| Tamambo | |
|---|---|
| Malo | |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Malo,Espiritu Santo |
Native speakers | 4,000 (2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mla Malo[2] |
| Glottolog | malo1243 |
| ELP | Tamambo |
 Tamambo is not endangered according to the classification system of theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
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Tamambo,[3] orMalo,[1][2] is anOceanic language spoken by 4,000 people onMalo and nearby islands inVanuatu. It is one of the most conservativeSouthern Oceanic languages.[4]
The wordTamambo is thenative name of theisland of Malo, as pronounced in the western dialect.[5]
In the eastern dialect, the island's name isTamapo.[5] The same formTamapo is also used as the name of that eastern dialect of the Tamambo language, now almost extinct.[6][7] Of the same origin is the wordR̄am̈apo, which is the name of Malo in the neighboringAraki language.[8]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Low | a | |
/iu/ become[jw] respectively when unstressed and before another vowel./o/ may also become[w] for some speakers.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| labialized | plain | |||||
| Nasal | mʷ | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | prenasalized | ᵐbʷ | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | |
| plain | t | k | ||||
| Fricative | βʷ | β | s | x | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
The prenasalized postalveolar stop/ᶮɟ/ is oftenaffricated andvoiceless, i.e.[ᶮtʃ].
Younger speakers often realize/β/ as[f] initially and[v] medially, while/βʷ/ is often replaced by[w].
/x/ is usually realized as[x] initially, but some speakers use[h]. Medially, it may be pronounced as any of[xɣhɦɡ].
Most syllables are of the form CV; closed syllables usually end in a nasal and can also optionally occur in reduplication.
Few speakers of Tamambo areliterate, and there is no standardorthography. Spelling conventions used include:
| Phoneme | Representation |
|---|---|
| /ᵐb/ | ⟨b⟩ initially,⟨mb⟩ medially |
| /ᵐbʷ/ | ⟨bu⟩ or⟨bw⟩ initially,⟨mbu⟩ or⟨mbw⟩ medially |
| /x/ | ⟨c⟩ or⟨h⟩ |
| /ⁿd/ | ⟨d⟩ initially,⟨nd⟩ medially |
| /ᶮɟ/ | ⟨j⟩ initially,⟨nj⟩ medially |
| /k/ | ⟨k⟩ |
| /l/ | ⟨l⟩ |
| /m/ | ⟨m⟩ |
| /mʷ/ | ⟨mu⟩ or⟨mw⟩ |
| /n/ | ⟨n⟩ |
| /ŋ/ | ⟨ng⟩ |
| /r/ | ⟨r⟩ |
| /s/ | ⟨s⟩ |
| /t/ | ⟨t⟩ |
| /β/ | ⟨v⟩ |
| /βʷ/ | ⟨vu⟩ or⟨w⟩ |
In Tamambo, personal pronouns distinguish between first, second, and third person. There is an inclusive and exclusive marking on the first-person plural and gender is not marked. There are four classes of pronouns, which is not uncommon in other Austronesian languages:[10]
| Independent pronouns | Subject pronouns | Object pronouns | Possessive pronouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | singular | iau | ku | -(i)au | -ku | |
| plural | inclusive | hinda | ka | -nda | -nda | |
| exclusive | kamam | ka | kamam | -mam | ||
| 2nd person | singular | niho | o | -ho | -m | |
| plural | kamim | no | kamim | -mim | ||
| 3rd person | singular | nia | mo (realis) / a (irrealis) | -a / -e | -na | |
| plural | nira | na | -ra | -ra | ||
Independent pronouns behave grammatically similarly to other NPs in that they can occur in the same slot as a subject NP, functioning as the head of a NP. However, in regular discourse, they are not used a great deal due to the obligatory nature of cross-referencing subject pronouns. Use of independent pronouns is often seen as unnecessary and unusual except in the following situations:
In the instance where two NPs are joined as a single subject, the independent pronoun reflects the number of the conjoint NP:
When a new referent is introduced into the discourse, the independent pronoun is used. In this case,kamam:
Ne
But
Nekamam mwende talom,kamam ka-le loli na hinau niaro.
But1PL.EX particular.one first1PL.EX 1PL-TA do ART thing EMPH
'But we who came first, [well] as for us, we do this very thing'[12]
In this example, the IPhinda in the second sentence is used to refer back totahasi in the first sentence.
Ka
Ka tau tahasi mo sahe, le hani. Hanihinda ka-le biri~mbiri.
1PL put.in.place stone 3SG go.up TA burn burn1PL.IN 1PL-TA REDUP~grate
'We put the stones up (on the fire) and it's burning. While it's burning we do the grating [of the yams].'[13]
According to Jauncey,[13] this is the most common use of the IP. Comparing the two examples, the latter placing the emphasis on the subject:
Subject pronouns are an obligatory component of a verbal phrase, indicating the person and number of the NP. They can either co-occur with the NP or independent in the subject slot, or exist without if the subject has been deleted through ellipsis or previously known context.
Balosuro
nowadays
Object pronouns are very similar looking to independent pronouns, appearing to be abbreviations of the independent pronoun as seen in the pronoun paradigm above. Object pronouns behave similarly to the object NP, occurring in the same syntactic slot, however only one or the other is used, both cannot be used simultaneously as an object argument – which is unusual in Oceanic languages as many languages have obligatory object pronominal cross-referencing on the verb agreeing with NP object.
Possessive pronouns substitute for NP possessor, suffixing to the possessed noun in direct possessive constructions or to one the four possessive classifiers in indirect constructions.
Negation in Tamambo involves the use of a negative particle; negative verb and negative aspectuals (semantics of time) to change positive constructions into negative ones.
The negative particle -te and negative aspectualtele 'not yet' andlete 'never' can appear in the same slot of the Verb Phrase, illustrated below:
| Obligatory (bolded) and optional components of a VP in Tamambo[19] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Subject Pronoun | 2 Modality markers of Realismo FUT-mbo | 3 Aspectual ta | 4 Aspectuals le male Negative-te Negative Aspectuals tele lete | 5 Manner modifiers | 6Head | 7 Manner modifiers Directionals Non-resultative modifiers |
Both the negative aspectuals appear to be derived from the tense-aspect markerle and the negative particle -te.[19] All the optional modifiers in the VP are mutually exclusive thus; the negative morphemes allow no modifiers between them and the head of the VP.[20]
The negative particle -te which expresses negative polarity on the verb[21] is a bound morpheme, meaning it must be attached to the subject pronominal clitic. The negative particle also occurs immediately before the verb noted in example [105].[22] Furthermore, example [105] demonstrates what Jauncey[23] terms a 'negative progressive'; a way of expressing the negative in the present tense such as 'he's not doing it' using the negative particle -te.
The negative aspectuals are used to refer to different aspects of time. The aspectuallete 'never' is used to refer to event times that are prior to speech time noted in example [107] and [100].[19]
The negative aspectualtele 'not yet' is used only where the events are referring to an event time prior to or simultaneous with speech time noted in example [106] and [103].[22]
Mo-iso na-le ovi, na-natu-ra na tele suiha...
3SG-finish 3PL-TA live PL-child-POSS:3PL 3PL not.yet strong
'So then they were living there, (but) their children were not yet strong...' [103]
In Tamambo, modality can be expressed through the future marker –mbo and the two 3SG subject pronouns,mo (realis) anda (irrealis). In Tamambo realis is 'the grammatical or lexical marking of an event time or situation that has happened (or not) or is happening (or not) relative to speech time' and irrealis refers to 'the grammatical or lexical marking of an event time or situation that may have happened, or that may or may not happen in the future'.[24] In Tamambo, the negative particle -te and aspectuallete can be used in conjunction with the 3SG irrealisa to express that a situation or action is not known to have happened. This is used because the negative markers cannot occur next to the future marker–mbo, however they can occur separately in the same construction evident in example [101][25] containinglete.
Ne are sohen a lete lai na manji, a-mbo turu aie a hisi a mate...
but if like 3SG never take ART animal, 3SG-FUT stand there 3SG touch 3SG die
'But if it was such that he never caught any fish, he would stand there until he died...' [101]
In Tamambo, only the 3SG preverbal subject form hasa irrealis, thus when -te is used with other preverbal subject pronouns, the time of event can be ambiguous, and phrases must be understood from context and other lexemes.[26] For example, [98][26] illustrates the various interpretations one phrase may have.
Mo
Mo matahu matan bula-na dam na-te sula
3SG frightened SUB CLF-POSS:3SG yam 3PL-NEG grow
'S/he is/was afraid that her yams didn't grow/are not growing/won't grow/mightn't grow.' [98]
The negative verbtete is a part of Tamambo's closed subset of intransitive verbs, meaning that it has grammatical limitations. For example, the verbtete can only be used in conjunction with the 3SG preverbal subject pronominal clitic. The negative verbtete can function with a valency of zero or one.[27] Valency refers to the number of syntactic arguments a verb can have.
The most common use of the verbtete is illustrated in example [59],[27] where the verb has zero valency.
The 3SG pronoun's ofa (irrealis) andmo (realis) are used in conjunction withtete to respond to varying questions depending on whether the answer is certain or not. Example [60][27] illustrates the use ofa andtete in a construction to answer a question where the answer is not certain.
However, if the answer is certain thanmo andtete are used highlighted in example [61].[27]
Iftete functions with a valency of one, then the intransitive subject must precede the verb similar to a prototypical verb phrase. In this situation, 3SG marking can only represent both the singular and plural, highlighted in example [65].[28]
Tete can also function with an 'existential meaning' illustrated in example [62],[27] to express there was 'no one/no people'.
The negative verbtete can also be used following a verb in an ambient serial verb construction. In Tamambo, a serial verb construction is defined by Jauncey[29] as 'a sequence of two or more verbs that combine to function as a single predicate'. Furthermore, the term ambient in this verb construction refers to the phenomena when a verb, which follows a transitive or intransitive verb, makes a predication concerning the previous event rather than the participant.[30] When the negativetete verb is used in an ambient serial verb construction,tete makes a negative predication regarding the event expressed by the previous verb highlighted in example [64] and [65].[31] Furthermore, in this instance it is ungrammatical to insert other words between the negative verb and the previous verb.
Tama-na mo viti-a mo re "Tamalohi na dami-h mo tete"
Father-POSS:3SG 3SG speak-OBJ:3SG 3SG say person 3PL ask-OBJ:2SG 3SG negative
'Her father spoke to her and said "Men ask for you to no avail." [64]
...ka-te soari-a, ka sai-a mo tete
1PL-NEG see-OBJ:3SG 1PL search-OBJ:3SG 3SG negative
'...we didn't see it, we looked for it (but) there was nothing.' [65]
Negative realis conditional sentences express an idea that something will happen if the condition isnot met, such as an imperative or warning. The sentence outlines the conditions, and includes an 'otherwise' or 'if not' component.[32] The condition and the 'if not' (bolded) component occur together before the main clause illustrated in example [124].[32]
Balosuro
present.time
ku
Balosuro ku vuro-ho hina hamba-ku niani o laia-a, ro o lai-a ale a-tete-ro o mate!
Tamambo distinguishes betweendemonstrative pronouns, demonstrativeadverbs and demonstrativemodifiers.
Demonstrative pronouns occur in core argument slots, where they occur next to thepredicate, can be relativised and can be fronted.[33] These features distinguish them from demonstrative modifiers and demonstrative adverbs which may take the same form.[34] Demonstrative pronouns in Tamambo include pronouns used for spatialdeixis,anaphoric reference and emphatic reference.[34] They do not change when referring to animate or inanimate entities.[34]
Demonstrative pronouns are organised into a two-way framework, which is based on the distance relative to the speaker and the addressee. While it is common forOceanic languages to have a distinction based on distance from the speaker, the two-way organisation is unusual for Oceanic languages, where demonstratives usually have a three-way distinction.[35] These pronouns refer to entities which both the speaker and the addressee can see.[34]
The pronounniani 'this one' refers to an entity which is near the speaker.[34]
The pronounniala 'that one over there' refers to an entity that is further away from both the speaker and the addressee.[34]
Niala
that
mo
Nirala, which translates to 'those ones over there', is used incolloquial speech as a plural form ofniala .[34]
Tamambo, like many other Oceanic languages and possiblyProto-Oceanic, includes a demonstrative system which functions to reference previous discourse.[35] Tamambo includes two pronouns used for anaphora,mwende andmwe, which are only used for anaphora without any marking for person or distance, a common feature of Oceanic languages.[35]
The pronounmwende 'the particular one, the particular ones' can function as either aproform or anoun phrase.[34] As shown in example (3) below,mwende is used for a singularnoun, specifying which particular knife is the better one, whereas in example (4), the same pronoun,mwende, is referring to multiple 'ones'.
Simba
knife
niala
that
mo
Simba niala mo duhu mo liumwende niani.
Mo
Mo sahe,mwende na-le turu aulu na revei-a
3SG go.up particular.one 3PL-TA stand up.direction 3PL drag-OBJ:SG
He went up (first) and the ones standing up on top dragged her up.[34]
Tamambo includes the demonstrative pronoun,niaro, used for emphasis, as shown in example (5).[36]
Spatial modifier adverbs in Tamambo are sentential, and cannot occur within the proposition.[37] There are three sets of spatial modifiers, which are shown in the table below. These three sets of spatial modifiers can be organised into three groups depending on the distance from the speaker, a trait common to demonstratives in Oceanic languages.[35] The following table shows the three sets of spatial modifiers in Tamambo. In this arrangement by Kaufman, the formatives -ni, -e, and -la can be seen to correlate with distance from the speaker.[38]
| Speaker proximate | Hearer proximate | Distal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set A | aie-n(i) | ai-e | |
| Set B | ro-ni | ro-la | |
| Set C | nia-ni | nia-e | nia-la |
These adverbs begin withai-, which suggests that they are related to a locative proform in Proto-Oceanic, *ai-.[39]Aien can mean either 'in this place', referring to a location, as shown in example (6), or used for anaphoric reference, where it can mean 'at this stage of events', as shown in example (7).Aien refers to location in place or time more generally than another spatial modifier,roni.[39]
Mo
Aie refers to 'another place which is not visible', or may be used for a place which has already been introduced earlier in conversation,[39] as shown in example (8).
Roni is used to refer to a place visible to both the speaker and the listener, and is more specific thanaien. It translates to 'right here close to me'.[39]
Rola is an old word for 'there' which is rarely used, and is said to have come from the east.[39] In her research, Jauncey reports no examples ofrola being used in narrative or conversation but provides the example below.[39]
These adverbs share the same forms as demonstrative pronouns and modifiers, but they occur at different parts of the sentence and perform different functions. These adverbs refer to places which are visible and in addition, the speaker will point.[40]Niala andniani are not used for anaphoric reference.[40] Thenia- component of this set of demonstratives suggests a relationship to theProto-Austronesian proximate demonstrative, which contains *ni.[38] In addition, the pointing gesture which commonly accompanies the adverbsniani,niae andniala can be derived from the demonstrative function of the Proto-Austronesian component *ni.[41]
Niani translates to 'here', where the referenced entity is close to the speaker, as shown in example (11).[40]
Niae translates to 'there near you', where the referenced entity is close to the addressee, shown in example (12) below.[40]
O
Niala translates as 'there' or 'over there', and refers to a place that can be seen or a close place that cannot be seen.[40]
...mwera
male
atea
one
le
...mwera atea le ovi aulu niala le loli-a sohena.
male one TA live up.direction there TA do-OBJ:3SG the.same
...a man living up over there (pointing) does it the same way.[40]
Demonstrative modifiers are a non-obligatory component of thenoun phrase in Tamambo. In Tamambo, demonstrative modifiers function within the noun phrase, after thehead noun to modify it. In languages spoken inVanuatu, and Oceanic languages more generally,[42] the demonstrative commonly follows the head noun. In Proto-Oceanic, this also seems to be the case for adnominal demonstratives.[42] Demonstrative modifiers in Tamambo include spatial reference, anaphoric reference and emphatic reference uses.
These demonstratives have a three-way distinction, based on distance relative to the speaker.[43] They can occur following the head directly, as shown in example (14), or follow a descriptive adjective, as shown in example (15).[43] The same forms are used as demonstrative pronouns, howeverniae is not used as a pronoun. The modifiers are the same for singular and plural nouns.[43]
Niani translates to 'this' or 'these' and references something close to the speaker.
In example (14),niani is modifyingmwende, the demonstrative pronoun, which is the head.[43]
In this example, the demonstrative modifierniani follows directly after the descriptive adjectivetawera, which in turn follows the head nounjara.
Niae refers to something that is close to the addressee, and translates to 'that' or 'those'.[43]
In example (16), the demonstrative modifierniani directly follows the after the nounsamburu.
Niala references something that is distant from both the speaker and the addressee.[43]
In example (17), the demonstrative modifierniala follows directly after the firsttamalohi, which is the person the speaker is referring to.
Tamambo includes two anaphoric referential modifiers, rindi and mwende. Both are used posthead.[44]
Rindi indicates a noun phrase which has been already introduced in either a preceding clause or earlier string of narrative or conversation, and limits the reference of an entity that has already been introduced.[44]
In example (18),vavine has already been introduced at an earlier stage of the conversation, thereforerindi is used directly following the nounvavine when it is reintroduced.
...vavine
woman
rindi
Mwende is more specific thanrindi and indicates a referent which is definitely known.[44]
Na-re
Na-re "Motete, tamalohimwende mo-ta mai
3PL-say no person particular.one 3SG-REP come
They said, "No that particular person hasn't come again."[44]
The demonstrative modifiermwende follows thetamalohi, the noun.
Niaro is the only emphatic reference modifier, which can also only occur posthead as shown in example (20).[44]
...vevesai
every
mara-maranjea
...vevesai mara-maranjea nira na rongovosai na kastomniaro
Niaro can occur with the anaphoric referential modifierrindi, and in that circumstance,rindi is shortened tori, as shown in example (21) below. Both modifiers follow after the nounKastom, with the anaphoric reference marker preceding the emphatic reference modifier.[45]
Ro
thus
Kastom
custom
ri
Ro Kastom ri niaro nia mo tahunju tuai...
| 1,2,3 | first, second, third person |
| ART | article |
| CLF | classifier |
| EMPH | emphatic |
| FUT | future |
| IRR | irrealis |
| LINK | possessive linker |
| NEG | negative particle |
| NMZ | nominalising affix |
| OBJ | object pronoun |
| POSS | possessive pronominal |
| PL | plural |
| PREP | preposition |
| REDUP | reduplicated |
| REF | prior reference made |
| REP | repeating action |
| SG | singular |
| SUB | subject |
| TA | tense-aspect marker |
| TR | transitivising suffix |
TA:tense-aspect markerREP:repeating actionLINK:possessive linkerREF:prior reference made
Name: Malo