Mav̋ea language
| Mavea | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Mavea Island |
Native speakers | 34 (2008)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mkv |
| Glottolog | mafe1237 |
| ELP | Mavea |
 Mav̋ea is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Mavea (also rendered Mav̋ea, Mafea or Mavia) is an Oceanic language spoken on Mavea Island in Vanuatu, off the eastern coast of Espiritu Santo. It belongs to the North–Central Vanuatu linkage of Southern Oceanic. The total population of the island is approximately 172, with only 34 fluent speakers of the Mavea language reported in 2008.[1]
There are 94 languages in the North Vanuatu linkage, including Mavea. The closest linguistic relative to Mavea, sharing a little over 70% of cognates, is Tutuba. Following Tutuba, Aore, South Malok, Araki, and Tangoa are the next closest relatives.[2]
Language endangerment
[edit]Mavea is a moribund language and there are many factors as to why this is.
One factor would be the arrival and Christianization by the Seventh-day Adventist and Church of Christ missionaries in 1839. Only 16% of the population can speak Mavea. These native speakers of Mavea belong to Generation 1, 2, and 3[further explanation needed] which ranges from the ages of 20–80 years old. Those born after 1980 ("Generation 4") are less fluent. Commonly, this generation is not taught the language, because the language is inactive and not used in any new domain.[2]
Mavea is not used very commonly outside of the home; in particular, it is not used in school, which reduces the younger speakers' exposure to the language. Most speakers do not feel concerned with the possible loss of the Mavea language.[2]
Bislama, the national lingua franca of Vanuatu, is used more frequently. This creole is the first language for many people in Vanuatu who live in the city. It is used for business, religious sacraments, politics, and is seen as a way to move upward in society.[2]
Phonology
[edit]Mavea has 15 consonants and 8 vowels.[2]
| Labial | Linguolabial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n̼ ⟨m̋⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ŋ ⟨n⟩ | ||
| Stop | p ⟨p⟩ | t̼ ⟨p̋⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | ɖ ⟨d⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ | |
| Fricative | v ⟨v⟩ | ð̼ ⟨v̋⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | |||
| Trill | r ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | l ⟨l⟩ | w ⟨w⟩ | ||||
Plosives in Mavea are not aspirated.[4]
| i | e | a | o | u | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | + | + | |||
| Back | + | + | + | ||
| Low | + | ||||
| Rounded | + | + |
Orthography
[edit]Linguolabial consonants are represented using the corresponding labial consonant with a double acute accent on top: p̋ [t̼]; v̋ [ð̼]; m̋ [n̼].[2] (This is a slight variation compared with the convention, shared by other Vanuatu languages, of transcribing linguolabials using two dots, respectively as p̈; v̈; m̈.)
The retroflex [ɖ] is represented in the orthography as d.
Grammar
[edit]Pronouns
[edit]There are both free and bound pronouns. Free pronouns are common in many Pacific languages. These free pronouns do not change for gender, but shows numerical differences, including singular, plural, dual, or paucal.[2]
For example:
- /mo/ = he/she/it (third person singular subject)
- He eats taro. = /mo-an pete/
Proper nouns
[edit]Proper nouns includes personal names, vocatives, relational terms, and locatives. They do not proceed an article and can not be used with a determiner. To show gender distinction, males use the prefix /mol-/. For females, the prefix /vo-/ or /va-/ was added.[2]
Common nouns
[edit]Similar to the proper nouns, there are both bound and free common nouns. Both can be used in an argument, be quantified with a marker, be modified with a determiner, be the head of a relative clause, and be questioned with "who" or "what". Bound common nouns are separated into nouns of kinship, body parts, bodily functions, and whole part relations. Also shows possessives.[2]
Verbs
[edit]Verbal predicates are marked with a subject agreement prefix. There are intransitive verbs, transitive verbs, ambitransitive, ditransitive, and auxiliary.
Intransitive verbs are used when the subject has no direct object receiving the action.[2]
Adverbs
[edit]There are two kinds of adverbs: phrasal adverbs and sentential adverbs. Sententail adverbs take up the entire sentence and appear after or before the verb's core argument. For example: to show frequency, /te pong/ meaning "sometimes" is used as a sentential adverb.
Spatial adverbs are used to show the location of the speaker and the direction the speaker is speaking towards. For example: konaro means "here, at speaker's location." This is common in many Pacific languages.[2]
Reduplication
[edit]Mavea shows partial reduplication in its grammar. Reduplication is used to show emphasis. For example: sua means "to paddle" and suosua means "to paddle intensely". Sometimes when using reduplication, the vowels can change. Usually the "a" changes to "o" or "e".[2]
Adjectives
[edit]Adjectives can only be used as noun modifiers. There both adjectives as independent lexical items and also adjectives pulled from transitive verbs by using reduplication. For example: pulua is "paint" and "ima pulpulu" means "painted house".[2]
Prepositions
[edit]There are seven prepositions in Mavea.
| to/from | valu |
|---|---|
| straight | domdomi |
| for | lape |
| to/for | suri |
| around | dal |
| with | tuan |
| in/at | na |
Demonstratives
[edit]Pronouns
[edit]There are four attested demonstrative pronouns in Mavea: aro, nel(e), maro, and male.[5] Aro and nel(e) can also function as demonstrative determiners, and aro specifically only rarely appears as a pronoun,[5] as in:
Mo-ṽe
3SG-make
mo-pal
3SG-like
aro
here
[ma
COMP
mo-pailu]
3SG-bent
'He makes (it) like this one here that is bent'[5]
Maro ('this one') is used to refer to something nearby the speaker, and has the plural form maror,[5] which is formed by affixing the plural suffix -re:[6]
Or
maybe
me
FUT
ro
then
ka-var
1SG.IRR-talk
sur
about
maro
this.one
ma
COMP
matua=ku
right=1SG.POSS
mo-adia
3SG-first
'Maybe I will talk about this one that (is) on my right first'[6]
Ma
COMP
pula-ira
CLF-3PL
maror
these.ones
i
LIG
ṽat.
four
'(The ones) that (are) theirs (are) these four ones.'[6]
Male ('that one') on the other hand is used when speaking of something that is distant to the speaker,[5] both literally, as in
Male
that.one
m̃atan
COMP
me
FUT
ra-lsu
3PL-hit
mate=i=o
dead=TR=2SG
'That one (was) for the purpose that they would kill you'[7]
And metaphorically, in order to distance the speaker from the referent,[6] as in
Na
but
vatavata
woman
le
DET
mo-pelmel
3SG-like.this
paingur,
stubborn
male
that.one
me
FUT
i-l-ṽe
3SG.IRR-IMPF-make
Tomy
Tomy
pelmel
like.this
'But this woman is stubborn like this, that one will be making Tomy the same'[6]
Malere is the plural form of male,[5] and like maror is formed by affixing the plural -re:[6]
Maro and male are both formed by combining the complementizer ma- and a locative adverbial; aro for the former, and ale for the latter.[6]
Determiners
[edit]In addition to demonstrative pronouns, Mavea also has three demonstrative determiners: nele, (a)ro, and nor(o),[8] although of these only nor(o) is not attested as a pronoun in addition to its role as a demonstrative determiner.[5]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| this | nel(e) | neler(e) |
| this here | (a)ro | ror |
| this here now | nor(o) | noror |
The three-way demonstrative system common to Oceanic Languages[9] is not present in Mavean demonstrative determiners,[8] occurring instead in the locative adverbs of the language.[10] The demonstrative determiners of Mavea encode both spatial and temporal proximity to either the speaker,[8] as in
or to the discourse, as in
Rau=n
leaves=3SG.POSS
mo-sa
3SG-go.up
mo-avtai
3SG-appear
nor
here.now
aulu.
above
'Its leaves go up and appear here on top.'[11]
The plural forms neler(e), ror, and noror are formed by affixing what is likely a reduced form of the plural word re.[11]
Nele, along with its plural form neler(e), is formed in part by the specific definite article le.[11]
Nor(o), and its plural form noror, is actually made up in part by a cut down form of the third demonstrative determiner, (a)ro, while nele is not.[11] Interestingly, the two demonstrative determiners which contain aro, that is nor(o) and (a)ro itself, are also the two demonstrative determiners which serve double duty as demonstrative pronouns,[5] in addition to being used as locational adverbs, a function never assigned to nel(e)(re).[11]
Additionally, one of the other demonstrative pronouns, maro, also has aro as one of its constituents.[6]
Demonstrative determiners can refer to a location in both time and space, but the spatial location is often discourse-related, rather than speaker-related,[11] as in the following example, where aro is used to refer anaphorically to a party (anana) that has previously been mentioned in the text:
Re
PL
m̃asi
bird.fish
nirev
everyone
ra-ṽa
3PL-go
na
LOC
anan-a
eat-NMZ
aro.
here
'All the birds went to this party.'[12]
This use is sometimes called the "tracking use".[11] Ror, nor(o)(r), and nelere all also have anaphoric uses, as displayed in the following examples, where the noun phrase referents occurring prior to the demonstrative have each been mentioned previously:[12]
Ro
then
me
FUT
ro
then
tamlese
old
ror
here.PL
i
LIG
rua…
two
'Then, these two men here…'
Ra-l-an
3PL-IMPF-eat
ineler
thing.PL
nelere
these.PL
'They are eating these things here.'
Inor
thing.PL
nor
here.now
me
FUT
i-tuen
3SG.IRR-help
nno
2SG
'These things here will help you.'
The demonstrative determiners of Mavea follow the head noun when used adnominally, a pattern which is the norm in oceanic languages, though by no means universal.[9] Examples of this include:
Tam̃a-n
father-CONS
navaisesea
child
aro
this.here
mo-m̃ata.
3SG-dead
'The father of this child here is dead.'[11]
Spatial deictics
[edit]Locative adverbs
[edit]Locative adverbs are a class of sentential adverb, modifying entire sentences, and as such occur either subsequent to the verb's core argument,[13] as shown in:
Ra-kuro
3PL-leave
koneine
there
'Ai
ai
sar'
sar
ro
then
ra-sa
3PL-go.up
konain
there
'Panpan.'
panpan
'They left there, 'Ai sar', then they went up there, 'Panpan'.[10]
Or more rarely prior to the verb's core argument, as shown in:
There are two sets of locative adverbs in Mavea,[13] all members of which serve as spatial deictics. There is the A-set, so named because all of its members begin with [a], and the K-set, so named because each of its members begins with [ko]. They form a six-way system based on proximity to the hearer, and to the speaker, as well as relative direction (up, down, or across)[13]
| aro | ~ | kon(a)ro | 'here, at speaker's location' |
| aine | ~ | konain(e)/koenine | 'there, at hearer's location' |
| ale | ~ | konale | 'there, away from both interlocutors, but closer to hearer than speaker' |
| atu | ~ | konatu | 'over there, away from both interlocutors' |
| atisi(vo) | ~ | konatisi(vo) | 'over there down, far away from both interlocutors' |
| atisa | ~ | konatisa | 'over there up, far away from both interlocutors' |
| atiṽa | ~ | konatiṽa | 'over there across, far away from both interlocutors' |
Atisi(vo), atisa, and atiṽa, as well as their K-set equivalents konatisi(vo), konatisa, and konatiṽa, are likely derived from the form atu (or konatu for the K-set), compounded with a movement verb like si(vo) ('go down'), sa ('go up'), or ṽa ('go'):[10]
Nno
2SG
ko-to
2SG-stay
aro
here
nao
1SG
ka-on
1SG.IRR-look
ka-ṽa
1SG.IRR-go
konatiṽa.
over.there
Ka-val
1SG.IRR-pass
kil
look
ṽa
go
na
LOC
vovono
REDbush
konatu.
over.there
'You stay here, I will go look over there. I will pass towards the bush over there.'
Ra-kuro
3PL-leave
koneine
there
'Ai
ai
sar'
sar
ro
then
ra-sa
3PL-go.up
konain
there
'Panpan.'
panpan
'They left there, 'Ai sar', then they went up there, 'Panpan'.'
'Soon after I felt something touching my leg here.'
Speakers can emphasise the distance in the forms atisi(vo), atisa, and atiṽa, as well as their K-set forms konatisi(vo), konatisa, and konatiṽa by producing them with a long [t], e.g.: [a.'t:i.si].[10]
There is no easily discernible semantic difference between the A-set and the K-set, however some members of the A-set may also serve as demonstratives,[15] as in:
Mo-ṽe
3SG-make
mo-pal
3SG-like
aro
here
[ma
COMP
mo-pailu].
3SG-bent
'He makes (it) like (this one) here which is bent.'
which is not attested in any member of the K-set.
The spatial and temporal adverbs aro, aine, and kon(a)ro, as well as the demonstrative determiner nor(o), can be juxtaposed with a noun in order to form an adverbial predicate,[7] as in
Ro,
then
avona-n
end-CONS
ululdunia
story
aro.
here.this
'Then the end of the story (is) here.' Or 'Then, this (is) the end of the story.'
Nna
3SG
ne
FOC
aine.
there
'It (is) there.'
'The third one (is) here, the fourth one (is) here.'
Morphology
[edit]Personal pronouns in Mavea do not inflect for case or gender, but do show number (singular, dual, paucal, plural). First person non-singular has an inclusive/exclusive distinction. Independent personal pronouns are not obligatory, but are used for emphasis, contrast or focus.[16]
| Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | inclusive | na(o) | darua/ô | datol | (n)ida |
| exclusive | kam̋arua/o | kam̋atol | kam̋am | ||
| 2nd person | nno | kamruo/a | kamtol | kam̋im | |
| 3rd person | nna | rarua/o | ratol | nira | |
me
FUT
ro
then
nno
2SG
me
FUT
ko
2SG
-l
-IMPF
-suruv
-sleep
atano,
ground
na
but
nao
1SG
me
FUT
ro
then
ka
1SG.IRR
suruv
-sleep
aul
above
pere
branch
-n
-CONS
vuae
tree
"You, you will sleep on the ground, but I, I will sleep in the tree"
Bound pronouns
[edit]Bound pronouns are obligatory at the beginning of a predicate phrase. Only 1SG and 3SG inflect for mood.[17]
| Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Realis | Irrealis | |||||
| 1st person | inclusive | na- | ka- | dar- | datol- | da- |
| exclusive | kir- | kitol- | ki- | |||
| 2nd person | ko- | ko- | kir- | kitol- | ki- | |
| 3rd person | mo- | i- | rar- | ratol | ra- | |
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | inclusive | -ao | (i)da |
| exclusive | |||
| 2nd person | -o | ||
| 3rd person | -a | (i)ra | |
Counting system
[edit]The Mavea counting system is very similar to other Proto Oceanic languages, especially numbers 1 through 5, and 10.[2]
- tea
- rua
- tol(u)
- vat(i)
- lima
- marava
- rave rua
- rattol(u)
- rappat(i)
- anavul(u)
Possession
[edit]Mavea distinguishes direct and indirect possession. Direct possessive constructions nouns take a bound possessive clitic. On the other hand, indirect possession is expressed by the presence of a classifier to which a possessive clitic is suffixed.[20]
Direct possession
[edit]Direct possession is expressed by a possessive clitic attached to the noun when the possessor is not expressed as a Noun Phrase (NP). Alternatively, if no suffix exists for the person and number of the possessor, the nouns are followed by an independent pronoun.[20]
The semantic classes of nouns participating in direct possessive constructions, include, body parts, and bodily functions, kinship terms, articles of clothing, and household goods.[20]
| Singular | Dual | Paucal/trial | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | inclusive | -ku | darua/o | datol | -(i)da |
| exclusive | -mamrua/o | -mamtol | -mam | ||
| 2nd person | -m | -mrua/o | -mtol | -mim | |
| 3rd person | -n(a) | -rarua/o | ratol | -(i)ra | |
A noun, which is directly possessed, takes a possessive clitic matching the possessor's features.[21]
For example:
Ka-deo
1SG.IRR-defecate
mo-adia
3SG-first
ro
then
me
FUT
ko-on
2SG-look
tae=ku.
excrement=lSG.POSS
'I will defecate first, then you will look at my excrement.'
and
This third person singular possessive clitic, pronounced as [na], is suffixed to the noun 'Laloa' for 'saliva'.
Non-pronominal possessors
[edit]If a full NP expresses the possessor, the possessee takes the construct suffix –n, or can be pronounces [na], although this construct suffix is a homophony of the possessive clitic –n and –na the distribution is different as displayed in the following examples;[21]
Note that the case of Full NP, the possessee precedes the possessor
and
Natu-n
child-CONS
vomae
dove
mo-sa
3SG-go.up
mo-sakel
3SG-sit
na
LOC
patu-n
head-CONS
kou.
fowl
'Dove's child went up and sat on Fowl's head.[22]
Possession is recursive, in the following example, the noun 'vulu' which is possessed by the noun 'vanatu' which in turn is possessed by John, therefore both nouns a suffixed with –[n].
Indirect possession
[edit]Nouns in indirect possession constructions do not take a possessive clitic, they require a classifier to which a possessive clitic (or construct suffix) is attached.[21]
There are six classifiers in Mavea:
- a- 'to be eaten'
- ma- 'to be drunk'
- no- 'general possession, valuables'
- pula- 'anima raised, vegetable planted'
- sa- 'housing and land'
- madoue- 'a dead man's possession'[23]
classifier "a-" infers that the item is possessed is meant to be eaten
If the possessor is a full NP, the classifier is market with the construct -n
Nira
3pl
ra-ve
3PL-make
inanan
food
vaisesea
small
a-n
CLF.eat-CONS
re
PL
famli.
family
'They make a small party for the families (to eat)'[24]
Summarised
| Possession Type | Possessee | Possessor |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | N -n
N CLF -n |
Personal Noun
Personal Noun |
| Indirect | ||
| Direct | N -n
N CLF -n |
Specific
Specific |
| Indirect | ||
| Direct | N (+human) -n
N (-human) -i |
Non-specific |
| Indirect | N CLF -n | Non-specific |
Questions
[edit]Intonation is used to distinguish yes–no questions because there is no syntactic way to do so. There are also tag questions which uses the negative tag /te modere/ at the end. In English, /te modere/ means "or not".[2]
Some monoclausal content questions include:
- ape = where
- ingese = when
- ise = who
- ivisa = how much/many
- matai = for what reason
- matan = why
- sa = what
- sava = which/what kind?
- se = which
- sur sa = about/for what
Negation
[edit]Sentential negation is expressed with the bound prefix /sopo/ and appears right after the subject agreement prefix.[2] The order is subject → negation → verb.
mo
3SG
-sopo-
NEG
rongo
see
=
=
a
3SG
he didn't see him
Sometimes /sopo/ can be shorten to /po/.
na
1SG
-po-
NEG
sasa
work
I don't work.
When the subject agreement marker is absent, the bare negation marker jumps to the front.
Sopo
NEG
te
some
ta-mavea...
from-Mav̋ea
There is not one Mav̋ea man...
To show the aspectual meaning "not yet", /lo/ is added to the negation marker /sopo/. This refers to events that have not happened yet but are likely to in the future. Added to the end of this form of negation is /pa/ which means "still" or "yet".
nno ko
2SG
sopo
NEG
-l-
IMPF
on
look
diu
crab
pa?
yet?
you haven't seen a coconut crab yet?
When combined with /me/ the negation changes into "not anymore, no more".
mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
-
-
me
IT
-
-
l
IMPF
-
-
suruv
sleep
She does not sleep anymore.
Equative clauses are shown by adding the negative marker /sopo/ to the subject marker for third person singular /mo-/. Mosopo meaning " it is/was/not."
Ko-v
2SG-say
mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
nno.
2SG
You said it wasn't you.
Negative locational predicates are similar to equative clauses, by adding the locational marker /na/ to the equative clause /mosopo/.
Mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
na
LOC
ono.
sand.
It is not on the sand.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Guérin 2008, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Guérin 2011.
- ^ a b Guérin 2008, p. 30.
- ^ Guérin 2008, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Guérin 2011, p. 66.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Guérin 2011, p. 67.
- ^ a b Guérin 2011, p. 285.
- ^ a b c d Guérin 2011, p. 152.
- ^ a b Gunter 2004, p. 179.
- ^ a b c d e Guérin 2011, p. 84.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Guérin 2011, p. 153.
- ^ a b c Guérin 2011, p. 154.
- ^ a b c Guérin 2011, p. 83.
- ^ Guérin 2011, p. 382.
- ^ Guérin 2011, p. 85.
- ^ Guérin 2008, p. 76.
- ^ Guérin 2008, p. 77.
- ^ a b Guérin 2008, p. 78.
- ^ Guérin 2011, p. 78.
- ^ a b c d Guérin 2011, p. 168.
- ^ a b c d Guérin 2011, p. 170.
- ^ a b Guérin 2011, p. 169.
- ^ Guérin 2011, p. 171.
- ^ a b Guérin 2011, p. 172.
- ^ Guérin 2011, p. 176.
Sources
[edit]- Guérin, Valérie (2011). A Grammar of Mavea: An Oceanic Language of Vanuatu (PDF). Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications, No. 39. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i press. p. 424. ISBN 978-0-8248-3639-9. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- Guérin, Valérie (2008). Discovering Mavea: Grammar, texts, and lexicon. Honolulu: Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, University of Hawai'i press.
- Gunter, Senft (2004). Deixis and demonstratives in Oceanic languages. Australian National University, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. p. 179. ISBN 0-85883-551-7. OCLC 902361921.
External links
[edit]- Presentation of Mavea by Valérie Guérin.
- Mavea resources at the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR)
- Mavea-English-Bislama Dictionary