Maisin language

{{IPA|[ŋ]}} and {{IPA|[kʷ]}} are not phonemic, but are distinguished in the orthography.

Syllables can begin and end with up to one consonant each. I.e., English wrong {{IPA|/rɔŋ/}} would be an acceptable word, but strength {{IPA|/streŋθ/}} would not. Words can only end in either a vowel or {{IPA|[ŋ]}}. The vowels {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} never occur word-initially. {{IPA|/β/}} never occurs before {{IPA|/o/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}.

Literacy varies from 20% to 80% in different areas.

Negation in Maisin is achieved predominantly by morphology. In the Marua communalect, negation is marked by {{lang|mbq|isaa… -ka}},{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}} while in the Sinapa communalect, negation is marked by {{lang|mbq|saa… -ka}}.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=79}} The negation marking is discontinuous.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}

{{lang|mbq|Isaa}} is a morpheme located prior to the predicate of the sentence, and can be roughly glossed as 'not' in English. Morphologically, it is classified as a separate word.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}} {{lang|mbq|-ka}} is an enclitic that is found attached to a verb's tense- or aspect-marking enclitic. Alternatively, when there is no tense- or aspect-marking enclitic in the sentence, it attaches to the predicate's last item.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}} Negation through {{lang|mbq|isaa... -ka}} can be seen in the following examples.

{{interlinear|lang=mbq|italics2=yes|glossing3=yes

|number=1

|isaa iyeeyeka

|isaa i-yee-ye-ka

|not he-PROG-swim-NEG

|'He isn't swimming.'{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}}}

In Example 1, the verb stem 'swim' takes both the progressive marker {{lang|mbq|-ye}} (created through partial reduplication of the verb stem {{lang|mbq|yee}}{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=41}} and the negative enclitic {{lang|mbq|-ka}}, as well as the male second-person singular pronominal enclitic. The enclitic {{lang|mbq|-ka}} attaches to the progressive marker {{lang|mbq|-ye}}. The combination of {{lang|mbq|isaa}} and {{lang|mbq|-ka}} in the sentence negates the action of swimming.

{{interlinear|lang=mbq|italics2=yes|glossing3=yes

|number=2

|bendooka isaa raatika

|bendoo-ka isaa raati-ka

|Bendo-TOP not small-NEG

|'Bendo is very big.' ({{lit|Bendo isn't small.}}){{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}}}

Here negation is also shown through {{lang|mbq|isaa… -ka}}. In this case, {{lang|mbq|-ka}} is attached directly to the end of the predicate, as there is no tense- or aspect-marking present. The first {{lang|mbq|-ka}} in the sentence (in {{lang|mbq|bendoo-ka}}) is not a negative marker; rather, it is a homophonous morpheme that functions as a topic marker.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=51}}

{{interlinear|lang=mbq|italics2=yes|glossing3=yes

|number=3

|bendooka isaa vareyananka

|bendoo-ka isaa var-e-anan-ka

|Bendo-TOP not house-LOC-FUT-NEG

|'Bendo won't be in the house.'{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}}}

In Example 3, {{lang|mbq|-ka}} is found attached to the enclitic {{lang|mbq|-anan}}, which marks future tense. Again, negation is achieved through the combination of {{lang|mbq|isaa}} and {{lang|mbq|-ka}}.

In the presence of the conjunction {{lang|mbq|-ate}} or the demonstrative {{lang|mbq|-nen}}, the {{lang|mbq|-ka}} enclitic is removed, leaving {{lang|mbq|isaa}} as the sole negation marker in the sentence. This occurs because {{lang|mbq|-ate}} and {{lang|mbq|-nen}} are both located in the same position in a word as {{lang|mbq|-ka}}.{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}} {{lang|mbq|isaa}}-only negation is demonstrated in the following examples.

{{interlinear|lang=mbq|italics2=yes|glossing3=yes

|number=4

|isaa iraarananeŋka isaa aaranaŋka

|isaa i-ar-ar-anan-nen-ka isaa a-ar-anan-ka

|not he-PROG-go-FUT-that-TOP not I-go-FUT-NEG

|'If he doesn't go, I shan't go.'{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}}}

The presence of the demonstrative morpheme {{lang|mbq|-nen}} in the first clause of Example 4 displaces (and removes) {{lang|mbq|-ka}}. Thus, {{lang|mbq|isaa}} is the sole negator of the clause.

{{interlinear|lang=mbq|italics2=yes|glossing3=yes

|number=5

|bendooka isaa ikanate arauku

|bendoo-ka isaa i-kan-ate a-ra-uku

|Bendo-TOP not he-eat-and I-come-descend

|'Before Bendo had eaten, I arrived.' ({{lit|Bendo didn't eat and then I arrived.}}){{sfn|Ross|1984|p=50}}}}

This example shows the presence of the conjunction {{lang|mbq|-ate}}, which is attached to the end of the verb stem {{lang|mbq|kan}}. This removes {{lang|mbq|-ka}} and again leaves {{lang|mbq|isaa}} as the only negation marker in the sentence.

Maisin is an Oceanic language (Eberhard, Simons, & Fennig, 2019), and its negation system is fairly typical of Oceanic languages. Oceanic languages often express negation discontinuously,{{sfn|Lynch|Ross|Crowley|2011|p=51}} with the first element located preverbally and the second postverbally{{sfn|Lynch|Ross|Crowley|2011|p=51}} – Maisin fits this pattern, as the above examples demonstrate.

Additionally, Maisin follows both the Polynesian pattern of marking negation clause-initially and the Papuan pattern of marking negation clause-finally.{{sfn|Lynch|Ross|Crowley|2011|p=51}}

• FUT = 'final' future enclitic
• LOC = locative enclitic
• NEG = negative enclitic
• PROG = progressive aspect
• TOP = topic marker enclitic{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=2}}

The first interlinear text example was retrieved from page 50 of Maisin: A Preliminary Sketch by Malcolm Ross. The glossing of the morphemes {{lang|mbq|yee}} and {{lang|mbq|ye}} as 'PG' and the verb stem 'swim' respectively means that the negative enclitic {{lang|mbq|-ka}} is attached to {{lang|mbq|ye}} 'swim'. This does not seem to fit the description of {{lang|mbq|-ka}} as attaching to the tense- or aspect-marking enclitic of the predicate. The progressive marker is generated through reduplication,{{sfn|Ross|1984|p=41}} and so the glossing of each morpheme may be ambiguous - that is, it may not be entirely clear as to whether {{lang|mbq|yee}} should be glossed as 'PG' or 'swim', and likewise with the morpheme {{lang|mbq|ye}}. This may explain why the first example seems to deviate from the typical pattern of negation.

• Magori language, a similar case

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |chapter=Typological overview |pages=34–53 |doi=10.4324/9780203820384 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQPFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 |editor1-last=Lynch |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Ross |editor2-first=Malcolm |editor3-last=Crowley |editor3-first=Terry |title=The Oceanic languages |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-68155-1 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Ray |first=Sidney H. |authorlink=Sidney H. Ray |date=Jul–Dec 1911 |title=Comparative notes on Maisin and other languages of eastern Papua |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |volume=41 |pages=397–405 |doi=10.2307/2843181 |jstor=2843181|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1449621 }}
• {{cite book |doi=10.1515/9783110295252-009 |chapter=Contact phenomena in Austronesian and Papuan languages |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area |year=2017 |last1=Reesink |first1=Ger |last2=Dunn |first2=Michael |pages=939–985 |isbn=978-3-11-029525-2 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Malcolm |authorlink=Malcolm Ross (linguist) |chapter=Maisin: A preliminary sketch |pages=1–82 |id={{ProQuest|1297865877}} |hdl=1885/253498 |hdl-access=free |doi=10.15144/PL-A69.1 |doi-access=free |editor1-last=Ross |editor1-first=Malcolm |editor2-last=Siegel |editor2-first=Jeff |editor3-last=Blust |editor3-first=Robert |editor4-last=Colburn |editor4-first=Michael A. |editor5-last=Seiler |editor5-first=W. |title=Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 23 |date=1984 |publisher=Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University |isbn=978-0-85883-313-5 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Strong |first=W. M. |date=Jul–Dec 1911 |title=The Maisin Language |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |volume=41 |pages=381–396 |doi=10.2307/2843180 |jstor=2843180 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1449619 }}

• [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/PNG/maisin_hc.html Bada ari Foraga ari Buandi ari nane, ai Totoruga Muanfafusi The Service of Holy Communion in the Maisin Language] (1921 translation digitized by Richard Mammana)
• [http://www.pnglanguages.org/acms/sys/page.php?sc=lr&page=langres+cat+langres&LangResourceID=211&LangResourceCategory=phonology Maisin organised phonology data]
• Materials on Maisin are included in the open access Arthur Capell collections ([http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/AC1 AC1] and [http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/AC2 AC2]) held by Paradisec
• Paradisec also has [http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/search?language_code=mbq a number of other collections in the Maisin language]

{{Papuan Tip languages}}

{{Austronesian languages}}

{{Languages of Papua New Guinea}}

Category:Nuclear Papuan Tip languages

Category:Languages of Milne Bay Province