Table Of ContentROTE-METO
COMPARATIVE
DICTIONARY
ROTE-METO
COMPARATIVE
DICTIONARY
OWEN EDWARDS
ASIA-PACIFIC LINGUISTICS
Published by ANU Press
The Australian National University
Acton ACT 2601, Australia
Email: [email protected]
Available to download for free at press.anu.edu.au
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia
ISBN (print): 9781760464561
ISBN (online): 9781760464578
WorldCat (print): 1268571904
WorldCat (online): 1268255637
DOI: 10.22459/RMCD.2021
This title is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The full licence terms are available at
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
Cover design and layout by ANU Press. Cover photograph by Kirsten Culhane.
This edition © 2021 ANU Press
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations and symbols ix
Speech varieties listed in the dictionary xi
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Purpose 1
1.2 Limitations 1
1.3 Data sources 3
1.3.1 Rote 3
1.3.2 Meto 5
1.3.3 Other languages 7
1.4 Transcription 8
1.4.1 Jonker’s transcription 8
1.4.2 Middelkoop’s transcription 13
1.5 Structure of the dictionary 15
1.5.1 Out-comparisons 17
1.5.2 Multiple reflexes 18
1.5.3 Fields/parts of entries 20
1.5.4 Loan distributions 27
1.5.5 Finder lists 27
2. Language background 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 Rote 30
2.3 Meto 32
2.4 Segmental phonologies 34
2.4.1 Rote 34
2.4.2 Meto 36
2.5 Meto morphophonemic processes 37
2.5.1 Metathesis 37
2.5.2 Consonant insertion 38
2.5.3 Diphthongisation and vowel assimilation 39
2.6 Morphology 40
2.6.1 Nominal suffix -k/-ʔ 41
2.6.2 Possessive morphology 42
2.6.3 Reduplication 43
2.6.4 Nominalisation 44
2.6.5 Verb agreement 45
2.6.6 Derivational verbal morphology 47
3. Historical background 49
3.1 Introduction 49
3.2 Sound correspondences 49
3.2.1 Initial and medial consonants 50
3.2.2 Final consonants 55
3.2.3 Vowels 55
3.3 Internal sub-grouping 57
3.3.1 Nuclear Rote (NRote) 61
3.3.2 Central East Rote and Meto (CERM) 62
3.3.3 West Rote-Meto (WRM) 64
3.3.4 Meto 64
3.4 Levels of reconstruction 69
3.5 Rote-Meto within Malayo-Polynesian 72
3.5.1 Sound changes between PMP and PRM 72
3.5.2 Sound change and language shift 74
3.5.3 Subgrouping within Malayo-Polynesian 76
4. Rote-Meto – English 87
5. English – Rote-Meto 405
6. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian – Proto-Rote-Meto 429
References 441
Acknowledgements
While this comparative dictionary is collated by only one author, much of the data was
collected by many others.
I would like to thank all those who generously shared their unpublished lexical databases,
listed in alphabetical order by surname of first author (see §1.3 for more information):
Misriani Balle and Stuart Cameron (Helong); John Christensen (Kisar); João Cristo Rei
and Mark Donohue (Galolen); Kirsten Culhane, Laurence Jumetan, and Yedida Ora
(Amfo'an); James Fox (Termanu ritual language); Charles E. Grimes, Evelyn Cheng,
Enna Adelaide Hayer-Pah, Jonathan Pandie, Neng Mulosing, and Johnny M. Banamtuan
(Tii), Yustin Nako, Paulus Nako, Misriani Balle, and Johnny M. Banamtuan (Rikou),
Thersia Tamelan (Dela), Catharina Williams-van Klinken (Fehan Tetun); as well as Albert
Zacharias, Adika Getroida Balukh, Misriani Balle, and Johnny M. Banamtuan (Lole).
I would also like to thank my many consultants who provided me with data from their
languages. It is with great regret that I do not have enough space to list all those who
have generously shared knowledge of their languages. Nonetheless, I must mention the
following people: Dominggus Atimeta (Timaus), Heronimus Bani (Kotos Amarasi),
Toni Buraen and family (Ro'is Amarasi), Yulius Iu (Landu), Melianus Obhetan and
family (Ro'is Amarasi), Yedida Ora (Kotos Amarasi), Pieter Sijoen (Oepao), Ferdis
Tasae (Funai Helong), and Manuel Un Bria, Emerentiana Uduk, and Aloyisus Nurak
(all Kusa-Manea).
I would further like to thank several scholars who have contributed in various ways.
Tom Hoogervorst consulted an earlier version of this dictionary and identified many
forms that are ultimately loans. Malcolm Ross also read an earlier version of this
dictionary and identified a number of forms that are inherited from a higher node, as
well as a few connections between Proto-Rote-Meto reconstructions and Proto-Oceanic.
Antoinette Schapper first invited me to present on Rote-Meto at the international
workshop on language contact and substrate in the languages of Wallacea and thus gave
me the impetus to launch this project. She also suggested that the work be structured
around Proto-Rote-Meto reconstructions with a clearer demarcation between Rote-Meto
forms and out-comparisons. This has greatly improved the clarity of the work compared
to early drafts.
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ROTE-METO COMPARATIVE DICTIONARY
Marian Klamer provided me with the job during which much data was added to this
dictionary and many revisions were carried out. I am happy to say that this publication
was supported by the VICI research project ‘Reconstructing the past through languages
of the present: the Lesser Sunda Islands’, funded by the Netherlands Organisation for
Scientific Research, project number 277-70-012.
Mark Donohue has greatly influenced my thinking on the history of Austronesian
languages. He also invited me to the workshop in Kupang in July 2012 where I first
encountered the languages and people of Timor.
I also need to thank Charles Grimes. Apart from his constant encouragement and support,
I’m sure that this is a project that Chuck would have loved to have worked on himself,
in some form or another. I am humbled by his generosity in allowing me to do this work.
Finally, the deficiencies that undoubtedly remain in this work are entirely my own
responsibility and none of the people mentioned in these acknowledgements are
responsible for them.
viii
Abbreviations and symbols
* reconstruction (asterisk)
** pseudo-reconstruction (see §1.5.3.3)
= clitic (equals sign)
# cognate set spread by borrowing (hash)
- productive affix (hyphen)
º borrowed word (ordinal indicator)
/ historic compound; neither member independent (slash)
~ reduplication (tilde)
⁀ vowel sequence formed by diphthongisation (tie; see §2.5.3)
_ historic compound; one member no longer independent (underscore)
| historic affix (vertical bar)
CEMP Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
CER Central East Rote (Nuclear Rote except Tii and Lole)
CERM Central East Rote and Meto
CMP Central Malayo Polynesian
dJ de Josselin de Jong (1947)
J Jonker (1908)
M Middelkoop (1972)
Mo Morris (1984)
nRM Nuclear Rote-Meto
nRote Nuclear Rote (Rote except Dela-Oenale and Dengka)
On Onvlee (1984)
PCEMP Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
PCMP Proto-Central Malayo-Polynesian
PMeto Proto-Meto
PMP Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
PnMeto Proto-Nuclear Meto (Meto except Ro'is Amarasi)
POc Proto Oceanic
ix
ROTE-METO COMPARATIVE DICTIONARY
PnRote Proto-Nuclear Rote
PRM Proto-Rote-Meto
PWMP Proto-Western Malayo-Polynesian
PwRM Proto-West Rote-Meto
PwRote Proto-West Rote
UBB Unit Bahasa dan Budaya (Language and Culture Unit)
wRM West Rote-Meto
wRote West Rote (Dela-Oenale and Dengka)
x
