Topics in the Grammar and Documentation of South Efate, an Oceanic Language of Central Vanuatu

Topics in the grammar and documentation of South Efate, an Oceanic language of Central Vanuatu Nicholas Augustus Thieberger BA (Hons), MA Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2004 Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, University of Melbourne Abstract This thesis presents topics in the grammar of South Efate, an Oceanic language of Central Vanuatu as spoken in Erakor village on the outskirts of Port Vila. There has been no previous grammatical description of the language, which has been classified as the southernmost member of the North- Central Vanuatu subgroup of languages. In this description I show that South Efate shares features with southern Vanuatu languages, including a lack of serial verb constructions of the kind known for its northern neighbours and the use of an echo-subject marker. The phonology of South Efate reflects an ongoing change in progress, with productive medial vowel deletion and consequent complex heterorganic consonant clusters. A key feature of South Efate grammar is the grammaticalisation of a benefactive phrase in pre-verbal position. There is thus a discontinuous verbal complex including a closed class of auxiliary verbs that occur in a fixed order preceding the benefactive phrase and then the verb. Mood-marking is central to any utterance in South Efate and there is no grammatical expression of tense. The interplay between mood and aspect marking is an interesting feature of the language. The present research is set in the context of increasing attention being paid to the state of the world's smaller languages and their prospects for being spoken into the future. In addition to providing an outline of the grammar of the language, I describe the process of developing an archivable textual corpus that is used to make example sentences citable and playable, using software developed in the course of the research. An attached DVD provides playable versions of most example sentences and of the example texts. Appendices to this thesis provide a dictionary and finderlist, and a set of interlinearised example texts and elicited sentences. This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Nicholas Thieberger May 2004 Copyright notice The audio and textual material has been provided by speakers of South Efate subject to the condition that it is to be used for educational purposes only. There can be no further use of this material without the permission of the speaker or the author of the present work. © 2004 Nicholas Thieberger © 2004 Each speaker recorded: Kar Albert, Frank Alfos, Russell Andre, Tim Arsen, Binaues Carlot, Gilou Carlot, John Carlot, Iokopeth, Jinane, Metu Josef, Sailas Kalfabun, John Kalfau, Malau Kalkot, Helen Kalman, Petro Kalman, Toutuel Meriam Kalmary, Linuk Kalmer, Nmak Kalmet, Tim Kalmet, Apet Kalokis, Kali Kalopog, Endis Kalsarap, Limaas Kalsarap, Kaloros Kaltaf, John Kaltapau, Dick Lauto, Harry Lauto, Kalfapun Mailei, John Maklen, Limok Milian, Kalsarap Namaf, Kalsarur Nawen, Harris Takau, Winnie Taurua, Waia Tenene, Toufaakal, Elsie Waoute, Patrick Waoute, Roger Waoute, Daisy Wayane, Kalsakar Wayane, Manuel Wayane, Nancy Wayane, William Wayane, Kalokis Wisau, George Zachri, Peter Zachri. Printed on acid-free paper. Acknowledgements It has been some years now that I have been working on South Efate which means I have a number of people to thank. Research of this kind relies on advice and assistance in many forms which I am pleased to be able to acknowledge here. In Vanuatu: The Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta was both a sponsor of my research on South Efate and a most congenial workplace. I want to thank the Director, Ralph Regenvanu, in particular for having developed a national research policy that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of researchers working in Vanuatu. Ralph supported my placement at the VKS and subsequent fieldwork at Eratap and Erakor. Thanks to Ralph also for many hours of music in our band (called variously 'Cold Snorkel' and 'Rare moments of brilliance'). Bigfala tangkiu i go long olgeta fren blong mi long VKS, mo Nasonal Laebri, mo spesli Seru Kuautonga, Takaronga Kuautonga, Regina Batick, Martha Kaltal, Willie Damelip, Dikinson Dik, Jenny Tasale, Jean Tarisese, Henline Halele, Jennyfer Toa, mo Sael Avock. Terry Crowley and John Lynch suggested South Efate as a focus for study and continued to support my work throughout. John arranged for me to have an office at USP during my fieldwork which was most useful. Annie Walter provided plant identification photographs and discussed plant use in South Efate for which I am grateful. Thanks to Philippe Métois for permission to use his aerial photo of Erakor. Many people have been good friends and have offered hospitality on my way through Vila, Peter Walker and Jo Dorras (and the rest of the Smolbags, especially Lucy Seresere for questions on South Efate answered in Melbourne), Simon and Serah Swale, Ann David, Helen Corrigan and Edward Nalial, Louise Nauka, Bill Palmer and Hans Schmidt. In Erakor: Erakor community for their welcome and acceptance of an outsider and the Erakor Council for permission to work in Erakor. In particular I thank Apu Kalsarap Namaf and his family for many Wednesday mornings of recording and drinking orange-leaf tea with bread and jam. William Wayane, Erakor Council secretary, and family, my host in the village, provided not only a base for my work, but a network of relatives and friends. Manuel Wayane, William's brother, for base for my work, but a network of relatives and friends. Manuel Wayane, William's brother, for vi Acknowledgements transcribing many cassettes of stories in South Efate and for guiding me around Erakor, apsawikik. Kalsakar Wayane and Endis Kalsarap for their assistance with elicitation, paradigm checking and definitions in the dictionary. Special thanks too to Tokelau Takau, who saw the value in recording her knowledge and to John Maklen and Sailas Kalfapun for walks in the forest identifying plants. Thanks to all of those who agreed to talk about South Efate: Kar Albert, Frank Alfos, †Russell Andre, Tim Arsen, Binaues Carlot, Gilou Carlot, John Carlot, Iokopeth, Jinane, Metu Josef, Sailas Kalfabun, John Kalfau, Malau Kalkot, Helen Kalman, Petro Kalman, Toutuel Meriam Kalmary, Linuk Kalmer, Nmak Kalmet, Tim Kalmet, Apet Kalokis, Kali Kalopog, Endis Kalsarap, Limaas Kalsarap, Kaloros Kaltaf, †John Kaltapau, Wilson Kaluat, Dick Lauto, Harry Lauto, Kalfapun Mailei, John Maklen, Limok Milian, Kalsarap Namaf, Kalsarur Nawen, Harris Takau, Winnie Taurua, Waia Tenene, Toufaakal, Elsie Waoute, Patrick Waoute, Roger Waoute, Daisy Wayane, Kalsakar Wayane, Manuel Wayane, Nancy Wayane, William Wayane, Kalokis Wisau, George Zachri, Peter Zachri. Thanks also to one-time Erakor residents Sean Bracken and Lisa Mauro-Bracken for discussions and use of their house during my stay in the village. Elsewhere, thanks to : - Jane Simpson and David Nash for ongoing support and advice over many years. - Margaret Florey for discussions on the role of linguists in working with endangered languages, and for suggestions that improved chapter 1. - Linda Barwick for help in establishing PARADISEC which has provided the repository for data on South Efate. - Peter Newton for access to the Capell's material in Sydney. - Lissant Bolton, Greg Rawlings and Kirk Huffman for discussion of the ethnography of Efate. - John Henderson for Nisus hints that facilitated presentation of example sentences. - Janet Fletcher, John Hajek and Mark Harvey for discussions of phonology. - Shirley MacRae, ex-missionary teacher for sharing reminiscences and her knowledge of the language of South Efate - Loraine Tompson for discussion about her grandfather, the missionary Dr Daniel Macdonald. - Jean-Claude Rivierre for providing a wordlist recorded with Maxime Carlot Korman in the 1960s. - Jean-Claude Rivierre for providing a wordlist recorded with Maxime Carlot Korman in the 1960s. Acknowledgements vii - Michel Jacobson of LACITO for assistance with his audio/text linking software, SoundIndex. Melbourne University provided a Melbourne University Research Scholarship and travel funds which facilitated fieldwork in Erakor village. My supervisors, chronologically: Peter Austin, Anna Margetts and Nick Evans for discussion of the data and analysis. Peter Austin encouraged me to produce texts and a dictionary, as well as having a strong interest in the possibility of linking text and audio in a language description. Anna Margetts stepped in for supervision and shaped much of my thinking about presentation of the analysis, even after leaving the University of Melbourne. Finally, Nicholas Evans helped me form a more cohesive overview of the language in the rush to complete. Thanks to fellow students for discussions and cups of coffee, Jeanie Bell, Yusuf Eades, Anthony Jukes, Simon Musgrave, and my co-submitter, Adam Saulwick. My mother, Dina Thieberger for typing transcripts. Both my parents for all of their work in establishing a family in a new country and for providing an environment in which multilingualism was taken for granted, dz kuj , mille grazie, graciis amundi, vielen Dank, a dank aych zeyer. Merrin for years of love and support and special thanks for putting up with me in the last two months of this

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