Biak language
Biak | |
---|---|
Biak-Numfor | |
wós Vyak; wós kovedi | |
Native to | Indonesia |
Region | Biak Island & surroundings |
Native speakers
|
30,000 (2000)[1] |
Latin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | bhw |
Glottolog | biak1248 [2] |
Biak (wós Vyak or "Biak language"; wós kovedi or "our language"; Bahasa Indonesia: Bahasa Biak), also known as Biak-Numfor, Noefoor, Mafoor, Mefoor, Nufoor, Mafoorsch, Myfoorsch and Noefoorsch, is an Austronesian language that has been classified as one of 41 languages of the South Halmahera-West New Guinea subgroup of Eastern Malayo-Polynesian Languages. It is spoken in Biak and Numfor and numerous small islands in this archipelago in the province of Papua, Indonesia by about 30,000 people.
Contents
Sociolinguistic Situation
There are a number of different dialects of Biak spoken on various different Islands the most well-known being Biak-Numfoor, spoken on the Island of Numfoor, these dialect differences are small and mostly slight regular sound changes.[3] Almost all Biak speakers are also fluent in Malay, but very few have a comprehensive knowledge of formal Indonesian.
Despite the comparatively high number of speakers compared to some other Austronesian languages, Biak is still in danger of extinction. Within the main towns the generation of speakers aged between 20 and 50 have only passive knowledge of the language and rarely use the language actively, instead preferring to use Malay. Younger generations do not even generally have passive knowledge of the language. Biak is only actively used as a spoken language by members of the community over 50 years of age or so and even they regularly code switch into Malay.[4] However, within the villages further from town there were still children who were fluent in Biak. Songs in Biak are also very popular throughout the Islands.
There is a strong initiative to promote the use of Biak Language, with translations of various books and teaching manuals as well as a radio station and a number of church services throughout the year being conducted solely in Biak. Since 2002 there has also been an initiative to introduce Biak being taught formerly in schools on the Islands.[5]
Phonology
Biak has a phoneme inventory consisting of 13 consonants and 5 vowels, in which vowel length is phonemic. In the orthography long vowels are written with an acute accent. The phoneme /t/ is very infrequent in its use and some older speakers still realise it as [s] in loanwords.[6]
Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | b p | d t | k | ||
Nasal | m | n | |||
Fricative | β | f | s | ||
Lateral | l | ||||
Trill | r | ||||
Approximant | w | j |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i iː | u uː | |
Mid | e eː | ɤ ɤː | |
Open | a aː |
All vowels in Biak are unrounded with the exception of /u/, which is rounded.[9]
Morphology
Pronouns and Person Markers
In Biak pronouns and articles are morphologically related, with both situating a given participant by indicating their relative discourse or spatial (e.g. directional or motional) status. This is not uncommon for Austronesian Languages.[10] Pronouns in Biak are marked for number and clusivity.
Person | Number | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural | |
1INC | ku | ko | ||
1EXCL | aya | nu | inko | |
2 | aw | mu | mko | |
3 | i | su | sko | si (alienable) na (inalienable) |
Free personal pronouns in Biak share their main distributional properties with nouns; however, they are somewhat more restricted. They can be used as a complement of a predicate or preposition but they cannot be used as subjects.[11] In the example below we can see the use of the 1st person personal pronoun aya to complement a verb while the second example shows how a free personal pronoun, in this clause 3rd person i cannot be used as a subject:
-
(1) Badir i ve aya 2SG.announce 3SG to 1SG "Make it known to me."
-
(2) * i d-ores 3SG 3SG-stand "He stood."
Pronominal Affixes
In Biak pronominal affixes can combine with verbs in three possible inflection patterns (given in the table below), which are partly phonologically conditioned.[12]
Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
1SG | ya- | y- | ya- |
2SG | wa- | w- | ⟨w⟩ |
3SG | i- | d- | ⟨y⟩ |
1DU.I | ku- | ku- | ku- |
1DU.E | nu- | nu- | nu- |
2DU | mu- | mu- | mu- |
3DU | su- | su- | su- |
3PC | sko- | sk- | sko- |
1PL.I | ko- | k- | ko- |
1PL.E | (i)nko- | (i)nk- | (i)nko- |
2PL | mko- | mk- | mko- |
3PL.AN | si- | s- | s- |
3PL.INAN | na- | n- | n- |
Due to the person marking nature of these affixes, the need for the presence of a core noun phrase in the same clause is negated. Thus the following sentence is still grammatical without NP Rusa nanine, as the verb has a pronominal affix that gives the same information.
-
(1) (Rusa nan-i-ne) d-ores deer GIV-3SG.SPC-this 3SG-stand "This deer stood."
These pronominal markers are person markers and are found in the final position of the noun phrase they determine.[13] They attach to verbs along with a specifier that attaches after the pronominal affix; due to their distribution properties these markers should be considered clitics.[13] There are two specificity markers, -ya and –i, where –ya can be used in all positions and -i is restricted to positions before pauses.[13] In the example below the article attaches to the verb vebaya, rather than the verb ifrúr because it is the final verb in the noun phrase headed by for.[13]
-
(2) i-frúr for ve-ba=ya 3SG-make fire REL.big=3SG.SPC "He made a big fire."
Nonspecificity, which refers to entities that do not yet exist in this world, or is used to question or deny the existence of an entity, is marked with the articles –o for singular and –no for plural noun phrases.[14] This is shown in the examples below:
Non-specific
-
(3) I-fúr yuk=o fa y-ún i ve Waranda. 3SG-make ukulele=nonSP.SG CONS 1SG-take 3SG to The.Netherlands "He is making/will make a ukulele so that I can take it to the Netherlands"
Specific
-
(4) I-fúr yuk=ya fa y-ún i ve Waranda. 3SG-make ukulele=nonSP.SG CONS 1SG-take 3SG to The.Netherlands "He has made a ukulele so that I can take it to the Netherlands"
Possession
Similar to other Austronesian languages, Biak makes a grammatical distinction between alienable and inalienable for possession.
Alienable Possession
In alienable possession, a possessive pronominal is formed with the possessive marker ‘ve’ to signify the person, number and gender of the possessor, and is followed by a pronominal article marking the gender and number of the possessed. The pronominal article contains the specificity markers ‘-i’ and ‘-ya’, with ‘-i’ being used only in pre-pausal positions.[15] The following table illustrates the possessive pronominal construction.
Possessed-> Possessor: |
SG |
DU |
TR |
PL.AN |
PL.INAN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1SG |
(a)ye=d-i/=d-ya |
(a)ye=su-ya/-i |
(a)ye=sko-ya/-i |
(a)ye=s-ya/-i |
(a)ye=na |
2SG |
be=d-i/=d-ya |
be-=su-ya/-i |
be=sko-ya/-i |
be=s-ya/-i |
be=na |
3SG |
v<y>e=d-i/=d-ya |
v<y>e=su-ya/-i |
v<y>e =sko-ya/-i |
v<y>e =s-ya/-i |
v<y>e =na |
1DU.INC |
Ku-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
ku-ve=su-ya/-i |
ku-ve=sko-ya/-i |
ku-ve=s-ya/-i |
ku-ve=na |
1DU.EXC |
nu-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
nu-ve=su-ya/-i |
nu-ve=sko-ya/-i |
nu-ve=s-ya/-i |
nu-ve=na |
2DU |
mu-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
mu-ve=su-ya/-i |
mu-ve=sko-ya/-i |
mu-ve=s-ya/-i |
mu-ve=na |
3DU |
su-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
su-ve=su-ya/-i |
su-ve=sko-ya/-i |
su-ve=s-ya/-i |
su-ve=na |
3PC |
sko-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
sko-ve=su-ya/-i |
sko-ve=sko-ya/-i |
sko-ve=s-ya/-i |
sko-ve=na |
1PL.INC |
ko-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
ko-ve=su-ya/-i |
ko-ve=sko-ya/-i |
ko-ve=s-ya/-i |
i ko-ve=na |
1PL.EXC |
(i)nko-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
(i)nko-ve=su-ya/-i |
(i)nko-ve=sko-ya/-i |
(i)nko-ve=s-ya/-i |
(i)nko-ve=na |
2PL |
mko-ve=d-i/=d-ya |
mko-ve=su-ya/-i |
mko-ve=sko-ya/-i |
mko-ve=s-ya/-i |
mko-ve=na |
3PL.AN |
se=d-i/=d-ya |
se=su-ya/-i |
se=sko-ya/-i |
se=s-ya/-i |
se=na |
3PL.INAN |
nbe=d-i/d-ya |
nbe=su-ya/-i |
nbe=sko-ya/-i |
nbe=s-ya/-i |
nbe=na[16] |
Typically, Biak follows a possessor-possessum structure for alienable possessive construction, with the possessive pronominal in the adnominal position:
(5) |
ikak |
an-i-ne |
snonsnon |
v<y>e=d-ya |
Kormsamba |
snake |
GIV-3SG.SPC-this |
name |
<3SG>POSS=3SG-SPC |
Kormsamba |
|
The Snake’s name was Kormsamba[17] |
|||||
However, alienable possession can also be formed in the order of possessum-possessor, though this is much less frequent:
(6) |
romawa |
inai |
manseren |
v<y>e=s-ya |
|
son |
daughter |
Lord |
<3SG>POSS=3PL.AN-SPC |
||
The Lord’s sons and daughters’[18] |
Inalienable Possession
Inalienable possessive construction differs from alienable in that there is no system of pronominal possessives, only a set of affixes located on the possessum. In contrast to alienable possession, inalienable possession can only take the order of possessor-possessum. Biak contains three subsets of inalienability: body parts, Kinship, and locational.[18]
Body Parts
Not all body parts are considered inalienable. Those that are form the stem words from which to derive other body parts through the method of compounding. For example, the alienable ‘knee’ is formed through the inalienable stem ‘we’ (leg) and the compounding ‘pur’ (back) to form ‘wepur’. Possessive construction for alienable body parts follows the same pattern as other alienable terms.[19] The inflectional system for inalienable body parts is as follows:
Vru ‘head’ |
SG |
DU |
TR |
PL |
---|---|---|---|---|
1SG |
Vru-ri |
- |
- |
- |
2SG |
Vru-m-ri |
- |
- |
- |
3SG |
Vru-ri |
- |
- |
- |
1DU.INC |
- |
ku-vru-s-na |
||
1DU.EXC |
- |
nu-vru-s-na |
||
2DU |
- |
mu-vru-m-s-na |
||
3DU |
- |
su-vru-s-na |
||
3TR |
- |
sko-vru-s-na |
||
1PL.INC |
- |
ko-vru-s-na |
||
1PL.EXC |
- |
nko-vru-s-na |
||
2PL |
- |
mko-vru-m-s-na |
||
3PL.AN |
- |
si-vru-s-na[20] |
Unusual for Austronesian languages of the area, Biak contains a partial prefix system for inflecting inalienable body parts. For the plural forms, suffix ‘-s’ reflects plurality and animateness of possessor and suffix ‘na’ expresses plurality and inaninameteness of the possessum.[21] As stated above, inalienable possession is formed via a possessor-possessum structure:
(7) |
sne-ri |
i-ba |
|||
belly-POSS.SG |
3SG-big |
||||
She was pregnant (her belly was big)[22] |
Kinship Terms
Similarly to body parts, not all kinship terms are inalienable. The alienable kinship terms are formed through the same compounding method as alienable body parts, and follow the same possessive construction rules as other alienable terms.[23] This table illustrates the inflectional system for inalienable kinship words:
Me ‘cross-uncle’ |
SG |
DU |
TR |
PL |
---|---|---|---|---|
1SG |
imem(=i) |
imem(=su) |
imem(=sko) |
- |
2SG |
me-m(=i) |
me-m(=su) |
me-m(=sko) |
- |
3SG |
me-r(=i) |
me-r(=su) |
me-r(=sko) |
- |
1DU |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2DU |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3DU |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3TR |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1PL |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2PL |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3PL |
- |
- |
- |
- |
All nouns that follow the table’s procedure have an idiosyncratic form for the first person, using a shorter term for the second and third person. (REF pg. 244) Here is an example of the usage of inalienable kinship inflection:
(8) |
s<y>éwar |
kma-r=i |
|||
<3SG>seek |
father-POSS.3SG=3SG |
||||
He looked for his father[24] |
Locational Nouns
Locational nouns are the last distinction of inalienability found in Biak. Locational nouns refer to locations that are ‘inherently connected to an entity’.[25] For example, a tree in biak is referred to as having an ‘upper part’ and a ‘lower part’, and a canoe a ‘front’, a ‘middle’ and a ‘back’.[25] The following table exhibits the inflectional system for inalienable locational nouns:
bo ‘upper part/ area above’ |
SG |
DU |
TR |
PL.ANIM |
Pl.INAN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
bo-m-ri |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3 |
bo-ri |
bo-n-su |
bo-n-sko |
bo-n-si |
bo-n-na[26] |
The suffix ‘-n’ expresses the plurality and inanimateness of the possessum (REF pg. 250). The locational noun possessive structure is illustrated in this example:
(9) |
bal |
i-ne |
v<y>ark |
ro |
karui=su-ya |
bonsu |
ball |
3SG.SPC-this |
<3SG>lie |
LOC |
stone=3DU-SPC |
upside-nonSG.INAM-3DU |
|
This ball lies on top of two stones[25] |
Footnotes
- ↑ Biak at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Van de Heuvel 2006, p. 7
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 5
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 6
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 11
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 21
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 26
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 27
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 64-66
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 67
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 66
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 68
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 71
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 84
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 230
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 231
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 232
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, pp. 232-234
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 238
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 239
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 235
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, pp. 243-245
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 243
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 251
- ↑ Van den Heuvel 2006, p. 250
References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Van den Heuvel, Wilco. 2006. Biak, description of an Austronesian language of Papua. Doctoral dissertation, Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics.
External links
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Biak language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |