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The Biak Language in its cultural context
 

Syntax: noun phrases

Nouns combine with other elements in order to function as ‘referring expressions’ or noun phrases.  The simplified structure of the noun phrase is as follows, where the noun is the head:

noun  ((numeral linker) numeral) article

The function of the pronominal article is, as it were, to indicate the status of the referring expression within the world of discourse. More specifically, the article indicates:

This can be depicted as in the following figure, which indicates the functions of the different pronominal articles, as well as how they are formed.

the functions of the different pronominal articles

For an explanation of the notion of givenness, the reader is referred to Van den Heuvel (2006), 213f. The notion of specificity, however, will be explained below.

It should be noted that the basic distinction within Biak noun phrases is not between definite and indefinite sentences, but between specific and nonspecific. With the use of a specific marker, a Biak speaker indicates that (s)he refers to an entity that can, in principle, be identified by the Speaker. The entity that is referred to, then, exists as a ‘finished’ and ‘well-bound’ entity. The following sentences illustrate clearly that specificity cross-cuts the notion of definiteness as it exists, for example, in English. Sentence (1) is part of a story, where the main participant enters into a cave  Then there suddenly appears to be a snake:

(1)

Fama

ikakya

vyark

wark

i

 

fama

ikak=ya

v<y>ark

wark

i

 

however

snake=3sg.spc

<3sg>ly

block

3sg

 

‘But there was a snake, lying and blocking it!’

Because the snake has not been introduced into the story yet, and is not known to the Addressee(s) of the story yet, the English language needs to use an indefinite pronoun to refer to it. The Biak, language, however, uses a specific pronoun. This is because the snake, as soon as it has been introduced in the story, exists as an entity that is principally identifiable, at least for the speaker. The function of specific and nonspecific markers can further best be illustrated by showing the contexts in which nonspecific markers are used. Nonspecific markers are used in the following cases:

An example of context (a) is given in (2), which forms a minimal pair with (3). The sentence was used by a person who was busy making tea. In this context, the use of the nonspecific marker implied that the tea was not ready yet. The use of the specific marker, illustrated in (3), implies that the tea has been made already; it exists or existed as a bound entity.

(2)

Yafur

teyo

fa

kuyinem

 

ya-fur

te=yo

fa

kuy-inm

 

1sg

tea=nonsp.sg

cons

1du.inc-drink

 

'I am making tea so that the two of us can drink'

(3)

Yafur

teya

fa

kuyinem

 

ya-fur

te=ya

fa

kuy-inm

 

1sg

tea=3sg.spc

cons

1du.inc-drink

 

'I (had) made tea so that the two of us could drink'

Another example illustrating this function is given with (3), where the speaker does not have a specific person in mind to fell the trees:

(4)

Eser=o

kyar

monda

 

 

eser=o

k<y>ar

monda

 

 

one=nonsp.sg

<3sg>fell

just

 

 

'Let just one fell trees'

An example of the use of a nonspecific to question an entity’s existence (context b above) is given in (5):

(5)

Foro

isya

be

ma

yakpam

ari

 

for=o

is=ya

be

ma

ya-k-pam

ari

 

fire=nonsp.sg

3sg.pred-that

2sg.give

to.here

1sg-use-light

first

 

‘If there is fire, give me some, so that I can use it to light (my cigarette) first.’

An example of negation, finally, is given with the following sentence:

(6)

Kosmai

roino

fa

kan

va

 

 

ko-smai

ro=no

fa

kan

va

 

 

1pl.ex-cut

thing=nonsp.nonsg

cons

1pl.inc-eat

not

 

 

‘We do not have anything to eat’.

 



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