Table Of ContentDinekeSchokkin
AGrammarofPaluai
Pacific Linguistics
Managing editor
AlexanderAdelaar
Editorial board members
WayanArka
DanielleBarth
DonDaniels
NicholasEvans
GwendolynHyslop
DavidNash
BrunoOlsson
BillPalmer
AndrewPawley
MalcolmRoss
DinekeSchokkin
JaneSimpson
Volume 663
Dineke Schokkin
A Grammar
of Paluai
The Language of Baluan Island, Papua New Guinea
ISBN978-3-11-067513-9
e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-067517-7
e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-067522-1
ISSN1448-8310
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TomyAlup
Acknowledgements
This grammar is based on my PhD thesis, which was accepted at James Cook
University,Cairns,Australia,in2014.Assuchithasbeenalongtimeinthemak-
ing, and consequently there are many people I am indebted to. I hardly know
where to start withexpressing my gratitude to the Baluan community. I cannot
listallthepeoplethathavecontributedtothisworkinonewayoranother,butI
wish to mention the following by name. For providing texts for recordings,
thanksare duetoAlupKaluwin,BrunoKomet,CarolynAmbou,CathyPosopat,
Kalou Solok, Keket Maluan, Kireng Wari, Lalau Kanau, Lauan Memelam, Lorat
Molean, Lynette Touain, Maiau Keket, Martin Salau, Ngat Poraken, Ngi Sokou,
Ninou Kireng, Ninou Paromui, Ninou Pokat, Posopat Membup, Sakumai Yêp,
SapulaiPapiandWendyLauan.Invaluableassistancewithtranscription,trans-
lation and elicitation was provided by Carolyn Ambou, Keket Maluan, Lorat
Molean, Lynette Touain, Pulou Wari, Pwanou Silikara and Wendy Lauan. Lorat
Moleanhasbeenofvitalassistancewiththecollectionoffishandplantnames.
ThanksarealsoduetoAêwaiSalkimutandthelateSoaninKilangit,forintroduc-
ingmetoseveralpeople,andsharingstories.AspecialthanksgoestoCholaiof
Moukvillage,forprovidinganopportunitytochargemyequipmentwithhisgen-
erator, and to Kilangit Bayang and his family, for hosting me and looking after
me during my stays in Port Moresby. Last but not least, I want to thank Lorat
MoleanandNinouKirengformyBaluannames,AlupSaukaandAlupKomdal,
which I will always carry with pride, and my Baluan family, Keket, Maiau,
Maluan, Ngat and little Jema, for sharing their home, their food and their lives
withme.Wuroparanmenengan.
Ithankallthepeoplewhomadethelogisticalandpracticalsideoffieldwork
run smoothly. Thanks to Baluan community members Keket Maluan, Sapulai
PapiandLoratMolean,whoprovidedtheManusProvincialGovernmentwitha
letterofinvitation,theresearchvisaapplicationproceededswiftly.Ithankthe
Manus Provincial Government for granting permission to carry out my field-
work,andJimRobbinsandGeorgiaKaipuoftheNationalResearchInstituteof
PapuaNewGuineaforassistingmewiththevisaapplicationprocess.Renévan
den Berg was very helpful in arranging my flights to and from Ukarumpa and
otherthingsrelatedtomyvisittoSILPNGin2012.
I also thank my supervisors Sasha Aikhenvald, Bob Dixon and Ton Otto for
theircontinuingsupportformyprojectbothduringandaftermyPhDcandidature.
MyfieldworkwasfundedthroughDixonandAikhenvald’scompetitivegrants,the
Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, James Cook University (based
ontheJCUMinimumStandardofResourcespolicy)andaJCUGraduateResearch
Scheme grant. One field trip and the completion of the manuscript took place
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110675177-202
VIII Acknowledgements
whileIwasemployedasaResearchFellowattheAustralianNationalUniversity
within the ARC Laureate Project ‘The Wellsprings of Linguistic Diversity’ (Grant
No.FL130100111).
IamgratefultohavemetsomanyfellowacademicsduringbothmyJCUand
ANUtimewhohavebeenverygenerous,inspiringandsupportiveinmultitudes
of ways, and I would particularly like to thank Grant Aiton, Angeliki
Alvanoudi, Wayan Arka, Danielle and Wolfgang Barth, Juliane Böttger, Chiara
Bresciani, Jessica Cleary-Kemp, Signe Dalsgaard, Steffen Dalsgaard, Don
Daniels, Marie-France Duhamel, Mark Ellison, Beth Evans, Nick Evans,
Christiane Falck, Murray Garde, Sonja Gipper, Tina Gregor, Valérie Guérin,
Darja Hoenigman, Eri Kashima, Kate Lindsey, Alex Marley, Miriam Meyerhoff,
Elena Mihas, Yankee Modi, Kate Naitoro, David Nash, Simon Overall, Bill
Palmer, Chia-Jung Pan, Andy Pawley, Mark Post, Anders Rasmussen, Sonja
Riesberg,MalcolmRoss,MikkoSalminen,HannahSarvasy,AnneSchwarz,Jeff
Siegel, Jane Simpson, Ruth Singer, Hedvig Skirgård, Borut Telban, Charlotte
vanTongeren,DanielaVavrova,LourensdeVries,KasiaWojtylak,andSihong
Zhang. Further thanks are due to the two examiners of my thesis, Bernard
Comrie and the late Frank Lichtenberk, and to an anonymous reviewer for
PacificLinguistics,fortheirvaluablefeedbackwhichgreatlyimprovedthepres-
ent work. Thanks to Elena Rhind and Amanda Parsonage (JCU) and Bianca
Hennessy (ANU) for their great administrative support. Thanks to Bert Peeters
forhelpingoutwithcopyeditingandformattingofthefinalmanuscript.
FinallyIwouldliketothankmyfriendsandfamily,bothnearandfar.Their
continuoussupportiswhatkeepsmegoing.
Contents
Acknowledgements VII
ListofFigures XIX
ListofTables XXI
Conventionsandabbreviations XXIII
1 Thelanguageanditscontext 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Sociolinguisticsituation 2
1.3 Socioculturalbackground 3
1.4 Geneticaffiliation 4
1.5 Existingdescriptionsofneighbouringlanguages 5
1.6 Datacollectionandmethodology 5
2 Phonology 8
2.1 Syllablestructure 8
2.2 Segmentalphonology 9
2.2.1 Overviewofconsonantphonemes 9
2.2.2 Distributionandrealisationsofconsonant
phonemes 10
2.2.2.1 Plosives 11
2.2.2.2 Nasals 17
2.2.2.3 Fricatives 20
2.2.2.4 Liquids 21
2.2.3 Vowelphonemes 21
2.2.3.1 Thevowel/i/ 22
2.2.3.2 Thevowel/e/ 22
2.2.3.3 Thevowel/ɛ/ 22
2.2.3.4 Thevowel/a/ 23
2.2.3.5 Thevowel/ɔ/ 23
2.2.3.6 Thevowel/o/ 23
2.2.3.7 Thevowel/u/ 23
2.2.3.8 Theapproximants[j]and[w] 24
2.2.3.9 V-Vsequencesandphonetic
diphthongisation 26
2.2.3.10 Mergerofclose-midvowels 28
X Contents
2.2.4 Minimalpairs 30
2.2.4.1 Minimalpairsforconsonantphonemes 30
2.2.4.2 Minimalpairsforvowelphonemes 31
2.2.5 Minorphonologicalprocesses 31
2.2.5.1 Vowelassimilation 31
2.2.5.2 Syllablereduction 32
2.2.5.3 Metathesis 32
2.2.6 Phonologicaldomainsandsandhirules 32
2.2.6.1 Phonologicalword 33
2.2.6.2 Phonologicalphrase 34
2.2.7 Morphophonology 34
2.2.7.1 Assimilationanddeletionof/n/ 35
2.2.7.2 Vowelalternationindirectlypossessed
nouns 36
2.2.8 Phonologyofloans 37
2.3 Prosody 40
2.3.1 Wordstress 40
2.3.1.1 Contrastivestress 41
2.3.1.2 Stressassignmentindisyllabicforms 41
2.3.1.3 Stressassignmentintrisyllabicforms 42
2.3.1.4 Stressassignmentinquadrisyllabic
forms 43
2.3.1.5 Interactionofmorphologyandstress
assignment 43
2.3.1.6 (Un)predictabilityofwordstress 47
2.3.2 Intonation 48
2.3.2.1 Distinguishingspeechacts 49
2.3.2.2 Signallingtheboundariesofprosodic
units 50
2.3.2.3 Signallingemphasisandcontrast 52
2.4 Orthography 54
3 WordclassesI:openclasses 57
3.1 Preliminaries 57
3.2 Thenoun 58
3.2.1 Nounsubclasses,typeI:personal,localandcommon
nouns 59
3.2.2 Nounsubclasses,typeII:directandindirect
possession 60
3.2.2.1 Kinshiprelations 62
