Larike Pronouns: Duals and Trials in a Central Moluccan Language Author(s): Wyn D. Laidig and Carol J. Laidig Source: Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 29, No. 2, A Special Issue on Western Austronesian Languages (Winter, 1990), pp. 87-109 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3623187 Accessed: 26-05-2017 14:47 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms University of Hawai'i Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Oceanic Linguistics This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms LARIKE PRONOUNS: DUALS AND TRIALS IN A CENTRAL MOLUCCAN LANGUAGE WYN D. LAIDIG and CAROL J. LAIDIG PATTIMURA UNIVERSITY and THE SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS Data are presented describing the pronominal system of Larike, an Austronesian language in Central Maluku. In addition to differentiat- ing along the lines of human vs. nonhuman, formal vs. informal, and exclusive vs. inclusive, Larike distinguishes number with a full set of duals and trials, a feature until now not reported in the sparsely studied languages of Central Maluku. These differentiations are observed as common conversational elements, and are manifested not only as free pronouns, but as pronominal affixes marking verbs, and as possessive prefixes. A discussion regarding the diachronic origins of Larike pro- nouns is also presented. 1. INTRODUCTION. Larike is a language spoken by 8,000-10,000 people on the western tip of Ambon Island in Central Maluku, Indone- sia. The majority of speakers live in two villages of nearly equal popula- tion, Wakasihu and Larike, separated by a distance of approximately two kilometers.' In addition most of the inhabitants of the small villages of Lai and Tapi, associated (socially, politically, and linguistically) with Larike and Wakasihu, respectively, are still active in their use of Larike. Also, some native speakers can still be found in the village of Allang, although it is largely the older generation in that village who are still capable of using the language.2 See Figure 1 for a map of the area. As a Central Moluccan language, Larike is a member of the Central Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of Austronesian languages (Blust 1980).3 Further subgrouping is provided by Collins (1983), in an overview of the historical relationships of the languages of Central Maluku. Figure 2 traces the subgrouping of Larike from Proto-Central Maluku, according to Collins (1983). Oceanic Linguistics, volume 29, no. 2 (Winter 1990) ? by University of Hawaii Press. All rights reserved. This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms FIGURE 1: LARIKE AND SURROUNDING AREA KELtCe SERAM MANIPA HITU SEIT- KAITETU I I 1# J. J This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms LARIKE PRONOUNS 89 There are two dialects of Larike; however the differences are minor. Aside from a few lexical differences, and slightly different intonational patterns, there is apparently only one regular sound change distin- guishing the dialect spoken in the village of Larike from that spoken in the villages of Wakasihu and Allang.4 Although the small dialectal dif- ferences are of no consequence for the purposes of this paper, it should be noted that the data presented here primarily reflect the language situation in the village of Larike. Prior linguistic research concerned with Moluccan languages is quite limited, and in the case of Larike, is almost nonexistent. Although Larike has never been a major topic in any linguistic publication, several wordlists have been documented in general surveys of the area. Van der Crab (1862) lists Larike among 14 other Moluccan languages, providing wordlists with over 400 entries. Ludeking (1868) gives a 20-language comparative wordlist with several hundred entries. Included among these 20 are both Larike and Allang. Wallace (1869) also provides brief comparative wordlists (approximately 100 entries), in which Larike is included.5 More recently, Chlenov and Sirk (1973) and Chle- nov (1976) mention Larike in their proposals regarding the classification of Moluccan languages. Other recent works involving Larike include FIGURE 2: LARIKE SUBGROUPING Proto-Central Maluku Proto-East Central Maluku Proto-West Central Maluku Nunusaku East Seram Piru Bay Three Rivers Seti Kayeli Patakai-Manusela Proto-West Piru Bay Proto-East Piru Bay Proto-Hoamoal Asilulu East Hoamoal West Hoamoal Larike Boano This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 90 OCEANIC LINGUISTICS, VOL. XXIX, NO. 2 that of Collins (1980, 1982, 1983), who made several visits to Larike pri- marily in an effort to define more precisely the genetic classification of Moluccan languages; and that of Travis (1989), who gathered current wordlists for lexicostatistic comparison. Apart from being mentioned in these few sources, Larike has remained virtually an undocumented language.6 The following discussion of Larike pronouns is primarily a synchronic description. A number of example sentences are provided, most of them taken from recorded texts. These examples are provided not only to clarify usage and meaning of the pronouns, but also as a way of indirect- ly supplying initial documentation regarding features of Larike syntax. In addition to a synchronic description of free pronouns, pronominal affixes marking verbs, and possessive pronouns, a brief discussion is de- voted to diachronic considerations. 2. FREE PRONOUNS. Larike pronominals differentiate according to exclusive vs. inclusive, formal vs. informal, and human vs. nonhuman, as well as according to number. Four levels of number are distinguished: singular, dual, trial, and plural. Table 1 summarizes the various forms of Larike free pronouns.7 TABLE 1. FREE PRONOUNS SING DUAL TRIAL PLURAL 1 EXC a?u arua aridu ami INC itua itidu ite 2 ane irua iridu imi 3 HUM mane matua matidu mati The following examples illustrate the use of free pronouns:8 Ismail laku Jafar, irua apa? Ismail and Jafar 2d where 'Ismail and Jafar, where are you?' Arua au-lete. lde at-above 'We (two) are up above.' Mane ana kisale. 3s child alone 'He is an only-child.' This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms LARIKE PRONOUNS 91 Ane tayate. Ane panoste. 2s evil.thing 2s dirt 'You are an evil thing. You are dirt.' Nusa hima tahi musiai, kisa-kisa matidu mate?eke. island that not.exist people alone-alone 3t only 'The island didn't have many people, only the three of them.' Further example sentences are presented in Section 3, allowing first a brief discussion of pronominal affixes marking verbs. The intent is to avoid some confusion, since it is somewhat difficult to illustrate the use of free pronouns without also using verbs and their pronominal affixes. For simplicity, word stress is unwritten here. However it should be noted that the predominant pattern is penultimate stress on the root. In other words, stress does not shift with the addition of affixes. In the case of the pronouns described here, stress always falls on the penultimate syllable.9 Free pronouns do not exist for 3rd person nonhuman referents. In such cases the referent must either be explicitly stated or be referred to by way of the appropriate noun classifier. The 3rd person human pro- nouns may also be used to refer to nonhuman referents when human qualities (such as thinking or speaking) are being attributed to the referent. This is most often observed in folk stories. The label HUM in Table 1 is used to indicate that the 3rd person pronouns are reserved for human referents. Even though all of the free pronouns shown in Table 1 are generally limited in use to human referents (this applies to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person free pronouns), the 3rd person HUM is useful as a reminder that other Larike pronoun sets (pronominal affixes as well as possessive suffixes) do distinguish between human and non- human 3rd person referents. This is discussed further in later sections. The formal vs. informal distinction is made only in the 2nd person singular, and is not indicated in Table 1. The informal term ane is used when addressing children or with friends near the same age (or younger) than the speaker. In addressing a person older than the speaker, and in other cases where a more formal register is warranted, the 2nd person plural form imi also functions as the 2nd person singular formal pro- noun. This same pattern occurs for subject and object prefixes, as well as for possessive prefixes, discussed in the following sections. The dual and trial forms are the result of elision, using the numbers dua 'two' and tidu 'three' in combination with the plural pronouns. Although this is discussed further in Section 5, Table 2 illustrates the various combinations. This content downloaded from 161.23.84.10 on Fri, 26 May 2017 14:47:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 92 OCEANIC LINGUISTICS, VOL.