Merei-Tiale language

Merei
	Malmariv
Region	Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu
Native speakers	800 (1997–2001)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic Northern Vanuatu Northeast Vanuatu – Banks Islands West Santo Merei; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:; mnl – Tiale; lmb – Merei
Glottolog	tial1239 Tiale; mere1242 Merei

Merei or Malmariv is an Oceanic language spoken in north central Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

There are two varieties, Tiale, or Malmariv, and Merei, or Lametin. They are mutually intelligible according to a comparison of 234 words, which showed 94.87% cognate similarity.[2] There are an estimated 800 speakers of Malmariv-Merei or Tiale-Lametin.[3] Merei, as well as Tiale, are both spoken by roughly 60% of the children in the villages. The members of the population have a positive attitude towards the threatened language, with Merei being spoken by approximately 400 people as a mother tongue.[4] There are at least four villages where Merei is spoken, Angoru, Navele, Tombet and Vusvogo. These villages are located between the Ora and Lape rivers in the central area of Espiritu Santo Island.[4]

Merei is an SVO language, aligning itself with many of the typical Oceanic features. Subject pronouns, modality, and aspect markers occur preverbally, object pronouns and aspect adverbs follow the verb, and possessives are divided into direct and indirect (or inalienable and alienable respectively).[4]

Merei Grammar

Merei Phonology

Merei has a phoneme inventory consisting of sixteen consonants and five vowels. The combinations of vowels can form nine diphthongs.[4]

Consonant Phonemes

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m	n		ŋ
Stop	p	t		k
Prenasilized stop	ᵐb	ⁿd		ᵑg
Affricate			d͡ʒ
Fricative	v	s
Approximant		l ɾ	j

There is also a consonant previously listed in the consonant chart written as <pm>.

2: Vowel Phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

Merei has a common 5 vowel system that languages like Spanish have.

Table 3: Vowel Combinations: Diphthongs

	a	e	i	o	u
a		ae	ai	ao	au
e			ei
i
o			oi		ou
u		ue	ui

Merei Morphology

Pronouns and Person Markers

The pronominal system contains two free-form categories, independent pronouns and preverbal subject pronouns, and two bound categories, object pronominal suffix and possessive pronominal suffix. No gender or animate distinction is made. Pronouns only have animate reference.[4]

The pronominal system makes a distinction between first, second and third persons. Singular, dual, and plural are marked by number. First person dual and plural makes the distinction between inclusive and exclusive.[4]

Table 4 below shows Merei's independent pronouns along with preverbal subject pronouns and pronominal suffixes.

Table 4: Pronouns and pronominal suffixes.[4]

	Independent pronouns	Preverbal subject pronouns	Object pronominal suffix	Possessive pronominal suffix
1	nao	na/nam	-iau	-gu
2	go	ko	-ko	-m
3	nie	Ø	Ø	-na
1I	de	te	-da	-da
1E	gamau	kama	-mau	-mau
2P	gami	kam	-mi	-mi
3P	ire	Ø	-ra	-ra
1D	de rua	tera	-da rau	-da rua
1DE	gamau rua	kamara	-mau rua	-mau rua
2D	gami rua	kamra	-mi rua	-mi rua
3D	ire rua	Ø	-ra rua	-ra rua

Independent pronouns

In this example we see the 2nd person independent pronoun being used as a speech act of invitation.

(1)[4]	i	go
	A:P	2
	'You (eat it).'	(as one is giving you food).

Example 2 shows use of the first person plural exclusive independent pronoun gamau.

(2)[4]	Kam	ta	usi	ko	arongo/	ko	sio	peser	i	gamau	tui.
	2P	R	ask	2	today	2	down	with	A:P	1E	PER
	'We asked you today for you to stay with us. '

Preverbal Subject Pronouns and Suffixes

Example 3 below uses the preverbal subject pronoun nam and the possessive pronominal suffix -gu.

(3)[4]	Nam	ta	tai	ia	jingo-m	ko	ta	tai	ia	sala-gu.
	1	R	make	A:C	Mouth-2	2	R	make	A:C	road-1.
	‘I make your mouth and you make my road.’

Example 4 below demonstrates the absence of a 3rd person singular preverbal subject pronoun and also contains the 3rd person plural pronominal suffix -ra.

(4)[4]	Ø	ta	vai-ra	mate.
	3	R	make-3P	died.
	‘He cause them to die.’

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are formed from the root nese- followed by a possessive pronominal suffix. It can be used in concurrence with the free pronoun and is often followed by the free particle nga 'only' as seen in example 5 and 6 below.

(5)[4]	I	nau	nese-gu	nga	nam	ta	sioto.
	A:P	1	self-1	only	1	R	stay.
	‘Just I myself stay.’

(6)[4]	Nam	ta	jip	nese-gu	nga.
	1	R	cut	self-1	only.
	‘I cut myself.’

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns consist of a mix of locational adverbs and third person pronouns. They have three possible functions: they can occupy the whole noun phrase slot, act as an independent nominal argument or be placed at the end of a noun phrase to modify the noun-head.[4] The classifications of demonstrative adverbs are based on two aspects: speaker-hearer reference and spatial reference.[4]

	Singular	Plural
close to both speaker and hearer	get-nie	get-ire
close to the speaker	na-nie	na-ire
close to the hearer	gata-nie	gata-ire
uncertain/not visible	ani-nie	ani-ire

Example 7 shows *get-nie* a speaker hearer referenced demonstrative pronoun
(7)[4]	Get-nie	ia	sava?
	this	A:C	what
	'What is this?'

Example 8 shows *get-ire* a speaker hearer referenced demonstrative pronoun
(8)[4]	Iadu	tese	get-ire	tato	toma?
	A:C.PL	man	these	R:3P	what.happen
	'What are these men doing?

Spatial reference demonstrative pronouns are formed by the third person independent pronouns, nie and ire when linked to spatial adverbial adverbs.[4]

		Proximal	Intermediate	Distal
ascending direction	singular plural	ai-sa-nie ai-sa-ire	ma-ja-nie ma-ja-ire	le-sa-nie le-sa-ire
at same level	singular plural	ai-va-nie ai-va-ire	ai-va-nie/le-va-nie ai-va-ire/le-va-ire	le-va-nie le-va-ire
descending direction	singular plural	ai-sio-nie ai-sio-ire	ma-jio-nie ma-jio-ire	le-sio-nie e-sio-ire

(9)[4]	leva-nie
	far.horizontal.3
	'That far horizontal'

(10)[4]	la	tese	leva-nie	Ø	ta	logologo.
	A:C	man	far.horizontal-3	3	R	bad.
	'That man is bad'			(referring to a man who is a long way from the speaker)

Possessive Constructions

In the Malmariv language, there are two possessive formations, direct and indirect. In certain situations, both of them are simultaneously possible. When in this predicament, if the possessed is more closely linked to the possessor, then it is classed as direct poIndirect Possessiond to indirect possession.

The possessive construction of the Merei language is typical Oceanic. There are different types of the classifiers and genitive prepositions of indirect possessive according to the edibility of the noun heads,[4] however the word for tattoo ‘bur’ is an exception to the edible noun class.

Pronominal object suffixes and non-singular pronominal possessive suffixes are practically identical.

Direct Possession

In direct pronominal possession a possessed inalienable noun head is followed by a poBoth Direct and Indirect Possession shown in table 4 above.[4] This type of formation is normally related with body parts, familial terms, and relationships between location and part-whole connections.

Examples 11, 12 and 13 show the relative possessive pronominal suffix pairing with the possessed noun.

(11)[4]	ia	mata-m
	A:C	eye-2
	‘your eye’

(12)[4]	i	nanu-gu
	A:P	child-1
	‘my child’

(13)[4]	la	vsa-na
	L/T	top-3
	‘on its top’

The directly possessed noun is followed by the possessor noun phrase when the possessor is a nominal. This is shown in examples 14, 15 and 16.

(14)[4]	ia	natu	ia	bo
	A:C	child	A:C	pig
	'the pigs child'

(15) [4]	ia	lma	i	Pita
	A:C	hand	A:P	Pita
	'Peter’s hand'

(16) [4]	i	rabui	i	Pita
	A:P	mother	A:P	Pita
	‘Peter’s mother'

Indirect Possession

With indirect pronominal possession, there is a Possessive Classifier that precedes the indirectly possessed alienable noun head. The Possessive Classifier for inedible nouns is nou- (POSSC.I), and a- (or less commonly na-) for edible and drinkable nouns (POSSC.E), followed by the possessive pronominal suffix.[4]

Example 17 shows the Possessive Classifier for inedible nouns
(17) [4]	nou-gu	uma
	POSSC.I-1	garden
	‘my garden’

Example 18 shows the Possessive Classifier for edible and drinkable nouns
(18)[4]	a-gu	sna
	POSSC.E-1	yam
	‘my yam’

In indirect nominal possession the indirectly possessive noun head is followed by a genitive preposition, nui for inedible (GEN.I) and nai for edible (GEN.E), which are followed by the possessor noun.[4]

Example 19 shows the genitive preposition for inedible nouns
(19) [4]	ia	bo	nui	Loretta
	A:C	pig	GEN.I	Loretta
	'Loretta's pig'

Example 20 shows the genitive preposition for edible nouns
(20) [4]	ia	sei-beda	nai	Loretta
	A:C	piece-taro	GEN.E	Loretta
	'Loretta's taro-piece'

The benefactive preposition sei can also function as genitive preposition. it operates as part of the noun phrase and functions like a descriptive normal modifier or a possessive construction.[4]

(21) [4]	ia	tese	sei	Vila
	A:C	man	BEN	Vila
	'the man from Vila'

Both Direct and Indirect Possession

Many Oceanic languages have the ability to possess nouns both directly and indirectly. This difference in possession changes the meaning of the nouns affected. In indirect possession, the relationship between the possessed and the possessor is not as close as the direct possessive.[4]

Examples 22 and 23 below show the difference that indirect and direct possession have on the noun 'night'.

(22) [4]	ia	nou-gu	bong
	A:C	POSSC.I	night
	'my night' (the day of celebration for me)

(23) [4]	ia	bong	i	ia	vla	Ø	ta	ese
	A:C	night	A:P	A:C	month	3	R	one
	'the first day of the month'

The following examples show the difference that indirect and direct possession have on the noun 'road'.

(24) [4]	ia	nou-gu	sala
	A:C	POSSC.I	road
	‘my road’

(25)[4]	ia	sala-gu
	A:C	road-1
	‘my way’ (way of going or doing thing)

Negation and Modality

Negation is closely related to Modality in Merei, and negation can be considered a propositional modality[5] (cited in,[6] p. 27). Thus it is useful to discuss the two in the same section.There are three modalities in Merei, realis (R), presupposition (PSP), and irrealis (IRR)[6] (p. 28).

Modality Markers, (p. 28)[6]
		Realis	Presupposition	Irrealis	Presupposition	Realis/Irrealis
		Positive			Negative
Non-third person		ta	ø		tei
Third Person	Singular	ta	a	mo	atei	motei/mutei
	Dual	tara	ara	mora	aratei	moratei
	Plural	tato	ato	moto	ateita	moteita/muteita

All non-third person forms of negative modality markers share the same form tei. The third person singular and dual negative forms can be formed by adding tei to the end of the positive form, whereas in the plural tei is added to the suffix -ta[6] (p. 29).

Negative third person dual irrealis modality, (p. 40)[6]
Ia	esio	peser	ia	maji	moratei	vai
A:C	kingfisher	with	A:C	fish	IRR.3D.NEG	do
'The kingfisher and the fish did not do (it)'

Negation in verbless equative clauses is marked by the irrealis marker mo or mu followed by the negative marker tei. This comes before the second noun phrase, the particl mo or mu is used for all persons[6] (p. 31).tija

(p. 37)[6]
I	nau	motei	na	tasale
A:P	1	IRR.3.NEG	A:C	white-man
'I am not a white-man'

(p. 38)[6]
I	nie	motei	na	tija
A:P	3	IRR.3.NEG	A:C	teacher
'He is not a teacher'

Negative existential clauses are formed in Merei by following the basic intransitive structure of a verbal clause.

Verbal clause structure, (p. 38)[6]
(Subject noun phrase)	Verb phrase	(Object noun phrase)	(Prepositional phrase)	(Location phrase)	(Time phrase)

To form a negative existential clause the predicate slot is replaced by the verb va 'go' which is followed by the negative deictic merei and the clause takes only a single subject[6] (p. 38).

Existential clause, (p. 38)[6]
Ia	bo	ø	ta	dauva
A:C	pig	3	R	exist
'There is a pig'

Negative existential clause, (p. 39)[6]
Ia	bo	va	use, (p. 39)[6]merei
A:C	pig	g
‘There is no pig’

By adding the particle of prohibition tla after the subject pronoun, imperative and hortative clauses can be negated. This can function as either prohibition or pleading, depending on context and intonation. The distinction between prohibition and pleading depends on the meaning of the verbs and intonation or it may require a more specific declaration.

(p. 47)[6]
Ko	tla	an
2	PROHIB	eat
'Don't eat'

(p. 47)[6]
Te	tla	voro
1I	PROHIB	leave
'Let's not leave'

(p. 47)[6]
Kamara	tla	bat-voro-in
1DE	PROHIB	head-empty-OD
'Let's us not be naughty'

Grammatical Abbreviations


Abbreviation	Meaning
1	1st person singular
1DE	1st person dual inclusive
1E	1st person plural exclusive
1I	1st person plural inclusive
2	2nd person singular
2P	2nd person plural
3	3rd person singular
3D	3rd person dual
3P	3rd person plural
A:C	article of common noun
A:P	article of personal noun
BEN	benefactive
GEN.E	genitive for edible
GEN.I	genitive for inedible
IRR	modality: irrealis in third person
L/T	locative/temporal preposition
NEG	negative
ø	zero morpheme
OD	outwards directional clitics
PL	plural
POSSC.E	direct possessive classifier of edible noun
POSSC.I	direct possessive classifier of inedible noun
PROHIB	prohibition
R	modality: realis

References

Tiale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Merei at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Tryon, Darrell T. (1973). "Linguistic subgrouping in the new Hebrides: a preliminary approach". Oceanic Linguistics. 12 (1/2): 303–352. doi:10.2307/3622859. JSTOR 3622859.
Lynch, John; Crowley, Terry (2001). Languages of Vanuatu: a new survey and bibliography. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 54.
Chung, Ying Shing Anthony (2005). A descriptive grammar of Merei (Vanuatu). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 12. ISBN 0-85883-560-6.
Givón, T. (1984). Syntax: A functional-typological introduction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 321. doi:10.1075/z.17. ISBN 9789027230133.
Chung, Ying Shing Anthony. (2005). Descriptive grammar of Merei (Vanuatu). Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0858835606. OCLC 70282773.

External links

Database of audio recordings in Malmariv (Wusiroro) - basic Catholic prayers

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[e18-1] Tiale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Merei at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)

[2] Tryon, Darrell T. (1973). "Linguistic subgrouping in the new Hebrides: a preliminary approach". Oceanic Linguistics. 12 (1/2): 303–352. doi:10.2307/3622859. JSTOR 3622859.

[3] Lynch, John; Crowley, Terry (2001). Languages of Vanuatu: a new survey and bibliography. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 54.

[:0-4] Chung, Ying Shing Anthony (2005). A descriptive grammar of Merei (Vanuatu). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 12. ISBN 0-85883-560-6.

[5] Givón, T. (1984). Syntax: A functional-typological introduction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 321. doi:10.1075/z.17. ISBN 9789027230133.

[:1-6] Chung, Ying Shing Anthony. (2005). Descriptive grammar of Merei (Vanuatu). Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0858835606. OCLC 70282773.