87). (86) Ri-em-ofoukou deika si 3PL-IRR-many more STATUS ‘They will certainly increase.’ (87) Ri-osnok enjgineg ongga ri-oftuftu bera ri-oskiai 3PL-person other REL 3PL-teach TOP 3PL-few ‘As for other people who teach, they are few.’ The difference between ofoukou ‘many’ and eskemba ‘many’ is subtle. The term ofoukou appears to express an aggregate set of nouns taken as a whole, whereas eskemba appears to refer to subsets of a whole, as contrasted in (88)–(90). The quantifier efeda pertains to plants only, as in mofun efeda ‘vines many’ and mega efeda ‘trees many.’ (88) Ri-osnok ri-ofoukou vs Ri-osnok ri-eskemba 3PL-person 3PL-many 3PL-person 3PL-many ‘They are many people.’ ‘They are many kinds of people (clans).’ (89) Mat ofoukou vs Mat eskemba food many food many ‘There is much food.’ ‘There are many kinds of food.’ (90) Mes ofoukou vs Mes eskemba dog many dog many ‘There are many dogs.’ ‘There are many kinds of dogs.’ The quantifier oskiai expresses the notion ‘a little/a few’. It can take a human subject and be marked for subject agreement, as in (91), or remain unmarked when it takes a non- human subject, as in (92) and (93). The term oskiai also functions as an adverbial modifier in a verb phrase. (91) Rua ri-oskiai they 3PL-few ‘They are few.’ (92) Fifi oskiai money a.little ‘There is a little money.’ (93) Mat insa ke-uma oskiai food ANAP NOM-that a.little ‘That food is a small amount.’ The quantifier eneya ‘some’ also resembles verbs with its diagnostic root-initial vowel and obligatory subject agreement prefix. However, there are no examples found in the text corpus of eneya functioning as a main verb. It only occurs attributively in a noun phrase or as a head noun when the noun it modifies is omitted. See §5.4.5 on the attributive use of quantifiers. Examples of eneya are also given below for convenience. (94) Ri-osnok ri-eneya bera ri-odou emes-mesa 3PL-person 3PL-some TOP 3PL-liver RED-afraid ‘As for some people, they were very afraid.’ Word classes 79

(95) Ge-en-esma mar eneya guru 2/3DU-DUR-receive thing some NEG ‘They will not receive something.’ (96) Ri-eneya ongga esiri gu moroju 3PL-some REL fall on road ‘There were some (people) that had fallen on the road.’

4.2.3 Transitive verbs Meyah transitive verbs maximally take two core arguments, a subject and a direct object. Transitive verbs express actions, such as agob ‘strike’, obk ‘send’, agei ‘grab’, efen ‘trim’ and eita ‘take/give’. If the object of a transitive verb is understood or easily retrievable from the context, then it may be omitted, as in aha gij ‘put in’ and eita fob ‘give already’. It is more common to use the generic proform mar ‘thing’ when regular objects are unspecified. Examples of the different ways the core arguments of a transitive verb may be expressed are given in (97)–(99). (97) Mi-er-agob-ir 1PL.INC-INST-strike-3PL ‘We struck them with something.’ (98) Didif di-orka mou efej I 1SG-carry yam seed ‘I carry yam seedlings.’ (99) Mimef me-ef mar ke-uma beda me-et we 1PL.EXC-shoot thing NOM-that then 1PL.EXC-eat ‘We shot those things and ate (them).’ Verbs, such as ek ‘see’, eg ‘hear/listen’ and of ‘sing’, as well et ‘eat’ and ej ‘drink’, are also transitive verbs, in that they require an object argument. The object of the perception verbs ‘see’ and ‘hear’ can be an entire sentence, as in (104). (100) Ofa et mat fob he/she eat food already ‘He/she already ate food.’ (101) Ej mei drink water ‘He/she drinks water.’ (102) Ek mes tein see dog also ‘He/she also saw a dog.’ (103) Ofa of medemer he/she sing song ‘He/she sang a song.’ (104) Bi-ek Iturwam em-en noba okub meic … 2SG-see Iturwam IRR-come and pull dipper ‘When you see Iturwam come and he has pulled on the dipper …’ 80 Chapter 4

Transitive verbs of sight, hearing and smell can take clausal objects without the use of the complementizer oida (see §9.0). The objects in (105) through (107) are expressed as paratactic complements. It is also possible that the clausal objects are actually relative clauses with an omitted relativizer (see §8.7). (105) Ofa eg di-efesij mar ensis fob he/she hear 1SG-tell thing earlier already ‘He/she already heard me tell something earlier. ‘ (106) Ek ri-osnok ri-en skoita ofa see 3PL-person 3PL-come toward him/her ‘He/she saw people come towards him/her.’ (107) Ofa eg mat eset 5 he/she smell food cook ‘He/she could smell the food cooking over the fire.’

4.2.4 Reciprocal verbs 6 Meyah uses the derivational morpheme em-ma ‘RECIP’, a circumfix, as a morphological means to indicate reciprocity. The realized forms express different albeit related verbal meanings. A root final [a] usually becomes [E] when -ma attaches, as some examples in (108) show. A slight transitional [E] is also detectable when -ma is added to roots that end with a consonant.7 The suffixal member -ma might be a reduced form of the free pronoun moguma ‘each other’. However, the free pronoun never occurs in combination with em-. The neighboring Mpur language uses the morpheme -em, a suffix, to mark verbs as reciprocal actions.8 The first column in (108) lists the types of verbs that take the reciprocal circumfix. The second column lists related reciprocal verbs; all marked by the 3PL prefix ri-. Realized forms are in brackets. (108) ohoturu ‘gather’ ri-em-ohoturu-ma [rumohoturuma] ‘meet’ oskotu ‘grip’ ri-em-oskotu-ma [rumoskotuma] ‘marry’ ofof ‘run’ ri-em-ofof-ma [rumofofma] ‘race’ agob ‘strike’ ri-em-agob-ma [rimagobma] ‘fight’ ejeka ‘ask’ ri-em-ejeka-ma [rimejekema] ‘debate’ edi ‘hit’ ri-em-edi-ma [rimedima] ‘fist fight’ efeda ‘remorseful’ ri-em-efeda-ma [rimefedema] ‘reconcile’ okub ‘shoot gun’ ri-em-okub-ma [rimokubma] ‘fight with guns’ ekeba ‘divide’ ri-em-ekeba-uma [rimekebema] ‘separate’

Sibling kinship nouns can function as nominal predicates and take the circumfix em-ma to express the verb ‘related’. The sibling terms are the only kinship nouns that take the circumfix.

5 The verb eset is specific for ‘cook over a fire’. 6 A circumfix is a combination of a prefix and a suffix, sometimes referred to as an ambifix. 7 In Sougb (Reesink 2002a:198) citation forms are often given with a root-final /a/. When used in connected speech /a/ usually become [E]. 8 See Odé (2002:58). Word classes 81

(109) Ri-em-okora-ma [rumokorema] 3PL-RECIP-sibling-RECIP ‘They are (same sex) siblings with each other (or, related to one another).’ (110) Ri-em-eyesa-ma [rimeyesema] 3PL-RECIP-sibling-RECIP ‘They are opposite sex siblings with each other (or, related to one another).’ The circumfix can also be added to complex predicates that express emotional states, as in (111). It appears that the suffixal member of the circumfix (-ma) is not present when the emotional state predicate is negated, as in (112). (111) Ge-em-otkonu oska-ma memaga inda eja 2/3DU-RECIP-stomach bad-RECIP mountain above go ‘They were angry at each other up into the mountains away from here.’ (112) Ge-en-em-otkonu oska guru 2/3DU-DUR-RECIP-stomach bad NEG ‘They are not angry at each other.’ Although the prefix em- of the circumfix is homophonous with the irrealis prefix em- (see §4.2.9), it is a different morpheme. The irrealis em- cannot occur with the durative prefix en- on the same verb, whereas the reciprocal morpheme em- can (113). (113) Ri-en-em-oka-ma [runomokema] 3PL-DUR-RECIP-stomp-RECIP ‘They are dancing with each other.’ A further difference is that the reciprocal em- follows the instrument prefix er- when present, as in (114), whereas the irrealis em- precedes the instrument prefix (115). (114) Ri-ofof ri-er-em-etei-ma 3PL-run 3PL-INST-RECIP-resist-RECIP ‘They race (resist/compete against) each other.’ (115) Ri-era rerin yafin ri-em-er-edi rua ongga Meyah-ir 3PL-use 3PL.POSS spear 3PL-IRR-INST-hit they REL Meyah-PL ‘Using their spears, they would hit those who were Meyah.’

4.2.5 Ambitransitive verbs Some verbs in Meyah are indeterminate as to their transitivity status. That is, they can function without an overt agent as stative intransitive verbs or function with an overt agent as regular transitive verbs. These types of verbs are found in many languages, e.g. English ‘break’. They are attested in Papuan languages (Foley 1998:510) and in Austronesian languages, such as Kambera (Klamer 1998) and Tukang Besi (Donohue 1999). They are sometimes referred to as labile or middle verbs (Payne 1997:291). These types of verbs form a small set in Meyah. The examples below contrast their intransitive versus transitive use. Intransitive Transitive (116) Montoj ohoda Di-ohoda montoj door open 1SG-open door ‘The door opened.’ ‘I opened the door.’ 82 Chapter 4

(117) Mebi ekeba Ekeba mod ground break split house ‘The ground split open.’ ‘He/she divided the house in two.’ (118) Meiteb ageb Ageb meiteb machete bend bend machete ‘The machete is bent.’ ‘He/she bent the machete.’ (119) Mohona edemi Edemi mohona wife hide hide wife ‘His wife is hidden.’ ‘He hid his wife.’ Posture verbs, such as ah ‘lie down’, ot ‘stand’, eker ‘sit’ and ein ‘hang’, and motion verbs, such as eja ‘go’, en ‘come’, ojuj ‘descend’ and osok ‘climb/ascend’, are also a type of ambitransitive verb in that they can be used as intransitives or as transitives. Examples (120) through (123) show their use as regular intransitive verbs that occur with prepositional objects. (120) Mowodu eteb eker gij meg esta tree.kangaroo big sit in tree branch ‘The large tree kangaroo remained in the tree.’ (121) Ofa ek morogum ot gu mah he/she see clay.pot stand at fire ‘He/she saw the clay pot on the fire.’ (122) Ofa eja jah mebi Morum he/she go to ground Morum ‘He/she went to the Kebar area.’ (123) Ekergud ojuj jeska mega esta Ekergud descend from tree branch ‘Ekergud came down from the tree.’ The verbs increase in valency with the omission of the preposition allowing them to take an object argument. The objects can be humans, alienable nouns or locative nouns. The lack of a preposition does not appear to code any meaning difference. See aslo §7.6.9 on the use of posture verbs in complex predicates. (124) Menei insa ke-uma ah mokusmaga banana ANAP NOM-that lie.down reeds ‘The bananas are in the reeds.’ (125) Warmoda ot mou Warmoda stand yam ‘Warmoda stood on the yams.’ (126) Osok rot beda eker mod climb concerning then sit house ‘He/she climbed into (the house) concerning (something) then stayed in the house.’ (127) Eja mod go house ‘He/she went to the house.’ Word classes 83

(128) En rua come they ‘He/she came to them.’ (129) Ojuj mesiga descend ladder ‘He/she descended the ladder.’

4.2.6 Complex predicates A complex predicate is composed of constituent morphemes that function syntactically as a single unit, either a word or a phrase (see Foley 1997:355). A small number of verbal notions in Meyah are expressed through complex constructions. Their morphosyntactic properties will be discussed in §7.5. A list of the kinds of complex verbs Meyah uses is given here for convenience: a. Predicates that express emotional and physical states are comprised of a body- part noun plus a verb. The body-part noun always occurs as the subject of the verb, yet either constituent can receive verbal inflections. The units express single stative notions (see §7.5.1.6). b. Experientials, such as expressions for ‘hunger’, ‘thirst’ and ‘cold’, involve an inalienable noun causer, such as mosona ‘hunger’ or the generic noun mar ‘thing’, the verb en ‘come’ and a cliticized person pronoun as the experiencer. The unit is pronounced as one phonological word (see §7.5.1.8). c. Certain kinds of verbs can combine to express single complex events. The phonological and morphological properties of these kinds of verb sequences differentiate them from asyndetic coordination (see §7.6).

4.2.7 Overview of verb structure The grammatical categories aspect, irrealis, mode and instrument are inflectional morphemes that occur on Meyah verb roots. Reciprocity is also indicated morphologically on verbs by a derivational circumfix. The subject prefix is the only category that is obligatory on verbs. The perfective aspect prefix cannot occur with the irrealis mode prefix on the same verb, but it can occur with the inceptive aspect prefix. In addition, the inceptive aspect prefix can occur with an irrealis prefix. The instrument prefix can occur with aspectual and irrealis prefixes. The reciprocal action circumfix can occur with aspectual prefixes, but not with the irrealis prefix. The maximum number of affixes added to a root is four when counting the suffixal member of the circumfix. The order of inflections on a verb is given below. SUBJ (ASPECT or IRREALIS) (RECIP) (INST) ROOT (RECIP)

4.2.8 Aspect Languages commonly have a marked/unmarked opposition to indicate the aspectual categories perfective and imperfective on verbs (see Comrie 1976:21). In some languages perfective aspect is marked, while in other languages imperfective aspect is marked. When unmarked, the imperfective has a less specific interpretation, since it may or may not have 84 Chapter 4 imperfective meaning (Dahl 1985:75). In Meyah certain aspectual distinctions can be inferred in an unmarked verb, although the distinction may not be in focus within the discourse. Meyah uses various methods to code aspect in the clause or discourse. Aspect in Papuan languages is commonly indicated through serial verb constructions involving motion or posture verbs. It can also be expressed by adverbials, such as ‘continuous’ and ‘finished’, or it can be indicated through inflectional means (see Foley 1986:143–148, 1998:509). Meyah can indicate the aspectual categories perfective, inceptive and durative by means of inflection. Aspectuals primarily operate as focusing devices in discourse (Hopper 1983). In Meyah they are optional inflectional categories of the verb. Durative aspect can also be indicated through reduplication (§4.2.12.2). Iterative aspect is only indicated through the process of reduplication (§4.2.12.1). Meyah also uses some posture verbs and motion verbs, juxtaposed with the main verb, to indicate durative and inceptive aspect. The morphological properties of this type of construction show that it functions as a complex verb in the clause. In addition, aspect can also be indicated lexically through the use of aspectual adverbs that occur in the clause periphery. They specify activities that are habitual, progressive, continuous, repeated or completive. They will be discussed in §7.7.6. However, examples of inflectional aspect occurring in a clause with aspectual adverbs will also be given in this section for the purpose of contrast.

4.2.8.1 Perfective aspect infix An event expressed by a verb marked for perfective aspect can be viewed as a single whole. That is, the event has a beginning, middle and an end. There is no focus placed on the various phases that make up the event (see Comrie 1976:18–19). According to Dahl (1985) most languages indicate perfective aspect through inflectional means. Meyah is no exception. It expresses perfective aspect with the optional infix , an alveolar nasal in its unmarked form when preceding vowels. Before consonants it assimilates to the place of articulation of the consonant. Hence, possible realizations of the perfective infix are , or . When is added to a verb, other verbs in the discourse need not be marked by the infix if the perfective status is still in focus thus understood. Examples (130) to (135) contrast the use of with the same verbs not marked by . (130) Ri-et mat oisa ojgomu 3PLeat food finish only ‘They just ate all of the food.’ (131) Mek ekeni eteb et mou ke-uma nomnaga pig red big eat yam NOM-that all ‘A big red pig ate all of those yams.’ (132) Agus agot mar insa Agus say thing ANAP ‘Agus spoke about that.’ (133) Didif di-agot gu ona ke-uma efen me-eka tein I 1SG-say to male NOM-that 3SG.POSS 3SG-father also ‘I spoke to that man’s father, too.’ Word classes 85

(134) Ofa agob ri-osnok fob he/she strike 3PL-person already ‘He/she already struck/killed people.’ (135) Ofa agob Ikofoi he/she strike Ikofoi ‘He/she struck/killed Ikofoi.’ Use of the perfective infix in clauses that have a future time reference is common with clauses that occur in chronological sequence (see Hopper 1983:216). A second function of the perfective aspect infix in Meyah is to indicate which events are complete as opposed to events that are not complete when the clauses are in chronological sequence in sentences with future time reference. (136) Ri-ojaga-ir ri-eja ri-ebij fogora em-oisa 3PL-female-PL 3PLgo 3PLpull then IRR-finish beda ri-ona-ir ri-eja ri-ej-of mega then 3PL-male-PL 3PL-go 3PL-INCEP-chop.down tree ‘When the women have gone to the gardens and pulled weeds, then the men will go and begin chopping down trees.’ (137) Mimif mi-ek erek ke-uma fogora mi-ej-oku we 1PL.INCsee like NOM-that then 1PL.INC-INCEP-pull ‘After we have seen (the corn) like that, then we will start to pluck it.’ (138) Di-agos jeska tina iwa i-eita monuh ke-if 1SGdie from but you 2PL-take place NOM-this ‘After I die, you should take (possession) of this place.’ A third use of the perfective infix is to indicate that a temporary situation continues to be in effect for an undefined period of time. It says nothing about the beginning or end point. This function of the perfective infix occurs mainly with posture verbs involving animate subjects. (139) Gij mona ongga Beranda ofa eker ros … in time REL Dutch he/she sit still ‘As for the time when the Dutch were still living here …’ (140) Orogna keingg efer ongga ah gu mansu 9 go.out ADV off.spring REL lie.down at cave ‘He/she surprised a young (dog) that was lying at the hollow of a tree.’ (141) Tina Ejemes eker gu metrem but Ejemes sit at corn ‘However, Ejemes was sitting in the corn (field).’ A fourth use of the perfective infix is to indicate that a situation is complete and cannot be altered. This function is most common with the posture verbs ah ‘lie down’ and ot ‘stand’ when they occur with inanimate subjects.

9 The term mansu refers to caves, tree hollows, or any natural cavity. 86 Chapter 4

(142) Tina didif di-eja di-eker gu monuh owowa egens ongga but I 1SG-go 1SG-sit at place desolate one REL ah gij monuh Arab lie.down in place Arab ‘However, I went to live in an isolated place that is in Arabia. (Meyah New Testament, 1997, The Bible League).’ (143) Ri-eker jah mod ongga ot jah mog 3PL-sit at house REL stand at shore ‘They live in houses that are on the shoreline.’ (144) Rua bera erek mebsta ongga ah gu mei efembra they TOP like sand REL lie.down at water edge ‘As for them, they are like the sand that is on the shore.’ A fifth function is to indicate the beginning of an activity or indicate a change of state. The terms inceptive or inchoative are frequently used to describe this type of aspect (see Crystal 1997; Comrie 1976). Examples (145) and (146) show the perfective infix occurring on motion verbs indicating that the activity has begun. With this usage the perfective infix does not give information about the endpoint of the activity. (145) Ge-esa-irga ge-ecira sons jah monuh 2/3DU-child-2/3DU 2/3DUtravel return to place ‘The two children have left for their village.’ (146) Eja ojgomu jah memaga ofos inda eja go only to mountain point above go ‘He/she has left going up to the mountains away (from here).’ Examples (147) and (148) show the infix occurring in adjectival verbs indicating that a change of state or process has begun. (147) Ri-aha mega efaga fogora mebi ofog rara 3PLput tree body cause ground fertile entirely ‘They placed (rotting) logs (on the ground) causing the ground to become entirely fertile.’ (148) Mega ke-uma aksa gij fogora efek tree NOM-that tall in cause fruit ‘The growth (maturation) of trees caused them to bear fruit.’ Finally, a special use of the perfective infix is found in a construction involving a relative clause that is headed by the preposition nou ‘for’. The construction is used to indicate a type of inchoative aspect in the clause. The verb in this type of construction is commonly marked by the perfective aspect infix. It indicates that an activity is about to take place. (149) Ofa nou ongga agos he/she for REL die ‘He/she is about to die.’ (150) Nou ongga mi-eja mi-ebij metrem for REL 1PL.INCgo 1PL.INC-pick corn ‘We are about to go pick corn.’ Word classes 87

(151) En-adaij nou ongga rua ri-agot mar tuisoisa DUR-enough for REL they 3PLsay thing repeatedly rot memef guru concerning us NEG ‘They should not begin saying things over and over about us.’ The perfective infix can occur with adverbs that denote completive aspect (152), progressive aspect (153), and continuous aspect (154) in the clause (see §7.7.6). (152) I-eker gij yeyin monuh ongga ri-ona ensis 2PL-sit in 2PL.POSS place REL 3PL-male old ri-oh gu iwa fob 3PLhand.over to you already ‘Remain in your area that the ancestors have already given to you.’ (153) Mi-imowa-ir ri-eker gij monuh motkobah ros 1PL.INC-grandparent-PL 3PLsit in place dark still ‘Our ancestors still lived in a dark place.’ (154) Ge-eej-ek mei ok mega efebr erek ke-uma 2/3DUINCEP-see water carry tree plank like NOM-that ojgomuja continuous ‘They began to see how the water continuously carried the wooden plank like that.’

4.2.8.2 Inceptive aspect prefix ej- Inceptive or inchoative aspect indicates that the beginning of an action is specified (Comrie 1976:20). In Meyah it appears that the inceptive aspect prefix ej- ‘start’ developed from the verb eja ‘go’. The verb eja commonly occurs with other verbs in serial verb constructions (see §7.6.2). Motion verbs commonly grammaticalize as auxiliaries or aspectual morphemes (see Lehmann 1993). There are a number of examples from my text corpus that illustrate the change of eja ‘go’ from a lexical item to a grammatical morpheme. Firstly, when ej- attaches to a verb stem as an inceptive aspect prefix, the initial vowel undergoes the same coalescence that other prefix vowels undergo. The realized form is in brackets. (155) Mes ej-orka mek eteb jah mejga ebic [ojorka] dog INCEP-bring pig big to fence center ‘The dog begins to bring (chase) a large pig into the yard.’ (156) Di-ej-ok megej [dujok] 1SG-INCEP-carry firewood ‘I begin carrying firewood.’ If ej- was only the result of a collapsed word boundary in rapid speech, then the resultant form would be as shown in (157) and (158). Instead, the prefix vowel of ej- undergoes normal vowel coalescence with the stem vowel like other prefix vowels do, as the examples above demonstrate. 88 Chapter 4

(157) *eja orka [ejorka] go carry ‘He/she goes to carry …’ (158) *di-eja di-ok [dijok] 1SG-go 1SG-carry ‘ I go carry …’ Example (159) shows the verb ek ‘see’ inflected first by the inceptive aspect prefix ej-, and then by the irrealis prefix em-. (159) Na-em-ej-ek [namejek] 1DU.INC-IRR-INCEP-see ‘We intend to begin looking.’ There are a number of examples from natural texts that show eja occurring in the same sentence with verbs marked by ej-. This is further evidence that eja has grammaticalized into a verbal affix. (160) Eja ej-eb meresa ekeni [ejeb] go INCEP-pick sugarcane red ‘He/she goes and begins picking red sugarcane.’ (161) Eja beda ej-ohca [ojohca] go then INCEP-search ‘He/she goes then begins searching.’

4.2.8.3 Durative aspect en- Comrie (1976:41) defines durative aspect as an action that lasts for a certain period of time. Givón (1984:274) uses the terms durative, progressive and continuous synonymously to describe aspect that construes an event as having no initial or terminal boundaries. Dahl (1985:91) reserves the term durative for extended aspect that is indicated morphologically on verbs as a focusing device. He uses the term progressive for extended aspect that is marked periphrastically. In this section I will use the term ‘durative’ as a label for extended aspect that is expressed grammatically by the prefix en-. Extended aspect can also be indicated through reduplication of certain kinds of intransitive verbs. The latter function will be discussed separately in §4.2.12.2. Some posture verbs can occur juxtaposed with a main verb. In that type of construction the posture verb is used as a grammatical indicator of extended aspect (see §7.6.9). Meyah also indicates extended aspect lexically through the use of aspectual adverbs, which take the entire clause as their scope (§7.7.6). For the purpose of contrast, some examples of clauses containing both inflectional and lexical aspect are also given in this section. As mentioned previously, unmarked verbs in Meyah are unspecified with regard to aspectual distinctions if the distinction is understood or unimportant in the context. Therefore, an unmarked verb can be construed as expressing extended aspect. If the extended activity expressed by a verb needs to receive greater focus within the discourse, then the prefix en- is added. The durative prefix can be added to most types of verbs. For example, punctual verbs, such as ‘hit’, ‘drop’ and ‘shoot’, have limited duration. They are bounded events having an initial and terminal boundary (Givón 1984:274). Although Word classes 89 punctual verbs do not inherently express duration, in Meyah they can take the durative prefix if the situation expressed by the verb is repeated over an extended period. This differs from iterative aspect, which is viewed as applicable to a single event that cannot be protracted over time. (162) Sismeni Beranda en-okub Jepan first Dutch DUR-shoot Japan ‘At first the Dutch were shooting Japanese (soldiers).’ (163) Asok-if ej-agei ri-osnok egema beda en-aha jah gu mer girl-this INCEP-grab 3PL-person other then DUR-put at in room efesi-if inside-this ‘This girl began grabbing/holding other people and putting them into this room.’ Stative verbs express conditions that do not change over time. They are inherently durative in that they are unbounded events expressed by adjectival and nominal predicates. In Meyah the durative prefix en- can be added to stative verbs to place greater focus on the extended situation expressed by the verb (see Dahl 1985:91). (164) Ri-osnok egema ri-en-eker mer efesi 3PL-person other 3PL-DUR-sit room inside ‘Other people were waiting (in) the room.’ (165) Beda eja en-ek Ejemes deika then go DUR-see Ejemes more ‘Then he/she went (and) was looking at Ejemes again.’ (166) En-ot gij Meikoka deismos DUR-stand in Meikoka middle ‘He/she was standing in the middle of Meikoka (village).’ Adjectival verbs are purely stative in that they denote qualities and dimensions. Their duration is unlimited, therefore the use of en- on an adjectival verb in (167) is not grammatical. (167) *Memaga en-aksa mountain DUR-tall ‘The mountain is tall.’ Body-part noun plus verb constructions (§7.5.1.6) form complex predicates that express emotional or physical states. Either item in the construction can take verbal inflections. Therefore, the durative aspect prefix en- can also be added to a noun in this type of construction. (168) Bebin bi-osroj en-odou os bua 2SG.POSS 2SG-rib DUR-liver rub you ‘Your girlfriend desires you.’ (169) Memef tein me-en-odou okum-kum rot we also 1PL.EXC-DUR-liver RED-heavy concerning ‘We are very angry about that.’ 90 Chapter 4

(170) I-ei mod gu di-en-efena ebah ros 2PL-build house at 1SG-DUR-spirit raw still ‘You should continue to build houses while I am still alive.’ A verb’s intrinsic aspect determines how it interacts with grammatical elements that indicate aspect (Talmy 1985:78). Although Meyah motion verbs, such as eja ‘go’, en ‘come’ and ojuj ‘descend’ express progressive activities, they can still take the durative prefix en- if progression of the motion is placed in focus. (171) Meranghi mei bera en-eja rot-ib spirit water TOP DUR-go concerning-2SG ‘As for the water spirit, it is coming after you (or, assaulting you).’ (172) Marfeni insa en-en beda en-oskotu Ejamos Marfeni ANAP DUR-come then DUR-grip Ejamos ‘Marfeni was coming and then gripping Ejamos.’ (173) En-osok moroj ke-inda en DUR-climb coral NOM-above come ‘He/she was climbing on the coral rocks above coming towards here.’10 Thus far, the discussion has shown that the durative prefix en- is generally optional on verbs. However, there are two instances in which en- is obligatory in a construction. Firstly, en- is required on verbs in negative clauses. Chung and Timberlake (1985:245) assert that negative clauses are subject to the same realis-irrealis continuum as affirmative clauses are and they are often marked as irrealis (also see Payne 1997:325). Meyah differs from its linguistic neighbours, Moskona and Sougb, in that negated verbs are obligatorily marked by the durative prefix en- instead of the irrealis prefix em-. The durative prefix implies that the state of negation is ongoing and not necessarily the action at the time. See also §11.2 on the scope of negation. (174) Di-en-eja jah Munukwar guru 1SG-DUR-go to Manokwari NEG ‘I am not going to Manokwari.’ (175) Di-en-et mar ke-uma guru 1SG-DUR-eat thing NOM-that NEG ‘I didn’t eat that thing.’ (176) En-aksa guru DUR-tall NEG ‘He/she is not tall.’ (177) Me-en-eker erek oufa enesi 3PL-DUR-sit like good NEG ‘We are not living well yet.’ Although the durative aspect prefix is obligatory in negated declarative clauses, it is not used when nominal predicates are negated.

10 See §4.4.5 on directional verbs. Word classes 91

(178) Ofa mosona guru he/she foreigner NEG ‘He/she is not a foreigner.’ (179) Ke-uma mek guru NOM-that pig NEG ‘That is not a pig.’ Secondly, en- is obligatory in existential verbs when they occur in presentative constructions. (180) Mowahi ofoukou en-ah-uma fly many DUR-lie.down-there ‘There are many flies.’ (181) Ameina gonu akeina bera ge-en-ofogu-if 1SG.mother and 1SG.father TOP 2/3DU-DUR-flesh-there ‘As for my father and mother, they are here.’ As I mentioned in §4.0, the properties of inalienable nouns overlap with verbs and they can receive some verbal inflections. The only inalienable nouns that can receive en- are those which refer to humans, such as ona ‘male/man’ and ojona ‘female/woman’, and only when they are negated. It is also possible that the two terms are adjectival verbs. Their initial vowel is typical of verb roots in Meyah and in this case these forms can be inflected by -en. (182) En-ona enesi DUR-male NEG ‘He is not a man yet.’ The durative aspect prefix en- can occur in clauses marked by the progressive adverb ros ‘still’ and the continuous adverb ojgomuja ‘continuous’. (183) Di-en-eker-if ros jeskaseda di-ocunc monuh gu iwa 1SG-DUR-sit-here still in.order.to 1SG-point place to you ‘I am still staying here in order to point out this place to you.’ (184) I-ei mod gu di-en-efena ebah ros fogora di-em-agos 2PL-build house at 1SG-DUR-spirit raw still then 1SG-IRR-die ‘Build houses while I am still living and then (later) I will die.’ (185) Ri-en-er-of mebi insa ke-uma deci-deci ojgomuja 3PL-DUR-INST-stomp ground ANAP NOM-that RED-slow continuous ‘They (using something) continued slowly (or carefully) stomping that ground.’

4.2.8.4 Iterative aspect Iterative aspect indicates the repetition of a successive occurrence of a situation (Comrie 1976:27–28). In Meyah, iteration of punctual verbs, such as obu ‘strike’, is indicated through reduplication, as in ob-obu ‘strike repeatedly’. Because iterative aspect is only expressed through reduplication, it will be treated separately in §4.2.12.1. 92 Chapter 4

4.2.9 Irrealis prefix em- The prefix em- is an irrealis marker that optionally occurs on transitive and intransitive verbs. The same irrealis prefix occurs in Moskona and Sougb. The distributional properties of em- in those languages are generally the same as in Meyah. One difference is that em- is required in negative clauses in Moskona and Sougb, but not in Meyah. However, the Meyah em- does more than just indicate the unreal status of an event. It indicates that an event has the possibility of occurring in the future. Foley (1986:158ff.) refers to this type of inflectional category as ‘status’. Status markers indicate whether events are real, likely, possible or unreal. They locate events on a realisirrealis continuum. Examples (186) through (189) show that em- can be added to verbs that have both human and non-human subjects. This shows that the item does more than indicate modality. It also expresses some attitude on the part of the speaker of the utterance. (186) Ri-em-eita kumfan eteb rot 3PL-IRR-give money large concerning ‘They will pay a lot of money for (that).’ (187) Ri-ofoukou ri-em-ecira gu moroju insa ke-uma 3PL-many 3PL-IRR-travel at road ANAP NOM-that ‘Many people are going to travel on that road.’ (188) Mebeti efej nomnaga em-er fogora aksa gij squash seed all IRR-grow cause tall in ‘All the squash seeds will grow causing them to become long.’ (189) Moubseja efaga em-ebriyi guitar body IRR-split ‘The guitar body might split.’ In Meyah the temporal setting of an event is optionally indicated through the use of temporal adverbials. They usually occur initially in the clause, but they can occur in other positions as well (see §7.7.1). The prefix em- can occur in clauses that are marked for future time reference by a temporal adverbial, as in (190) and (191). Therefore, em- does more than just indicate a future time frame. (190) Monog-ei ckog-ei didif di-em-en tomorrow-QU day.after.tomorrow-QU I 1SG-IRR-come ‘Tomorrow or the next day I will come.’ (191) Mona egema deika beda em-ef mem time other more then IRR-shoot bird ‘He might shoot a bird later on.’ Although em- usually occurs in clauses denoting future time, is not restricted to future time reference. It can occur in clauses that have a past time reference. In this setting, the usual translation ‘will, might’ is better translated as ‘would’, as in (192) and (193). (192) Sismeni rot mifmin mi-imowa-ir bera first concerning 1PL.INC.POSS 1PL.INC-grandparent-PL TOP ri-em-ok maini 3PL-IRR-wear loincloth ‘As for earlier times concerning our ancestors, they would wear loincloths.’ Word classes 93

(193) Gij mona ongga ri-em-ouka mersa era ri-em-esba mat at time REL 3PL-IRR-dance floor or 3PL-IRR-prepare food bera ri-ona-ir ri-ok maini ongga efeinah TOP 3PL-male-PL 3PL-wear loincloth REL new ‘As for the time when they would dance on the floor and cook food, the men wore new loincloths.’ Because em- is a type of focus marker in a discourse, often only one verb in a multiclausal sentence will take the prefix, as in (193) above and (194) to (196) below. (194) Ofa eja eker jah majmeg tina mah em-eisa deika he/she go sit at veranda but fire IRR-glow more ‘He/she went and sat on the veranda but the fire might increase.’ (195) Efesa-ir tein ri-eker fogora ri-em-et mat child-PL also 3PL-sit cause 3PL-IRR-eat food ‘His/her children remained (there) causing them to be able to eat some food.’ (196) Ri-ecira ojgomuja ojoros motu fogora ri-em-esaga gu mod 3PL-travel continuous until night result 3PL-IRR-arrive at house ‘If they continue to travel until dark, then that might result in them arriving at the house.’ However, the occurrence of em- on more than one verb in a multiclausal construction is also possible. (197) Mi-em-ejginaga oida kaju efej ongga ongkoska nou 1PL.INC-IRR-know COMP peanut seed REL beautiful for mi-em-erefa bera erek tei-enefa 1PL.INC-IRR- plant TOP like ADV-how ‘We will know what the best kind of peanut seed to plant is.’ (198) Meranghi mei ke-uma em-edi-ei era em-agob-ei era tei-enefa spirit water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU or IRR-strike-QU or ADV-how ‘Will that water spirit hit us or strike us or how (will it affect us)?’ In constructions that involve use of the copular verb erek with adjectival verbs (see §7.5.1.9), the prefix em- along with other verbal inflections only occurs on the copular verb. (199) Efaga em-erek ebsi komowa body IRR-COP clean very ‘His/her body will be very clean.’ (200) Ofos efera okora em-erek oska deika skin injure ache IRR-COP bad more ‘His/her sore will ache worse.’ In the beginning of this section, I mentioned the prefix em- indicates that an event could possibly occur. If a speaker thinks an event is ‘likely’ or ‘certain’ to occur, then the status marker si is added in the clause or sentence-final position of em- marked clauses. Sougb has the clitic -s, which Reesink (2002a:200) labels as ‘certainty’. It conveys the same sense of likelihood or certainly that Meyah si does (also see §7.7.7). 94 Chapter 4

(201) Em-ofij rua rot si IRR-help them concerning STATUS ‘He/she will likely help them concerning (something).’ (202) Em-oksons si IRR-return STATUS ‘He/she will likely return.’ (203) Meranghi mei em-oku jeska fogora em-eker si spirit water IRR-flee from cause IRR-sit STATUS ‘The water spirit will likely flee causing it to stay away.‘

4.2.10 Instrument prefix er- Transitive verbs may be marked for an instrument with the prefix er-. The prefix is clearly related to the verb era ‘use’. The verb era is used in an initial clause to introduce an instrument since an instrument cannot co-occur as a constituent in one clause with another object. The verb in the main clause takes the instrument prefix er-. The prefix occurs closest to the stem, as seen in (206). Also see §7.6.14 on instrument verb sequences. (204) Era mamu er-edi mos use rock INST-hit frog ‘He/she hit the frog with a rock.’ (205) Era fifi insa ke-uma er-engk mekta use money ANAP NOM-that INST-buy field ‘He/she used that money to purchase a field. (Meyah New Testament, 1997, The Bible League).’ (206) Ri-era meifeti ri-em-er-eba ke-uma 3PL-use cloth 3PL-IRR-INST-wrap NOM-that ‘They would use cloth to wrap up those (leaves).’ (207) Mi-era pacul mi-er-agob mebi 1PL.INC-use hoe 1PL.INC-INST-strike ground ‘We use a hoe to till the ground.’ The instrument prefix er- can also occur on reciprocal verbs when an instrument is used to carry out the activity. It appears that an unnamed item functions as the instrument in (208). The prefix is added to the stem preceding the initial member of the circumfix. (208) Ri-er-em-edi-ma [riremedima] 3PL-INST-RECIP-hit-RECIP ‘Using something, they fought each other.’ (209) Ri-er-em-etei-ma [riremeteima] 3PL-INST-RECIP-resist-RECIP ‘They competed against each other with something.’ Some transitive verbs, such as agob ‘strike with something’ and of ‘chop down’ inherently express the use of an instrument. These types of verbs do not require the instrument prefix, although the prefix can be used for added focus. The transitive verb ef ‘shoot’ is even more specific because the only instrument that can be associated with that activity is an arrow. Word classes 95

(210) Rua ri-ot joug beda ri-agob they 3PL-stand ADV then 3PL-strike ‘They ambushed (someone) then struck him/her (with something).’ (211) Ri-ona-ir ri-eja ri-ej-of mega 3PL-male-PL 3PL-go 3PL-INCEP-chop.down tree ‘The men go and begin to chop down trees (with an axe).’ (212) Ef mowodu shoot tree.kangaroo ‘He/she shot a tree kangaroo (with an arrow).’ Although the verbs shown in (210)–(212) do not require an instrument marker, the marker can still occur on those verbs. This provides evidence that er- is used to focus on an instrument in the discourse. (213) Mebi ongga ofogu bera mi-en-era pacul ground REL fertile TOP 1PL.INC-DUR-use hoe mi-en-er-agob doska guru 1PL.INC-DUR-INST-strike very NEG ‘As for ground that is fertile, we do not till it strongly with a hoe.’ (214) Er-of moncusurbu era mega ekeni INST-chop.down dense.jungle or tree red ‘He/she using (an axe) chopped down dense jungle vines or ironwood trees.’ (215) Meyah-ir ri-era mocong fogora ri-em-er-ef mosona mei-ir Meyah-PL 3PL-use arrow cause 3PL-IRR-INST-shoot foreigner water-PL ‘The Meyah people would use arrows then shoot the coastal foreigners.’ Speech verbs can take er-, as well. The instrument that er- refers to can be an abstract noun, such as ‘language’ in (216) or ‘anger’ in (217). The instrument of a speech verb can also be an alienable noun, as in (218). (216) Era Mosruns oga er-agot oida mansu bi-emeima Use Hatam word INST-say that cave 2SG-narrow ‘Using the Hatam language, he/she said, “Cave, close”.’ (217) Era otkonu oska er-agot gu-irga use stomach bad INST-say to-2/3DU ‘He/she spoke to them angrily.’ (218) Era manghimei er-ois gu ri-osnok use triton.shell INST-call to 3PL-person ‘He/she uses a triton shell to call people.’ A small number of active intransitive verbs can take the instrument prefix. (219) Ofa erefa mosuska beda er-ocunc jah si-uma he/she plant bamboo then INST-point to NOM-there ‘He/she planted bamboo using that to point the way to there.’ (220) Era efaga er-ounun deci-deci use body INST-sneak RED-slow ‘Using his/her body, he/she slowly crawled (closer).’ 96 Chapter 4

(221) Ri-era fifi ke-uma ri-er-ahaisomu gij mar rourou 3PL-use money NOM-that 3PL-INST-play in thing aimless ‘They use that money to gamble.’

4.2.11 Loanword prefix ebe- Indonesian words can be adapted into Meyah by the prefix ebe-. Other East Bird’s Head languages use a similar form with a similar function. For example, eba in Sougb (Reesink 2002a:213) productively adapts Indonesian words. In that language eba also expresses the verb ‘do’. Mpur (Odé 2002:56) and Abun (Berry and Berry 1999:5) use the prefix bi- to adapt foreign words, such as those borrowed from Indonesian or Biak. In Meyah, ebe only adapts Indonesian words. Words from other local languages are incorporated into the Meyah lexicon without the use of ebe. The prefix verbalizes the loan words allowing them to take regular verbal inflections. Accent placement is maintained. The phonological properties of words marked by ebe- are given in §2.8. (222) Ebe-bérkat-id rot maroga ke-uma [ebebérkat] LOAN-bless-1SG concerning feud NOM-that ‘(God) blessed me concerning that feud.’ (223) Di-ebe-úrus rot oufa [dibeúrus]11 1SG-LOAN-expedite concerning good ‘I expedited (it) well.’ (224) En-ebe-jádi guru [enebejádi] DUR-LOAN-happen NEG ‘It did not happen.’ (225) Ebe-besár [ebebesár] LOAN-large ‘It is large.’ (226) Ebe-súsah [ebesúsah] LOAN-difficult ‘It is difficult’

4.2.12 The function of reduplication The phonological process of reduplication was discussed §2.7. In this section I will focus mainly on the grammatical functions of reduplication. The function depends on the lexical aspect that is reduplicated. If the verb expresses a punctual activity, then the reduplicative morpheme indicates iterative aspect (§4.2.12.1). If the verb is inherently durative, then the reduplicative morpheme emphasizes durative aspect (§4.2.12.2). With adjectival verbs, which express ongoing states, the reduplicative morpheme intensifies the quality expressed by the verb (§4.2.12.3). The same effect is seen on manner adverbs (§4.2.12.4). A few other nonverbal roots can also be reduplicated. Reduplication of demonstrative pronouns (§4.2.12.5) indicates emphatic mood. Reduplication of the temporal noun mona ‘time’, the locative adverb suma ‘there’, the attributive modifier toga ‘different’ and the

11 The normally illicit vowel sequence /eu/ is allowed when ebe- is added to loan words. Word classes 97 numeral egens ‘one’ indicates indefinite reference (§4.2.12.6). Finally, reduplication of a small, assorted, set of intransitive verbs derives a different root, which could be listed as a separate entry in the lexicon (§4.2.12.7).

4.2.12.1 Iterative aspect Iterative aspect in Meyah may be defined as punctual activities that are repeated over short intervals of time. That is, they are not drawn out events. Iterative aspect is a major aspectual category in Meyah. A reduplicative morpheme is used to mark verbs denoting punctual activities, such as ‘pierce’ and ‘sneeze’, as iterative. The repetition of punctual activities over a protracted amount of time is indicated by the durative aspect prefix en- (see §4.2.12.2). Verbs that are reduplicated for iterativity do not take the durative prefix en- when negated. Also see §2.7.10 on verbs that are inherently reduplicated. (227) Ofa ejek-jeka didif rot mar ke-uma he/she RED-ask me concerning thing NOM-that ‘He/she kept questioning me about that.’ (228) Rua ri-agob-gob ofa they 3PL-RED-strike him/her ‘They kept striking him/her.’ (229) Beda en-owosa ef-ef guru then DUR-strong RED-shoot NEG ‘Then he/she was not strong enough to keep shooting.’

4.2.12.2 Durative aspect We saw in §4.2.8.3 that durative aspect can be morphologically indicated through the prefix en- on transitive and intransitive verbs. When verbs that denote ongoing activities, such as ah ‘lie.down’ and ek ‘see’ are reduplicated, then the semantic import is a more emphasized durational aspect. (230) Orogna gu monggosum tina ah-ah efen mesiga go.out to ceiling but RED-lie.down 3SG.POSS ladder ‘He/she went out of the ceiling but remained on his/her ladder.’ (231) Ona egens ke-uma og-og male one NOM-that RED-stare ‘That man continued to stare.’ (232) Ri-of-of medemer 3PL-RED-sing song ‘They continued singing songs.’ Reduplicated verbs that express durative aspect still take the durative aspect prefix en- when negated (233). (233) Aha ariaun gu Timo etma ongga mah et insa ke-uma place medicine at Timo hand REL fire eat ANAP NOM-that 98 Chapter 4

jeskaseda etma en-ageb-geb guru in.order.that hand DUR-RED-bend NEG ‘He/she placed medicine on Timo’s hand that was burned by the fire so that it would not continue to become deformed.’

4.2.12.3 Intensification of qualities Adjectivals (§4.2.2.2) are a subclass of verbs in Meyah, so they can also be reduplicated. They can also be used as attributive modifiers of a head noun. With both usages, reduplication of the adjectival verb intensifies the quality expressed by the verb. In other words, the reduplicative morpheme adds meaning translatable as ‘very’ in English. (234) aks-aksa ‘very tall’ eteb-teb ‘very large’ okum-kum ‘very heavy’ orug-rug ‘bright yellow’ osk-oska ‘very bad’ owos-wosa ‘very painful’ (235) Mi-ek kaju efej ongga en-orug-rug guru 1PL.INC-see peanut seed REL DUR-RED-yellow NEG ‘We will see peanut seeds that are not bright yellow.’ (236) Efen efej ongkos-koska 3SG.POSS seed RED-beautiful ‘Its seed is very good.’ (237) Me-ohoda mekeni eteb-teb 1PL.EXC-open garden RED-big ‘We made a really big garden.’

4.2.12.4 Manner adverb intensification Most manner adverbs (§4.5.1) can be reduplicated to express intensity, as in (238). Intensifier adverbs expressed through prepositional phrases can also be reduplicated to increase intensity, as in (241). (238) Ge-ojuj deci-deci noba ge-oira gij 2/3DU-descend RED-slow and 2/3DU-enter in ‘They descended very slowly and went in.’ (239) Inggumei ejema toutou-toutou beda oma mei Inggumei crawl RED-quiet then lick water ‘Inggumei crept very quietly then drank water.’ (240) Efesij toum-nouma rot tell RED-expose concerning ‘He/she spoke very openly about it.’ (241) Noba mi-en-oku ebic rot dosk-oska guru and 1PL.INC-DUR-flee center concerning RED-very NEG ‘And we did not flee very quickly to the center (of the village) regarding that.’ Word classes 99

4.2.12.5 Emphatic mood Reduplication of a verb root occurs before other inflectional morphemes are added (see §2.7). However, demonstrative pronouns reduplicate differently because they are derived forms, composed of a deictic base and a nominalizer prefix. Once the demonstrative is formed, then reduplication of the first CV sequence occurs. In this case, reduplication indicates emphatic mood. This function of reduplication is illustrated in the examples below. In the first example, the deictic base is the spatial determiner clitic -if ‘this’ added to a noun. The nominalized form kef ‘this’ in the second example marks the referent as more prominent. In the third example, the reduplication of kef marks the referent as emphatic. (242) Ofa odou os ojowu-if he liver rub girl-this ‘He wants the girl.’ (243) Ofa odou os ojowu ke-if he liver rub girl NOM-this ‘He wants this girl.’ (244) Ofa odou os ojowu ke-kef he liver rub girl RED-this ‘He wants this particular girl.’ Other examples of reduplicated demonstrative pronouns are given below. (245) Ri-ona ensis ko-koma ri-en-ejginaga rot mosona-ir guru 3PL-male old RED-that 3PL-DUR-know concerning foreigner-PL NEG ‘Those particular ancestors did not know about foreigners.’ (246) Rerin ri-ojga mei Kairon ke-kef 3PL.POSS 3PL-origin river Kairon RED-this ‘They are from this particular (village of) Kairon River.’

4.2.12.6 Indefinite reference A small number of words from differing word classes, such as those listed in (247), can be reduplicated. (247) suma ‘there’ vs suma-suma ‘various places’ toga ‘different’ vs toga-toga ‘various differences’ mona ‘time’ vs mona-mona ‘various times’ egens ‘one’ vs egens-egens ‘various ones’ The process of reduplication differs with these forms in that they totally reduplicate without the loss of any phonological material. Reduplication marks the nominal referent, be it time, location or number, as indefinite. (248) Ri-eja jah memaga beda ri-eja suma-suma 3PL-go to mountain then 3PL-go RED-there ‘They went to the mountains then went to various places (in the mountains).’ (249) Mona-mona ri-ecira erek ke-uma RED-time 3PL-travel like NOM-that ‘They traveled like that at various times.’ 100 Chapter 4

(250) Meyah-ir egens-egens ri-em-erek mosmei-ir Meyah-PL RED-one 3PL-IRR-COP coastal.person-PL ‘Various Meyah people would be coastal people.’

4.2.12.7 Derivational meaning There are a small number of items for which intensification expressed through reduplication derives a different, albeit related, word root. In general, reduplicated adjectival verbs are not intensified with eteb ‘big/very’ since reduplication already indicates intensification. However, the items in the second column of (251) can be intensified through eteb, as in ofogog eteb ‘very dangerous/evil’, because they are lexicalized forms. (251) Unreduplicated meaning Reduplicated meaning eyej ‘wet’ eyejyej ‘soaked’ ebera ‘full’ eber-bera ‘spread, leak, overflow’ edemi ‘hide’ edem-demi ‘hidden’ ereni ‘try’ ere-neni ‘tempt’ ofog ‘pointed, sharp’ ofog-og ‘dangerous/evil’

4.3 Nouns I mentioned in the introduction to this chapter that Meyah nouns could be distinguished from other word classes based on phonological characteristics in that nearly all alienable nouns have a root-initial m-. Concerning morphological criteria, nouns cannot be inflected for various grammatical categories nor can they be reduplicated, in comparison to verbs which productively reduplicate. Phonological and morphological criteria also suggest some possible subclasses for nouns in Meyah. Hence, this section is divided into subsections in order to illustrate those differences. Section 4.3.1 gives common nouns such as alienable objects (things). Section 4.3.2 shows proper nouns, which are names for places and things. They form a subclass of common nouns. Section 4.3.3 shows nouns that refer to people. Those illustrate some features of alienable and inalienable nouns. Finally, §4.3.4 and §4.3.5 give inalienable nouns, which show properties of both nouns and verbs. They include body-part nouns and kinship terms.

4.3.1 Alienable nouns Alienable nouns refer to all animate and inanimate objects except humans, with one exception noted below. Approximately 90% of alienable nouns have a fused alienable noun class prefix m-. Meyah m- is possibly a fossilized noun marker that is still productive on 12 inalienable nouns and on the possessive pronoun me-n ‘2PL.INC-POSS’. The only nouns that refer to humans and take the alienable noun class marker are terms that refer to other language/people groups, such as Mosruns ‘Hatam’, Mosou ‘Sougb’ and Meimojenir ‘Maybrat’, as well as the generic term mosona ‘foreigner’ or ‘non-Papuan’.13 Examples of non-human alienable nouns are listed in (252).

12 Also See Reesink (1998:608–609). 13 The names for language groups are most likely reduced phrases involving an alienable noun as the first item in the phrase. Consider the term for Maybrat, which is mei-mojen-ir ‘water-embarrass-them’ or, ‘they are embarrassed by water’. Word classes 101

(252) mod ‘house’ metrem ‘corn’ mesigeb ‘bow’ menei ‘banana’ meiteb ‘machete’ mou ‘yam’ mesina ‘string bag’ momos ‘taro’ mei ‘water’ mos ‘fish’ mamu ‘rock’ magosu ‘snake’ mega ‘tree’ mes ‘dog’ mowa ‘sun’ mem ‘bird’ How can the remaining 10% of alienable nouns that do not begin with m- be explained? They comprise a mixture of introduced objects as well as some native objects. Some of the terms for the native objects are most likely borrowed, since the equivalent terms in the closely related Moskona language do carry m-, as in (253). Some introduced objects are expressed by the same borrowed term in both languages, hence their lack of an initial m-. The examples below show how many of the same terms in the closely related Moskona language have the initial /m/. (253) TRANSLATION MEYAH MOSKONA ‘mosquito’ arugus masur ‘currency’ fifi miefen ‘bride’ arja mej ‘pomelo’ jodi modengk (generic term for citrus) ‘cassowary’14 kinonsa meki ‘lemon’ anggrai modengk ‘rubber’ itkitk itkitka ‘peanut’ kaju15 kaju ‘glass’ kasinam kasina ‘radio’ rodia16 rodia The plural marker -ir found on human nouns including kinship terms may also be used with the alienable nouns mes ‘dog’ and mek ‘pig’, as in (254) and (255). Other than that, alienable nouns do not receive inflectional morphemes. On syntactic grounds a difference can be made between mass and count nouns in that the former do not co-occur with numeral classifiers and noun classifiers (see §4.3.8). (254) Ofa okoja efen mek-ir jeska he/she chase 3SG.POSS pig-PL from ‘He/she chased out his/her pigs.’ (255) Agot oida wah mes-ir ri-oga gij meidu say COMP wow dog-PL 3PL-voice in what ‘He/she said, “Wow, what are the dogs barking at?” ’

14 The cassowary is certainly a common indigenous animal, but it is traditionally considered a taboo food item, which may explain its exclusion from m- marked nouns. The term is also the personal name for a spirit that is associated with the cassowary (see §1.7). 15 Related to Indonesia kacang ‘glass’. 16 From English ‘radio’. 102 Chapter 4

All other alienable nouns can be interpreted as plural within the context if the number is non-specific. (256) Me-er-of mekekeba gu memaga 1PL.EXC-INST-chop.down bamboo at mountain ‘We chopped down bamboo in the mountains.’ (257) Ri-eker gu mei efembra 3PL-sit at river edge ‘They live on the edge of rivers.’ (258) Edemi mamu hide rock ‘He/she hid in the rocks’ An alienable noun in Meyah is only understood as being possessed when it is preceded by a possessive pronoun (see §5.4.1). There is no limit as to what kinds of alienable nouns can be optionally possessed. Therefore nouns such as mei ‘water/river’ (260), memaga ‘mountain’ and monuh ‘place’ (261) can also be possessed. (259) Ofa efen mod he/she 3SG.POSS house ‘He/she owns the house.’ (260) Rerin mei ongga eyejkita 3PL.POSS water REL cold ‘Their water that is cold.’ (261) Dedin monuh ah yes jeska 1SG.POSS place lie.down far from ‘My village is far from here.’

4.3.2 Proper nouns Proper nouns (or proper names) form a subclass of alienable nouns. They differ from nouns, which denote ‘things’, in that they do not take the alienable noun class marker m-. Most proper nouns are not possessable. Title terms are the only exception. Most modern proper names for people, such as Isak ‘Isaac’ and Marta ‘Martha’, are borrowed terms used by the current generation. Traditionally, proper names were declarative clauses or noun phrases based on a trait or experience of the person’s father. The function of the name was to help identify who the person was directly descended from.17 The names in the examples below are always spoken in highly contracted forms. As a result, example (263) would be pronounced as Ogofmodmei or example (264) as Meimos. (262) Eifef meg ride canoe ‘He rides canoes (or his father rode canoes).’ (263) Oga ofod mod mei voice flood house river ‘His voice in the house is like a flooding river (or his father was loud).’

17 The source of this information is the Meyah people who bear those names. Word classes 103

(264) Mei mosona istini18 water foreigner baptize ‘Baptismal water (or his father was baptized/christened).’ Titles for people are inalienable nouns that convey secondary meanings, such as Ebirfaga ‘head/boss/leader’ and Akeina ‘father/elder’, which is also used as the honorific ‘sir’. Normally, inalienable nouns are obligatorily possessed by a possessor prefix (see §4.1.1). However, when inalienable nouns are used as proper nouns, they are optionally possessed by a possessive pronoun much like alienable nouns are, as in dedin ebirfaga ‘my boss’. Other kinds of titles are proper names borrowed from Indonesian, such as Guru ‘Teacher’ and Pendeta 19 ‘Pastor’. Proper names for places, such as towns, are descriptive noun phrases. Names for villages are usually comprised of the noun mei ‘water/river’ followed by a personal name. In many cases the meaning of the personal name is not easily traced. Other names are attributive/descriptive noun phrases. Like the names for humans, mentioned above, place names are pronounced as contracted forms, such as Meikoka in (267). (265) Monuh karwari20 Monuh stengor place wood.carving place coal21 ‘Place of the woodcarvings’ ‘Coaling station place’ (266) Mei kaironi Mei erengkei river Kairon river Erengkei ‘Kaironi river’ ‘Erengkei river’ (267) Mei ok-oka Mei ojuj river RED-dance river descend ‘Dancing river (or place of rapids)’ ‘Descending river’

4.3.3 Nouns that refer to people Nouns that refer to people, such as ‘woman’ ‘child’ and ‘person’, are similar to inalienable nouns in that they have an initial [-high] vowel. One property that differentiates them from inalienable nouns is that they are not inherently possessed. Therefore they do not take a possessor prefix that agrees with the person and number of the possessor, as the comparison between (268) and (269) shows. They do, however, take a person and number pronominal prefix when they occur as subjects and objects in the clause. The can also receive the pluralizers -irga ‘2/3DU’ and -ir ‘PL’. (268) *dedin di-ojaga 1SG.POSS 1SG-female ‘my woman’

18 The origin of istini is not clear, although an informant says that the term is related to Baptism, some how. 19 The /p/ in ‘pendeta’ is a borrowed phoneme, as well. 20 The word Karwari is said to be from the Biak/Numfor language meaning, ‘ancestral wood carving’. Indeed, that is what a drawing of a carved figured is labeled as in D’Albertis (1881:60). 21 From the Dutch term for ‘coal’, steenkool. This location is now known as Bintuni. 104 Chapter 4

(269) Dedin ojaga egens 1SG.POSS female one ‘I have a woman.’ (270) Dedin ri-osnok ri-en jeska memaga 1SG.POSS 3PL-person 3PL-come from mountain ‘My people came from the mountains.’ (271) Ge-oja-irga insa ke-uma ge-efaga okum 2/3DU-female-2/3PL ANAP NOM-that 2/3DU-body heavy ‘Those two women were pregnant.’ (lit. ‘bodies heavy’).

4.3.4 Inalienable nouns Inalienable nouns comprise a closed class of inherently possessed body-part nouns and kinship terms. They may be distinguished from alienable nouns on the basis of their root- initial segment, which is always a [-high] vowel. Like alienable nouns, they can function as subjects and objects arguments of a verb and only receive a pluralizer morpheme. Unlike alienable nouns, the body-part nouns can also be used as part of a complex predicate construction expressing emotional and physical states. These are discussed separately in §7.5.1.6. Some examples of inalienable nouns are listed in (272). (272) Inalienable nouns aki ‘foot’ ejmeg ‘back’ ebirfaga ‘head’ etma ‘arm/hand’ otkonu ‘stomach’ efesa ‘child’ ona ‘man’ Examples (273) through (276) show their use as head nouns. (273) Aki efifij foot swell ‘His/her foot is swollen.’ (274) Di-ok mek gu di-ejmeg 1SG-carry pig at 1SG-back ‘I carried a pig on my back.’ (275) Di-agob gu okeibi ke-if 1SG-strike at knee NOM-this ‘I struck him/her on this knee.’ (276) Agot mar gu ona ke-uma say thing to man NOM-that ‘He/she spoke to that man.’ Body-part nouns are obligatorily marked for possessor with the same set of pronominal prefixes that verbs take (Table 9, §4.1). In addition, body-part nouns do not take a 3SG Word classes 105 subject/possessor, and this is true of verbs, too. These two characteristics show that the nouns exhibit verb-like qualities. This is discussed further in §4.3.4.

Table 10: Inalienable noun possessor prefixes

POSSESSOR ‘ARM’ ‘LIVER’ ‘FOOT’ 1SG di-etma [ditma] di-odou [dudou] di-aki [daki] 2SG bi-etma [bitma] bi-odou [budou] bi-aki [baki] 3SG -etma [etma] -odou [odou] -aki [aki] 1DU.INC na-etma [natma] na-odou [nadou] na-aki [naki] 1DU.EXC ma-etma [matma] ma-odou [madou] ma-aki [maki] 2/3DU ge-etma [getma] ge-odou [godou] ge-aki [gaki] 1PL.INC mi-etma [mitma] mi-odou [mudou] mi-aki [maki] 1PL.EXC me-etma [metma] me-odou [modou] me-aki [maki] 2PL i-etma [itma] i-odou [idou] i-aki [yaki] 3PL ri-etma [ritma] ri-odou [rudou] ri-aki [raki]

Although inalienable nouns are obligatorily possessed by a possessor prefix, the noun can still be possessed by a possessive pronoun, i.e., in the same way that alienable nouns are possessed. This further illustrates the somewhat indeterminate nature of inalienable nouns. (277) Dedin di-aki efera 1SG.POSS 1SG-foot hurt ‘My foot hurts.’ (278) Rerin ri-odou okora rot 3PL.POSS 3PL-liver ache concerning ‘They are sad regarding that.’ (lit. ‘livers ache’) Inalienable body-part nouns are used in conjunction with animals and plants, albeit with a different but related meaning. For example, the noun efeji can be ‘hair’, ‘fur’ or ‘feathers’ depending on the kind of object that it is associated with. Body-part nouns are also used to refer to parts of plants, such as mega etma ‘tree arm’ or ‘branch’. Other kinds of tree or animal parts that cannot be associated with humans have the same initial [-high] vowel phonemes (279). (279) efej ‘seedling’ ofom ‘root ‘efeyi ‘leaf’’ oiraga ‘tail’ efesgrei ‘fin’ Possession of animal body-parts or plant parts is only expressed through simple juxtaposition. (280) mega ofos tree skin ‘The tree’s bark’ 106 Chapter 4

(281) mek oiraga pig tail ‘The pig’s tail’ (282) mes ebirfaga dog head ‘The dog’s head’ (283) mega efej tree fruit ‘fruit of the tree’ Body-part nouns are also used in compound (see §4.3.7.1).

4.3.5 Kinship nouns Kinship nouns, like body-part nouns, take an obligatory person and number of possessor prefix. For that reason, they could be included in the subclass of inalienable nouns. The prefixes are generally the same set used to mark subject agreement on verbs (see Table 9, §4.1). However, there are a number of differences operating on Meyah kinship nouns, most notably with the 1SG, 2SG and 3SG forms, which distinguish them as a separate subclass of inalienable nouns. These features include a few unique possessor prefixes that do not occur on other kinds of inalienable nouns. Some possessor prefixes are specific only to certain kinds of kinship nouns. There are markers that specify ‘younger’ or ‘older’ status and gender on sibling nouns. Finally, nouns for in-law terms specify gender. The 1PL.INC possessor prefixes on kinship nouns in the Meyekiba dialect of Meyah differ from that of other Meyah dialects. Those were given in §1.9.5. Table 11 summarizes the possible markers. Table 11: Kinship possessor morphemes (see also Table 10) Person/number/gender category Morpheme 1SG/2SG/3SG sibling.same.sex -oko 1SG/2SG sibling.opposite.sex -ie 3SG sibling.opposite.sex -ebie 1SG–sibling.in.law.same sex -oco 1SG–sibling.in.law.opposite.sex -ui Grandparent ind- Younger sibling -sa Grandchild -deb Older sibling -ra Mother’s brother -ind Plural -ir

4.3.5.1 Grandparent terms The 1SG possessor prefix ind- used on grandparent terms differs from the regular 1SG prefix ed- used on other kinship terms. The special prefix seems to be borrowed from Word classes 107

Sougb, where it functions as the 1SG possessor prefix on all inalienable nouns in that language (see Reesink 2002a:219). Meyah grandparent terms illustrating the prefix are: (284) ind-imowa [indimowa] ‘1SG-grandfather’ ind-awa [indawa] ‘1SG-grandmother’ The noun awa ‘grandmother’ takes the 2SG prefix ab- instead of the regular 2SG prefix eb- used on other kinship nouns. The prefix is also used on the 2SG nouns for ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ (§4.3.5.4). The root-initial vowel of awa becomes rounded as /o/ when ab- is added. The noun imowa is also used generically as ‘ancestor’. (285) eb-imowa [ebimowa] ‘2SG-grandfather’ ab-awa [abowa] ‘2SG-grandmother’

4.3.5.2 Parent terms The nouns that refer to Ego’s ‘mother’ and ‘father’ apparently only occur as monomorphemic forms since a 1SG possessor prefix is not identifiable. Their use (and form) as vocatives is attested in the Sougb and Hatam languages, as well. Sougb marks the nouns with the 1SG prefix ind-. In Meyah, the parent terms also apply to Ego’s uncles and aunts. The examples below show the nouns used as an object in (286) and as a vocative in (287). (286) Didif Iwejgeinei di-ohca akeina Ineisudga I Iwejgeinei 1SG-search 1SG.father Ineisudga ‘I, Iwejgeinei, was searching for my father Ineisudga.’ (287) Ameina bi-eja beda bi-ek dedin meresa ekeni 1SG.mother 2SG-go then 2SG-look 1SG.POSS sugarcane red ‘Mother, go and check on my red sugarcane.’ A 1SG possessor prefix is used on the nouns akeina ‘father’ and ameina ‘mother’ to mark the terms as affinal parents, as in (288). Like the parent terms, they are vocatives used by Ego. The initial vowel of the noun root is elided when the 1SG prefix is added. (288) ed-akeina [edkeina] ‘1SG-FZH/1SG-MZH’ ed-ameina [edmeina] ‘1SG-FBW/1SG-MBW’ The morphological properties of the noun for ‘mother’s brother’ differ from that of other affinal parent nouns described above. The same noun root appears to be used, but it is reduced to eina. The prefix d- marks the ‘mother’s brother’ relation. This signals a special relationship in the Meyah kinship system (see Gravelle 1992).Then a normal kinship possessor prefix is added. The consonant sequence /dd/ in the first example is reduced to one consonant. (289) ed-d-eina [edeina] ‘1SG-mother’s brother’ eb-d-eina [ebdeina] ‘2SG-mother’s brother’ me-d-eina [medeina] ‘3SG-mother’s brother’ Nouns referring to 2SG parent terms are different, as are their inflectional properties. The nouns take an obligatory 3SG subject prefix that refers to parent and a 2SG object clitic that refers to child. A free object pronoun does not occur in this type of construction. The 108 Chapter 4 unit resembles a nominal predicate construction, but it only functions as a subject or object in a clause, hence they are not verbs. (290) Me-eka-ib [mekeb] 3SG-father-2SG ‘He fathers you.’ ‘Your father’ (291) Me-osu-ib [mosib] 3SG-mother-2SG ‘She mothers you.’ ‘Your mother’ (292) Di-ohca me-osu-ib 1SG-search 3SG-mother-2SG ‘I was looking for your mother.’ (lit. ‘the one that mothers you’) Nouns that refer to Ego’s parents-in-law specify gender and are used as reciprocal terms. A male Ego uses the noun ogona for his wife’s parents. A female Ego uses the noun diba for her husband’s parents. Possessive prefixes are the same as those used on other parent terms. The initial /o/ of ogona elides when the 1SG ed- or 2SG eb- prefix is added. (293) ed-ogona [edgona] ‘1SG-wife’s father/mother ed-diba [ediba] ‘1SG-husband’s father/mother The 3SG forms of all parent and grandparent terms are only formed with the prefix me- (294). (294) me-eka [meka] ‘3SG-father’ me-osu [mosu] ‘3SG-mother’ me-d-eina [medeina] ‘3SG-mother’s brother’ me-ogona [mogona] ‘3SG-wife’s parents’ me-diba [mediba] ‘3SG-husband’s parents’ me-imowa [meimowa] ‘3SG-grandfather’ me-awa [mawa] ‘3SG-grandmother’

4.3.5.3 Sibling terms Terms for Ego’s siblings apply to all relatives of Ego’s generation. With sibling terms, sex and age are determining factors for terminology. The sibling terms in (295)–(298) show a degree of fusional morphology, but morpheme parsing seems to be possible. The noun stem oko is ‘sibling of the same sex’. The noun stem ie is ‘sibling of the opposite sex’. The morpheme -sa on either noun stem indicates ‘younger’. The morpheme -ra on either noun stem indicates ‘older’. The same morphemes occur in the sibling-in-law terms in (299) and (300). The morpheme -sa also appears to occur in the term e-sa ‘child’, which would automatically indicate a younger age status, but this is speculation. In the examples in (295), the sibling nouns are possessed by the 1SG prefix ed-. The initial vowel /o/ of the sibling terms okosa and okora elides when the terms take the 1SG or 2SG prefix. Also see Table 11, which shows all possible kinship morphemes. (295) ed-oko-sa [edkosa] ‘1SG–sibling.same.sex–younger’ ed-oko-ra [edkora] ‘1SG–sibling.same.sex–older’ ed-ie-sa [ediesa] ‘1SG–sibling.opposite.sex–younger’ ed-ie-ra [ediera] ‘1SG–sibling.opposite.sex–older’ Word classes 109

There are two kinds of 2SG possessor prefixes used on sibling nouns. The prefix ob- is used on nouns that refer to siblings of the same sex. The prefix eb- is used on nouns that refer to siblings of the opposite sex. (296) ob-oko-sa [obkosa] ‘2SG-sibling.same.sex–younger’ ob-oko-ra [obkora] ‘2SG-sibling.same.sex–older’ (297) eb-ie-sa [ebiesa] ‘2SG-sibling.opposite.sex–younger’ eb-ie-ra [ebiesa] ‘2SG-sibling.opposite.sex–older’ The 3SG forms add the possessor prefix me-. (298) me-oko-sa [mokosa] ‘3SG-sibling.same.sex–younger’ me-oko-ra [mokora] ‘3SG-sibling.same.sex–older’ me-ebie-sa [mebiesa] ‘3SG-sibling.opposite.sex–younger’ me-ebie-ra [mebiera] ‘3SG-sibling.opposite.sex–older’ Nouns that refer to Ego’s siblings-in-law are different from those used for siblings. The noun oco is used for ‘same sex sibling-in-law’ and ui is used for ‘opposite sex sibling-in- law’. The same morphemes that indicate age, sex and possession on sibling nouns are also used on the sibling-in-law nouns. (299) ed-oco-sa [edcosa] ‘1SG–sibling.in.law.same.sex–younger’ ed-oco-ra [edcora] ‘1SG–sibling.in.law.same.sex–older’ ed-ui-sa [eduisa] ‘1SG–sibling.in.law.opposite.sex–younger’ ed-ui-ra [eduira] ‘1SG–sibling.in.law.opposite.sex–older’ The 2SG prefix for sibling-in-law is the same ob- prefix used with sibling of the same sex terms. The 3SG forms add the possessor prefix me-. (300) ob-oco-sa [obcosa] ‘2SG–sibling.in.law.same.sex–younger’ ob-oco-ra [obcora] ‘2SG–sibling-in-law.same.sex–older’ ob-ui-sa [obuisa] ‘2SG–sibling.in.law.opposite.sex–younger’ ob-ui-ra [obuira] ‘2SG–sibling.in.law.oppositie.sex–older’ The reciprocal circumfix em-ma (see §4.2.4), can be added to the sibling nouns to express the meaning ‘related’. The circumfix does not occur on other kinds of kinship nouns. (301) Sis fob ri-ona-ir ri-ofogu cinja erfeka ongga before already 3PL-male-PL 3PL-CL:HUMAN five CL:two REL ri-em-okosa-ma bera ri-eker jah si-if 3PL-RECIP-sibling-RECIP TOP 3PL-sit at NOM-sif ‘During an earlier time there were seven men living here who were related as brothers.’

4.3.5.4 Spouse terms Meyah uses the noun ohona for ‘female spouse’ and ahina for ‘male spouse’. Possessor prefix marking on those nouns is consistent for all number categories. The root-initial vowel /o/ of both nouns elides when the 2SG prefix is added. With the 3SG marked forms, the prefix vowel and the root vowel coalesces. 110 Chapter 4

(302) ed-ohona [edohona] ‘1SG-wife’ ed-ahina [edahina] ‘1SG-husband’ (303) ab-ohona [abhona] ‘2SG-wife’ ab-ahina [abhina] ‘2SG-husband’ (304) me-ohona [mohona] ‘3SG-wife’ me-ahina [mahina] ‘3SG-husband’

4.3.5.5 Child terms Sex is not a determining factor for the noun ‘child’, so esa is used for both male and female children. If, however, the sex of the child needs to be distinguished, ona ‘male/man’ or ojaga ‘female/woman’ is added, as in ed-esa ona ‘1SG-child male’ or ‘my son’. The 3SG possessor prefix used with esa is unique. Instead of the regular 3SG prefix me-, used on other kinship nouns, the prefix ef- is used. In the Meijingga region (see Map 2), speakers use eb- for both 2SG and 3SG on esa. (305) ed-esa ‘1SG-child’ eb-esa ‘2SG-child’ ef-esa ‘3SG-child’ Nouns that refer to ‘child-in-law’ distinguish sex. They are the same reciprocal terms used by Ego to address his/her in-laws. (306) ed-ogona [edgona] ‘1SG-son-in-law’ ed-diba [ediba] ‘1SG-daughter-in-law’ (307) eb-ogona [ebgona] ‘2SG-son-in-law’ eb-diba [ebdiba] ‘2SG-daughter-in-law’ (308) me-ogona [mogona] ‘3SG-son-in-law’ me-diba [mediba] ‘3SG-daughter-in-law’

4.3.5.6 Grandchild term The noun esa ‘child’ also functions as a base for ‘grandchild’. The morpheme deb- marks the noun as ‘grandchild’. Regular possessor prefixes are used to possess the noun. (309) ed-deb-esa [edebesa] ‘1SG-grandchild’ eb-deb-esa [ebdebesa] ‘2SG-grandchild’ me-deb-esa [medebesa] ‘3SG-grandchild’

4.3.5.7 Generic kinship nouns The nouns ofou ‘descendant’ and ebskir ‘relative’ are generic kinship nouns that receive the same general set of possessor prefixes that are used on ‘child’ terms. (310) Ri-ofou en-ebiedi Inyonsa 3PL-descendant DUR-connect Inyonsa ‘Their descendants are related to Inyonsa.’ Word classes 111

(311) Yeyin i-ebskir ri-em-eja erek mesa ongga ri-ofogog 2PL.POSS 2PL-relative 3PL-IRR-go like enemy REL 3PL-dangerous ‘Your family will become like dangerous enemies. (Meyah New Testament, 1997, The Bible League)’ When a possessor prefix is added to ebskir, the initial /eb/ sequence is omitted. Apparently, the plural marker -ir occurs as part of this fused form. The 3SG unmarked form is the same as the 2SG form. (312) ed-ebskir [edskir] ‘1SG-family’ ebksir [ebskir] ‘2SG.family’ ebksir [ebskir] ‘3SG.family’ i-ebskir [ibskir] ‘2PL.family’ ri-ebskir [ribskir] ‘3SG.family’ The noun ebskir can also be used attributively following other nouns, as in (313). (313) Efen ri-osnok ebskir ri-en jeska monuh yes 3SG.POSS 3PL-person relative 3PL-come from place far ‘His/her relatives came from a distant place.’ The noun meiba is a generic term for ‘sibling’. It appears to have a fused alienable noun class prefix m- and so it is not part of the subclass of kinship nouns. It can be possessed with a possessive pronoun, as in dedin meiba ‘my siblings’.

4.3.5.8 Plural marking on inalienable nouns Kinship nouns can take the pluralizer clitics -irga ‘dual’ and -ir ‘plural’. Coalescence occurs between the stem-final vowel and the initial suffix vowel, as in ed-esa-ir [edeser] ‘1SG-children-PL’, ‘my children’. (314) Me-eisa-ir ni me-osu-ir ni me-eka-ir 1PL.EXC-sibling-PL with 1PL.EXC-mother-PL and 1PL.EXC-father-PL ni ri-en-osok mod insa ke-uma jinaga guru with 3PL-DUR-climb house ANAP NOM-that whatsoever NEG ‘Our younger siblings and our mothers and our fathers would not go into that house at all.’ (315) Di-agot fakokor22 gu ed-esa-irga 1SG-say advice to 1SG-child-DUAL ‘I spoke words of advice to my two children.’

4.3.6 Spatial relator nouns Nouns that are used to refer to relational parts of objects, such as ‘side’, ‘front’, ‘back’ and ‘edge’, are mostly body-part nouns. When functioning as spatial nouns they generally occur as unmarked 3SG forms following the nouns they refer to. The construction is similar to the possession of animal body-part nouns described in §4.3.4, which is indicated through juxtaposition. Body-part nouns used metaphorically as spatial relators are well attested in

22 Fakokor is probably a borrowed term from the Biak/Numfor language. 112 Chapter 4 both Oceanic languages (Bowden 1992) and Papuan languages (Foley 1998). Other languages of the East Bird’s Head (e.g. Sougb, Hatam and Abun) use body-part nouns in the same way. In Meyah, body-part nouns inherently distinguish specific shapes and so their use as spatial nouns also reflects shape. There are two spatial relators for ‘middle’ that do not appear to be derived from body-part nouns. They are given last in this section. Meyah apparently lacks a generic spatial relator for ‘top’. Instead, it uses specific terms, such as ofoj ‘point’ for the top of a tree and mejefeyi for ‘house top/roof’. (316) Spatial nouns Noun Translation Location odou ‘liver’ Front ejmeg ‘back’ Back okumfoj ‘waist’ Side efembra ‘shoulder’23 Side/edge osum ‘face/nose’ Peak ofoj ‘penis’24 Point, tip meiskoh ‘underside or buttocks’ Bottom deis – Middle efen – Middle Body-part nouns as spatial relators are illustrated in the following examples. (317) Esiri gu ona ke-uma odou fall at male NOM-that liver ‘He/she fell in front of that man’ (318) kaju efeyi ongga jah odou erek coklat peanut leaf REL at liver like brown ‘Peanut leaves that are brown on the front …’ (319) Rerin ri-ojga mebi insa jeska Warikon osum 3SG.POSS 3PL-origin ground ANAP from Warikon nose ‘Their place of origin is from Warikon point (peninsula).’ (320) Rua ri-osok jah mod osum they 3PL-climb to house nose ‘They climbed up to the roof point.’25 (321) Ot gu monuh Meinun ejmeg stand at place Meinun back ‘He/she stood at the back of Nuni village.’ (322) Eker gu moroju efembra sit at road shoulder ‘He/she waited at the side of the road.’

23 Sometimes ‘efembrah ofoj’. 24 Part of the generic-specific phrasal item eci ofoj ‘genital tip/penis’, which speakers usually shorten to ofoj. 25 Meyah houses have steep, pitched, roofs, hence the corner where the roof comes to a point is called the ‘nose’. Word classes 113

The body-part nouns that express the spatial notion ‘side’ are shape-specific. The noun okumfoj ‘waist’ refers to the side of objects that are flat (323). The noun efembra ‘shoulder’ refers to the side of objects that are long and thin or linear (324). (323) Didif di-ei dedin mod okumfoj aksa I 1SG-build 1SG.POSS house waist tall ‘I made my house with tall walls.’ (324) Ah gu moroju efembra lie.down at path shoulder26 ‘It is on the edge of the path.’ The noun meiskoh ‘bottom’ differs morphologically from the other spatial nouns given above in that it has a fused 3SG possessor prefix me- also used with 3SG kinship nouns (§4.3.5). The prefix is still productive on spatial nouns in Sougb. (325) Bi-ojuj jah mod meiskoh 2SG-descend to house bottom ‘Go underneath the house’ (326) Bi-ja bi-eita merfej ongga esiri jah meiskoh 2SG-go 2SG-take bead REL fall at bottom ‘Go get the beads that fell to the bottom (of the pond).’ Another spatial term that could be considered a body-part noun is efesi ‘hole, cavity’. It occurs as a generic term with other more specific body-part terms, as in osku efesi ‘anus hole’, enesi efesi ‘arm pit’ and osum efesi ‘nose hole’ or ‘nostril’. The spatial relator noun efesi is also used to refer to the ‘inside’ of various objects or locations. (327) Di-ah gu Ambai Efesi 1SG-lie.down at Ambai inside ‘I am living in Ambai village’ (328) Ge-ahca morototuma gij mer efesi egens 2/3DU-sleep together in room inside one ‘They sleep together inside a room.’ (329) Aha manana gij morogum efesi put cassava in clay.pot inside ‘He/she put the cassava into the clay pot.’ Two spatial relator nouns are used to indicate the spatial location ‘middle’. These items do not appear to be derived from body-part nouns. First is the item deis. It is only found modifying alienable nouns in my text corpus. (330) Ri-em-ekeba mod ke-uma deis 3PL-IRR-split house NOM-that middle ‘They would split the house (figuratively) in the middle.’ (331) Eesaga moroju deis arrive road middle ‘He/she arrived in the middle of the road.’

26 Sometimes efembra ofoj ‘shoulder point’. 114 Chapter 4

The other item is efen. It normally functions as the 3SG possessor verb ‘own’ (see (259)). It only modifies large, more expansive, objects, such as a body of water in (332), a land area in (333) and a jungle in (334). It specifies the middle part of those items. (332) Ri-aha gij mei efen 3PL-put in river 3SG.POSS ‘They put it in the middle of the river.’ (333) Ebes mosua efen avoid dry 3SG.POSS ‘He/she avoided the middle of the dry area.’ (334) Er-of moncusurbu efen INST-chop.down dense.jungle 3SG.POSS ‘He/she chopped down the middle of the jungle.’

4.3.7 Compound nouns There are few formal criteria for identifying a compound noun in Meyah. Syntactically, a compound is made up of two or more independent roots of open word classes that occur in juxtaposition. Both members are accented so the only phonological property that distinguishes the construction as a compound noun is the lack of a pause between the members of the construction. Morphological properties are limited. The first member in the construction is always a noun. The second member can be a noun or a verb. Noun + verb compounds follow normal word order thus they resemble subject-predicate constructions or noun phrases when adjectival verbs are used. The difference is that the noun + verb compounds express single conceptual units. Meyah also uses the proform mar ‘thing’ in combination with other nouns or verbs to produce new nouns. With some compounds the meaning can be derived from the sum of its members. With others meaning is not predictable. Some compounds may be further along on the lexicalization cline, as some of the forms in (343) indicate. Noun + noun compounds will be covered in §4.3.7.1, followed by noun + verb compounds in §4.3.7.2. In the latter section I will also show how some compounds have lexicalized as monomorphemic noun roots.

4.3.7.1 Noun + noun compounds Two or more independent noun roots can combine to express new nominal meanings. If an inalienable noun occurs in the construction, it is always the second member. Some compounds are composed of three nouns when the second member of the compound is also a compound noun. (335) mar eitofu meisoufa aki thing forehead ‘headband’ clothes leg ‘pants’ meg mei efeni mowa eiteij boat cloth breath ‘sailboat’ sun eye ‘clock’ mowa aki kumfan efej sun leg ‘ray’ money seed ‘coin’ Word classes 115

Nouns that describe things such as fishes, trees, landforms and water bodies are compound nouns involving a generic noun as the first member and a specifier as the second member. The specifier can be a noun, a verb or an . A list of such compounds is given in (336). (336) mebi mebsta ground sand ‘desert’ mebi edeider ground level ‘plains’ mos osoka fish jump ‘mackerel’ mei efesa water child ‘tributary’ mei eiteij water eye ‘spring’ memaga mosu mountain mother ‘mountain range’ memaga ofog mountain round ‘hills’

4.3.7.2 Noun + verb compounds Noun roots can combine with transitive and intransitive verb roots to express new nominal meanings. When a verb occurs as the second member of a compound construction, it does not take any verbal inflections. Since the subject always precedes the verb in Meyah, noun + verb compounds are syntactically the same as subject-predicate constructions. However, the construction produces new nominals that function as subjects or objects in the clause, as illustrated in the examples below. Since both members can receive an accent, only the lack of a pause between the members identifies them phonologically as a compound. However, in natural rapid speech they are frequently pronounced as one phonological word with vowel coalescence. (337) mod ofokor house learn ‘school’ kabar27 ofu ship fly ‘airplane’ mof ofog wind round ‘ball’ (338) Mar agos en-ah gij mod thing die DUR-lie.down in house The corpse is in the house. (339) Ri-of terapan nou kabar ofu ke-uma 3PL-cover tarp for ship fly NOM-that ‘They covered that plane with a tarp.’

27 From the Indonesian, kapal ‘ship’. 116 Chapter 4

Some time expressions are formed by noun + verb compounds. The units occur in clause-initial or final positions as temporal adverbials (see §4.5.5). (340) mona kahma28 time afterward ‘future’ mona ensis time old ‘past’ A large number of nouns are formed by juxtaposing the proform mar ‘thing’, an independent noun root, with an intransitive verb root. The use of mar as a nominalizer in compound constructions is attested in other languages of the Bird’s Head region, such as the Mpur term bar ‘thing’ (Odé 2002:54), the term po ‘thing’ in Maybrat (Dol 1999:99ff.) and possibly ara ‘(some)thing’ in Sougb. Examples in (341) show the use of mar in Meyah. (341) mar ensesa thing fragrant ‘scent’ mar efeyi ebsi thing leaf white ‘Bible’ mar eyej thing wet ‘medicine’ (i.e. syrup type) mar eyet thing stick ‘glue’ Abstract nominal meanings are also formed when mar combines with various alienable nouns, inalienable nouns and intransitive verbs. Nearly all abstract nouns in Meyah are formed through this type of compound. (342) mar moisu thing shaman ‘magic’ mar oga thing voice ‘dispute’ mar okum thing heavy ‘punishment’ mar ocunc thing point ‘example’ Meyah has many nouns that begin with mar-, such as marosk ‘bride price items’ and marska ‘game/meat’, which are probably lexicalized mar compounds. However, the members of those forms are no longer separable. Other compounds, such as those in (342), are not as far along on the lexicalization cline in that the boundary between the members is still clear. However, they are always expressed as one phonological word with one accent and yield new nominal meanings.

28 The word okahma ‘afterward’ (di-okahma [dukahma] ‘1SG-afterward’), loses its initial vowel when it occurs following temporal nouns, e.g. mona kahma ‘later on’. Word classes 117

(343) mar otub → martub thing finger ring mar et → mat 29 thing eat food mega efej → megej tree dry firewood mebi ekeni → mekeni ground red garden moc ogugur → mocog cloud thunder gun

4.3.8 Numerals and classifiers In Meyah, when a noun is counted from ‘one’ to ‘three’ a numeral classifier is usually used in the construction. The existence of numeral classifiers presupposes that numerals are a special word class (see Aikhenvald 2000:99). Meyah also uses noun classifiers, which are obligatory in a numeral phrase. Meyah noun classifiers are independent lexical items, whereas numeral classifiers are composed of a numeral classifier prefix and a numeral stem. The numerals for ‘four’ and above are not modified by numeral classifier prefixes, nor do they require noun classifiers. For those reasons, numerals, numeral classifiers and noun classifiers will be treated together in this section. The cardinal numbers will be presented first in §4.3.8.1, followed by the numeral classifiers in §4.3.8.2 and the noun classifiers in §4.3.8.3. Less specific enumeration with ordinators (§4.3.8.4) and indefinite quantification (§4.3.8.5) will complete the discussion.

4.3.8.1 Cardinal numbers The majority of number systems in New Guinea are mixed in various ways (see Laycock 1975). Meyah is no different. It uses a mixed quinary/vigesimal system, with distinct numerals for five, ten, and twenty. However, Moskona, a close relative of Meyah, has a unique number for fifteen, hence it uses a quinary/quindecimal/vigesimal system (Gloria Gravelle 2009). In Meyah there are unique roots for the numerals ‘one’ to ‘five’. The numerals ‘one’ to ‘three’ in (344) are from numeral class 1 for humans (see Table 13 in §4.3.8.2). The terms for ‘six’ through ‘nine’ are compounds using cinja ‘five’ with the numerals ‘one’ through ‘four’. The numerals ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ used in compounds for higher numbers are chosen from numeral class 6 for stick-shaped objects. Thus the numerals most likely refer to fingers, although the term is not explicit in the construction. The term for ‘ten’ setka is probably a fused reduction of the phrase osnok etka ‘person divide/split’. (344) Numerals ‘one’ through ‘ten’ egens ‘one’ egeka ‘two’ orgomu ‘three’ tohkuru ‘four’

29 Speakers of the Testega dialect say mart ‘food’ (see §1.9.5). 118 Chapter 4

cinja ‘five’ cinja erfens ‘+ one (six)’ cinja erfeka ‘+ two (seven)’ cinja orfomu ‘+ three (three)’ cinja tohkuru ‘+ four (four)’ setka ‘one divided person (ten)’ The numerals ‘eleven’ through ‘fourteen’ use setka and then add the term kungkob. The term appears to be a reduced phrase that includes the noun okob ‘toe’. The phrase jah enama ‘at side’ is used when adding the numerals ‘one’ to ‘four’. For the numerals ‘fifteen’ to ‘nineteen’ cinja ‘five’ is added to the phrase. (345) setka kungkob jah enama erfens ten toe at side one ‘ten + one toe’ (eleven) (346) setka kungkob jah enama cinja erfens ten toe at side five one ‘ten + six toes’ (sixteen) The younger generation drops jah enama ‘at side’ from the phrase: (347) setka kungkob erfens ten toe one ‘ten + one toe’ (eleven) (348) setka kungkob cinja erfens ten toe five one ‘ten + six toes’ (sixteen) The older generation uses the phrase isnok egens ‘person one’ (or ten fingers and ten toes) for ‘twenty’. The numeral ‘one’ is from the numeral class 1 for humans. The term isnok ‘person’ is marked by the 2PL prefix i-. The related Moskona language also marks the term with the prefix i-, which is 3PL in that language. It is not clear why the Meyah 2PL or the Moskona 3PL prefix is required when the root functions as a numeral. The younger generation no longer use the phrase isnok egens for ‘twenty’. Instead they use the compound setka egeka ‘ten two’, as in (350). (349) i-osnok egens 2PL-person one ‘one person’ (twenty) (350) setka egeka ten two ‘ten x two’ (twenty) For the numerals ‘twenty one’ through ‘twenty nine’ the construction includes the coordinator noba ‘and’. When reaching forty, the choice is again between isnok egeka ‘person two’ or setka tohkuru ‘ten x four’ and so on for ‘sixty’ and ‘eighty’ until reaching one hundred. The examples in (351) reflect the phrases used by the younger generation. The older generation adds jah enama ‘at side’, as in (345) above, after the coordinator noba. (351) setka egeka noba egens ‘twenty one’ setka egeka noba egeka ‘twenty two’ setka egeka noba orgomu ‘twenty three’ setka egeka noba tohkuru ‘twenty four’ setka egeka noba cinja ‘twenty five’ setka egeka noba cinja erfens ‘twenty six’ Word classes 119

setka egeka noba cinja erfeka ‘twenty seven’ setka egeka noba cinja orfomu ‘twenty eight’ setka egeka noba cinja tohkuru ‘twenty nine’ setka orgomu ‘thirty’ The numeral wuntin ‘hundred’ is probably borrowed from the Biak/Numfor term utin ‘hundred’ (see Reesink 2002b:36). The older generation uses the term wuntin setka ‘hundred ten’ for ‘one thousand’. The younger generation uses the Indonesian term ribu ‘thousand’, as in ribu egens ‘one thousand’. (352) wuntin ‘hundred’ wuntin setka / ribu ‘thousand’ When counting the days of the week (353), the numerals for ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ are replaced by the ordinators juens ‘first’, jueka ‘second’ and juomu ‘third’, discussed in §4.3.8.4 below. The regular numerals are used for ‘four’ through ‘seven’. The construction uses the noun mona ‘time/day’ followed by an ordinator or a numeral. (353) mona juens ‘day first’ Monday mona jueka ‘day second’ Tuesday mona juomu ‘day third’ Wednesday mona tohkuru ‘day four’ Thursday mona cinja ‘day five’ Friday mona cinja erfens ‘day six’ Saturday mona cinja erfeka ‘day seven’ Sunday

4.3.8.2 Numeral classifiers The Meyah language has nine classifiers for marking the numerals ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three.’ The classifier prefixes appear to divide nouns into various semantic classes. Numerals above three do not take classifier markers. Instead, class 1 prefixes associated with humans are used. Numeral classifiers appear to be somewhat uncommon among Papuan languages in general. Some documentation shows that they mostly occur in Papuan languages that are situated along the north coast of New Guinea and adjacent islands (Donohue 2000). The only other East Bird’s head phylum language that uses classifiers is the closely related Moskona language (Gloria Gravelle 2000). The other phylum members, Sougb (Reesink 2002a) and Hatam (Reesink 1999), do not appear to have numeral classification, nor does the West Papuan phylum Mpur language (Odé 2002). Tidore (van Staden 2000) on Halmahera island northwest of the Bird’s Head peninsula uses numeral classifiers. In Meyah, numerals appear to be composed of a numeral stem plus a numeral classifier prefix. Numeral classifiers that are prefixes are apparently rare cross-linguistically (Aikhenvald 2000:105). However, considering that Meyah is predominantly a prefixing language, it is not surprising that the numeral classifier in Meyah is also a prefix. Table 12 lists the division of nouns based on the classifier prefix. There are four general categories indicated by classifier prefixes: (1) humans, (2) animals, (3) edibles and (4) non- edibles. Class 1 is human nouns, but it also includes inanimate items that are closely associated with humans. Classes 2 and 3 divide animals according to locations above ground or on the ground. Classes 4 and 5 are for food and they also divide items according 120 Chapter 4 to their location on the ground or above ground. Class 6 is for stick-shaped functional items. Class 7 is for long flexible items. Class 8 is for thick flat items, and class 9 is for thin flat items. Table 12: Numeral classes Class 1 Humans + things closely associated with humans Class 2 Ground animals Class 3 Air animals Class 4 Food that grows on the ground Class 5 Food that grows above ground Class 6 Stick-like functional items Class 7 Long flexible items Class 8 Thick flat items Class 9 Thin flat items

The numeral in class 1 of Table 13 below classifies humans. It also includes things like fire, gardens and boats, probably because of their cultural importance (see Denny 1986). More recently introduced objects like chair and table are also included in class 1. Time nouns for ‘day’, ‘week,’ ‘month’ and ‘year’ can also be quantified and fall under class 1. The numerals in classes 2 and 3 generally classify animals according to whether they live on the ground or above ground. Curiously, string bag is included with animals in class 2.30 Chickens are included with other ground animals in class 2 since they spend most of their time on the ground. A tree kangaroo is included with birds in class 3 for things that live above ground. Nouns in classes 4 and 5 appear to be somewhat idiosyncratic in regard to plant/food numeral classification. However, those classes loosely divide plants according to whether they grow near the ground or above the ground. Class 6 includes various kinds of tools, including some more recently introduced items, such as bush knife and gun. The noun ‘cloth’ is included in class 6 because it is a ‘tool’ primarily used for bargaining. The nouns in classes 7 through 9 generally divide according to their shape. Introduced objects are also added to these classes according to their shape. Examples of numeral classifiers in a noun phrase will given in (354) through (356).

Table 13: Numeral classifier CL One Two Three Examples 1 eg-ens eg-eka org-omu Human, fire, garden, chair, table, boat, day, week 2 or-ins or-ingka or-umu Pig, dog, turtle, lizard, cassowary, chicken, bag 3 ers-ins er-iska os-umu Bird, butterfly, mosquito, tree kangaroo, rat 4 ert-ens et-eka ort-omu Peanut, long bean, tomato, banana, corn, shell, egg 5 er-ens er-eka or-omu Lemon, orange, papaya, squash, corn, cucumber 6 erf-ens erf-eka orf-omu Planting stick, arrow, bow, axe, knife, gun, cloth 7 orj-ins or-ijka orj-umu Rope, snake, belt, fish, sugarcane, sweet potato 8 erb-ins erb-ika ob-umu Tree bark, floorboard, plywood 9 ork-ens ork-eka ork-omu Leaf, paper, tin roofing material

30 The Moskona language also includes ‘string bag’ with the animal class. Word classes 121

The morpheme parsing in Table 13 is only an attempt to identify the classifier prefixes. A degree of fusion makes the morpheme boundaries somewhat unclear. Normally, prefix vowels and stem-initial vowels coalesce retaining the height of the prefix vowel and the backness of the stem-initial vowel (see §2.6). This most likely explains why there are three identifiable classifier prefixes er-, eg- and or-. The numerals are part of the /e, a, o/ class of stems (see §4.2) so they can take a subject prefix and function as intransitive verbs, as in rua ri-orgomu ‘they 3PL-three’ or ‘they are three people’. Three prefixes are also identifiable on noun classifiers, shown in Table 14. Those prefixes are probably a reduction of the general classifier efaga ‘body’. The numeral classifier prefixes also occur on the interrogative quantifier stem -gaho ‘how many/much’ (354), (355) and the specifier stem -ema ‘other/another’ (356). (See §4.3.8.3 that follows for explanation of the nouns classifiers that appear in these examples.) (354) Mos efaga or-gaho fish CL:BODY CL:7-how.many ‘How many fish?’ (355) Metrem efebi er-gaho corn CL:PLANT CL:5-how.many ‘How much corn?’ (356) Beda ob efebi er-ema dokun then cover CL:PLANT CL:5-other addition ‘Then he/she covered another fruit.’ Nouns like ‘water’, ‘sand’, ‘grass’, ‘rice’ and ‘gravel’ are mass nouns. These kinds of nouns do not take a numeral classifier prefix. They can be quantified by the indefinite quantifier ofoukou ‘many’ or intensified by eteb ‘big’, as in mebsta eteb ‘sand much’.

4.3.8.3 Noun classifiers Noun classification is a common typological feature of Papuan languages (Foley 1986:88). Meyah uses six different noun classifiers when counting different types of nouns. The classifiers are derived from nouns, which is a typical grammaticalization path for noun classifiers (see Lehmann 1993). They classify nouns according to inherent qualities (see Dixon 1986). They are obligatory in numeral phrases when counting nouns from ‘one’ to ‘three’. However, only sortal nouns can be classified. As mentioned earlier, mass nouns in Meyah are not morphologically classifiable. Like numeral classifiers, the noun classifiers indicate four semantic categories: (1) humans; (2) animals; (3) food; and (4) body-shaped objects. With numeral classification, animals divide into two categories based on location, whereas under noun classification they do not. Food does divide according to location under both systems. Unlike numeral classes, the inanimate noun classes include edibles and non-edibles in the same class (see Table 14) since shape is the main criterion for those classes. In addition, numeral classifiers indicate thick and thin items whereas noun classifiers indicate round and flat items. With noun classifiers the animal subdivision only includes warm-blooded animals. Insects and cold-blooded animals are classified with inanimate objects based on shape. As mentioned earlier, the noun classifiers are all derived from nouns, but they are inalienable nouns, hence they also belong to the /e, a, o/ class of stems, which can function 122 Chapter 4 as verbs. The classifiers also appear to have a fossilized possessor prefix Vf-, which could be a reduction of the verb efen ‘possess’. Table 14 shows that class 1 only classifies humans. Class 2 classifies animals and the noun mod ‘house’. A house is referred to metaphorically as a living creature. Body-part nouns, such as back, side, and liver (front) are used to describe sections of a house (see §4.3.6), hence their inclusion in class 2 with animals. Class 3 classifies edible plants that grow below ground. Class 4 classifies edible plants that grow above ground. Class 5 classifies round objects. Class 6 classifies flat objects. Plant nouns can shift their class affiliation. For example, banana (class 4) shifts to class 5 after it is picked. Peanut (class 3) shifts to class 4 after it has been harvested. Insects and snakes are included in classes 5 and 6 generally based on shape.

Table 14: Noun sortal classifiers CL Classifier Translation Examples 1 of-ogu ‘flesh’ Human (of-ogu = ‘its flesh’) 2 ef-aga ‘body’ Animal, house (ef-aga ‘its body’), body-shaped 3 ef-ema ‘tuber/legume’ Potato, cassava, taro, peanut 4 ef-ebi ‘fruit/vegetable’ Banana, peanut, papaya, coconut, lemon, tomato 5 of-og ‘round’ Banana, cabbage, ball, coin, rope, mosquito, snake 6 ef-eyi ‘leaf’ Leafy vegetable, paper, tin roofing, axe, fish

Some examples of the noun sortal classifiers are given below. Also see §5.4.4 on the distribution of noun and numeral classifiers within the noun phrase. The position of the number relative to the demonstrative in (357) is due to the fact that only numerals ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ can float to other positions (§5.4.4). (357) Er-oduis mongka ke-uma efebi erens INST-pierce pandanus NOM-that CL:FRUIT CL:ROUND.one ‘(Using something) he/she pierced that one pandanus fruit.’ (358) efen kaju efebi ofoukou insa ke-uma 3SG.POSS peanut CL:FRUIT much ANAP NOM-that ‘those aforementioned peanuts of his/hers.’ (359) Mek efaga oringka eseiseifa pig CL:ANIMAL CL:2 lose ‘Two pigs were lost.’ A subject/possessor agreement prefix occurs on the noun classifier ofogu ‘flesh’ for humans, however it does not occur on other noun classes. In a presentative construction (§7.5.1.7) the noun classifier ofogu is a verbal predicate, allowing a durative prefix (en-) to be added to the verb. (360) Ri-ona-ir ri-ofogu cinja er-feka ri-en-ofogu-uma 3PL-male-PL 3PL-CL:FLESH five CL:two 3PL-DUR-flesh-there ‘There are seven men.’ Word classes 123

Meyah uses the generic quantifier ebic ‘group’ for all types of nouns. Because it signifies indefinite quantification, it does not occur with noun classifiers or numeral classifiers. (361) Meren ebic bera ke-uma lake group TOP NOM-that ‘Those are a group of lakes.’ (362) Bi-eker rot gu menei ebic 2SG-sit concerning at banana group ‘Wait in the banana grove.’ (363) I-en-erek ebic ongga ot rot rua enjgineg 2PL-DUR-COP group REL stand concerning they other ‘You are a group that represents the others.‘

4.3.8.4 Ordinators Ordinators indicate that the referents they modify belong to a linearly ordered series of entities. They indicate the position of the referent in the sequence (Dik 1997:178). Meyah only uses the ordinators ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’. The ordinators are composed of a numeral stem from class 1 (see Table 13) and the ordinator prefix ju-. The ordinators can be used attributively following a head noun or adverbially following a verb, as illustrated below. Another type of ordinator is the term osuira ‘last’. Although it does not take the ordinator prefix, it can function like other ordinators in a noun phrase. (364) Ofa agot ju-ens gu Ickefek he/she say ORD-first to Ickefek ‘He/she spoke first to Ickefek.’ (365) Eker gu mona ju-eka sit at day ORD-second ‘He/she waited until the second day.’ (366) Ej-ohca gu mod ju-omu INCEP-search at house ORD-third ‘He/she began searching in the third house.’ (367) Em-otunggom bi-ojaga erek osuira IRR-make 2SG-woman like last ‘He would make you, the woman, last.’ As noted above, the interrogative quantifier stem -gaho takes the same posited numeral classifier prefixes as numeral stems do. The stem has also fused with what might have been an ordinator prefix ju-, as in juaho ‘which’. In this case, the initial consonant of -gaho is lost. (368) Mona ju-aho bua bi-em-eja time ORD-which you 2SG-IRR-go ‘On which day are you intending to leave?’ 124 Chapter 4

4.3.8.5 Indefinite quantification We saw in §4.2.2.3 that quantifiers have morphological characteristics of verbs and function as stative intransitive verbs. A list of quantifying verbs is provided in that section. Like adjectival verbs, quantifiers can also be used as attributive modifiers of a head noun. In this case they express indefinite quantification. Examples of their attributive use following the noun are given in (369) and (372). (369) Merenrah ojgomu erek moncusurbu efeda era meyaga efeda tuturu forest only like dense.jungle many or vines many totally ‘The forest was very dense and totally full of vines.’ (370) Mi-erefa mat efej ofoukou fob 1PL.INC-plant food seed many already ‘We have already planted many seedlings.’ (371) Gij mona eneya ofos osou-sowu ojgomuja in time some skin RED-tremble continuous ‘On some days he/she just shivers continuously.’ (372) Rerin mos oskiai tein 3PL.POSS fish a.little also ‘They also had a small number of fish.’

4.4 Spatial deixis The Meyah spatial deixis system makes a three-way distinction for distance in relation to a speech participant. The distinctions are near speaker, away from speaker and more distant from speaker. In addition, there are two elevational deictic elements that mark noun phrases and locationals as ‘below’ or ‘above’ in relation to a speech participant. Spatial deictic constructions also make use of directional verbs that indicate whether an event is performed towards or away from the speaker. Spatial deictic elements function as enclitics to noun phrases, as prepositional objects and as adverbials. Similar spatial deixis systems using similar marking strategies are found in other East Bird’s Head languages. For example, Hatam (Reesink 1999:60) uses a three- way system for distance, but includes a third elevational element for ‘far across’. This category includes two forms that indicate whether the referent is ‘visible’ or ‘invisible’.31 Those latter two distinctions are not overtly marked in Meyah. The Sougb deixis system is closer to Meyah using a three-way system for distance and a two-way system for elevational orientation. Sougb, like Meyah, uses directional verbs to indicate whether movement is towards or away from the speaker. Meyah signals the cardinal directions ‘north’ and ‘south’ with lexical items. The directions ‘east’ and ‘west’ are expressed through phrasal constructions. A summary of spatial deixis morphology is given in Table 15 in §4.4.5.

4.4.1 Distance clitics if, uma, unj Relative distance from a speech participant can be indicated on nouns and prepositions by the deictic enclitics if ‘near’, uma ‘away’ and unj ‘more distant’. The clitics function as

31 Reesink pers. comm. Word classes 125 spatial determiners in a noun phrase. Due to that, other spatial determiners, such as those that mark elevational orientation, cannot occur with them in the same noun phrase. The examples below illustrate the deictics’ position as the last item in the phrase. They are glossed as if ‘this’, uma ‘that’ and unj ‘yonder’. When the NP is elided they can also be hosted by the verb. See (381)–(382). (373) Bi-agei meic-if rot ahais 2SG-hold ladle-this concerning strong ‘Really hold on to this ladle.’ (374) Osk aki tera mei-uma extend foot above river-that ‘He/she extends his/her foot above that river.’ (375) rua ongga ri-en-eker gu mega-unj they REL 3PL-DUR-sit at tree-yonder ‘they who were waiting at those distant trees’ (376) Ge-ohoturu ri-osnok eteb-if 2/3DU-gather 3PL-person large-this ‘They gathered this large group of people.’ (377) Tina ager en-edi ona egens-uma but melt DUR-hit male one-that ‘But the (tin that we) melted did not hit that man’s (hand).’ The enclitics attach to prepositions when a locative noun is omitted. (378) Ogufu en-otkinaja jah sif blood DUR-spill to here ‘His/her blood flowed to here.’ (379) Eker rot jah-uma sit concerning to-that ‘He/she waited at that (tree).’ (380) Finder en-ah jah-unj Finder DUR-lie.down to-yonder ‘Finder (village) is at that (place) over yonder.’ The clitics can also attach to verbs when core or oblique arguments are omitted from the clause. (381) Di-okut-uma raha tenten 1SG-hunt-that morning true ‘I hunted that (animal) very early in the morning.’ (382) Di-ebe-usaha ri-oforoka ri-oforkor-if 1SG-LOAN-endeavor 3PL-youth 3PL-learn-here ‘I try to work hard to ensure that the young people can attend school here.’ (383) Ojuj-unj ojgomu beda ot gu Meyowuk descend-yonder only then stand at Meyowuk ‘He/she just descended (to a place) over yonder then waited at Meyowuk village.’ 126 Chapter 4

4.4.2 Demonstrative Demonstratives are formed by combining the nominalizer prefix ke- with one of the deictic clitics mentioned above. The unit stands as a free form in the clause and marks the noun phrase as presupposed information. The realized forms are given in Table 15 in §4.4.5. (384) Mar ke-if bera mi-en-et guru thing NOM-this TOP 1PL.INC-DUR-eat NEG ‘As for these things, we do not eat them.’ (385) Ge-orka mar efej ke-uma nomnaga 2/3DU-carry thing seed NOM-that all ‘They carry all those seedlings.’ (386) Edi mah jera mega ke-unj hit fire with tree NOM-that.yonder ‘He/she lit that distant tree on fire.’ Meyah uses three lexical items to narrow the scope of definiteness of nominal referents. An indefinite nominal referent is one followed by the numeral egens ‘one’, which also functions as the indefinite article ‘a’, as in (387). The addition of a demonstrative pronoun makes the nominal referent definite, as in (388). Coupling the article egens and a demonstrative expresses intensification, as in (389). (387) Di-efesij mahteyi egens gu iwa 1SG-tell story one to you ‘I will tell you a story.’ (388) Orka mat ke-uma jah sif carry food NOM-that to here ‘He/she brought that food here.’ (389) Mahteyi egens ke-uma bera efen ofoka Inggumei story one NOM-that TOP 3SG.POSS name Inggumei gonu Ingkekesa with Ingkekesa ‘As for that one particular story, it is called Inggumei and Ingkekesa.’ Reduplication of the nominalizer prefix ke- on demonstratives is another way to express emphasis. See also §2.7.7 on reduplication of demonstratives. (390) oforoka efes egens ke-ke-if child young one RED-NOM-this ‘this very child’ (391) mamu ke-ke-uma stone RED-NOM-that ‘that particular stone’ (392) Ri-ona ensis ke-ke-uma ri-en-ejginaga rot mosona-ir guru 3PL-male old RED-NOM-that 3PL-DUR-know concerning foreigner-PL NEG ‘Those particular people of an earlier time did not know about foreigners.’ Word classes 127

4.4.3 Locative adverbials The spatial deictic clitics (§4.4.1) can attach to nouns and prepositions to indicate the relative distance of a referent from a speech participant. The nominalizer prefix si- added to the clitics derives the locatives ‘here’ ‘there’ and ‘there yonder’. They occur as prepositional objects that express locationals in the clause. The realized forms are given in Table 15. (393) Bi-orka meic jah si-if 2SG-carry ladle to NOM-here ‘Bring the ladle here.’ (394) Bi-eker jah si-if beda di-oksons 2SG-sit at NOM-here then 1SG-return ‘Stay here and I will return.’ (395) Ef mek ai jah si-uma shoot pig INT at NOM-there ‘He/she shot the pig just over there.’ (396) Ri-eja ri-eker jah si-uma 3PL-go 3PL-sit to NOM-there ‘They go stay there.’ (397) Ah gu finder jah si-unj lie.down at Finder to NOM-yonder ‘He/she lives at Finder (village) over yonder.’

4.4.4 Elevational clitics -inda and -imba The deictic clitics -inda ‘above’ and -imba ‘below’ added to nouns or their attributive modifiers specify the elevational orientation of a nominal referent in relation to a speech participant. (398) Ofa eja jah mebi-imba he/she throw to ground-below ‘He/she went to the area down below.’ (399) Eja eifef Ikofoi ofos-inda go climb Ikofoi peak-above ‘He/she went and climbed Ikofoi peak above.’ (400) Di-eisa mah-inda jeskaseda di-ej-ek fog 1SG-light fire-above in.order.to 1SG-INCEP-see first ‘First I lit a fire above so that I could go see.’ The clitics can also be added to verbs when a locative noun phrase is not in focus hence omitted from the clause. The realized forms are in brackets. (401) Beda Warmoda okoja jefeda eja-imba [ejemba] then Warmoda reject therefore go-below ‘Then Warmoda rejected (something) therefore he went (somewhere) below.’ 128 Chapter 4

(402) Ofa esaga-inda [esagenda] he/she arrive-above ‘He she arrived (at the area) above.’ (403) Eja ot-imba noba eyajga sons [otimba] go stand-below and look return ‘He/she went to stand below and looked back.’ The nominalizer prefix ke- can be added to -inda and -imba to derive attributive demonstratives that give marked focus to the elevational orientation of a noun making it more prominent. (404) Meg ke-inda ongga Serwir aha mah gij bera eja ke-enefa boat NOM-above REL Serwir put fire in TOP go NOM-which ‘As for the boat above that Serwir burned out, to which place did it go?’ (405) Eja ojoros Singgen osum ke-imba go until Singgen nose NOM-below ‘He/she went until (reaching) Singgen peninsula below.’ The nominalizer si- combines with elevational clitics to derive locative nouns. The nouns function as prepositional objects that give marked focus to a location above or below in relation to a speech participant. The nouns can be expressed directly when the preposition is omitted. (406) Esaga jah si-inda beda agot joug-ir arrive at NOM-above then say ADV-3PL ‘He/she arrived up there and then exhorted them.’ (407) Ofa ot jah si-imba he/she stand at NOM-below ‘He/she stood down below.’ (408) Ombug ot si-imba Ombug stand NOM-below ‘Ombug stood down below.’

4.4.5 Directionals Meyah uses the directional verbs eja ‘go’ and en ‘come’ as adverbial modifiers that indicate whether an activity is performed towards or away from a speech participant. They occur following other deictic elements, such as the distance deictic in (409) and the elevational deictics in (410) and (411). Directional verbs most commonly occur with motion verbs, such as ‘climb’ and ‘descend’ (see §7.6.5). (409) Mes osok mekta-inda eja dog climb field-above go ‘The dog climbed upward away from here.’ (410) Ri-osoka-imba en 3PL-jump-below come ‘They jumped down towards here.’ Word classes 129

(411) Eja gu meren efei-imba eja go to lake liquid-below go ‘He/she went below to the lakeshore going away from here.’ Although directional verbs more commonly occur with verbs that express motion events, they can also occur with verbs that express stationary events, as in (412) where ‘light’ is a stationary event. The directional verb describes the location of the event expressed by the main verb. (412) Eisa mah-uma eja light fire-that go ‘He/she lit that fire over there (i.e. further away from here).’ (413) Erefa meseifek mocongga mongkiok ke-inda en plant chili arrow.shaft cassava NOM-above come ‘He/she planted chili peppers, (plants used for) arrow shafts and cassava up above coming towards here. ‘ (414) Rua ri-eker gu memaga ofos ke-inda eja they 3PLsit at mountain peak NOM-above go ‘They lived above on the mountaintop away from here.’ Spatial deictic elements that distinguish distance or elevational orientation are not required in a clause that includes a directional verb. Thus in the absence of other deictic elements the directional verb occurs adjacent to the main verb. (415) Ri-ojuj en skoita rerin ri-osnok ongga ri-eker 3PL-descend come to 3PL.POSS 3PL-person REL 3PLsit gu Munukwar at Manokwari ‘They descended coming towards their people who lived in Manokwari.’ Meyah also has a small set of directional verb constructions that denote the motion of ‘converging’ from a specific location. The constructions involve the stem os ‘converge’, which apparently cannot occur as an unmarked form, a distance deictic clitic and the directional verb en ‘come’ (416). (416) os-if en ‘converge from a close point’ os-unj en ‘converge from a distant point’ os-inda en ‘converge from above to below’ os-imba en ‘converge from below to above’ Table 15 provides a summary of all the spatial deictic elements that express demonstratives and locationals. The data show how the deictic elements can be nominalized by ke- and si- and occur as freestanding units in the clause. See §2.6 for an explanation of coalescence between prefix and stem vowels. The interrogative word sinefa [si-enefa] ‘NOM- where’ (§4.8) reveals that the prefix is si- and not just s-, as the examples in the table might suggest. 130 Chapter 4

Table 15: Demonstrative pronoun and locative noun morphology

Prefix Deictic base Demonstrative Prefix Deictic base Locative ke- if [kef ] ‘this’ si- if [sif] ‘here’ ke- uma [koma] ‘that’ si- uma [suma] ‘there’ ke- unj [konj] ‘that yonder’ si- unj [sunj] ‘there yonder’ ke- imba [kemba] ‘that below’ si- imba [simba] ‘there below’ ke- inda [kenda] ‘that above’ si- inda [sinda] ‘there above’ ke- enefa [kenefa] ‘which place’ si- sinefa [sinfa] ‘where’

4.4.6 Anaphoric demonstrative insa When a new topic is introduced in a discourse (see §11.6) focus on that topic can be maintained by use of the anaphoric demonstrative insa. As described by Givón (1990:74), anaphoric reference functions to instruct the hearer on how to locate the referent within his/her mental storage. In Meyah, the anaphoric insa is optionally used with the spatial determiners ‘this’, ‘that’ and ‘that yonder’ to import their spatial sense into the temporal domain. Reesink (1987:214) notes that, In most Papuan languages it seems the far deictic is used anaphorically, while the near deictic is used cataphorically. Or, if the language uses a three-way categorization, roughly meaning ‘near the speaker’, ‘near the addressee’ and ‘away from both’, it is often the form for ‘near the addressee’ that is used for anaphoric reference. With the Meyah three-way system, the form for ‘away from speaker’ can also be used anaphorically when coupled with insa. For example, when insa occurs with the demonstrative kef ‘this’, then focus is placed on a subject or object constituent recently mentioned, as in (417). When insa occurs with koma ‘that’, then focus is on the constituent mentioned at a time further removed, as in (418). When insa occurs with konj ‘that yonder’ (or ‘away from speaker’), then focus is on a topic mentioned at a time more further removed (419). (417) erek mok insa ke-if like cup ANAP NOM-this ‘like this cup (just mentioned).’ (418) Mi-er-agob mekeni insa ke-uma 1PL.INC-INST-strike garden ANAP NOM-that ‘We tilled that garden (mentioned earlier).’ (419) En jeska Warikon osum en-oros Asra insa ke-unj come from Warikon nose DUR-until Asra ANAP NOM-that.yonder ‘He/she came from Warikon village peninsula continuing until that (much earlier mentioned) Asra village.’ Chafe (1976:33) states that givenness is a status decided on by the speaker. The speaker assesses how current the topic is in the consciousness of the hearer and then decides on what degree of topic refocusing is needed. He argues that scalarity has not been demonstrated in languages, thus given as opposed to new information can only be considered a discrete dichotomy. While this is also true of Meyah, the use of insa with spatial determiners provides some linguistic evidence that the location of a given topic in time is scaleable. That is, the Word classes 131 form insa expresses givenness, while the spatial demonstratives are added to specify distance in time. The examples below show further examples of topics that are arranged from the most recent in the discourse (i.e. unmarked) to the most distant (i.e. marked by insa konj). (420) Monghu odou os ofa Monghu liver rub him/her ‘Monghu wanted him/her.’ (421) Beda ri-en-ef mosona insa ke-if then 3PL-DUR-shoot foreigner ANAP NOM-this ‘Then they shot this foreigner (recently mentioned).’ (422) Pendeta ke-uma agot gu rua insa ke-uma pastor NOM-that say to them ANAP NOM-that ‘That pastor spoke to them (mentioned earlier).’ (423) Rerin mebi ojoros Asra insa ke-unj 3PL.POSS ground until Asra ANAP NOM-that.yonder ‘They possessed land as far as Asra (mentioned much earlier).’ The addition of the mood clitic a- to insa gives added emphasis to the identity of the noun head referent, i.e. ‘the very one mentioned earlier’.32 (424) Ojoros mona a-insa ke-if bera ri-osnok ri-odou ot nou until time EMP-ANAP NOM-this TOP 3PL-person 3PL-liver stand for ‘Until this very moment people are interested in it.’ (425) Me-eka eita mek ofon a-insa ke-uma gu ofa 3SG-father give pig tooth EMP-ANAP NOM-that to him/her ‘His/her father gave that just mentioned pig tooth to him/her.’

4.4.7 Cardinal directions Meyah cardinal directions are based on a mountain/sea and a sunrise/sunset axis. The main population centers are located on the north-facing slopes of the Arfak Mountains and adjacent foothills. The Meyah use the term agosu when referring to the direction of the sea (downward/north). They use the term emaga when referring to the direction of the mountains (upward/south). This mountain/sea axis is historically the most common movement pattern of the Meyah.33 The directions ‘east’ and ‘west’ are only expressed phrasally as ‘where the sun comes out’ and ‘where the sun descends’. Based on this geographical orientation, the four cardinal directions are as follows. (426) agosu ‘north’ (toward the ocean) emaga ‘south’ (toward the mountains) mowa orogna ‘sun go.out’ (east) mowa ojuj ‘sun descend’ (west)

32 This spatio-temporal use of insa is similar to the Indonesian anaphoric construction yang tadi ‘that was earlier’. However, in Indonesian the notion is expressed through a relativization strategy, e.g. cari buah yang tadi ‘look for the fruit that (was mentioned) earlier’. 33 Meyah oral history describe movement back and forth between the north-facing slopes of the Arfak mountains and the ocean. 132 Chapter 4

The examples below show the use of the cardinal directions. The directions are usually expressed through a relative clause construction. The literal translation of cardinal directions based on their mountain/sea orientation is provided in parentheses. (427) mof eriaga ongga en jeska agosu wind weak REL come from north ‘a weak wind that came out of the north (from the direction of the sea)’ (428) Ri-em-okoja iwa jeska monuh ongga emaga 3PL-IRR-chase you from place REL south ‘They will chase you out from the place in the south (from the direction of the mountains).’ (429) En yes jeska monuh ongga mowa orogna jeska come far from place REL sun go.out from ‘He/she comes from the east.’ (430) Ecira jah emaga beda osok jah Meyekiba travel to south then climb to Meyekiba ‘He/she traveled southward (towards the mountains) and then ascended towards Meyekiba village.’

4.5 Adverbs There are little formal criteria to distinguish adverbs as separate from verbs and nouns. The main criterion is phonological. As mentioned in §4.2, with the exception of some loan words, verb roots and inalienable noun roots begin with one of three vowels a, e, or o. Alienable noun roots begin with m (§4.3.1), where as an adverb root only begins with a consonant other than m. Diachronically, evidence shows that adverbs are derived from reduced phrase structures. In this section I only discuss true adverbs. Nevertheless, I will also include other items that function adverbially in order to give a complete listing of the kinds of adverbials used in Meyah. The syntactic positions that various adverbs can take in a clause will be discussed in §7.7. The types of adverbs are listed in (431). Manner adverbs also include adjectival verbs that can be used as manner adverbials. The ninth subclass is a bit different in that the adverbs occur with many different kinds of verbs. What distinguishes them from other subclasses is that when they are added to verbs the verbs take on expanded or even different meanings. (431) Adverbial Subclasses 1. Manner adverbs 2. Aspectual adverbs 3. Negative adverbs 4. Focus adverbs 5. Modal adverb 6. Status adverb 7. Temporal adverbials 8. Locative adverbials 9. Adverbials joug and keingg Word classes 133

4.5.1 Manner adverbs True manner adverbs in Meyah form a relatively small set. As mentioned above, their root-initial segments are always consonants and about half of them begin with /t/. Some of the manner adverbs appear to be fossilized reduplicated forms since no examples of unreduplicated forms are found in text corpus. Some, such as toumou, can be reduplicated for intensity, as in tou-toumou ‘very quietly’. (432) Manner adverbs deci ‘slowly’ teisis ‘directly’ dogdog ‘one-by-one’ tenten ‘correctly/truly’ giskini ‘usually’ toisoisa ‘late’ jeni ‘exactly’ tomtom ‘well, good’ keingging ‘always’ toumna ‘visibly’ koisoisa ‘clearly’ toumou ‘quietly/slowly’ konosa ‘nearly’ toutou ‘carefully’ rara ‘entirely’ tuturu ‘entirely’ rourou ‘aimlessly’34 Some examples of manner adverbs within the clause are shown in (433) to (436). (433) Ofa ecira rourou he/she travel aimlessly ‘He/she wanders around.’ (434) Ri-ek koisoisa 3PL-see clear ‘They see clearly.’ (435) Ah jeni Tuhan Allah oga lie.down exactly Lord God word ‘It is exactly as the Lord God’s words say.’ (436) Ofa ejema toutou he/she crawl carefully ‘He/she sneaks up.’ The manner adverb keingging ‘often/always’ looks very similar to the adverbial adjunct keingg (§4.5.7), but it is a different item. Keingging only functions as a manner adverb and it can occur with the adverbial adjunct joug, as in (437). In contrast, the adverbial adjunct keingg never occurs with joug. There are few examples of keingging in my text corpus. The item displays some syntactic freedom occurring adjacent to a verb (438) or clause- finally (439). (437) Me-eyajga joug keingging rot mei em-en 1PL.EXC-look ADV always concerning water IRR-come. ‘We always carefully observe for when the water comes.’

34 The adverb rourou has many related senses, such as ‘aimless’, ‘arbitrary’, ‘useless’, ‘meaningless’ and ‘insincere’. 134 Chapter 4

(438) Eyajga keingging tina guru look always but NEG ‘He always watched but it never happened.’ (439) Mi-er-ef nou mowa keingging 1PL.INC-INST-hang for sun always ‘We always hang out the (cloth) in the sun.’ Meyah uses the clitic ai to expresses the manner adverbial meaning ‘nearly’ or ‘almost’. It attaches as a proclitic to a verb or other constituents, such as the demonstrative pronoun in (441). (440) Akeina me-okosa insa ke-uma ai-en-eker-uma 1SG.father 3SG-sibling ANAP NOM-that INT-DUR-sit-there ‘That aforementioned brother of my father was nearly there.’ (441) Monora ofoj bera en-ah ai-ke-ke-if Monora Ofoj TOP DUR-lie.down INT-RED-NOM-here ‘As for Monora Ofog, he was almost right here.’ (442) Ai-ah mokusmaga efen INT-lie.down reeds 3SG.POSS ‘He very nearly ended up in the reeds.’ Adjectivals, noun phrases and numerals in prepositional phrases can also be used as manner adverbial expressions (see §6.2.7).

4.5.2 Aspectual adverbs In Meyah, aspect is an inflectional category that indicates the internal temporal structure of a verb (see §4.2.8). Meyah also uses aspectual adverbs to mark the distinct phases of an event. The adverbs are monomorphemic forms. Only the form ojgomuja appears to be derived from a verb in that it has a diagnostic root initial [-high] vowel. However, it only functions adverbially. Most aspectual adverbs occur in the clause-final position and take the entire clause as their scope. Example (443) lists all known aspectual adverbs that Meyah utilizes. See §7.7 for the positional properties of aspectual adverbs in the clause. (443) fob PERFECTIVE ‘already’ ros PROGRESSIVE ‘still’ ojgomuja HABITUAL ‘continuous’ giskini HABITUAL ‘usually’ deika REPEATED ‘again’

4.5.3 Negative adverbs Meyah has two negative adverbs that are morphologically simple forms. They are, guru ‘no/not’ and enesi ‘not yet’. Meyah makes no distinction between declarative negation and imperative negation. As a result, the same negators are used in both types of clauses. Their positional properties are discussed in §7.7.9. Also see §11.2 on their scope in complex negative sentences. Some examples of negative adverbs are also given below for convenience. Word classes 135

(444) En-eker jera me-osu deika guru DUR-sit with 3SG-mother again NEG ‘He/she does not live with his/her mother anymore.’ (445) Ri-en-osiomu gij mei enesi 3PL-DUR-play in river NEG ‘They have not bathed yet.’ (lit. ‘played in the water’) (446) Bi-en-eja jah Meikairon deika guru 2SG-DUR-go to Meikairon again NEG ‘Do not go to Meikairon village again.’ (447) Bi-en-et mat ke-uma enesi 2SG-DUR-eat food NOM-that not.yet ‘Don’t eat that food yet.’ The adverb guru can be intensified with jinaga ‘whatsoever.’ The intensifier may be a reduction of ejginaga ‘know’. Evidence for this is found in Hatam, which uses a similar intensifier with the phrase ‘know not’ in the same position of jinaga in Meyah.35 (448) Ri-en-agot mar tuisoisa rot memef jinaga guru 3PL-DUR-say thing over.and.over concerning us whatsoever NEG ‘They should not always be talking about us at all.’ (449) Ri-en-osok mod insa koma jinaga guru 3PL-DUR-climb house ANAP NOM-that whatsoever NEG ‘They would not climb into that house at all.’ Negative adverbs can act as a host to various mood clitics, such as the ‘interrogative’ -ei in (450) and ‘emphatic’-a in (451). The word-final vowels of guru and enesi are dropped when mood clitics are added, as illustrated in the bracketed examples. (450) En-ah esij mega efaga guru-ei [gurei] DUR-lie.down on.top tree body NEG-QU ‘Is it not on top of the tree trunk?’ (451) Bi-en-eita mar erek ke-uma guru-a [gura] 2SG-DUR-take/do thing like NOM-that NEG-EMP ‘Don’t do things like that!’

4.5.4 Focus adverbs Dik (1997:291) explains how focus can be indicated on constituents in a variety of ways, such as through prosody, positioning, the use of special constructions or marking by special particles. Meyah does use some fronting strategies to place certain constituents in topic focus. Meyah also makes use of three focus adverbs, listed in (452), that draw attention to nominal constituents of the clause. See §11.6 for discussion of the use of focus adverbs. (452) Focus adverbs fog ‘first’ tein ‘also, too’ ojgomu ‘only, just’

35 For Hatam examples, see Reesink (1996:96). 136 Chapter 4

4.5.5 Temporal adverbials In Meyah, time is expressed by temporal noun phrases or temporal adverbials. Temporal nouns differ from temporal adverbials in that they are regular head nouns that can be attributively modified and determined. When both items occur in the clause periphery they express temporal adverbial notions. Their possible positions and functions within the clause are covered in §7.7.1. The kinds of temporal adverbials that Meyah uses to express various time notions are given in (453) through (457). A few explanations are given in parentheses. (453) Temporal adverbials relating to a 24 hour period rahah ‘morning’ mowa deis ‘midday’ (lit. ‘sun middle’) moworu ‘dusk’ motu ‘night’ motu deis ‘midnight’ (lit. ‘night middle’) (454) Temporal adverbials relating to the past sismeni ‘first’ (generic term for past) ensis ‘old’ (more distant past) ocumu ‘three days ago’ ecka ‘two days ago’ neka ‘yesterday’ (455) Temporal adverbials that relate to the present ebeibeyaif ‘now’ deisef ‘today’ (456) Temporal adverbials that relate to the future dansusk ‘later today’ monog ‘tomorrow’ ckog ‘day after tomorrow’ cmug ‘two days from now’ okag ‘later’ (non-specific future) okahma ‘afterward’ (later after okag) nou ongga ‘when’ (lit. ‘for that which’, used for general ‘when’ and for the immediate future) (457) General time adverbials aras ‘hour’ sismes ‘long ago’ dektek ‘long time’ (present time) juens ‘short time’ (= ordinal ‘first’) askesi ‘at the same time’ Some of the items in (453) and (456) are expressed as noun phrases. The adverbial for ‘midday’ and ‘midnight’ use the terms for ‘day’ and ‘night’ modified by the deis ‘middle’. A number of the monomorphemic forms are clearly derived from phrasal structures. For example, the item moworu ‘afternoon’ is derived from the noun phrase mowa orug ‘sun orange’. It has become the lexical item moworu ‘afternoon’. The items for Word classes 137

‘now’ and ‘today’ in (455) appear to include the deictic determiner clitic -if ‘this/here’. The adverbial sismes ‘long ago’ is a fused reduction of sismeni mes ‘first very’. When the phrase nou ongga ‘for that’ occurs initially in the clause, it expresses the non- specific temporal meaning ‘when’. It can also be interpreted as ‘about to’ when it follows a subject noun phrase, as in (460). (458) Nou ongga mi-eja mi-eji … for REL 1PL.INC-go 1PL.INC-dig ‘When we go and dig …’ (459) Nou ongga me-osu esaga fob beda ek tina for REL 3SG-mother arrive already then look but ef-esa insa okub mesigeb 1SG-child ANAP shoot arrow ‘When his/her mother had just arrived then he/she looked, but his/her child had shoot an arrow.’ (460) Ofa nou ongga agos he/she for REL die ‘He/she is about to die.’ The temporal adverbials okag ‘later’ and okahma ‘afterward’ in (456) can take subject agreement prefixes and be used predicatively, as in di-okag ‘1SG-later’ or ‘I go later’. They can also occur as attributive modifiers of a time noun. Okag expresses the temporal meaning ‘first’ or ‘ahead’. Okahma also expresses the temporal meaning ‘future’, but at a time later than okag. The form okahma is apparently a fused reduction of okag and the deictic clitic -uma ‘away from speaker’, indicating the spatio-temporal meaning ‘afterward’. It is common for the temporal noun to be omitted from the phrase, as in (462). The omitted noun is shown in brackets. (461) Mona ongga okahma bera Beranda tein osoka dokun day REL afterward TOP Dutch also jump addition ‘At a time that was afterward, the Dutch people also arrived (here).’ (462) Di-em-eja [mona] okag jah Masni 1SG-IRR-go time later to Masni ‘I will go at a later (time) to Masni village.’ Finally, indefinite time reference can be expressed through reduplication of the temporal noun mona ‘day/time’, as in example (463). Reduplicated forms of other kinds of temporal nouns are not found in my text corpus. The item dektek ‘long time’ in (464) seems to be a reduplicated form, but the base is no longer identifiable. (463) Mona-mona ri-ecira erek ke-uma RED-day 3PL-travel like NOM-that ‘They traveled like that at various times.’ (464) Dektek enesi beda Pemerintah eyajga long.time not.yet then government look ‘It had not been long when the government (people came and) looked.’ 138 Chapter 4

4.5.6 Locative adverbials Most locative adverbials in Meyah come from two sources. Some are derived from spatial deictic elements (see §4.4). Others are prepositional noun phrases that express locative adverbial notions (see §6.2.2). Only three true locative adverbs, listed in (465), are found in my text corpus. The first two can also be used as attributive modifiers of a head noun (§5.4.10). (465) Locative adverbs yes ‘far’ deis ‘middle’ doida ‘near’ (466) Ge-eja yes jah mekeni 2/3DUgo far to garden ‘They went far to the garden.’ (467) Owa deis tina meiteb ofog eris etma arrive halfway but machete point cut hand ‘He/she was arriving halfway (there) but the tip of the machete cut his/her hand.’ (468) Noba egens ah doi-doida monuh ke-if and one lie.down RED-near place NOM-this ‘And one is very near this village.’

4.5.7 Adverbial adjuncts joug and keingg The items joug and keingg are freestanding adjuncts that most commonly occur adjacent to verbs as adverbial modifiers. They appear to have verbal origins as at least two examples of keingg used as the verb ‘pile’ or ‘stack’ are noted in the text corpus. However the items lack a root initial [-high] vowel, a feature highly diagnostic of items that can function as a verbal predicate. Two verbal adjuncts that are used in a way similar to joug and keingg also occur in Hatam and Sougb. In those languages the adjuncts generally express the verbal meanings ‘block/keep out’ and ‘hold’ (Reesink 1999:74, 2002a:237). In Meyah the verbal meanings of joug and keingg are not easily traced.36 (469) Mi-aha kaju insa ke-uma me-keingg-ma 1PL.INC-put peanut ANAP NOM-that RECIP-pile-RECIP ‘We piled those peanuts on top of one another.’ (470) Ri-aha mega efaga me-keingg-ma 3PLput tree body RECIP-pile-RECIP ‘They stacked the tree trunks on top or each other.’ Although the adverbs look like prepositions that take objects, their combination with verbs yield different and often more specific verbal meanings. The examples below show joug and keingg combining with posture verbs, which can function as either transitive or intransitive verbs (see §4.2.5).

36 In a footnote Reesink (1999:74) suggests that the two adverbial adjuncts in Hatam may have origins as verbs used in serial verb constructions. It is possible that the Meyah adjuncts joug and keingg have the same general verbal meanings and were also used in SVCs, such as of joug montoj ‘shut block door’ (lit. shut someone out’). See §7.6.13. Word classes 139

(471) Ot joug efesa stand ADV child ‘He/she guards his/her child.’ (472) Ot keingg rua stand ADV them ‘He/she oppresses them.’ (473) Osku joug mem buttocks ADV bird ‘He/she hid him/herself (crouched down) while hunting birds.’ (474) Ri-ej-eker keingg ri-ofonskos 3PL-INCEP-sit ADV 3PL-tired ‘They began to rest.’ (lit. ‘sit down tired’) Motion verbs are also ambitransitive. The two examples below show keingg and joug occurring with motion verbs to yield new meanings. (475) Orogna keingg rua go.out ADV them ‘He/she suddenly appeared to them.’ (476) Oku joug tina guru-i flee ADV but NEG-PRO ‘He/she abandoned (it), but there was no result.’ The adverbs can also be used with verbs that only function as intransitives. The intransitive verb ‘cry’ in (477) can have an oblique argument if the reason for crying needs to be made explicit. In example (478) the use of keingg allows the verb ‘cry’ to express an object directly. (477) Ebisa rot ofa cry concerning him/her. ‘He/she cried because of him/her.’ (478) Ebisa keingg ofa cry ADV him/her ‘He/she mourned him/her.’ (479) Mansu-uma emeima joug Ejemes cave-that narrow ADV Ejemes ‘The (tree) hollow hid Ejemes.’ (lit. ‘enclosed him’) The adverbs can also occur with transitive verbs to yield other transitives verbs with similar meanings. (480) Ge-osos joug mar nomnaga ongga ah 2/3DU-push ADV thing all REL lie.down gu mod ke-uma at house NOM-that ‘They knocked down all the things that were inside that house.’ 140 Chapter 4

(481) Mocgoj ocohun keingg monuh ongga memaga ofos cloud cover ADV place REL mountain peak ‘Clouds enveloped the area on the mountaintops.’ (482) Mi-en-esin mebi keingg doska guru 1PL.INC-DUR-press ground ADV very NEG ‘We shouldn’t poke the ground very hard.’ The examples below show that joug and keingg can act as a host to clitics, such as the object person clitic in (483) and the demonstrative clitic in (484). Example (484) also shows joug repeated three times for intensification. (483) En-ejgi joug-ib gu mod-if DUR-entrap ADV-2SG to house-this ‘It will capture you in the house.’ (484) Etaha joug joug joug-uma yell ADV ADV ADV-that ‘He kept rebuking that (spirit).’ Objects of verbs marked by joug can also be complement clauses. I have no examples of keingg with verbs that take clausal complements. (485) Ge-odou ofoj joug me-edaga egens 2/3DU-liver blunt ADV 1PL.EXC-take.down one ‘They forgot to take one down.’ (486) Di-eiteij efei-ei joug di-eji mat 1SG-eye RED-liquid ADV 1SGdig food ‘The hard work of digging for food causes me to cry.’ Meyah does not generally allow double object constructions. A second object in a clause is expressed as an oblique prepositional phrase. However, one possible strategy used to allow double objects involves the adverbs joug and keingg. When joug and keingg occur between two noun phrases, they seem to function as applicative morphemes marking a second object in the clause as the semantic goal. (487) Ri-era mofun ri-er-ok mejga joug mek 3PL-use vine 3PL-INST-carry fence ADV pig ‘Using rattan, carrying fencing material, they fenced out the pigs.’ (488) Ri-en-oug mofun egema joug ri-ofos tein guru 3PL-DUR-wrap vine other ADV 3PL-skin also NEG ‘They didn’t even wrap any rattan on their bodies (i.e. clothe their bodies).’ (489) Mosiu eij mohkowu keingg-id Mosiu throw blanket ADV-1SG ‘Mosiu threw a blanket on me (i.e. covered me).’ (490) Mi-ebir mebi oforu keingg moksu 1PL.INC-brush dirt powder ADV trench ‘We sweep the dust into the trench.’ The adjuncts joug and keingg commonly occur with temporal noun phrases. Example (491) shows joug functioning like the preposition ‘at’ preceding a noun. The use of keingg Word classes 141 and joug following a temporal noun phrase seems to express the semantic meaning ‘just’ or ‘only’ the same way that ojgomu ‘only’ does with verbs, as in example (492). (491) Mona ongga ongkoska nou mi-erefa bera joug mona time REL beautiful for 1PL.INC-plant TOP ADV time mos em-oisa rain IRR-finished ‘A really good time to plant is when it has finished raining.’ (492) Mi-eres mebi ke-uma erek mona egens keingg 1PL.INC-sprinkle ground NOM-that like time one ADV ‘Water that ground just one time.’ (493) Mona juomu keingg beda Daud aki efera ojgomu time second ADV then Daud foot sore only ‘Three days of travel caused Daud’s foot to be sore.’ (Gravelle and Tibiyai 1994a)

4.6 Prepositions Meyah prepositions form a small closed class of mostly monomorphemic forms. Of the sixteen prepositions listed in (494), one is the verb phrase osok gij ‘climb in’ that can be used as the preposition ‘about/concerning’. Another is the verb ojoros ‘arrive’, which can function as the time preposition ‘until’. The preposition esij ‘on top’ clearly has a verbal origin as detected by its root-initial [-high] vowel. However, the item only occurs as an unmarked preposition. In general, all non-core arguments in the clause are governed by prepositions, which indicate the semantic roles beneficiary, goal, location and time. Prepositions are part of a phrase structure and are treated separately in Chapter 6. (494) Prepositions esij ‘on top’ gu ‘at, to’ tumu ‘onto’ jeska ‘from’ tera ‘above’ gij ‘in’ skida ‘above’ rot/osok gij ‘concerning/about’ doida ‘near’ nou ‘for’ rejrej ‘around’ ojoros/oisouska ‘until’ degini ‘beneath’ jera ‘with’ jah ‘to (human)’ erek ‘like’ skoita ‘to (non-human)’

4.7 Conjunctions Meyah is a highly syndetic language and so it has a fairly rich inventory of clause conjunctions which form a closed class. The conjunctions can be subdivided into three general types. There are conjunctions that sequence, conjunctions that contrast and conjunctions that introduce adverbial clauses. A few conjunctions can be used to signal more than one kind of semantic relation. There are conjunctions that introduce relative clauses and a conjunction that links a complement clause to a main clause. Some conjunctions derive their forms from other conjunctions, prepositions or prepositional 142 Chapter 4 phrases. A complete list of Meyah conjunctions and their semantic relation is given in (495). See Chapter 10 for examples of conjunctions in complex sentences. (495) Meyah conjunctions Conjunction Semantic relation noba ‘and’ Addition beda ‘then’ Sequence askesi ‘while’ Simultaneity tina ‘however’ Contrast era ‘or’ Disjunction jeska ‘because’ Reason jeskaseda ‘in order to’ Purpose jefeda ‘therefore’ Result fogora ‘cause’ Cause oisouska ‘through, limited to’ Means erek ‘like’ Condition oida ‘that’ Complementizer ongga ‘that/which’ Relativizer

4.8 Question words Question words do not form a separate word class in Meyah. However, they are included here to discuss their morphological composition. In Meyah, a question form can be a clitic, a question word or a prepositional phrase. Table 16 lists all Meyah question forms with morpheme breaks indicated. Although eleven different question forms are identified, only three stems are used in forming nine of those items. The polar question form is a clitic. See also §5.4.8 and §11.3 on the use and position of question forms in interrogative clauses. Table 16: Question forms Question Translation/gloss Meaning ei ― Polar question idu ‘who’ Human me-idu ‘3SG-who’ (= what) Non-human ke-enefa ‘NOM-which’ Non-human si-enefa ‘NOM-where’ Location tei-enefa ‘?-how’ Manner gu(a)-idu ‘to who’ (= where) Location rot me-idu ‘concerning 3SG-who’ (= why) Reason eg-gaho ‘CL:HUMAN-how many’ Number mona eg-gaho ‘time CL:HUMAN-how many’ When ju-(g)aho ‘ORD-CL:HUMAN-when’ When

The items meidu ‘what’ and guaidu ‘where’ are fused forms that involve the 3SG prefix me- and the preposition gu- ‘to’ with the interrogative stem idu ‘who’. As an unmarked form, idu only refers to humans, whereas meidu (496) and guaidu (497) refer to non- human entities. Word classes 143

(496) Meidu en-ah gu mod-if-o what DUR-lie.down in house-this-PRO ‘What is inside this house?’ (497) Mofombra insa ke-uma en jeska guaidu grass ANAP NOM-that come from where ‘Where did that grass come from?’ The interrogative stem enefa cannot stand alone as an independent form. It can receive the nominalizer ke- to derive the attributive interrogative ‘which’ (498). It can also receive the nominalizer si- to derive the locational interrogative ‘where’ (499). (498) Of mekeni ke-enefa chop.down garden NOM-which ‘Which garden did he/she chop (trees) down in?’ (499) Di-esaga si-enefa 1SG-arrive NOM-where ‘Where have I arrived?’ The item teinefa is formed by the prefix tei- on the interrogative stem enefa deriving the manner question word ‘how’. The prefix is not attested on any other forms. The Maybrat language has the interrogative prefix to- related to the Maybrat demonstrative prefix te-. Both are used with locational questions.37 Therefore, it is possible that the prefix tei- is related to the Maybrat te-, although tei- marks an adverbial function. The initial vowel of enefa coalesces with the final vowel of tei. (500) Ge-odou ebriyi rot gegan ge-efarur 2/3DU-liver split concerning 2/3DU.POSS 2/3DU-work mer efesi tei-enefa [teinefa] room inside ADV-how ‘They understood about how they were supposed to work inside the room.’ The interrogative stem -gaho requires a numeral classifier prefix or the ordinator prefix ju- to express the interrogative meaning ‘how many’ and ‘when’, respectively. The initial /g/ of gaho elides when certain prefixes are added, yet not with other kinds of prefixes, as attested by examples (501)–(503). (501) Mos efaga or-gaho [orgaho] fish CL:ANIMAL CL:SEVEN-how.many ‘How many fish?’ (502) Bi-eja aras eg-gaho [egaho] 2SG-go hour CL:HUMAN-how.many ‘When are you going?’ (lit. ‘in how many hours’) (503) Ebirfaga okora gij mona ju-gaho [juaho] head hurt in time ORD-how.many ‘What day (=when) did it his/her head ache?’

37 See Dol (1999:116). 5 The noun phrase

5.0 Introduction A Meyah noun phrase is a structure that is headed by a noun, a pronoun or a proper noun. It can take a number of modifiers and function as an argument of a verb in the clause. It can also operate as a non-verbal predicate. This chapter deals primarily with the internal structure of the noun phrase. Their possible semantic roles in the clause are discussed in Chapter 7. First, the typical structure of a noun phrase will be given in §5.1, followed by the kinds of items that can function as the head of a noun phrase in §5.2 and a minimal noun phrase structure in §5.3. The items that can be used as modifiers of a head noun will be given in §5.4. The last section (§5.5) will discuss the kinds of constructions that combine noun phrases.

5.1 The structure of a noun phrase Meyah is phrasally a left-headed language, meaning that modifiers of a head noun typically occur to the right of the noun. According to Foley (1998:513), Papuan languages are more typically right-headed. However, Dryer (2002:5) maintains that most languages of New Guinea have a noun-adjective order (i.e., are left-headed), although pockets of adjective-noun languages are found in the eastern Highlands and the lower valley. He also explains that most Austronesian languages in the region are left-headed, as Foley also points out. Left-headedness is considered by some to be a typological feature of VO languages (see Givón 1984:199).1 In Meyah, head noun modifiers such as classifiers, adjectives, quantifiers, relative clauses and determiners follow the head noun. The order of modifiers is generally fixed, which is typical of prepositional languages (see Hawkins 1983:96).2 The genitive/ possessive pronoun is the only modifier that occurs before the head noun. Determiners generally occur as the last item in the noun phrase and mark the noun phrase boundary. The order of constituents in a Meyah noun phrase is illustrated in (1). This order of noun phrase

1 Dryer (1988, 1992, 2002) also challenges this assertion, showing cross-linguistically that N-adj order is more common than adj-N order in both OV and VO languages. 2 However, Hawkins (1983:93–96) says that light modifiers, such as adjectives, demonstratives and numerals, are more easily placed in a pre-modifier position in prepositional languages. The heavy modifiers (relative clauses and possessors) occur in the post-modifier position. 144 The noun phrase 145 constituents is generally typical of other Bird’s Head languages, as well.3 The items in parentheses are optional constituents of the noun phrase. (1) (Possessive pronoun) Head (Classifier) (Adjective) (Numeral) (Quantifier) (Indefinite article) (Relative clause) (Determiner) Because noun classifiers are used as attributive modifiers that describe shape and dimension, this is the only case in which two attributives can modify a single head noun without one of them being part of a relative clause. See §5.4.2, example (40). It is possible to have several modifiers of a head noun, as the elicited example in (2) shows, but it is uncommon for more than two modifiers to occur in a noun phrase and in such cases one modifier is usually a possessor or a determiner. (2) dedin mega efaga eteb orgomu ke-uma 1SG.POSS wood CL:BODY-SHAPED large CL:THREE NOM-that ‘those three large tree trunks of mine’ The kinds of items that can fill the various slots as constituents of a noun phrase are summarized in Table 17. Of course, the list does not imply that all combinations are possible. Each item will be discussed in their appropriate section.

Table 17: Possible constituents of a noun phrase

Indefinite Relative Possessor HEAD Attributive Determiner Article Clause Pronoun prefix Alienable noun Adj egens RC Dem. clitic Poss. pronoun Inalienable noun Classifier Dem. pronoun Proper noun Numeral Anap. pronoun Pronoun Quantifier Kinship noun Elevational Compound noun Quantifier Noun classifier Numeral classifier Determiner Interrogative pronoun

5.2 The head of a noun phrase The typical head of a noun phrase is a common noun, a pronoun or a proper noun. Other common heads are inalienable nouns, including the subclasses of kinship nouns and a compound noun. Each type of head noun is identified in the examples below.

3 The OV Inanwatan language of the Bird’s Head (de Vries 1996), also has pre-head noun possession and post-head noun attributive modifiers. Austronesian languages near the Bird’s Head generally have the same noun phrase constituent order that Meyah has. See Buru (Grimes 1991), Tetun (van Klinken 1999) and Helong (Cameron pers. comm.). 146 Chapter 5

Common noun (3) Me-ej-ef mekeni ongga efeinah 1PL.EXC-INCEP-trim garden REL new ‘We began to trim (grass) in a garden that was new.’ Pronoun (4) Di-orohrus goga ke-uma jah mod 1SG-escort 2/3DU NOM-that to house ‘I escorted those two to the house.’ Proper noun (5) Ri-ah gu rerin Meimeska ke-inda 3PL-lie.down at 3PL.POSS Meimeska NOM-above ‘They stayed at their Meimeska (village) above.’ Inalienable body-part noun (6) Dedin di-ebirfeji aksa 1SG.POSS 1SG-hair long ‘My hair is long.’ Kinship noun (7) Me-okosa ke-uma eja jeska fob 3SG-sibling NOM-that go from already ‘That older sibling of his/hers already went.’ Compound noun (8) Ri-oku meg mei efeni ke-uma jah gu Kwau 3PL-pull boat cloth breath NOM-that to at Kwau ‘They pulled that sailboat to Kwawi.’ It is fairly common for a head noun that is already understood in the discourse to be elided. That does not mean NP constituents that follow the head noun therefore function as a head. The head is simply not stated, as examples (9)–(15)show. (9) Ri-eskemba doska ri-eker jah si-uma 3PL-many very 3PL-sit at NOM-there ‘Very many (people) live there.’ (10) Ofa eyajga ri-ofoukou ke-uma he/she look 3PL-many NOM-that ‘He/she looked at those many (people).’ (11) Oina eneya ongga ah deika cook other REL lie.down more ‘Cook another that is there again.’ (12) Eita efebi erens gu give CL:FRUIT CL:ROUND.one to ‘He/she gave one (papaya) to (him/her).’ The noun phrase 147

(13) Orumu en-ah jah mer CL:GROUND.ANIMAL.three DUR-lie.down at room ‘Three (string bags) are in the room.’4 (14) Ke-enefa bera ke-unj NOM-which TOP NOM-there.yonder ‘Which (one) is that over yonder?’ (15) Megej bera ah ke-enefa firewood TOP lie.down NOM-which ‘The firewood is in which (place)?’

5.3 Elided noun phrase The somewhat common elision of a noun phrase can result in zero anaphora in the clause. (16) Eker mod sit house ‘He/she is in the house.’ (17) Ebisa cry ‘He/she cried.’ (18) Ofij Desa help Desa ‘He/she helped the Desa (= village government liaison).’ (19) Em-oira ke-enefa IRR-enter NOM-which ‘He/she will enter which (house)?’

5.4 Modifiers of a head noun This section discusses the various items that can serve as modifiers of a head noun. The only pre-head modifier (possessor) will be discussed first, followed by post-head modifiers.

5.4.1 Possessor A Meyah genitive construction has the order possessor + possessum. The order is generally typical of other Bird’s Head languages and it is sometimes referred to in the literature as the ‘reversed genitive’ when compared to the Austronesian noun + genitive order (see Reesink 2000a).5 A few languages, however, also allow post-nominal possession, as reported by Reesink.6 Meyah uses an obligatory possessive prefix to possess inalienable nouns. A possessive pronoun is used to possess alienable nouns.

4 The noun ‘string bag’ is in the semantic class for animals. 5 However, the regional Malay spoken in the area has a G+N order (see example (25) in this section). 6 See §8.7 for a possible explanation of post-nominal possession constructions in these languages. 148 Chapter 5

Inalienable nouns are obligatorily possessed with the same set of prefixes that verbs use to mark subject agreement (see §4.1), except for 3SG, which does not take a subject agreement prefix. (20) Eita efen engk egema gu mes give POSS breast other to dog ‘She gave her other breast to the dog.’ (21) Bi-osk bi-etma gu 2SG-hold.out 2SG-hand to ‘Hold out your hand.’ (22) Di-eji mat noba di-ejmeg tein okora 1SGdig food and 1SG-back also ache ‘I dug for food and my back ached, too.’ Free possessive pronouns can also occur in an inalienable noun phrase possessive construction to give added focus to the possessor, as shown in brackets in examples (23) and (24). Although the full possessive construction resembles a transitive clause, it occurs as part of the argument structure of the preceding verb. See also §4.3.3 on possessive agreement of human nouns and §7.5.1.4 on how possessive pronouns can function as verbs. (23) Didif di-efesij osok gij [didif dedin ind-imowa] ongga I 1SG-tell climb in I 1SG.POSS 1SG-grandparent REL sis rua rerin mar before they 3SG.POSS thing ‘I am talking about my ancestors who, during an earlier time, had certain things.’ (24) Mi-eja gu [rua rerin mod] 1PL.INC-go to they 3SG.POSS house ‘We went to their house.’ This type of noun phrase construction parallels a possessive noun phrase structure in the regional Malay variety spoken in the area, as shown in (25). However, in that dialect a pronoun is required in order to indicate the person and number of the possessor. (Regional Malay) (25) Kita pergi ke mereka punya rumah we go to they own house ‘We went to their house.’ Alienable nouns do not take a possessor prefix. Instead, they are only possessed by an initial possessive pronoun: (26) Eja gu efen mekeni go to 3SG.POSS garden ‘He/she went to his/her garden.’ (27) Ri-eker joug rerin mei ongga eyejkita 3PL-sit ADV 3PL.POSS water REL cold ‘They watched over their water that was cold.’ The noun phrase 149

(28) Me-orka mefmen mat efej jah pasar 1PL.EXC-carry 1PL.EXC.POSS food ripe to market ‘We carried our produce to the market.’ Possession of animal body-part nouns is indicated only through juxtaposition. The order is possessor + possessum. (29) mek oiraga pig tail ‘pig’s tail’ (30) mem efembra bird side ‘bird’s wing’ (31) Na-osra mek efeji 2DU.INC-dry pig fur ‘We dry the pig’s fur.’ Spatial nouns, that is, body-parts used metaphorically, show a similar type of possession through juxtaposition. (32) mod ejmeg house back ‘the back of the house’ (33) meg osum boat nose ‘the front of the boat’ Noun phrase possession of plant parts differs somewhat from the human and non-human possession constructions described thus far. A plant can possess fruit through juxtaposition as animals possess body-part nouns. However, with plants a possessive pronoun can be optionally added to the construction (34), (35). (34) mega efen efek tree 3SG.POSS fruit ‘the fruit of the tree’ (35) kaju insa ke-uma efen efek peanut ANAP NOM-that 3SG.POSS fruit ‘the fruit of that aforementioned peanut plant’ Recursion of possessive noun phrases that function as multiple pre-head adjuncts are also possible in Meyah. Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of possessive noun phrase adjuncts that could be included, however in Meyah it is unusual to find more than two. Since free possessive pronouns are optional with inalienable noun possession, shortening a recursive phrase is possible. (36) Hengki me-eka efen me-ohuj efen mod ke-uma Hengki 3SG-father 3SG.POSS 3SG-friend 3SG.POSS house NOM-that ‘Hengki’s father’s friend owns that house.’ 150 Chapter 5

(37) Yance me-okosa efen mei Yance 3SG-sibling 3SG.POSS cloth ‘Yance’s older brother owns cloth.’

5.4.2 Classifiers Meyah uses six different noun classifiers to count different types of nouns. They are normally followed by a numeral classifier. The morphological properties of noun classifiers are given in §4.3.8. Their function as a constituent of the noun phrase is presented in this section. Noun classifiers denote properties of the nouns they classify, such as flat, body-shaped, tuberous, etc., thus they can occur as attributive modifiers of head nouns (see Dixon 1986). (38) Warmoda ahasus mar ofog Warmoda carve thing CL:ROUND ‘Warmoda carved a round thing.’ (39) mekekeba efeyi egens bamboo CL:FLAT CL:HUMAN.one ‘one flat piece of bamboo.’7 The noun classifier precedes other kinds of attributive modifiers, such as adjectives and relative clauses. If a noun classifier occurs with a numeral modifier and an adjectival modifier, then the order is noun classifier – adjective – numeral classifier. Because noun classifiers are used as attributive modifiers that describe shape and dimension, this is the only case in which two attributives can modify a single head noun without one of them being part of a relative clause. (40) mek efaga eteb oringka pig CL:ANIMAL large CL:ANIMAL.two ‘two large pigs’ (41) mar efeyi ebsi thing CL:FLAT white ‘a piece of paper’ (42) Eita manana efema ofonon jeska mekeni take cassava CL:TUBER large from garden ‘He/she took large cassava roots from the garden.’

5.4.3 Adjectives Meyah adjectives are treated as a subclass of intransitive verbs because they can take the same set of prefixes as regular intransitive verbs and function as stative verbs that express attributive meanings (see §4.2.2.2). They differ from regular intransitive verbs in that they can also be attributive modifiers in a noun phrase. A typical attributive noun phrase employs only one adjective and an optional determiner that follows the adjective. The adjective can be intensified through reduplication or by the use of an adjectival intensifier, such as eteb ‘big/very’.

7 The split bamboo is a flat piece used to make a bow, which is associated with humans, hence the use of the human numeral classifier egens ‘one’. The noun phrase 151

(43) Orka mek eteb jah mejga ebic carry pig big to fence center ‘He/she carried a large pig to the fenced area.’ (44) mod aks-aksa ke-uma house RED-tall NOM-that ‘that very tall house’ (45) I-eker memaga beda i-orka mar okum ke-uma 2PL-sit mountain then 2PL-carry thing heavy NOM-that ‘You will remain in the mountains and carry those heavy things.’ Example (46) shows a determiner preceding an adjective, so this shows that the adjective is in the position of the predicate and functions as such. (46) Mowahi ke-uma oska eteb fly NOM-that bad big ‘Those flies are very bad.’ Multiple adjectives modifying a single head noun are not attested in Meyah. If a second adjective is needed, it is expressed as a relative clause. The adjective that has the more inherent quality or is more central to the noun is the one that immediately follows the head noun. The other adjective adds additional information (see Givón 1990:470). (47) Me-okosa me-orka mega efeber ongga ofokok 1PL.EXC-sibling 1PL.EXC-carry wood thin REL small ‘Younger brother carries wood planks that are small.’ (48) Ri-ok maini ahta ongga efeinah 3PL-carry loincloth black REL new ‘They wore black loincloths that were new.’

5.4.4 Numerals Meyah has nine different numerals for ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’ to count different types of nouns. The numerals divide nouns according to semantic class. Numerals above ‘three’ do not function as classifiers. See §4.3.8.2 for a description of their morphological properties of numeral classifiers. In their attributive use, numerals can occur without the presence of other modifiers, as in (49) and (50). Numerals follow adjectives (51) and precede determiner (52). (49) Me-er-ei mod setka 1PL.EXC-INST-build house ten ‘We built ten houses.’ (50) Gu mona cinja beda Ickefek ecira rot mei at time five then Ickefek travel for water ‘On the fifth day, Ickefek went to get some water.’ (51) Ri-eker gij mod aksa egens 3PL-sit in house tall CL:HUMAN.one ‘They remained in one tall house.’ 152 Chapter 5

(52) Orka mosuska egeka 8 ke-uma carry bamboo CL:HUMAN.two NOM-that ‘He/she carried those two bamboos.’ When both an adjective and a demonstrative are present in the noun phrase, the numeral modifier occurs in between these two modifiers (53). This adjective + numeral + demonstrative order is typical of languages that, like Meyah, are post-modifying (see Greenberg 1966:87).9 (53) Meiga eteb egeka ke-uma bera me-aha em-ocunc-ma pipe large CL:HUMAN.two NOM-that TOP 1PL.EXC-put RECIP-point-RECIP ‘As for those two large pipes, we place them facing one another.’ The only examples in the text corpus of a floating numeral has to do with the numerals ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’, which can occur after a determiner, as seen in (54) and (55). If noun classifiers and numerals are both present in the noun phrase, then the noun classifier will also occur with the numeral following the determiner, as in (54). Numerals above ‘three’, which do not function morphologically as classifiers, never follow the determiner (56), hence example (57) is not grammatical. (54) Er-oduis mongka ke-uma efebi erens INST-pierce pandanus NOM-that CL:FRUIT CL:ROUND.one ‘(Using something) he/she pierced that one pandanus fruit.’ (55) Erefa efej ke-uma erteka gij moksu egens plant seed NOM-that CL:EDIBLE.two in trench one ‘He/she planted those two seeds in one row.’ (56) didif morototuma ri-ojaga cinja-uma I together 3PL-woman five-that ‘I together with those five women’ (57) *didif morototuma ri-ojaga ke-uma cinja I together 3PL-woman NOM-that five ‘I together with those five women’ If a noun classifier, a numeral classifier and an adjectival modifier occur together in a noun phrase, then the order is noun classifier – adjective – numeral classifier. (58) mek efaga eteb oringka pig CL:ANIMAL large CL:ANIMAL.two ‘two large pigs’ (59) sink efeyi efeinah setka zinc CL:FLAT new ten ‘ten sheets of new zinc roofing panels’ When head nouns and noun classifiers are elideded resulting in zero anaphora, only the numeral modifier is left explicit in the noun phrase.

8 The cut bamboo is for a tool, thus it is associated with humans and uses a human numeral classifier. 9 See §5.1 in relation to Greenberg’s assertion. The noun phrase 153

(60) Efen orumu en-ah jah mer 3SG.POSS CL:GROUND.ANIMAL.three DUR-lie.down at room ‘He/she has three (string bags) in the room.’ (61) Egeka era mona orgomu keingg beda CL:HUMAN.two or day CL:HUMAN.three ADV then me-ohur mei gij 1PL.EXC-channel water in ‘Two or three days later, then we channel water into it.’ Ordinators (§4.3.8.4) are a type of numeral. They can be used to modify a head noun in the same position as numerals. (62) Ej-ohca gu mod juomu INCEP-search at house third ‘He/she began searching in the third house.’ (63) Eker gu mona jueka sit at day second ‘He/she waited until the second day.’ The numeral egens ‘one’ also expresses the English indefinite article ‘a’. As with many languages, the article marks the noun phrase as a new topic within the discourse. It behaves like a quantifier in that it follows adjectives and precedes a determiner in the noun phrase. When the article egens occurs with a determiner, as in example (66), it makes the determiner more definite. (64) Raja egens osoka king one jump ‘A king arrived (lit. jumped down).’ (65) Ge-ah gij mer eteb egens 2/3DU-lie.down in room large one ‘They remained inside a large room.’ (66) Beda ona egens ke-uma en then male one NOM-that come ‘Then that particular person came.’

5.4.5 Quantifiers Quantifiers function as stative intransitive verbs. As attributive modifiers, they express indefinite quantification. As constituents of a noun phrase, indefinite quantifiers occur following adjectives (67) and preceding determiners (68). (67) mar onswos ofoukou thing amaze many ‘many amazing things’ (68) Mowahi ofoukou ke-uma ah gu efen monuh fly many NOM-that lie.down at 3SG.POSS place ‘His/her village was full of those many flies.’ (Gravelle and Tibiyai 1994a) 154 Chapter 5

The universal quantifier nomnaga ‘all’ is a floating quantifier. It can occur in various positions, but mostly it occurs in the clause-final position. In relation to a noun phrase, examples (69) and (70) show that it occurs after a determiner, which is usually the last item in a noun phrase. This shows that nomnaga does not fall within the noun phrase proper as other quantifiers do. In the absence of other noun phrase modifiers, the position of nomnaga directly after a head noun gives it the appearance of being part of the noun phrase, as seen in (71) and (72). (69) I-eita mar ke-if nomnaga 2PL-take thing NOM-this all ‘Take all of these things.’ (70) Goga ge-orka marfej ke-uma nomnaga 2/3DU 2/3DU-carry beads NOM-that all ‘They brought all of those beads.’ (71) Rua nomnaga ke-uma ri-em-en they all NOM-those 3PL-IRR-come ‘All of those people are coming.’ (72) En-oku rot marsi nomnaga DUR-flee concerning seed all ‘He/she ran away with all of the seeds.’

5.4.6 Relative clause A relative clause is a modifier of a head noun, thus it occurs in the noun phrase proper. Yet, relative clauses differ from other kinds of noun phrase modifiers in that they are embedded clauses introduced by the invariant morpheme ongga ‘that/which’. Their properties differ from other kinds of head noun modifiers. For that reason, relative clauses are discussed separately in Chapter 8. However, for the purpose of convenience, some examples that illustrate the position of a relative clause in the noun phrase are also given in this section. Relative clause modifiers follow other modifiers, such as the spatial relator in (73) and the indefinite quantifier in (74). There is some positional variation of RCs with determiners in the noun phrase (see §5.4.7). (73) Mi-esah gij morongsu efesi ongga erek ongkoska 1PL.INC-store in room inside REL COP beautiful ‘We store (the corn) inside a room that is really nice.’ (74) Ri-otunggom ofoka ofoukou ongga ri-em-ois ofoka 3PLmake name many REL 3PL-IRR-call name erek Oncom like Oncom ‘They made many names that they would call (them), such as Oncom.’ More than one relative clause can modify a single head noun, although no more than two relative clauses are attested. The noun phrase 155

(75) Rua ongga memaga ofos ongga ri-ok maini they REL mountain peak REL 3PLcarry loincloth insa ri-en-esaga ANAP 3PL-DUR-arrive ‘Those who were from the mountains, who wore loincloths, were arriving.’

5.4.7 Demonstratives and elevationals A head noun can be determined by a post-nominal demonstrative clitic added to the last item in the clause, as in (76) and (77), or by a nominal demonstrative pronoun, as in (78) and (79). The internal structure of demonstratives is discussed in §4.4.2. Determiners generally occur as the last item in a noun phrase, hence they also serve to indicate the noun phrase boundary. (76) Ri-eker jah mebi-if 3PL-sit at ground-this ‘They live at this place.’ (77) Ge-osok mei-uma 2/3DU-climb river-that ‘They ascended that river (valley).’ (78) Aha mosom tumu mega aksa ke-uma put axe onto tree tall NOM-that ‘He/she stuck his/her axe into that tall tree.’ (79) Mar ke-if bera me-en-et guru thing NOM-this top 1PL.EXC-DUR-eat NEG ‘As for these things, we do not eat them.’ Since demonstrative clitics attach to whatever is the last item in a noun phrase, they may be found not only on nouns, but on adjectives as well. (80) Ri-ecira rot ri-oforoka efeinah-if 3PL-travel concerning 3PL-child new-this ‘They travel concerning these new children.’ (81) Okub mem efer-uma shoot bird young-that ‘He/she shot that young bird.’ Determiners can precede or follow noun classifiers and numeral classifiers in a noun phrase. The different positions express a slight shift in meaning, as shown in the comparison between (82) with (83). (82) kaju efebi ofoukou ke-uma peanut CL:FRUIT many NOM-that ‘those many peanuts’ (83) kaju ke-uma efebi ofoukou peanut NOM-that CL:FRUIT many ‘many of those peanuts’ 156 Chapter 5

(84) Er-oduis mongka ke-uma efebi erens INST-pierce pandanus NOM-that CL:FRUIT CL:ROUND.one ‘(Using something) he/she pierced that one of those pandanus fruits.’ Determiners can take one of two positions in relation to a relative clause. The function of these positional differences is not clear. When the determiner occurs before the relative clause, as in (85) and (86), it seems that the referential scope of the head noun is narrower than when the determiner occurs after the relative clause, as in (87) and (88). This difference in referential scope is made explicit in the English translations. (85) Ri-ohu mat ke-uma ongga efej 3PL-sell food NOM-that REL ripe They sell that food that is ripe (opposed to the food that is unripe). (86) Gegan eferatefa egens ke-uma ongga ah jah 2/3DU.POSS infant one NOM-that REL lie.down at ‘Their baby is that one that is sleeping (opposed to the one that is not sleeping).’ (87) Mi-ek mebi ongga ongkoska ke-uma 1PL.INC-see ground REL beautiful NOM-that ‘We saw that place which was beautiful (i.e., we saw that beautiful place).’ (88) Me-okora mamu ongga eteb ke-uma 1PL.EXC-topple stone REL large NOM-that ‘We toppled that stone which was large.’ (i.e., we toppled that large stone) Head nouns can be followed by the anaphoric pronoun insa where it marks the subject as ‘given’ (89)–(90). (89) Mek insa osoka gij meren efei pig ANAP jump in lake liquid ‘The pig jumped into the water.’ (90) Orogna gij mod ongga mek meranghi insa efen go.out in house REL pig spirit ANAP 3SG.POSS ‘It appeared in the house that belonged to the pig spirit.’ Elevational determiners are clitics or pronouns that specify the elevational orientation of a noun phrase in relation to a speech participant. They are discussed in §4.4.4. As determiners, they also occur as the final constituent in the noun phrase. If expressed as clitics, they attach to the last item in the noun phrase. Only one determiner, be it a demonstrative or an elevational, can occur in a noun phrase. (91) Ofa eja jah mebi-imba he/she go to ground-below ‘He/she went to the area down below.’ (92) Eja eifef Ikofoi ofos-inda go climb Ikofoi peak-above ‘He/she went and climbed Ikofoi peak above.’ (93) Meg ke-inda ongga Serwir aha mah gij bera eja ke-enefa boat NOM-above REL Serwir put fire in TOP go NOM-which ‘As for the boat above that Serwir burned out, to which place did it go?’ The noun phrase 157

(94) Eja ojoros Singen osum ke-imba go until Singen nose NOM-below ‘He/she went until (reaching) Singen peninsula below.’

5.4.8 Interrogatives A list of question words along with a description of their morphological composition was given in §4.8. Question words, such as kenefa ‘which’ and sinefa ‘where’, function attributively following head nouns. (95) Ge-eja jah monuh ke-enefa 2/3DU-go to place NOM-which ‘Which village did they go to?’ (96) Ojuj jeska me-osu gij monuh si-enefa descend from 3SG-mother in place NOM-where ‘Where is the village that he/she was born in?’ The interrogative word meidu ‘what’ can also occur in declarative clauses as a noun phrase modifier. The head noun is usually the generic noun mar ‘thing’. (97) En-ejginaga rot mar meidu ongga otunggom DUR-know concerning thing what REL make/do ‘He/she didn’t know what he/she was doing.’ (98) Ke-uma ekirsa jeska mar meidu ongga memef me-oisum NOM-that exceed from thing what REL we 1PL.EXC-hope gij rot sis fob in concerning before already ‘That is greater than the thing that we were hoping for earlier.’

5.4.9 Nominal modifiers Head nouns can be attributively modified by other nouns. The second noun provides descriptive information about the first noun, thus narrowing its referential scope. (99) a. mek merenrah pig jungle ‘jungle pig’ b. mek meranghi pig spirit ‘pig spirit’ c. mek mei pig water ‘coastal pig’ (100) a. ri-osnok memaga 3PL-person mountain ‘mountain people’ 158 Chapter 5

b. ri-osnok Munukwar 3PL-person Manokwari ‘Manokwari people’ c. ri-osnok Meyah 3PL-person Meyah ‘Meyah people’ (101) a. mejga mei fence water ‘coastal fence’ b. mejga mek fence pig ‘pig fence’ c. mejga mod fence house ‘house fence’ As example (102) shows, determiners follow the modifying noun. (102) Mekeni coklat insa ke-uma hektar egeka garden chocolate ANAP NOM-that hectare CL:HUMAN.two ‘That aforementioned cocoa garden is two hectares.’ The names of some plants and animals are formed by a generic noun modified by a proper noun. Like the other nominal modifiers discussed above, the proper nouns provide additional information that helps to narrow the referential scope of the head noun. Some animal names are also formed by nominal compounds. (103) mem nesmei bird eagle ‘eagle bird’ mem neda bird cockatoo ‘cockatoo bird’ mos tobou fish shark ‘shark fish’ mos ingrinos fish tuna ‘tuna fish’ mega anggum tree kapok ‘kapok tree’ mega mer tree ironwood ‘ironwood tree’ The noun phrase 159

A noun can be followed by an appositional noun phrase. The appositional noun phrase adds additional information about the head noun. The appositional is usually a proper noun or a title. (104) Me-okosa Ikofoi osku joug deika 3SG-sibling Ikofoi crouch ADV again ‘His/her older sibling Ikofoi ambushed (his brother) again.’ (105) Mes Tibiyai eji mansu dog Tibiyai dig cave ‘The dog Tibiyai dug a cave.’ (106) Ofa Ebirfaga Meitoj he/she Head Meitoj ‘He/she is the Meitoj Headman.’

5.4.10 Adverbial modifiers Of the three locative adverbials yes ‘far’, deis ‘middle’ and doida ‘near’ listed in §4.5.6, only yes functions as an attributive modifier, occurring in the same position that adjectives do. Like adjectives, it can also be expressed through a relative clause. Unlike adjectives, the adverbial cannot receive subject agreement prefixes and function as a predicate. (107) Me-afij mei yes 1PL.EXC-wade river far ‘We waded across a distant river.’ (108) Rua ri-oubk ri-osnok jah monuh ongga yes they 3PL-send 3PL-person to place REL far ‘They also sent some people to a village that was far away.’ The forms okag ‘later’ and okahma ‘afterward’ can take subject agreement prefixes and function as intransitive verbs. Their use as temporal adverbials is discussed in §4.5.5. As temporals, they can modify head nouns that express time, either directly, as in (109) and (110), or as part of a relative clause, as in (111) and (112). (109) Gu tahun okag bera em-oksons at year later TOP IRR-return ‘As for next year, he/she might return.’ (110) Em-esma gaji gu mona kahma receive wage at time afterward ‘He/she will receive the wage later on.’ (111) Agot oida gu mona ongga kahma beda ri-em-en ri-eker say that at time REL afterward then 3PL-IRR-come 3PL-sit gu monuh-if at place-this ‘He/she said that later on then they would come to live in this area.’ (112) Mona ongga kahma bera Beranda tein osoka dokun day REL afterward TOP Dutch also jump addition ‘As for later on, the Dutch also arrived.’ 160 Chapter 5

5.5 Noun phrase coordination The kinds of items that link noun phrases differ from those that link clauses. There are four different strategies that Meyah uses to combine noun phrases in forming one nominal constituent of a clause. Firstly, it is common in languages to use the comitative preposition ‘with’ to link noun phrases (see Payne 1985a:29). Meyah uses the comitative jera as an accompaniment preposition (see §6.2.4). It can also be used as a coordinating conjunction for combining noun phrases, as shown in (113) and (114). (113) Mar ke-uma erek sapi ebeyi jera kambing ebeyi thing NOM-that COP cow dung and kambing dung ‘Those things are cow dung and goat dung.’ (114) Ge-ej-ef ijurwahi jera mof 2/3DU-INCEP-shoot butterfly and grasshopper ‘They began to shoot butterflies and grasshoppers.’ Meyah is somewhat unusual in that it also has a comitative preposition gonu ‘with’ that combines two noun phrases that refer to humans. This unit is undoubtedly a fused phrase that includes the 2/3DU subject prefix, hence its use only with human nouns. (115) Ke-if rot Ekergud gonu me-ahina Iturwam NOM-this concerning Ekergud with 3SG-husband Iturwam ‘This is about Ekergud and her husband Iturwam.’ (116) Efen me-osu gonu me-eka ge-oitij rot 3SG.POSS 3SG-mother with 3SG-father 2/3DU-agree concerning ‘His/her mother and father agreed about it.’ The second strategy in linking noun phrases is the use of the enumerator ni ‘with’. The item is used instead of jera when more than two noun phrases are combined. (117) Di-eita mek ni mohuj ni mei ni radio ni gu rua 1SG-give pig and armband and cloth and radio and to them ‘I gave pigs, armbands, cloth, and radios to them.’ (118) Ri-em-odob-ma ojoros Mas ofoksu ni Meitoj ofoksu 3PL-RECIP-hunt-RECIP until Mas bay and Meitoj bay ni Meikoka ofoksu ni and Meikoka bay and ‘They tracked one another as far as Mas bay, Meitoj bay, Meikoka bay.’ Examples from natural texts show that ni can be omitted from a list of noun phrases (119), (120). This means that a third possible strategy for conjoining noun phrases is through juxtaposition. However, when only two noun phrases are combined, then the preposition jera ‘with’ is required. (119) Erefa meseifek mocongga mongkiok ke-inda en plant chili arrow.shaft cassava NOM-above come ‘He/she planted chili peppers, reeds for arrow shafts, and cassava above towards here.’ The noun phrase 161

(120) Memef me-em-ejeka-ma oida me-okosa we 1PL.EXC-RECIP-ask-RECIP that 1PL.EXC-older.sibling me-okora me-eyesa me-edebesa 1PL.EXC-younger.sibling 1PL.EXC-sibling.op.sex 1PL.EXC-grandchild ‘We called one another older sibling, younger sibling, sister/brother and grandchild.’ The fourth coordination strategy is through the use of the disjunction coordinator era ‘or’, which can combine two or more noun phrases in a clause. In example (122) omitting the first era would render the construction ungrammatical. (121) Ri-oskotu mosmei-ir era mosona-ir 3PL-grip coastal.person-PL or foreigner-PL ‘They married (lit. gripped) coastal people or foreigners.’ (122) Efen mar ongga erek mocog era bom era mariam 3SG.POSS thing REL like gun or bomb or canon ‘He/she possessed things like guns or bombs or canons.’

6 Prepositional phrases

6.0 Introduction This chapter discusses the structure of prepositional phrases. In Meyah, all non-core arguments are governed by prepositions. The preposition indicates the semantic role of the argument in the clause. First, an overview of the phrase structure is given (§6.1). Then the kinds of prepositions that Meyah uses are listed and their functions described (§6.2). The discussion will show that the same kinds of prepositions can be used to mark a variety of semantic roles. In addition, there are a few verbs that can be used as prepositions and they are discussed in this chapter as well. Section 6.3 describes reccursive prepositions and the last section (§6.4) discusses the conditions in which prepositions can be omitted.

6.1 Phrase structure In Meyah, the non-core arguments beneficiary, goal, recipient, location and time are expressed as prepositional phrases. The phrase occurs following intransitive verbs or after the object of a transitive verb, if one is present. The figure below illustrates the basic structure of the prepositional phrase, which is a preposition followed by a complement. The complement may be a noun phrase, a free pronoun, a personal noun or a deictic element, as illustrated in examples (1) through (4). Other Papuan languages of the East Bird’s Head, such as Sougb, Hatam, and Mpur also exhibit the same phrase structure and generally utilize the same types of prepositions as those listed in Table 18. Prepositional phrase = PrepositionHead + ComplementDependant

(1) Bi-ogif nou ob-ahina 2SG-bow for 2SG-wife ‘Respect your wife.’ (lit. ‘bow for your wife’) (2) Agot gu Ingkreifuj oida … say to Ingkreifuj COMP ‘He/she said to Ingkreifuj that …’ (3) Eja jah mei Fanin ofoksu ke-uma go to river Fanin delta NOM-that ‘He/she went to that river Fanin bay area.’

162 Prepositional phrases 163

(4) Re-edis marfok gij ri-ebirfeji 3PL-stick flower in 3PL-hair ‘They stick flowers in their hair.’

6.2 Prepositions Meyah prepositions are monomorphemic forms. They can be divided into three general subtypes. As shown in Table 18, there are prepositions that are restricted to spatial reference, prepositions that mark location and time, and prepositions that mark other kinds of relations. Table 18: Prepositions Spatial prepositions Location/time prepositions Other kinds of prepositions esij ‘on top’ jah ‘to’ (non-human) rot/osok gij ‘concerning’ tumu ‘onto’ Skoita ‘to’ (human) nou ‘for’ tera ‘above’ gu ‘at, to’ ojoros/oisouska ‘until’ skida ‘above’ jeska ‘from’ jera ‘with’ doida ‘near’ gij ‘in’ erek ‘like’ rejrej ‘around’ degini ‘beneath’

6.2.1 Spatial prepositions Prepositions that are restricted to spatial reference refer to specific areas of an object. The preposition esij ‘on top’ refers to horizontal surfaces and tumu ‘on’ to a vertical surface. The preposition tera is used to refer to an area ‘above’ a body of water and skida ‘above’ other areas, such as land and trees. The preposition rejrej refers to the area around an object. The preposition doida refers to the area close to an object and degini to an area below an object. Examples of their use within the clause are provided in (5) through (9). Other areas of an object (e.g. front, back, side) are indicated through the use of spatial relator nouns that occur in the post-nominal position (see §4.3.6). (5) Ot esij mega stand on.top tree ‘He/she stood on top of a tree.’ (i.e. a log lying down) (6) Ge-aha mosom tumu mega ke-uma 2/3DU-put axe onto tree NOM-that ‘They put (stuck) the axe on the side of that tree.’ (7) Osk aki tera mei stick foot above river ‘He/she stuck his/her foot above the water.’ (8) Aha megej doida mod put firewood near house ‘He/she placed the firewood near the house.’

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(9) Beda efen mekeni rejrej mansu then trim garden around cave ‘Then he/she trimmed (grass in) the garden around the cave.’ The prepositions skida ‘above’ and degini ‘below’ are syntactically a bit different to other spatial prepositions. They can precede head nouns as prepositions or they can follow head nouns, thus behaving more like spatial relator nouns. The same two items in Maybrat show the same alternate positions (see Dol 1999:134). Some Meyah examples where the preposition precedes the noun are shown in (10) and (11). (10) Ri-aha rua ongga ri-agos skida mah 3PL-put them REL 3PL-die above fire ‘They place those that are dead above a fire.’ (11) Mekeni ke-uma ah degini memaga garden NOM-that lie.down below mountain ‘The garden is below the mountain.’ Examples (12) and (13) show the position of skida and degini following the noun in a modifier position. (12) Ri-ei rerin mod gij mega esta skida 1 3PL-build 3PL.POSS house in tree branch above ‘They built their houses above the main tree branches.’ (13) Bi-ej-eker jah mersa degini ke-uma 2SG-INCEP-sit at room below NOM-that ‘Go stay in that lower room.’

6.2.2 Location prepositions The prepositions jah ‘to’ and skoita ‘to’ express the path of movement towards a location. Generally speaking, the preposition jah is mostly used with inanimate objects, whereas skoita tends to be used more with human objects, although examples with inanimate nouns are also found.2 (14) Oksons jah Meikoka return to Meikoka ‘He/she retuned to Meikoka (village).’ (15) Eja jah efen mod fob go to 3SG.POSS house already ‘He/she already went to his/her house.’ (16) Oksons skoita efen me-eka return to 3SG.POSS 3SG-father ‘He/she returned to his/her father.’

1 The term esta is the area of a tree where the branches grow out of the main trunk. 2 The preposition skoita may be related to the Sougb deictic form skwada ‘over there’, since both function in locative constructions (see Reesink 2002a:198).

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(17) Ge-em-oku-ma skoita marfenen 2/3DU-RECIP-run-RECIP to elephant.grass ‘They raced one another to the elephant grass.’ The preposition jeska is the opposite of jah. It expresses the source relation ‘from’, whether it is locational, temporal or logical. The locational source can be either human or non-human. (18) Eja jeska mod go from house ‘He/she went from the house.’ (19) rua ongga jeska memaga … they REL from mountain ‘those who are from the mountains …’ (20) Ecira erek ke-uma jeska ensis fob travel like NOM-that from old already ‘It has been that way for a long time.’ (21) Memef me-et nomnaga jeska ofa we 1PL.EXC-eat all from him/her ‘We ate all of his/her (food).’ The preposition jeska can occur without an explicit object if the object is omitted, as in (22). In some of these kinds of constructions jeska lexicalizes with the verb to express notions, such as ‘die away’, as in (23). (22) Mebi ebriyi jeska ground split from ‘The ground split from (the shoreline).’ (23) Di-agos jeska tina iwa i-eita monuh ke-if 1SGdie from but you 2PL-take place NOM-this ‘Even if I die, you should still keep this area.’ The preposition jeska also functions as a linker in comparative constructions in which some quality, state, or action is compared to that of another. In this type of construction the preposition always occurs juxtaposed with the intensifier ekirsa ‘more’. (24) Monghu odou os ofa eteb ekirsa jeska bua Monghu liver rub he/she big more from you ‘Monghu wants him/her much more than you.’ (25) Ongga oufa ekirsa jeska bera mi-esah erek REL good more from TOP 1PL.INCstore like ari orgomu week CL:HUMAN.three ‘What is better is that we store (the seeds) for three weeks.’ Another kind of location preposition is gij. It indicates either the path of movement ‘into’ a location or expresses the static location ‘in’.

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(26) Mek ke-uma oku rot beda osoka gij meren pig NOM-that flee concerning then jump in lake ‘The pig fled concerning (something) and jumped into a lake.’ (27) Eker gij efen mer efesi sit in 3SG.POSS room inside ‘He/she remained inside his/her room.’ As noted above, a common use of gij is to indicate the path of movement ‘into’ a location. However there are a few examples from texts that show the path of movement expressed by gij to be away or ‘out from’ a location. Thus it appears that the path of movement expressed by gij also depends on the type of verb that is used. In the examples below, gij indicates the path ‘out from’. (28) Orogna gij mod ongga mek meranghi insa efen go.out in house that pig spirit ANAP 3SG.POSS ‘He went out from the house that the pig spirit owned.’ (29) Bi-orogna gij monggosum ke-inda eja 2SG-go.out in roof NOM-above go ‘Go out to the roof above away from here.’ The preposition gu primarily indicates goal ‘to’. It can be used in combination with jah ‘toward’ making both path and goal explicit, as in (32). It appears that gu is interchangeable with skoita ‘to’ when the goal is human, as in (33). The preposition can be stranded if its complement is elided, as in (34). The pronoun, in this case 3SG, is understood from the fuller context. (30) Bi-aha gu mod efesi 2SG-put to house inside ‘Put it inside the house.’ (31) Bi-agot mar gu didif 2SG-say thing to me ‘You speak to me.’ (32) Mosona esaga jah gu monuh Munukwar foreigner arrive toward to place Manokwari ‘The foreigners arrived at Manokwari village.’ (33) Ejeka mar skoita ofa ask thing to him/her ‘He/she questioned him/her.’ (34) Beda ge-eita gu then 2/3DU-give to ‘Then they gave (it) to (him/her).’ Finally, the preposition gu can function like gij in that it can be used to indicate the static location ‘at’ and ‘in’. What separates it from gij is that it implies a path of movement. (35) Eker gu Memyena Efefa sit at Memyena Efefa ‘He/she stayed at Memyena Efefa.’

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(36) Meidu bera en-ah gu mod-if what TOP DUR-lie.down at house-this ‘As for this in the house, what is it?’

6.2.3 Time prepositions Time expressions use the locative prepositions described in §6.2.2 to locate an event in time. Thus, the structure of a time prepositional phrase is identical to that of a locative prepositional phrase, as (37) through (39) illustrate. See also §4.5.5. on temporal adverbials and §10.3 on adverbial clauses. (37) Iwa i-eja yes jeska mod gij mona ofoukou you 2PLgo far from house in time many ‘You have traveled far from you house in many days.’ (38) Ekirsa jeska mesta orgomu fob more from month CL:HUMAN.three already ‘It already increased after three months.’ (39) Mi-imowa-ir rerin erebent gu tahun ofoukou fob 1PL.INC-grandparent-PL 3SG.POSS custom at year many already ‘Our ancestors had customs for many years.’ (lit. ‘very old customs’)

6.2.4 Accompaniment preposition The preposition jera expresses accompaniment, as in (40). As noted in §5.5, it can also be used as a coordinate conjunction linking two noun phrases (41). It can link two clauses as well (42). (40) Ofa eja jera mes he/she go with dog ‘He/she went with a dog.’ (41) Ef mem cucurwahi jera mowodu shoot bird sparrow with tree.kangaroo ‘He/she shot a sparrow and a tree kangaroo.’ (42) Ri-osujohu oida ofa bera otunggom mei ke-uma jera 3PL-think that he/she TOP make water NOM-that with otunggom memaga ke-uma sis fob make mountain NOM-that first already ‘They think that he/she already made that river and made that mountain.’

6.2.5 Beneficiary prepositions When an action is performed for the benefit of an entity, the entity is referred to as the beneficiary. In Meyah there are two ways that an entity can be marked as a beneficiary in the clause. The first way involves the preposition nou ‘for’, which always follows an object undergoer, if one is present in the clause. No other arguments can occur between the undergoer and the beneficiary.

168 Chapter 6

(43) Ri-em-engk maini nou ri-ona-ir 3PL-IRR-buy loincloth for 3PL-male-PL ‘They would buy loincloths for the men.’ (44) Ohoda mod ofokor nou ri-osnok nomnaga open house learn for 3PL-person all ‘He opened a schoolhouse for all the people.’ When an undergoer is not present, the beneficiary phrase occurs following the verb (45), (46). (45) Bua bi-ogif nou ob-ohuina rot mar ongga agot you 2SG-bow for 2SG-husband concerning thing REL say ‘You should have respect for your husband concerning the things he said.’ (46) Mei bera oufa-mofa nou ofos efera water TOP RED-good for skin sore ‘Water is very good for his/her sore.’ Another way to mark beneficiary is to use the preposition rot ‘about/concerning’, but only with human beneficiaries. (47) Di-okub mah rot bua 1SG-burn fire concerning you ‘I will make a fire for you.’ (48) Pendeta3 eker gij mod Ari rot rua Pastor sit in house Sunday concerning them. ‘The Pastor remained inside the church for them.’ (49) Odou okora rot bua liver hurt concerning you ‘He/she has pity for you.’

6.2.6 Goal/Recipient prepositions The preposition gu, used to mark time and location, can also be used to mark an oblique object as the goal of a speech act (50), (51). (50) Ombug ejeka gu asok-uma Ombug ask to girl-that ‘Ombug questioned that girl.’ (51) Ofa ois gu Rut he/she call to Ruth ‘He/she called out to Ruth.’ With non-speech verbs the preposition gu marks the object as recipient (52), (53). (52) Oh mat gu rua hand.over food to them ‘He/she handed over the food to them.’

3 Borrowed from Indonesian.

Prepositional phrases 169

(53) Ijbeni eita meiteb gu ofa Ijbeni give machete to him/her ‘Ijbeni gave the machete to him/her.’ In §6.2.5, I describe rot as the beneficiary preposition ‘concerning’. Although labeled as such, even in those constructions it seems rot expresses ‘goal’ in that thoughts or affections have oblique human objects as their goal. In a similar sense, rot seems to express ‘goal’ in (54), as well, where it refers to a non-human object. In example (55), it may be the case that the oblique human object of the story-telling has zero reference in the construction. (54) Efeneinei rot mod insa ke-uma worry for house ANAP NOM-that ‘He/she was concerned for that house.’ (55) Di-efesij rot mahteyi egens 1SG-tell for ancient.story one ‘I am talking for (audience) an old story.’ Similarly, the preposition rot is used to indicate the goal (i.e., purpose) of a motion event. This differs from a locative interpretation of the prepositional noun phrase. (56) Ecira rot mei travel for river ‘He/she goes to get water.’ (57) Eja rot me-ohona-irga jah mod go for 3SG-wife-2/3DU to house ‘He went for his two wives to the house.’

6.2.7 Manner adverbial preposition As described in §4.5.1, Meyah has a small closed class of true manner adverbs. They occur adjacent to the verb or object noun phrase, if one is present. There are other ways that Meyah greatly increases the number of manner expressions available. One such way is through the use of adjectivals. They can be used adverbially directly following a verb or a noun phrase. (58) Ombug edei ameina oufa Ombug push my.mother good ‘Ombug, push my mother well.’ (59) Otkonu oska eteb rot Jepan stomach bad big concerning Japanese ‘He/she was very angry at the Japanese.’ Adjectivals can be used as manner adverbials when they are marked by the preposition rot ‘concerning’, hence the label ‘manner adverbial preposition’.4

4 Sougb uses a similar construction with the conjunction dara ‘with’ (see Reesink 2002a:234).

170 Chapter 6

(60) Ge-ofokor rot osofeja 2/3DU-learn concerning diligent ‘They study diligently.’ (61) Mi-eker rot ongkoska fob 1PL.INC-sit concerning beautiful already ‘We have lived wonderfully.’ Some adjectivals, like eteb ‘big/large’, tenten ‘true’, ahais ‘strong’, as well as intensifiers, such as doska ‘very’, are marked by rot to express intensity. A manner prepositional phrase can be further intensified through reduplication, as in (64). (62) Odou os rot tenten liver rub concerning true ‘He/she strongly desires (that).’ (63) Ri-efarur rot ahais gij 3PL-work concerning strong in ‘They worked very hard on it.’ (64) Mi-en-oku ebic rot dosk-oska guru 1PL.INC-DUR-pull center concerning RED-very NEG ‘We don’t yank very strongly on the (plant) stem.’ The preposition rot can also introduce noun phrases, numerals and numerators as having a manner adverbial function, thus greatly increasing the number of manner expressions available in Meyah. (65) Ri-eker gij mod efesi ke-uma rot ri-ofos robrob 3PL-sit in house inside NOM-that concerning 3PL-skin naked ‘They sat naked inside that house.’ (66) Ofa oksons rot etma ongga ebskij he/she return concerning hand REL empty ‘He/she returned empty-handed.’ (67) Bua bi-ofosut rot ofosma egeka fob you 2SG-count concerning time two already ‘You have already counted twice.’ (68) Ge-esa mocongga rot juens 2/3DU-shoot arrow concerning first ‘They shot (lit. sent) an arrow once.’ The preposition rot can also take the interrogative teinefa ‘how’ and a subsequent complement clause as its object to express how an activity is carried out. The prepositional phrase rot teinefa functions like the Indonesian bagaimana ‘how’, illustrated for comparison in (71). (69) Ge-odou ebriyi rot tei-enefa ge-efarur mer efesi 2/3DU-liver split concerning ADV-how 2/3DU-work room inside ‘They understood how to work inside the room.’

Prepositional phrases 171

(70) En-ejginaga rot tei-enefa ofij ofa guru DUR-know concerning ADV-how help him/her NEG ‘He/she didn’t know how to help him/her.’ Indonesian (71) Dia tahu bagaimana kerja di tempat itu he/she know how work at place that ‘He/she knew how to work at that place.’

6.2.8 Verbal prepositions According to grammaticalization theory, items from major word categories move to minor categories, such as prepositions (see Hopper and Traugott 1993:104). Durie (1988) shows how serial verbs develop into prepositions in Oceanic languages. In Meyah, a few prepositions have their origin from verbs. For example, the verb osok ‘climb/ascend’, which can function as part of a (§7.6.5), can combine with the locative preposition gij ‘in’. The construction expresses the prepositional meaning ‘about/ concerning’ (like rot) when it occurs with speech or cognition verbs.5 (72) Efesij mar osoka gij Tuan Griffiths tell thing jump in Mr Griffiths ‘He/she tells (a story) about Mr Griffiths.’ (73) Osujohu osoka gij efen efarur think jump in 3SG.POSS work ‘He/she thought about his/her work.’ The item erek ‘be’ or ‘like’ is a copular verb that functions as the head of an equative clause (see §7.5.1.7). It can also be used as a preposition that marks locative and temporal relations, as shown in examples (74) to (76). (74) Eker erek deisef sit like today ‘He/she stayed on this today.’ (75) Ge-ej-eja erek mona juomu 2/3DU-RED-go like time third ‘They travel on and on until the third day.’ (76) Esaga erek ke-inda arrive like NOM-above ‘He/she arrived at (the area) above.’ The preposition ojoros ‘until’ takes locative and temporal noun phrases as its object. It can also occur as a clause conjunction (see §10.2.1.4). The preposition is derived from the verb ‘arrive’, as attested by a few rare examples of a subject prefix on ojoros from the text corpus, as in (77).6 Considering that prepositions often derive historically from serial

5 The Sougb verb for ‘ascend’ has the same prepositional function (see Reesink 2002a:234). 6 The verb ‘arrive’ functions as the preposition ‘until’ in other languages of the wider region, such as the Austronesian languages Buru (Grimes 1991) and Tetun (van Klinken 1999).

172 Chapter 6 verbs, it is probable that ojoros comes from the serial verb eja oros ‘go arrive’, since motion verbs figure prominently in SVCs, especially the verb eja (see §7.6.2). Some examples of the prepositional function of ojoros show a perfective infix (79), which is additional evidence for its verbal origin. Other occurrences of ojoros lack the infix. Both forms can be used in a prepositional phrase with no apparent difference in meaning. (77) Ge-ojoros meyaga efeb [gojoros] 2/3DU-arrive rattan rope ‘They arrived at (or, went as far as) the rattan forest.’ (78) Ri-otoij ojoros meren efembra 3PL-follow until lake edge ‘They followed it until the edge of the lake.’ (79) Er-ohca erek ke-uma ojgomu ojoros Imbuan INST-search like NOM-that just until Imbuan ‘He/she searched like that only until Imbuan (village).’ (80) Memef me-ah gu Indog Efej ojoros mona deisef we 1PL.EXC-lie.down at Indog Efej until time today ‘We have lived in Indog Efej until today.’

6.3 Recursive prepositions Oblique arguments can be omitted from a phrase, leaving only the preposition. Due to that, it is possible for various kinds of prepositions to be added recursively before a noun phrase complement. Example (81) shows four different kinds of prepositions strung together indicating, goal, path, location and beneficiary. The unusually long string is also due to the omission of a verb. (81) I-oku mofa gij jah skida nou mah 2PL-pull rack in to above for fire ‘Pull out the rack (from where it is stored placing it) above for the fire.’ (82) Ri-owaf jah nou ge-egeka-irga 3PL-wait to for 2/3DU-two-2/3DU ‘They wait at (the house) for those two (people).’

6.4 Omission of prepositions In Meyah, non-core arguments are generally expressed as prepositional phrases (see §7.1). In Meyah, non-core arguments are generally expressed as prepositional phrases (see 7.1). However, prepositions are commonly elided in natural speech, especially when the object of the preposition is a locational or temporal adverbial. Preopositions are optional when the noun phrase occurs as an argument of a motion verb or a posture verb since those kinds of verbs are ambitransitive (see §4.2.5). In the examples below, the omitted prepositions are shown in brackets. (83) Eja [jah] efen mod go to 3SG.POSS house ‘He/she went to the house.’

Prepositional phrases 173

(84) Efen me-imowa ongga ofoka Imfa [gij] mona Iresa 3SG.POSS 3SG-grandparent REL name Imfa in time Iresa ofa oku [gu] Meyah-ir he flee to Meyah-PL ‘He/she had a grandparent called Imfa at the time when Iresa ran away to the Meyah people.’ (85) Ojuj [jeska] Meimeska-inda en descend from Meimeska-above come ‘He/she came down from Meimeska (village) towards here.’ (86) Ot [gu] ge-efekesa noba ri-eja jah mod stand at 2/3DU-among and 3PL-go to house ‘He/she stood in their midst and they went to the house.’ Time nouns can be optionally expressed without a preposition regardless of the kind of verb that they occur with, as illustrated in examples (87) and (88). Also see example (82). (87) Di-en-eita Morujanji-if [gu] tahun orgomu fob 1SG-DUR-take Morujanji-this at year three already ‘I have already ruled (lit. taken) Morujanjif (village) for three years.’ (88) Ojowa [gij] mona cinja keingg arrive in time five ADV ‘He/she will arrive in five days.’

7 The clause

7.0 Introduction A clause, as described by Croft (1991:33), is a minimal complete information unit. Larger units, such as complex sentences, are comprised of clauses. I apply Croft’s description to a Meyah clause, as well. A Meyah clause consists of a predicate (the head), its core arguments and its non-core arguments. However, as we seen throughout this work thus far, especially in Chapters 4 and 5, core and non-core arguments can be elided or have zero NP reference. Hence, a minimal clause can be, guru ‘no’ or fob ‘already’. These minimal clauses can be linked with another clause to produce a complex sentence, such as ofa ek tina guru ‘he/she looked but no’ (he/she saw nothing). In addition, I define Meyah core arguments, following Foley and Van Valin (1984:77–80), as those constituents that are more closely associated with the verb, such as subjects and objects. The non-core arguments I will refer to as obliques.1 They are headed by prepositions hence they are less closely associated with the verb. The canonical order of the clause constituents will be given in §7.1. Then a description of the grammatical and semantic function of subjects and objects will be given in §7.2– §7.3. The non-core arguments are discussed separately in Chapter 6 on prepositional phrases, however a recapitulation of the semantic role beneficiary/recipient will be given in §7.4. The basic Meyah clause types are: verbal, copular and non-verbal. Each will be discussed in §7.5. There are also various types of verb sequences in Meyah that are differentiated from one another by their morphosyntactic properties. They will be discussed in §7.6. Section 7.7 will present adverbials that occur in the clause periphery.

7.1 Constituent order Meyah is a rigid SVO language. This word order differs from the SOV order more typically associated with Papuan languages (see Foley 1998:513). In Meyah, this rigid word order helps to determine the syntactic role of constituents in the clause. For example, the subject is always a preverbal argument. The object is usually a post-verbal argument, but can be placed before the verb through a fronting strategy (see §7.3.1). Non-core arguments are prepositional phrases. They follow an object noun phrase, if one is present in the clause. Time adverbials can be placed externally before the main clause or internally

1 Foley and Van Valin (1984) use the term ‘peripheral constituent’ for non-core arguments. I refer to clause- level adjuncts as peripheral constituents of the clause and non-core arguments as obliques. 174 The clause 175 before the subject. The position of negative and aspectual adverbials is somewhat unusual for a VO language in that they occur in the clause-final position. A negative adverb usually precedes an aspectual adverb, although the reverse is also possible. The basic order of constituents within the clause is: (Time) (Subject) Verb (Object) (Oblique) (Negator) (Aspectual adverb) The elicited examples (1) through (3) illustrate the possible constituents of a clause. (1) Neka rua ri-orka mek ke-uma gu memef jah si-if yesterday they 3PL-carry pig NOM-that to us to NOM-here ‘Yesterday they brought that pig to us here.’ (2) Bua bi-en-eker jera me-osu-ib deika guru fob you 1SG-DUR-sit with 3SG-mother-2SG more NEG already ‘You are already now no longer living with your mother.’ (3) Etma er-ekeba mejefeyi ke-imba eja hand INST-split roof NOM-below go ‘He/she divided the roof below in two sections away (from him/her).’ As mentioned previously, core and non-core arguments can have zero clausal reference if the identity of those referents has already been established in the discourse or the arguments are unimportant in the context. Even so, the constructions are still complete information units in that the arguments are understood. (4) Eita gu give to ‘He/she gave (the bow) to (his cousin).’ (5) Beda ri-agob then 3PL-strike ‘Then they struck (them).’2 (6) Orka noba ocunc gu carry and show to ‘He carried it [a tree kangaroo] and showed it to (his mother).’

7.2 Subjects In Meyah, the semantic role of subject is consistently associated with that of the agent. Also see §11.6 definite and indefinite subjects. While there is no overt coding that indicates syntactic subject, there are a number of features that can help to identify a noun phrase as a syntactic subject in ordinary main clauses. Many of those are listed in Keenan (1976) and Andrews (1985). With Meyah, positional properties and cross-referencing are the most reliable indicators. The subject is the preverbal argument of the predicate. It is not marked by a preposition. It denotes who or what carried out the action of the predicate. Subjects are coded through cross-referencing such that verbs take pronominal prefixes that agree with the person and number of their subject. Therefore, a subject noun phrase does not have to be present in the clause because it will be marked in the verb.

2 The verb agob implies being struck with an instrument, most commonly a stick or a machete, thus the instrument is understood and often left out if not in focus. 176 Chapter 7

(7) Rua ri-ofra ofora ke-uma they 3PL-lift bone NOM-that ‘They carried those bones.’ (8) Mek-uma eska bua fob pig-that bite you already ‘The pig already bit you.’ (9) Goga ge-ecira morototuma mes 2/3DU 2/3DU-travel together dog ‘They travel together with dogs.’ (10) Ofa esiri gu mebi he/she fall to ground ‘He/she fell down.’ In general, subject noun phrases are used rather sparingly in Papuan languages. Once the subject has been introduced, then other coding strategies, such as subject agreement prefixing and the use of determiners, help to maintain subject referent tracking. In Meyah, subject noun phrases are also used rather sparingly, as in example (11), where an overt subject noun phrase is used only once in the discourse. (11) Mek meranghi insa efen mod ke-uma. Beda orogna pig spirit ANAP 3SG.POSS house NOM-that then go.out gij momas. Orodosu isok insa. Ohur efaga erek ej-ojona. in yard meet guy ANAP deceive body like INCEP-woman Beda osoka. Beda agei isok insa ke-uma etma noba eja mod then jump then grab guy ANAP NOM-that arm and go house rot. Aha beda eker gij efen mer efesi. concerning put then sit in 3SG.POSS room inside ‘That pig spirit owned that house. Then (it) went out into the yard. (It) met that guy. (It) deceived him by making its body become like a woman. Then (it) jumped. Then (it) grabbed that guy’s arm and went to its house. Then (it) put (him there) and then (he) stayed inside its room.’ Free pronouns that occur as subjects are also rather sparse once the person and number of subject have been established in the discourse. At that point, subject referent tracking is by means of a subject prefix on the verb. (12) Didif di-orohrus goga ke-uma jah mod ari efesi beda I 1SG-escort 2/3DU NOM-that to house week inside then di-ohoturu ge-odou efesi 1SG-gather 2/3DU-liver inside ‘I escort those two (people) to the church, then I find out what they are thinking.’ (lit. ‘gather their livers’) (13) Ofa edebecki noba osmo efej noba edebecki noba eja fob. he/she rise and cook root and rise and go already The clause 177

Otkutkuma raha tenten tina mocgoj ebahah. Beda eja. hunt morning very but cloud dense then go ‘He/she got up and cooked some roots and then left. (He/she) hunted early in the morning but the fog was dense. Then he/she left.’ Subject noun phrases, especially those that are pronouns or proper nouns, are used more frequently when the speaker wants to make a given subject more emphatic. This is also attested by the use of free subject pronouns with possessive pronouns, as discussed in §5.4.1. (14) Sis bera memef me-agot oida rua ri-ocuwei mar before TOP we 1PL.EXC-say COMP they 3PL-deceive thing jeska memef. Tina tenten memef me-ejginaga rot from us but true we 1PL.EXC-know concerning ‘As for an earlier time, we said that they tried to deceive us. But we really knew about it.’ (15) Didif tein masusur guru. Didif tein di-osnok. Didif Ekergud I also animal NEG. I also 1SG-person I Ekergud ‘I am not an animal.3 I am a person. I am Ekergud.’ (16) Ekergud agot oida didif bera mek en-eska-id enesi. Ekergud say COMP I TOP pig DUR-bit-1SG NEG Ekergud era Mosou er-agot erek ke-uma Ekergud use Sougb INST-say like NOM-that ‘Ekergud said, “As for me, the pig did not bite me”. Ekergud spoke like that, using the Sougb language.’ Emphatic pronouns are used as verbal or prepositional objects that are coreferential with the subject (see §4.1.4). In (17) and (18) the emphatic pronoun can only be identified as the subject. (17) Rua ri-engk mat nou ri-esinsa they 3PL-buy food for 3PL-EMF ‘They bought food for themselves.’ (18) Bua bi-eker gu bi-esinsa gij mod efesi you 2SG-sit at 2SG-EMF in house inside ‘You should stay in the house by yourself.’

7.3 Objects The main coding feature of a syntactic object is its position immediately after the predicate. It is not marked by a preposition. It describes the participant that is directly affected by the action denoted by the verb. It only occurs in transitive clauses. The object can occur as a pronominal enclitic to the verb. The semantic role of the object is always that of the undergoer. (19) Timo agei morogum efei Timo grab clay.pot wet ‘Timo grabbed/held the wet clay pot.’

3 The word masusur is a generic term for insects, or wild things in general, that are not normally eaten. 178 Chapter 7

(20) Ef-esa ofra me-eka gij meg fob 3SG-child lift 3SG-father in boat already ‘The child already lifted his/her father into the boat.’ (21) Agob-id strike-1SG ‘He/she struck me.’ The object of a transitive predicate may also be an adjectival notion or a physiological state, expressing a mental or physical cause (22), (23). (22) Di-eita oska gu ofa 1SG-give bad to him/her ‘I troubled him/her.’ (lit. ‘give bad’) (23) Di-eita efera okora gu ofa 1SG-give injure hurt to him/her ‘I hurt him/her.’ (lit. ‘give pain’)

7.3.1 Fronted object/undergoer I mentioned in §7.3 that the canonical position of objects is following the verb. However, objects can be fronted and marked as topical by bera. The construction falls under a single intonation contour with the governing predicate. This is contrastive with other kinds of bera-marked frames that fall under separate intonation contours (see §11.6). Thus, fronted objects are marked structure. Such constructions are characteristic of subject- prominent languages (see Li and Thompson 1976). (24) Oduis noba ogufu bera ri-ek stab and blood TOP 3PL-see ‘He/she stabbed (him) and as for the blood, they saw (it).’ (25) Erek ke-uma noba osnok bera ri-en-ek guru like NOM-that and person TOP 3PL-DUR-see NEG ‘It was like that and as for the person, they did not see (him/her).’ (26) Montoj morongsu bera ri-ebe-kunci door room TOP 3PL-LOAN-key ‘As for the room door, they locked (it).’ (27) Mega efeyi bera en-er-akid tree leaf TOP DUR-INST-tie ‘As for the tree leaves, he/she was tying (them with string).’ (28) Bi-em-et ofogu bera memef mefmen 2SG-IRR-eat flesh TOP we 1PL.EXC.POSS ‘As for the flesh you will eat, (it) is ours.’4 It is somewhat common for the constituent bera to be omitted in natural speech, placing the object directly before the verb.

4 Here is one case in which a possessed noun can occur before the possessor verb. The clause 179

(29) Mat ke-uma mi-en-et guru food NOM-that 1PL.INC-DUR-eat NEG ‘That food we do not eat.’ (30) Mar ke-uma ri-ek gu ri-eiteij thing NOM-that 3PL-see at 3PL-eye ‘Those things they saw with their own eyes.’

7.3.2 Object omission It was shown in §6.3 and §6.4 that Meyah verbs and prepositions can be omitted. Null expression of an object can also occur under various circumstances. Firstly, objects implicitly understood within the discourse do not need to be stated. (Omitted objects are in parentheses in the English translation.) (31) Meranghi mei ke-uma em-edi-ei [didif] era em-agob-[id]-ei spirit water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU [me] or IRR-strike-[me]-QU ‘Will the water spirit hit (me) or strike (me)?’ (32) Mi-en-era pacul mi-en-er-agob [mebi] doska guru 1PL.INC-DUR-use hoe 1PL.INC-DUR-INST-strike [ground] very NEG ‘We don’t strike (the ground) very strongly with a hoe.’ (33) Iturwam of keingg [mega] jeskaseda erek mekeni Iturwam chop.down ADV [tree] so.that like garden ‘Iturwam chopped down (the trees) in order to make a garden.’ Secondly, objects mentioned earlier in the discourse but still understood within the context do not need to be repeated, as in (34), (35). Examples (36), (37) illustrate this elision of given information within a sentence. The omitted noun phrases are in parentheses in the English translation. (34) En-orka jah noba ecka fob DUR-carry to and two.days.ago already ‘He/she carried (him) to (a place) and it was already two days later.’ (35) Ge-en-ofra guru 2/3DU-DUR-lift NEG ‘They did not lift (the boat).’ (36) Odub mek deika beda ej-ef beda orka hunt pig again then INCEP-shoot then carry ‘He/she hunted pigs again and then he/she began to shoot (the pigs), then he/she carried (them back).’ (37) Mimif mi-ejginaga rot mi-ebij metrem fob. we 1PL.INC-know concerning 1PL.INC-pick corn already Nou ongga mi-ebij enesi for REL 1PL.INC-pick NEG ‘We already know how to pick corn. When we have not picked (the corn) yet …’ Prepositional objects can also be omitted from the clause when the object is understood from the immediate context, or if it is retrievable from an earlier context (see §6.4). The 180 Chapter 7 examples below show prepositional objects that refer to a beneficiary (38) and a location (39), where both are omitted from a clause. (38) Asok-uma oina mat beda oh gu tina en-et mat guru-ei girl-that cook food then hand.over to but DUR-eat food NEG-QU ‘The girl cooked some food and served it to (him/her), so why wouldn’t he/she eat the food?’ (39) Ri-em-oj mesiga skoita 3PL-IRR-lean ladder toward ‘They would lean a ladder towards (the house).‘

7.4 Beneficiary Pronouns or noun phrases that are governed by the preposition nou ‘for’ are beneficiaries or recipients of the action denoted by the predicate. Beneficiaries only occur with transitive predicates. As prepositional phrases, they always occur after the object, if one is present. The preposition rot ‘concerning’ (see §6.2.5) can also be used as a beneficiary preposition. Semantically, I do not see much difference between the use of nou and rot in marking object noun phrases as beneficiaries. (40) Bi-esah meyaga nou me-eka-ib 2SG-store bamboo for 3SG-father-2SG ‘Store some bamboo for your father.’ (41) Di-okub mah rot bua 1SG-burn fire concerning you ‘I will make a fire for you.’ Beneficiaries can be animate (40), (41) or inanimate (42), (43). (42) I-of terapan nou kabar ofu ke-uma 2PL-cover tarpaulin for ship fly NOM-that ‘Cover that airplane with the tarpaulin.’ (43) I-oku mofa gij jah skida nou mah 2PL-pull rack in to above for fire ‘Pull out the rack above for the fire.’

7.5 Clause types A variety of clause types can be identified according to the kind of predicate that is used. In Meyah, three basic clause types can be identified: verbal (§7.5.1), copular (§7.5.1.9) and non-verbal (§7.5.2). A verbal clause is one that is headed by a transitive or intransitive predicate. Intransitive predicates can be expressed by regular intransitive verbs, adjectival verbs or quantifier verbs. Other kinds of predicates in intransitive clauses are emotional state predicates, existential predicates and experiential predicates. These are formed by syntactic constructions that express single verbal meanings. A copular clause has a copular verb as its head. In non-verbal clauses a nominal constituent, such as a noun phrase, a possessive pronoun, a question word or a numeral, functions as the predicate. Simple clauses can also contain sequences of two verbs that form a single complex predicate. The various clause types and their predicates are summarized in Diagram 1. The clause 181

Verbal clause Transitive predicate Transitive verb Transitive verb eita Bodily function verbs Possessor verbs Intransitive predicae Regular intransitive verb Adjectival verb Quantifier verb Emotional state verb Existential verb Experiential verb Copular clause Copular predicate Copular verb erek Non-verbal clause Nominal predicate Noun phrase Adverbials and demonstratives Question word Diagram 1: Clause types

7.5.1 Verbal clauses 7.5.1.1 Transitive predicates Transitive predicates minimally take two core arguments, a subject and an object. Their order of occurrence in the clause is SVO. (44) Didif di-orka mou efej I 1SG-carry yam seed ‘I carried yam seeds (i.e. cuttings).’ (45) Memef me-ef mar insa ke-uma we 1PL.EXC-shoot thing ANAP NOM-that ‘We shot those things.’ (46) Aha mat ke-uma gij mesina put food NOM-that in string.bag ‘He/she put that food into the string bag.’ A free object pronoun can be substituted by an object pronoun enclitic when the object is not in focus (see §4.1.2). Thus, a minimal transitive clause can be a transitive verb marked by a subject prefix and an object clitic, as in (47) and (48). The realized forms are shown in brackets. The 3SG category is an unmarked form, therefore a free pronoun is required to express the object for that number category, as in (49). 182 Chapter 7

(47) Ri-agob-ir [ragobir] 3PL-strike-3PL ‘They struck them.’ (48) Di-ofij-ib [dufijib] 1SG-help-2/3DU ‘I helped you/they two.’ (49) Otoij ofa follow him/her ‘He/she followed him/her.’ (50) Di-eita 1SG-take ‘I took (it).’ (51) Agob strike ‘He/she already struck (him/her).’

7.5.1.2 Transitive verb eita The transitive verb eita ‘give’ is different from other transitive predicates. Like other transitive verbs, eita minimally takes two core arguments. However, unlike other transitive verbs, the semantic role of its arguments can vary. Newman (1996, 1997) shows that, cross-linguistically, ‘give’ constructions often display complexity because there are three components of the giving act: the giver, the thing transferred and the recipient. In Meyah ‘give’ and ‘take’ constructions also show this complexity because one verb root (eita) is used to express the meaning ‘give’ or ‘take’. An oblique object headed by the preposition gu ‘to’ in the clause indicates that the object of eita is moving towards a goal or recipient (52), (53). (52) Yakobus eita efen meiteb gu didif Yakobus give 3SG.POSS machete to me ‘Jacob gave his machete to me.’ (53) Ri-eita meisoufa gu rua fob 3PL-give clothing to they already ‘They already gave clothing to them.’ The object of eita ‘give’ can also be an adjectival verb, as in (54) or an attributive noun phrase that expresses an abstract notion, as in (55). (54) Ri-em-eita oufa-moufa gu iwa rot si 3PL-IRR-give RED-good to you concerning STATUS ‘They will certainly be very kind to you.’ (55) Eita mar ongga oska gu didif give thing REL bad to me ‘He/she was bad to me.’ An oblique object that is headed by the preposition jeska ‘from’ indicates a source relation. Thus, the syntactic subject argument ri-eita in (56) and ofa in (57) is both agent The clause 183 and recipient. The verb eita is interpreted as ‘take’ and the oblique object as the source. The source can be human (56) or non-human (57). (56) Ri-eita mei jeska rerin ri-okosa-ir 3PL-take cloth from 3PL.POSS 3PL-sibling-PL ‘They took the cloth from their brothers.’ (57) Ofa eita fifi jeska kantor he/she take money from office ‘He/she took money from the office.’ If the subject is coreferential with the recipient but not the agent, then the verb esma ‘receive’ is used instead of eita ‘take’. (58) Ge-en-esma mar eneya jeska rua guru 2/3DU-DUR-receive thing some from them NEG ‘They didn’t receive anything from them.’ (59) Ri-odou os ri-esma ri-eiteij ah ongga oufa 3PL-liver rub 3PL-receive 3PL-eye lie.down REL good ‘They want to have a good life.’5 When an oblique object argument is not present in the clause, then eita can also be interpreted as the verb ‘do’. (60) Isak eita mar erek meidu Isak take/do thing like what ‘What did Isaac do?’ (61) Ofa eita erek ke-uma jeskaseda efen ofos eskeira he take/do like NOM-that so.that 3SG.POSS skin clean ‘He/she did that so that his/her skin would heal.‘

7.5.1.3 Bodily function verbs Bodily function verbs, such as defecate, vomit and sweat are involuntary processes that do not change a state (Payne 1997:94). In Meyah, bodily function verbs are expressed through a mixture of syntactic strategies depending on the bodily function. The acts of ‘vomiting’ and ‘spitting’6 are expressed by transitive verbs that require an objects. (62) Aha meisohu place vomit ‘He/she vomits.’ (63) Di-oj di-oskurfi 1SG-spit 1SG-spittle ‘He/she spat.’ (lit. ‘spat out spittle’). Some bodily functions are expressed as regular intransitive verbs and as such take only a subject argument, even though the action produces a by-product (such as examples (62), (63) involving transitive verbs).

5 The use of ‘eye sits’ for ‘life’ is a common expression in East Bird’s Head languages. 6 Spitting can be an involuntary act in the case of tuberculosis. 184 Chapter 7

(64) Ofa ohur he/she urinate ‘He/she urinated (voluntarily).’7 (65) Di-ojgonu 1SG-cough ‘I coughed.’ (66) Enefa sneeze ‘He/she sneezed.’ The term for defecate involves a posture verb plus the intransitive verb for defecate. (67) Ot okongkonu stand defecate ‘He/she defecated.’

7.5.1.4 Possessor verb In its full form a possessive construction has the same structure as a transitive clause, having an optional pre-verbal subject, a possessor verb marked for subject agreement and a possessed object, which is also inflected for possession if it is human, as in (71). (68) Memef mefmen marska ke-uma we 1PL.EXC.POSS meat NOM-that ‘We own that meat.’ (69) Me-eka efen mod ot memaga ofos 3SG-father 3SG.POSS house stand mountain peak ‘His/her father’s house is on the mountaintop.’ (70) Ri-osnok ke-uma rerin mes ofoukou 3PL-person NOM-that 3PL.POSS dog many ‘Those people own many dogs.’ (71) Gegan eg-esa ojowu ke-ke-if 2/3DU.POSS 2/3DU-child female RED-NOM-this ‘This girl is their child.’ (lit. ‘they own this girl child’) The possessive construction can express its own temporal setting (72). (72) Sis fob Tuan Eager efen mod jah si-uma before already Mr Eager 3SG.POSS house at NOM-there ‘During an earlier time, Mr Eager owned a house there.’ Like regular verbs, possessor verbs can be negated by a clause-final negative adverb (73). The noun phrase argument can be omitted if understood, as in (74). Such features show that possessive constructions constitute independent verbal clauses: (73) Efen mesina egema guru 3SG.POSS string.bag other NEG ‘He/she does not have any string bags.’

7 I am not aware of how involuntary urination would be expressed. The clause 185

(74) Efen guru 3SG.POSS NEG ‘He/she doesn’t have (a child).’ There is another case in which a possessor verb occurs without an object argument. In this instance, the verb only occurs as an unmarked 3SG form following a direct or oblique object and indicates the ‘middle’ area of an object, as in (75) through (77). As the English translations show, the form efen expresses a part/whole relation with the object noun phrase, so in this sense it is possible that possession is still expressed by efen. (75) Er-of moncusurbu efen INST-chop.down dense.jungle 3SG.POSS ‘He/she chopped down (trees) in the middle of the dense jungle.’ (76) Ri-aha gij mei efen 3PL-put in river 3SG.POSS ‘They put it in the middle of the river.’ (77) Ebes mosua efen avoid dry 3SG.POSS ‘He/she avoided the middle of the dry area.’ There are a few differences between possessor verbs and regular verbs. Firstly, even though possessor verbs use the same set of subject prefixes that other verbs do, the subject prefixes in the possessor verbs have become fused with the root and the morpheme boundary is no longer transparent. Secondly, when regular verbs are negated they are marked with an obligatory durative aspect prefix, however possessor verbs do not receive the negative prefix, as examples (73) and (74) above show. Thirdly, aside from the fused subject prefix, no affixes occur with possessor verbs. Another distinct feature of possessor verbs is their position as an attributive modifier of a head noun in the pre-head position, as in (78) and (79). See also §5.4.1 on possessive noun phrases. It is not unusual for possessors in eastern Indonesian languages to function as both predicates and noun phrase modifiers.8 (78) Di-ei dedin mod okumfoj aksa 1SG-build 1SG.POSS house waist high ‘I built my house tall.’ (79) Efesij rot mifmin mi-imowa Ejemes tell concerning 1PL.INC.POSS 1PL.INC-grandparent Ejemes ‘He/she was talking about our grandmother/ancestor Ejemes.’ As noted previously, a possessor verb can be preceded by a free subject pronoun. When a possessive construction is inserted into a noun phrase, it can also include a free pronoun. Inclusion of the pronoun is for emphasis. Although the entire possessive construction resembles a verbal clause, it occupies the direct and oblique object positions in the clause. This structure is identical to noun phrase possession in the regional Malay spoken in the area.

8 Besides the East Bird’s head languages, see also Buru (Grimes 1991) and Tidore (van Staden 2000). 186 Chapter 7

(80) Eyajga joug ofa efen mod look ADV he/she 3SG.POSS house ‘He spied on his/her house.’ (81) Di-agot gij kaset osoka didif dedin ind-imowa 1SG-say in cassette jump I 1SG.POSS 1SG-grandparent ‘I am talking into a cassette recorder about (lit. jump in) my ancestors.’ (82) Mi-eja gu rua rerin mod 1PL.INC-go to they 3SG.POSS house ‘We went to their house.’ The full possessor phrase described above cannot be negated when it occurs as part of the object argument structure of the preceding verb, therefore example (83) is not grammatical. The possessive construction can only be negated in a noun phrase if it is expressed as a relative clause, as in (84). (83) *Mi-eja gu rua rerin mod guru 1PL.INC-go to they 3SG.POSS house NEG ‘We went to the house that was not theirs.’ (84) Mi-eja gu mod ongga rua rerin guru 1PL.INC-go to house REL they 3PL.POSS NEG ‘We went to the house that was not theirs.’ In some languages (Tukang Besi, Tidore),9 possessive relations can also be expressed through an existential construction, i.e. ‘my child exists’ for ‘I have a child’. In Meyah, existential predicate constructions (see §7.5.1.7) are only used to introduce objects (persons, things) and do not express possession. Thus, example (85) can only be construed as a transitive predication and not as an existential/possession construction (86). (85) Dedin ed-esa 1SG.POSS 1SG.POSS-child ‘I have a child.’ (86) Dedin ed-esa 1SG.POSS 1SG.POSS-child ‘*There is a child.’ In summary, a possessive predicate construction has the following characteristics:  It can express a pre-verbal subject and a post-verbal object.  It can have its own temporal setting.  It can be negated.  It cannot receive verbal inflections (besides the fused subject prefix).  It can be inserted (as a full possessive predication) in a noun phrase and function as a modifier of the head noun.  It cannot be negated in a full noun phrase unless it is expressed as a relative clause.

9 See Donohue (1999:58) and van Staden (2000:249), respectively. The clause 187

7.5.1.5 Intransitive predicates Intransitive predicates take one core argument, the subject, which precedes the predicate. Intransitive verbs include three general subtypes: regular intransitives, adjectives and quantifiers. Examples of each type are given below. Regular intransitive predicate (87) Di-ebisa 1SG-cry ‘He/she cried.’ (88) Ofa esiri He/she fall ‘He/she fell down.’ Adjectival predicate (89) Ofa en-eteb enesi he/she DUR-big not.yet ‘He/she is not big yet.’ (90) Mongka efej pandanus ripe ‘The pandanus fruit is ripe.’ Quantifier predicate (91) Ri-en-ofoukou guru 3PL-DUR-many NEG ‘They are not many.’ (92) Rua ri-oskiai They 3PL-few ‘They are few.’

7.5.1.6 Emotional and physical state predicates It is common for Papuan languages to use body-part nouns to express emotional and physical states. See, for example, McElhanon (1972) and Kwan (1989). In Meyah, various kinds of emotional states are expressed as phrasal constructions involving an inalienably possessed body-part noun and an intransitive verb. The possessor prefix on the noun indicates the experiencer. The subject of most emotional state expressions is the noun odou ‘liver’. A partial list of emotional state expressions is given in (93). The English equivalent is given in parentheses. (93) Emotional state verbs odou oska ‘liver bad’ (angry) odou efeyei ‘liver very liquidy’ (worried) odou egens ‘liver one’ (sincere) odou eineina ‘liver shaky’ (confused) odou emba ‘liver stink’ (conceited) odou ofogog ‘liver evil’ (furious) odou esiri ‘liver fall’ (disappointed) 188 Chapter 7

odou agob ‘liver strike’ (distrustful) odou os ‘liver rub’ (desirous) A small number of other body-part nouns can also function as subjects of emotional state expressions. Some examples are given below. (94) ofos egigir ‘skin flash’ (horrified) ebirfaga ofora efek ‘head bone hard’ (stubborn) ejmeg etefa ‘back soft’ (cooperative) ofora ekeni ‘bone red’ (bold) With this type of construction, the body-part noun occurs as the subject of the accompanying verb. The verb is always a 3SG form (zero morpheme). The construction forms a single complex predicate.10 This is attested by the fact that only one set of verbal inflections occur in the construction. The inflections can be added to either the body-part noun (95) or the verb (96). Body-part noun + verb predicates can also occur in sequence with another verb (see §7.6.10). (95) Ri-en-ofos efek guru 3PL-DUR-skin hard NEG ‘They are not brash/rude.’ (lit. ‘tough-skinned’) (96) Ri-ofos en-efek guru 3PL-skin DUR-hard NEG ‘They are not brash/rude.’ The body-part noun constructions mostly involve stative intransitive verbs. (97) Odou efei-ei liver RED-liquid ‘He/she is worried.’ (lit. ‘liver very liquid/wet’). (98) Odou eskes deika guru liver lazy more NEG ‘He/she is not lazy anymore.’ (99) Ofora ahaher bone dry ‘He/she is mature.’ The intransitive predications can take prepositional objects (100), (101). (100) Ri-odou em-ot nou ri-otunggom mei efen nou mos 3PL-liver IRR-stand for 3PL-make water possess for fish ‘They might be interested in making a pond for fish.’ (101) Ge-odou ebriyi rot gegan ge-efarur 2/3DU-liver split concerning 2/3DU.POSS 2/3DU-work ‘They understand about their work.’ A small number of transitive verbs can be used in emotional state predications, but they take prepositional objects.

10 I follow Foley’s (1997:355) definition of a complex predicate as being composed of constituent morphemes that function syntactically as a single unit, either a word or a phrase. The clause 189

(102) Efemebi agei rot ofa heart grab concerning him/her ‘He/she respects him/her.’ (lit. ‘grabs/holds him/her’) (103) Bua bi-odou os rot ona ke-if-ei you 2SG-liver rub concerning male NOM-this-QU ‘Do you desire this man here?’ The preposition can be omitted, allowing its object to be expressed directly (see also §4.2.5 and §6.4). This type of construction parallels a normal transitive predicate with a direct object. This appears to be possible only with emotional states that use odou ‘liver’ as the subject (104)–(106). (104) Di-odou os ofa 1SG-liver rub him/her ‘I want/desire him/her.’ (105) Odou agob ofa liver strike him/her ‘He/she distrusts him/her.’ (106) Igomu otkonu oska me-okora Insirina Igomu stomach bad 3SG-sibling Insirina ‘Igomu was angry with his brother Insirina.’ The body-part noun plus verb construction odou os ‘liver rub’ expressing ‘want, desire’ can have a clausal object, indicated in brackets in (107) and (108). (107) Me-odou os [me-et joug ofoukou] 1PL.EXC-liver rub 1PL.EXC-eat ADV many ‘We wanted to consume a lot of (food).’ (108) Ofa odou os [ofij mimif mi-erefa coklat efej] he/she liver rub help us 1PL.INC-plant cocoa seeds ‘He/she wants to help us plant cocoa seeds.’ Most physical states are also expressed by a body-part noun plus intransitive verb construction (109)–(113). With emotional states, the predicate may express a secondary meaning that differs from the meaning of the verb in the construction. With physical states, the meaning of the predicate is the same as that of the verb in the construction. Still, a body-part noun as the subject is usually required, hence example (114) is not grammatical. (109) Ofora eriaga bone weak ‘He/she is weak/feeble.’ (110) En-ofos ofoufem guru DUR-skin hot NEG ‘He/she is not feverish.’ (111) Odou obrob liver nauseous ‘He/she is nauseous.’ 190 Chapter 7

(112) Di-ebirfaga efeka 2SG-head sweat ‘I am sweating.’ (113) Odou erabibei liver spin ‘He/she is dizzy.’ (114) *Ofa obrob he/she nauseous ‘He/she is nauseous.’

7.5.1.7 Existential predicates A few regular posture verbs (§4.2.5) are used as existential predicates in presentative constructions that denote the ‘existence’ and ‘location’ of things. They differ from the copular verb erek ‘to be’, which is only used as the predicate head of an equative clause. The existential verbs also function as classificatory verbs in that they subcategorize their subjects based on whether they are human or non-human and according to their posture. Existential classificatory verbs are found in a number of Papuan languages throughout New Guinea (see Lang 1975; Franklin 1981; Foley 1986). Of the East Bird’s Head languages, Hatam uses a generic verb ‘exist’ that is non-classificatory.11 Maybrat expresses the existence of things through a nominal predicate construction, e.g. a subject noun phrase followed by a spatial determiner. There is evidence that Mpur and Sougb have some existential predicates that also classify their subjects, but they are apparently not required. Thus, it appears that Meyah and its close relative Moskona are the only languages in the region that have a clear set of existential classificatory verbs that are required in a presentative construction. There are two kinds of existential predicates that collocate with human subjects. One kind uses the posture verb eker ‘sit’. The other uses the inalienable noun ofogu ‘flesh’. The latter item is only used in relation to humans and also functions as a noun classifier for humans (see §4.3.8.3). Non-human animate and inanimate objects that ‘stand’ require the verb ot ‘stand’. For example, animals (mammals, birds, reptiles) are categorized as things that stand. Inanimate objects that have legs are also categorized as things that stand. A Meyah house is built on stilts, so it stands. A tree is an erect, leg-shaped object and so it also stands. Things that do not stand, such as snakes and yams, require the verb ah ‘lie’. Insects are categorized with objects that lie, probably due to their close proximity to the ground. Although rainbows and clouds are in the sky, they lack legs hence they ‘lie’. The existential verb categories and some of their possible subjects are summarized in (115). (115) Subject Verb Human eker/ofogu ‘sit’ / ‘have flesh’ Animal, tree, corn stalk, house ot ‘stand’ Snake, ant, rock, yam, water, rainbow ah ‘lie.down’

11 Hatam also uses a ‘given’ marker following a subject NP and preceding a spatial determiner to express the location or existence of things (see Reesink 1999:66). The clause 191

7.5.1.7.1 Properties of existential predicates If the subject is human, an existential verb construction takes a subject agreement prefix and an obligatory durative aspect prefix that places focus on the referent’s ongoing existence. A spatial deictic enclitic attached to the verb indicates the spatial orientation of the referent in relation to the speaker (116)–(119). (116) Ri-osnok ri-ofogog ri-en-eker-uma 3PL-person 3PL-dangerous 3PL-DUR-sit-there ‘There are dangerous/evil people.’ (117) Ona egens en-ofogu-uma male one DUR-flesh-there ‘There was a man.’ (118) Mongka en-ot-uma pandanus DUR-stand-there ‘There are pandanus trees.’ (119) Mei ofoukou en-ah-if water much DUR-lie.down-there ‘There is a lot of water.’ If a full locative noun phrase is present, then the spatial deictic clitic is omitted. (120) Idu bera en-eker gu mei who TOP DUR-sit in water ‘Who is in the water?’ (121) Mega mos ongga en-ot gij Iskuruk … tree mos REL DUR-stand in Iskuruk ‘The mos tree that is in Iskuruk village …’ (122) Ineymes en-ah gu monuh Mandacan Ineymes DUR-lie.down at place Mandacan ‘Ineymes village is in the Mandacan area.’ As I noted earlier in §7.2–§7.3, subjects and objects can be omitted when they are already understood within the discourse. Due to that, an existential verb can stand alone as a complete utterance, usually in response to a question. (123) Ofa en-ofogu-uma-ei. / En-ofogu-uma. he/she DUR-flesh-there-QU. / DUR-flesh-there. ‘Is he/she there?’ ‘He/she is there.’ (124) Mega en-ot jah si-uma-ei. / En-ot-uma. tree DUR-stand at NOM-there-QU. / DUR-stand-there. ‘Are there trees there?’ ‘There are (trees) there.’ If the spatial orientation or location of the subject referent is unimportant, the deictic clitic or the locative noun phrase can be omitted from the construction, as in (125) and (126). If the location is important, then a specific location is included in the construction, as in (127). 192 Chapter 7

(125) Meiteb en-ah machete DUR-lie.down There is a machete. (126) Mega moj en-ot tree moj DUR-stand ‘There was a moj tree (in the village).’ (127) Moskur egens ke-uma en-ah tumu etma stick one NOM-that DUR-lie.down on hand ‘That stick was on his/her hand.’ Since existential verbs denote posture, it would make sense that a change in habitual posture would require the use of a different existential verb. Indeed, that is the case in a number of Papuan languages that use existential verbs (see Lang 1975). After a human dies, his/her body can only lie. Therefore, it is natural that a ‘corpse’ is subcategorized with things that ‘lie’ in Meyah (128). A tree stands erect, hence it collocates with the verb ‘stand’. If the tree is chopped down, it no longer stands. It is categorized with things that ‘lie’ (129). (128) Rua ri-ejginaga rot oida mosta en-ah-uma they 3PL-know concerning COMP corpse DUR-lie.down-there ‘They knew that there was a dead person.’ (129) Mega ongga of jeska en-ah nomnaga tree REL chop.down from DUR-lie.down all ‘The trees that he/she cut down from (the garden) are there.’

7.5.1.7.2 Generic existential predicate ah ‘to be’ The posture verb ah ‘lie’ seems to be developing into the generic existential verb ‘to be’. It can take human, non-human, animate and inanimate nouns as its subject. As a generic existential verb, ah does not take the durative aspect prefix that is normally required on other existential verbs. Human (130) Saibin ah gu mod Saibin lie.down in house ‘Saibin was in the house.’ Animal (131) Mes Tibiyai ah si-uma tina Ickefek eja fob dog Tibiyai lie.down NOM-there however Ickefek go already ‘The dog (named) Tibiyai was there, but Ickefek had already gone.’ Inanimate object (132) Meiteb ofog ah tumu ef-esa efaga machete point lie.down on 3SG-child body ‘The tip of the machete was on his/her child’s body.’ The clause 193

7.5.1.7.3 Classificatory verbs and noun classifiers A correspondence between classificatory verbs and noun classifiers is attested in Papuan languages, as well (see Lang 1975; Foley 1986:88). Examples (133) to (135) below show a close correspondence between classificatory verbs and nouns in Meyah. The clauses contain a classificatory existential verb, a noun classifier and a numeral classifier. Examples (134) and (135) are elicited. The constructions show how the two systems parallel one another in the following ways: (a) both organizes objects according to certain inherent semantic features; (b) both subcategorize for human and non-human objects; (c) both highlight locational attributes in relation to the speaker as classificatory verbs highlight the distance or location of a referent and noun classifiers indicate whether the referent is above (in trees/vines) or on the ground; and (d) nouns can shift their classifier affiliation in the same way as they do in relation to classificatory verbs. (133) Ri-ona-ir ri-ofogu cinja ri-en-ofogu-uma 3PL-male-PL 3PL-CL:HUMAN five 3PL-flesh-there ‘There were five men.’ (134) Mod efaga orgomu en-ot-uma 12 house CL:BODY.SHAPE CL:HUMAN.three DUR-stand-there ‘There are three houses.’ (135) Mega efaga erfeka en-ah-if tree CL:BODY.SHAPE CL:STICK.SHAPE DUR-lie.down-here ‘There are two (fallen) trees.’

7.5.1.8 Experientials A small number of physiological states, such as ‘hunger, ‘cold’ and ‘thirst’, as well as the emotional state ‘embarrassment/shame’, are expressed by what at first appears to be a type of nominal predicate construction. The causer is an alienable noun, referring to the state. The undergoer is an object clitic or a free pronoun. Nearly the same set of experiential verbs is found in Sougb.13 A list of Meyah experientials is given in (136). The list is not meant to be exhaustive, although it is doubtful that many more could be added. (136) Experiential verbs maren ‘is sick’ (lit. ‘causes me to be sick’) magonen ‘is thirsty’ (lit. ‘causes me to be thirsty’) mojen ‘is embarrassed’ (lit. ‘causes me to be embarrassed’) mosonen ‘is hungry’ (lit. ‘causes me to be hungry’) meifirna ‘is cold’ (lit. ‘causes me to be cold’) ereya ‘is satisfied’ (lit. ‘causes me to be satisfied’) Nearly all of the experientials listed in (136) have a stem-initial m-, a feature typical of alienable nouns (§4.3.1). Like nouns, the inflectional possibilities of experientials are limited. The causative constructions in which experientials occur as objects of the verb eita ‘take/give’ show that they can function as nouns (137), (138).

12 Only man made items, such as a house, use human noun and numeral classifiers. 13 See Reesink (2002a:208). 194 Chapter 7

(137) Ofa eita maren gu-id he/she give sickness to-1SG ‘He/she caused me to be sick.’ (138) Rua ri-em-eita mojen gu mimif they 3PL-IRR-give shame to us ‘They will cause us to be ashamed.’ Examples from natural texts show that some experientials can receive a durative aspect prefix when negated. In addition, the final en sequence in the first four terms in (136) appears to be the motion verb ‘come’. Use of the verb ‘come’ and more commonly ‘go’, to express the inception of a state or an event is common in Meyah.14 Thus, the form maren could be parsed as mar-en ‘thing come’ and magonen as magon-en ‘thirst come’. The addition of the durative prefix shows that experientials can be predicates. (139) Mar-en-en-ir guru thing-DUR-COME-3PL NEG ‘They were not sick.’ (lit. ‘something did not come to them’) (140) Magon-en-en rua guru thirst-DUR-come them NEG ‘They were not thirsty.’ (lit. ‘thirst did not come to them’) The forms above look somewhat like the 2SG forms of the kinship terms for ‘father’ and ‘mother’ (see §4.3.5.2), in that the 3SG prefix m(e)- reflects an agent and the 2SG enclitic an object/experiencer. However, the kinship terms do not function predicatively. The structural similarity between experientials and the kinship terms is illustrated in (141) and (142). (141) maren-ib [marenib] sick-2SG ‘You are sick.’ (lit. ‘it makes you sick’) (142) me-eka-ib [mekeb] 3SG-father-2SG ‘Your father.’ (lit. ‘he fathers you’) It therefore appears that experientials are produced by noun + verb compounds that have become fused as single phonological words. Like regular compounds, a pause between the two members does not occur. The unit expresses notions that are basically verbal. The subject of an experiential is usually an inanimate agent that is not mentioned, so the predicate can stand alone as a complete utterance, as in (143). (143) Mojen-ir [mojenir] embarrass-3PL They were embarrassed. (144) Beda me-ohuj Ninab ok tina maren mes-uma then 3SG-friend Ninab carry but sickness dog-that ‘Then his/her friend Ninab carried (the dog), but that dog was sick.’

14 It is also possible that en is from the possessor verb ef-en, e.g. mar ef-en ‘something has x’ reduced to maren. The reduced verb en may correspond to the Sougb en ‘say’, which in many Papuan languages is also translatable as ‘do’ (pers. comm. Reesink). The clause 195

(145) Magonen rua nou mona ongga estir ojgomu thirst them for day REL short only ‘They were thirsty for only a short time.’ Further evidence for the origin of experientials as compounds comes from mosonen ‘hunger’. Apparently it is the reduced form of mosona en ‘hunger come’, since the verb en can be replaced by the verb ok ‘carry’ to express the meaning ‘famine’, as in (146). The nominal member of the compound is modified by eteb ‘big/very’. Also, some experiential constructions in Moskona use the verb en ‘come’ (see §1.9.4.2.8). (146) Mosona eteb ok memef hunger big carry us ‘We experienced a great famine.’ When the adverb joug is added, the unit expresses the meaning ‘starve’, as in (147). (147) Mosona ok joug memef hunger carry ADV us ‘We were starving.’ The item mojen ‘embarrass’ seems to be the only experiential verb that can express an overt subject when the subject is coreferential with the experiencer, as in (148). The item can also function as the object argument of a verb (149). These two semantic roles possibly reflect the nominal nature of mojen. (148) Ofa mojen rot mar ongga ge-agot he/she embarrass concerning thing REL 2/3DUsay ‘He/she was embarrassed about what they had said.’ (149) Efen me-okosa oh15 mojen gu ofa 3SG.POSS 3SG-sibling put embarrassment at him/her ‘His/her sibling caused him/her to be embarrassed.’ (lit. ‘put embarrassment on him/her’) On the other hand, the experiential meifirna ‘cold/chill’ does not show evidence that it derives its origin from a compound because it does not include the verb en ‘come’, like other experientials. The item can function as an experiential verb (150) or as the object argument of a verb (151). (150) Meifirna-irga cold-2/3DU ‘They are cold.’ (151) Mesta ongga ok meifirna esaga gij mona insa ke-uma month REL carry cold arrive in day ANAP NOM-that ‘The month that brings the cold weather had arrived at that time.’ The experiential ereya ‘satisfy’ is the only item in the set that has a root-initial vowel, a property of regular verbs. It is similar to the experiential verb eic ‘satisfy’ in the Sougb language. Like other Meyah experientials, ereya takes a pronominal clitic or a free pronoun as its object argument. Unlike other experientials, it always has an overt non-human agent as its subject. There is no evidence that ereya can have a human subject.

15 Oh = ‘hand over’ or ‘put towards’. 196 Chapter 7

(152) Monuh ereya iwa place satisfy you ‘The area satisfies you (or, you are satisfied with the area).’ (153) Ri-et mat ojoros ereya rua 3PLeat food until satisfy them ‘They ate food until (it) satisfied them.’ (154) Mat ereya-id [ereyed] food satisfy-1SG ‘I am satisfied (or satiated).’ One example in the text corpus illustrates the noun mosua ‘dry season’ used as an experiential verb. This construction differs from those described earlier in that the object is marked by the preposition rot. It is then an oblique argument denoting the semantic role of experiencer: (155) Di-ecira ojgomuja ojoros mosua rot-id 1SG-travel continuous until dry concerning-1SG ‘I kept traveling until I became thirsty.’ (lit. ‘dry’)

7.5.1.9 Copular predicate erek Schachter (1985:55) defines a copula as an element that indicates the relationship between a subject and an adjective or a nominal predicate. When the item erek occurs between a human subject noun phrase and an adjectival verb, it behaves like a verb in that it takes an obligatory subject prefix, as well as other optional inflectionals and it can be negated. The adjectival verb in the construction remains uninflected. This type of construction is another way that certain kinds of emotional states are expressed in Meyah. (156) Memef me-en-erek oska rot rua ri-enjgineg guru we 1PL.EXC-DUR-COP bad concerning they 3PL-other NEG ‘We are not angry with those other people.’ (157) Goga ke-uma ge-erek ofogog eteb 2/3DU NOM-that 2/3DU-COP dangerous big ‘Those two (people) are very dangerous/evil.’ (158) Ri-em-ocunc iwa i-erek oska 3PL-IRR-point you 2PL-COP bad ‘They will point you out as being bad (people).’ Like other kinds of verbs, the copula verb erek can occur without the presence of an explicit subject noun phrase argument. This is due to the presence of the obligatory subject agreement prefix in the copula (159), (160). (159) Me-erek egens jera mefmen me-eka 1PL.EXC-COP one with 1PL.EXC.POSS 1PL.EXC-father ‘We are united with our father.’ (160) Ri-erek oufa rot rua 3PL-COP good concerning them ‘They are nice to them.’ The clause 197

When erek does not occur between a human subject noun phrase and an adjectival verb, the adjectival verb takes the subject prefix as well as other grammatical inflections, illustrating that the copula is optional. (161) Rua ri-en-ofogog rot rerin ebirfaga monuh guru they 3PL-DUR-evil concerning 3PL.POSS head place NEG ‘They do not hate their village headman.’ (162) Bua bi-oufa you 2SG-good ‘You are kind.’ Nominal predications are formed by juxtaposing noun phrases. However, nominals in a nominal predicate construction cannot take inflectional categories, such as aspect or mode, although some aspectual adverbs can be added clause-finally (see §7.5.2.1.). Even so, aspectual adverbs only add phasal focus. When the internal temporal structure of an event expressed by a nominal predicate needs to receive aspectual or modal focus, then the copula erek is required so that those inflectional categories can be overtly coded in the clause. (163) Meyah-ir ke-uma ri-em-erek mosmei-ir Meyah-PL NOM-that 3PL-IRR-COP coastal.person-PL ‘Those Meyah (people) will be coastal people.’ (164) Rua ri-em-erek ofa efen ri-osnok tein they 3PL-IRR-COP he/she 3SG.POSS 3PL-person also ‘They might also be his people.’ (165) Meikairon en-erek monuh ongga eteb guru Meikairon DUR-like place REL big NEG ‘Meikairon is not a big village.’ (166) Didif di-en-erek Desa Yom deika guru I 1SG-DUR-COP Desa Yom more NEG ‘I am not the Yom village government liaison (=Desa) anymore.’ When the copula erek is juxtaposed with the verb en ‘come’ or eja ‘go’ it means ‘become’, as illustrated in examples (167) through (169). Although both verbs in the construction are inflected for subject agreement, only erek takes the aspect or irrealis inflections. The motion event can also be expressed directly without the erek, as in eja oska ‘go bad’ (become bad/rotten). (167) Mosmei-ir Doreri ni Meyah-ir ni nomnaga coastal.person-PL Doreri with Meyah-PL and all ri-en ri-erek egens jah sif 3PL-come 3PLCOP one at here ‘All the coastal Doreri people and all the Meyah people here have become united.’ (168) Ri-oforoka efeinah ebeibeyaif bera ri-eja ri-erek mosmei-ir 3PL-youth new now TOP 3PL-go 3PL-like coastal.person-PL ‘As for the new kind of young people these days, they became coastal people.’ 198 Chapter 7

(169) Uria efen me-ohona eja erek Daud efen me-ohona Uria 3SG.POSS 3SG-wife go COP Daud 3SG.POSS 3SG-wife ‘Uria’s wife became David’s wife.’ Dik (1997:198), quoting Ferguson (1971:147), asserts that, in languages that have some copular support, the copular verb tends to occur only in certain conditions. Copular verbs tend to be absent in:  Main clauses  Non-emphatic clauses  Unmarked present tense clauses  In clauses with third person subjects  In adjectival rather than nominal predicate clauses A survey of the syntactic distribution of the copular erek in Meyah text corpus does not reveal any clear conditioning forces that add it to a clause. The copula occurs both in main clauses and in subordinating clauses. It can be used with first, second and third person subjects and occur with adjectival verbs and nominal predicates. It can occur both in clauses marked for time and those not overtly marked for time. Therefore the function of erek seems to be tied to a common theme of expressing ‘likeness’, regardless of the syntactic positions or morphological additions.

7.5.2 Non-verbal clauses 7.5.2.1 Nominal predicate The predicate of a non-verbal clause is a nominal constituent, such as a noun phrase, a possessive pronoun, a personal pronoun, a numeral or a relative clause. In Meyah the syntactic subject of a nominal predicate can be a pronoun, a personal noun or a common noun. Non-verbal clauses are structurally equative clauses used to name or describe things (170), (171). (170) Yohanes Guru Yohanes Teacher ‘John is the Teacher.’ (171) Ofa ebirfaga monuh he head place ‘He is the village headman.’ In many languages, there are few clues that identify the functions that a noun phrase bears in a non-verbal clause. Sometimes intonation alone indicates the function. In Meyah the subject/topic of a verbal clause invariably comes first (see §7.2) and the subject is frequently definite. Similarly, in a nominal predicate construction the clause-initial position, as well as the presence of a definite marker, indicates that the first noun phrase is the subject/topic. (172) Ebirfaga monuh-if Samuel Infenido headman place-this Samuel Infenido ‘The headman of this village is Samuel Infenido.’ The clause 199

(173) Ofa ke-uma Pendeta he/she NOM-that Pastor ‘He/she is the Pastor.’ If a definite marker is absent, there are other items that help to identify the subject/topic. The topic focus marker bera (see §11.6) occurs following the subject. Therefore it is clear in the examples below that the first noun phrase is the subject/topic and the second noun phrase is the predicate/comment. (174) Mongka bera mar mareij pandanus TOP thing taboo ‘As for Pandanus fruit, it is taboo.’ (175) Yulius bera sekartaris Desa Yulius TOP secretary Desa ‘As for Yulius, he is the secretary of the Desa.’ The subject function of a noun phrase is most clearly indicated when it is marked by the article egens ‘a’, a determiner, and the topic focus marked by bera (176). (176) Osnok egens ke-if bera ofa person one NOM-this TOP him/her ‘As for that one person, it was him/her (who was blind).’ (Meyah New Testament, The Bible League 1997) Like verbal clauses, non-verbal clauses can be modified by a clause-final aspectual adverb. The copular verb erek can also be used to link the two noun phrases, especially when certain kinds of aspectual or modal distinctions are necessary. (177) Mebi ke-uma mekeni fob ground NOM-that garden already ‘That ground is a garden already.’ (178) Ofa ojona fob she woman already ‘She is a woman already (i.e. grown up).’

7.5.2.2 Adverbial and demonstrative predicates As I noted in the previous section, the subject is coreferential with the topic in Meyah and bera pragmatically marks constituents as topical. A unit marked by bera can be a noun phrase or an entire clause (see §11.6). Because bera follows the topical constituent, it also serves to separate the subject/topic from the predicate. Hence, a small number of adverbials can be used as non-verbal predicates when they occur following constituents that are marked by bera. The topic and the predicate (comment) are labeled and shown in brackets in the examples below. The item sismeni ‘first’ (180) provides a temporal setting. (179) [Mebi ofogu rara] Subj/Topic bera [fog] Predicate/comment ground fertile entire TOP first ‘As for entirely fertile ground, (that) is first.’ (180) [sismeni mi-ecira gij mekeni ke-uma]Subj/Topic bera [fog] Predicate/comment first 1PL.INC-travel in garden NOM-that TOP first ‘As for traveling around in that garden (that) is first.’ 200 Chapter 7

Negative adverbs can also operate as non-verbal predicates when they are preceded by bera-marked topics. The use of bera here (and below) is similar to a copular verb. (181) Mahteyi bera enesi ancient.time TOP NEG ‘As for the ancient times, it wasn’t yet.’ (182) Mek bera guru pig TOP NEG ‘As for (that), it’s not a pig.’ Demonstrative pronouns can also be used as non-verbal predicates in place of a noun. With this type of construction, the subject is usually marked as topical by bera (183)–(185). (183) Meskefa Manabuda Morum bera ke-uma Meskefa Manabuda Mpur TOP NOM-that ‘As for Meskefa Manabuda of the Mpur (people), that was he.’ (184) Ri-efena bera ke-uma 3PL-spirit TOP NOM-that ‘As for spirits, that’s what they are.’ (185) Mar ongga na-et bera ke-if thing REL 2DU.INCeat TOP NOM-this ‘As for the thing we have eaten, that is what this is.’

7.5.2.3 Question word predicate Another item that can function as a non-verbal predicate is a question word. The question word idu ‘who’, used with human subjects and meidu ‘what’ used with non- human subjects, are simple morphemes that do not receive inflectionals. They operate predicatively in an interrogative clause. (186) Ofa idu he/she who ‘Who is he/she?’ (187) Mar ke-uma meidu thing NOM-that what What is that?

7.6 Verb sequences Verb serialization across languages is discussed in general, for example by Foley and Olson (1985), Noonan (1985) and Durie (1997), as well as in individual Papuan languages by Foley (1986), Reesink (1987) and Bruce (1988). Recent work by Reesink and van Staden (2002) provides comparative data on serial verb constructions (SVCs) in Austronesian and Papuan languages in the Bird’s Head region. The aforementioned literature gives a number of characteristics that are said to distinguish a serial verb construction from other kinds of constructions, including: (a) the lack of an intervening conjunction between verbs, (b) the lack of a pause between verbs and (c) the verbs share the same subject, tense, aspect and mode. The clause 201

An important semantic distinction is that the verbs behave like a single unit expressing one complex event. Nevertheless, distinguishing a SVC from a coordinate construction is not always clear in languages. In Meyah, some of the features listed above could suggest SVCs, but they are not always reliable diagnostic features. For example, Meyah has a preponderance to omit core and non-core arguments as well as prepositions and conjunctions in natural speech. This results in the juxtaposition of verbs that express separate events. There are also verb sequences in which one verb functions as an adverbial modifier of another. Hence, the juxtaposition of verbs alone does not automatically suggest an SVC. Cross-linguistically, the kinds of verbs that combine in a SVC can vary greatly (see Foley 1986:115). In Meyah, the kinds of verbs that most commonly combine in a verb sequence are generally limited to a fixed set and those combinations involve commonly associated events. I will show from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective how certain types of serial verb constructions develop through the progression: syndetic coordination → asyndetic coordination → serial verb construction. The comparisons will show that a distinction can be made between asyndetic coordination and more ‘tightly’ organized serial verb constructions. I will also present data showing how certain kinds of verbs in a verb sequence have become grammaticalized as clitics and adverbial modifiers, thereby reaching the end of the grammaticalization continuum.

7.6.1 Juxtaposed verbs Even though Meyah makes use of a number of overt clause conjunctions (see §10.2) the conjunctions are often reduced in spontaneous speech and form part of an intonation contour. In the examples that follow, a pause is indicated by a slant line and marks the prosodic boundary between the conjunction and the conjoined clause. The elided phonological material is indicated in parentheses. (188) Ombug eja (be)da / edi-irga deika Ombug go then hit-2/3DU again ‘Ombug went outside and hit them again.’ (189) Ri-eifef meg mei efeni (no)ba / ri-en tein 3PL-climb boat sail breath and 3PL-come also ‘They climbed into sailboats and also came.’ There is a tendency to omit conjunctions all together. This demonstrates that, although Meyah is a syndetic language, asyndesis is also a characteristic of Meyah clause conjoining. In (190) and (191) the omitted conjunction is shown in brackets. (190) Me-en jeska Meirenkei / [noba] meeja skoita 1PL.EXC-come from Meirenkei and 1PL.EXCgo to Meyekiba Meyekiba ‘We came from Meirenkei and went towards Meyekiba.’ (191) Mebi ebga rot isok-uma / [beda] eja gu meren efei-imba eja. ground split concerning guy-that then go to lake liquid-below go. ‘The ground split open underneath that guy and then he went away to the lakeshore below.’ 202 Chapter 7

In addition to the omission of conjunctions, Meyah also has a tendency to omit objects and prepositional phrases when they are established in the discourse, which results in juxtaposed verb constructions. A pause between verbs (indicated by a slant line) marks the clause boundary. The omitted arguments and conjunctions are in parentheses in the English translation. (192) Ri-agob / ef marfeb / eij 3PL-strike hang rope throw ‘They killed (a tree kangaroo and then) he/she tied (it with a rope and) he/she threw (it over his back).’ (193) Ri-eja / ri-eifef / ri-em-agob mosta 3PL-go 3PL-climb 3PL-IRR-strike enemy ‘They went (to their village and) climbed (into their houses and then) they would strike the enemy.’16 (194) Oksons / ek return look ‘He/she returned (to the house and) looked.’ (195) Bi-oskorej / bi-en-agob-ir guru 2SG-honest 2SG-DUR-strike-3PL NEG ‘Be honest (and) do not strike them.’ The verb sequences in examples (192) through (195) above have the following characteristics:  They have same subjects (193), (194), (195) or different ones (192).  The have different object arguments (193).  They take different aspectual inflections (193)–(195).  The scope of a clause-final negator extends only to the verb marked by the durative aspect prefix en- (194). The examples above show that by omitting various clause constituents, sentences can be reduced to highly compact constructions. Yet some characteristics, such as different subjects, different objects, different aspect and pauses between verbs, show that such constituents function as independent verbs that denote separate events. Thus, the constructions represent asyndetic coordination. The sections that follow demonstrate more tightly organized verb constructions.

7.6.2 Motion verb sequences Bruce (1988:30), in discussing serial verbs in Alamblak (a Papuan language), shows how verb sequences that denote commonly associated events are the ones most likely to become serialized. In Meyah, verb sequences involving motion verbs are common, with eja ‘go’ as the most frequent in such constructions. Cross-linguistically, motion serialization is very common (see Foley and Olsen 1985:43; Durie 1997:310). With Meyah, there are two kinds of verb sequences that involve motion verbs: (a) motion-action

16 The verb eifef ‘climb’ is transitive. Meyah houses are traditionally built on stilts or in trees, hence the need to ‘climb’ the house to enter. The clause 203 sequences and (b) motion-direction sequences. Motion-direction sequences differ somewhat from sequences involving deictic elements that also indicate direction in relation to the speaker. The latter type is discussed separately in §7.6.7. Although sequences involving motion verbs are widespread, explicit coordination is still possible. Consider the comparison between (196) and (197) and between (198) and (199). (196) Ri-eja ri-eji mebi 3PL-go 3PL-dig ground ‘They went to dig in the ground.’ (197) Ri-eja beda ri-ej-eji meibera gij moj eteb 3PL-go then 3PL-INCEP-dig platform in banyan large ‘They went and then began to dig out a platform/sitting place in a large banyan tree.’ (198) Ge-oku ge-ojuj-imba tein 2/3DU-flee 2/3DU-descend-below also ‘They also fled going down below.’ (199) Ri-eja beda ri-ojuj-imba 3PL-go then 3PL-descend-below ‘They left and then they went down below.’

7.6.3 Motion-action sequences With motion-action sequences the first verb is the motion verb, as would be expected with the temporal sequencing of subevents. The second verb denotes an activity. This kind of sequence differs from asyndetic coordination in the following ways: (a) only the motion verb can take an optional aspect or irrealis prefix; (b) the second verb is only marked for subject, but it can receive an instrument prefix if it is a transitive verb; (c) a distinct pause does not occur between the verbs. Those features show that this type of verb sequence is more tightly organized than the type described in §7.6.1. (200) Rua ri-em-eja ri-agob rua ongga Morum they 3PL-IRR-go 3PL-strike they REL Mpur ‘They would go to fight those who were Mpur people.’ (201) Eja esma ef-esa go receive 3SG-child ‘He/she had gone to receive the child.’ (202) Me-eja me-er-agob joug jah mod 1PL.EXC-go 1PL.EXC-INST-strike ADV at house ‘We went to attack the (people) at the house (with weapons).’ (203) Nou ongga mi-eja mi-ebij metrem enes i… for REL 1PL.INCgo 1PL.INC-pick corn NEG ‘When we have not gone to pick corn yet …’ Some motion-action verb sequences show that both verbs can be marked for the same subject and the same aspect. This structure represents asyndetic coordination with its concomitant pause between verbs. The omitted conjunction is in brackets. 204 Chapter 7

(204) Ri-ojaga-ir ri-eja [beda] ri-ebij metrem 3PL-woman-PL 3PLgo then 3PLpick corn. ‘The women left and then they picked corn.’ In addition, the verb en ‘come’ occurs in tightly packed constructions with action verbs, although this is less common in my corpus. (205) En eij motka come throw rope.bridge ‘He/she came and threw the rope bridge.’ (206) Ri-en ri-ejeka Meirenkei 3PL-come 3PL-ask/call Meirenkei ‘They came and called (the place) Meirenkei.’

7.6.4 Grammaticalization of eja ‘go’ Verb sequences involving the motion verb eja ‘go’ also occur in tightly organized structures. In fact, the sequence is so tight that eja becomes phonologically reduced and can be reanalyzed as a grammatical morpheme. In early stages, eja and the second verb phonologically collapse into one prosodic word, as illustrated in (207) and (208). The reduced verb sequence is in brackets in the examples below. This feature is similar to compounding in Meyah in which noun + noun or verb + noun compounds are reduced to one phonological word (see §4.3.7).17 (207) Ofa eja osku joug deika [ejosku] he/she go crouch ADV again ‘He/she went to ambush (his/her brother) again.’ (208) Eja aha esij mega [ejaha] go put on.top tree ‘He/she went to put it on top of the log.’ The high frequency of eja tightly bound with another verb suggests its placement on the grammaticalization continuum beginning as a serial verb and moving to that of the inceptive aspect prefix ej- (see §4.2.8.2). The realized form of the verb is in brackets in the examples below. Note that as a prefix, ej- undergoes the same morphophonemic changes that other prefixes do (see §2.6). (209) Ofa ej-ok mat deika jeska [ojok] he/she INCEP-carry food again from ‘He/she began to carry away more food.’ (210) Ri-ej-oira gij mei oforga [rujoira] 3PL-INCEP-enter in river delta ‘They began to cross the river delta.’ The conclusion that the serial verb eja has become grammaticalized as the inceptive prefix ej- is supported by the fact that the prefix can be added to verbs that occur in a sequence with eja (211), (212).

17 A difference between the two is that compounds derive new nominal meanings. Verb sequences do not generally create new verbs. A few exceptions are given in §7.6.8. The clause 205

(211) Ofa eja ej-eb meresa ekeni he/she go INCEP-pick sugarcane red ‘He/she went and began picking red sugarcane.’ (212) Ri-ona-ir ri-eja ri-ej-of mega jeska mekeni insa 3PL-male-PL 3PL-go 3PL-INCEP-chop.down tree from garden ANAP ‘The men went and began chopping down trees in that garden.’

7.6.5 Motion-direction sequences Motion verbs can also occur in sequence with other motion verbs that denote non- deictic directions, such as ‘climb’ and ‘descend’ or ‘arrive’ and ‘depart’. Like the motion- action sequences in §7.6.3, both verbs take a subject prefix, but the first verb is the only constituent that receives an aspect or irrealis prefix. The unit is pronounced as a phonologically reduced form. The sequence represents a tightly organized utterance, in that the direction verb adds information or expresses a further development in relation to the motion expressed by the first verb (see Foley and Olson 1985:19). (213) Ri-eja ri-osok Meyes enama 3PL-go 3PL-climb Meyes other.side ‘They went up to the other side of the Meyes area.’ (214) Eja ojuj Mobrim go descend Mobrim ‘He/she went down to the Mobrim area.’ (215) Goga ge-n-eja ge-ojuj rot … 2/3DU 2/3DUgo 2/3DU-descend concerning ‘They went down concerning …’ There are also sequences that show the motion phrase en jah ‘come to’ reduced and phonologically joined with a non-deictic direction verb. Such constructions form a tightly bound sequence when the three items are reduced to one phonological word, denoting a motion event. With sequences involving en, the second verb is not marked for subject agreement, as evidenced by example (217). These kinds of sequences are infrequent in my text corpus. (216) En jah esaga gu Meingwai efesi [enjesaga] come to arrive at Meingwai inside ‘He/she came arriving in Meingwai village.’ (217) Ri-em-en esaga gu mod [rimenesaga]18 3PL-IRR-come arrive at house ‘They will come arriving at the house.’

7.6.6 Grammaticalization of direction verb oksons ‘return’ The direction verb oksons ‘return’ commonly occurs in motion-direction verb sequences, but only as the phonologically reduced form sons. Like the directional verbs

18 The /en/ in rimenesaga is not the durative aspect prefix en- because the prefix cannot occur with the irrealis prefix em-. 206 Chapter 7 described in §7.6.7, it seems that the grammaticalization of sons has resulted in it being an adverbial modifier of the preceding verb. It does not take a subject agreement prefix or any other kind of inflectional category. Example (221) shows sons occurring with a directional verb (see next section) in what appears to be a four-verb sequence. However, the third and fourth verbs function as adverbial modifiers of the initial two-verb sequence. (218) Me-osok sons jah Meirenkei 1PL.EXC-climb return to Meirenkei ‘We climbed back to Meirenkei.’ (219) Mei em-eya sons water IRR-flow return ‘The water will flow back.’ (220) Esma gu mebi noba edebecki sons fall to ground and rise return ‘It fell down and got back up.’ (221) Tina mei em-eya ojuj-if en sons but water IRR-flow descend-here come return ‘But the water will flow down coming back to here.’ When the directional sons occurs with state verbs, it indicates a ‘return’ to a previous state. (222) Eker noba eskeira sons sit and clean return ‘He/she remained and was healthy again.’ (223) En-eisa sons DUR-shine return ‘It was shiny again.’ When fully grammaticalized as a clause-level adverbial modifier, the directional sons can also occur following object and oblique arguments (see §7.7.5 for examples). The examples in §7.6.4 and §7.6.5 showed that verb sequences involving motion verbs form compact, tightly organized, utterances. They reduce to single phonological units and express single complex events. Eventually, the motion verb and the direction verb can be reanalyzed as grammatical morphemes.

7.6.7 Directional verb sequences The verbs eja ‘go’ and en ‘come’ also figure as ‘directionals’ when they occur following motion or action verbs, indicating whether movement is towards or away from the speaker (see §4.4.5). Directional verbs do not receive a subject prefix or any other kind of inflectional category. In their position following verbs they operate as adverbial modifiers. The directional verb and the main verb that it modifies phonologically reduce to one prosodic word, again illustrating the tight relationship between certain kinds of verb sequences. The reduced form is presented in brackets. (224) Ickefek otoij eja ke-imba [otoija] Ickefek follow go NOM-below ‘Ickefek followed (the woman) going down below.’ The clause 207

(225) Ge-oksons en fob [goksonsen] 2/3DU-return come already ‘They already came back.’ (226) Ge-orka en beda ge-ocunc gu ge-osu [gorken] 2/3DU-carry come then 2/3DU-point to 2/3DU-mother ‘They carried it back and then showed it to their mother.’ When a conjunction intervenes, both verbs are marked for subject. In this case, the directional verb occurs as an unreduced predicate that denotes a separate event (227). (227) Ri-oksons beda ri-eja ke-inda 3PL-return then 3PL-go NOM-above ‘They returned and then they went up above.’ The morphological and phonological properties of directional verb sequences suggest that the directional verb is becoming grammaticalized as a clitic. Like other clitics, the directional verbs can also occur phonologically bound to the last item in an utterance. This demonstrates that directional verb sequences are nearing the end of the grammaticalization continuum. Serialized directional verbs commonly grammaticalize into clitics or adverbials in Oceanic languages along the north coast of New Guinea (Ross 2002). In the East Bird’s Head region, directional verbs also form a tight sequence with motion verbs in Hatam and Sougb. In Sougb they have also grammaticalized as clitics. The examples below illustrate the tight relationship betweens regular verbs and directional verbs in Meyah. (228) Ge-eja dektek jah si-uma eja [sumeja] 2/3DU-go slow to NOM-there go ‘They went slowly towards there away from here.’ (229) Ge-eji meg-imba en [megimben] 2/3DU-dig boat-below come ‘They carved out a boat down below towards here.’ Example (230) shows a directional verb forming part of a three-verb sequence. Three verb sequences are rare in my text corpus. In the example, only the first two verbs receive a subject marker, thus it is apparent that the directional verb functions as an adverbial modifier of the preceding serial verb. (230) Goga ge-oku ge-ojuj-imba eja tein 2/3DU 2/3DUflee 2/3DU-descend-below go also ‘They also fled away descending below.’ Directional verbs also occur with transitive verbs that denote the change of location of a particular object. The directional verb indicates whether the object is moving toward or away from the deictic center. (231) Ojona en-orka ke-uma eja woman DUR-carry NOM-that go ‘The woman carried (in hand) that away.’ (232) Ofa ok en Iskuruk agos He/she carry come Iskuruk die ‘He/she carried (on shoulder) Iskuruk (who) was dead.’ 208 Chapter 7

7.6.8 Lexicalization of motion verb sequences Durie (1997:291) contends that there is a strong tendency towards lexicalization of certain kinds of verb combinations. In early stages they become phonologically bound to one another, as demonstrated by the Meyah motion and directional verb sequences in the previous sections. Eventually the combinations become lexicalized. The unit is conceptualized as a single event in the mind of the speaker.19 In Meyah, only a small number of verb combinations seem to have become fully lexicalized forms, denoting activities that are translated as single events in other languages, such as English. For example, in Meyah the activity ‘chase’ is only denoted through a verb sequence (233), (234). (233) Ofof otoij mek-uma run follow pig-that ‘He/she ran after that pig.’ (234) Ofof otoij Ickefek run follow Ickefek ‘He/she ran after Ickefek.’ When the verb ofof ‘run’ combines with a reciprocal verb, it denotes the activity ‘race’ (235). (235) Ge-ofof ge-er-em-etei-ma 2/3DU-run 2/3DU-INST-RECIP-resist-RECIP ‘They raced.’ When the verb ecira in (236) occurs without another verb, it takes a prepositional object argument and denotes the activity ‘travel’.20 When ecira combines with a motion verb, it does not take a locative noun phrase argument. It expresses the related meaning ‘walk about’ or ‘wander’ (237). (236) Me-ecira jah pasar 1PL.EXC-travel to market ‘We traveled to the market place (in town).’ (237) Ge-ojaga-irga insa ge-eja ge-ecira 2/3DU-girl-PL ANAP 2/3DU-go 2/3DU-travel ‘Those two (girls) walked about (or, wandered around).’ Although Meyah has the single verb root esaga to denote the activity ‘arrive’, sometimes the notion is expressed as a lexicalized serial verb (238). (238) Eja edi meimojumu jah ke-imba eja go hit ocean to NOM-below go ‘He/she went away arriving (lit. go hit) at the ocean shore down below.’ There are a number of verb roots in Meyah that are most likely reduced lexicalized forms involving the motion verb eja as the first verb that can no longer be parsed into separate morphemes. Some examples are shown in (239).

19 Durie believes that what is conceptualized in the mind of the speaker can be demonstrated through semantic analysis. 20 As usual, the locative prepositional phrase can be omitted if it is already understood in the discourse. The clause 209

(239) ejibi ‘disappear, vanish’ ejinten ‘illuminate’ ejiter ‘sleep talk’ ejiteyi ‘placate, appease’ In summary, the examples in this section have shown that some verb sequences can be construed as single events and so have reached the end of the lexicalization continuum.

7.6.9 Posture verb sequences In Meyah, a secondary function of the posture verbs eker ‘sit’, ah ‘lie down’ and ot ‘stand’ is to indicate durative aspect when they are used in combination with mostly intransitive verbs. Their use as grammatical indicators of extended aspect is well attested in Oceanic languages (Early 2000) and in Papuan languages (Foley 1986:145). The juxtaposed verbs form a single complex verb since only one of the two verbs takes the subject prefix or other grammatical morphemes. In presentative constructions (§7.5.1.7) the posture verb eker ‘sit’ is only associated with human subjects and ah ‘lie down’ with non-human subjects. However, when they function as indicators of aspect, both terms can be used interchangeably with human subjects, although ah seems to be used more. With non-human subjects only ah ‘lie down’ is used. (240) Me-ah emesa 1PL.EXC-lie.down afraid ‘We are still afraid.’ (241) Ah efeinah lie.down new ‘It is still new.’ (242) Ke-uma efen ofou ah jejema NOM-that 3sG.POSS meaning lie.down hidden ‘The meaning of that is still unknown.’ (243) Mi-eker oufa 1PL.INC-sit good ‘We are still well.’ When a posture verb occurs juxtaposed with an adjectival verb in an affirmative clause it cannot take the durative prefix en-. Therefore example (244) is not grammatical. This constraint shows that the posture verb is functioning as a durative aspect modifier in these kinds of constructions. The durative prefix is added to the posture verb when the verb is negated, as in (245), since the prefix is obligatory in negative clauses. (244) *En-ah oska DUR-lie.down bad ‘It is still bad.’ (245) Memef me-en-ah aibin guru we 1PL.EXC-DUR-lie.down lasting NEG ‘We will not stay for a long time.’21

21 The predicate might be the existential verb ‘exist’, which requires the prefix en-. 210 Chapter 7

The posture verb ah ‘lie down’ can also combine with active intransitive verbs to express durative aspect. However, the morphological properties of this type of construction are just the opposite of the construction described above involving adjectival verbs. When a posture verb combines with an active intransitive verb, the posture verb is an unmarked 3SG form and the intransitive verb takes the subject prefix, as well as other grammatical categories. There is no evidence that the posture verb ah can be used to indicate extended aspect with transitive verbs. (246) Ah i-ecira i-ecira lie.down 2PL-travel 2PL-travel ‘Keep on traveling.’ (247) Ah edem-demi lie.down RED-hide ‘(It) is still well hidden.’ (248) Rerin ri-eiteij ah ri-eseiseifa 3PL.POSS 3PL-eye lie.down 3PL-lose ‘Their lives are still in ruin.’ The posture verb ot ‘stand’ can occur with transitive verbs that have non-human subjects to indicate durative aspect, although examples from texts are few. There are no examples of ot occurring with intransitive verbs. (249) Mowa ot agob fob sun stand strike already ‘The sun was already beating on (us).’ Three-verb sequences are possible if the first verb is an unmarked posture verb used as an aspectual modifier of the verb sequence that follows. However, these kinds of sequences are infrequent in my text corpus. (250) Eker otoij edemi mamu sit follow hide rocks ‘He/she continued to follow hiding in the rocks.’

7.6.10 Emotional state verb sequences Predicates that denote emotional states are made up of a verb plus a body-part noun that functions as the subject of the verb. Their morphosyntactic properties are discussed in §7.5.1.6. The predicate that denotes the emotional state ‘want/desire’ often occurs in combination with a transitive verb as the second verb. Both the emotional state verb and the transitive verb can receive subject and aspect prefixes, as in (251). Other examples show only one verb marked for aspect, as in (252). A conjunction cannot intervene between the two verbs, thus example (253) is not grammatical. (251) Mi-odou os mi-eja jera mofombra efej 1PL.INCliver rub 1PL.INCgo with elephant.grass seed ‘We wanted to go with the elephant grass seeds.’ (252) Mi-odou os mi-et joug ofoukou 1PL.INC-liver rub 1PL.INCeat ADV many ‘We wanted to devour many.’ The clause 211

(253) *Odou os jeskaseda ofij rua live rub in.order.to help them ‘He desired to help them.’

7.6.11 Resultative verb sequences Resultative verb sequences differ from other kinds of verb sequences by having different subjects and by the fact that a noun phrase argument can intervene between the two verbs. The primary distinguishing feature is that the noun phrase has a dual role as the object of the first verb and the subject of the second verb (254), (255). Durie (1997:302) labels such constructions as non-contiguous sequences and van Staden and Reesink (2002:73) refer to them as codependent serializations. Similar sequences are also found in Hatam and Sougb. In Meyah, the construction is infrequent. (254) Di-eker joug-ir ri-ei mod 1SG-sit ADV-3PL 3PL-build house ‘I supervised them building houses.’ (255) Ge-ej mofut efei eij-irga 2/3DU-drink palm.wine juice throw-2/3DU ‘They drank palm wine ruining them.’ (lit. ‘throwing them away’) I show in §10.1 that certain kinds of verb sequences develop through the omission of conjunctions. Resultative sequences also develop through the omission of conjunctions. A comparison of examples (256) and (257), taken from the same Meyah story, shows that the use of a conjunction between the verbs is possible, but optional. (256) Edi Saibin beda agos hit Saibin then die ‘He/she hit Saibin and then she died.’ (257) Edi Saibin agos fob hit Saibin dead already ‘He/she already hit Saibin dead.’ The Hatam language has not completely lost the conjunction in resultative verb sequences. A purpose clitic, possibly the reduction of a conjunction, is still required in such constructions, as in (258).22 In Meyah the purpose conjunction is optional, as the elicited examples (259) and (260) show. Hatam (258) Di-bui napia bi-mai 1SG-hit wild.pig PUR-die ‘I killed the wild pig.’ (lit. ‘hit the wild pig dead’) Meyah (259) Di-agob mekhuis fogora agos 1SG-strike wild.pig cause die ‘I hit the pig causing it to die.’

22 See Reesink (1999:102). 212 Chapter 7

Meyah (260) Di-agob mekhuis agos 1SG-strike wild.pig die ‘I killed the wild pig.’ (lit. ‘hit the wild pig dead’)

7.6.12 Causative verb sequences The argument structure of a causative construction in Meyah is identical to that of a resultative verb sequence, discussed in §7.6.11. The object of the first verb also functions as the subject of the second verb. In serializing languages, causatives are often expressed as serial verb constructions, with the first verb as the causative verb. Diachronically, the structure develops into a productive cause-effect serial verb (see Durie 1997:333). In a Meyah causative verb sequence, the first verb is the causative verb otunggom ‘make/do’. It can receive various kinds of verbal inflections. The second verb can only receive a subject agreement prefix. (261) Ri-otunggom goga ge-ofogog 3PL-make 2/3DU 2/3DU-dangerous ‘They caused them to become dangerous/evil.’ (262) Ri-er-otunggom ri-osum oftofta 3PL-INST-make 3PL-face pale ‘They would make their faces pale (with chalk).’ (263) Otunggom ofa agos make he/she die ‘He caused him/her to die.’ As I noted in §7.6.1 that verb sequences in Meyah develop from the omission of core arguments and conjunctions in sentences that express commonly associated events. The development of causative verb sequences appears to follow the same path with the omission of core arguments and the cause conjunction fogora, as the progression in (264) through (266) shows.23 (264) Otunggom mar gu ri-osnok fogora maren make/do thing to 3PL-person cause sick ‘He/she did something to people causing them becoming sick.’ (265) Mowahi ke-uma otunggom ri-osnok fogora maren fly NOM-that make 3PL-person cause sick ‘The flies affected people causing them to becoming sick.’ (266) Otunggom mimif maren make us sick ‘(It) made us sick.’ A conjunction, other than fogora ‘cause’, cannot intervene between verbs in a causative verb sequence. Thus, examples (267) and (268) are not grammatical, although example (269) is.

23 The example is from a native-authored health booklet. The clause 213

(267) *Otunggom ofa beda esiri make he/she then fall ‘He/she caused him/her and then he/she fall down.’ (268) *Otunggom ofa jeskaseda esiri make he/she in.order.to fall ‘He/she made him/her in order to fall.’ (269) Otunggom ofa fogora esiri made him/her cause fall ‘He/she made him/her fall.’

7.6.13 Sequences involving adverbials keingg and joug The adverbial items keingg and joug (see §4.5.7) combine with verbs to derive meanings that are different and often more specific than the meanings of the same verbs not marked by keingg and joug. The items can receive a reciprocal circumfix making them the only adverbials found thus far that can receive verbal morphemes.24 Examples (270) and (271) are repeated from §4.5.7. (270) Mi-aha kaju insa ke-uma me-keingg-ma 1PL.INC-put peanut ANAP NOM-that RECIP-stack-RECIP ‘We piled up the peanuts.’ (lit. ‘placed peanuts piling them’) (271) Ri-aha mega efaga me-keingg-ma 3PLput tree body RECIP-stack-RECIP ‘They stacked the logs.’ (lit. ‘placed logs piling them’) As mentioned above, the adverbials joug and keingg combine with verbs to express what seem to be single complex events. The constructions in the examples below can be formulated as V1 + Object1 + keingg + Object2, which provides evidence for the verbal origin of keingg. The examples are repeated from §4.5.7. (272) Ri-en-oug mofun egema joug ri-ofos tein guru 3PL-DUR-wrap vine other ADV 3PL-skin also NEG ‘They didn’t even wrap any rattan on their bodies (or, they didn’t clothe themselves).’ (273) Mosiu eij mohkowu keingg-id Mosiu throw blanket ADV-1SG ‘Mosiu threw a blanket on me (or, Mosiu covered me).’

7.6.14 Instrument verb sequences In Meyah, as in Sougb and Hatam, instruments cannot be a constituent of a main clause. They are introduced as the object of a manipulative verb, such as ‘use’ or ‘take’, in an initial clause. The verb in the main clause takes the instrumental prefix er-, which is apparently a grammaticalized form of the instrument verb era ‘use’. The instrument verb occurs first, as expected by the temporal sequencing of events. This order seems to be iconic across languages (see Foley and Olson 1985:43). The instrument verb sequences

24 The equivalent items in Hatam and Sougb possibly have origins from verbs (see §4.5.7). 214 Chapter 7 only express one subject/agent and they refer to single events taking place at the same time and in the same place. (274) Era monjumi efei er-ei mod use monjumi leaf INST-build house ‘He/she built a house with monjumi leaves.’ (275) Era meifeti er-of joug efen awesi use cloth INST-close ADV 3SG.POSS hole ‘He/she covered his/her mouth with cloth.’ (276) Eita mosom efen er-of mekeni take axe 3SG.POSS INST-chop.down garden ‘He chops down trees in the garden with his axe.’ Most examples of instrument verb constructions in my text corpus show instrument verbs occurring before another verbal clause without an intervening conjunction. However, it appears that the sequence has not become fully serialized because some examples show that a conjunction can still be used to link an instrument verb with a second verb. Even when overtly coordinated, the second verb still takes the instrument prefix and both verbs still take the same subject. (277) Era efeyi beda er-akid meiteb efaga gu monggosum use leaf then INST-tie machete body to ceiling.beam ‘He/she used leaves and then tied the handle of the machete to a ceiling beam.’ (278) Ri-era rerin mocong fogora ri-em-er-ef mosmeir 3PL-use 3PL.POSS arrow cause 3PL-IRR-INST-shoot coastal.person ‘They used their arrows to shoot the coastal people.’ The instrument verb era is rarely used as a main clause predicate. I have found only two occasions: (a) with the noun ‘water’, as in ‘use water’, functioning as the intransitive verb ‘swim’; and (b) with the noun ‘clothes’ as its object, expressing the transitive notion ‘wear’. (279) Inggumei era mei rot Inggumei use water concerning ‘Inggumei swam (away) because of that.’ (280) Bi-ergi25 meisoufa ongga ebsi 2SG-wear clothes REL clean ‘You should wear clothes that are clean.’ Although the instrument verb mostly occurs in an initial clause, it behaves like an independent verb having a subject prefix and other kinds of inflectional categories. The aspectual category is always the same on both verbs in a serial verb sequence. (281) Me-en-era fam26 me-en-er-edi Igomu 1PL.EXC-DUR-use clan 1PL.EXC-DUR-INST-hit Igomu ‘We would fight the Igomu people with our clan.’

25 My assumption is that the verb ergi ‘wear’ is a lexicalized form of the phrase era gij ‘use in’. 26 Regional Malay term. The clause 215

(282) Ri-em-era Meyah ri-em-er-ois oida mos mansar 3PL-IRR-use Meyah 3PL-IRR-INST-call COMP fish decrepit.person ‘We would call them old man fish with our language.’ The initial instrument verb with its object argument can be omitted when the instrument is generally understood within the context. However, the instrument prefix is still required in the second verb. (283) Er-oduis mongka INST-stab pandanus ‘He/she stabbed the pandanus fruit (with a knife).’ (284) Me-em-er-et mou 1PL.EXC-IRR-INST-eat yam ‘We will eat yams (with a spoon).’ Emotional state predicates can occur as the instrument of era followed by a second verb. (285) Era otkonu oska er-agot gu-irga use stomach bad INST-say to-2/3DU ‘He/she spoke to them with anger.’ (286) Era odou okum er-oga ojga rot use liver heavy INST-voice split concerning ‘He/she made the decision with heaviness.’ The scope of a sentence final negative adverb extends to both verbs. Both verbs take the obligatory durative prefix en- when negated. (287) Mi-en-era pacul mi-en-er-agob doska guru 1PL.INC-DUR-use hoe 1PL.INC-DUR-INST-strike very NEG ‘We don’t strike the ground hard with a hoe.’

7.7 Adverbials An overview of the various subclasses of adverbs was presented in §4.5. In that section I pointed out that a small set of adverbs occur as verb phrase operators. In this section I will show that a number of adverbials are adjuncts that occur in the clause periphery and are not part of the argument structure of the verb. They are used to specify temporal and locational settings, denote the manner in which an activity is carried out, and indicate aspectual distinctions. Negators are also adverbials that occur in the clause periphery. The subcategory called ‘focus adverb’ refers to adverbs that function to highlight certain constituents of the clause and as such they have more syntactic freedom than other adverbials. Locative and manner adverbials always follow the predicate and an object noun phrase, if one is present. Time adverbials precede subjects or follow objects, if those arguments are present. I will begin by discussing adverbials that occur in the time and location periphery, followed by, manner, aspect and focusing adverbs. Finally the status adverb si, the modal nom and negative adverbs will be discussed. 216 Chapter 7

7.7.1 Time Meyah verbs are ambiguous as to time, so time expressions are required to mark the verb as referring to the past, present or future. A complete list of time expressions and a description of their morphosyntactic properties is given in §4.5.5. The position of temporal adverbials in the clause depends on how they are expressed. As a noun phrase they take a position directly preceding a nominal subject and set a frame of temporal reference (288), (289). (288) Motu rua ri-em-en gu mod night they 3PL-IRR-come to house ‘At night they would come to the house.’ (289) Deisef memef me-ah tuturu gu Indog Efej today we 1PL.EXC-lie.down entirely at Indog Efej ‘Today we will stay entirely in Indog Efej (village).’ They can be set apart from the main clause by a conjunction (290)–(292). (290) Monog beda ri-ojuj-imba en tomorrow then 3PL-descend-below come ‘When it is tomorrow, then they will come down (to us).’ (291) Mona egema deika fogora mi-eja jah mekeni day other more cause 1PL.INC-go to garden ‘On another day, then we will go to the garden.’ (292) Mona juens bera mes ej-orka mek eteb jah mejga day once TOP dog INCEP-carry pig large to fence ‘As for one day, a dog chased a big pig into the yard.’ A time expression can be a prepositional phrase either preceding or following the subject. When preceding the subject, the temporal adverbial places focus on the time frame in which an event takes place. (293) Gij mona cinja beda Ickefek eja fob in time five then Ickefek go already. ‘When it had been five days, then Ickefek had already gone.’ (294) Gij tahun 1965 beda ofa engk in year 1965 then he/she purchase ‘When it was 1965, then he purchased (the land).’ When following the subject, the temporal adverbial places focus on the time span of the action expressed in the main predicate. (295) Me-esah gij mesta ofoukou fob 1PL.EXC-store in month many already ‘We already stored (the peanuts) for many months.’ (296) Mi-en-ah gu mona juaho 1PL.INC-DUR-lie.down at time how.many ‘How long should we be here?’ The items can also occur as simple adverbials directly modifying a verb (297), (298). The clause 217

(297) Beda eker mona juomu then sit day second ‘Then he/she waited for two days.’ (298) Ri-oka ckog tein 3PL-dance day.after.tomorrow also ‘They celebrated (lit. danced) for three days.’ Recursion of time expressions in an initial clause is also possible (299). (299) Mona insa ke-if mesta Juli tahun 2000 beda me-eker day ANAP NOM-this month July year 2000 then 1PL.EXC-sit rot oufa-mofa fob concerning RED-good already ‘On this day, the month of July, in the year 2000, we are already living very well.’ A temporal adverbial can follow an oblique argument in the main clause, such as a locative noun phrase (300) or a goal noun phrase (301). In this position, the time adverbial also indicates the time span in which an event takes place. (300) I-eja yes jeska mod gij mona ofoukou 2PLgo far from house in day many ‘You traveled far from the house in many days.’ (301) Iwa i-em-ocosu rot mat ke-uma gij mona kahma you 2PL-IRR-need concerning food NOM-that in day ahead ‘You will need that food in the future.’ Time expressions can also occur in an extra-clausal position following the clause. The main clause boundary is indicated by the negative adverb guru. A pause between the main clause and the temporal complement, symbolized by a slant line, indicates that the construction is some kind of afterthought or parenthetical statement. (302) Rua ri-en-ejginaga rot mar egema guru / gij mona sismeni they 3PL-DUR-know concerning thing other NEG in day first ojoros mona mosona osoka fob until day foreigner jump already ‘They didn’t know about anything in the beginning until the time when the foreigners arrived.’ (303) Etma en-age-geb guru / gu mona ongga etma ke-uma hand DUR-RED-bend NEG at day REL hand NOM-that ob fob close.over already ‘His/her hand will not bend at the time when that hand (sore) has healed.’ (Gravelle and Tibiya 1994a)

7.7.2 Location Locatives are prepositional phrases that denote position or movement. The kinds of prepositions that mark locatives are the same as those that mark temporal adverbials, as 218 Chapter 7 seen in the previous section. The examples below illustrate their position in the clause following an intransitive verb (304), a direct object (305) and an oblique object (306). (304) Osoka gij meren jump in lake ‘He/she jumped into the lake.’ (305) Ri-es mah gij mekeni 3PL-burn fire in garden ‘They made fires in the garden.’ (306) Ojuj rot ef-esa gu monuh Meyedeiba descend concerning 3SG-child at place Meyedeiba ‘She gave birth to her child at Meyedeiba village.’ In Meyah, posture verbs are ambitransitive (see §4.2.5). When locative adverbials occur with an ambitransitive verb they can be expressed as object arguments of the verb, as in (307) and (308) or as objects of a preposition, as in (309) and (310). (307) Beda eker mod then sit house ‘Then he/she stayed in the house.’ (308) Me-eka efen mod ot memaga 3SG-father 3SG.POSS house stand mountain ‘His/her father’s house was in the mountains.’ (309) Ot gu Meyowuk stand at Meyowuk ‘He/she stood in Meyowuk village.’ (310) Mebi oska ah gu Igomu land bad lie.down at Igomu ‘The land is bad in Igomu.’

7.7.3 Manner We saw in §4.5 that true manner adverbs in Meyah are identified primarily by their phonological properties. In §6.2.7, we saw how other items, such as adjectivals, noun phrases and numerals in prepositional phrases can increase the number of manner expressions available. When manner adverbs occur with intransitive verbs, the general rule is that no other item may intervene between the verb and the manner adverb, as illustrated in examples (311) to (313). (311) Ah jeni Tuhan Allah oga lie.down exactly Lord God word ‘It is exactly as the Lord God’s words say.’ (312) Ofa ecira rourou gu memaga he/she travel aimlessly in mountain ‘He/she wandered around the mountains.’ The clause 219

(313) Ofa ejema toutou ojgomu he/she crawl carefully just ‘He/she just sneaked (= crawled carefully) up.’ When manner adverbs modify transitive verbs they follow the object noun phrase. (314) Ri-erejgei mar teisis skoita Bupatih 3PL-request thing directly to Regent ‘They made a request directly to the Regent.’ (315) Memef me-en-et ri-osnok enjgineg rerin we 1PL.EXC-DUR-eat 3PL-person other 3PL.POSS mat rourou guru food aimless NEG ‘We don’t insincerely eat other people’s food.’ (316) Mi-era meiteb mi-er-eris efen efeji ke-uma 1PL.INC-use machete 1PL.INC-INST-slice 3SG.POSS fur NOM-that tou-toumou jeska efaga. RED-careful from body ‘Using a machete, we very carefully cut that fur from the body.’ One exception to the post-verbal position of manner adverbs exists. The item konosa ‘almost/nearly’ is the only manner adverb that modifies a verb in the pre-verb position, as in (317). The adverb can also occur as the first item in the clause before the subject, as in (318). Even in that position, it modifies the verb. (317) Konosa agob ri-osnok almost strike 3PL-person ‘He/she almost killed some people.’ (318) Konosa mamu tein ebriyi almost rock also split ‘The rock also almost split.’

7.7.4 Focus adverbs The adverbs fog ‘first’, tein ‘also’ and ojgomu ‘only/just’ are focusing devices that draw attention to various constituents of the clause. Some can also place focus on activities expressed by the predicate. Criteria for their inclusion in the adverb category are given in §4.5. Because focus adverbs are used to draw attention to certain clause constituents and activities, they are allowed more syntactic freedom within a sentence than the other adverbials are.

7.7.4.1 Focus adverb fog I show in §10.2.1.2 that Meyah uses overt conjunctions, such as beda ‘and then’, to indicate the temporal sequence of events. The adverb fog can occur as the last item in the main clause to highlight the first subevent in a sequence of events. 220 Chapter 7

(319) Oh monuh gu mimif fog fogora em-agos hand.over place to us first cause IRR-die ‘First he/she will hand over the land to us and then he/she will die.’ (320) Me-odub mega fog noba me-er-ei mod 1PL.EXC-chop tree first and 1PL.EXC-INST-build house ‘First we chop down trees and we build a house with those trees.’ The adverb fog can occur as the last item in a conjoined clause to highlight the ‘reason’ for the event or activity expressed in the main clause. In this position it seems that fog could also be highlighting a subevent before the next event takes place. (321) Mega eker jeskeseda mekeni insa ofora nomnaga fog tree sit so.that garden ANAP dry all first ‘Let the (fallen) trees remain so that the garden will be completely dry first.’ (322) Mi-er-agob mekeni ke-uma jeskeseda mebi 1PL.INC-INST-strike garden NOM-that in.order.that ground ofogu rara fog. fertile entire first ‘Hoe that garden so that the ground will be entirely fertile first.’ A subevent can be placed in focus when the topic focus marker bera (§11.6) combines with fog in whatever position it occurs in. Example (323) shows the combination highlighting the first subevent. Example (324) shows the combination highlighting the second subevent. (323) Mi-ecira gij mekeni insa ke-uma bera fog 1PL.INC-travel in garden ANAP NOM-that TOP first jeskaseda mi-ek mebi in.order.to 1PL.INC-see ground ‘Walking around in that garden is what is first, so that we can look at the soil.’ (324) I-oh moguma jeskeseda i-et bera fog 2PL-hand.over one.another so.that 2PL-eat TOP first ‘As for what is first, give the (food) to each other so that you can eat.’

7.7.4.2 Focus adverb tein The adverb tein ‘also, too’ places focus on nominal and adverbial constituents of the clause, hence it can occur following subjects, objects, obliques, time adverbials and manner adverbs in whatever position they occur in. There are no examples in the text corpus of tein directly modifying a predicate. (325) Ofa tein oitij rot he/she also agree concerning ‘He/she also agreed to it.’ (326) Ok marfok tein tina ebah-ah carry vegetable also but RED-raw ‘He/she brought vegetables too, but they were very raw.’ The clause 221

(327) Ojoros deisef tein bera me-erejgei mosona … until today also TOP 1PL.EXC-request foreigner ‘As for until today, we have requested the foreigners …’ (328) Memef me-en-eker erek oufa tein enesi we 1PL.EXC-DUR-sit like good also NEG ‘We have also not lived well yet.’ However, if an object argument is omitted, then tein can occur following the predicate (329), (330). The omitted argument is in brackets and is placed in parentheses in the English translation. (329) Mi-era mei mi-er-es [marfok] tein 1PL.INC-use water 1PL.INC-INST-sprinkle plant also ‘We also sprinkle (the plants) with water.’ (330) Nagif na-ef [mem] tein we 1DU.INC-shoot bird also ‘We shot (a bird), too.’

7.7.4.3 Focus adverb ojgomu The adverb ojgomu ‘only, just’ functions much the same as tein (§7.7.4.2) in that it places marked focus on various clause constituents. Therefore, it can occur in a number of positions within the clause, such as following a subject NP (331), an object NP (332) and an oblique locative NP (333). (331) Ojaga egens ojgomu erek ebirfaga Desa woman one just COP head Desa ‘Only one woman has been the headperson of the Desa.’ (332) Ge-ebij mat oskiyai ojgomu 2/3DU-pick food a.little only ‘They pick only a little food.’ (333) Eker jah si-uma ojgomu sit at NOM-there only ‘He remained only there.’ As noted in §7.7.4.2, tein is infrequent following verbs, whereas the adverb ojgomu commonly places focus on activities or events. Hence ojgomu occurs following predicates. (334) Ge-eja ojgomu jah mebaga 2/3DU-go only to sky ‘They just went up into the sky.’ (335) Beda osoka ojgomu then jump only ‘Then he/she just jumped.’ The focus adverb ojgomu can also occur following temporal adverbials (336) in whatever position they occur in. The adverb is also used as an intensifier in imperative clauses, such as (337). 222 Chapter 7

(336) Sismes ojgomu bera ge-erefa matrik gu Irofos long.ago just TOP 2/3DU-plant matrik at Irofos ‘As for long ago, they planted matrik plants at Irofos.’ (337) I-eita mar koisoisa erek didif di-ocunc 2PL-take/do thing exact like I 1SGpoint gu iwa sis fob ojgomu. to you before already only ‘Do the things that I pointed out to you just at an earlier time.’ When the adverb ojgomu occurs with aspectual adverbs (§7.7.6) it can precede or follow the adverb. Considering that ojgomu places focus on the constituent that it follows, it would seem that it is focusing on the aspectual adverb in (338) and on the predicate in (339). In the English translation, it is difficult to distinguish a meaning difference between the two positions of ojgomu. (338) Ge-en fob ojgomu 2/3DU-come already only ‘They already just came.’ (339) Eja ojgomu fob go only already ‘He/she already just left.’

7.7.5 Return adverb sons In §7.6.6 we saw that that the serialized verb oksons ‘return’ has grammaticalized to that of the adverbial modifier sons. The adverb sons denotes a return to a previous location, position or state (340). Sons precedes negative adverbs (341) and aspectual adverb (342) in the clause. (340) Oira gu efesi sons enter to inside return ‘It went back inside.’ (341) I-en-ois rot mar insa ke-uma sons guru 2PL-DUR-call concerning thing ANAP NOM-that return NEG ‘Don’t call those things back.’ (342) Eker noba eskeira sons fob sit and clean return already ‘He/she stayed and already became health again.’

7.7.6 Aspectuality The discussion on aspectuality in §4.2.8 and §4.5.2 showed that Meyah can indicate aspect both through inflectional and lexical means. The lexical items that function as aspectual adverbs are used to mark the distinct phases that make up an event expressed by the predicate. Their position in the clause is usually as the last item. The list of aspectual adverbs is repeated in (343) for convenience. Inceptive aspect ‘begin’ is the only aspectual distinction that is not expressed by an aspectual adverb. It is only indicated inflectionally in The clause 223 the verb or through a serial verb construction. The position and function of each type of aspectual adverb within the clause is discussed below. (343) ros PROGRESSIVE ‘still’ fob PERFECTIVE ‘already’ ojgomuja HABITUAL ‘continuous’ deika REPEATED ‘again’

7.7.6.1 Progressive aspect ros The durative aspect prefix en- (see §4.2.8.3) places greater focus on the extended activity expressed by the verb, without regard for the different phases of an event. The adverb ros ‘still’ places focus on the progressive phase of an event. The adverb is probably a reduced grammaticalized form of the preposition ojoros ‘until’.27 Like other aspectual adverbs, ros occurs at the end of a clause or a sentence. It can modify stative verbs as well as active verbs. (344) Ri-eker gij monuh motkobah ros 3PLsit in place dark still ‘They were still living in ignorance.’ (lit. ‘dark place’) (345) Ri-efaga erek eskeira ros 3PL-body like clean still ‘Their bodies are still healthy.’28 (346) Ri-ohca mos erek giskini ros 3PL-search fish like usual still ‘They were still fishing as usual.’ The adverb ros can occur in clauses marked by the durative aspect prefix en- (347)–(348). (347) I-ojuj gu meimojumu jeskaseda i-erofot gij mona ongga 2PL-descend to coast so.that 2PL-meet at time REL di-en-eker-if ros 1SG-DUR-sit-here still ‘You should come down to the coast so that we can meet here while I am still here.’ (348) I-ei mod gu mona di-en-efena ebah ros 2PL-build house at time 1SG-DUR-spirit raw still beda di-em-agos then 1SG-IRR-die ‘You should build houses while I am still alive and then later I will die.’

7.7.6.2 Perfective aspect fob The discussion on perfect aspect in §4.2.8.1 showed that a perfective infix in verbs indicates that the event is complete. The adverb fob ‘already’ gives marked focus to the

27 The preposition ojoros can still be used as a verb, meaning ‘arrive at’ (see §4.6), although examples of its verbal use in the text corpus are rare. 28 Eskeira has many secondary uses, such as ‘healthy, happy and peaceful’. 224 Chapter 7 completed phase of an event. The function of fob is illustrated through a comparison of the verb agos ‘die’ as unmarked for perfect (349), as modified by the perfective infix (350), as modified by the adverb fob (351) and as modified by both the perfective infix and by fob (352). (349) Ge-ojaga ke-uma tein ge-agos 2/3DU-woman NOM-that also 2/3DU-die ‘Those two women were also dead.’ (350) Beda abja-irga ke-uma ge-agos then girl-2/3DU NOM-that 2/3DUdie ‘Then those two girls died.’ (351) Eiteij ofou ebsi beda agos fob eye ball white then die already ‘His/her eyes turned white (rolled back) then he/she was already dead.’ (352) Ke-uma ri-efena jeska ri-osnok ongga ri-agos fob NOM-that 3PL-spirit from 3PL-person REL 3PLdie already ‘Those are spirits from people that have already died.’ The use of fob with the aspectual adverb ojgomuja ‘continuous’ seems to place focus on the persistency of a completed situation. (353) Ofa eja jah efen ojga ojgomuja fob he/she go to 3SG.POSS origin continuous already ‘He/she has already returned to his/her place of origin (and remains there).’ (354) I-eita monuh ke-if beda i-ot gij ojgomuja fob 2PL-take place NOM-this then 2PL-stand in continuous already ‘You have taken (possession of) this place and have already continually remained in it.’ The adverb fob can also be used in clauses that have a future time setting, indicated by the temporal noun in (355) and the irrealis prefix in (356). (355) Ge-eita mat jeska monog bera mi-ecira fob 2/3DU-eat food because tomorrow TOP 1PL.INC-travel already ‘You two should eat food, because as for tomorrow, we will already be traveling.’ (356) Di-ohoturu ona odou efesi em-oisa fob beda di-ejeka 1SG-gather male liver inside IRR-finish already then 1SG-ask skoita ojaga deika to woman more ‘When I have already gathered the man’s thoughts, then I will also question the woman.’

7.7.6.3 Habitual aspect ojgomuja Habitual aspect describes a situation that is characteristic over an extended period of time. Although a few aspectual distinctions can be indicated inflectionally in Meyah verbs, habitual aspect cannot. It is only indicated through lexical means with the use of ojgomuja ‘continuous’. The item might be a reduction of the phrase ojgomu eja ‘only go’. The clause 225

(357) Memef me-ah gu Indog Efej ojgomuja ojoros mona deisef we 1PL.EXC-lie.down at Indog Efej continuous until time today ‘We have always lived at Indog Efej village until today.’ (358) Ri-en-ejginaga rot mosona-ir tein guru ojgomuja 3PL-DUR-know concerning foreigner-PL also NEG continuous ‘They have never known about the foreigners.’ Even though the activities expressed in (359) and (360) involve intervening periods of no activity, the situations are characteristic of an extended period of time, as indicated by ojgomuja (see Comrie 1976:26, 28). (359) Orofosut mona-mona ri-ecir-ecira erek ke-uma ojgomuja every RED-day 3PL-RED-travel like NOM-that continuous ojoros motu until night ‘Every single day, until it was dark, they traveled back and forth like that.’ (360) Me-ok mar ongga me-ohu jah pasar fogora 1PL.EXC-carry thing REL 1PL.EXC-sell to market cause me-ecira me-aki ojgomuja ojoros mona deisef 1PL.EXC-travel 1PL.EXC-foot continuous until time today ‘We sell our things at the market, causing us to walk back and forth until day.’ There is no evidence that the progressive aspectual adverb ros ‘still’ (§7.7.6.1) can occur in the same clause with ojgomuja. However, it can occur in the same sentence (361). (361) Gij mona ongga Beranda ofa eker ros bera erek in time REL Dutch he/she sit still TOP like ke-ke-uma ojgomuja ojoros mona ongga Pemerintah RED-NOM-that continuous until time REL Government Indonesia osoka fob Indonesia jump already ‘As for the time when the Dutch were here, it was like that until the time when the Indonesian government came.’

7.7.6.4 Repeated aspect deika Thus far I have shown that aspectual adverbs mostly occur in the clause-final position. The adverb deika ‘again/more’ is a bit different in that it has more syntactic freedom than most of the other aspectual adverbs. Like other aspectual adverbs, it can follow an oblique argument and thus occur in the clause periphery (362), (363). (362) Ofa en-oj oskurfi jah mebi era mesera deika guru he/she DUR-spit spittle to ground or floor again NEG ‘He/she should not spit on the ground or the floor again.’ (363) Ofij memef rot coklat efej deika help us concerning cocoa seeds again ‘He/she helped us with the cocoa seeds again.’ 226 Chapter 7

Deika ‘again/more’ can also precede an oblique argument. Other kinds of aspectual adverbs do not. (364) Di-en-eita mengk ofot deika gu ofa guru 1SG-DUR-give breast flood again to him/her NEG ‘I won’t give him/her anymore breast milk.’ (365) Edemi deika gij mega hide again in tree ‘He/she hid again in the tree.’ Other aspectual adverbs follow a negative adverb in the clause. The adverb deika precedes negatives, as in (366) and (367), as well as in (364) above. (366) En-oksons skoita efen me-eka jera me-osu deika guru DUR-return to 3SG.POSS 3SG-father with 3SG-mother again NEG ‘He/she won’t return to his/her father and mother again.’ (367) Mi-en-eker memaga ofos deika guru 1PL.INC-DUR-sit mountain top again NEG ‘We don’t live in the mountains anymore.’ When occurring with other kinds of adverbials in a clause, deika always precedes those as well (368), (369). (368) Ge-oku deika fob 2/3DU-flee again already ‘They already fled away again.’ (369) Ri-ojona rerin mogra deika guru fob 3PL-woman 3PL.POSS waist.string again NEG already ‘Women already no longer have waist strings.’

7.7.6.5 Scope of aspectual adverbs As shown in §11.2, no ambiguity arises from the use of one negative adverb in the final position of a complex sentence, because negated verbs are marked by the durative aspect prefix en-. Aspectual adverbs only occur in a clause-final position and their scope only extends to the immediate predicate that it follows. Therefore, if the adverb occurs as the last item in a complex sentence, its scope (phasal focus) extends only to the last predicate in the sentence (370)–(371). (370) Edebecki noba eja fob rise and go already ‘He/she got up and had already left.’ (371) I-eita monuh ke-if beda i-ot gij ojgomuja fob 2PL-take place NOM-this then 2PL-stand in continuous already ‘You took this place and then you have already continuously lived here.’ If the adverb occurs as the last item in the first clause, then its scope extends to the preceding predicate (372), (373). The clause 227

(372) Di-erefa marsi oisa fob fogora na-em-eja 1SG-plant seed finish already cause 2DU.INC-IRR-go ‘After I have already planted the seeds, then we can go.’ (373) Ofa aha meisohu ojgomuja tina en-ej mengk ofod he/she put vomit continuous but DUR-drink breast flood me-osu guru 3SG-mother NEG ‘He/she vomits continuously, but does not drink his/her mother’s breast milk.’

7.7.7 Status adverb si We saw in §4.2.9 that the Meyah prefix em- is an irrealis marker that expresses some attitude on the part of the speaker of the utterance. It is only added to verbs when the speaker wants to place greater focus on the possibility of an event taking place. When the status adverb si is added to clauses marked by em-, it indicates that the chances of an event taking place are even greater. It expresses speaker attitudes translatable as ‘must’, ‘most likely’ and ‘probably’. This usage shows that si has the opposite effect of the adverbial nom in §7.7.8, which makes no assertions that an event will take place. The adverb si occurs in the sentence-final position with its scope extending to all verbs in the sentence that are marked by em-. The adverb only occurs in clauses marked by em-. (374) Em-oku jeska fogora em-eker si DUR-flee from cause DUR-sit STATUS ‘It will certainly flee causing it to stay away.’ (375) Ri-em-esma ri-ofonskos si 3PL-IRR-receive 3PL-tired ADV ‘They must receive their wages.’ (lit. ‘wages for their tiredness’) (376) Ofa en-et ariawun rot guru beda ofa em-agos si he/she DUR-eat medicine concerning NEG then he/she IRR-die ADV ‘If he/she doesn’t take medicine, then he/she will probably die.’

7.7.8 Adverbial nom The adverbial nom expresses the speaker attitudes: possibility or ability. Unlike some of the other clause level adverbials, such as fob ‘already’ and guru ‘not’, nom cannot be uttered in isolation. Similar to deontic mode, it can also express permission, as in ‘you are able’, when responding to a request. There are occasions when Meyah speakers combine the Indonesian modal bisa ‘able’ with nom, as in bisa nom ‘able can’, which intensifies the assertion, as in ‘of course you can’. (377) Didif di-otunggom mar ke-uma nom I 1SG-make/do thing NOM-that MOD ‘I am able to do that.’ (378) Bua bera bijginaga rot Monora Ofoj nom-ei you TOP 2SG-know concerning Monora Ofoj MOD-QU ‘As for you, can you find out about Monora Ofoj?’ 228 Chapter 7

(379) Agot oida tenten ge-ojaga-irga insa erek ke-if nom say COMP true 2/3DU-female-PL ANAP like NOM-this MOD ‘He/she said that those two women could be like this.’ I mentioned in §1.9.4.2.6 that Moskona seems to draw from a larger variety of modals than Meyah does. The Meyah modal adverbs jefa ‘should’, maybe ‘besa’, obahayeni ‘possibly’ are items that I have heard Meyah speakers use, yet they are almost entirely absent from my text corpus. Therefore, it is possible that the set of modal adverbs available are greater than what I present here. One example from texts is shown in (380). (380) Jefeda odou agob joug mat insa ke-uma ongga et jefa. therefore liver strike ADV food ANAP NOM-that REL eat should ‘Therefore, he rejected (lit. liver strike) that food that he should have eaten.’

7.7.9 Position of negatives The syntactic position of the negative adverbs guru ‘not’ and enesi ‘not yet’ is restricted to the sentence-final position. This position seems to be an areal feature of Bird’s Head languages considering that, in all of the languages in which data is available, negative adverbs are sentence-final. Although they occur in the sentence-final position in Meyah, their presence is not without effect on the predicate. A verb in a negative clause is obligatorily inflected by the durative aspect prefix en- (381)–(384) (381) I-en-ebisa guru 2PL-DUR-cry NEG ‘Don’t cry.’ (382) En-eita mengk ofot gu ef-esa enesi DUR-give breast flood to 3SG.POSS-child NEG ‘She did not breast-feed her child yet.’ (383) Ri-en-osiomu gij mei tein guru 3PL-DUR-play in water also NEG ‘They also did not bath (lit. play) in the water.’ (384) Ri-osnok nomnaga ri-en-en jah Indog Efej enesi 3PL-person all 3PL-DUR-come to Indog Efej NEG ‘All the people had not come to Indog Efej yet.’ The examples above show that a number of items can intervene between the predicate and the negative adverb placing the adverb in a distant position following the predicate. This position is at odds with much of the literature on negation, which states that the negative is placed as close to the verb as possible, usually next to the verb (see Dahl 1979; Payne 1985b). With SVO languages, negative marking is said to be overwhelmingly a verb phrase operator, usually occurring before the verb (Givón 1984:336). Considering that Meyah is an SVO language, the question arises as to why negative adverbs occur in the sentence-final position. Reesink (2002c) provides a plausible explanation. The canonical word order of Trans New Guinea and Sepik-Ramu phylum Papuan languages is SOV. In some of those languages the negative adverb occurs clause-finally and adjacent to the verb. The Bird’s Head languages all have the word order SVO. The order is highly unusual for Papuan languages, so it is most likely due to the influence of neighboring Austronesian

The clause 229 languages. Reesink hypothesizes that, with those languages, the sentence-final negative adverb is a remnant of their earlier SOV word order, when negatives did occur adjacent to the verb.29 See also §11.2 on the scope of negators in complex sentences.

29 The Bird’s Head Papuan language, Abun, seems to have taken on the Indonesian feature of a pre-verb negative, while retaining the sentence-final negative found in other Papuan languages. Verbs are bracketed by the two negatives (see Berry and Berry 1999:131–132). The Tidore language also has bracketed negation when a negative occurs before the verb as well as in the clause-final position (see van Staden 2000:235). 8 Relative clauses

8.0 Introduction In Chapter 5 the structure of a noun phrase was described and the kinds of modifiers used to reduce the referential scope of a head noun were given. Relative clauses function as noun phrase modifiers, as well, because they provide presupposed information about a head noun, thus narrowing its referential scope. However, they differ from other kinds of noun phrase modifiers in that they are clauses that can receive their own set of inflectional and adverbial modifiers. They can also be differentiated from a paratactic clause (§10.1) in that they are phonologically and syntactically embedded within the noun phrase. For those reasons, relative clauses are discussed separately in this chapter.

8.1 Relative clause forming strategies Meyah relative clauses (RC) use a gapping strategy, in which there is no overt reference to a head noun within the restricting clause (see Comrie 1989:147). This strategy is typical of languages, like Meyah, that express grammatical relations through word order (Payne 1997:436). Restrictive relative clauses account for the vast majority of relative clauses in my text corpus. They will be discussed first in §8.2. Then the various syntactic/semantic roles relativized on will be covered, beginning in §8.3. Nominal predicate relative clauses are also possible and they will be covered in §8.4. There are two minor relative clause types also used in Meyah. One involves noun phrase retention (§8.4) and the other is a headless relative clause, discussed in §8.5. The final sections will give some general characteristics of relative clauses, such as multiple RC modifiers of a single head noun, RSs not marked by a relativizer and morphosyntactic properties of an RC. Non-restrictive parenthetical clauses are also attested in my text corpus and those will be given in the final section.

8.2 Restrictive relative clauses A restrictive relative clause consists of a head noun and a restricting clause. The restricting clause functions as a modifier of the head noun in that it adds information about the head noun, thus narrowing it amongst a subset of other possible nouns (Comrie 1989:143). In Meyah, restrictive relative clauses occur in the post-modifying position, which is typical of SVO languages (see Keenan 1985:144). Relative status is always marked at the beginning of the restricting clause by the invariant relativizer ongga. Meyah lacks 230 Relative clauses 231 relative pronouns, and the marker is used with human and non-human head nouns alike. Similar relative clause forming strategies are used by other east Bird’s Head languages. Examples of simple relative noun phrases in Meyah are given in (1) through (3) to illustrate their structure. (1) mod ongga aksa house REL tall ‘a house that is tall’ (2) mat ongga ri-em-et food REL 3PL-IRR-eat ‘food that they will eat’ (3) ri-osnok ke-uma ongga Mousou-ir 3PL-person NOM-that REL Sougb-PL ‘those people who are Sougb‘ Restrictive relative clauses can be headed by common nouns (see above examples), proper nouns and personal pronouns. (4) rua ongga memaga ofos ke-inda they REL mountain top NOM-above ‘they who are from the mountains above’ (5) Ickefek agot oida bua ongga masusur ri-efena Ickefek say COMP you REL insect 3PL-spirit ‘Ickefek said, “You who are harmless spirits”.’ (lit. ‘spirits of insects …’) (6) Mefmen me-imowa Ejemes ongga me-osu ojuj 1PL.EXC.POSS 1PL.EXC-grandparant Ejemes REL 3SG-mother descend rot gu monuh Meyedeiba concerning in place Meyedeiba ‘Our ancestor is Ejemes whose mother birthed her in Meyedeiba village.’ When the head noun is omitted, trace elements, such as numerals and demonstratives, occur in the position of the head of a relative clause. The elements can also be omitted leaving a headless relative clause (see §8.5). (7) Ge-ek egens ongga ongkoska 2/3DU-see one REL beautiful ‘They saw one that was beautiful.’ (8) Me-en-et ke-uma ongga ofonon guru 1PL.EXC-DUR-eat NOM-that REL large NEG ‘We don’t eat those that are large.’

8.3 Syntactic positions that can be relativized In Keenan and Comrie’s (1977) article on noun phrase accessibility, they make the claim that, ‘if a primary strategy in a given language can apply to a low position on the accessibility hierarchy, then it can apply to all higher positions.’ In the hierarchy, subject NPs are considered to be the most accessible to relativization followed by object NPs, then oblique NPs. Keenan and Comrie’s observation holds true for Meyah. All nominal 232 Chapter 8 constituents (core and non-core arguments) are equally accessible to relativization using the same principal strategy described earlier. Each relativized position will be discussed and illustrated in sections to follow.

8.3.1 Subject relative clause Keenan (1985:159) explains that subjects of intransitive verbs are more relativizable than subjects of transitive verbs in that some languages only allow relativization of intransitive subjects. Meyah subjects of transitive and intransitive verbs are equally relativizable using the same principal strategy, as the examples below show. In examples (12) and (13) the object head noun functions as the subject of the relative clause. (9) bua ongga bi-otunggom ri-osnok fogora ri-osu otu … you REL 2SG-make 3PL-person cause 3PL-ear deaf ‘you who caused people to become deaf …’ (10) osnok egens ongga otkutkuma mek person one REL hunt pig ‘someone who hunts pigs’ (11) Ona egens ongga esejah nou oskotu efen arja male one REL prepare for grip 3SG.POSS bride en skoita-id come to-1SG ‘A man who was prepared to marry (lit. grip) his bride came to me.’ (12) Ri-em-era meifeti ongga ahta 3PL-IRR-use cloth REL black ‘They would use cloth that was black.’ (13) Bi-eja bi-eita mosoku ongga esiri jah meiskoh 2SG-go 2SG-take cigarette REL fall to underneath ‘Go get the cigarettes that fell underneath (the house).’ The predicate of a non-verbal clause can be a noun phrase. The syntactic subject of a nominal predicate can be a pronoun, a personal noun or a common noun (see §7.5.2.1). Examples (14) to (16) show relative clauses that function as non-verbal predicates. The subject/object of the main clause is the subject of the relative clause. (14) [Me-eyesa]subj [ongga ona]pred en-en toutou 3SG-sibling REL male DUR-come quietly ‘His/her sibling that was male was coming quietly.’ (15) [Bua]subj [ongga masusur ri-efena]pred bi-eseiseifa jeska you REL insect 3PL-spirit 2SG-lose from ‘You who are harmless spirits (lit. spirits of insects), disappear from here.’ subj pred (16) Eja beda er-edi [ofa] [ongga Meyah] go then INST-hit he/she REL Meyah ‘He/she went and then attacked the one who was a Meyah person.’ Object relative clauses occur in an initial frame before the main clause. The anaphoric demonstrative insa in example (17) is part of the noun phrase and indicates the noun Relative clauses 233 phrase boundary. Following the main clause produces an RC structure that is not grammatical, as illustrated in example (18). (17) Mebi ofogu ongga me-agob insa em-oisa ground fertile REL 1PL.EXCstrike ANAP IRR-finish ‘That fertile ground that we tilled will be ready.’ (18) * Me-agob mebi ofogu insa ongga em-oisa 1PL.EXCstrike ground fertile ANAP REL IRR-finish ‘We tilled that fertile ground that will be ready.’ (19) Metrem ongga mi-erefa efen mesta ortomu corn REL 1PL.INCplant 3SG.POSS month CL:FOOD.three ‘The corn that we planted is tree months old.’ (lit. ‘has three months’) (20) Rua ongga merej ekid ri-agos fob they REL enemy poison 3PL-die already ‘They who the enemy poisoned are already dead.’ (21) Me-ok mefmen mar ongga me-ohu ke-uma 1PL.EXC-carry 1PL.EXC.POSS thing REL 1PL.EXC-sell NOM-that jah pasar to market ‘We carry those things of ours that we sell to market.’

8.3.2 Oblique relative clause Prepositional noun phrases may be relativized. The head noun is fronted while the preposition, which marks the semantic role, remains in its normal position following the verb. There are no examples in my text corpus that show beneficiary head nouns that are relativized on. However, since recipient head nouns can be fronted and relativized on, presumably so can beneficiaries. In (22) to (25) the stranded prepositions are in brackets. Goal (22) Ofa ongga iwa i-ogif [gu] erek yeyin ebirfaga He REL you 2PL-bow to COP 2PL.POSS head ‘He who you pay respect to (lit. bow to) is your headman.’ Goal/Recipient (23) Ri-osnok ongga ofa ohu efen mat [gu] ri-en 3PL-person REL he/she sell 3SG.POSS food to 3PL-come jeska memaga from mountain ‘The people that he/she sold his/her food to came from the mountains.’ Source (24) Monuh ongga Igomu eja [jeska] en-erek Meifendoks efesi guru place REL Igomu go from DUR-COP Meifendoks Efesi NEG ‘The place that Igomu left from was not Meifendoks Efesi.’ 234 Chapter 8

Location (25) Menei ebic ongga ofa eker [gij] erek mowa okrera banana grove REL he/she sit in COP sun shade ‘The banana grove that he/she waited in was shady.’

8.3.3 Instrument relative clause Meyah instruments typically occur as a relativized clause-initial frame. The topic marker bera marks the boundary of the instrument frame construction. The verb in the main clause takes an obligatory instrument prefix (see §4.2.10). This prefix is possibly a remnant of the verb era ‘use’ which has now grammaticalized to indicate instrument, hence its absence in an instrument construction is ungrammatical, as shown in (27). The initial instrument relative clause is not required if the instrument is understood, as in (29). (26) Mamu ongga mi-er-aha keingg awesi bera ke-uma rock REL 1PL.INC-INST-put ADV mouth TOP NOM-that ‘As for the rock that we block the opening with, it is that one.’1 (27) *Mamu ongga mi-er-aha keingg awesi bera ke-uma rock REL 1PL.INC-INST-put ADV mouth TOP NOM-that ‘As for the rock that we block the opening with, it is that one.’2 (28) Mosom ongga mi-em-er-etka megej bera ah axe REL 1PL.INC-IRR-INST-split firewood TOP lie.down erek si-enefa like NOM-where ‘As for the axe that we will split firewood with, where is it?’ (29) Ri-er-agob-uma 3PL-INST-strike-RECIP ‘They struck one another (using clubs).’

8.3.4 Temporal noun relative clause In Meyah, time is expressed by temporal noun phrases or temporal adverbials. Their possible positions within the clause are discussed in §7.7.1. When temporal nouns occur as oblique constituents of the clause, they may be relativized. (30) Mengk ofot ke-uma em-ofij oforoka gij mona ongga milk flood NOM-that IRR-help child in time REL ofa ot okongkonu he/she stand defecate ‘That milk will help a child at the time that he/she has diarrhea.’ (31) Me-osu en-eker dektek gij mona ongga 1PL.EXC-mother DUR-sit long.time in time REL

1 This example is elicited. 2 This example is elicited. Relative clauses 235

efen oforoka maren guru 3SG.POSS child sick NEG ‘The mother shouldn’t wait long at the time when her child is sick.’ (Gravelle and Tibiyai 1994a)

8.3.5 Possessor relative clause Possessors can be relativized. The head noun that functions as the possessor occurs initially in the clause. In the examples below, possession is also indicated by the possessor prefix on the possessed noun. (32) Ri-osnok ongga ri-ofos mah et bera ri-efaga esiri 3PL-person REL 3PL-skin fire eat TOP 3PL-body fall ‘People whose skin the fire burns become thin.’ (33) Ri-osnok ongga ri-eiteij ah eseiseifa ri-eja gu meren 3PL-person REL 3PL-eye lie.down lose 3PL-go to lake ‘People whose lives are lost (lit. eye lost) go to the lakes.’ (34) Ed-ohuj ongga me-ohona agos fob oksons jah Meisekir 1SG-friend REL 3SG-wife die already return to Meisekir ‘My friend whose wife died returned to Meisekir village.’

8.4 Pronoun retention As I mentioned in §8.1, Meyah relative clause formation mostly uses a gapping strategy in which a head noun is omitted from an embedded relative clause. With pronoun retention, a relativized noun phrase is represented by a pronoun in the embedded clause. Examples (35) and (36) show pronoun retention used to relativize the object of a relative clause. The 3 pronoun in the RC is in brackets. (35) Ri-osnok ongga ofa obk [rua] jah mod ri-oksons fob 3PL-person REL he/she send them to house 3PL-return already ‘The people who he/she sent to the house have already returned.’ (36) Ed-ohona ongga rua ri-ofij [ofa] fob eker rot ef-esa 1SG-wife REL they 3PL-help her already sit concerning 3SG-child ‘My wife who they already helped gave birth.’ According to Keenan (1985:147), it is uncommon for pronoun retention to be used to relativize the subject of the relative clause. In Meyah, subjects of a RC can be optionally relativized with pronoun retention, although examples are relatively infrequent in my text corpus. In examples (35) through (40), the subject noun phrase and the coreferential pronoun are in brackets. (37) Ri-oga oruh [ri-osnok] ongga [rua] ri-eker jah 3PL-voice slander 3PL-person REL they 3PLsit to gu memaga ofos at mountain top ‘They slandered people who lived in the mountains.’

3 Examples (35) and (36) are elicited. 236 Chapter 8

(38) Marfenisa efen [me-eka] ongga [rua] ri-en jeska Meimas-inda Marfenisa 3SG.POSS 3SG-father REL they 3PL-come from Meimas-above ‘Marfenisa had ancestors (lit. fathers) who came from Meimas village above.’ (39) Ofa efen [me-imowa-ir enjgineg] ongga [rua] ri-ebiedi he/she 3SG.POSS 3SG-grandparent-PL other REL they 3PL-connect ‘He/she has other ancestors who are related.’ (40) Ri-orka [mocog insa] ongga ri-ona ensis ri-em-emesa 3PL-carry guns ANAP REL 3PL-male old 3PL-IRR-afraid [insa] fob ANAP already ‘They carried those guns that the ancestors were already afraid of.’

8.5 Headless relative clause In Meyah, a headless relative clause is formed when a noun phrase that would occur as the head of a relative clause is elided and no trace element, such as a demonstrative pronoun, remains in the position of the head noun. While not a major relative clause type in Meyah, a number of headless relative clauses can be found in my text corpus. The headless relative clauses are in brackets. The symbol (Ø) represents the position of the elided head noun. Headless subject RC (41) Esinsa ah [ Ø ongga agos] gij insa ke-uma him/herself put REL dead in ANAP NOM-that ‘He/she him/herself put the (ones) that were dead in that (place).’ (42) Me-okosa orka [ Ø ongga efebr ofokok] 3SG-sibling carry REL thin tiny ‘His/her brother brought (the wood pieces) that were thin and tiny.’ Headless object RC (43) [ Ø ongga me-otunggom erek miniyi] bera erek ke-if … REL 1PL.EXCmake like oil TOP like NOM-this ‘(peanuts) that we made into oil were like this …’ (44) beda ge-eja jah mod noba [ Ø ongga oforoka agot gu then 2/3DU-go to house and REL child say to me-osu] oida … 3SG-mother that ‘then they went to the house and (the thing) that the child said to his/her mother was …’ Headless locative RC (45) Ind-imowa-ir ri-agot [ Ø ongga ri-efena eja tein] 1SG-grandparent-PL 3PL-say REL 3PL-spirit go also ‘My grandparents spoke (about places) that spirits would also go.’ Relative clauses 237

(46) Tina [ Ø ongga mi-eeja gij] bera efej orgomu but REL 1PL.INCgo in TOP dry three ‘But of (the trenches) that we went into, three were dry.’ The examples below involving the interrogative words idu ‘who’ and meidu ‘what’ are non-verbal predications with a headless RC as predicate. (47) Idu [ Ø ] ongga efen mesina efaga oringka who REL 3SG.POSS string.bag CL:ANIMAL CL:ANIMAL.two ‘(The person) that owns these two string bags is who?’ (48) Meidu [ Ø ] ongga otunggom Wilem fogora en-eskeira guru what REL cause Wilem cause DUR-clean NEG ‘(The thing) that affected Wilem causing him to not become healthy is what?’

8.6 Multiple RC modifiers of a single head noun The examples below show that more than one relative clause can modify a single head noun. No more than two relative clauses modifying a single head noun are attested. Only a few multiple subject RCs are found in my text corpus. (49) Rua ongga memaga ofos ongga ri-ogk maini they REL mountain top REL 3PLcarry loincloth insa ri-en-esaga ANAP 3PL-DUR-arrive ‘They who were from the mountains who wore loincloth were arriving.’ (50) Ge-os meyaga efeb ongga eja oska ongga jadi guru gij 2/3DU-rub rattan string REL go bad REL happen NEG in mega moj insa tree moj ANAP ‘They rubbed the bowstring that went bad, that didn’t work out, into that moj tree.’ (51) Eneya ongga ofoka mos hias ongga erek me-en-et guru some REL name fish hias REL like 1PL.EXC-EAT NEG en-ah-uma DUR-lie.down-there ‘There are some (fish) that are called hias that we don’t eat.’

8.7 Relative clauses not marked by ongga There are restrictive relative clauses that are not marked by the clause-initial relativizer ongga. The relative clause and the main clause resemble two juxtaposed clauses. However, the second clause functions like a restrictive relative clause in that it adds information about the head noun in the first clause making it contrastive with other nouns. There does not appear to be a functional difference between relative clauses marked by ongga and those not marked by ongga. Those not marked by ongga are infrequent in my text corpus. The ‘regular’ expected position of ongga is indicated by (ongga) in the examples below. Like an overtly marked relative clause there is no pause between the two predications. 238 Chapter 8

(52) Ri-agob ri-osnok ke-uma (ongga) maren 3PL-strike 3PL-person NOM-that (REL) sick ‘They killed those people (who) were sick.’ (53) Kinomu osok mimif (ongga) mi-et mar ongga ofom Kinomu climb us (REL) 1PL.INCeat thing REL ripe ‘Kinomu assaults us (who) have eaten things that are ripe.’ (54) Eji mat tein (ongga) na-ej-ek fob dig food also (REL) 2/3DU.INC-INCEP-see already ‘He/she also dug up the food (that) we had already gone to check on.’ We saw in §5.4.1 that noun phrase possession in Meyah has the order possessor + possessum. This order is generally typical of other Bird’s Head languages, as well. However, it is not uncommon in Meyah for the relativizer ongga to be omitted from a possessor relative clause. As examples (55) through (57) show, this omission of ongga gives the false appearance of a possessum + possessor order, a feature more typical of Austronesian languages. Omission of a relativizer morpheme from the restrictive clause may also account for post-nominal possession in other languages of the Bird’s Head that are said to allow both pre-nominal and post-nominal possession (see Reesink 1999:80 and 2000a). (55) Ge-ek tina mes (ongga) gegan-ir ri-oga gij mowodu 2/3DU-see but dog (REL) 2/3DU.POSS-PL 3PL-voice in tree.kangaroo ‘They looked, but (to their surprise) the dogs (that) they owned were barking at a tree kangaroo.’ (56) Eita meiteb (ongga) efen give machete (REL) 3SG.POSS ‘He/she gave (him) the machete (that) he/she owned.’ (57) Esinmouk gij mof (ongga) esinsa efen yell in wind (REL) 3SG.REF 3SG.POSS ‘He/she yelled into the wind (that) he/she owned.’

8.8 Morphosyntactic properties of relative clauses As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, relative clauses are basically declarative clauses that are embedded within a noun phrase. They provide presupposed information about a head noun, reducing the noun’s referential scope among a subset of other possible nouns. Being declarative clauses, they can receive all the usual aspectual and irrealis inflectionals that non-embedded clauses receive. In addition, the predicates can be negated without causing ambiguity over the matrix clause predicate. Due to this, any kind of declarative clause can be used as a relative clause. Examples (58) and (59) below show inflectional modification of verbs within the RC. Examples (59) and (60) show the use of adverbial modifiers in the RC. The relative clauses are bracketed. (58) Bi-ej-eita mecibik [ongga esiri jah meiskoh] 2SG-INCEP-take betel.nut REL fall to underneath ‘Go get the betel nut that fell underneath (the floor).’ Relative clauses 239

(59) Gij mona [ongga Beranda eker ros] bera erek ke-uma at time REL Dutch sit still TOP like NOM-that ojoros mona [ongga pemerinta Indonesia osoka fob] until time REL government Indonesia jump already ‘At the time that the Dutch were still living here it was like that until the time that the Indonesian government had already arrived.’ (60) Tina osnok egens [ongga ejginaga rot efena ofogog but person one REL know concerning spirit dangerous fob] agot oida … already say that ‘But someone who already knew about dangerous/evil spirits said …’ Relative clauses can be independently negated. Because verbs in negated clauses take an obligatory durative aspect prefix, there is no ambiguity as to which verb falls under the scope of the sentence-final negative adverb (see §11.2). Example (61) shows that only the relative clause is negated. Example (62) shows that only the main clause is negated. (61) Ge-of mekeni ongga en-eteb guru 2/3DU-chop.down garden REL DUR-large NEG ‘They chopped down trees in a garden that was not large.’ (62) Meikairon en-erek monuh ongga eteb guru Meikairon DUR-COP place REL large NEG ‘Meikairon is not a village that is large.’ Relative clauses are like mini discourses in that they can be complex sentences, have different subjects and contain noun phrases with embedded relative clauses: (63) Di-efesij rot osnok egens [ongga otkutkma fogora 1SG-tell concerning person one REL hunt cause okub mek egens] shoot pig one ‘I am talking about a man who had gone hunting causing a pig to be shot.’ (64) Ef-esa Anji insa ke-if [ongga erek rua [ongga rerin 3SG-child Anji ANAP NOM-this REL COP they REL 3PL.POSS ri-ojga Meikairon ke-if ] ] 3PL-origin Meikairon NOM-this … ‘This child of his/hers, Anji, who is of they who originate from this Meikairon village …’

8.9 Nominal items expressed as RC’s In Meyah, restrictive relative clauses are commonly used to express concrete and abstract nominal notions that are often the equivalent of single lexical items in other languages, such as English. The construction involves the generic noun mar ‘thing’ modified by a relative clause. The process is similar to a modifying relationship in a noun + verb compound (see §4.3.7.2) in which the second member modifies the first to produce 240 Chapter 8 new nominal meanings (see Comrie and Thompson 1985:394). The kind of relative clause construction described here is the only way to express certain nominal meanings in Meyah. (65) mar ongga ah gu merenrah thing REL lie.down in forest ‘thing that is in the forest’ ‘animal’ (66) mar ongga me-ougif gu thing REL 1PL.EXC-bow to ‘thing that we bow to’ ‘idol’ (67) mar ongga ah jejema thing REL lie.down hidden ‘thing that is hidden’ ‘secret’ Some examples within a matrix clause are given in (68) and (69). The RCs are in brackets. (68) Me-orka mefmen [mar ongga me-ohu] jah pasar 1PL.EXC-carry 1PL.EXC.POSS thing REL 1PL.EXC-sell to market ‘We carry the things we sell (= produce) to the market.’ (69) Efesij rot [mar ongga er-ocunc] gu memef tell concerning thing REL INST-point to us ‘He/she spoke about something that points (= allegory) to us.’ Relativization of personal pronouns can also produce different nominal meanings that cannot be expressed through other means. The items below cannot stand alone as independent utterances, unless they are responses to an information question. (70) ofa ongga oga ojga rot mar he/she REL voice split concerning thing ‘he/she who decides concerning things’ ‘a judge’ (71) rua ongga ri-agos they REL 3PL-die ‘they that are dead’ ‘the dead’ (72) ofa ongga merej he/she REL avenging.spirit ‘he/she who is an avenging spirit’ ‘the enemy’ (73) rua ongga Jawa-ir ‘they REL Javanese-PL’ ‘the Javanese’

8.10 Non-restrictive parenthetical clauses Givón (1990:649, 681) describes non-restrictive relative clauses as a type of parenthetical clause that provides information which the speaker assumes the hearer is not aware of, hence not accessible to the hearer. Non-restrictive parenthetical clauses can be identified in Meyah texts. Lack of the relativizer ongga does not necessarily indicate parenthesis since ongga is not required in a relative clause construction. The primary indicator is a head noun in the parenthetical clause that is coreferential, if not identical, with the head noun in the main clause. Phonologically, a pause following the head noun, symbolized by a slant line in examples (74) to (76), shows it to be a non-restrictive Relative clauses 241 parenthetical clause. With restrictive relative clauses there is no pause between the head noun and the relative clause. Parenthetical clauses can follow the head noun that they modify, as in (74). They can also occur following a main clause. In examples (75) and (76) the parenthetical clauses are expressed as relative clauses, but they do not occur within the noun phrase boundary of the head noun they modify. They are still dependants of the main clause because they cannot stand alone as an independent utterance. Example (76) shows the scope of the sentence-final negative to cover two negative relative clauses. (74) Imafu efen ef-esa Moubera Efek / Mouber Efek ongga agos Imafu 3SG.POSS 3SG.child Moubera Efek Moubera Efek REL die ‘Imafu’s child is Moubera Efek, the Moubera Efek who is dead.’ (75) Rua ongga maren-ir ri-ecira fogora rua tein ri-agos / rua they REL sick-3PL 3PLtravel cause they also 3PL-die they ongga merej ekid fob REL enemy poison already ‘They who were sick traveled (there) causing them to also die, they who the enemy had poisoned.’ (76) Ri-ofos robrob ojgomuja / rua ongga ri-en-ergi meisoufa 3PL-skin naked continuous they REL 3PL-DUR-wear clothing era ri-en-oug mofmaga egema joug ri-ofos tein guru or 3PL-DUR-fold sarong some ADV 3PL-skin also NEG ‘They were continuously naked, they who didn’t wear clothing or cover their bodies with sarongs.’ 9 Complementation

9.0 Introduction A complement clause is traditionally described as a clause that functions as a subject or object argument of another predication (see Noonan 1985; Givón 1990). In Meyah, complement clauses only function as object arguments of a verb. They are linked with the main clause by the free form oida, hence the construction resembles coordination (see §10.2). Nevertheless, there are some properties that distinguish complementation from coordination in Meyah. The phonological properties of oida include rising intonation accompanied by a pause before the complement clause. Omitting the complement leaves the utterance incomplete. This shows a subordinate relation between the two clausal constituents. In rapid speech the boundary between oida and the matrix verb often collapses, as in agot oida → atoida (at oida) ‘say that …’. This shows that the conjunction forms part of the intonation unit that it follows, whereas a coordinating conjunction forms part of the intonation unit that precedes.1 In addition, the use of oida is generally required with complement-taking predicates, while any coordinating conjunction can be omitted from a paratactic sentence. These aforementioned features show that complement clauses are more fully embedded within the larger unit than paratactic clauses are. According to Noonan (1985:47), complementizers usually derive from pronouns or other conjunctions and rarely from verbs. If complementizers do have historical roots in verbs, they are often verbs of ‘saying’ (see Hopper and Traugott 1993:180). It is common for Papuan languages throughout New Guinea to use the verb ‘say’ as a complementizer with speech and cognition verbs. The use of ‘say’ as a complementizer is also found among some Malayo-Polynesian languages of southeastern Indonesia (see Grimes 1991, van Klinken 1999). Of the Bird’s Head region, there are languages that lack syntactic subordination of a complement clause (e.g. Tehit, Moi, Mpur).2 Other languages have the complementizer ‘say’ or a closely related form, but it is not required with most complements (e.g. Maybrat, Abun, Hatam).3 The Meyah complementizer oida does not resemble the Meyah speech verb agot ‘say’. Instead, it seems to be related to the Moskona verb oudu ‘say’ (see §1.9.4.2.7). In keeping with the typical VO order of Meyah, the

1 One exception to this is when beda ‘then’ functions as a gap filler. In that case it is phonologically part of the main clause (see §10.2.1.2.2). 2 This observation is tentative and based on transcribed oral texts from Reesink (2000b). 3 The Papuan language Tidore, northwest of the Bird’s Head, also uses a complementizer for direct and indirect quotes (see van Staden 2000:288). 242 Complementation 243 complement clause introduced by oida follows the main clause. The item oida, translatable as ‘that’ in English, has become grammaticalized as a neutral marker having no other function besides that of a complementizer.

9.1 Complement-taking predicates The kinds of verbs that can take clausal complements are generally the same across languages. Givón (1990:517) groups them into three major subtypes: modality verbs, manipulative verbs and cognitive-utterance verbs. Noonan’s (1985:110ff.) list of complement-taking predicates (CTPs) includes at least twelve subclasses, most of which fall under Givón’s three major classes. Meyah has a broad range of CTPs that can be classified under similar categories as those set forth by Givón and Noonan. I have divided them into three basic types based mostly on syntactic and semantic grounds:  Utterance verbs  Mental perception verbs  Physical perception verbs The second and third type of CTP in the list above refer to mental activities (e.g. think, desire, believe, see) in which no talking takes place, yet they also require oida (derived from the Moskona verb ‘say’) to introduce the complement clause. Therefore they are also structurally and semantically quotations. Some authors writing on Papuan languages refer to this as ‘inner speech’ (see Reesink 1993). In discussing Meyah CTPs, the number of possible verbs in each category has not been investigated exhaustively.

9.1.1 Utterance verbs The clausal complements of utterance verbs, such as agot ‘say’, efesij ‘tell’, ohunu, ‘whisper’, agen ‘promise’ and ejeka ‘ask/call’ are direct and indirect quotes. Givón (1990:553) points out that languages tend to not use a complementizer morpheme with direct quote complements, but do use one with indirect quote complements. Pauses are the more iconic clausal separators for direct quotes. As mentioned in §9.0, a number of languages in the general vicinity of Meyah can use a speech complementizer to introduce direct and indirect quotes. The difference between the two is usually signaled by a shift in pronominal categories in the quote. The same can be said for Meyah, as illustrated in the comparison between (1) and (2). Pause and intonation phenomena also help to distinguish between direct and indirect quotes. With direct quotes, there is a noticeable pause following oida, often in conjunction with a distinct shift in voice quality mimicking the person being quoted. With indirect quotes, no noticeable pause occurs and voice mimicry is lacking. (1) Ofa agot oida didif di-en-eja jah mekeni deika guru he/she say COMP I 1SG-DUR-go to garden more NEG ‘He/she said, “I will not go to the garden anymore.”’ (2) Ofa agot oida ofa eita mar erek tei-enefa he/she say COMP he/she take/do thing like ADV-how ‘He/she said that he/she should do what (or, how should he/she do something).’ 244 Chapter 9

Sometimes the distinction between direct and indirect quotes cannot be made based on the pronoun in the quote, as in (3), or the lack thereof, as in (4), regardless of the person/number category. Thus either type may be the interpretation, as the English translations of (3) and (4) suggest. The phonological phenomena mentioned above can help determine which one is the case. (3) Ri-agot moguma oida rua ongga ri-ek maini … 3PL-say one.another COMP they REL 3PLcarry loincloth ‘They said to one another that they of the mountains who wear loincloth …’ ‘They said to one another, “They of the mountains who wear loincloth …” ’ (4) Agot oida jeska mar meren ebic bera-uma say COMP because thing lake center TOP-that ‘He/she said that it was because of that thing in the middle of the lake.’ ‘He/she said, “It’s because of that thing in the middle of the lake”.’ A quote complement can also be a non-verbal predication (5) or a noun phrase (6). In these cases, pause phenomena signal whether the quote is direct or indirect. (5) Agot oida ri-efena era merej erek ke-uma say COMP 3PL-spirit or enemy COP NOM-that ‘He/she said, “They are spirits or the enemy”.’ (6) Ri-ejeka ke-uma oida maini efekra ebsi 3PL-call NOM-that COMP loincloth bark.cloth white ‘They called it white bark skin loincloth.’ As far as core argument embedding is concerned, so far we have seen that quote complements function as objects and as such are positioned in sentences where objects occur. However, there are examples found in the text corpus of a quote complement marked by oida following an object argument hence placing the construction on the periphery of the argument structure as an adjunct quote complement. (7) Eyajga mod-uma fog oida asok-if eja eita meidu look house-that first COMP girl-this go take/do what ‘He/she watched that house first (thinking), what would this girl do?’ (8) Eyajga joug montoj rot oida ei i-oideka montoj-uma-o look ADV door concerning COMP hey 2PL-block door-that-PRO ‘He/she noticed the door concerning something (saying), “Hey, you blocked that door!” ’ (9) Aga ofon gij mek oida eska-ib fob hang teeth in pig COMP bite-2SG already ‘He/she ridiculed (her) about the pig (saying), “It already bit you”.’4 A quote complement can also follow an oblique argument, as in (10) and (11). It can also follow items that occur in the main clause periphery, such as the aspectual adverb fob in (7) above and the focus adverb ojgomu in (11) below. Therefore, it could be argued that the complement clause can also be an inner peripheral constituent of the matrix clause.

4 The matrix verb is a complex construction that yields the transitive verb ‘ridicule.’ Complementation 245

(10) Agot gu of oida bi-eja bi-eker jah gu menei ebic say to him/her COMP 2SG-go 2SG-sit toward at banana group ‘He/she said to him/her, “Go wait at the banana grove”.’ (11) Isok-uma odou efei-ei rot esinsa ojgomu oida meranghi guy-that liver RED-liquid concerning 3SG.REF only COMP spirit mei ke-uma em-edi-ei water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU ‘That guy was only worried (lit. liver very liquid) about himself (thinking/saying) that the water spirit would strike him.’ The phrase osok gij ‘jump in’ can be used to express the goal preposition ‘about’. The preposition can also be used to introduce a complement clause when it occurs with the utterance verbs agot ‘say’ and efesij ‘tell’.5 (12) Ri-efesij mar [osoka gij] meidu ecira gij ofa 3PL-tell thing jump in what travel in him ‘They were talking about what happened to him/her.’ (lit. ‘what went into him/her’) (13) Ofa efesij [osok gij rot] tei-enefa ofa ofoka er-eij he/she tell jump in concerning ADV-how he/she name INST-throw keingg ri-osnok ADV 3PL-person ‘He/she told about how he/she bossed people around.’ (lit. ‘throw name out’) A subcategory of utterance verbs is a small set of manipulation verbs, such as obk ‘order/ send’, osos ‘convince’, eradgodu ‘coax’ and oitij ‘agree’. The verbs code a manipulation by one agent of another potential agent (see Givón 1990:518). They are a type of utterance verb in that a speech act seems to be part of the manipulating activity, whether they are expressed as a matrix verb or in a paratactic construction (17). (14) Obk oida bua bi-eja bi-eh mekej order COMP you 2SG-go 2SG-split firewood ‘He/she ordered (saying) that, “You go split some firewood”.’ (15) Obk me-eka jeskeseda eja eh megej order 3SG-father in.order.to go split firewood ‘He/she ordered his/her father to go split firewood.’ (16) Ri-osos oida ri-ororu Yesus rot tenten ojgomu 3PL-convince COMP 3PL-follow Jesus oncerning true only ‘They convinced them (saying) that they should just truly follow Jesus.’ (Meyah New Testament, 1997,The Bible League) (17) Osos rua [jeskaseda] ri-otunggom mar ongga oska ojgomu convince they in.order.to 3PL-make thing REL bad just ‘He/she convinced them to just to bad things.’

5 The Sougb language has a similar construction, with the same limitations, used to introduce complements of an utterance verb (see Reesink 2002:224). 246 Chapter 9

(18) Ge-oitij rot oida iwa i-eker 2/3DU-agree concerning COMP you 2PL-sit ‘They agreed (concerning something) that you could stay.’ (19) Pemerintah oitij rot ocunc memef Desa tein Government agree concerning point us Desa also ‘The Government agreed (concerning something) to appoint us a Desa.’ The complementizer oida can also occur with erek kef ‘like this’ (or ‘thus’) as a focusing device following an utterance verb (20). The Sougb language has the same construction used with utterance/manipulative verbs (21). Meyah (20) Ri-agot [erek kef oida] skoidu mimif mi-eita mar 3PL-say like this COMP okay we 1PL.INC-take/give thing ongga oska ojgomu REL bad just ‘They spoke like this that, “Okay, let’s just do bad things”.’ Sougb (21) Siba arougb me-sowe-r [en dag-ai] ya-gigda ya-(e)ihw-eda Siba order 3SG-wife-PL say like-it 2DU-woman 2DU-go-go sa tu meniha6 at house under ‘Siba ordered his wives saying like this, “You two women go under the house”.’ There are cases when the object of the preposition rot and the complementizer oida are omitted, leaving rot in the position of the complementizer, as in (22). In example (23), the utterance verb and oida are omitted, leaving a coordinating conjunction in the position of the complementizer. The omitted material is shown in brackets. (22) Eyahehir joug mod-if rot [meranghi oida] meidu forbid ADV house-this concerning spirit COMP what bera en-ah gu mod-if-o TOP DUR-lie.down in house-this-PRO ‘He/she rebuked this house (saying), “What is inside this house?” ’ (23) Iturwam ke-uma emesa beda [agot oida] bi-ek Iturwam NOM-that afraid then say COMP 2SG-look ‘That Iturwam person was afraid and then (said), “Look”.’

9.1.2 Mental perception verbs Mental perception verbs express various mental states, such as those listed in (24).7 This type of CTP is distinguished by the type of construction that is used to express them. Most are complex predicates that require the inalienable noun odou ‘liver’ as their subject (see §7.5.1.6).

6 The example is from Reesink (2002:233). 5 This list is not exhaustive. Complementation 247

(24) ‘believe’ odou ororu (liver follow) ‘remember’ odou ah keingg (liver lie.down ADV) ‘forget’ odou ofoj joug (liver flood ADV) ‘understand’ odou ebriyi gij (liver splits in) ‘worry’ odou efeyei (liver very liquidy) ‘desire’ odou os (liver rub) ‘afraid’ odou emesa (liver afraid) ‘agree’ odou oitij (liver agree) Mental perception verbs take oida-marked clauses as their object. The complementizer oida expresses a type of cognitive-utterance act as well, indicated in the English transcription, which illustrates the notion of ‘inner speech’ mentioned earlier. (25) Odou efei-ei oida ojona efen tein liver RED-liquid COMP woman 3SG.POSS also ‘He/she was worried (lit. liver very liquid) (thinking/saying) that the woman also possessed (one).’ (26) Bi-odou os oida memef me-eja jah mekeni 2SG-liver rub COMP we 1PL.EXC-go to garden ‘You want us (thinking/saying) go to the garden.’ (27) Ri-odou emes-mesa oida ri-eja meimojumu 3PL-liver RED-afraid COMP 3PLcome coast ‘They were very afraid (thinking/saying) they had come to the coast.’ (28) Odou ofoj joug oida ri-em-en gij mona insa ke-uma liver flood ADV COMP 3PL-IRR-come in time ANAP NOM-that ‘He/she forgot (thinking/saying) they would come at that time.’ The predicate odou os ‘want’ can occur with another predication without the intervening oida in a serial verb construction (see §7.6.10). Other kinds of mental perception verbs do not occur in verb sequences. (29) Odou os ofij rua rot mar okum insa ke-uma liver rub help they concerning thing heavy ANAP NOM-that ‘He/she wanted to help them concerning that problem.’ Not all mental perceptions verbs need to occur with odou as their subject when they take a complement clause. A small number can occur as simple predicates (30), (31). (30) Me-ejginaga oida ri-osnok ke-uma ri-em-en jah Meikoka 1PL.EXC-know COMP 3PL-person NOM-that 3PL-IRR-come to Meikoka ‘We know (saying) those people intended to come to Meikoka (village).’ (31) Di-osujohu oida mar ke-uma bera erek oska 1SG-think COMP thing NOM-that TOP like bad ‘I think (saying), as for that, it is wrong.’ The absence of oida in a matrix sentence is infrequent. When oida is absent, the matrix verb and the complement verb are juxtaposed. Hence the construction resembles coordination. In this case, the inclusion or lack of a pause between clauses signals whether the structure is one of coordination or complementation, as the comparison between (32) 248 Chapter 9 and (33) illustrates. The omitted conjunctions are shown in brackets. A pause is indicated by a slant line. (32) Rua ri-emesa [jefeda] / ri-eker gu monuh-uma they 3PL-afraid therefore 3PL-sit in place-that ‘They were afraid, (so) they stayed at that village.’ (33) Rua ri-emesa [oida] ri-eker gu monuh-uma they 3PL-afraid COMP 3PL-sit in place-that ‘They were afraid (thinking/saying that) they would stay at that village.’

9.1.3 Physical perception verbs The physical perception verbs ek ‘look/see’, eyajga ‘watch’ and eg ‘hear/smell’ are simple predicates that can take oida-marked clauses as an object argument. They do not have odou ‘liver’ as their subject like the mental perception verbs do in §9.1.2 since they express activities more than states. Yet, the use of oida in the construction also seems to express a cognitive-utterance notion. (34) Mi-ek oida kaju ofojubu orogna fob 1PL.INC-see COMP peanut bud go.out already ‘We see (thinking/saying) that the peanut buds have already sprouted.’ (35) Eg oida ri-osnok ri-ohu mat gij monuh ke-uma hear COMP 3PL-person 3PL-sell food in place NOM-that ‘He/she heard (thinking/saying) that people were selling food in that village.’ (36) Di-eg oida mat insa ke-uma bera otka 1SG-smell COMP food ANAP NOM-that TOP delicious. ‘I can smell (thinking/saying) that the food is delicious.’8 Physical perceptions verbs, more often than other types of CTPs, can take a clausal object argument that is not formally introduced by oida (37)–(39). Hence, the construction does not express a quotation. (37) Mi-ek ri-osnok ri-en-owowa doida 1PL.INC-see 3PL-person 3PL-DUR-arrive close ‘We could see people coming closer.’ (38) Ofa ek morogum ot gu mah he/she see pot stand on fire ‘He/she saw the pot on the fire.’ (39) Bi-ek Iturwam em-en … 2SG-see Iturwam IRR-come ‘You will see Iturwam come …’

9.2 The structure of a complement clause A Meyah complement clause is structurally the same as an independent clause. This is typical of subordinate clauses in Meyah (see §10.3) and it is characteristic of Papuan

8 This example is elicited. Complementation 249 languages in general (see Foley 1986:199). They seem to be mini-discourses by themselves in that they have independent mood and aspect. (40) Osujohu oida di-em-osok mei-inda eja think COMP 1SG-IRR-climb water-above go ‘He/she thinks that I might go up to the river away from here.’ (41) Goga ge-ejginaga rot oida mar ke-uma em-ofij rua 2/3DU 2/3DU-know concerning COMP think NOM-that IRR-help them ‘They two know that that thing will help them.’ (42) Agot oida ei isok insa orokrusa-ma bera-if-i say COMP hey guy ANAP deceive-1DU.EXC TOP-this-PRO ‘He said, “Hey, as for this situation, the guy deceived us!”’ Like a main clause, complement clauses can have their own temporal, spatial and individual reference frames marked by the topicalizer bera (43), (44). (43) Ma-agot gu oida ebeibeyaif bera mi-ojuj 1DU.EXC-say go COMP now TOP 1PL.INCdescend ah meimojumu to coast ‘We told them that, as for now, we have gone down to the coast.’ (44) Ona tein osujohu oida bua bera bi-en jeska ofa male also think COMP you TOP 2SG-come from him ‘The man also thinks that, as for you, you came from him.’

9.3 Position and scope of adverbs In §11.2 I illustrate that, in multi-clausal sentences, the scope of a negative adverb extends only to verbs that are marked by the durative aspect prefix en-. The same holds for sentences with clausal complements. In examples (45) and (46), the scope of the sentence final negative extends to the complement-taking verb and not the subordinate verb. (45) Ri-en-agot oida ri-ahta oboku erek moitku guru 3PL-DUR-say COMP 3PL-black dark like soot NEG ‘They did not say that they were dark black like soot.’ (46) Ri-odou en-ororu oida osnok egens ke-uma efen eiteij 3PL-liver DUR-follow COMP person one NOM-that 3SG.POSS eye ongga ofou guru REL blind NEG ‘They didn’t believe that the person was blind.’ (Meyah New Testament 1997, The Bible League) When the subordinate verb is negated, it is marked by en-, hence it falls under the scope of the sentence-final negative (47), (48). (47) Agot joug-ir oida i-en-ebisa guru say ADV-3PL COMP 2PL-DUR-cry NEG ‘He/she rebuked them (saying), “Don’t cry!”’ 250 Chapter 9

(48) Ge-agot oida montoj bi-en-agot nagif guru 2/3DU-say COMP door 2SG-DUR-say 2/3DU NEG ‘They said, “Door, don’t speak (lit. be talking) to us”.’ Aspectual adverbs occur as the last item in a clause, thus their scope only covers one predication in a multi-clausal sentence (see §7.7.6). The same holds for sentences with a clausal complement. Aspectual adverbs occur either at the end of the matrix clause (49) or at the end of the complement clause (50). (49) Ofa ejginaga fob oida mei bera oufamofa nou ofos he/she know already COMP water TOP good for skin ‘He/she already knows that, as for the water, it is good for his/her skin.’ (50) Agot oida me-edeina Imnyena ororu fob say COMP 3SG-uncle Imnyena follow already ‘He/she said that his/her uncle Imnyena had already followed.’ 10 Clause conjoining

10.0 Introduction In dealing with clauses up to this point, I showed in Chapter 7 that a simple clause is a unit that consists of a predicate, its core arguments and its non-core arguments; and that complex sentences are made up of clauses. We also saw in §7.6 that two verbs can combine to form a complex predicate that heads a single clause. In §7.6.7 I explained that a second verb in a clause could also have an adverbial function. I now turn to the ways that Meyah conjoins clauses to form complex sentences. Clauses can be conjoined in two ways. One way is through juxtaposition with no overt conjunction. The semantic relationship between clauses is inferred (§10.1). The other way is with the use of an overt conjunction. The types of conjunctions that Meyah uses shows the gradient, addition – sequence – cause – reason – result – purpose. Clauses linked by the addition and sequence conjunctions are coordinate structures in that the conjunctions link two clauses of equal syntactic status (§10.2). The other four clause types are adverbial clauses that modify a main clause (§10.3). However, sentences containing adverbial clauses also resemble coordinate structures in a number of ways. Because most of the examples of clause conjoining are taken from transcribed oral texts, the discussion will deal mostly with spontaneous spoken language.

10.1 Conjoining through juxtaposition Traditionally, the notion of parataxis has been limited to the juxtaposition of sentences without an explicit conjunction. The relationship between the two is inferred (see Hopper and Traugott 1993:172ff.).1 In this section, I follow Lehmann’s (1988:182) definition of parataxis as simply being the coordination of clauses. It can be syndetic or asyndetic. It is somewhat common in Meyah oral texts to find paratactic sentences that are coordinated without the use of a conjunction. Falling intonation and a pause, which can last from one second to several seconds, marks the boundary between the clausal constituents. It should be mentioned at this point that serial verbs are also formed through asyndetic coordination, but without a pause between the verbs. They combine to form a single complex predicate. The morphological and phonological properties that distinguish serial verb constructions from parataxis are given in §7.6.

1 Hopper and Traugott do distinguish between juxtaposed clauses with intonation and different subject marking. 251 252 Chapter 10

Payne (1985:25) states that coordination through juxtaposition is a strategy available to probably all languages, but that it is often stylistically marked. Chafe (1985) shows that in oral language, as opposed to written language, various devices are used to control information flow, which contributes to rapid speech. One common device is the omission of conjunctions. Conjunctions are easily omitted when the relationship represented by the conjunction is obvious. The lack of an overt conjunction seems to be a feature of orality in Meyah, since writers make greater use of overt conjunctions than speakers do. The sequential conjunctions noba ‘and’ and beda ‘then’ (§10.2.1.1–2) are the most easily inferred in that sequential events are usually clear enough without the use of the conjunctions.2 Examples (1) to (4) show short sentences giving a series of loosely connected sequential events. The possible conjunctions that could occur in these constructions are shown in brackets. Pauses that mark the boundary of a prosodic sentence are indicated by a slant line. (1) Mahteyi ongga eker sis fob bera en-otunggom mega / ancient REL sit before already TOP DUR-make tree [noba] en-otunggom mei and DUR-make river ‘The ancient one, who already existed before, made the trees (and) made the rivers.’ (2) Didif di-em-eja jah Munukwar / [noba] bua bi-eker-if I 1SG-IRR-go to Manokwari and you 2SG-sit-here ‘I am going to Manokwari and you stay here.’ (3) Mebi ebga rot isok-uma / [beda] eja gu meren ground split concerning guy-that then go to lake efei-imba eja. liquid-below go. ‘The ground split open underneath that guy. (Then) he went away to the lakeshore below.’ (4) Beda isok-uma otoij / [beda] eyajga tina ogufu en-otkinaja jah sif then guy-that follow then look but blood DUR-spill to here ‘Then the guy followed (the pig). (Then) he looked, but its blood was flowing right here.’ Conjunctions that specify reason, purpose and result relations may also be absent, but they have a higher frequency of explicit use in comparison to addition and sequence conjunctions. Still, there must be ways in which those semantic relations can also be understood. Discussing coordination through juxtaposition, Lang (1984:83) explains that, ‘[t]he complete sentence conjunct (i.e. conjoined elements) is processed first and hence available as presupposed information in the processing of the second conjunct, which in turn makes it the interpretation of the second conjunct’. In Meyah action always precedes

2 Even though Meyah has asyndetic coordination, the overt use of conjunctions, particularly ‘and’ and ‘then’ in oral texts seems to be greater than other Papuan languages of the Bird’s Head. In Tehit, Moi, Maybrat, Abun and Mpur (see Reesink 2000b) it appears that those conjunctive relations are mostly inferred in oral texts. Clause conjoining 253 reason and cause always precedes effect. Hence, the order of events helps to specify the relationship between two juxtaposed clauses. In example (5) the event expressed in the first clause is carried out due to a realized event expressed in the second clause. The second clause provides the reason for the first, so a ‘reason’ relationship is inferred. If interpreted as a temporal sequence of events, the conjoined clauses would be in a reverse order, since sequential events must be stated in chronological order (see §10.2.1.2 on beda). (5) Me-eita mahwekeni gu ongga ri-en ri-agob-ir / 1PL.EXC-give cloth to REL 3PL-come 3PL-strike-3PL [jeska] mosona Awam ni mosmei-ir rua because foreigner Awam and coastal.person-PL they ri-em-agob-ma neka 3PL-RECIP-strike-RECIP yesterday ‘We gave eastern cloth3 to (the families of those) whom they had come and killed, (because) earlier the foreigner Awam had fought with the coastal people.’ In example (6), the first clause expresses a command. The second clause expresses an outcome. Hence, a causal relationship is inferred. (6) Bi-ohoda montoj / bi-ohoda montoj / [jefeda] Isok-uma edebecki 2SG-open door 2SG-open door therefore guy-that rise beda / ohoda montoj jeska then open door from ‘(He/she yelled), “Open the door, open the door”. (So) that guy got up and then opened the door.’ The motivating event in the second clause in (7), stemming from a cause event in the first clause, has not been realized, so the purpose relation ‘in order to’ is inferred. (7) Ge-en-agot mar eferatefa guru / [jeskaseda] en-ah 2/3DU-DUR-say thing painful NEG in.order.to DUR-lie.down gij mar ongga ge-agot guru in thing REL 2/3DUspeak NEG ‘Do not say hurtful things so that he/she does not hold that against you.’ (lit. ‘remain in it’) Clauses that express parallel events do not require the use of conjunctions. They are coordinated through juxtaposition (8), (9). (8) Di-ohoturu goga ge-odou efesi / di-ejeka ge-odou efesi 1SG-gather 2/3DU 2/3DU-liver inside 1SG-ask 2/3DU-liver inside ‘I gather their thoughts (lit. ‘gather their livers’). I question them.’ (9) Ineisudga eker gu efen Ineisudga Ofog-inda / ofa eker gu esinsa Ineisudga sit at 3SG.POSS Ineisudga Ofog-above he sit at himself ‘Ineisudga lived in his area above called Ineisudga Ofog. He lived alone.’

3 Equivalent of ‘kain timor’ in Indonesian. 254 Chapter 10

Chafe (1988:25) also points out that when conjunctions are omitted, the context of the conjoined clauses and the ability of the speaker to supplement words with prosody and gestures help to make the connections between ideas more apparent. Ong (1982)4 also asserts that the relationship between clauses has to be inferred on the basis of context, because the range of conjunctive meanings of a coordinate structure in its specified context is limited. An examination of Meyah sentences involving asyndetic coordination in oral texts shows that speakers mostly omit the simple conjunctions ‘then’ and ‘and’, although other kinds can also be omitted. The semantic relation between the conjuncts is understood on the basis of the iconic order of temporal sequencing, presupposed information from the first conjunct, and context.

10.2 Conjoining with linking devices A second way that Meyah conjoins clauses is through the use of conjunctions. Schachter (1985:46) defines conjunctions as words that are used to connect other words, phrases or clauses. Historically, Meyah conjunctions are polymorphemic forms derived from phrasal structures, as conjunctions are in many languages (see Hopper and Traugott 1993:177). The conjunctions form part of the intonation unit that they introduce. Having preposed conjunctions is an expected feature of vo languages like Meyah. The clause conjunctions, for the most part, cannot be used to coordinate other constituents, such as noun phrases and adjectives. As will be seen throughout this section, conjunctions are both cataphoric and anaphoric. The first clause anticipates an event in the second and the second clause is grounded in an antecedent event (see Givón 1990:827). A complete list of conjunctions and a description of their morphological properties is given in §4.7. Two types of conjunctions are identified mostly on semantic and logical grounds. The first type is used to link sentence conjuncts of equal syntactic status. Those include conjunctions used for sequencing (§10.2.1) and conjunctions used for contrasting (§10.2.2). The second type is used to mark one clause as an adverbial modifier of another, indicating time, manner, reason, purpose and result relations (§10.3). A third type found in many languages is a conditional conjunction. Meyah lacks clear conditional conjunctions, although its Hatam and Sougb neighbors do have items that function as such (see §10.2.1.2.1). In Meyah, conditionals are expressed by means of syndetic coordination, with the protasis generally unmarked in any way and the apodosis introduced by a sequential or contrastive conjunction.5 Hence, conditionals will be discussed with the sequential conjunctions that introduce them.

10.2.1 Sequencing conjunctions 10.2.1.1 Addition noba There are two basic kinds of conjunctions that signal sequencing. The first to be discussed is the conjunction noba ‘and’. Some languages, like English, use the conjunction ‘and’ to coordinate a number of constituents, such as noun phrases, adjectives and verb phrases. Many languages in eastern Indonesia also allow this flexibility with the use of ‘and’.6 In

4 As quoted in de Vries (2000). 5 Meyah is beginning to use erek ‘if’ for the protasis as a calque on the Indonesian kalau ‘if’ (see §10.2.1.2.1). 6 See for example, Buru (Grimes 1991), Tetun (van Klinken 1999) and Tidore (van Straden 2000). Clause conjoining 255

Meyah, noba is only used to coordinate clauses of equal status. A similar restriction seems to apply to other East Bird’s Head languages, as well. The examples below show the use of noba coordinating clauses with the same subjects in (10) and (11), as well as clauses with different subjects in (12) and (13). (10) En-et mat guru noba eker erek ke-uma ojgomu DUR-eat food NEG and sit like NOM-that just ‘He/she didn’t eat food and he/she just sat there.’ (11) Oina marska rot efeji noba oina ogufu tein cook meat concerning fur and cook blood too ‘He/she cooked the meat with the fur and cooked the blood, too.’ (12) Mek insa osoka gij meren efei noba isok ke-uma esaga pig ANAP jump in lake liquid and guy NOM-that arrived gu meren efembra at lake edge ‘The pig jumped into the lake and that guy arrived at the lakeshore.’ (13) Rua ri-eker noba ofa of montoj they 3PL-sit and he/she close door ‘They sat down and he/she closed the door.’ Because noba coordinates clauses or sentences of equal status, either clause could occur as the first one. Thus, perhaps a better English translation for noba would be ‘in addition’, since the speaker uses noba to add additional information. Although a survey of the use of noba in text corpus verifies this, some examples of noba linking events that more clearly occur in chronological order are also found. Examples of this usage are given in (14) through (16). Nonetheless, the meaning of noba in those cases could also be interpreted as ‘in addition’. (14) Mek esma gu mebi noba edebecki sons pig fall to ground and rise return ‘The pig fell to the ground and it got back up.’ (15) Ri-okub mekeni noba ri-eja jah mod 3PL-burn garden and 3PLgo to house ‘They burned the garden and they went home.’ (16) Erefa mebeti efej jah noba eja jeska plant pumpkin seed at and go from ‘He/she planted pumpkin at (the garden) and went away.’ The conjunction noba can be used twice to introduce a sequence of three events. No more than three noba sequences are attested in texts. (17) Erefa mebeti efej jah noba eja jeska noba okub mah plant pumpkin seed at and go from and burn fire ‘He/she planted pumpkin at (the garden) and left and made a fire.’ (18) Beda ofa edebecki noba osmo efej noba eja fob then he/she rise and cook root and go already ‘Then he/she got up and cooked (cassava) roots and left.’ 256 Chapter 10

An obligatory durative aspect prefix on the verb indicates which ones fall under the scope of a negative adverb (see §11.2). As a result of that, we can tell in example (19) that the conjunction noba can occur between two negated predicates and their arguments. This demonstrates that noba, along with a pause, indicates the boundary between two negative sentences. (19) Mi-en-os moksu efesi doska guru / noba moksu 1PL.INC-DUR-sweep trench inside very NEG and trench efesi insa ke-uma tein en-ah yes doska guru inside ANAP NOM-that also DUR-lie.down far very NEG ‘We don’t sweep the inside of the trench strongly. And that trench is not very far away.’ Examples (20) and (21) show noba linking negative sentences with affirmative sentences. (20) Ri-en-oga oruh memef rot guru / noba 3PL-DUR-voice slander us concerning NEG and ri-oitij oida mimif mi-eker 3PL-agree COMP we 1PL.INC-sit ‘They did not slander us. And they agreed that we could stay.’ (21) Eja ojgomu / noba en-eisisi me-eyesa fog guru go only and DUR-advise 3SG-sibling first NEG ‘He just left. And he did not advise his siblings first.’ The conjunction ni is an enumerator used to link noun phrases when more than two noun phrases are listed (see §5.5). There are a small number of examples from texts that show ni linking clause sequences of equal status as noba does when they are expressed as a list of activities. However, ni is phonologically part of the first conjunct, whereas noba, as other conjunctions, is phonologically part of the second conjunct. The Maybrat language also uses an enumerator to conjoin two clauses (see Dol 1999:260). (22) Ri-eka mega ofot gij ri-osum ni / ri-edis mem neda 3PL-smear tree sap in 3PL-face and 3PL-stick bird cockatoo efeji tumu ri-ebirfaga ni / ri-esa merfej tumu ri-ougoj ni feather on 3PL-body and 3PL-spear bead on 3PL-throat and ‘They smeared tree sap on their faces and stuck cockatoo feathers on their bodies and threaded beads around their necks.’ (23) Memef me-ef mar ni / me-okub mar ni / we 1PL.EXCshoot thing and 1PL.EXCburn thing and me-era meiteb jera me-era mocong me-er-ef 1PL.EXC-use machete with 1PL.EXC-use arrow 1PL.EXC-INST-shoot ge-egeka ni 2/3DU-two and ‘We shot things (with arrows) and we burned things and we used machetes and we shot those two people with arrows.’ Clause conjoining 257

The preposition jera is commonly used to indicate accompaniment (see §6.2.4). There are also some examples in natural texts that show jera functioning like noba as an addition conjunction, as in examples (24) and (25). With this usage, jera could be translated into English as, ‘as well as’. (24) Ri-oina mat jera ri-ej ojgomu 3PL-cook food with 3PL-drink only ‘They just prepared food, as well as drank (something).’ (25) Ofa bera otunggom mei ke-uma jera otunggom memaga he/she TOP make water NOM-that with make mountain ke-uma sis fob NOM-that before already ‘He/she is the one who made that water, as well as made those hills, during an earlier time.’

10.2.1.2 Succession beda The conjunction beda ‘and then’ indicates a temporal connection between clauses. The most common usage is to link successive events. Therefore, the order of clauses within the sentence cannot be reversed, as they can when linked by noba (§10.2.1.1). (26) Mi-aha gij mei erek menit setka ojoros menit setka egeka 1PL.INC-put in water like minute ten until minute ten two fog beda erek eyej-yej adaij nou first then like RED-wet enough for ‘First we put (the bowstring) in water for about ten to twenty minutes and then it will be soaked enough (to string).’ (27) Okub mek beda agos shoot pig then die ‘He/she shot the pig and then it died.’ (28) Marfeni insa en beda oskotu Ejamos Marfeni ANAP come then grip Ejamos ‘That Marfeni person came and then he gripped Ejamos.’

10.2.1.2.1 Irrealis conditional Irrealis conditionals imply that an event in the main clause will take place if a hypothetical condition expressed in an initial clause is met. They express futurity, thus they are irrealis (see Givón 1990:829). Some languages overtly mark the protasis with the equivalent of the English ‘if’ and the apodosis with ‘then’. Of the East Bird’s Head languages, Sougb uses the preposition sug ‘at’ to mark the protasis and kaba ‘then’ to mark the apodosis (Reesink 2002a:254). The equivalent in Hatam is the nominalizer gi and the conjunction lene ‘then’ (Reesink 1999:129). Meyah lacks material to mark the protasis. The apodosis is introduced by beda ‘then’. The conditional relation between the two conjuncts is inferred. Hence, the construction is more coordinate than subordinate. Conditional clauses express topics (see Haiman 1978), thus they occur sentence-initially. 258 Chapter 10

(29) Asok-if eyajga ri-osnok egema beda em-ah jah gu girl-this see 3PL-person other then IRR-lie.down to at mod mer efesi house room inside ‘If that girl sees other people, then she will go and remain at the house.’ (30) Mi-oira beda juens odou os agei mifmin mi-efena 1PL.INC-enter then once liver rub grab 1PL.INC.POSS 1PL.INC-spirit ‘If we go in, then in a moment it will want to grab our spirit.’ (31) Mimif mi-et mar ongga erek mebeti ofom beda we 1PL.INCeat thing REL like vegetable ripe then Amerera osok mimif Amerera climb us ‘If we ate things like ripe vegetables, then (the spirit) Amerera would assault us.’ Some languages morphologically distinguish between an ‘if-clause’ and a ‘when- clause’. Meyah makes no such distinction. For both types, the conditional clause simply expresses an irrealis temporal frame. Either kind of conditional can be the interpretation of example (32), so context is necessary to reveal the correct interpretation. (32) Mei em-en gij fob beda mei os ofom water IRR-come in already then water flatten rip ‘If/when the water comes, then the water will flatten the ripe (ones).’ Negative conditionals are similar to ordinary irrealis conditionals that make use of beda, except that a negative adverb negates the verb in the initial clause. The main clause can be a negative (33) or an affirmative clause (34). (33) Tina mimif mi-en-et ke-uma guru beda en-eita oska but we 1PL.INC-DUR-eat NOM-that NEG then DUR-give bad gu mimif guru to us NEG ‘But if we don’t eat that, then (the spirit) won’t do bad things to us.’ (34) Ebe-jadi guru beda eij rua gu merembrah LOAN-happen NEG then throw them to forest ‘If that doesn’t happen, then he/she will throw them into the forest.’ There are a small number of examples found in texts in which Meyah uses the equative linker erek ‘like’ to mark the protasis of an irrealis conditional. This use of erek most likely represents a borrowed structure reflecting the Indonesian kalau ‘if’, used for the same purpose. Some other languages in the wider region, such as Tetun7 and Tidore,8 also lack material to mark the protasis, but make use of the Eastern Indonesian Malay kalau to introduce an irrealis conditional clause.9 Standard Indonesian does not generally mark the apodosis as Meyah does (37). I have occasionally heard Indonesian speakers use lalu or jadi ‘subsequently’ to mark the apodosis. This could be a calque on local languages.

7 See van Klinken (1999:312). 8 See van Staden (2000:284). 9 For the classification of Eastern Indonesian Malay see Adelaar and Prentice (1996) and Gravelle (2004). Clause conjoining 259

(35) Erek ocunc gu ri-oforoka-ir tein beda rua tein ri-odou like point.out to 3PL-child-PL also then they also 3PL-liver em-ah keingg IRR-lie.down ADV ‘If you point it out to the children, then they will also remember.’ (36) Erek ofa oisum gij jefeda meiteb ah tumu meyaga like he/she hope in therefore machete lie.down on bamboo ‘If he/she hopes/believes, therefore the machete will stay in the bamboo.’ (37) Kalau hal itu jadi kamu yang bertanggung if situation that happen you REL responsible ‘If that happens, you are the one that is responsible.’

10.2.1.2.2 Gap filler Sometimes a long pause can occur following the first clause when the speaker hesitates in order to think about what to say next. This creates a speech ‘gap’. In this case, the conjunction beda ‘then’ is commonly used as a gap filler. It signals to the hearer that there is more to come. When beda is used as a gap filler, it usually reduces to da. A pause following beda marks the boundary between the conjoined clauses. (38) Me-en jeska Meirenkei (be)da / me-eja skoita Marisian 1PL.EXC-come from Meirenkei then 1PL.EXCgo to Marisian ‘We came from Meirenkei and then we went towards Marisian.’ (39) Ri-era mocong (be)da / ri-em-er-ef mosona mosugwa 3PL-use arrow then 3PL-IRR-INST-shoot foreign reed efei-ir ke-uma liquid-PL NOM-that ‘They would use arrows, resulting in the shooting of those foreign coastal people.’ (lit. ‘those coastal reeds’) (40) Asok-uma eja (be)da / ej-esaga erek-inda girl-that go then INCEP-arrive like-above ‘That girl left then began to arrive above.’

10.2.1.3 Simultaneous askesi The conjunction askesi ‘while’ signals that two events are occurring at the same time. The event introduced by askesi provides a temporal setting for the event in the clause that follows. As mentioned in §7.7.1, temporal adverbials can occur before a clause or following a clause. (41) Askesi mi-en-ej-era mofombra efej jeska beda while 1PL.INC-DUR-INCEP-pull grass blades from then mi-esin mebi keingg tein 1PL.INC-poke ground ADV also ‘When we are pulling out the weeds, then we should also press the dirt down.’ 260 Chapter 10

(42) Askesi ofa ah jah beda mar ke-uma em-oira gij while he/she lie.down at then thing NOM-that IRR-enter in efen awesi 3SG.POSS mouth ‘While he/she is sleeping, then that thing will enter his/her mouth.’ (43) Didif di-efesij mar rot monuh Munukwar ongga I 1SG-tell thing concerning place Manokwari REL ecira askesi ohoda travel while open ‘I am talking about that which was happening in Manokwari village at the time that it was growing.’ (lit. ‘opening’) (44) Ke-uma em-orogna askesi ri-efena ebah ros NOM-that IRR-go.out while 3PL-spirit raw still ‘That would happen while they were still alive.’ (lit. ‘spirit still raw’)

10.2.2 Contrasting conjunctions 10.2.2.1 Disjunction era The coordinator era ‘or’ indicates a contrastive choice between noun phrases (see §5.5). It can also be used to signal a contrastive choice between clauses. The item is homophonous with the verb era ‘use’: (45) Saibis ah gu ofoksu mei Kairon era ois ofoksu Saibin Saibis lie.down at harbor river Kairon or call harbor Saibin ‘Saibis lived at Kairon river harbor, or he called it Saibin harbor.’ (46) Meranghi mei ke-uma em-edi-ei era em-agob-ei spirit water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU or IRR-strike-QU ‘Will that water spirit hit/assault (me) or strike/kill (me)?’ (47) Kinomu osk aki rot-ib-ei era bi-ogodu fogora Kinomu reach foot concerning-2SG-QU or 2SG-ponder cause bi-en-eja ecka fob 2SG-DUR-go two.days.ago already ‘Did Kinomu trip you up (lit. reach foot at you), or what were you thinking that resulted in you being gone for two days?’

10.2.2.2 Adversative tina In languages like English, adversative conjunctions serve a variety of functions besides basic antithetical contrast (see Payne 1985:8). Meyah has only one adversative conjunction, which is tina ‘but’. However, the conjunction can be used to signal different kinds of contrastive relations. The first to be discussed is the most common function, which is to mark a simple antithetical relationship between two clauses: (48) Ef-esa eja tina me-osu eker 3SG-child go but 3SG-mother sit ‘The child left, but the mother remained.’ Clause conjoining 261

(49) Warmoda ot rot tina Mosudga osok-imba en Warmoda stand concerning but Mosudga climb-below come ‘Warmoda waited, but Mosudga traveled downward coming towards (some place).’

10.2.2.2.1 Counter expectation A second use of tina is to indicate counter expectation. There are two ways that tina is used to accomplish that. First, tina occurs as a simple conjunction expressing ‘surprise’, in that a situation occurs that was not anticipated: (50) Pemerintah eyajga tina mefmen mod mefmen government look but 1PL.EXC.POSS house 1PL.EXC.POSS mekeni fob garden already ‘The government looked (at our village), but (were surprised to see that) we already had houses and gardens.’ (51) Di-otkutkuma ecka rahah tenten tina mocgoj esiri 1SG-hunt two.days.ago morning true but fog fall ‘I was hunting early in the morning two days ago, but (to my surprise) it became foggy.’ A second way that tina expresses counter expectation is when it links the preceding clause with the utterance guru ‘no’. Counter expectation clauses like tina guru ‘but no’ are not uncommon among Papuan languages (e.g. Alamblak (Bruce 1984)). Evidence for this use of tina is also found with the mood mark i, which expresses frustration or complaining (see §11.5.2). It often occurs on the negative guru in this kind of conjoined structure, as seen in (58). (52) Ohoda jendela fogora em-ek ef-esa agos tina guru open window cause IRR-see 3SG-child die but NEG ‘He/she opened the window to be able to see if his/her child dead, but no (he/she was alive).’ (53) Ot nou mocgoj tina guru jefeda okub mekeni-uma stand for fog but no therefore burn garden-that ‘He/she waited for the cloudy weather, but no (it didn’t rain), so he/she burned the garden.’ (54) Agot oida bua bi-oksons jah bebin bi-ojga tina guru say COMP you 2SG-return to 2SG.POSS 2SG-origin but NEG ‘He/she said, “Go back to your place of origin, but no” (he/she didn’t go back).’ (55) Bebin egema noba dedin egema tina guru-i 2SG.POSS some and 1SG.POSS some but NEG-PRO ‘(He said), “You keep some and I will keep some”, but no! (he took them all).’ Because of the nature of contrast, the number of contrastive conjuncts in a sentence is often limited to two in languages (see Payne 1985:6). In Meyah tina can occur twice in a complex sentence linking three conjuncts if the second tina combines with guru (56)–(58). 262 Chapter 10

(56) Beda ah noba ageya gu tina ej tina guru-i then lie.down and scoop to but drink but NEG-PRO ‘Then he/she laid down and scooped (water), (assuming) she could drink it, but no (it was bad).’ (57) Eyajga tina Insirina ot nou tina guru look but Insirina stand for but NEG ‘He/she was watching, but Insirina stood to (look back), but no (he didn’t see him/her).’ (58) Ot tina agosuit tina guru stand but yell but NEG ‘He/she stood, but yelled, but no (nobody heard).’

10.2.2.2.2 Counterfactual Givón (1990:831) notes that the difference between an irrealis conditional (§10.2.1.2.1) and a counterfactual conditional is that a truth value is pending in the former, where as it is firm and negative in the latter. Meyah does not morphologically distinguish between irrealis conditionals and counterfactual conditionals, as some languages do. One possible way that a counterfactual can be signaled is through a syntactic strategy whereby the adversative phrase tina guru ‘but no’ is used in an irrealis conditional construction. The protasis is negative and the apodosis is irrealis. (59) Doreri-ir ri-en-eker gij. Tina guru beda Meyah-ir ri-em-edi rua Doreri-PL 3PL-DUR-sit in but NEG then Meyah-PL 3PL-IRR-hit them ‘The Doreri people were living in (that place). But if they had not (been living in that place), then the Meyah would have attacked them.’ (60) Di-ebe-urus oufa-mofa. Tina guru beda di-eita kumfan 1SG-LOAN-take.care RED-good but NEG then 1SG-give money ribu cinja erfens thousand five seven ‘I took very good care of (those things). But if I had not (taken good care of things), then I would have had to pay fifty seven thousand (rupiah).’

10.2.2.2.3 Concessive conditional We saw in §10.2.1.2.1 that Meyah does not mark the protasis of conditionals. Instead, conditionals are expressed in coordinating constructions. Concessive conditionals signal relations between clauses that are equivalent to the English ‘even though’, or ‘even if’. In Meyah, the relationship is marked by the adversative tina ‘but’. The construction is similar to the counter expectation clauses discussed in §10.2.2.2.1. (61) Ri-osnok nomnaga ri-en-en jah Indog Efej enesi tina 3PL-person all 3PL-DUR-come to Indog Efej NEG but Yusuf jera didif bera ma-esinsa ma-en Yusuf with me TOP 1DU.EXC-EMF 1DU.EXC-come ‘Even though all the people had not come to Indog Efej yet, Yusuf and I alone came.’ Clause conjoining 263

(62) Me-ef mekeni beda me-erefa marsi me-ah 1PL.EXC-work garden then 1PL.EXC-plant seed 1PL.EXC-lie.down si-uma tina me-ois me-ojga fob NOM-there but 1PL.EXC-call 1PL.EXC-origin already ‘Even though we were making (new) gardens, then planting seeds, living there, we called it our place of origin.’ (63) Insar agot erek ke-uma tina ge-esiri keingg noba Insar say like NOM-that but 2/3DUfall ADV and ge-agob Insar 2/3DU-strike Insar ‘Even though Insar said that, they assaulted and killed Insar.’

10.2.2.2.4 Preventative Payne (1985:13) shows how the adversative ‘but’ can be used as a preventative conjunction in some languages. This is accomplished when ‘but’ conjoins a hypothetical situation expressed in one clause that is not carried out because of a real situation expressed in another clause. This use of tina in Meyah also seems to be possible (64), (65). (64) Ri-eja jah mekeni deika tina ofa agot oida guru 3PL-go to garden again but he/she say COMP NEG ‘They (would) go to the garden again, but he/she said no.’ (65) Me-osu odou os ofij ofa tina odou en-ejginaga 3SG-mother liver rub help him/her but liver DUR-know rot tei-enefa guru concerning ADV-how NEG ‘His/her mother wanted to help him/her, but she didn’t know how to.’ Examples (66) and (67) show how tina indicates tentativeness or tension on the part of the main actor. Compare these examples with (68), which shows a more typical use of tina as an antithetical conjunction. (66) Oina mat beda oh gu tina en-et mat guru-ei cook food then hand.over to but DUR-eat food NEG-QU ‘He/she cooked some food and handed it over to (her), but she might not eat it.’ (67) Ec aki gij tina em-eyejkita stick foot in but IRR-cold ‘He/she stuck his/her foot in (the water), but the water might be cold.’ (68) Ec aki gij tina eyejkita stick foot in but cold ‘He/she stuck his/her foot in (the water), but it was cold.’

10.3 Adverbial clauses Three types of subordinate clauses can be identified in Meyah. There are clauses that function as object arguments of a verb, called complements. There are clauses used to 264 Chapter 10 modify a noun phrase, called relative clauses. And, there are clauses that modify a verb or an entire sentence, called adverbial clauses. With most languages, the degree of clause embedding ranges from a tightly integrated structure to a loosely integrated structure. With Meyah, complement clauses and relative clauses are of the more tightly integrated kind in that they form part of the argument structure of a main verb and they fall under the intonation contour of the larger unit. That, plus a few other characteristics, differentiates them from a conjoined structure. Hence, they are discussed separately in Chapters 8 and 9, respectively. Meyah adverbial clauses signal reason, purpose, result, cause, condition and manner. They also signal time. They are more loosely integrated in that they occur in the margin of a main clause and form separate intonation units (see Foley and Van Valin 1984; Longacre 1985). Their position in relation to the main clause depends on the type of adverbial clause. Time adverbials and conditionals occur before the main clause and serve a topical function. The causal adverbials reason, purpose and result, occur following the main clause. They provide background information for the main clause.10 All of these clause types are traditionally referred to as subordinate clauses in literature. Yet in Meyah, there is very little in the way of syntax or morphology that distinguishes adverbial clauses as being subordinate.11 Instead, they resemble independent clauses in a number of ways. Firstly, they can express their own aspect and mode and can be negated independently. Secondly, as mentioned in §10.1, a conjunction may not even be required, making the difference between dependency relations purely semantic. Thirdly, conditionals are expressed as coordinate structures, having only a sequence conjunction to mark the apodosis. Sentences containing adverbial clauses are thus more grammatically coordinate than they are subordinate, hence their inclusion in this chapter on clause conjoining.

10.3.1 Reason/purpose/result clauses Reason and purpose clauses provide explanations on the cause of an event or action in an antecedent clause. Thus, many languages use the same morpheme to mark reason and purpose clauses (see Thompson and Longacre 1985:185). The Meyah conjunctions that introduce reason, purpose and result clauses perform the same aforementioned function. Therefore, it is not surprising that the conjunctions all derive their form from the same item, which is the source preposition jeska ‘from’ (see §6.2.2). However, there are subtle semantic differences that differentiate the conjunctions from one another. Those differences will be discussed in this section. In the following discussion, a lower case x and y are sometimes used to refer to clauses/sentences.

10.3.1.1 Reason jeska The use of a source preposition to mark a reason clause is common among languages, including the East Bird’s Head languages. In Meyah, when jeska ‘because’ takes a whole clause as its object, it expresses the speaker’s interpretation of a ‘reason’ relationship between two events. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that jeska coordinates a response clause following a question clause that may contain the phrase rot meidu ‘for what’.

10 According to Foley (1986:201), subordinate clauses in Papuan languages always function to background given information. That is the function, specifically, of adverbial clauses and relative clauses. 11 The problems with the traditional notion of subordination have been addressed in Haiman and Thompson (1984), Lehmann (1988) and Givon (1990), among others. Clause conjoining 265

(69) Eja ok mat deika jeska ojaga efen me-eyesa em-en. go carry food again because woman 3SG.POSS 3SG-sibling IRR-come ‘He/she went to get more food, because the woman’s younger brother would be coming.’ (70) Ge-aha mosom tumu mega ke-uma jeska di-eg ri-ois 2/3DU-put axe on tree NOM-that because 1SG-hear 3PL-call goga oida … 2/3DU COMP ‘They put the axe on the tree, because I heard them call out to them saying …’ (71) Beda eja jeska oina mat efej fob then go because cook food ripe already ‘Then he/she left, because he/she had already cooked the produce.’ As examples (72)–(74) show, the reason clause is the second clause introduced by jeska. There are also constructions in which the clause introduced by jeska precedes rather than follows the main clause. In this order the main clause is obligatorily introduced by the temporal sequence conjunction beda ‘then’. Lehmann (1988:188) explains that subordinate clauses, irrespective of their order freedom, have a topical function when they occur at the left margin of the higher clause.12 In Meyah, the sentence-initial position, where the subject occurs, identifies the topic (see §7.2). Hence, placing a reason clause in the sentence-initial position marks it as topical. (72) Jeska ge-aha di-enggen beda di-osuru-ru because 2/3DUput 1SG-umbilical.cord then 1SG-RED-insane rot goga concerning 2/3DU ‘Because they put my umbilical cord (somewhere), I became insanely angry with them.’ (73) Jeska mei en gij fob beda mat ofom because water come in already then food ripe ‘Because water flowed into it already (i.e. already watered the plant), the food was able to ripen.’ (74) Jeska di-ejmeg tein okora fob beda ge-ojaga-irga because 1SG-back also hurt already then 2/3DU-woman-2/3DU insa ge-agot oida … ANAP 2/3DU-say that ‘Because my back was also already sore, the two woman said …’ The Testega dialect of Meyah, which borders Sougb, uses the preposition rotai ‘because’ instead of the source preposition jeska to introduce a reason clause. The ai of rot- ai probably corresponds to Sougb an-ai ‘because’, which Reesink suggests is the compound ‘with respect to this’.13 Hence Meyah rotai ‘because’ is probably from the phrase ‘concerning this’.

12 This is also supported by Givon (1990:845), and alluded to by Thompson and Longacre (1985). 13 See Reesink (2002a:245). 266 Chapter 10

(75) Rua ri-ororu bua rotai bua bi-ei mod rot rua ri-nomaga they 3PL-follow you because you 2SG-build house for they 3PL-all ‘They followed you because you built houses for all of them.’

10.3.1.2 Purpose jeskaseda The conjunction jeskaseda ‘in order to/so that’ marks a clause as a motivating event that is not realized at the time of the event in the main clause. Compare this function to that of jeska ‘because’, which marks a clause as a motivating event that can be realized at the time of the main event. The conjunction jeskaseda appears to be a reduction of a phrase involving jeska ‘because’ and beda ‘then’, as in ‘because of x then y’. The origin of the word-medial consonant /s/ in the conjunction is not clear. (76) Oskotu mohona etma jeskaseda oksons grip wife arm in.order.to return ‘He gripped his wife’s arm in order to return.’ (77) Di-en-eker-if ros jeskaseda di-ocunc monuh gu iwa 1SG-DUR-sit-here still in.order.to 1SG-point place to you ‘I am staying here in order to show this place to you.’ (78) Ri-er-edi Morum-ir ke-uma jeskaseda ri-oku jah rerin monuh 3PL-INST-hit Mpur-PL NOM-that in.order.to 3PL-flee to 3PL.POSS place ‘They attacked those Mpur people so that they would flee back to their area.’ Some languages use different syntax or morphology when combining purpose clauses that have a different subject than the main clause.14 In Meyah, jeskaseda can combine two clauses that have the same subject, as seen in (76) through (78) above, or different subjects, as in (79) and (80) below. (79) Bi-agot ebeirens jeskaseda di-en-eja jeska 2SG-say fast in.order.to 1SG-DUR-go from ‘Hurry up and speak so that I can be leaving.’ (80) Ge-em-ofij-ma jeskaseda ob-ahina agot mar rot 2/3DU-RECIP-help-RECIP so.that 2SG-husband say thing concerning ‘Help one another so that your husband can tell others about it.’ The conjunction jeskaseda can link a negative purpose clause with an affirmative main clause (81), an affirmative purpose clause with a negative main clause (82) or a negative main clause with a negative purpose clause (83). (81) Bua bi-agot gu-ir jeskaseda rua ri-en-ekid bua guru you 2SG-say to-3PL so.that they 3PL-DUR-poison you NEG ‘You should speak to them so that they do not poison you.’ (82) Bi-en-ogugur guru jeskaseda di-eg rot abja-irga insa fog 2SG-DUR-thunder NEG so.that 1SG-listen concerning girl-2/3DU ANAP first ‘Don’t shout (lit. thunder) so that I can listen for those girls first.’

14 See for example, Usan (Reesink 1987:258) and Tetun (van Klinken 1999:316). Clause conjoining 267

(83) Ri-en-en oska rot rua ri-enjgineg guru jeskaseda 3PL-DUR-come bad concerning them 3PL-other NEG so.that ri-en-otkonu oska rot bua guru 3PL-DUR-stomach bad concerning you NEG ‘They should not become mean to those other (people) so that they won’t be mad at you.’ The preposition nou ‘for’ marks oblique objects as beneficiaries (see §6.2.5). When nou takes a sentence as its object it functions like jeskaseda as a purpose conjunction. (84) Ona egens eesejah nou oskotu efen arja male one prepare in.order.to grip 3SG.POSS bride ‘A man was prepared to marry (lit. grip) his bride.’ (85) Ri-ohoda moroju nou me-er-orka mat jah pasar 3PL-open trail in.order.to 1PL.EXC-INST-carry food to market ‘They made a road in order for us to carry food to the market.’

10.3.1.3 Result jefeda The function of jefeda ‘therefore’ is similar to that of jeskaseda ‘in order to’ (§10.3.1.2), in that both conjunctions introduce an event clause that is motivated by an activity or situation in the main clause. Both conjunctions appear to be fused reductions of phrases that contain the items jeska ‘from’ and beda ‘then’, which indicates that x is the reason for y. However, some of the phonological material in the two items is difficult to account for. The difference between the two conjunctions is that clauses marked by jeskaseda are not realized at the time of the main clause event, whereas clauses marked by jefeda may be realized at the time of the main clause event. Therefore jefeda indicates more of a resultative relationship with the main clause. (86) Efena eneina rot mod insa ke-uma jefeda oksons en spirit tremble concerning house ANAP NOM-that therefore return come ‘He/she was very worried (lit. spirit sway) about that house, so he/she came back.’ (87) Rerin marska adaij jefeda ri-eker gu memaga 3PL.POSS meat enough therefore 3PL-sit at mountain ‘They had enough meat, so they stayed in the mountains.’ (88) Warmoda okoja jefeda eja-imba Warmoda reject therefore go-below ‘Warmoda rejected (him) so he went down below.’ This difference between jefeda and jeskaseda is often indicated through certain verbal inflections in the clauses that they introduce. Clauses introduced by jefeda can take an optional perfective aspect infix, as in (89), which indicates that the event is realized. Clauses introduced by jeskaseda can take an optional irrealis prefix em-, as in (90), which indicates that the event is not realized. The reverse does not generally occur. (89) En-agot mar toisoisa rot mar insa ke-if guru DUR-say thing clearly concerning thing ANAP NOM-this NEG 268 Chapter 10

jefeda me-eja therefore 1PL.EXCgo ‘He/she did not tell us clearly enough about this thing so we left.’ (90) I-en jeska memaga jeskaseda i-em-eker meimojumu 2PL-come from mountain in.order.to 2PL-IRR-sit coast ‘You have come from the mountains so that you can live on the coast.’ However, there are two situations in which jefeda can signal a unrealized event. The first is when the jefeda marked clause is an imperative clause, as in examples (91) and (92), where the speaker commands the hearer regarding some future event. Example (92) shows that jefeda can also be used to mark the apodosis in an irrealis conditional clause. The example also shows that a main clause can be modified by two result clauses. (91) I-eker gij yeyin monuh ongga mifmin ri-ona ensis 2PL-sit in 2PL.POSS place REL 1PL.INC.POSS 3PL-male old ri-oh gu iwa fob jefeda iwa i-eker gij 3PLhand.over to you already therefore you 2PL-sit in jefeda iwa tein i-en-oga oruh memef rot guru therefore you also 2PL-DUR-voice slander us concerning NEG ‘You are living in the place that our ancestors gave to you already, therefore you should just stay there and therefore you should not slander us about (that).’ (92) Agot gu oida enesi jefeda bi-osoka ebeirens say go COMP NEG therefore 2SG-jump quick ‘If he/she says “not yet” to you, therefore jump up quickly.’

10.3.2 Cause fogora The conjunction fogora indicates that an activity or event in the main clause is what caused the activity or event in the clause introduced by fogora, hence the label ‘cause’. The caused events can be realized or unrealized. The conjunction fogora is more causative then beda ‘then’ and it signals a more ‘direct causal’ relation than do jeska ‘from’ and the related forms jeskaseda ‘in order to’ and jefeda ‘therefore’. (93) Mah ke-uma engk rua fogora ri-em-ah ahingkongka fire NOM-that warm they cause 3PL-IRR-lie.down sleep.soundly ‘That fire would warm them causing them to sleep soundly.’ (94) Tina mebi ebga rot-id fogora di-en-esiri but ground split concerning-1SG cause 1SG-DUR-fall ‘But the ground split open beneath me causing me to fall.’ (95) Ninab et mongka fogora agos-ei Ninab eat pandanus cause die-QU ‘Ninab ate the pandanus causing him to die, right?’ (96) Mimif tein mi-en-oina fogora efej we also 1PL.INC-DUR-cook cause dry ‘We also cook it causing it to dry up.’ Clause conjoining 269

Meyah lacks the generic verb ‘kill’, which, of course, denotes direct causation. The notion is only expressed through complex sentences involving fogora (97), (98). (97) Didif di-agob mek fogora agos I 1SG-strike pig cause die ‘I struck the pig causing it to die.’ (98) Er-oduis ofa fogora agos INST-stab him/her result die ‘He/she stabbed him/her causing him/her to die.’ That fogora signals direct causation is further attested by the fact that it is the only conjunction that can be optionally used in a causative construction to link a causative main clause with the caused event clause (99), (100). (99) Otunggom ri-osnok fogora maren-ir rot make 3PL-person cause sick-PL concerning ‘It caused people to become sick.’ (100) En-otunggom memaga fogora memaga en-oj DUR-make mountain cause mountain DUR-split.open ‘He was making mountains causing the mountains to split open.’ There are a small number of examples found in the text corpus that show fogora functioning like the temporal sequence conjunction beda (§10.2.1.2). In example (101) fogora links a temporal adverbial clause to a main clause the same way that beda does. In example (102) it introduces a successive clause as beda does. (101) Mona egema deika fogora mi-eja jah mekeni day other more then 1PL.INC-go to garden ‘On another day, then we will go to the garden.’ (102) Oh monuh gu mimif fog fogora em-agos hand.over place to us first then IRR-die ‘First he/she will hand over the land to us and then he/she will die.’

10.3.3 Through oisouska The preposition oisouska signals that the event in the main clause is achieved by means of some nominal notion introduced by oisouska, hence the label ‘through’. A secondary usage expresses the spatial relation ‘limited to a point in space or time.’ With its ‘through’ interpretation, it is used like the reason conjunction jeska, which also signals that y is the reason for x. So it is not surprising that, like many other cause conjunctions, oisouska is a fused reduced phrase containing jeska ‘from’. The other morphemes in oisouska are not easily identified. (103) Ekemeji efena ofogog oisouska owesa efek chase spirit dangerous through strong hard ‘He chases away dangerous/evil spirits through his strong power.’ 270 Chapter 10

(104) Di-ofij ri-osnok oisouska mar ongga didif di-oftuftu 1SG-help 3PL-person through thing REL I 1SG-teach ‘I help people through the things that I teach.’ (Meyah New Testament, 1997, The Bible League) I mentioned in §10.3.1.1 that some adverbial clauses can take an initial-sentence position when they have a topical function. Noun phrases introduced by oisouska can also occur before the main clause, hence marking that construction as topical. When the clause introduced by oisouska is fronted, the main clause must be introduced by beda ‘then’ (105), (106). (105) Oisouska erebent ke-uma beda ofa eker jera efen through custom NOM-that then he/she sit with 3SG.POSS me-ahina insa ke-uma 3SG-husband ANAP NOM-that ‘Through that custom, she is allowed to remain with that husband of hers.’ (106) Oisouska mar ongga oforoka ke-uma otunggom beda through thing REL child NOM-that do then ri-osnok ri-em-esa rot 3PL-person 3PL-IRR-afraid concerning ‘Through the thing that the child did, people would be afraid.’

10.3.4 Manner clause conjunction erek The morpheme erek can be used as a copular verb and receive certain verbal inflectionals (see §7.5.1.7). Another function of erek is that of a conjunction that introduces a manner adverbial clause. The manner adverbial clause occurs in the same position that an adverb does following a verb. (107) Asok insa ohur efaga erek ej-ojona ongga ebirfeji girl ANAP deceive body like INCEP-woman REL hair edaga keingg hang ADV ‘That (spirit) girl concealed her body, as if she were a woman whose hair covered her face.’ (108) Ot gij erek efen monuh stand in like 3SG.POSS place ‘He stood there as if he owned the place.’ (109) Ge-ebe-atur mar erek didif di-ebe-atur mar 2/3DU-LOAN-arrange thing like I 1SG-LOAN-arrange thing ‘You two should arrange things like I arrange things.’ (110) Rua ri-ek mar insa ke-if erek ri-osnok ri-ek Monghu they 3PL-see thing ANAP NOM-this like 3PL-person 3PL-see Monghu ‘They looked at those things like people look at (the spirit) Monghu.’ Clause conjoining 271

10.3.5 Complex conjunctions Meyah, like many other languages, combines conjunctions and prepositions that function as complex conjunctions. The complex conjuncts are used to link larger units, such as paragraphs, to one another. The first part of the complex conjunction is the manner phrase erek koma ‘like that’. The demonstrative in this type of construction has a well- recognized ‘discourse deictic’ use (see Diessel 1999). It is used to summarize the previous material. A conjunction, such as beda ‘then’, jefeda ‘so’ or tina ‘but’ is added to erek koma to indicate the semantic relation between the previous material and the material that follows. There are no distinct pauses between the two members of the construction. Like other conjunctions, they form part of the intonation unit that they introduce. The construction is common in Papuan languages. (111) Erek ke-uma beda rua ke-uma ri-agot noba oh mek bera guru like NOM-that then they NOM-that 3PL-say COMP oh pig TOP NEG ‘Like that, then those people said, “Oh, it’s not a pig”.’ (112) Erek ke-uma jefeda monuh erei-reya ofa like NOM-that therefore place RED-satisfy him ‘Like that, therefore he became very satisfied with the place.’ (113) Erek ke-uma tina ebeibeyaif bera Tuhan Allah efen oga like NOM-that but now TOP Lord God 3SG.POSS word eja skoita rua fob go toward them already. ‘Like that, however now God’s word has already gone to them.’ 11 Pragmatics

11.0 Introduction In this chapter I will discuss three major types of speech acts that are coded in the grammars of languages. They are speech acts that deny, question and command. They correspond to the sentence types, negative, interrogative and imperative. Much attention has already been given to declarative clauses in this description, so only the aforementioned three types will be discussed here. Section 11.5 will deal with clitics that are used to indicate speaker attitudes.1 In addition, the topic focus marker bera is discussed in this chapter because it is a pragmatic device used to draw attention to core and non-core arguments as well as items that are on the clause periphery. The marker can even place focus on negative adverbial constructions (see §11.1).

11.1 Negation Negators occur as clause-final adverbial modifiers (§7.7.9). The negative adverbs are guru ‘no/not’ and enesi ‘not yet.’ The form guru is also used as the prohibitive ‘do not’. The adverbs can stand alone as a simple utterance in response to a polar question. In this usage, they can precede a declarative response clause, as in (1). They can also precede a negative clause (2) or follow a positive clause in a positive-negative alternative clause (3). (1) Enesi jefeda bi-osoka ebeirens NEG therefore 2SG-jump fast ‘Not yet, therefore jump down quickly.’ (2) Guru mosona en-oitij mefmen me-oga enesi NEG foreigner DUR-agree 1PL.EXC.POSS 1PL.EXC-voice NEG ‘No, the foreigners have not agreed with our words yet.’ (3) Bi-et mat ke-if-ei era guru-ei 2SG-eat food NOM-this-QU or NEG-QU ‘Can you eat this food or not?’

1 I recognize that there are many different kinds of speech ‘acts’ and ‘styles’ in a given language and Meyah of course is no different. Nonetheless, an examination of all minor types of speech acts and styles is beyond the scope of this study. 272 Pragmatics 273

The only items that can follow negative adverbs are aspectual adverbs, such as fob ‘already’ and ojgomuja ‘continuous.’ Speaker attitude clitics (§11.5) that can attach to a negative adverb in the post-position (6) also follow negatives. (4) Bi-en-eker jera me-osu-ib deika guru fob 2SG-DUR-sit with 3SG-mother-2SG again NEG already ‘You already shouldn’t be living with your mother.’ (5) Moroju ke-uma en-ecira deika guru ojgomuja trail NOM-that DUR-travel again NEG continuous ‘That trail was not continued.’ (6) Ofa en-et mat guru-ei he/she DUR-eat food NEG-QU ‘Didn’t he/she eat any food?’ Negative non-verbal clauses also use a sentence-final negative adverb. Whereas a durative prefix is required in negated verbal predicates, negated nominal predicates do not receive the prefix (7)–(9). (7) Ofa pendeta guru he/she pastor NEG ‘He/she is not a pastor.’ (8) Ofa guru sekolah guru he/she teacher school NEG ‘He/she is not a schoolteacher.’ (9) Ke-uma mekhuis guru NOM-that wild.pig NEG ‘That is not a wild pig.’ When pronouns and nouns that refer to humans are negated, the negative adverb always combines with the topic focus marker bera, as in (10) and (11). Therefore, example (12) is not grammatical. (10) Ri-em-oira jera ri-osnok ongga Allah efen tina iwa 3PL-DUR-enter with 3PL-person REL God 3SG.POSS but you bera guru TOP NEG ‘They will become part of God’s people, but not you.’ (11) Rua ri-eker gij kursi ke-uma ojgomu noba ri-osnok they 3PL-sit in chair NOM-that only and 3PL-person ri-enjgineg bera guru 3PL-other TOP NEG ‘Only they can sit in that chair and not other people.’ (12) *Iwa guru you NEG ‘Not you.’ 274 Chapter 11

11.2 Scope of negation Although this chapter discusses pragmatics a short treatment of the syntactic characteristics of negation will help in seeing how its position in a sentence plays out with regard to speech pragmatics in Meyah. Sentence-final negatives are a feature of Papuan languages in the region (see §7.7.9). In the case of multi-clausal sentences, the question of which verbs fall under the scope of negation arises. In some languages, such as Hatam, Abun and Tidore, the scope of negation can be ambiguous. Sometimes disambiguation is only possible on pragmatic grounds.2 In Meyah, the scope of negation in a multi-clausal sentence is never ambiguous because negated verbs are always inflected by a durative aspect prefix en-, hence the negative status of verbs in a complex sentence is always clear. Example (13) shows that the scope of the negative adverb extends to the first verb in the sentence, since its verb is marked with en-, but not the second, which is unmarked. (13) En-adaij nou bua bi-oksons skoita me-osu-ib deika guru DUR-adequate for you 2SG-return to 3SG-mother-2SG again NEG ‘It is not right for you to return to your mother.’ Example (14) shows that the scope of negation extends to the second verb in the sentence, but not the first. (14) Mar ke-if bera na-et noba mar ke-if bera thing NOM-this TOP 1DU.INC-eat and thing NOM-this TOP na-en-et guru 1DU.INC-DUR-eat NEG ‘As for this thing we eat it and as for this thing we don’t eat it.’ Example (15) shows that negation can extend to both verbs in the sentence. (15) Ri-en-ergi meisoufa era ri-en-oug mofnaga joug ri-ofos guru 3PL-DUR-wear clothes or 3PL-DUR-wrap skirt ADV 3PL-skin NEG ‘They didn’t wear clothes or didn’t wear skirts (to cover) their skin.’ The presence of en- also indicates that the scope of negation only extends to the verb in the relative clause, as in (16) and (17). That is in contrast to negation of only the main verb and not the relative clause verb in (18). (16) Geja ge-ek monuh egens ongga en-oska guru 2/3DUgo 2/3DU-see place one REL DUR-bad NEG ‘They went to see an area that was not bad.’ (17) Bi-orka ongga en-agos enesi 2SG-carry REL DUR-die not.yet ‘Bring the one that is not dead yet.’ (18) Ri-en-et mat ongga efej guru 3PL-DUR-eat food REL ripe NEG ‘They don’t eat food that is ripe.’ Body-part noun plus verb constructions (§7.5.1.6) function as single complex predicates, so the entire unit falls under the scope of negation. Normally, only verbs receive en- to

2 Abun and Tidore can use double negative marking as a means to disambiguate negation. Pragmatics 275 indicate negation. However, the examples below show the body-part noun receiving the prefix. This is evidence that the whole unit functions as one negated predicate. (19) Ri-en-oga oruh mimif rot guru 3PL-DUR-voice insult us concerning NEG ‘They did not insult us concerning (that).’ (20) Me-en-odou okum deika guru 1PL.EXC-DUR-liver heavy more NEG ‘We are not angry (lit. heavy liver) any more.’

11.3 Questions 11.3.1 Polar questions Polar questions are formed by the addition of the clitic ei to the last item in the utterance. The prosodic properties of the clitic show a rising accent on the first segment and a falling accent on the second, which is indicative of a diphthong in Meyah (see §2.3.1). However, changes in intonation patterns, such as rising intonation clause-finally, do not alone signal a question. Therefore, the addition of ei is required to form a polar interrogative sentence. Hatam has the forms e and i for polar questions (Reesink 1999:68). The former indicates that an immediate answer is expected, while the latter forms questions in general. Sougb has the interrogative e, which presumes a positive answer on the part of the addressee as one possible function (see Reesink 2002a:239). Meyah has only the form ei. It indicates a polar question that requires an immediate answer (21), a question that expects a positive response (22) and a question that expects a negative response (23). A description of the morphological properties of questions words may be found in §4.8. (21) Meranghi mei ke-uma em-agob-ei spirit water NOM-that IRR-strike-QU Will that water spirit strike me? (22) Bua bi-ororu mar efeyi ebsi rot tenten fob-ei you 2SG-follow thing leaf white concerning true already-QU ‘You have already faithfully followed the Scriptures, right?’ (23) Ri-en-oskotu arja enesi-ei 3PL-DUR-grip bride not.yet-QU ‘Have they not married yet?’ When ei is added to the negative adverb guru ‘not’ it marks the negative clause pragmatically as either a rebuke, as in (24) or as a rhetorical question in (25). The root- final vowel of guru elides when ei is added to it. Example (23) above involving the negative enesi ‘not yet’ could also be interpreted as a mild rebuke. (24) Bi-en-eker gu monska ofos guru-ei [gurei] 2SG-DUR-sit at bark skin NEG-QU ‘Don’t sit next to the bark wall!’ (25) En-agos guru-ei [gurei] DUR-die NEG-QU ‘Didn’t it die? (It should have died).’ 276 Chapter 11

11.3.2 Content questions Interrogative pro-forms indicate whether it is the subject, object, verb or some other item that the addressee is expected to provide information about. This function is often achieved through syntax by interrogatives taking the position of the constituent that is being questioned (see Sadok and Zwicky 1985:185). The generalization holds true for Meyah content questions as the examples in this section will illustrate. See §4.8 for a complete list of question words, as well as a description of their morphological properties.

11.3.3 Animate object questions The interrogative pronoun idu ‘who’ is used when referring to human subjects (26), objects (27) or obliques (28). The noun ri-osnok ‘3PL-person’ is added to form a plural interrogative pronoun, as in rusnok idu ‘what people’. The pronoun idu can also be used as the indefinite pronoun ‘someone/anyone’ in declarative clauses. (26) Idu efen mesina who 3SG.POSS string.bag ‘Who owns the string bag?’ (27) Erakid idu poison who ‘He/she poisoned who?’ (28) Ohu mebi insa ke-uma gu idu sell land ANAP NOM-that to who ‘To whom did he/she sell the land?’

11.3.4 Inanimate object questions When referring to non-human entities, the question word meidu ‘what’ is used. It forms interrogatives that refer to subjects (29), objects (30), obliques (31) and locations (32). The position of meidu reflects the syntactic position of the item that it questions. (29) Meidu en-ah gu mod-if what DUR-lie.down in house-this ‘What is inside this house?’ (30) Isak eita mar meidu Isaac take/do thing what ‘What (thing) is Isaac doing?’ (31) Mes-ir ri-oga gij meidu dog-PL 3PL-voice in what ‘What are the dogs barking at?’ (32) Bi-ah [gij] meidu fogora en-efeji ensesa 2SG-lie.down in what cause DUR-hair fragrant ‘What did you get into that caused your hair to smell so good?’ Pragmatics 277

11.3.5 Locative questions Meyah has two locative question words that can be used interchangeably. They are the items sinefa ‘where’ and guaidu ‘where’. As noted in §4.8, guaidu is historically derived from the phrase ‘to who’, however now it means ‘to where’, hence its use as a locative question word. The interrogative sinefa is a locational deictic element (see §4.4.5). A comparison of the two locative question words in natural texts does not reveal any meaning differences. Because the items refer to locations, they are usually headed by locative prepositions, although the prepositions can be omitted, as in (33). (33) Bi-esaga si-enefa 2SG-arrive NOM-where ‘You arrived at what place?’ (34) Mof ke-uma okurc jeska si-enefa wind NOM-that blow from NOM-where ‘Where does that wind blow from?’ (35) Memef me-eja jah guaidu we 1PL.EXC-go to where ‘Where are we going?’ (36) Mofombra insa ke-uma en jeska guaidu? grass ANAP NOM-that come from where ‘Where is that grass from?’ The interrogative kenefa modifies a non-human head noun by expressing the question ‘which’, thus narrowing the referential scope of the head noun in question. (37) Isok insa bera of mekeni ke-enefa guy ANAP TOP chop.down garden NOM-which ‘That guy chopped down (trees) in which garden?’ (38) Ameina eja jah monuh ke-enefa 1SG.mother go to place NOM-which ‘My mother went to which village?’ (39) Mi-em-er-etka megej ke-enefa 1PL.INC-IRR-INST-split firewood NOM-which ‘We are going to split which firewood?’

11.3.6 Manner questions The item teinefa marks the manner question ‘how’ in relation to an event expressed by the predicate. It takes the position of other manner adverbials, following verbs or object noun phrases (40), if one is present. In (41) teinefa is conjoined to the main clause. In (42) it is used in a clause-initial position with the ‘cause’ conjunction fogora as a rhetorical question that communicates a harsh rebuke. (40) Ob-ohuina agot mar erek tei-enefa 2SG-husband say thing like ADV-how ‘How did your husband speak (to you)?’ 278 Chapter 11

(41) Meranghi mei ke-uma em-edi-ei era em-agob-ei era tei-enefa spirit water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU or IRR-strike-QU or ADV-how ‘Will that water spirit hit us or strike us or how (will it affect us)?’ (42) Tei-enefa fogora bua bi-odou en-ebriyi gij mar insa ke-uma ADV-how cause you 2SG-liver DUR-split in thing ANAP NOM-that ‘How could you not know about that!’

11.3.7 Reason questions The prepositional phrase rot meidu ‘concerning what’ expresses the reason interrogative ‘why’, as in (43) and (44). Including the generic noun mar ‘thing’ in the phrase changes meidu into an information question phrase, as in (45). However, rot is not used when forming an information question. (43) Asok-if eyahehir joug mod-if rot meidu girl-this forbid ADV house-this concerning what ‘Why did this girl rebuke this house?’ (44) Wah bi-ebe-susah rot meidu hey 2SG-LOAN-difficult concerning what ‘Hey, why are you troubled?’ (45) Me-eita mar meidu jeskaseda mowahi eseiseifa jeska monuh-if 1PL.EXC-take thing what in.order.that fly lose from place-this ‘What can we do so that there are no longer flies in this village?’ The phrase can also be used rhetorically as a rebuke: (46) Bi-en-ah gu mod-if rot meidu 2SG-DUR-lie.down in house-this concerning what ‘Why are you in the house!’

11.3.8 Quantity questions The quantity question word ‘how many’ is formed by the quantity interrogative stem -gaho (see §4.8) and a numeral classifier prefix (§4.3.8.2). It refers to the quantity of an object thus it is a noun phrase operator. (47) Engk mos efaga or-gaho buy fish CL:ANIMAL CL:NONEDIBLE-how.many ‘How many fish did he/she buy?’ (48) Bebin mod eg-gaho 2SG.POSS house CL:HUMAN-how.many ‘How many houses do you own?’

11.3.9 Time questions Time nouns, such as mona ‘day’, ari ‘week’ and mesta ‘month’ are used with the quantity question word egaho for the human class of nouns to form the interrogatives ‘how long’ or ‘when’. Pragmatics 279

(49) Ri-eker nou mona egaho 3PLsit for time how.much ‘How long did they stay?’ (50) Orka mega efeber deika erek ari egaho fob carry tree plank again like week how.much already ‘How many weeks ago did he/she carry the wood planks again?’ (51) Eja eker gu mesta egaho fogora agos go sit at month how.much cause die ‘How many months did he/she go and live (there) before it caused him/her to die?’ The question word juaho ‘when’ is a derived form, comprised of the ordinator prefix ju- and the interrogative quantifier stem -gaho (see §4.8). It modifies temporal nouns or time adverbials to form time questions (52), (53). (52) Ebirfaga okora gij mona ju-aho head hurt in time ORD-how.much ‘When did your head start hurting?’ (53) Bua bi-em-en jah si-if gij mona ju-aho you 2SG-IRR-come to NOM-here in time ORD-how.much ‘When will you come here?’

11.3.10 Disjunctive questions When the disjunctive coordinator era (§10.2.2.1) combines with a negator, it indicates a disjunctive question. With disjunctive questions, both verbs in the construction take the question clitic ei. (54) Ke-uma en-ah-uma-ei era guru-ei NOM-that DUR-lie.down-there-QU or NEG-QU ‘Is it there or not?’ (55) Osnok egens ke-uma agos-ei era guru-ei person one NOM-that die-QU or NEG-QU ‘Did that person die or not?’

11.4 Commands An imperative clause in Meyah is not structurally different from a declarative clause in that they take no special forms. With imperative mood constructions, the verbs are unmarked for aspect or irrealis mode. However, the construction can receive speaker attitude clitics, depending on the degree of force of command or request. A neutral command that does not imply politeness or harshness looks no different from a declarative clause. The use of a second person pronoun (and the context) is the only item that allows it to be interpreted as a command. (56) Ge-eja deci-deci 2/3DU-go RED-slow ‘Go slowly.’ 280 Chapter 11

(57) Bi-orka ofa gu puskesmas 3 2SG-carry him/her to clinic ‘Carry him/her to the clinic.’ Polite (i.e. respectful) commands are requests or suggestions. They are formed by fronting a relative clause and then marking it as topical with bera, as in ongga oufa bera ‘that which good TOP’ (58). The command can be strengthened by the use of ojgomu ‘just/only’, as in (59). (58) Ongga oufa bera me-osu eita mengk ofot gu eferatefa REL good TOP 3SG-mother give milk flood to baby ‘The mother should give breast milk to her baby.’ (59) Ongga oufa bera bi-eja jeska monuh-if ojgomu REL good TOP 2SG-go from place-this just ‘Please leave this place.’ A command can be further strengthened with the use of free pronouns or vocatives. While this style is considered a stronger command, it is not necessarily impolite. (60) Ameina bi-eja beda bi-ej-eh dedin meresa ekeni 1SG.mother 2SG-go then 2SG-INCEP-split 1SG.POSS sugercane red ‘Mother, go and begin splitting some of my red sugarcane.’ (61) Iwa i-eita mareibra you 2PL-take material.possessions ‘You should take the stuff.’ A harsh form of a command is an imperative construction marked by the emphatic mood clitic -a (62). A vocative or free pronoun included in the imperative along with the emphatic -a increases the harshness (63). (62) Bi-en-eita erek ke-uma guru-a 2SG-DUR-take/do like NOM-that NEG-EMP ‘Don’t do that!’ (63) Bua bi-oga en-oska skoita ofa jinaga guru-a you 2SG-voice DUR-bad to him/her whatsoever NEG-EMP ‘Do not speak badly to him/her whatsoever!’4 Meyah hortatives are complex forms that apparently involve a rather unusual inflectional process. It appears that a durative aspect prefix, an irrealis prefix and a perfective aspect infix can all occur in verbs that function as hortatives. In examples (64) and (65) the hortative expresses the meaning ‘let’s go’. Because of the presence of the perfective infix, they may be more literally glossed in English as ‘let’s be gone’. This is a type of future perfective construction (also see §4.2.8.1). (64) Mi-en-em-eja [mineminja] 1PL.INC-DUR-IRRgo ‘Let’s go.’ (lit. ‘let’s be gone’)

3 Indonesian term. 4 The example is elicited. Pragmatics 281

(65) Na-en-em-eja [naneminja] 1DU.INC-DUR-IRRgo ‘Let’s go.’ (lit. ‘let’s be gone’) The elicited 2PL examples in (66) show that the perfective aspect infix is not required, thus the forms are clearly irrealis. (66) i-en-em-orogna [inemorgona] 2PL-DUR-IRR-go.out ‘You should go out.’ i-en-em-eker [inemeker] 2PL-DUR-IRR-sit ‘You should stay.’ i-en-em-et [inemet] 2PL-DUR-IRR-eat ‘You should eat.’ i-en-em-ahca [inemahca] 2PL-DUR-IRR-sleep ‘You should sleep.’ Less complex hortative expressions are also possible. Examples (67) and (68) look more like a normal imperative clause with the use of ojgomu ‘just’ clause-finally. (67) Mi-eker jah si-if ojgomu 1PL.INC-sit at NOM-this just ‘We should stay here.’ (68) Me-er-ei mod egens ojgomu 1PL.EXC-INST-build house one just ‘We should build a house.‘

11.5 Speaker attitude There are also minor types of speech acts that express rather than distinguish sentence types. They indicate speaker attitudes towards a proposition, hence the term ‘attitude marker’, used by Sadock and Zwicky (1985:160) to describe their function. The speaker uses them to bring about intended consequences from the hearer. In Meyah, the speaker attitudes emphasize, complain and appeal can be morphologically coded in the clause by utterance-final clitics, listed in (69). They can be used in any sentence type, but only one type of attitude clitic can be used in a clause. They are used mostly in informal dialogue. (69) Emphasize -a Complain -i Appeal, plead -o

11.5.1 Emphasize Emphatic mood is indicated by the clitic -a. It communicates to the hearer an increased sense of urgency or importance. It can be used more than once in a clause attaching to verbs, vocatives, pronouns, demonstratives and prepositions. 282 Chapter 11

(70) Ke-uma bera tenten-a NOM-that TOP true-EMP ‘It is true!’ (71) Tuan-a bi-eita egema gu didif-a Sir-EMP 2SG-give some to me-EMP ‘Sir, give some to me!’ (72) Ofoka en-aksa jinaga guru-a name DUR-tall whatsoever NEG-EMP ‘He/she is not important at all!’ (73) Bua bi-eker-a you 2SG-sit-EMP ‘You stay here!’

11.5.2 Complaining The utterance-final clitic -i expresses the speaker’s attitude of complaining. The speaker is communicating a sense of injustice, loss or damage. The clitic attaching to more than one item in a clause intensifies the degree of the complaint, as in (76) and (77). (74) Bua bi-ohoturu mos tina didif di-ohoturu mar ofoses you 2SG-gather fish but I 1SG-gather thing garbage bera ke-if-i TOP NOM-this-COMP ‘You caught fish, but as for this, all I caught is trash!’ (75) Bi-eita egema gu didif-i 2SG-give some to me-COMP ‘Give some to me.’ (i.e. ‘I want some too!’) (76) Didif-i di-en-ejginaga rot guru-i I-PRO 1SG-DUR-know concerning NEG-COMP ‘I didn’t know about it!’ (77) Ayo okum jenjen-i tina guru-i hey heavy long.time-COMP but NEG-COMP ‘Hey, it has been difficult for a long time, but there are still no changes!’

11.5.3 Appealing The last mood clitic to be discussed is -o. The speaker uses it to communicate a sense of pleading or appealing, trying to convince the hearer of something and so it is sometimes used with imperatives, as in (78) and (79). Like the other mood clitics, it can occur more than once in the same clause, as in (78), where the clitic attaches to both an interrogative pronoun and a verb. It attaches to interrogative words presumably to strengthen the question as a stronger appeal, as in (82). (78) Abja-ir-o i-osok mega-o i-eifef mega efaga-o girl-PL-APP 2PL-climb tree-APP 2PL-get.on tree trunk-APP ‘Girls, climb the tree, go up the tree!’ Pragmatics 283

(79) Bi-osok mega-o jeska mek em-eska-o 2SG-climb tree-APP because pig IRR-bite-APP ‘Climb the tree, because the pig might bite (you)!’ (80) Gij mona juaho bua bi-em-en-o in day which you 2SG-IRR-come-APP ‘When are you intending to come.’ (i.e. ‘please come!’) (81) Ah jah ke-imba-o lie.down at NOM-below-APP ‘It is very far down there!’ (82) Organisasi5 bera erek tei-enefa-o organization TOP like ADV-how-APP ‘As for the organization, how is it like?’ (83) Meidu bera en-eker-if-o what TOP DUR-sit-here-APP ‘Tell me what is here?’ In some contexts -o also expresses a sense of bewilderment. (84) Meidu bera en-ah gu mod-if-o what TOP DUR-lie.down in house-this-APP ‘As for the thing in this house, what is it?’

11.6 Topic focus I have already shown in a number of places how Meyah uses different kinds of focusing devices in discourse to draw attention to various constituents in the clause. In §4.2.8 we saw how Meyah uses aspect prefixes to focus on the ongoing or complete status of an event or an activity. In §7.7 we saw how adverbials could also be used to focus on various constituents of the clause. Some of the adverbials can also focus on events. All those items are not topic focus markers, although they occasionally overlap into the domain of ‘topic’ (see Givón 1990:699). They are ways of making one constituent more salient than others for the purpose of contrast or emphasis. There is also a variety of ways that Meyah can focus on topics in a discourse. A thorough treatment of topic focus in Meyah is not possible within the scope of this study. Therefore, the discussion will mostly have to do with how bera ‘TOP’ places focus on core and non-core arguments as well as on clause-peripheral items. The discussion will begin with how Meyah generally introduces topics in §11.6.1. To serve as background information, I will begin with the standard ways that Meyah introduces new ‘unmarked’ topics in a sentence or a discourse. Then ‘given’ (i.e. established) topics that are pragmatically marked by bera will complete this section. For information on other ways that given topics can be marked as such, see §4.4 on spatial deixis and §7.2 on subjects.

5 Indonesian term. 284 Chapter 11

11.6.1 New topics There are various ways to introduce new topics in Meyah. The first argument (the subject) is the unmarked topic, which is typical of subject prominent languages like Meyah. Hence, new subjects are also new topics. Normally, free pronouns and proper nouns are used to introduce human participants as new topics in a discourse.6 (85) Didif di-efesij mahteyi osoka gij Ekergud gonu me-ahina I 1SG-tell ancient.tale jump in Ekergud with 3SG-husband Iturwam. Goga ge-eker gu monuh Meimeska Efej Wam Iturwam 2/3DU 2/3DU-sit at place Meimeska Efej Wam owohoh-inda beneath-above ‘I am telling an old tale about Ekergud and her husband Iturwam. They lived at Meimeska Efej village up above below Wam village.’ (86) Ingkekesa eker tumu mega esta noba Inggumei ahaisomu gij mei Ingkekesa sit on tree branch and Inggumei play in water ‘Ingkekesa was sitting on a tree branch and Inggumei was playing in the water.’ Topics that are indefinite nouns and pronouns are introduced with the indefinite article egens ‘one’ (87), (88). (87) Ona egens esejah nou oskotu efen arja male one prepare for grip 3SG.POSS bride ‘A man was ready to marry (lit. grip) his bride.’7 (88) Mek egens oira gu mekeni egens pig one enter at garden one ‘A pig entered a garden.’ Existential verbs (§7.5.1.7) are also used to introduce new discourse topics in presentative constructions (89), (90). (89) Mowahi ofoukou en-ah-uma. Mowahi ke-uma em-orka fly many DUR-lie.down-there fly NOM-that IRR-carry mar ongga oska. thing REL bad ‘There are many flies. Those flies will bring bad things.’ (Gravelle and Tibiya 1994a). (90) Mega mongka en-ot-uma tree pandanus DUR-stand-there ‘There was a pandanus tree.’ New topics of a discourse are commonly introduced by explicit statements, as in (85) above and (91) below.

6 See Gravelle (2000) and Appendix 1 in Gravelle (2002) for the complete text. 7 See Appendix 3 in Gravelle (2002). Pragmatics 285

(91) Didif di-efesij gu Tuan-if rot ongga memef I 1SG-tell to Mister-here concerning REL we me-ef mar 1PL.EXCshoot thing ‘I am telling Mister here about (the time) when we used to shoot things.’ Subject constituents can also be pragmatically marked for topic focus by bera. This use of bera is more common with ‘given’ topics (see §11.6.5). (92) Yanji bera eja-uma eja Yanji TOP go-there go ‘As for Yanji, he went away to there.’ (93) Ri-eneya bera ri-odou emes-mesa 3PL-other TOP 3PL-liver RED-afraid ‘As for the others, they are very afraid.’ The subject of a non-verbal predication is also the topic of the sentence (see §7.2). The subject can also be pragmatically marked as such by bera. The examples below are repeated from §7.5.2.1. (94) Mongka bera mar mareij pandanus TOP thing taboo ‘As for pandanus fruit, (it) is taboo.’ (95) Yulius bera sekartaris Desa Yulius TOP secretary Desa ‘As for Yulius, he is the secretary of the Desa.’ The marker bera seems to function like a copula in non-verbal clauses, thus leaving the subject rather unmarked as the topic. (96) Monuh mekta eteb bera insa ke-uma place field large TOP ANAP NOM-that ‘A large open area is what that is.’ (97) Meskefa Manabuda Morum bera ke-uma Meskefa Manabuda Morum TOP NOM-that ‘Meskefa Manabuda of the Morum people is that (person).’ However, the copula erek can occur in a non-verbal predication with bera (98). (98) Manana efeyi efei bera erek ariawun cassava leaf liquid TOP COP medicine ‘As for the oil of the cassava leaf, it is medicine.’

11.6.2 External topic constructions The functional role of topics, as Chafe (1976) explained it, is to set a spatial, temporal or individual framework within which the main predication holds. Constructions at the left margin of the main clause are said to have a topical function (see Haiman 1978:572; Foley and Van Valin 1985:355). In Meyah, a noun phrase or a whole clause can occur on the left margin of a main clause to specify the topic of the larger unit that follows. This type of 286 Chapter 11 construction is documented in a number of Papuan languages. Reesink (1994) refers to them as ‘domain-creating constructions’ because the unit on the left margin creates a domain that is relevant for the event that follows. They are also referred to as ‘frame constituents’ in that they often receive special morphosyntactic status and provide the setting for the predications to come (see de Vries 1989:61; van Staden 2000:271). Thus, these ‘frames’ are not arguments of a predicate. They are extra-sentential units that operate on the discourse level.8

11.6.3 Bera-marked frames In Meyah, external frames are largely marked by the topic focus marker bera. The use of bera in this type of construction is similar to that of a conjunction in that it links two larger units in a sentence. The morphological properties of bera are similar to conjunctions in two distinct ways: it begins with a consonant (see §4.0 on this characteristic feature) and it does not receive inflectional morphology. However, bera also differs from conjunctions in two significant ways. Firstly, the pause and intonation phenomena associated with conjunctions show that they form part of the intonation unit that follows. The marker bera is separated from the unit by a pause that follows, which can last up to a few seconds. The intonational properties of bera involve a rising pitch often accompanied by an increase in intensity. These phonological phenomena are unusual for a conjoining morpheme in Meyah. De Vries (1989:67), writing on the notion of topic in Wambon, explains that external topic frames are separated by pause-phenomena and are a type of exclamative/vocative focus construction. That seems to be a fitting description of frames marked by bera. The rising intonation, increased pitch and long pause announce to the hearer that the information is important (i.e. topical) and that there is more to follow.9 Secondly, conjunctions are not required in coordinations, whereas bera is generally required in a topicalized frame construction. These differences show that bera is primarily used as a topicalizer that sets the stage for what follows. Omitting the material that follows leaves the utterance incomplete, so the construction is more subordinate than coordinate. Other Bird’s Head languages, such as Hatam (Reesink 1999:67, 68) and Abun (Berry and Berry 1999:62ff.) have topicalizer morphemes that function in a way that is generally similar to bera. In Maybrat (Dol 1999:166), external topic frames are separated from the clause by a pause and they also have their own intonation contours.

11.6.4 Types of frames As mentioned in §11.6.2, Chafe identified three general types of topic frames that present a setting for the predication to follow. They are spatial, temporal and individual reference frames. Those three types figure as external topic frames in Meyah, as well. I will use the term participant in place of ‘individual reference’.10 A speaker may begin a

8 Also see Foley and Van Valin (1985:300). 9 Chafe (1976:52) describes this pause phenomena as a ‘hesitation’ on the part of the speaker, in order to decide on how to integrate the case frame into the full sentence. De Vries (1989:68) suggests the same for pause phenomena with clause-initial frames in Wambon. 10 Some languages make a distinction between animate versus inanimate participants as ‘participants and props’. In many languages the distinction is not always clear (see Grimes 1975:43). In Meyah, a participant can be human or non-human. It can also be inanimate, as in ‘the rock slid down the hill’. Pragmatics 287 sentence (or discourse) by marking one of those frame types with bera as a new topic. Temporal frames are the most common type marked by bera in narrative discourse. Examples (99) and (100) show that an external frame can be a simple noun phrase or a question word. The type of frame is labeled and shown in brackets in the examples that follow. (99) [Ebeibeyaif bera]Temporal mi-ojuj jah meimojumu now TOP 1PL.INCdescend to coast ‘As for now, we have descended to the coastal area.’ (100) [Idu bera]Participant ongga en who TOP REL come ‘Who is it that has come?’ A frame can also consist of complex phrasal constructions (101), (102). (101) [Ojoros mona deisef tein bera]Temporal me-erejgei mosona until time today also TOP 1PL.EXC-request foreigner pemerintah Bupatih oida ofij memef beda ohoda moroju government Regent COMP help us then open road skoita memef jah Indog Efej to us at Indog Efej ‘As for even until today, we have requested the foreign (= non Papuan) government Regent that he construct a road to us in Indog Efej.’ (102) [Jah mog eteb Irian Jaya bera]Spatial ri-osnok ri-eneya ri-en-ejginaga at land big Irian Jaya TOP 3PL-person 3PL-other 3PL-DUR-know rot ri-otunggom mei ongga ri-aha mos gij enesi concerning 3PL-make water REL 3PLput fish in NEG ‘As for the big land of Irian Jaya, people do not know how to make ponds that they would put fish in yet.’ A frame can consist of a noun phrase that is modified by a relative clause, hence the frame carries the information load of a full clause. (103) [Sismeni gij tahun 1982 ongga memef me-osoka jeska first in year 1982 REL we 1PL.EXCjump from monuh Meirenkei bera]Temporal ri-osnok nomnaga ri-en-en place Meirenkei TOP 3PL-person all 3PL-DUR-come jah Indog Efej enesi to Indog Efej NEG ‘As for an earlier time, in the year 1982, when we had already left (lit. jump from) Meirenkei village, all the people had not come to Indog Efej village yet.’ (104) [Mosom ongga mi-em-er-etka megej bera ]Participant ah axe REL 1PL.INC-IRR-INST-split firewood TOP lie.down erek ke-enefa like NOM-which ‘As for the axe that we will use to chop firewood, where is it?’ 288 Chapter 11

A temporal frame can be quite lengthy with recursive temporal noun phrases that include embedded relatives clauses (105). The relative clauses are headless. (105) [Sismeni ongga mifmin mi-imowa-ir ri-eker gij first REL 1PL.INC.POSS 1PL.INC-grandparent-PL 3PLsit in monuh motkobah ros ongga ri-en-ejginaga rot mosona place dark still REL 3PL-DUR-know concerning foreigner enesi ri-en-ejginaga rot mar ofou ongga edidib NEG 3PL-DUR-know concerning thing meaning REL come.about rot enesi bera]Temporal ri-efesij monuh ni mebaga … concerning NEG TOP 3PL-tell place and sky ‘As for an earlier time, when our ancestors still lived in ignorance (lit. darkness), (a time) that they did not know about foreigners yet, did not know about the origin of things yet, they said that the land and the sky …’ A frame can consist of a full clause with a noun phrase that is modified by a relative clause. The frame constituent is a mini-discourse that provides background information for the predications that follow. This type of frame is mainly used as a special introductory sentence of a narrative discourse. However, the rising intonation and pause with bera still marks the unit as a sentence-initial frame. In example (106), the main clause begins with a temporal adverbial, which takes a clause-initial position. This shows that the frame is indeed an extra-sentential unit. (106) [Didif di-efesij rot mefmen me-imowa Ejemes ongga I 1SG-tell concerning 1PL.EXC.POSS 1PL.EXC-grandparent Ejemes REL me-osu ojuj rot gu monuh Meyedeiba bera]Participant 3SG-mother descend concerning at place Meyedeiba TOP ebeibeyaif Ejemes efen me-edeina Imnyena eker gu Memyena Efefa now Ejemes 3SG.POSS 3SG-uncle Imnyena sit at Memyena Efefa ‘I am talking about our ancestor Ejemes whose mother birthed (her) at Meyedeiba village, now Ejemes’ uncle Imnyena lived in Memyena Efefa.’ Frames can also occur as external constituents of embedded complement clauses (107). (107) Marisian agot gu-ma oida [deisef bera]Temporal mi-eker Marisian say to-1DU.EXC COMP today TOP 1PL.INC-sit monog beda di-orohrus iwa tomorrow then 1SG-escort you ‘Marisian said to us that, “As for today, we will stay and then tomorrow I will escort you”.’ (lit. ‘when it is tomorrow, then I will escort you’) Many Papuan languages recapitulate verbs or whole clauses in a tail-head structure to move from topic to topic (see de Vries 2005). Meyah does not use tail-head structures in discourse. Instead, it uses complex conjunctions (see §10.3.5) to summarize the previous material. In this way they link larger units, such as paragraphs, to one another. This type of discourse linkage can be part of a bera-marked frame that introduces a new topic span (i.e. paragraph). Pragmatics 289

(108) [Erek ke-uma jefeda mona juens bera] asok-uma eja beda like NOM-that therefore time once TOP girl-that go then ej-esaga erek-inda INCEP-arrive like-above ‘Like that therefore as for one day, that girl departed and began to arrive (in the area) above.’ (109) [Erek ke-uma tina ebeibeyaif bera] Tuhan Allah efen oga like NOM-that but now TOP Lord God 3SG.POSS voice eja skoita rua insa ke-uma tein fob go to they ANAP NOM-that also already ‘Like that but as for now, the Lord God’s words have already gone to those people.’ A few rare examples are found in my text corpus that shows a bera-marked participant frame with a resumptive pronoun in the main clause. (110) [Moskona-ir bera] rua ri-ok rerin maini ojgomuja Moskona-PL TOP they 3PL-carry 3PL.POSS loincloth continuous ‘As for the Moskona, they continued to wear loincloth.’ (111) [Ri-osnok ongga monuh Munukwar bera] rua ri-oga oruh 3PL-person REL place Manokwari TOP they 3PL-voice slander ri-osnok ongga rua ri-eker jah gu memaga ofos 3PL-person REL they 3PLsit to at mountain top ‘As for the people who were of Manokwari village, they slandered the people who were living in the mountains.’ There are also a small number of examples found in the corpus in which external ‘participant’ frames are not marked by bera. In each instance a resumptive pronoun occurs in the main clause. The frames are all ‘given’ topics, as indicated by the anaphoric reference in the noun phrase. Thus, the structure and function of these frames in discourse is similar to that of left-dislocations (see Givón 1990:757ff.).11 (112) [Ri-ojaga-ir insa ke-uma] rua tein ri-erajgej rerin mogra 3PL-female-PL ANAP NOM-that they also 3PL-coil 3PL.POSS belt ‘Those women mentioned earlier, they also wore string belts.’ (113) [Japang egens-egens ongga ri-eker] rua ri-oksons jah Japan RED-one REL 3PLsit they 3PL-return to rerin ri-ojga 3PL.POSS 3PL-origin ‘Each of the Japanese that lived here, they returned to their place of origin.‘

11.6.5 Given topics Given topics are topics that have already been introduced and are fully established in the discourse. After a while a given topic may have low accessibility because a gap has

11 Foley and Van Valin (1985:355) note that the lack of a coreferential noun phrase constituent in the main clause is what distinguishes a topicalization from a left-. 290 Chapter 11 developed since it was last referenced (see Givón 1990:741). In this case, the topic focus marker bera is also used to re-establish focus on given topics. An important difference with this usage of bera is that the rising intonation and long pause that is associated with bera in a sentence-initial frame is absent. Instead, bera has normal sentence-medial word prosody. This phonological characteristic is due to the fact that given information is usually pronounced with lower pitch and weaker stress (see Chafe 1976:31). The lack of a pause following bera shows that it is not part of an external frame. In fact, the phonological boundary between bera and the item that follows often collapses (e.g. mes bera oira → mes beroira ‘dog TOP enter’). (114) Beda afij mei noba [mes bera] oira mofun efaga tera mei then wade.across water and dog TOP enter vine body above water ‘Then he/she waded across the river and as for the dog, (it) entered the dense jungle (lit. vine body) beyond the river.’ (115) noba [ri-ona-ir bera] ri-ei ri-ebirfeji jeskaseda aksa gij and 3PL-male-PL TOP 3PL-build.up 3PL-hair so.that tall in ‘and as for the men, they would puff up their hair so that it would be really tall.’ (116) [Rua ongga Moirir bera] ri-ei rerin mod jah meimojumu they REL Moirir TOP 3PL-build 3PL.POSS house at ocean efembra edge ‘As for the Biak/Numfor people, they build their houses on the ocean shore.’ Referential competition12 may also result in low accessibility of a given topic. To avoid this situation, bera can occur several times in a relatively short span to maintain focus on the topic that is most crucially involved in an event or activity span. In example (l17) below, a ‘water spirit’, the topic of the discourse is marked four times by bera. The first two references are non-verbal topic/comment constructions. (117) Erek ke-uma beda rua ke-uma ri-agot noba oh [mek bera] guru. like NOM-that then they NOM-that 3PL-say COMP oh pig TOP NEG ‘Like that, then they said, “Oh, as for that, it was not a pig”.’ Noba bi-okuk [meranghi mei bera-uma] fogora [meranghi mei and 2SG-trail spirit water TOP-that cause spirit water bera] en-eja rot-ib gij meren efei. TOP DUR-go concerning-2SG in lake liquid ‘And as for what you were trailing, it was a water spirit, causing that water spirit to lead you into the water.’ Beda ejgi joug bi-efena jefeda [mar ke-if bera] then entrap ADV 2SG-spirit therefore thing NOM-this TOP bi-en-agos-if-i. 2SG-DUR-die-here-PRO ‘Then it captured your spirit so that, as for this thing, it was killing you here.’

12 Two or more given items competing for the same pronouns, as Chafe (1976:31) puts it.

Appendix: Texts

This appendix provides four complete texts of three different discourse genre to illustrate the structures and functions described in the previous chapters. The first text is a story about food taboos and the influence of spirits. The second text is advice that a village headman gives to his two sons. The third text gives a procedural account of how to make a corn garden. A transcribed text on Meyah kinship and marriage is in Gravelle (2000). Three other transcribed texts are in Gravelle (2002).

Text 1: About water spirits (Story Telling) The following story was told by a middle-age Meyah male in his village setting. The story was spontaneous and was recorded and transcribed with the help of another Meyah speaker. The topic deals with the taboo associated with eating ‘ripened’ fruit and vegetables. Meyah people are supposed to eat those kinds of food items just before they fully ripen. A synopsis of the story is as follows. A man goes hunting for pigs. One turns out to be a water spirit that takes the form of a woman. She captures him and locks him in her house. The woman’s brother helps him to escape. However, he is too weakened by hunger to get away. Eventually his family finds him. They discover that he has been captured by a spirit, so they produce a concoction out of various types of plants, which removes the spirit’s influence over him.

1 Didif di-efesij rot1 mahteyi egens rot osnok egens ongga I 1SG-tell about ancient.story one concerning person one REL otkutkuma fogora2 okub mek meranghi mei. hunt cause shoot pig spirit water ‘I am telling an old story about a person who (went) hunting, resulting in him shot a pig (that was actually) a water spirit. 2 Noba mek ke-uma oku rot beda osoka gij meren. and pig NOM-that flee concerning then jump in lake And that pig fled because of that and then jumped into a lake.3

1 The item rot can mean ‘about’ or ‘concerning’. 2 In some constructions, the ‘cause’ conjunction fogora functions like the conjunction ‘so that’. If the verb in the second clause is perfective, fogora expresses more of a ‘cause/result’ relation (see §10.3.2). 3 Lines 1–2 provide the setting for the story, which actually begins in line 3. 291 292 Appendix

3 A-insa ke-uma tein osnok egens insa ke-uma ah toumou noba INT-ANAP NOM-that also person one ANAP NOM-that lie.down quiet and mona efen en raha tenten oj fob-o. time 3SG.POSS come morning true slide? already-APP At that very (mentioned) time that person waited quietly (for day light) and a new day dawned. (lit. time possess very early slide in) 4 Beda ofa edebecki noba osmo efej noba edebecki noba eja fob. then he/she get.up and cook ripe and get.up and go already Then he/she got up and cooked some ripe (food) and got up (after eating) and left.4 5 Otkutkuma raha tenten-a tina mocgoj ebahah. hunt morning true-INT but fog thick He hunted very early in the morning but the fog was thick. 6 Mocgoj ebahah mebi. fog thick ground The thick fog (covered) the ground. 7 Beda eja-uma eja tina orodosu mek ekeni mek eteb. then go-there go but meet pig red pig large Then he went along there, but (was surprised to) meet up with a red pig, a big pig. 8 Ot nou mocgoj ebahah. stand for fog thick He waited for the thick fog (to lift). 9 Tina guru jefeda okub mek-uma. but NEG therefore shoot pig-that But it didn’t, so he shot that pig. 10 Okub mek-uma beda agos esma gu mebi noba edebecki sons shoot pig-that then die fall to ground and get.up return beda oku rot ogufu. then flee concerning blood He/she shot the pig and it died (or so he thought) falling down and it got back up and then ran away bleeding. 11 Beda isok-uma ostoij. then guy-that follow.after Then that guy ran after it.5 12 Eyajga tina wui ogufu en-otkinaja jah sif-i. look but woe blood DUR-spill to here-PRO He looked, but woe, he thought complaining, “It was bleeding right here!” 13 Beda ostoij ostoij ostoij tina ojoros meren efembra then run.after run.after run.after but reach lake edge He kept on running after it, but (the pig) reached a lakeshore.

4 A traditional food taboo is the eating of ‘ripened’ food. 5 The term isok ‘guy’ is slang for ‘young man’. Texts 293

14 Beda isok-uma esaga gu meren efembra tina mek insa osoka then guy-that arrive at lake edge but pig ANAP jump gij meren efei. in lake liquid Then that guy arrived at the lakeshore, but that pig jumped into the lake. 15 Noba isok osnok ke-uma tein esaga gu meren efembra-uma and guy person NOM-that also arrive at lake edge-that tina mebi ebriyi jeska. but ground split from Then that human guy arrived at that lakeshore, but the ground split open. 16 Mebi ebga rot isok-uma. ground tore concerning guy-that The ground split open (beneath) that guy. 17 Eja gu meren efei-imba eja. go to lake liquid-below go He went downward into the water. 18 Eja gu meren efei-imba eja tina orogna gij mod ongga mek go to lake liquid-below go but go.out in house REL pig meranghi insa efen. spirit ANAP 3SG.POSS He went downward into the lake but went out (i.e. appeared)6 at a house that the (mentioned) pig spirit owned. 19 Mek meranghi insa efen mod ke-uma. pig spirit ANAP 3 SG.POSS house NOM-that The (mentioned) pig spirit owned that house. 20 Beda orogna gij momas mesiga okowu. then go.out in yard ladder base Then he (the guy) appeared in a yard (at the) base of a ladder. 21 Orodosu asok insa. meet girl ANAP He met up with the (mentioned) girl (i.e. the pig spirit).7 22 Ohur efaga erek eja mosona efer ongga ebirfeji edaga keingg. trick body like go foreign offspring REL hair hang ADV She tricked him (by) her body becoming like the child of a foreigner whose hair covered (or hid) her face. 23 Ke-uma beda osoka beda agei isok insa ke-uma etma noba NOM-that then jump then grab guy ANAP NOM-that arm and

6 The verb orogna ‘go out’ has the secondary sense ‘appear’. 7 The term asok ‘girl’ is slang for ‘young woman’. 294 Appendix

eja rot efen mod. go concerning 3SG.POSS house (She did) like that, then she jumped and then grabbed the (mentioned) guys arm and took him to her house. 24 Aha beda eker gij efen mer efesi. put then sit in 3SG.POSS room inside She put (him in the house) and then he waited inside a room. 25 Eker jah si-uma ojgomu tina isok insa odou efei-ei. sit at ADV-there only but guy ANAP liver RED-liquid He just stayed there but the (mentioned) guy was worried. (lit. liver very liquid) 26 Odou efei-ei noba ojona mocgoj efen tein en-orka live RED-liquid and woman fog 3SG.POSS also DUR-carry ke-uma eja. NOM-that go He was worried and as for the woman, a fog bank was taking that (person) away. (i.e. she began to disappear) 27 Osok rot beda eker mod. climb concerning then sit house He climbed (back in) and stayed in the house.8 28 Isok-uma odou efei-ei rot esinsa ojgomu oida meranghi guy-that liver RED-liquid concerning 3SG.EMF only COMP spirit mei ke-uma em-edi-ei era em-agob-ei era teinefa. water NOM-that IRR-hit-QU or IRR-strike-QU or how He was worried about himself (thinking) would that water spirit beat me or strike me dead, or how (would she treat me)?9 29 Jefeda odou efei-ei rot esinsa ojgomu ojgomu noba eker therefore liver RED-liquid about 3SG.EMF only only and sit noba ebisa. and cry So he was just very worried about himself and he sat there and cried. 30 Eker erek deisef. sit like today He sat there for one day. 31 Beda mosona ok. then hunger carry Then he became very hungry. (lit. hunger carried him)

8 At one time the Meyah lived in tree houses, or in houses built on very tall poles. Therefore, to enter a house means to ‘climb’ up to it. 9 The verb edi means to ‘hit’ or ‘beat’ with one’s hands. The verb agob means to ‘strike’ but with an instrument, such as a club or a machete. The latter is carried out with intent to kill, while the former refers to ‘beating’ someone, but not necessarily with intent to kill. Texts 295

32 Asok-uma oina mat beda oh gu tina en-et mat guru-ei. girl-that prepare food then hand.over to but DUR-eat food NEG-QU That (spirit) girl prepared some food and gave it to (him), but (surprised, she wondered), isn’t he going to eat? 33 Noba eker erek ke-uma ojgomu. and sit like NOM-that just And he just sat there like that (not eating). 34 Noba odou efei-ei rot esinsa. and liver RED-liquid about 3SG.EMF And he worried about himself. 35 Beda asok-uma oina mat ongkos-koska-ei oina marska-ei. then girl-that prepare food RED-delicious-QU prepare meat-QU Then that girl prepared some very delicious food, right, meat right?10 36 Oina mat en tina mat insa ke-uma ebah-ah. prepare food come but food ANAP NOM-that RED-raw She prepared some food (and) came, but the (mentioned) food was very raw (i.e. not ripe). 37 Ok marfok tein tina ebah-ah. carry vegetable also but RED-raw She brought vegetables, too, but (they were) very raw. 38 Oina marska tein rot efej-eji noba oguf-gufu tein. prepare meat also concerning RED-fur and RED-blood also She cooked meat, too, with the fur and blood, too. 39 Erek ke-uma jeska rua ongga meranghi mei. like NOM-that because they REL spirit water (It was) like that because that’s the way of they who are water spirits. 40 Jefeda ri-en-et mat ongga efej guru. therefore 3PL-DUR-eat food REL ripe NEG So they don’t eat food that is ripe. 41 Jefeda odou agob joug mat insa ke-uma ongga et jefa.11 therefore liver strike ADV food ANAP NOM-that REL eat should Therefore, he rejected (lit. liver strike) that (mentioned) food, which he should have eaten. 42 Beda ah toumou jiji tina erek deisef erek monog then lie.down quiet on.and.on but like today like tomorrow erek ckog. like day.after.tomorrow Then he just sat their quietly, but one day passed, then two days passed, then three days passed (and nothing happened).

10 These are rhetorical questions posed by the speaker. 11 As noted in §7.7.8, a larger variety of modals are attested in conversation, yet they are nearly absent in my text corpus. This use of jefa is one of those rare occurrences from texts. 296 Appendix

43 Tina asok-uma eyahehir joug efen mod. but girl-that forbid ADV 3SG.POSS house But that girl prohibited (others from coming to) her house.12 44 Ke-uma beda me-eyesa-ir ni me-osu-ir ni me-eka-ir NOM-that then 3SG-sibling-PL and 3SG-mother-PL and 3SG-father-PL ni ri-en-osok mod insa ke-uma jinaga guru. and 3PL-DUR-climb house ANAP NOM-that whatsoever NEG (It was like) that, then his sisters, mothers and fathers where not able to enter (e.g. climb in) the (mentioned) house at all. 45 Rua ri-eker-ei noba ofa of montoj insa ke-uma beda ahais jeska. they 3PL-sit-QU and she shut door ANAP NOM-that then strong from They waited, right and she shut that (mentioned) door and then firmly (locked them) out. 46 Ejgi joug isok insa ke-uma en-eker gij mer efesi-uma. entrap ADV guy ANAP NOM-that DUR-sit in room inside-that She trapped that guy, keeping him inside that (mentioned) room. 47 Jefeda ejgi joug ahais. therefore entrap ADV strong Therefore, she strongly trapped him (i.e. captured him). 48 Tina guru beda me-eyesa-ir ni me-osu-ir ni ri-ejeka noba but NEG then 3SG-sibing-PL and 3SG-mother-PL and 3PL-ask and ri-agot moguma noba asok-if eyahehir joug mod-if rot. 3PL-speak one.another COMP girl-this forbid ADV house-this about But no (they couldn’t enter) then his sisters and mothers wondered and said protesting to one another, “This girl has prohibited this house (i.e. barred us from the house).” 49 Meidu bera en-ah gu mod-if-o.13 what TOP DUR-lie.down in house-this-APP As for this, what is it (that is) in the house? 50 Rot meidu. about what What did she do that for? 51 Meidu en-ah gu mod-if-ei fogora en-eyahehir joug what DUR-lie.down in house-this-QU cause DUR-forbid ADV erek ke-if-o. like NOM-this- What is in this house, (that is) causing her to block us out like this! 52 I-osok mod-if toutou eyajga mod-uma fog-a oida asok-if 2PL-climb house-this careful look house-that first-EMP COMP girl-this

12 This may also mean, ‘put a hex on the house’. 13 The ‘appeal’ clitic -o (see §11.5.3) is sometimes used to express ‘bewilderment’. Texts 297

ej-eita meidu bera en-ah gu mod-if-o. INCEP-take what TOP DUR-lie.down at house-this-APP Climb (into) the house carefully (and) look (in) that house first (thinking), as for the thing this girl is beginning to do, what is in this house (causing her to do that)? 53 Tina eyahehir joug ahais ojgomu. but forbid ADV strong only But she had barred (them) strongly (from the house). 54 Erek ke-uma jefeda mona juens bera asok-uma eja beda like NOM-that therefore time once TOP girl-that go then ej-esaga erek-inda. INCEP-arrive like-above (It was) like that, therefore one day that girl left and then she arrived at (an area) an upper area. 55 Tina efena eineina rot mod insa ke-uma but spirit tremble concerning house ANAP NOM-that But she was worried (lit. spirit tremble) about that (mentioned) house. 56 Jefeda oksons en beda eyajga joug montoj rot therefore return come then look ADV door concerning oida ei ei ei i-oug deika montoj-uma jeska COMP hey hey hey 2PL-fold again door-that because i-em-ej-esaga gu mod-uma fogora i-em-ohoda montoj. 2PL-IRR-INCEP-arrive at house-that cause 2PL-IRR-open door Therefore she returned and checked on the door (thinking) that, “Hey, hey, hey close (lit. fold) the door again because you are about to arrive at that house and so you will open the door”.14 57 Beda en noba etaha joug. then come and rebuke ADV Then she came and scolded (them). 58 Etaha joug etaha joug joug joug-uma. rebuke ADV rebuke ADV ADV ADV-there She kept on scolding (them) there. 59 Oksons beda eja-inda eja ej-ejibi dektek jah. return then go-above go INCEP-vanish slowly to She returned (to where she had come from) and then going above she began to leave, vanishing slowly from (their) sight. 60 Erek ke-ma ojgomu beda asok-uma efen me-eyesa ongga like NOM-that just then girl-that 3SG.POSS 3SG-sibling REL ona en-uma en toutou beda aga eiteij gij awesi beda ogog. male come-there come careful then hang eye in mouth then glance

14 The implied meaning is, ‘you shouldn’t open the door because he may escape’. 298 Appendix

It was just like that and then that girl’s sibling, who male, slowly (i.e. carefully) came along there and then he peeked (lit. hang eyes in) through the (door) opening (lit. mouth) and glanced around. 61 Eyajga tina ei noba ri-osnok egema ri-en-eker mer jah gu look but hey and 3PL-person other 3PL-DUR-sit room to at mer efesi ke-if-i. room inside NOM-this-PRO He looked but, (surprised he thought complaining), “Hey there are some people sitting inside the room, inside this room here! 62 Oh asok-if eja agei ri-osnok egema beda en-aha jah gu oh girl-this go grab 3PL-person other then DUR-put to in mod mer efesi-if. house room inside-this Oh, this girl went (and) grabbed some people and then put (them) into the room of this house. 63 Erek ke-if fogora en-eyahehir joug mod-if ojgomu erek like NOM-this cause DUR-forbid ADV house-this only like ke-if-i. NOM-this-PRO It’s like this, so she is just barring other people from (coming near) this house in this way. 64 Ayo di-em-ogog deika-o. hey 1SG-IRR-glance again-PRO Hey, I’ll just glance around some more!” 65 Tina guru jefeda ek toumou erek ke-uma ojgomu eja jeska jah. but NEG therefore see quiet like NOM-that just go from to But nothing happened, so he carefully looked around (and then) he left. 66 Asok insa ke-uma ongobur en beda er-agob joug montoj sons. girl ANAP NOM-that hurry come then INST-strike ADV door back That girl hurried back and then slammed the (mentioned) door shut. 67 Odou es-esa joug isok ke-uma beda ahais ojgomuja. liver RED-send ADV guy NOM-that then strong continuous She forced that guy (back in) and then (he) remained strongly (trapped). 68 Tina guru jefeda mona raha deika mona egema deika beda but no therefore time morning again time other again then asok-uma eja deika. girl-that go again But no (nothing more happened) so the next morning that girl left again. 69 Eja ok mat deika jeska. go carry food again from She went to bring food from (the garden). Texts 299

70 Asok-uma me-eyesa en-uma en beda engkingk montoj bi-ohoda girl-that 3SG-sibling come-there come then knock door 2SG-open montoj bi-ohoda montoj. door 2SG-open door That girl’s brother came along to (the house) and then knocked on the door (saying) “Open the door, open the door”. 71 Isok-uma edebecki toutou beda ohoda montoj jeska beda asok-uma guy-that get.up careful then open door from then girl-that me-eyesa ejeka noba bi-oguidu. 3SG-sibling ask and 2SG-ponder That guy got up carefully and then opened the door and then that girl’s sibling asked, “What are you up to?” ’ 72 Agot gu oida mar enjgineg bera egema guru rot didif tein. speak go COMP thing other TOP some NEG concerning me also He said to (him), “As for any (of your suspicions), I’m not up to anything. 73 Asok-if er-orokrusa. girl-this INST-deceive This girl tricked me. 74 Di-otkutkuma tina di-en jeska dedin ed-ohona-ir ni 1SG-hunt but 1SG-come from 1SG.POSS 1SG-wife-PL and ed-esa-ir ni ed-okosa-ir ni. 1SG-child-PL and 1SG-sibling-PL and I was hunting, but I came from my wives, my children and my siblings. 75 Ri-en-eker-uma. 3PL-DUR-sit-there They are there. (lit. they exist) 76 Noba di-otkutkuma raha tenten-men-a beda di-orodosu mek ekeni and 1SG-hunt morning very-RED-EMP then 1SG-meet pig red fogora di-em-oku. cause 1SG-IRR-flee And I was hunting really early in the morning and then I met up with a red pig, so I ran after it. 77 Tina mek-uma oku rot efera beda osoka gij meren noba but pig-that flee concerning injure then jump in lake and di-en-esaga gij meren efembra. 1SG-DUR-arrive in lake edge But that pig fled injured and then it jumped into a lake and I arrived at the lake shore. 78 Tina mebi ebga rot-id fogora di-en-esiri noba di-en-orogna but ground split concerning-1SG cause 1SG-DUR-fall and 1SG-DUR-go.out 300 Appendix

gu momas ongga asok-if efen fogora en-ejgi joug jah sif-i. to yard REL girl-this 3SG.POSS cause DUR-entrap ADV at here-PRO But the ground gave way beneath me causing me to fall in and I appeared in the yard that that girl owns and so she trapped me here! 79 Meranghi mei me-eyesa ke-uma agot gu noba oh mek bera guru. spirit water 3SG-sibling NOM-that say to COMP oh pig TOP NEG That water spirit’s sibling said to (him), “Oh as for the pig, that is not what it is. 80 Noba asok-if bera insa ongga en-ohur efaga noba insa ke-uma and girl-this TOP ANAP REL DUR-fake body and ANAP NOM-that en-eja fogora bi-okub ofa bera-uma fogora en-oku rot-ib. DUR-go cause 2SG-shoot her TOP-that cause DUR-flee concerning-2SG And as for this (mentioned) girl, she made her body (look like a pig) and that caused you to shoot at her, as for that, causing her to run away from you. 81 Bi-en gu mod-if noba en-ejgi joug-ib. 2SG-come to house-this and DUR-entrap ADV-2SG You came to this house and she captured you. 82 Beda memef tein me-en-eresa gu mod-if jinaga then we also 3PL.EXC-DUR-visit at house-this whatsoever guru-if-i jefa. NEG-here-COMP should Then we too should never visit this house here! 83 Jefeda bi-agot ebeirens jeskaseda di-en-eja-if jeska orogna therefore 2SG-speak fast so.that 1SG-DUR-go-here because go.out en beda obu nagif. come then punch us Therefore speak quickly so that I can get out of here, because she will appear and then punch (i.e. beat) us.” 84 Ke-uma beda agot gu oida bi-osok mod-if ebeirens gu. NOM-that then say to COMP 2SG-climb house-this fast to (Like) that then he said, “Climb out of the house quickly. 85 En-eja jeska ke-if. DUR-go from NOM-this Leave this place. 86 Bi-osok mesiga-if. 2SG-climb ladder-this Climb this ladder. 87 Bi-osok mesiga deismos ke-ke-if beda bi-orogna gij monggosum 2SG-climb ladder middle RED-NOM-this then 2SG-go.out in roof ke-inda beda bi-eja. NOM-above then 2SG-go Climb the middle of the ladder (e.g. a pole) and then go out from the roof above and then leave”. Texts 301

88 Isok ke-uma bera agot gu oida bi-ot jah si-uma beda guy NOM-that TOP say to COMP 2SG-stand to ADV-there then bi-eyajga joug jeskaseda asok insa en beda er-agob joug 2SG-look ADV so.that girl ANAP come then INST-strike ADV mod-if beda edi didif. house-this then hit me As for that guy, he said, “Stand here, then watch so that (you can warn me if) the (mentioned) girl is coming to strike this house with something and hit me. 89 Bi-eyajga joug esaga jah si-inda beda bi-agot joug 2SG-look ADV arrive to ADV-above then 2SG-say ADV jeskaseda di-eker. so.that 1SG-sit Look out for (her) arriving from (the area) above and then warn (me) so that I can wait. 90 Agot gu oida enesi jefeda bi-osoka ebeirens. say to COMP not.yet therefore 2SG-jump fast Say to (me) not yet, so that you can jump quickly. 91 Ke-uma bera bi-osok mesiga insa ke-uma toutou toutou beda NOM-that TOP 2SG-climb ladder ANAP NOM-that careful careful then esaga gij mega ah toboruwu.15 arrive in tree lie.down ADV That is, climb that (mentioned) (pole) ladder very carefully and then you will arrive at a tree lying (i.e. leaning (?) near the house). 92 Beda ot esij mega ah toboruwu insa ke-uma noba then stand on.top tree lie.down ADV ANAP NOM-that and etma er-ekeba mega efeyi-imba eja jeska. hand INST-divide tree leave-below go from Then stand on that (mentioned) tree (that is leaning there) and using your hands push the leaves away. 93 Noba orogna beda ot esij monggosum. and go.out then stand on roof And go out and then stand on the roof”. 94 Eja jeska beda me-eyesa-uma tein eja toutou jeska jah. go from then 3SG-sibling-that also go careful from to He left and then that sibling also went away carefully. 95 Ke-uma beda ofa orogna gu monggosum tina ah-ah NOM-that then he go.out to ceiling but RED-lie.down

15 I don’t know the meaning of this word, but is functions here as an adverbial modifier, which possible means ‘leaning’. 302 Appendix

efen mesiga okowu momas insa ke-uma. 3SG.poss ladder base yard ANAP NOM-that (Like) that then, he went out from the roof, but he was lying at the foot of his ladder in that (mentioned) yard. 96 En-orogna tina me-ohona ni me-okosa-ir ni ef-esa-ir ni DUR-go.out but 3SG-wife and 3SG-sibling-PL and 3SG-child-PL and ri-agot noba16 aiyo isok neka en-orogna ke-if-i nou. 3PL-say COMP hey guy yesterday DUR-go.out NOM-this-COMP for. He went out, but his wife and brothers and children said, “Hey, yesterday this guy came out from her house to (escape). 97 En-orogna noba en-agos jah sif-o! DUR-go.out and DUR-die at here-PRO He was leaving and dying right here! 98 Iwa Kinomu-ei era Monghu-ei osk aki rot-i fogora you Kinomu-QU or Monghu-QU stick foot concerning-COMP cause en-orka jiji jah noba ecka fob.’ DUR-carry on.and.on to and two.days.ago already You, Kinomu or Monghu,17 stuck out your foot concerning him (i.e. tripped him) causing him to tumble downward and it has already been two days (since you did that). 99 Noba mosona ok beda otkonu eyet ejmeg fob-i. and hunger carry then stomach stick back already-PRO And he became very hungry and then he was starving to death. (lit. stomach sticking to his back) 100 Beda en-agos esma jah gu mesiga okowu-imba-i. then DUR-die fall to at ladder base-below-PRO Then he died falling to the base of the ladder! 101 Tina guru-i jefeda ri-agot moguma oida i-eker joug i-eker but NEG-COMP therefore 3PL-say together COMP 2PL-sit ADV 2PL-sit joug jeska Kinomu osk aki rot Monghu osk aki ADV because Kinomu stick foot concerning Monghu stick foot rot beda eja ecka fob. concerning then go two.days.ago already But no (he wasn’t dead) so they said to one another, “Wait, wait, because Kinomu tripped him or Monghu tripped him, then he/she left two days ago”. 102 Jefeda mosona ok beda en-ah jah-uma. therefore hunger carry then DUR-lie.down to-there Therefore he was starving and then lying there.

16 The conjunction noba ‘and’ is sometimes used as the complementizer ‘that’ with speech verbs. 17 Spirits that take the form of a human. Texts 303

103 Jefeda bi-eker toumou jeskaseda mi-eita mebnei ni moskusefi therefore 2SG-sit quiet so.that 1PL.INC-take poison and moss ni mongka mei en beda mi-er-ok jeskaseda Kinomu and pandanus water come then 1PL-INC-INST-carry so.that Kinomu aha jeska fog. put from first Therefore, wait quietly first, so that we can get poisonous plants, moss, pandanus juice and then use it against Kinomu so that he/she will release you”. 104 Ke-uma beda ri-eker toumou ai-juens juens beda mebi er gij. NOM-that then 3PL-sit quiet INT-once once then ground grow in Like that and then they waited quietly for just a few moments and then the ground began to grow (or fill in). 105 Mebi er gij isok-uma beda osowu. ground grow in guy-that then awaken The ground filled in (under) that guy and then he woke up. 106 Edebecki beda eker beda agot gu-ir ei di-esaga si-enefa bera-if-o.18 get.up then sit then say to-3PL hei 1SG-arrive ADV-where TOP-this-APP He stood up and then sat down and then said to them, “Hey, as for this place that I have arrived at, where is it?” 107 Ri-agot noba ei bi-esaga si-enefa-o rot bi-eja 3PL-say COMP hey 2SG-arrive ADV-where-COMP concerning 2SG-go ecka fob-i. two.days.ago already-PRO They said, “Hey, where did you end up after leaving two days ago? 108 Kinomu osk aki rot-ib-ei. Kinomu stick foot concerning-2SG-QU. Kinomu tripped (i.e. assaulted) you, uh? 109 Era bi-oguidu fogora bi-en-eja ecka fob-o. or 2SG-ponder cause 2SG-DUR-go two.days.ago already-APP Or, what were you planning/pondering that caused you to leave two days ago?” 110 Agot noba guru-i noba di-otkutkuma ecka raha say COMP NEG-COMP and 1SG-hunt two.days.ago morning tenten-men-a tina mocgoj esiri beda agob mebi. true-RED-EMP but fog fall then strike ground He said, “no” and “I was hunting two days ago very early in the morning, but the fog covered the grown”. (lit. struck the ground) 111 Ke-uma bera di-eja beda di-eyajga tina mek ekeni eteb et NOM-that TOP 1SG-go then 1SG-look but pig red large eat

18 The guy is back in his own place. 304 Appendix

mebi jah si-uma noba di-okub beda agos. ground to ADV-there and 1SG-shoot then die That is, I was going along and then I looked, but (to my surprise) I saw a big red pig rooting in the ground there and I shot it and then it died. 112 Ereb mebi noba edebecki rot ogufu beda eja rot meet ground and get.up concerning blood then go concerning gu meren efembra. to lake edge It fell to the ground (lit. met the ground) and got back up bleeding and then went (bleeding) to the lakeshore. 113 Noba di-eckih beda di-ej-esaga jah gu meren efembra. and 1SG-trail then 1SG-INCEP-arrive to at lake edge And I trailed it and then I arrived at a lake shore. 114 Tina mebi ebga jeska-id beda di-esiri gij mebi efesi-imba eja. but ground split from-1SG then 1SG-fall in ground inside-below go But the ground split open beneath me and then I fell down into a hole. 115 Tina di-orogna keingg asok-uma efen mod noba eja ejgi but 1SG-go.out ADV girl-that 3SG.POSS house and go entrap joug didif ecka fob. ADV me two.days.ago already But I appeared before that girl’s house and it has already been two days since she captured me too. 116 Erek ke-uma beda rua ke-uma ri-agot noba oh mek bera guru. like that then they NOM-that 3PL-say COMP oh pig TOP NEG (Like) that, then they said, “Oh, as for that, it was not a pig 117 Noba bi-okuk meranghi mei bera-uma fogora meranghi mei bera and 2SG-trail spirit water TOP-that cause spirit water TOP en-eja rot-ib gij meren efei. DUR-go concerning-2SG in lake liquid and as for what you were trailing, it was a water spirit, causing that water spirit to lead you into the water. 118 Beda ejgi joug bi-efena jefeda mar ke-if bera bi-en-agos-if. then entrap ADV 2SG-spirit therefore thing NOM-this TOP 2SG-DUR-die-here. Then it captured your spirit, therefore (because of) this thing, you were dying here!” 119 Ke-uma beda isok odou efei-ei beda agot gu me-ohona ni NOM-that then guy liver RED-liquid then say to 3SG-wife and ef-esa-ir ni oida i-ohoturu mar gij jah. 3SG-child-PL and COMP 2PL-collect thing in to (like) that, then the guy began to worry and said to his wife and his children, “Collect the things here (e.g. gather the items used to ward off a water spirit). Texts 305

120 Era i-eita mar ejiteyi era i-oguidu deika jeska guaidu jeskaseda or 2PL-take thing placate or 2PL-ponder more from where so.that di-eskeira fog-a. 1SG-clean first-EMP Or, get the things for placating (the spirit), or think more (about) where (this spirit) is from so that I can be healed! 121 Beda di-efena ebah-ah. then 1SG-spirit RED-raw Then I will live”. (lit. spirit be very raw). 122 Erek ke-uma beda ri-oroun isok jah mod ojgomu jeska. like NOM-that then 3PL-bring guy to house just away Like that, then they took the guy away to (their) house. 123 Noba ri-eita mebnei ni meranghi efeyi ni mohnoh ni and 3PL-take poison and spirit leaf and plant.type and mar nomnaga fogora ri-os gij mokaga jeska jah noba thing all cause 3PL-pound in bowl from to and ri-er-eij keingg ri-er-osiomu gij. 3PL-INST-throw ADV 3PL-INST-bath in And they took mebnei plants, spirit leaves, mohnoh plants, mebino plants, all sorts of things, then pounded it in a bowl and using that, they put it on (him), washing him with it. 124 Ri-er-of meranghi mei efena jeska. 3PL-INST-close spirit water spirit from Using that they shut out the water spirit’s spirit.19 125 Ri-er-osiomu gij noba ri-er-ot meranghi efena jeska ojgomu. 3PL-INST-bath in and 3PL-INST-wash spirit spirit from just They just bathed (him) in (the concoction) and they washed the (effects of) the ghost’s spirit from him. 126 Beda ke-uma bera eker noba efena ebah. then NOM-that TOP sit and spirit raw Then, that is, (the guy) would wait and he would live. (lit. his spirit would be raw) 127 Beda me-ohona ni me-okosa-ir ni ef-esa-ir ni ri-ebisa ogugur. then 3SG-wife and 3SG-sibling-PL and 3SG-child-PL and 3PL-cry noise Then his wife, his brothers and his children cried loudly. 128 Ri-ebisa ogugur erek ke-uma. 3PL-cry noise like NOM-that They were crying noisily like that. 129 Tina osnok egens ongga ejginaga rot meranghi mei but person one REL know about spirit water

19 The things made the water spirit not want to return to him. 306 Appendix

efen ofou fob. 3SG.POSS meaning already. However, there was someone who already knew about the meaning of water spirits (or, who had knowledge of water spirits). 130 Agot joug-ir oida i-en-ebisa guru. say ADV-3PL COMP 2PL-DUR-cry NEG He commanded them, “Don’t cry”. 131 Maraim. It’s okay. 132 I-eita mar ke-if nomnaga tein en beda mi-eres 2PL-take thing NOM-this all also come then 1PL.INC-sprinkle beda osiomu gij. then bath in Bring all these things here and then sprinkle it (on him) and then he should bath (him) in it. 133 Beda maraim meranghi mei efena em-oku jeska fogora em-eker si. then okay spirit water spirit IRR-flee from cause IRR-sit STATUS Then, it will be okay, the water spirit’s spirit will certainly flee from (him) causing it to stay away”. 134 Beda ona egens ejginaga rot fob ke-ke-uma agot mar erek then male one know about already RED-NOM-that say thing like ke-uma jeskaseda oroun keingg ri-odou efesi. NOM-that in.order.to bring ADV 3PL-liver inside Then that man already knew about those things, said things like that to encourage them. (lit. bring along their livers insides) 135 Beda isok insa ke-uma eker noba eskeira sons fob. then guy ANAP NOM-that sit and clean return already Then that guy waited and he became healthy. (lit. cleanness returned) 136 Ai-insa-uma [ainsoma] INT-ANAP-that That’s all.’

Text 2: Advice I give to me sons (Warning) This text is from a recording of a village headman in the village of Nuni. It was spontaneously told and transcribed with the help of another Meyah speaker. The speaker is is teaching and admonishing his two school-aged sons regarding their behaviour. They are living in a large village Desa (see §1.3) with Meyah people from several different clans; therefore the potential for conflict is higher than normal. The man giving the advice is the government-appointed leader of the Desa. Accordingly, the text displays hortative and imperative structures. The text also contains several Indonesian loan words, most of which are marked by the loan prefix ebe-, however some are not. The Indonesian terms are shown in bold face. Texts 307

1 Di-agot fakokor gu ed-esa Irahurijmeg gonu Mosonaesira. 1SG-speak advice to 1SG-child Irahurijmeg and Mosonaesira ‘I am giving advice to my child Irahurijmeg and Mosonaesira. 2 I-en-obkoreka mar guru. 2PL-DUR-steal thing NEG Don’t steal things. 3 I-en-ofos efek guru. 2PL-DUR-skin hard NEG Don’t be brash. (lit. tough skinned) 4 I-en-ororu mar ongga oska guru. 1PL-DUR-follow thing REL bad NEG Don’t get involved (lit. follow) bad things. 5 Ge-en-otoiru ri-ojaga guru. 2/3DU-DUR-carry.on 3PL-woman NEG Don’t carry on (i.e. fool around with) women. 6 Ge-en-ofos efek guru. 2/3DU-DUR-skin hard NEG Don’t be brash. 7 Mojen-irga jeska egema ef-esa egema me-ohona. embarrass-2/3DU from other 3SG-child other 3SG-wife You will be embarrassed/ashamed because of someone’s child (or) someone’s wife.20 8 Ge-oku gu ge-ofos jeska egema me-ohona egema ef-esa. 2/3DU-pull at 2/3DU-skin from other 3SG-wife other 3SG-child Pull your skin from (i.e. avoid accidentally touching) someone’s wife or daughter. 9 Ge-en-ororu mar ongga oska guru. 2/3DU-follow thing REL bad NEG Don’t do things (i.e. follow bad things) that will get you into trouble. 10 Goga tein ge-eg oufa-mofa. you.two also 2/3DU-hear RED-good You should listen really well (to me). 11 Ge-en-ouder mar guru. 2/3DU-DUR-gossip thing NEG Don’t gossip about things. 12 Ge-en-ereska rot mar guru. 2/3DU-DUR-nag concerning thing NEG. Don’t nag (people) about things.

20 Meaning, all the cultural issues associated with fooling around with women will end up causing them much embarrassment when it becomes known. 308 Appendix

13 Ge-en-osoka gu mar okowu egema efen guru. 2/3DU-DUR-jump in thing debt other 3SG.POSS NEG Don’t get involved (lit. jump in) with someone else’s problems.21 14 Ge-en-esa mar gij ri-ona rot mar oga ongga 2/3DU-DUR-send thing in 3PL-male concerning thing word REL ri-agot guru. 3PLsay NEG Don’t retaliate (lit. send things) to men concerning disputes (lit. word thing) that they have talked about. 15 Goga ge-oufa-mofa. you.two 2/3DU-RED-good Behave very well. 16 Ge-osofeja jeskaseda ge-en-osoka gu mar okowu guru. 2/3DU-conscientious so.that 2/3DU-DUR-jump at thing debt NEG Be conscientious so that you don’t end up in debt.’ (lit. paying a fine for offending someone) 17 Beda ri-ona ri-en-otkonu oska rot-irga beda then 3PL-male 3PL-DUR-stomach bad concerning-2/3DU then ri-ekid-irga. 3PL-poison-2/3DU (If you don’t follow my teaching) then men will be angry with you and then they will poison you.22 18 Ge-eriaga-maga rot ri-osnok rot ongkas. 2/3DU-weak-very concerning 3PL-person concerning entire Be very patient (lit. very weak/mild) with people. 19 Ge-en-otoiru ri-ojaga guru. 2/3DU-DUR-carry.on 3PL-woman NEG Don’t fool around (lit. carry on) with women. 20 Ge-en-otoiru ri-ojowu guru. 2/3DU-DUR-carry.on 3PL-young.girl NEG Don’t fool around with young girls. 21 Ge-ot joug ge-odou efesi osoweja-meja rot 2/3DU-stand ADV 2/3DU-liver inside conscientious-very concerning ge-eyesa-ir. 2/3DU-sibling-PL Be vigilant (lit. stand) (and) very conscientious regarding your younger sisters. 22 Ge-en-otoiru ri-ojowu guru. 2/3DU-DUR-carry.on 3PL-young.girl NEG Don’t fool around with younger girls.

21 This is inferred by the use of ‘debt’, which means that someone has to pay compensation for offending someone else. 22 In other words, try to secretly kill you. Texts 309

23 Ge-en-osos-ir guru. 2/3DU-DUR-COAX-3PL NEG Don’t coax them (into doing things) 24 Ge-en-agei-ir guru.’ 2/3DU-DUR-grab-3PL NEG Don’t grab them. 25 Ge-en-ofij rua ongga ri-em-ouder mar erek ke-uma guru. 2/3DU-DUR-help they REL 3PL-IRR-gossip thing like NOM-that NEG Don’t help (i.e. join in with) people who gossip like that. 26 Orokrusa-irga beda ge-en-eker dektek jeskaseda ge-em-ona guru deceive-2/3DU then 2/3DU-DUR-sit long so.that 2/3DU-IRR-male NEG He/she will deceive you so that you won’t become an adult (i.e. you will be killed). 27 Jeskaseda ge-em-onokona era ge-em-onafos erek didif so.that 2/3DU-IRR-old.man or 2/3DU-IRR-middle.age like me ongga di-en-agot mar-if juens-ai. REL 1SG-DUR-say thing-this moment-INT (Listen) so that you will live to be old or middle-aged like me who is telling you these things at this moment. 28 Beda ri-otkonu oska rot goga. then 3PL-stomach bad concerning you.two (If you don’t listen to me) then they will be angry with you. 29 Beda goga ge-agos ebeirens. then you.two 2/3DU-die fast Then you will soon end up dead. 30 Rotai23 di-eker rot-irga gu mebi ofoufem. because 1SG-sit concerning-2/3DU at ground hot (I say this) because I am living in this hot place for your benefit. 31 Di-ah gu Ambai Efesi. 1SG-lie.down at Ambai Efesi I’m living at Ambai Efesi. 32 Di-eker gu Moira rot-irga beda di-en-oh mei 1SG-sit at Biak.people concerning-2/3DU then 1SG-DUR-pay cloth rot ri-osnok guru. concerning 3PL-person NEG I’m living in this Biak people (area) for you and (because of my good behaviour) I don’t have to pay cloth (i.e. a fine) to people. 33 Didif di-en-ekid ri-osnok guru. I 1SG-DUR-poison 3PL-person NEG I don’t poison people (i.e. I don’t make enemies).

23 Rotai ‘because’ in the Testega dialect of Meyah. 310 Appendix

34 Di-en-ohu mei rot ri-osnok rerin guru. 1SG-DUR-sell cloth concerning 3PL-person 3PL.POSS NEG I don’t have to sell my cloth for (other) people to possess (because of some offense). 35 Di-en-ekid mar guru. 1SG-DUR-poison thing NEG I don’t poison anything.24 36 Didif osoweja. I conscientious I am conscientious (about my behaviour). 37 Didif di-ohu dedin mei rot oufa-yahi. I 1SG-sell 1SG.POSS cloth concerning good-very I sell me cloth for very good (reasons).25 38 Jeska rot ke-if didif di-en jeska memaga ofos. because concerning NOM-this I 1SG-come from mountain top It’s because of this that I moved from the mountains. 39 Beda di-en eker rot-irga gu Munukwar beda then 1SG-come sit concerning-2/3DU at Manokwari then di-ebe-usaha mod ofokor rot-irga. 1SG-LOAN-endeavour house learn concerning-2/3DU I came and have remained for your benefit in Manokwari and then I have persevered (to get a) school (built) for you. 40 Beda ge-ofokor rot osoweja. then 2/3DU-learn concerning conscientious They you can study diligently. 41 Beda ge-esma seromat. 26 then 2/3DU-receive selamat Then you live in peace/safety. 42 Beda ge-eja erek Tuan. then 2/3DU-go like Tuan Then you will become like Tuan.27 43 Ga-ot gu di-okoda ofos beda ge-odou efesis erek 2/3DU-stand at 1SG-sole skin then 2/3DU-liver smart like di-esinsa fob-ei. 28 1SG-self already-QU Behave like I do (lit. stand in my own footprints) then you will be smart like myself, right.

24 This could also mean, ‘I don’t try to kill my enemies’. 25 As opposed to using the cloth to pay of an offended person. 26 Indonesian term. 27 Referring to the safety that western people live in. 28 This is a rhetorical question used in teaching and admonishing. Texts 311

44 Ge-ebe-urus mar ge-efemebi efesis erek di-esinsa. 2/3DU-LOAN-take.care thing 2/3DU-heart smart like 1SG-self Take care of things intelligently, like myself. 45 Rot ongga ge-em-ona beda ge-ebe-atur mar erek didif. concerning REL 2/3DU-IRR-male then 2/3DU-LOAN-arrange thing like me When you are grown men, then you will be able to arrange things as I do. 46 Ge-eg di-oga-if ah gu ge-odou efesi beda ge-odou 2/3DU-listen 1SG-voice-this sit at 2/3DU-liver inside then 2/3DU-liver efesis beda ge-ebe-urus meidu meidu tein-a. smart then 2/3DU-LOAN-take.care what what also-INT If you listen to my words, (and they) remain in your heart (lit. liver), then you will be smart and then you will be able to do whatever you want to! 47 Ge-agot mar koisoisa erek di-esinsa. 2/3-say thing clear like 1SG-self Speak clearly (or carefully) like myself.29 48 Ge-en-agot mar efera etefa30 en-ah gij mar ongga 2/3DU-dur-say thing injure rot DUR-lie.down in thing REL ge-agot guru. 2/3DUsay NEG Don’t speak injuriously in the things that you say. 49 Ge-ot gu di-okoda koisoisa erek di-esinsa. 2/3DU-stand at 1SG-sole clear like 1SG-self Clearly behave like I do. (lit. stand in my own footprints) 50 Ge-agot mar ge-ebe-usaha gu ge-odou efesi. 2/3DU-say thing 2/3DU-LOAN-endeavour in 2/3DU-liver inside. Tell yourself in your heart to persevere. 51 Beda ge-agot moguma ge-agot oida ge-agot mar koisoisa then 2/3DU-say each.other 2/3DU-say COMP 2/3DU-say thing clear erek akeina ge-eriaga-maga erek akeina rotai ge-ohoturu like 1SG.father 2/3DU-weak-very like 1SG.father because 2/3DU-gather ri-osnok eteb-if. 3PL-people large-here Then speak to each other, say “Speak clearly/carefully like father (and) be kind like father” because you have gathered (i.e. responsible for) many people here. 52 Ge-eker rot ri-osnok eteb-if jeska rejrej Yoom. 2/3DU-sit concerning 3PL-person big-this from around Yoom You are responsible for these many people from around the Yoom area.

29 In other words, make sure people understand your intentions. 30 This term is actually the compound ‘painful’. It is also used as the term for a ‘new born infant’. 312 Appendix

53 Ri-esaga jeska rejrej Bomoi jeska Motkor Efesi jeska Enska. 3PL-arrive from around Bomoi from Motkor Efesi from Enska They have arrived from around the Bomoi area, the Motkor Efesi area, the Enska area. 54 Beda ge-agei ri-osnok eteb. then 2/3DU-grab 3PL-person large. Then, you are holding (i.e. helping to keep the peace between) these many people. 55 Ob-okora Matias goga gonu Yusak iwa i-orgomu-if. 2SG-sibling Matias you.two 2/3DU.with Yusak you 2PL-three-here Your brother Matias, you two and Yusak, there are three of you here. 56 Beda i-en-erek ebic ongga ot rot rua ongga then 2PL-DUR-like group REL stand concerning they REL enjgineg-if rot ongkas. other-this concerning total Then you are like one group that represents the entire group here. 57 Ri-ebiedi iwa jeskaseda ge-odou efesis erek di-esinsa. 3PL-connect you so.that 2/3DU-liver smart like 1SG-self They are joined together (with) you so that you could be smart (i.e. benefit) like myself. 58 Beda ge-eiteij ah keingg ri-oforoka ri-ofokor ongga ge-en-eker then 2/3DU-eye lie.down ADV 3PL-child 3PL-learn REL 2/3DU-DUR-sit rot-ir-if rot ongkas. concerning-3PL-here concerning total (Do that) then watch out for (lit. eye sit on) all the schoolchildren that you are living with here. 59 Ge-oga ge-odou oufa beda ge-odou ge-ah keingg-ir. you.two 2/3DU-liver good then 2/3DU-liver 2/3DU-lie.down ADV-3PL Be kind (to them) and then think about (lit. remember) them. 60 Ge-en-agob-ir tumu mod ofokor guru. 2/3DU-DUR-strike-3PL at house learn NEG Don’t hit them at the schoolhouse. 61 Ge-agei rot ongkos-koska ojgomu. 2/3DU-grab concerning RED-beautiful just Just hang on to (things that are) really good. 62 Ge-en-esjibeji rot-ir jera ge-en-agob-ir guru. 2/3DU-DUR-loose.temper concerning-3PL with 2/3DU-DUR-strike-3PL NEG Don’t loose your temper at them and don’t strike them. 63 Ge-en-owedei-ir guru rot didif. 2/3DU-DUR-react.angrily-3PL NEG concerning me Don’t react angrily at them because (of something they say) about me. Texts 313

64 Didif bera di-en-ot rot i-osnok eteb-if. I TOP 1SG-DUR-stand concerning 2PL-person large-here As for me, I represent you many people here.’ 65 Ge-odou efesis erek di-esinsa beda ge-ot ge-okoda koisoisa 2/3DU-liver smart like 1SG-self then 2/3DU-stand 2/3DU-sole clear rot dedin ri-osnok ongga di-en-ot rot-ir concerning 1SG.POSS 3PL-person REL 1SG-DUR-stand concerning-3PL si-if. ADV-here If you are smart like myself, then you will clearly take your position (lit. stand in your footprint) with my people that I watch over there. (i.e. replace me as headman). 66 Di-en-eker rot-ir ojoros mona deisef. 1SG-DUR-sit concerning-3PL until time today I have stayed with them until today. 67 Beda di-ot ebe-jadi. then 1SG-stand LOAN-happen Then my leadership (lit. standing) has happened (or, succeeded). 68 Beda goga tein ge-osoweja erek didif-ei. then you.two also 2/3DU-conscientious like me-QU Then you should persevere like I have, okay? 69 Ge-odou efesis erek di-esinsa fob-ei. 2/3DU-liver smart like 1SG-self already-QU Be smart as I am already, okay? 70 Dedin fikiran31 oisa gu goga. 1SG.POSS thoughts finish to you.two My thoughts for you are finished. 71 Beda ge-ot gu di-okoda dektek. then 2/3DU-stand at 1SG-sole long.time Then you will lead the others (lit. stand in my position) for a long time. 72 Ge-ebe-usaha ri-oforoka ri-ofokor-if rot ongkas. 2/3DU-LOAN-endeavour 3PL-child 3PL-learn-here concerning total Endeavour (so that) the children can do all their schooling here.32 73 Ge-en-esjibeji rot-ir guru. 2/3DU-DUR-loose.temper concerning-3PL NEG Don’t loose your temper at them. 74 Ge-en-agob-ir guru. 2/3DU-DUR-strike-3PL NEG Don’t hit them.

31 Fikiran is the Indonesian noun pikiran ‘thoughts’. 32 If the group splits, then many will return to the interior and the children won’t be able to attend school. 314 Appendix

75 Ge-en-agot mar oska rot-ir guru jeska ri-otkonu oska. 2/3DU-DUR-say thing bad concerning-3PL NEG because 3PL-stomach bad Don’t say mean things to them because they will get mad. 76 Ge-owedei rua ongga Bomoi beda ri-eja ri-agot gu 2/3DU-react.angrily they REL Bomoi then 3PL-go 3PL-say to erek ke-uma. like lNOM-that If you react angrily to they who are of the Bomoi clan, then they go will speak (to you) like that. 77 Beda rua ri-oksons jeska si-if. then they 3PL-return from ADV-here Then they will leave this area (i.e. return to their old village in the mountains). 78 Ge-owedei rua ongga Motkur Efesi beda ri-es-esa-if. 2/3DU-react.angrily they REL Motkur Efesi then 3PL-RED-send-here If you react angrily to they who are from the Motkur Efesi clan, then they will seek revenge here. 79 Ge-owedei rua ongga Motkur Efesi beda ri-ebe-mundur. 2/3DU-react.angrily they REL Motkur Efesi then 3PL-LOAN-backup If you react angrily to they that are from the Motkur Efesi clan, then they will return (to their old village). 80 Di-en-aha oforoka ofokor-if oisouska.33 1SG-DUR-put child learn-here determine I am determined to have students there. 81 Goga bera ge-en-ebah jera rua gu mod ofokor-if. you.two TOP 2/3DU-DUR-alive with them at house learn-this As for you two, you are living with them at this school. 82 Di-ona di-ot rot rua. 1SG-male 1SG-stand concerning them I am a man who is watching out for them. 83 Di-odou efesis tein oisa gu goga. 1SG-liver smart also finish to you.two I am finished passing on my wisdom (lit. wise liver) to you.’

Text 3: How to make a corn garden (Procedural Teaching) This story is told by a young Meyah male. It is a spontaneous story explaining how he makes a corn garden. It is a procedural discourse. It generally shows a tail-head structure, in which the last procedure in one sentence is repeated at the beginning of the sentence that follows. In Meyah, this type of tail-head structure is used mostly with procedural texts and less so with descriptive narratives.

33 The adverbial use of oisouska ‘through’ is unusual here. Texts 315

1 Mimif nomnaga mi-ejginaga rot mi-ebij mekeni we all 1PL.INC-know about 1PL.INCpull garden metrem fob. corn already ‘We all already know about pulling (weeds to make a) corn garden.34 2 Nou ongga mi-eja mi-ebij enesi beda sismeni bera for REL 1PL.INCgo 1PL.INC-pull NEG then first TOP mi-eja mi-ecira gij mebi ongga mi-eja mi-ek. 1PL.INC-go 1PL.INC-travel in ground REL 1PL.INCgo 1PL.INC-see When we have not gone and pulled (weeds) yet, then as for what is first is, we travel to some land that we have seen (i.e. previously found/chose). 3 Mi-eja mi-ek mebi egens ongga ongkoska-yahi beda 1PL.INCgo 1PL.INC-see ground one REL beautiful-very then mi-aksisi-uma joug bera fog. 1PL.INC-clean-that ADV TOP first After we have gone and seen some land that is very suitable, then what is first is we clean it up. 4 Noba erek mona egema deika fogora mi-eja mi-ebij mekeni and like time other again cause 1PL.INCgo 1PL-pull garden ongga mi-ek fob. REL 1PL.INCsee already And at some other time, then we will have gone to pull (weeds) from the garden that we have found/chosen. 5 Ri-ojaga-ir ri-eja ri-ebij fogora em-oisa. 3PL-woman-PL 3PLgo 3PLpull cause IRR-finish Woman will have gone to pull (weeds) causing them to finish that. 6 Beda ri-ona-ir ri-eja ri-ej-of mega jeska mekeni insa. then 3PL-male-PL 3PL-go 3PL-INCEP-chop.down tree from garden ANAP Then men will go and begin chopping down trees from that garden. 7 Ri-of mega fogora em-oisa nomnaga beda ri-eker keingg 3PLchop.down tree cause IRR-finish all then 3PL-sit ADV jeskeseda mekeni insa ofora nomnaga fog. so.that garden ANAP dry all first After they are finished chopping down trees, then they stop working so that that (mentioned) garden (i.e. felled trees) can completely dry out first. 8 Ri-eker erek ke-uma ojoros mekeni insa ofora gij ojgomu 3PL-sit like NOM-that until garden ANAP dry in just beda ri-es mah gij. then 3PL-burn fire in They wait like that until the (mentioned) garden (i.e. the trees) has dried and then they just burn it.

34 This opening sentence may be for my benefit, since it is common knowledge for most Meyah adults. 316 Appendix

9 Mah et fogora em-oisa beda ri-ona ri-os mekeni fire eat cause IRR-finish then 3PL-male 3PL-flatten garden ke-uma beda ri-aha mega efaga me-keingg-ma. NOM-that then 3PL-put tree body RECIP-press-RECIP After the fire has burned (the garden), then the men level off that garden (ground) and place the tree trunks in piles. 10 Ri-aha mega efaga me-keingg-ma fogora mebi 3PLput tree body RECIP-press-RECIP cause ground ofog rara fob. fertile totally already After they placed the tree trunks in piles, the ground has become totally fertile. 11 Beda mi-era pacul 35 mi-er-agob mekeni insa ke-uma then 1PL.INC-use hoe 1PL.INC-INST-strike garden ANAP NOM-that jeskeseda mebi ofog rara bera fog. so.that ground fertile totally TOP first Then we use a hoe and till that (mentioned) garden so that the ground will be totally fertile, as for what is first. 12 Mi-otunggom erek ke-uma jeskeseda metrem efej mifmin er 1PL.INC-make like NOM-that so.that corn seed 1PL.INC.POSS grow ongkoska-moka ojgomu. beautiful-very just We do things like that so that the corn (that is) ours will just grow really well. 13 Mebi ofog ongga mi-agob insa em-oisa beda ground fertile REL 1PLstrike ANAP IRR-finish then mi-otunggom moksu fogora mi-em-erefa metrem efej gij. 1PL.INC-make trench cause 1PL.INC-IRR-plant corn seed in When the (mentioned) fertile ground that we hoed is finished (i.e. ready), then we make trenches that we will plant corn seeds in.’

35 Indonesian term.

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