RYAN PENNINGTON (SIL International)

Non-spatial setting in Ma Manda

Abstract

This article describes the “non-spatial setting” (DIXON 2010:152–55) of Ma Manda, a Finisterre-Huon language of Papua New Guinea—especially the categories of tense, aspect, reality status, and modality. Particularly noteworthy is the multiplicity of phonological and morphological verb classes which interact in unique ways with verbal inflections, the productive use of multi-verb constructions to encode aspectual and modal distinctions, and the diverse functions of the irrealis inflection. Discussion is paired with numerous paradigms and examples in order to be maximally beneficial to linguistic typology, as well as to foster detailed comparison among Finisterre-Huon languages.

1. Introduction

This paper1 describes and illustrates the categories of non-spatial setting (DIXON 2010:152–55) in Ma Manda, one of eleven languages that form the Erap subgroup of the Finisterre-Huon (FH) family of northeastern Papua New Guinea. Ma Manda is spoken on the southern slopes of the Finisterre Mountains of Morobe Province, 50 km northwest of Lae.

The phonology of Ma Manda, described in PENNINGTON (2013), comprises fourteen consonants—/p t q b d g m n ŋ f s l w j/—and seven vowels—/i ɨ u e əә o a/. Data in this paper are presented phonologically according to the IPA, with the following two exceptions: /q/→k and /j/→y. These exceptions are made in order to foster comparison between Ma Manda and other FH languages.

After presenting preliminary morphological details such as tense, subject-agreement, and verb classes in §2, the remaining sections are organised as follows: tense in §3, aspect in §4, reality status in §5, modality in §6, and the use of these categories in non-final verbs in §7. Some final remarks are provided in §8.

Ma Manda is shown to be noteworthy in several respects: (i) a multiplicity of phonological and morphological verb classes interact in unique ways with verbal inflections, (ii) multi-verb constructions are used productively to encode various aspectual and modal distinctions, and (iii) the irrealis status has a diverse set of functions in the demarcation of tense, mood, and modality.

1 This is a revision of a paper presented at a workshop on non-spatial setting in Finisterre-Huon languages on 8–9 October 2013, held at the Language and Culture Research Centre of James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. I am grateful for comments made by fellow participants—and especially Hannah Sarvasy—many of which have been incorporated into this revision.

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2. Verbal preliminaries

In this section I aim to provide the morphological detail necessary for understanding the data presented in the rest of the paper. Verb paradigms are presented simply and with little prose. After tense and subject-agreement paradigms are provided in §2.1, verb classes are addressed: phonological classes in §2.2, morphological classes in §2.3, and syntactic classes in §2.4. Finally, dependent verb morphology is addressed in §2.5.

2.1. Tense & subject-agreement paradigms

Verb stems in Ma Manda are immediately followed by a slot which can be filled by tense or irrealis suffixes. The tense paradigm is displayed in Table 1. Note that each tense category has separate forms depending on whether the subject is singular or non-singular—a feature which is present in other Erap languages as well (see, for instance, LINNASALO (this volume)). The tense system, therefore, makes a bipartite number split.

Table 1: Tense paradigm SG NSG

RPST -go -gɨ NPST -ŋəә -ŋa PRES -ləә -wa NFUT -ta -nta

The irrealis paradigm—which is utilised to convey remote future tense and imperative mood as well—has not two, but three number categories, as illustrated in Table 2. Thus, the irrealis system makes a tripartite number split.

Table 2: Irrealis paradigm SG DU PL

IRR -be -de -ne

The next slot is filled by a subject-agreement suffix. The full paradigm is provided in Table 3.

Table 3: Subject-agreement paradigm SG DU PL

1 -t -mot -m 2 -ŋ -mok -ŋ 3 -k

Only the singular and plural subject-agreement suffixes are permissible in the irrealis forms (that is, since the irrealis paradigm has a separate dual form, the dual subject-agreement suffix is unemployed). Therefore, the morphemes that mark plurality (i.e. more than two) when co-occurring with tense, instead mark non-singularity (i.e. more than one) when co-occurring with irrealis.

A word of caution is necessary regarding the posited tense and subject-agreement paradigms. A few irregularities occur which may indicate that the

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subject-agreement suffixes have fused with the tense and irrealis suffixes. These irregularities are listed below:

• Present NSG is -wəә before 23PL rather than -wa • Near past 23PL is -ŋ rather than -ŋaŋ • Irrealis 1PL is -nɨm rather than -nem

Additionally, Ma Manda features a robust nasal harmony process which causes both voiced and voiceless stops to become prenasalised when preceded by a heteromorphemic nasal+vowel sequence: P→ᶰP/…NV+__ (where P=stop, N=nasal, V=vowel). This productive process, which is discussed further in §2.2.2, does not occur between the tense and subject-agreement suffixes—as illustrated in (1). It is unclear whether this omission is due to the word-final environment of the subject suffixes,2 or whether it is due to fusion of the two morphemes. Whether or not these morphemes are analysed as fused has no bearing on the findings in this paper, however.

(1) mo-ŋəә-t *moŋəәnt go.down-NPST.SG-1SG ‘I went down.’

A final note merits attention regarding the tense and subject-agreement paradigms of the FH languages. Cognacy among the tense, person, and number morphemes (which are often portmanteau) is ubiquitous throughout the paradigms of the languages represented in this volume. This morphological relatedness is of no real surprise due to the common ancestry and areal diffusion that is understood to have taken place across the New Guinea area. What is remarkable is the frequent misalignment of these morphemes, as well as the evidence of gradual variation from language to language, and, more accurately, from village to village. For example, in Yopno (SLOTTA 2013) -gɨm marks the RPST.1SG and -yak marks the IRR.3SG, while in Ma Manda these mark the RPST.1PL and PRES.3SG, respectively. Table 4 and Table 5 display the remote past tense and present tense morphemes, respectively, of three FH languages (data from QUIGLEY (this volume) and SLOTTA (2013)).3 These variations are rife with opportunity for historical reconstruction.

Table 4: Remote past tense in three FH languages 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

AWARA -kum -kuləәk -kut -kuməәk -kuməәləәk -kuməәŋ -kin MA MANDA -got -goŋ -gok -gɨmot -gɨmok -gɨm -gɨŋ

YOPNO -gɨm -gɨl -gɨt -gɨmak -gɨmal -gɨmaŋ -gɨt

2 The nasal harmony process may, not unlike some Bantu languages, target stops at the same location in the syllable as the triggering nasal. That is, since the /t/ in (1) is not an onset, it cannot be targeted. This would be due to the fact that, in nasal consonant harmony, the target segment must be phonologically similar to the trigger, and therefore syllable position may play into the equation (Walker 2011:1854). Some discussion regarding the domain of nasal harmony in Ma Manda is provided in Pennington (2013:126–28). 3 These paradigms are simplified for comparative transparency, with only the most predominant allomorphs displayed.

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Table 5: Present tense in three FH languages 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

AWARA -t -ləәk -k -məәk -məәləәk -məәŋ -yiŋ MA MANDA -ləәt -ləәŋ -ləәk -wamot -wamok -wam -wəәŋ

YOPNO -gat -gal -gak -gamak -gamal -gamaŋ -gaŋ

2.2. Verb classes distinguished by phonological shape

Ma Manda verbs may be divided into five primary classes based upon phonological shape, along with a few minor variations. This division is based primarily upon the final phoneme of the stem, while syllable structure plays a minor role. These five classes are described and illustrated below.

2.2.1. Vowel-final stems

The largest phonological verb class is the vowel-final class. This is the class that reveals most of the underlying shapes of the suffixes in the paradigm. As with Nek (LINNASALO this volume), morphophonemic alternations after vowels are atypical. This class is represented in Table 6 with lo- ‘go up’. Note the morphophonemic alternation that occurs in irrealis: the voiced bilabial stop lenites to form a labiovelar approximant after vowel-final verb stems (i.e. b→w/V+__).

Table 6: V-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST logot logoŋ logok logɨmot logɨmok logɨm logɨŋ NPST loŋəәt loŋəәŋ loŋəәk loŋamot loŋamok loŋam loŋ PRES loləәt loləәŋ loləәk lowamot lowamok lowam lowəәŋ NFUT lotat lotaŋ lotak lontamot lontamok lontam lontaŋ IRR lowet loweŋ lowek lodem lodeŋ lonɨm loneŋ

The V-final verb class has three minor variations. First, schwa-final stems behave differently in the present tense: the initial liquid of the present tense singular suffix elides and the contiguous schwa vowels coalesce to form the low central vowel [a]. An example is provided in Table 7 with bəә- ‘come’.

Table 7: /əә/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

PRES bat baŋ bak bəәwamot bəәwamok bəәwam bəәwəәŋ

Second, a few frequently-used V-final verb stems have ghost (i.e. ‘phantom’) stem-final /b/ segments. These segments only appear in the near future and irrealis singular suffixes, as shown in Table 8 with ta(b)- ‘say’.

Table 8: Ghost /b/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

NFUT tabɨtat tabɨtaŋ tabɨtak tantamot tantamok tantam tantaŋ IRR tabet tabeŋ tabek tadem tadeŋ tanɨm taneŋ

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Third, a few frequently-used V-final verb stems evoke a change of the initial consonant of the present tense singular suffix from /l/ to /y/, as shown in Table 9 with ku- ‘go’.

Table 9: Ghost /y/ verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

PRES kuyəәt kuyəәŋ kuyəәk kuwamot kuwamok kuwam kuwəәŋ

2.2.2. NV-final stems

The second phonological verb class is the NV-final class, which consists of verbs ending in a nasal+vowel sequence. The alternations here occur due to a process of nasal harmony, called “long distance nasal agreement” in PENNINGTON (2013:131). This is a productive process of assimilation whereby both voiced and voiceless stops are prenasalised when preceded by a heteromorphemic nasal+vowel sequence. When only one vowel intervenes between the nasal and the targeted stop, nasalisation occurs. This class is illustrated in Table 10 with mo- ‘go down’.

Table 10: NV-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST moŋgot moŋgoŋ moŋgok moŋgɨmot moŋgɨmok moŋgɨm moŋgɨŋ NPST moŋəәt moŋəәŋ moŋəәk moŋamot moŋamok moŋam moŋ PRES moləәt moləәŋ moləәk mowamot mowamok mowam mowəәŋ NFUT mombɨtat mombɨtaŋ mombɨtak montamot montamok montam montaŋ IRR mombet mombeŋ mombek mondem mondeŋ monɨm moneŋ

2.2.3. /b/-final stems

A third phonological verb class consists of verb stems ending in a voiced bilabial stop, as illustrated in Table 11 with lab- ‘come up’. Epenthesis of [ɨ] is triggered between /b/ and the initial stop of the suffix. Degemination occurs when the /b/-initial irrealis singular suffix follows this class.

Table 11: /b/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST labɨgot labɨgoŋ labɨgok labɨgɨmot labɨgɨmok labɨgɨm labɨgɨŋ NPST labɨŋəәt labɨŋəәŋ labɨŋəәk labɨŋamot labɨŋamok labɨŋam labɨŋ PRES labɨləәt labɨləәŋ labɨləәk labɨwamot labɨwamok labɨwam labɨwəәŋ NFUT labɨtat labɨtaŋ labɨtak labɨntamot labɨntamok labɨntam labɨntaŋ IRR labet labeŋ labek labɨdem labɨdeŋ labɨnɨm labɨneŋ

2.2.4. /l/-final stems

A fourth phonological verb class consists of verb stems ending in /l/. This class, which evokes the most extensive morphophonemic alternations, is illustrated in Table 12 with -ul- ‘SG.O:hit/kill’. Both the /l/ and /w/ approximants cause a

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pervasive amount of morphophonemic alternations, which are discussed in detail in PENNINGTON (2013:143–51).

Table 12: /l/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST ugot ugoŋ ugok ugɨmot ugɨmok ugɨm ugɨŋ NPST uləәt uləәŋ uləәk ulamot ulamok ulam ulɨŋ PRES utəәt utəәŋ utəәk ugamot ugamok ugam ugəәŋ NFUT ulɨtat ulɨtaŋ ulɨtak utntamot utntamok utntam utntaŋ IRR ulet uleŋ ulek udem udeŋ utnɨm utneŋ

2.2.5. N-final stems

The final major phonological verb class consists of verb stems ending in a nasal segment. This nasal segment is either an /m/ or a nasal autosegment (i.e. /N/), as illustrated in Table 13 with blam- ‘carry’ and in Table 14 with koN- ‘SG.O:throw’. A number of morphophonemic alternations occur with nasals as well, which are described in PENNINGTON (2013:139–43).

Table 13: /m/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST blamgot blamgoŋ blamgok blamgɨmot blamgɨmok blamgɨm blamgɨŋ NPST blamŋəәt blamŋəәŋ blamŋəәk blamŋamot blamŋamok blamŋam blamɨŋ PRES blamtəәt blamtəәŋ blamtəәk blamgamot blamgamok blamgam blamgəәŋ NFUT blambɨtat blambɨtaŋ blambɨtak blamtamot blamtamok blamtam blamtaŋ IRR blambet blambeŋ blambek blamdem blamdeŋ blamnɨm blamneŋ

Table 14: /N/-final verb paradigm 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 23DU 1PL 23PL

RPST koŋgot koŋgoŋ koŋgok koŋgɨmot koŋgɨmok koŋgɨm koŋgɨŋ NPST koŋəәt koŋəәŋ koŋəәk koŋamot koŋamok koŋam koŋ PRES kontəәt kontəәŋ kontəәk koŋgamot koŋgamok koŋgam koŋgəәŋ NFUT kombɨtat kombɨtaŋ kombɨtak kontamot kontamok kontam kontaŋ IRR kombet kombeŋ kombek kondem kondeŋ konɨm koneŋ

2.3. Verb classes distinguished by bound pronominal object-agreement

At least 17 transitive verbs—comprising 27 morphological stems—have bound prefixes that cross-reference the object. In a large number of TNG languages all transitive verbs have bound pronominal object prefixes (FOLEY 1986:105). A characteristic feature of the FH subfamily, however, is that only a small closed class of transitive verbs takes these prefixes (SUTER 2012:23). Moreover, the individual prefixes are often fused with the verb roots, and the third person singular object form is often suppletive. Another interesting feature is that a number of verbs only agree with the number specification of the object, with no person agreement.

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2.3.1. Bound pronominal object-agreement

Bound pronominal prefixes agree with the person and number of the object. Unlike the subject-agreement suffixes, however, there is no dual category. Instead, singular and non-singular number are distinguished for first, second, and third persons, as presented in Table 15. However, though the bound prefixes can often be teased apart from the verb stems, it is most appropriate and simple to analyse these as fused forms.

Table 15: Object-agreement prefixes 1SG 2SG 3SG 1NSG 2NSG 3NSG

n(a)- g(a)- Ø- nɨ- s(a)- y(e)-

Table 16 displays twelve simplex verbs—the complete known set—in an object-agreement paradigm. Every form is provided in the present tense with third person singular subject-agreement. The final four verbs have suppletive third person singular forms, as the shading highlights. This aligns with DIXON’s (2012:62) observation that, when transitive verbs have a suppletive form depending on the number of a core argument, it is almost always the O argument which initiates the suppletion, rather than A.

Table 16: Verbs that take object-agreement prefixes STEM 1SG 2SG 3SG 1NSG 2NSG 3NSG

-təәlam- ‘shoot’ nəәlamtəәk gəәlamtəәk təәlamtəәk nɨlamtəәk səәlamtəәk yəәlamtəәk -kafe- ‘scold’ nafeləәk gafeləәk kafeləәk nɨfeləәk safeləәk yafeləәk -n- ‘tell/ask’ nanɨləәk ganɨləәk nɨləәk nɨnɨləәk sanɨləәk yenɨləәk -m- ‘give’ namɨləәk gamɨləәk mɨləәk nɨmɨləәk samɨləәk yemɨləәk

-kəәpməәN- ‘leave/drop’ nəәpməәntəәk gəәpməәntəәk kəәpməәntəәk nɨpməәntəәk səәpməәntəәk yəәpməәntəәk -naŋgɨl- ‘get (person)’ nanaŋgɨtəәk ganaŋgɨtəәk naŋgɨtəәk nɨnaŋgɨtəәk sanaŋgɨtəәk yenaŋgɨtəәk

-tale- ‘pull’ naleləәk galeləәk taleləәk nɨleləәk saleləәk yaleləәk -təәwəәN- ‘follow’ nəәwəәntəәk gəәwəәntəәk təәwəәntəәk nɨwəәntəәk səәwəәntəәk yəәwəәntəәk

-isopm- / səәko- ‘hold’ nisopmtəәk gisopmtəәk səәkoləәk nɨsopmtəәk4 sisopmtəәk isopmtəәk -yab- / kəә- ‘see’ nambɨləәk gabɨləәk kak nɨmbɨləәk sabɨləәk yabɨləәk

-yaba- / kawa- ‘let’ nabaləәk5 gabaləәk kawaləәk nɨbaləәk sabaləәk yabaləәk -yefloŋkəә- /

tebloŋkəә- ‘help’ nefloŋkak gefloŋkak tebloŋkak nɨfloŋkak sefloŋkak ifloŋkak ~ yefloŋkak

Table 17 displays the four sets of simplex verbs which have separate stems for singular and non-singular subject-agreement. Notice that ‘hurt/bite’ has a suppletive third person singular form, as the shading highlights.

4 The non-singular present tense forms of -isopm- ‘hold’ exhibit syllabic nasals, as do examples in Table 17 and Table 18. As discussed in PENNINGTON (2013:68–69), nasals do occasionally surface as syllable nuclei, though this has been shown to occur as the result of complete elision of a reduced high vowel. The forms presented in this table are common, but alternate with a variant in which the barred-i vowel intervenes between the homorganic stops: e.g. nɨsopɨmtəәk. 5 Note the lack of prenasalisation on the bilabial stop in -yaba- ‘let’, both in the 1SG and 1NSG forms. This further supports the argument that the object-agreement prefixes are fused with the verb stems. Lack of prenasalisation is also found with ‘stab’ and ‘carry (on back)’ in Table 17, and ‘hit’ in Table 18.

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Table 17: Object-agreement verbs with distinct SG/NSG stems STEM 1SG 2SG 3SG 1NSG 2NSG 3NSG

-yol- / -idepm- ‘stab’ notəәk gotəәk yotəәk nɨdepmtəәk sidepmtəәk idepmtəәk

-e- / -idɨ- ‘hurt/bite’ neləәk geləәk sɨləәk nɨndɨləәk sidɨləәk idɨləәk

-tefa- / -efɨtefa- ‘damage’ nefaləәk gefaləәk tefaləәk nɨfɨtefaləәk sefɨtefaləәk efɨtefaləәk

-dəәkoN- / -ipmdəәkoN- ‘carry (on back)’ nəәkontəәk gəәkontəәk dəәkontəәk nɨpmdəәkontəәk sipmdəәkontəәk ipmdəәkontəәk

The verb meaning ‘hit’ is unique in that it has distinct stems for singular, dual, and plural object-agreement, as displayed in Table 18.

Table 18: ‘hit’ with SG/DU/PL object-agreement stems STEM 1SG 2SG 3SG 1DU 2DU 3DU 1PL 2PL 3PL

-ul- / -ilɨpm- / -idɨpm- ‘hit’ nutəәk gutəәk utəәk nɨlɨpmtəәk silɨpmtəәk ilɨpmtəәk nɨdɨpmtəәk sidɨpmtəәk idɨpmtəәk

In summary, 17 simplex verbs are known to take obligatory pronominal object-agreement prefixes. This list, however, comprises 27 distinct stems, many of which are only available for either singular or non-singular agreement. This list does not include serial verb constructions and compounds which may also take bound prefixes.

2.3.2. SG/NSG bound object-agreement

Ten verbs in Ma Manda have separate stems depending on whether the object is singular or non-singular. For most of these verbs the only difference occurs on the initial letter of the verb stem: /t-/ ‘SG’ or /f-/ ‘NSG’. The full list is provided in Table 19. Finally, note that the object arguments licensed by these verbs are all prototypically non-human.

Table 19: Verbs with only a SG/NSG object-agreement distinction STEM SG NSG

tɨ- / be- ‘put’ tɨləәk beləәk tebla- / febla- ‘get’ teblaləәk feblaləәk teb- / feb- ‘bring’ tebɨləәk febɨləәk

təәlab- / fəәlab- ‘bring up’ təәlabɨləәk fəәlabɨləәk tefɨ- / fefɨ- ‘bring down’ tefɨləәk fefɨləәk tuku- / fuku- ‘take away’ tukuyəәk fukuyəәk

təәlo- / fəәlo- ‘take up’ təәloləәk fəәloləәk təәpmo- / fəәpmo- ‘take down’ təәpmoləәk fəәpmoləәk

taba- / flubaba- ‘carry (in arms)’ tabaləәk flubabaləәk koN- / ləәkoN- ‘throw’ kontəәk ləәkontəәk

Note that a number of these verbs could be analysed as compounds, or perhaps serial verb constructions, involving the non-inflecting verbs təә ‘SG.O:get’ and fəә ‘NSG.O:get’. This analysis is dispreferred, however. That is, təә/fəә, though never inflected when used as a bare root (see (2)), can combine with motion verbs to form transitive verbs (see (3)).

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(2) kuyəәŋ təә kum tɨ-we stick SG.O:get down SG.O:put-IRR.SG ‘Put the stick down.’ (lit. ‘Get the stick and put it down.’)

(3) kuyəәŋ təә-lab-e stick SG.O:get-come.up-IRR.SG ‘Bring the stick up (here).’ (lit. ‘Get the stick and come up.’)

However, the vowel in təә/fəә harmonises with the vowel of the following inflected verb, producing, for instance, tu before ku. With the exception of the barred-i vowel, vowel harmony is mostly unattested in Ma Manda. Also, and more importantly, additional morphemes cannot be inserted between təә/fəә and the motion verb (as opposed to (2))—see (4). Instead, rather than təә/fəә the inflectable verb tebla/febla ‘get’ can be used, as shown in (5).

(4) *kuyəәŋ təә yəә lab-e stick SG.O:get here come.up-IRR.SG for: ‘Bring the stick up here.’

(5) kuyəәŋ tebla-kəә yəә lab-e stick SG.O:get-SS here come.up-IRR.SG ‘Get the stick and come up here.’

These facts suggest that these compounds have fused and are no longer separable.

2.4. Verb classes distinguished by syntactic valency

Briefly, Ma Manda verbs may also be divided into four groups according to valency. First, intransitive verbs—of which the verbs of motion are exemplars—are illustrated in (6), which shows the intransitive verb ku- ‘go’.

(6) nəә-ŋkəәdek ku-wəә-ŋ man-PL go-PRES.NSG-23PL ‘The men are going.’

Second are transitive verbs. Many of the most common transitive verbs take the object-agreement prefixes discussed in §2.3.1, as illustrated in (7). Others, however, do not take object-agreement prefixes, as illustrated in (8).

(7) nəә ip məәməәm yəәlam-go-k man bird many 3NSG.O:shoot-RPST.SG-3SG ‘The man shot many birds.’

(8) nəә wəә yəәlobu yalɨ kunil-əә-k man that banana two peel.upward-NPST.SG-3SG ‘That man peeled two bananas.’

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Third, some verbs are capable of operating as either intransitive or transitive verbs (called “ambitransitive” by DIXON (2010:103)). Some of these verbs exhibit S=A alignment, as shown in (9). Others exhibit S=O alignment, as shown in (10).

(9) S=A alignment a. səәlefəәka fudɨl-əә-k

gust blow-NPST.SG-3SG ‘It gusted.’ (lit. ‘A gust blew.’)

b. wəә=lɨ kadɨp fudɨ-go-k that=NOM fire blow-RPST.SG-3SG ‘He blew out the fire.’

(10) S=O alignment a. səәŋ təәməәŋ-go-k

bench loosen-RPST.SG-3SG ‘The bench loosened.’

b. nəәk səәŋ təәməәŋ-got 1SG bench loosen-RPST.SG-1SG ‘I took apart the bench.’

Fourth, a few verbs are ditransitive. All ditransitive verbs bear obligatory object-agreement prefixes, as discussed in §2.3.1. These prefixes always index the recipient and never the theme/gift. This class is mostly composed of verbs of transfer, as illustrated in (11). Here, -m- ‘give’ indexes the 2SG agent as well as the 1SG recipient. The dative pronoun is optional, since it is indexed on the verb, and the gift/theme need not be explicitly stated.

(11) kaudəә wəә nok nam-be stone that 1SG.DAT 1SG.O:give-IRR.SG ‘Give that stone to me.’

In addition to these four syntactic groups of verbs, several transitive verbs may also operate as light verbs, which are bleached of their semantic content and tend to be utilised simply to host inflection. These light verbs combine with adjunct elements such as nouns or adjectives, as shown in (12). They also occur alongside Tok Pisin borrowings, as in (13). All light verbs may also function as full verbs.

(12) yot kəәm ta-t house clean do:PRES.SG-1SG ‘I am cleaning the house.’

(13) kalɨ statim ne-mbe car start do-IRR.SG ‘Start the car!’

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2.5. Dependent verb morphology

Ma Manda is typical of Papuan languages in that it makes extensive use of clause chaining. That is, distinctive verbal morphology differentiates dependent (“medial”) clauses from independent (“final”) clauses. Each sentence, therefore, has one fully-inflected verb, along with a potentially large number of minimally-inflected medial verbs. Only the final verb is fully inflected for tense, aspect, and mood categories, while the medial verbs are marked with either a same-subject or a different-subject suffix. This is the essence of the phenomenon known as switch reference. In Ma Manda medial verbs mark whether their subject is the same or different from the subject of the next clause. The same-subject medial suffix is -kəә, while the different-subject medial suffix is -ŋ. Following the different-subject suffix, the verb is generally marked with one of the agreement suffixes listed in Table 20.

Table 20: Different-subject person suffixes SG PL

1 -ləә -dəә ~ -tnəә6 2/3 -lɨ

This paper is primarily concerned with non-spatial setting in independent clauses. However, §7 briefly addresses each of the non-spatial setting categories in turn with regard to their presence or absence in dependent clauses.

3. Tense

Final verbs in Ma Manda are obligatorily inflected for one of five tenses, including remote past (§3.1), near past (§3.2), present (§3.3), immediate future (§3.4), and remote future (§3.5). Relative tense is briefly addressed in §3.6. The timeframes encoded by the tense suffixes in Ma Manda do not completely align with those of the other FH languages, as discussed below and in the introduction to this volume.

3.1. Remote past tense

The remote past tense situates a predication any time before the present day. The boundary its usage is at dawn of the present day—when the near past tense becomes appropriate—as exemplified in (14). This tense is used not only for general statements and narratives situated in the past—as in (15)—but also for historical, traditional, mythical, legendary, or ancestral events, as in (16), taken from a legend about how the Papuan Flowerpecker tricked the Dwarf Cassowary into breaking its own wings, thus explaining its flightless nature today.

6 These suffixes appear to be used interchangeably. People have offered suggestions for differences in meaning, but none of these have been borne out in actual speech.

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(14) təәndon paŋ nandɨ-kəә akŋ̩-go-t night bang perceive-SS arise-RPST.SG-1SG ‘(Last) night I heard a bang and got up.’

(15) kep wəә=lɨ leməәŋ ku-gɨ-ŋ yesterday that=NOM Lemang go-RPST.NSG-3PL ‘Yesterday they went to Lemang.’

(16) nai bəәn floŋ gisim=pɨ bəә-kəә-go-k time a LOC bird.sp=NOM come-3SG.O:see-RPST.SG-3SG ‘One time the Papuan Flowerpecker came and saw.’

Example (17) illustrates the remote past tense under negation.

(17) sowek dom təәlam-gɨ-m cassowary.sp NEG 3SG.O:shoot-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘We did not shoot a Dwarf Cassowary.’

3.2. Near past tense

As mentioned above, Ma Manda tense suffixes do not necessarily align with those of the other FH languages. For instance, the near past in Nungon is used for events which took place yesterday or earlier today (SARVASY this volume), while in Ma Manda it situates an event only on the present day since dawn. Thus, the use of this tense restricts the action such that it must have been completed on the day of the utterance. This is illustrated in (18).

(18) tameŋsləә membɨ tem lal-əә-k morning head hair scrape-NPST.SG-3SG ‘He shaved his head this morning.’ (lit. ‘He scraped his hair.’)

Example (19) illustrates the near past tense under negation.

(19) dom ku-ŋ NEG go-NPST.NSG:23PL ‘They haven’t gone (yet).’

3.3. Present tense

The present tense situates an event at the present moment or immediately beforehand, as shown in (20)–(21).

(20) nəә=lɨ yot təә-wəә-ŋ man=NOM house make-PRES.NSG-23PL ‘The men are building a house.’

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(21) sɨbəәt se-ŋgam-pəә ba-t food cook-2SG.O:give-SS come:PRES.SG-1SG ‘I’ve cooked food for you and come.’

Example (22) illustrates the use of the present tense under negation, with both a dynamic and a stative interpretation available. The dynamic ‘hear’ is interpreted as having an immediate past meaning, while the stative ‘understand’ is taken as present tense.

(22) dom nandɨ-ləә-t NEG perceive-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I didn’t hear.’ ‘I don’t understand.’

The present tense can also be used for historic present. That is, it is used in a narrative with the effect that the event has greater vividness and immediacy than surrounding events. This usage is illustrated in (23) with ku- ‘go’.

(23) məәndəә nai nəәnəәk wəәdɨŋ ta-k nəәnəәk talk time child like.that do:PRES.SG-3SG child

mi floŋ ku-yəә-k water LOC go-PRES.SG-3SG ‘The news of the child goes like this: The child goes to the water …’

3.4. Near future tense

The near future tense situates an event between the time of the utterance and the end of the next day. That is, at dawn on the day after tomorrow the boundary is crossed whereby the remote future tense (i.e. irrealis) is used. Once again, this contrasts with Nungon (SARVASY this volume), where the near future tense may only refer to events on the day of the utterance. The near future tense is illustrated in (24)–(25).

(24) uləәk bəәn tabɨ-ta-t story a say-NFUT.SG-1SG ‘I will tell a story.’

(25) tameŋ bəә-nta-mot tomorrow come-NFUT.NSG-1DU ‘We both will come tomorrow.’

Example (26) illustrates the near future tense under negation.

(26) dom gut-nta-m NEG 2SG.O:hit-NFUT.NSG-1PL ‘We won’t hurt you.’

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Finally, the near future tense may be used to convey a command, albeit a weaker one than is encoded by irrealis inflection.

(27) gəәk wi-kəә met bəә-ta-ŋ 2sg bathe-SS later come-NFUT.SG-2SG ‘You bathe and come later.’

3.5. Remote future tense

The irrealis inflection is utilised to convey a number of non-spatial setting categories, including the imperative mood, various modality distinctions, and remote future tense (see §5).

The remote future tense situates an event after tomorrow. More precisely, this tense situates the predication at dawn on the day after tomorrow or any time thereafter. When irrealis is used to encode remote future tense, context indicates the correct interpretation. Often this involves the use of an adverb or adverbial phrase, as illustrated in (28).

(28) met bəә-nɨm later come-IRR.PL:1PL ‘We will come later.’

More research is needed in order to determine whether the remote future tense can be negated. Due to its irrealis encoding though, it would be unsurprising for negation to be disallowed. Note as well that the other FH languages exhibit neutralisation of certain tense distinctions under negative polarity. For instance, in Nungon the near future is negated using the remote future inflection (SARVASY this volume).

3.6. Relative tense

The verbs of independent clauses are inflected for tense, while the verbs of dependent clauses are not. Thus, the tense of a clause chain is determined by the tense marking on its final verb. That is, in independent clauses tense is absolute, while in dependent (adverbial, relative, and complement) clauses tense is relative, as illustrated in (29).

(29) wəәləәtəәkəә bəә-nɨ-ŋɨ-ləә ku-nta-mot therefore come-3SG.O:ask-DS-1SG go-NFUT.NSG-1DU

nanɨ-ŋgo-k 1SG.O:tell-RPST.SG-3SG ‘So I came and asked him and he told me we would go.’

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4. Aspect

Aspect is “the way that an event is distributed through the time frame in which the event occurs,” the “non-temporal, internal contour of an event” (FRAWLEY 1992:294). In this section I address the various aspectual distinctions that can be made in Ma Manda, both morphologically and through auxiliary verb constructions. I focus here on grammatical aspect, though Aktionsart is briefly discussed, since a distinction is made in Ma Manda between stative and dynamic verbs in whether they can be marked for progressive or continuous aspect.

Habitual aspect is discussed in §4.1, completive in §4.2, perfect in §4.3, progressive in §4.4, continuous in §4.5, iterative in §4.6, and durative in §4.7. As a preview, Table 21 compares the most salient qualities of the Ma Manda aspects.

Table 21: Aspects compared HABITUAL COMPLETIVE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE CONTINUOUS ITERATIVE DURATIVE

STRUCTURE

(SECOND

METHOD)

Discont. suffixes

SVC: V followed by ‘throw’

Adverb mo before

verb

Medial V followed by ‘be’

auxiliary

Medial V followed by ‘do’

auxiliary

Medial V followed by ‘do’

auxiliary

Medial V followed by ‘go around’

auxiliary

Suffix

PHON. WORDS

1 1 2 2 2 2 2

1 OTHER

INFO.

Disallowed in NPST

and NFUT

Often co-occurs with -ma deriv.

suffix

Adverb’s meaning

varies with tenses

Primarily modifies dynamic

verbs

Modifies stative verbs

Modifies dynamic

verbs

Suffix carries SS meaning as well

4.1. Habitual aspect

The habitual aspect indicates that an action is performed regularly, customarily, or habitually. In the present tense this aspect is marked morphologically with the suffix -Nəәŋ,7 which occurs after the subject-agreement suffix, as illustrated in (30).

(30) kodup nəә-wa-m-əәŋ betel.nut consume-PRES.NSG-1PL-HAB ‘We chew betel nut.’

The past and future habitual forms are composed of a complicated series of discontinuous morphemes. Note that habitual aspect does not occur on predicates inflected for the near past and near future tenses. It is also the only aspect which cannot occur on medial verb forms.

7 This morpheme begins with a nasal autosegment which matches the place of articulation of a preceding consonant. When it is preceded by a nasal, then degemination optionally occurs.

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In the remote past tense, three morphological possibilities are available. First, as shown in (31), the general past habitual form is composed of -wa- following the verb stem, and -Nəәŋ following the subject-agreement suffix. Second, as shown in (32), -i- may follow the verb stem, again with -Nəәŋ following the subject suffix. The interpretation here is that the action customarily occurred at a time in the recent past. Third, as shown in (33), both -wa- and -i- can co-occur, again with -Nəәŋ following the subject suffix. The interpretation here is that the action customarily occurred in the distant past. Note also that -wa- must always precede -i-, and the -Nəәŋ suffix cannot occur alone in the past tense without one of the other two morphemes. These restrictions are illustrated in (34) and (35), respectively.

(31) kodup nəә-wa-go-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-PHAB-RPST.SG-1SG-HAB ‘I used to chew betel nut.’

(32) kodup nəә-i-go-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-HAB-RPST.SG-1SG-HAB ‘(Recently) I used to chew betel nut.’

(33) kodup nəә-wa-i-go-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-PHAB-HAB-RPST.SG-1SG-HAB ‘(A long time ago) I used to chew betel nut.’

(34) *kodup nəә-i-wa-go-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-HAB-PHAB-RPST.SG-1SG-HAB

(35) *kodup nəә-go-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-RPST.SG-1SG-HAB

Examples (36)–(38) show the habitual aspect with some other person and number combinations.

(36) wəә əә-ga-mok-ŋəәŋ there be-PRES.NSG-23DU-HAB ‘They both stay there.’

(37) nambɨ-i-go-k-ŋəәŋ 1SG.O:tell-HAB-RPST.SG-3SG-HAB ‘He used to tell me.’

(38) atuku-wa-gɨ-ŋ-əәŋ go.around-PHAB-RPST.NSG-23PL-HAB ‘They used to remain (there).’

In the remote future tense (encoded by irrealis), only one morphological possibility is available for habitual aspect: the morpheme -i- follows the verb stem, and -Nəәŋ follows the subject suffix, as shown in (39)–(40). Note that, as shown in (40), the irrealis singular suffixes are fused with the first habitual suffix -i to form: -it ‘HAB:IRR.SG:1SG’, -iŋ ‘HAB:IRR.SG:2SG’, and -ik ‘HAB:IRR.SG:3SG’.

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(39) kodup nəә-i-de-m-əәŋ betel.nut consume-HAB-IRR.DU-1PL-HAB ‘We both will (customarily) chew betel nut.’

(40) kodup nəә-it-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-HAB:IRR.SG:1SG-HAB ‘I will (customarily) chew betel nut.’

Example (41) shows that -Nəәŋ cannot occur alone in the future tense without -i-; though understood, this form is not preferred. Example (42) shows that -wa- is ungrammatical in the future tense.

(41) #kodup nəә-mbe-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-IRR.SG-1SG-HAB

(42) *kodup nəә-wa-we-t-nəәŋ betel.nut consume-HAB-IRR.SG-1SG-HAB

It is helpful to note the sources of these habitual morphemes. The suffix -i- appears to be related to a morpheme in Uri, a neighboring Erap language. In Uri ik means ‘to live’, and is also used as the first person present tense suffix (WEBB 1980:45,50). Regarding the FH languages, MCELHANON (1973:29) remarks that “the habituative mode morphemes of these languages may be shown to be related to the verbs meaning ‘to do’ or ‘to live’ and to have a historical basis in verb compounding.” This precedent provides support for the same analysis in Ma Manda. Note that in Nungon also, the habitual aspect is formed with the dependent form of cognate it- ‘be’ (SARVASY this volume).

It is also of interest to note that in Uri, not only is ik used to encode habitual aspect in the present tense, but ara is used to form the habitual aspect in the past and future tenses (WEBB 1980:48). This is the verb for ‘to live’ in neighboring Rawa (MCELHANON 1973:31). The pattern is strikingly similar to Ma Manda: Uri uses different morphemes (both based on verbs meaning ‘to live’) for the habitual aspect depending on the tense in which it occurs.8

The suffix -wa- may be related to the present tense non-singular suffix. Recalling the fact that in Uri the present tense suffix also serves as a habitual suffix, the pattern in Ma Manda is not surprising. A logical connection seems to exist between the present tense and the habitual aspect.

Ma Manda speakers typically choose not to place habitual suffixes on every verb in a procedural discourse, as illustrated in (43). The first verb təә- ‘do’ is given a habitual suffix, but the following verbs in the discourse are not. Instead, they are simply marked for present tense.

8 This complexity is also seen in Manambu, a Sepik Ndu language. In Manambu habitual aspect is encoded by a single suffix in the present tense, while in non-present tense the same suffix must co-occur with another discontinuous morpheme, which is based on verbs meaning either ‘stay’ or ‘go’ (AIKHENVALD 2008:258–59).

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(43) wəәdɨŋ təә-wa-m-əәŋ tɨməәŋ ku like.that do-PRES.NSG-1SG-HAB first go

fi fepm-ga-m … garden cut.grass-PRES.NSG-1PL ‘This is what we do: First, we go clear bush in the garden …’

Finally, predicates marked with habitual aspect can be negated, as shown in (44).

(44) kodup dom na-t-nəәŋ betel.nut NEG consume:PRES.SG-1SG-HAB ‘I do not chew betel nut.’

4.2. Completive aspect

The completive aspect highlights the cessation of an action. Regarding Papuan languages in general, FOLEY (1986:145) remarks that verbs like ‘throw aside’, ‘put into’, ‘hold’, and ‘hit’ often serve extended uses in marking completive aspect.

In Ma Manda, completive aspect typically indicates that an event was completed prior to the start of the following event. It has the effect of backgrounding an event, often in expectation of a more salient event to follow. As such, it is much more common on medial verbs than on final verbs. It is encoded by a serial verb construction whereby the predicate is followed by koN- ‘throw’. ‘Throw’ occurs as a predicate in (45), while it indicates completive aspect in (46).

(45) kaudəә wəә kombɨ-ta-t stone that SG.O:throw-NFUT.SG-1SG ‘I will throw the stone.’

(46) təә-kəә sɨbəәt sɨnəә-ŋkoŋ-go-k do-SS food cook.eat-throw-RPST.SG-3SG ‘And he finished cooking and eating.’

Often, an additional morpheme -ma is inserted between the verbs, as illustrated in (47). This morpheme is a derivational suffix which indicates that the action is wholly accomplished. It is not an aspectual morpheme, since it does not affect the temporal contour of the event. It indicates that the action denoted by the verb is accomplished wholly and completely, while the completive aspect focuses on the cessation of an action. It appears related to several verbs which all refer to a downward motion: məә- ‘fall down’, maN- ‘droop’, maŋɨl- ‘sit down’.

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(47) tamtam fentəәgɨt tet welɨ women all yam seed

təәmet-əә fəәpmo fiŋ wəә carry-SS NSG.O:take.down garden there

be-ma-ŋkoŋ-ŋ NSG.O:put-whole-throw-NPST.NSG:23PL ‘All the women carried the yam seeds and took them down and put them all there in the garden.’

This suffix is illustrated without being followed by ‘throw’ in (48)–(49). Notice that this suffix is not aspectual, as clearly seen in (49). In this case it occurs with a present tense stative verb, with no completion indicated.

(48) nəә yot təә-ma-ŋgo-k man house make-whole-RPST.SG-3SG ‘The man built the whole house.’

(49) nəәk nandɨ-ma-ləә-t 1SG know-whole-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I know everything.’

Interestingly, the prenasalisation of koN- is not required when it follows -ma. As discussed in PENNINGTON (2013:128), the prenasalisation of both voiced and voiceless stops is required when preceded by a heteromorphemic NV sequence within the same word. Across word boundaries, however, this prenasalisation is far less robust. Though a pause break is never inserted between -ma and koN-, the nasalisation pattern suggests that these belong to two separate phonological words. Note that ma- always initiates prenasalisation of a following stop when it occurs without koN-, as shown in (50). These facts suggest that this aspectual use of koN- is being reanalysed as a suffix, but its reanalysis is yet incomplete.

(50) təә-ma-ŋkəә *təәmakəә do-whole-SS ‘…do it all and …’

Finally, the morpheme ma has an extended adverbial use with motion verbs as well, as illustrated in (51). In this case, the interpretation is usually that the going or coming is done completely, without stopping or turning around. Additionally, this often carries the expectation that the subject will not return for some time (i.e. he will probably at least stay the night). The morpheme is definitely a separate word rather than a prefix, because prenasalisation of voiceless stops never occurs here (see (52)) . Prenasalisation does occasionally occur before voiced stops, however, as shown in (53). This variation is expected across word boundaries, but not within a word boundary. Note that motion verbs cannot take the -ma suffix; with these verbs only the separate ma adverbial form is grammatical (see (54)).

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(51) nəәk ma ku-yəә-t 1SG whole go-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I am going all the way.’

(52) *ma-ŋku-yəә-t whole-go-PRES.SG-1SG

(53) ma mbəә-gɨ-m whole come-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘We came all the way.’

(54) *nəәk bəә-ma-ləә-t 1SG come-whole-PRES.SG-1SG for: ‘I am coming all the way.’

The completive construction can be negated, as illustrated in (55).

(55) wagɨt sɨbəәt dom nəә-ma-ŋkoŋ-əә-t today food NEG food-whole-throw-NPST.SG-1SG ‘Today I did not finish eating all the food.’

4.3. Perfect aspect

The perfect aspect indicates that an action was completed prior to the point of time under discussion, and is indicated by placing the adverb mo ‘already’ immediately before the verb—as illustrated in (56).9

(56) membɨfin=tit sɨbəәt sɨnəә-ma-ŋkoŋ-kəә mo family=COM food cook.eat-whole-throw-SS already

bəә-gɨ-m come-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘Our family finished cooking and eating all the food and we had come.’

The perfect interpretation is marginal however; generally the meaning is just adverbial, with its meaning dependent upon the tense: ‘already’ in the past tense, ‘already’ or ‘now’ in the present tense, and ‘certainly’ in the future tense. This pattern is almost identical to that described for Nukna (TAYLOR forthcoming)—another FH language. Examples (57)–(59) are illustrative.

(57) gelɨ mo bəә-gɨ-ŋ okay already come-RPST.NSG-23PL ‘Okay they had already come.’

(58) gi mo dəәken-təә-k rain already dissipate-PRES.SG-3SG ‘The rain has already dissipated.’

9 Note that this adverb is homophonous with, and possibly related to, the verb mo- ‘go down’.

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‘The rain is dissipating now.’

(59) mo kombɨ-ta-t already SG.O:hit-NFUT.SG-1SG ‘I am going to beat you!’

More research is needed in order to understand the different nuances due to different locations of this adverb, especially when it does not occur adjacent to a verb (for instance, it often occurs after the demonstratives i ‘this’ or u ‘that’). It appears to serve one or more discourse functions, which may or may not be related to its adverbial function.

4.4. Progressive aspect

FRAWLEY (1992:312) summarises the traditional definition of progressive aspect as “the aspect that encodes an action in progress, on-line, or ongoing.” This is precisely what the Ma Manda progressive aspect conveys, as illustrated in (61), which is in contrast to the perfective aspect default reading of (60). Progressive aspect is encoded by a medial same-subject verb followed by the auxiliary verb əәl- ‘be’.

(60) ip bəәn usuŋ nain kuləә-go-k bird a above egg lay-RPST.SG-3SG ‘A bird laid an egg up there.’

(61) ip bəәn usuŋ nain kuləә-kəә əә-go-k bird a above egg lay-SS be-RPST.SG-3SG ‘A bird was laying an egg up there.’

COMRIE (1976:34) discusses the important observation that verbs tend to divide into two disjoint classes—those that can appear in progressive forms, and those that cannot. This distinction corresponds to that between stative and nonstative verbs. A general definition of the progressive aspect is “the combination of progressive meaning and nonstative meaning” (COMRIE 1976:35). Typically in Ma Manda only dynamic verbs take the progressive aspect, while stative verbs may take continuous aspect. This is only a tendency, however. Ma Manda does allow for different interpretations (i.e. stative vs. dynamic) of certain predicates, as illustrated with səәko- ‘hold/grab’ in (62)–(63). When used in its finite form, səәko- may be interpreted as dynamic (i.e. ‘grab’) or stative (i.e. ‘hold). However, the progressive construction results only in a stative interpretation (i.e. ‘holding’ rather than ‘grabbing’). This reveals the stativising nature of the progressive aspect on dynamic verbs (FRAWLEY 1992:314).

(62) saŋgom səәko-go-k corn 3SG.O:hold-RPST.SG-3SG ‘He grabbed the corn.’ ‘He held the corn.’

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(63) saŋgom səәko-kəә əә-go-k corn 3SG.O:hold-SS be-RPST.SG-3SG ‘He was holding the corn.’

A further example is shown in (64). The verb meaning ‘sit down’ is dynamic, referring to the action of sitting. To refer to someone who is already sitting, then the progressive aspect is used.

(64) nəәk maŋɨt-əә əәt-əә-t 1SG sit.down-SS be-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I am sitting.’

The progressive aspect causes punctual events to take iterative interpretations, as shown in (65).

(65) nəәk blaŋkoŋ-kəә əә-təә-t 1SG jump-SS be-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I am jumping.’

The progressive aspect can be negated, as shown in (66). The negative adverb dom is placed before the entire auxiliary verb construction. Negated progressive aspect has thus far only been found in dependent clauses, though this is probably due to the limited size of the corpus .

(66) doŋ kəәməәləә-kəә dom nandɨ-kəә əәk-ŋɨ-lɨ gather be.ignorant-SS NEG perceive-SS be-DS-23

minəәminəә maŋgɨnəәŋ kum labɨ-gɨ-ŋ Minamina Mangginang down come.up-RPST.NSG-23PL ‘She slept very deeply10 and was not hearing the Minamina [spirits] come up from down below in Mangginang.’

4.5. Continuous aspect

While the progressive aspect is used to express the ongoing progress of dynamic verbs, the continuous aspect is used to express the persisting situation of stative verbs. This aspect is encoded by a medial same-subject verb followed by the auxiliary verb təә- ‘do’. The continuous aspect is illustrated in (67)–(68).

(67) mo-ŋkəә-kəә mitəә-kəә təә-gɨ-ŋ go.down-see-SS fear-SS do-RPST.NSG-23PL ‘They went down and saw him and they were afraid.’

10 The phrase doŋ kəәməәləә is an idiom which means ‘sleep deeply’. The word doŋ is an adjunct nominal that is generally followed by the light verb təә ‘do’.

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(68) bəә-yabɨ-kəә əәt-əә təә-gɨ-m come-3NSG.O:see-SS be-SS do-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘I came and saw them and we remained (together).’

More research is needed in order to determine the effect that other tenses and negation have on the continuous aspect.

4.6. Iterative aspect

The iterative aspect indicates that an action is performed repetitively, in rapid succession. It is encoded in the same way as the continuous aspect: a medial same-subject verb followed by the auxiliary verb təә- ‘do’. However, the iterative interpretation is only available when it occurs with dynamic verbs. Example (69) is illustrative.

(69) taweŋ doŋ təә-kəә təә-gɨ-mot taro gather do-SS do-RPST.NSG-1DU ‘We both kept gathering taro.’

More research is needed to determine how the iterative aspect interacts with other tenses and with negation.

4.7. Durative aspect

The durative aspect indicates that a process or action continues for an appreciable length of time. It is encoded by a medial verb followed by the auxiliary verb atuku- ‘go around’, as illustrated in (70). Here the auxiliary verb is marked with the same-subject durative medial suffix as well, which is discussed further in §7.

(70) isit doŋ təә-kəә atuku-gɨ i=di kunai gather do-SS go.around-SS.DUR this=NOM

təәfəәləә təә-ŋ ma bəә-gɨ-m afternoon do-DS whole come-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘We gathered kunai grass until it was afternoon and we came (back).’

More research is needed to determine how the durative aspect interacts with various tenses and with negation.

5. Reality status

Ma Manda utilises a definite binary split between realis and irrealis. Realis is the default status, while irrealis is marked with a suffix. When an irrealis suffix is present on a verb, a tense suffix cannot also be present. That is, tense and irrealis

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occur in the same suffix slot (whereas Nek (LINNASALO this volume) allows status and tense morphemes to co-occur). In fact, all FH languages represented in this volume exhibit use of irrealis status in marking tense and modality distinctions, to varying degrees.

A suffix from the irrealis paradigm can be used alone to indicate that an event is possible or imaginable, but not realised. As previously discussed, depending on context, this paradigm also serves as the remote future tense (§3.5), as well as the imperative mood. Utilising irrealis verb forms, a number of distinctions of modality can be made as well, as discussed in §6. Context, as well as intonation, indicates whether the irrealis is intended to convey remote future tense, imperative mood, or a distinction in modality. Since status has been discussed throughout this paper, (71) is adequate to illustrate the range of possible meanings of the irrealis inflection on the predicate of a simple clause.

(71) nəә ku-we-k man go-IRR.SG-3SG ‘The man may go.’ (=possibility) ‘The man will go.’ (=remote future tense) ‘The man must go!’ (=imperative)

Example (72) illustrates the irrealis status under negation.

(72) kəәdet kalin dom təәwəәŋ-kəә i=di road good NEG follow-SS this=NOM

bep-mek kusəәmbəә dom kəә-nɨm. father-1PL.POSS big NEG 3SG.O:see-IRR.PL:1PL ‘If we do not follow the good road, we will not see our Father.’

The imperative mood may be subdivided into two categories: a basic imperative and an immediate imperative. While the basic imperative mood requires the use of both irrealis and subject-agreement suffixes, the immediate imperative is conveyed by the absence of a subject-agreement suffix. This is the case for both 2SG and 2DU, while the use of the 2PL immediate imperative is marginal and considered outright ungrammatical by some.

The immediate imperative forms are used with more force and urgency than the basic imperative forms, as shown in (73). The expectation is that the action will be carried out right away. This form is also the typical choice in leave-taking, as shown in (74). This contrasts the preference for the extended imperative in Nungon leave-taking (SARVASY this volume).

(73) fale-kəә nɨmb-e turn.around-SS 1NSG.O:see-IRR.SG ‘Turn around and look at us!’

(74) gelɨ ku-we okay go-IRR.SG ‘Okay you go.’

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When either the second person singular or dual form of the basic imperative mood is used, it has a distal or delayed meaning. That is, presumably due to pragmatic implicature, by using the basic imperative mood for second person singular or dual, the interpretation is that the hearer is further away from accomplishing the intended task (due either to spatial or temporal distance). The boundary between the use of the immediate and delayed imperatives, however, is quite fuzzy. The delayed imperative usage is displayed in (76), as opposed to the immediate imperative form in (75).

(75) gəәk yəә=bəә-we 2SG here=come-IRR.SG ‘You come here!’

(76) gəәk yəә=bəә-we-ŋ 2SG here=come-IRR.SG-2SG ‘You come here!’ [from further away]

With all other person/number forms, the immediate and delayed imperative moods are conflated under the general irrealis paradigm, as illustrated in (77).

(77) sidɨ yəә=bəә-ne-ŋ 2PL here=come-IRR.PL:23PL ‘You all come here!’ [from either near or far]

Imperatives may be negated by placing the negative adverb before the verb, as illustrated in (78).

(78) dom mitəә-we NEG fear-IRR.SG ‘Don’t be afraid!’

6. Modality

Various distinctions in modality can be made using irrealis verb forms. More research is needed to determine many of the semantic differences among the different constructions. Structurally, all of the distinctions involve a complex predicate in which the first verb is inflected with irrealis status. The modalities are discussed in the following order: desiderative in §6.1, prospective in §6.2, purposive in §6.3, and apprehensional in §6.4.

6.1. Desiderative modality

The desiderative modality indicates that the subject has a desire to perform an action. It is encoded by a verb in irrealis form followed by the auxiliary verb təә- ‘do’. This structure is similar to that of the continuous aspect, which involves a same-subject medial verb followed by the auxiliary verb təә- ‘do’. The irrealis verb

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usually does not have a medial verb ending—as shown in (79). However, sentences like (80)—involving a medial suffix—also occur. Ma Manda speakers tell me the meaning is identical, though future research will clarify.

(79) gebɨŋ yəә=ŋəәl-e-t ta-t inside here=be-IRR.SG-1SG do:PRES.SG-1SG ‘I want to stay inside.’

(80) sɨbəәt nəә-nɨm-pəә təә-wa-m food eat-IRR.PL:1PL-SS do-PRES.NSG-1PL ‘We want to eat.’

More research is needed to determine whether the desiderative modality may be negated.

6.2. Prospective modality

The prospective modality indicates that the subject is about to perform an action. It is encoded by a same-subject medial verb with irrealis inflection, followed by the auxiliary verb əәl- ‘be’. This structure is similar to that of the progressive aspect, which involves a same-subject medial verb followed by the auxiliary verb əәl- ‘be’. Example (81) is illustrative.

(81) go mo-mbe-k-əә əә-təә-k sun go.down-IRR.SG-3SG-SS be-PRES.SG-3SG ‘The sun is about to go down.’

More research is needed to determine how the prospective modality interacts with negation.

6.3. Purposive modality

The purposive modality indicates that the subject is performing one action in order to accomplish another. It is encoded by a same-subject medial verb with irrealis inflection, followed by any verb other than təә- ‘do’ or əәl- ‘be’. The second verb denotes an action that is performed in order to perform the action denoted by the first verb. This pattern is illustrated in (82).

(82) nəә-mbe-t-əә ba-t eat-IRR.SG-1SG-SS come:PRES.SG-1SG ‘I’ve come to eat.’

More research is needed to determine how the purposive construction interacts with negation.

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6.4. Apprehensional modality (APP)

The apprehensional modality indicates that the speaker fears or hopes against the occurrence of an undesirable state. This rare verbal suffix -bɨ only occurs in the near future tense on verbs which denote an undesirable situation, as shown in (83)–(84). Finally, (85) shows the ungrammaticality of the apprehensional suffix on ku- ’go’, a verb without any negative connotation.

(83) fəәka-bɨ-ta-k pale-APP-NFUT.SG-3SG ‘Lest he turns pale.’

(84) bəәgone-mbɨ-ta-k sick-APP-NFUT.SG-3SG ‘Lest he gets sick.’

(85) *ku-bɨ-ta-k go-APP-NFUT.SG-3SG for: ‘Lest he leaves.’

7. Non-final verbs

Medial verbs cannot be inflected with tense in Ma Manda. Medial verbs may be inflected for irrealis, which is in fact the very method for conveying various distinctions in modality. While the desiderative, prospective, and purposive modalities require medial verb constructions as part of their structure, these are discussed in §6.1, §6.2, and §6.3, respectively, and are not dealt with further here. The apprehensional suffix does not appear to be possible on medial verbs.

In Ma Manda almost all of the aspectual distinctions that can be made on final verbs can also be made on non-final verbs. Only the habitual aspect is prohibited from occurring on medial verb forms. These various aspects are illustrated below: completive in (86)–(87), perfect in (87), progressive in (88), iterative in (89), and durative in (90). More research is needed to determine if the continuous aspect can also occur on medial verbs.

(86) fi fep-ma-ŋkoŋ-kəә tɨ-kəә kadɨp garden cut.grass-whole-throw-SS SG.O:put-SS wood

dɨnɨ-yəәpməәŋ-ga-m chop-3NSG.O:drop-PRES.NSG-1PL ‘After we remove all the foliage from the garden, we chop down the trees.’

(87) pəәləәŋ mo kəә-kəә tɨ-kəә bəә plank already 3SG.O:see-SS 3SG.O:put-SS come

i yəә do-go-t this here sleep-RPST.SG-1SG ‘(After) I had seen the plank I came and slept here.’

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(88) nəә u=du maŋɨt-əә əәt-əә təәmek-nɨŋ man that=NOM sit.down-SS be-SS mat-3SG.POSS

təә-kəә əәt-əә-k make-SS be-PRES.SG-3SG ‘That man is sitting and making his mat.’

(89) fem təә-kəә təә-kəә11 ku-gɨ-mot whistle do-SS do-SS go-RPST.NSG-1DU ‘We kept whistling as we went.’

(90) isit doŋ təә-kəә atuku-gɨ i=di kunai gather do-SS go.around-SS.DUR this=NOM

təәfəәləә təә-ŋ ma bəә-gɨ-m afternoon do-DS whole come-RPST.NSG-1PL ‘We gathered kunai grass until it was afternoon and we came (back).’

Additionally, the progressive aspect can be negated even on a medial verb, as shown in (91).

(91) doŋ kəәməәləә-kəә dom nandɨ-kəә əәk-ŋɨ-lɨ gather be.ignorant-SS NEG perceive-SS be-DS-23

minəәminəә maŋgɨnəәŋ kum labɨ-gɨ-ŋ Minamina Mangginang down come.up-RPST.NSG-23PL ‘She slept very deeply12 and was not hearing the Minamina (spirits) come up from down below in Mangginang.’

Finally, the same-subject durative suffix -gɨ is shown in (92), as well as in (90) above.

(92) gebɨŋ əә-gɨ fɨ-ləә-t inside be-SS.DUR come.down-PRES.SG-1SG ‘I was inside (the house) and I’ve come down.’

The -gɨ suffix occurs in place of -kəә, the same-subject medial suffix. This indicates not only that the following clause has the same referent, but also that the first event continues for a span of time. The durative medial verb suffix can occur on any verb, and often has the intended meaning that the action was performed up until the start of the next action.

Full repetition of a verb—especially common with the durative suffix—also carries a durative meaning, as shown in (93).

11 Though this appears to be an example of reduplication—which would be unsurprising for iterativity—it is instead an example of an adjunct nominal fem followed by a light verb təә-. This light verb construction is then inflected for iterative aspect with a second təә- verb, this time as an auxiliary. 12 See fn 10 for an explanation of this idiom.

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(93) ku-gɨ ku-gɨ kəәgəәŋ ku-ŋkəәdopmɨ-ŋkəә … go-SS.DUR go-SS.DUR village go-arrive-SS ‘They kept going and going until they arrived at the village …’

Finally, it is worth noting that non-final verbs may be individually negated, as illustrated in (91) above and in (94).

(94) nolɨ bəәn wəә=lɨ bəәn wəә dom brother other that=NOM other that NEG

nɨ-ŋkəә tɨməәŋ blaŋkoŋ-kəә … 3SG.O:say-SS first jump-SS ‘The other brother, he did not tell the other (one) and got up first …’

8. Final remarks

Ma Manda, like each FH language represented in this volume, provides valuable data for typological discovery, especially with regard to verbal morphology and categories of non-spatial setting. A few of the noteworthy characteristics of Ma Manda—and thus, of FH languages in general—which have been discussed in this paper are summarised below.

First, sundry verb classes interact in interesting ways with inflectional material such as tense, person, and number morphemes. Many verb classes are evident—with few exceptions, these classes are determined based on the final segment of the stem. However, it is often difficult to ascertain whether allomorphy among suffixes is phonologically, morphologically, or lexically conditioned. Much more research is needed to determine the historical pathways which have led to the present morphological patterns, and to disentangle competing synchronic hypotheses. When these alternations are seen to occur elsewhere in the morphology of a given language (such as with enclitics and nominal suffixes), a phonological explanation is likely motivated. Otherwise, perhaps the various allomorphs are simply historical artefacts without synchronic phonological motivation. The inflectional morphology of FH languages, especially among verbs, is rife with opportunity for thorough examination by phonologists and historical linguists.

Second, numerous grammatical aspects and modalities are encoded by the use of multi-verb constructions. In Ma Manda, the progressive, continuous, iterative, and durative aspects may all be expressed through the use of auxiliary verbs. The predicative meaning is carried by the first verb, which takes same-subject inflection. The second verb, which may be minimally-inflected as a medial verb or fully-inflected as a final verb, is bleached of its original meaning and serves to provide the aspectual information. It is the choice of the second verb which is particularly interesting—for instance, it is common for a verb of disposal like ‘put’ or ‘throw’ to serve as the marker for completive aspect. Nek (LINNASALO this volume), Nungon (SARVASY this volume), and Ma Manda all use verbs like ‘be’ or ‘exist’ to carry continuous meaning. More specifically, Ma Manda utilises ‘be’ to convey progressive aspect, which typically only occurs with dynamic verbs. On the other

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hand, ‘do’ conveys the continuous aspect, which only occurs with stative verbs. In the represented FH languages, varying importance is placed on Aktionsart, with Awara (QUIGLEY this volume) making a fundamental contrast between stative and dynamic aspects and Ma Manda only contrasting the two by their differing allowance of the progressive or continuous constructions. In Ma Manda the completive aspect is unique from the other aspects, since it is encoded by a serial verb construction with ‘throw’ (which is perhaps being reanalysed as a suffix). Multi-verb constructions, in conjunction with irrealis inflection, are also used to convey modal meanings in Ma Manda such as desiderative, prospective, and purposive modalities. Perhaps most interesting though is the complex series of discontinuous habitual suffixes which have as their source the present tense inflection, as well as ‘be’ and ‘live’ verbs from neighbouring languages—conceivably a remnant of past compounding or verb serialisation. This is true not only for Ma Manda, but also for Nungon (SARVASY this volume) and Uri (WEBB 1980).

Third, the irrealis inflection is productively utilised to convey the remote future tense, imperative mood, and various modalities. In fact, all FH languages represented in this volume exhibit use of irrealis status (to varying degrees) in marking tense, mood, and modality. While tense and irrealis morphemes can co-occur in Nek (LINNASALO this volume), in Ma Manda they are mutually exclusive. Interestingly, while the four grammatical tense morphemes have separate forms for singular and non-singular subject-agreement (a bipartite system), the irrealis inflection trifurcates, with forms for singular, dual, and plural subject-agreement (a tripartite system). This provides further language-internal evidence for the binary split between realis and irrealis status in Ma Manda.

These are just a few of the exciting characteristics of Ma Manda phonology and morphosyntax. This paper, and this volume, should serve as a “jumping-off” point for more in-depth analysis and comparison of the FH languages.

Abbreviations

1 first person NOM nominative case 2 second person NPST near past tense 3 third person NSG non-singular APP apprehensional modality NV nasal+vowel sequence COM comitative case O object-agreement DS different-subject medial verb PART participle DU dual PHAB past habitual aspect DUR durative aspect PL plural FH Finisterre-Huon POSS possession HAB habitual aspect PRES present tense INST instrumental case RPST remote past tense INT intensifier SG singular IRR irrealis status SS same-subject medial verb LOC locative SVC serial verb construction N nasal TEMP temporal NEG negation V vowel NFUT near future tense

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RYAN PENNINGTON SIL International SIL Box 1-105 Ukarumpa, EHP 444 PAPUA NEW GUINEA ryan_pennington@sil.org