Menya
| Menya | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Papua New Guinea | |
| speaker | 20,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-3 |
mcr |
|
Menya is a Papua language , which in Menyamya District of Morobe Province in southeastern Papua New Guinea is spoken. With around 20,000 speakers, Menya is the second largest language in the Angan language family, which is a subgroup of the Trans New Guinea (TNG) languages .
speaker
The majority of Menya speakers live in villages in the grasslands of Papua New Guinea at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,600 meters. The first contact with the outside world came in the early 1930s when prospectors came to the Menyamya District from the Wau-Bulolo Valley in eastern Morobe Province. With the construction of a taxiway in 1933, which was not used regularly until 1950, and the construction of the first road to Bulolo in 1980, education and medical care could be made available to the Menya.
For most people in Menyamya District, Menya is their mother tongue, with Tok Pisin , the lingua franca that was introduced in 1950 to communicate with government institutions and public bodies, is now widely spoken as a second language. No other language contact with other languages of the Angan language family or the neighboring languages in the East New Guinea highlands is known.
Phonology
The phonological profile of the Angan language family is characterized by a high degree of phonological complexity, as well as the use of nasals in the syllable core, glottal stops and frequent labialization and palatalization . These same features appear in Menya's phonology, with the exception of the articulation of glottal stops.
Consonants
The Phonological inventory of Menya includes 17 consonants.
| labial | dental | palatal | velar | uvular | glottal | |
| non-prenasalized plosives | p | t̪ | tʃ | k | q | |
| prenasalized plosives | m b | n d̪ | n̩ dʑ | n̩ ɡ | n̩ q | |
| nasal | m | n̪ | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Fricatives | H | |||||
| Approximant | w | j |
A noticeable feature in Menya's consonant system is the lack of fricatives , except for the glottal / h /. Foley expresses the view that in Menya fricatives often appear as intervocalic allophones of plosives , the difference between which is expressed by voicing. For example, / ʧ / can mostly also be realized as [ʃ] and an intervocalic / q / can be pronounced as [ʁ] or [ɣ]. The use of plosives occurs most frequently in the Menya (according to the place of articulation in the order uvulare> velare> bilabiale> dental> very rarely palatal).
Vowels
Menya's phonological inventory includes 6 vowels.
| front | central | back | |
| closed | i | ə | u |
| open | e | ɑ | O |
A special feature of Menya is that in the vicinity of / i / (sometimes also in the vicinity of / e /) dental phonemes are always palatalized. In addition, the vowel / a / in a prefix is always implemented as / ə / if the next vowel is also an / a /. The general rule in Menya is: If two plosives follow one another, a vowel is inserted between them. However, nasals and plosives follow one another without a vowel insert.
Word classes and morphology
noun
There are three types of nouns in Menya. A distinction is made between simple nouns, which appear as monomorphemic free forms and can refer to abstract or concrete entities.
| hikä | German 'stone' | aŋä | dt. 'house, village, place' | |
| kŋŋuä | German 'thought' | quuyqa | dt. 'soul' | |
| Kapo | (Name of a village) | Wapi | (Name of a river) |
Complex noun stems can also be formed from simple nouns. The use of compound nouns in which two simple noun stems are brought together, and the formation of nominalizations in which the deverbalizing clitic -qä is added to the verb stem , are common in Menya.
Example of compound words:
| yä | + | quwqä | → | vaquwqä |
| tree | + | leaf | → | Leaf of a tree |
Example for nominalization:
| Menya | ... kukŋuä | t qä | iqua | moni | kmaipŋqänä | ||
| Glossing transcription | kukŋuä | t -qä | i = qu = a | moni | k-ma-ip = ŋqä = next | ||
| Interlinear glossing | talk | TALK DVZR | those = M = PL | money | 2S-get-BEN-23P / IRR = GOAL = FCS | ||
| translation | '... those judges (lit. speech speakers) make sure that you get the money.' | ||||||
| DVZR | - | Deverbalizer |
| M. | - | Masculine |
| PL | - | Plural |
| S. | - | Singular |
| BEN | - | Beneficial |
| P | - | person |
The third type of noun in Menya, the so-called "Kin Nouns", is a specialty. These noun stems are special morphemes that express relationships. The noun stems of the Kin Nouns have a prefix referring to the person who is related to the speaker ( possessive ). In addition, a clitic is usually added to the verb stem, which congruates with the referent in person, number and gender . Many kin nouns have different stems according to the person of the possessive. For a possessive in the first person, Menya speakers often use a different noun stem than for the expression of a possessive that relates to the second or third person. In Menya, for example, “my / our father” is formed with the kin noun stem ap- , while n- is used as the noun stem for "father" in the second and third person for possessives . Depending on which possessive is to be expressed, the kin noun stem n- carrier of the corresponding prefix. Since the Menya already identifies a possessive in the first person through the noun stem, the corresponding prefix is rarely used in linguistic usage.
Prefixes for kin nouns
| Singular | dual | Plural | |
| my / our | (n-) | ||
| your | t- | (qe-) | (Hi-) |
| his / her / her (pl.) | k- ~ ka- | ||
Klitika for kin nouns
| Singular | Plural | |
| male | = (i) qu | = (iqu) kua ~ = äka ~ = uŋua |
| Female | = i (pa) | = (ip) aqä |
Use of a kin noun using the example of "father" ap- ~ -n-
| my / our | your (singular) | your (dual) | your (plural) | his / her / her (pl.) | |
| Singular "father" |
apiqu ap = i = qu 'my / our father' |
tniqu t-n = i = qu 'your father' |
qeniqu qe-n = i = qu 'your'2 father' |
hiniqu hi-n = i = qu 'your father' |
kaniqu ka-n = i = qu 'his / her / her (pl.) fathers' |
| Plural "fathers" |
ap (iq) ukua ap = u = kua 'my / our fathers' |
tnuŋua t-n = ŋu = a 'your fathers' |
qenuŋua qe-n = ŋu = a 'your'2 fathers' |
hinuŋua hi-n = ŋu = a 'your fathers' |
kanuŋua ka-n = ŋu = a 'his / her / their (pl.) fathers' |
Verbs
In Menya there are over 450 known verb stems that cannot be used in isolation in a sentence. The verbs of Menya clearly show the morphological complexity typical of languages of the Angan language family. Each verb stem in Menya can have up to two prefixes and up to seven suffixes .
One type of prefix in the verb stem is those used to express polarity. The prefixes are used to express positivity (strong / weak) and negativity. If a verb stem carries the polarity prefix for positive / weak, this is equivalent to a neutral statement in Menya.
Polarity prefixes
| strong | weak | |
| positive | ä- | ~ h- |
| negative | ma- | |
Another prefix on the verb stem is used in transitive verbs to refer to the person / number of the animate entity concerned. In this regard, Menya distinguishes between first, second and third person, while the number can be expressed in singular, dual or plural.
Prefixes for person / number in transitive verbs
| Singular | dual | Plural | |
| First person | n- | ya- | n / A- |
| Second person | k- | qe- | e- |
| Third person | w- ~ ø | ||
Various suffixes in the verb stem are used in Menya to express the tense , mode , aspect and person / number of the agent . There are suffixes for tense in Menya corresponding to the three tenses present, past and distant past. The suffix for the present is usually used when the speaker does not give an explicit time, while that of the distant past is used to express events long in the past. In each of the three tenses, suffixes are used in Menya, which additionally indicate different forms according to the aspect ( perfect / imperfect ). All three tenses are used in the realis mode , while all statements relating to the future, expressing impossibilities, wishes, conjectures or assertions are used in the unrealis mode . The Menya has no special suffix to form the future tense , instead statements about the future are expressed by the verb stem bearing the corresponding suffix of the unrealis as well as the clitic = ŋqä for purposefulness.
pronoun
In Menya a distinction is made between personal and demonstrative pronouns. The personal pronouns differentiate between three persons (1st, 2nd and 3rd person) and three numbers (singular, dual, plural).
| Singular | dual | Plural | |
| first person | nyi | ye | no |
| second person | si | qe | hey |
| third person | ki | (qe) | qu |
The demonstrative pronouns are actually demonstrative stems that cannot be used in isolation. The exceptions are the two demonstrative tribes ta and i , which in an isolated position mean something like "this" and "that". If a demonstrative refers to a person, it is necessary in Menya to append corresponding enclitics for person / number to the demonstrative root.
Demonstrative tribes
| close | remote | ambiguous | clearly | |
| neutral | daily | i | hn- | qä- |
| just | n- | |||
| over it | yä- | |||
| underneath | m- |
Klitika for demonstrative tribes using the example i
| male = qu |
female = i ~ = u |
respectful = pa |
diminutive = pu ~ = su |
|
| Singular |
iqu i = qu |
ii i = i |
ipa i = pa |
ipu i = pu |
| Dual = aqu |
iquaqu i = qu = aqu |
iuaqu i = u = aqu |
ipequ i = pa = qu |
isuaqu i = su = aqu |
| Plural = a |
iqua i = qu = a |
iua i = u = a |
ipe i = pa = a |
isua i = su = a |
A special feature of Menya are the kin pronouns, which can only be used in dual or plural form. The Kin pronouns express relationships for u. a. the following relationships from: husband / wife, parent / child, father / son, brother / sister, sister / sister, brother / brother, grandpa / grandson, grandparents / grandchildren, husband / in-laws, husband / brother-in-law. Kin pronouns do not exist in Menya for every kinship relationship, nor is their use mandatory in linguistic usage. Gender-neutral Kin pronouns, such as B. those for a parent-child relationship or the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can only be used if at least one of the people involved is feminine. The Kin pronouns, like the Kin noun stems, have a prefix corresponding to the person and number of the possessive, as well as a clitic which refers to the person and number of the speaker.
adjectives and adverbs
Modifying adjectives and adverbs in Menya, as well as in other languages, nouns and verbs. They can be intensified with the appropriate suffixes (e.g. –näŋä, "very"). In addition, most adverbs have a focus marker = nah .
Sentence structure
In terms of language typology , Menya is a subject-object-verb language (SOV) . In an unmarked sentence, the subject and object can be both nouns and pronouns, while the verb is in the final position of the sentence structure. In Menya, a sentence can consist of one to ten clauses, with an average of two to four clauses being common.
The subject in a sentence in Menya does not have a case mark, is usually the first overt noun phrase and usually also the agent of the sentence. The subject speaks in person and number with a suffix on the verb of the sentence. The object in a sentence in Menya follows the subject and also has no case marking. Is it a living object, i. H. it could potentially be confused with the subject if it had an object-marking clitic = e . The object refers in person and number with a prefix to the verb of the sentence.
Record types
In Menya, a clitic on the last word of the sentence determines the sentence type.
Overview of clitics for sentence types
| = i ~ = nji | indicative |
| = ta | Decision question |
| = wä | Content question |
| = ti | Dubitative |
indicative
An indicative clause is expressed enclitically with = i and falling intonation .
| Menya | lqueqä | häwqä | quäuq e | ||
| Glossing transcription | i = qu = e = qä | häwqä | quäuqä = i | ||
| Interlinear glossing | that = M = OJ = POSS | tail | long = IND | ||
| translation | 'The tail is long' |
| OJ | - | Object marking clitic |
| POSS | - | Possessive |
| IND | - | indicative |
As a specialty, if the last word of the sentence belongs to a different word class than nouns, adjectives or verbs, the clitic = nji is added.
| Menya | Äkewi | yŋŋä | naqä | hma nji | ||
| Glossing transcription | äkewä = i | yŋŋä | naqä | hma = nji | ||
| Interlinear glossing | Äkewä = DEF | bird | big | not = IND | ||
| translation | 'The Äkewä bird is not big' | |||||
| DEF | - | Definitely |
Interrogative
In Menya, polarity (yes / no) is expressed enclitically with = ta and a rising intonation.
| Menya | " Matinak ta nah ?" | ||
| Glossing transcription | Matinä = k = ta = next | ||
| Interlinear glossing | Matin = 2S = POLQ = QT | ||
| translation | '"Are you Martin?" ' |
| POLQ | - | Decision question |
| QT | - | quotation marks |
In the case of or questions, both alternatives are marked enclitically.
| Menya | Täqu | tqä | hiuveqä ta | huiyiqueqä ta | ||
| Glossing transcription | ta = qu | t = qä | hiuveqä = ta | huiyi = qu = e = qä = ta | ||
| Interlinear glossing | this = M | 2S = POSS | Dog = POLQ | other = M = OJ = POSS = POLQ | ||
| translation | 'Is that your dog or someone else? ' | |||||
Content questions (W questions)
To express content-related questions, the question word is enclitically marked with = wä in Menya .
| Menya | Qe | äŋginyqä wä ? | ||
| Glossing transcription | qe | äŋgi = ŋqä = wä ? | ||
| Interlinear glossing | 2D | where = GOAL = INFOQ | ||
| translation | 'Where are you two (dual) going?' | |||
| D. | - | dual |
| INFQ | - | Content question |
Dubious mode
The dubitative mode is a grammatical mode that expresses hearsay and rumors. In this case, the last word of the sentence is enclitically marked with = ti in Menya .
| Menya | Iqu | Ämaqä | naqäqu ti | ||
| Glossing transcription | i = qu | Ämaqä | naqä = qu = ti | ||
| Interlinear glossing | those = M | person | large = M = DUBIT | ||
| translation | 'He is a famous person.' | ||||
| DUBIT | - | Dubitative |
literature
General
- Foley, William A. (1986): The Papuan languages of New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge UP
Menya
- Whitehead, Carl R. (2004): A reference grammar of Menya, an Angan language of Papua New Guinea. Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba
Individual evidence
- ^ Foley, William A. 1986. The Papuan languages of New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge UP page 55f.