Gone with the wind?

Tracing the semantics of two Siar directionals

Friedel Martin FroweinResearch Centre for Linguistic Typology

La Trobe Universityfriedel_frowein@gmx.de

What we will be talking about

• how geographical, topographical and meteorological factors could have shaped two Siar directional / locational / demonstrative roots (henceforth directionals)

• how migration could have triggered an additional shaping of these directionals

The Siar language

Barok

The Siar language

Austronesian

Western Oceanic

Meso-Melanesian

Patpatar-Tolai familyMandak family

Barok Siar

Siar directionals

-ahInterrogative-(i)saiUp / distal

-im1. Down2. counterclockwise motion or

location

-óngclockwise motion or location

-ingAnaphoric-èIndexical-aProximal

Directional rootFunction

Siar demonstratives

Demonstrative determiners / pronouns+SG -SG

proximalindexicalanaphoric

d-isai n-isai up or far away?1. down2. ?

d-a

interrogative

d-èn-an-èn-ing

n-óngn-im

-

d-ing

‘this / these’

d-óngd-im

‘that / those’

-

Siar demonstratives

Demonstrative existentials+SG -SG

proximalindexicalanaphoricup or far away?

a-d-im a-n-im 1. down2. ?

‘is / are where?’

‘is / are there’

a-d-a

interrogative

a-d-èa-n-aa-n-èa-n-inga-n-isaia-n-óng

a-n-ah

a-d-inga-d-isaia-d-óng

‘is / are here’

a-d-ah

Siar demonstratives

Demonstrative adverbsLocative Allative

proximalindexicalanaphoricup or far away?

t-im ka-t-im1. down2. ?

‘where? / whence?'

‘there / thither’

t-a

interrogative

t-èka-t-aka-t-èka-t-ingka-ø-saika-t-óng

ka-t-ah

t-ingø-sait-óng

‘here / hither’

t-ah

-sai (up, away from New Ireland)

-sai

-sai

-sai

↑N

-sai (up, away from New Ireland)

I inan kasai sup an lón rumai.i inan ka-ø-sai sup an ló-n rumai3.SG go ALL-(LOC-)DIST inside at mouth-3.SG.POSS househe went upward inside at mouth-of.it house

‘He went inside the house.’

-sai (up, away from New Ireland)

-sai

-sai-sai

-sai

↑N

-sai (up, away from New Ireland)

-sai

-sai

-im

↑N

-im

-im

-im-im

-im

-im

-im

↑N

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

I inan katim an piu.i inan ka-t-im an piu3.SG go ALL-(LOC)-down at groundhe went downward at ground

‘He went outside (the house).’

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

-im

-im-im

-im

-im

-im

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

↑N

-im-im

-im

-im

-sai

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

-im

-sai

↑N

-im (down, towards New Ireland, counterclockwise)

-im

-im

-im

-im

-im

-im

-im

↑N

-óng (clockwise movement or location)

-óng-óng

-óng-óng

-óng

↑N

-óng

-óng

-im

-im

↑N

-óng (clockwise movement or location)

-óng

-óng

-óng-óng

-óng-óng

-óng

-im

-im

↑N

-óng (clockwise movement or location)

-im

-im

-óng

-óng

ManamNNG(Lichtenberk 1983)

≈ Makian TabaEMP(Bowden 2001)

-óng (clockwise movement or location)↑N

Siar

-im

-im

-óng

-óng

Boumaa FijianCP(Dixon 1988)

-óng (clockwise movement or location)

Siar

↑N

Some preliminary conclusions for –im, –óng and -sai

?

sea-based / navigational

–sai'away from New

Ireland'

-im'towards New

Ireland'

land-based(Siar area)

–óng'clockwise'

-im'counterclockwise'

land-based(outside Siar area)

??

ScaleDirectional 2Directional 1

vertical(anywhere)

–sai'up, landward'

contrasts with

-im'down, seaward'

Etymological evidence

POc *sake ‘go upward / southeast’(Dempwolff 1938)

MangapNNG, YabemNNG, GedagedNNG, TakiaNNG, SobeiSJ, MereiNCV,

-sa

Mono-AluMM, SalibaPT, MussauADM (-)saeBanoniMM, TamiNNG, SiarMM -sai

ADM = Admiralties, MM = Meso-Melanesian, NCV = North Central Vanuatu, NNG = North New Guinea, PN = Polynesian, PT = Papuan Tip, SES = Southeast Solomonic, SJ = Sarmi/Jayapura

Data from Ross (2007)

Etymological evidence

-im

-im

Reconstructions from Dempwolff (1938), Zorc (1994), Ross (2007)

*POc *timuR ‘(south or east) wind (bringing rain)’

TakiaNNG, AliNNG, RamoaainaMM

SamoanPN, AnutanPN

SiarMM

‘wind’‘dew’‘drizzle; of rain’

tim(tim)

timu‘rain, be rainy’‘light rain, drizzle’

-tim‘following the direction of the heavy rain’?

-im -im

Etymological evidence

-im

-im

Reconstructions from Dempwolff (1938), Zorc (1994), Ross (2007)

*PWOc *(s,t)imuR ‘island’

SursurungaMM, MuyuwPT

sim ‘island’

SiarMM -tim? ‘away fromLambom Island’

-im-im

*POc *to a ‘Southeasterly quadrant, southeast wind’

NiueanPN

TonganPN

UveanPN

PukapukanPN

RennellesePN

SamoanPN

TuvaluPN

TikopiaPN

FutunanPN

RapanuiPN

RarotonganPN

to a

‚south wind‘‚south; (wind) be south‘‚south wind‘‚south-southeast wind‘‚east‘‚south wind‘‚south‘‚east (wind), trade wind, winter‘

‚south‘‚autumn, winter‘‚south or southerly‘

SiarMM -t-óng ‚where the southeast trade comesfrom/against the southeast trade‘?

Etymological evidence

Reconstructions from Dempwolff (1938), Zorc (1994), Ross (2007)

-óng-óng

Historical evidence?

1894

Stephan & Graebner (1907)

Konomala

Kandas

LambelSiar

-óng

'towards Cape St George / Lambom Island'

‘just a little further than Cape St George’

‘continuing the path from Lambom’

-im

‘away from Cape St George’

‘opposite of –óng’

‘opposite of –óng’

2010

Lambel

Kandas

Siar

Kono-mala

-im

‘counterclockwisealong the coastline’

-óng

‘clockwise alongthe coastline’

↑N

Historical evidence?

First inconsistencies?

-im

-im

-im

-im

↑N

LamassaIsland

LambomIsland

counterclockwisemovement

opposite of -óng

-im

-im

New interpretations outside the Siar area

south, as far as Cape St George

downward2

from remote New Ireland to Siar area

from anywhere towards New Ireland

1

New inter-pretation

Original meaning

#

↑N

-im

-im

-im

-im

New interpretations outside the Siar area

from remote New Ireland / near East New Britaintowards Siar area

from anywhere towards New Ireland

1

New inter-pretation

Original meaning

south, as far as Cape St George

downward2

-sai ↑N

New interpretations outside the Siar area

?-im

movement across the bay / away-sai

clockwise movement along the coastline-óng

Analysis↑N

-óng -sai

-im

New interpretations outside the Siar area

- “(Here in Kokopo) it does not really matter which form you use.”

- destination / location is usually mentioned anyway if the destination is unclear

I inan *(ka-t-im) an Rabaul. ‘He went (down) to Rabaul.’ (uttered in Kokopo)

I kès *(t-óng) an Rabaul.‘He lives in (clockwise) Rabaul.’ (uttered in Kokopo)

- directionals only have a morphological function

Summary and conclusion

- three absolute directionals –im, -óng and –sai, each of which has more than meaning

- –im, -óng and –sai have been shaped by geographical and topographical factors

*Proto-Oceanic: *sake 'go upward (landward)'*(s,t)imuR 'island'*to a ‘southeasterly quadrant, southeast wind’

Post-*POc: -sai 'up (landward), away from New Ireland'-tim 'down (seaward), towards New Ireland,

away from Lambom Island'-óng 'towards Lambom Island'

Siar in 19th century: -sai 'up (landward), away from New Ireland'(and today) -tim 'down (seaward), towards New Ireland,

counterclockwise'-óng 'clockwise'

Summary and conclusion

- shaping of the (counter)clockwise directionals was triggered by Siar speakers migrating from the east coast to the west coast

- relative isolation between both coasts may have reinforced the inconsistent use of –im and –óng

- outside the Siar area the (counter)clockwise analysis does not apply

- -im, -óng and -sai only have a morphological function

References

Bennardo, Giovanni (ed) (2002). Representing space in Oceania: culture in language and mind. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics

Blust, Robert (1997). Semantic Change and the Conceptualization of Spatial Relationships in Austronesian Languages. In: Senft, Gunter (ed). Referring to Space – Studies in Austronesian and Papuan languages. Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Bowden, John (2001). Taba – Description of a South Halmahera language. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics 521

Dempwolff, Otto (1938). Vergleichende Lautlehre des austronesischen Wortschatzes, Vol. 3: Austronesisches Wörterverzeichnis. in: Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen, supplement 19. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag

Dixon, R. M. W (1988). A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Florey, Margaret & Kelly, Barbara F. (2002). Spatial reference in Alune. In: Bennardo, Giovanni (ed).

François, Alexandre (2004). Reconstructing the Geocentric System of Proto-Oceanic. In: Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 43/1, Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press

References

Lichtenberk, Frantisek (1983). A grammar of Manam. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications No. 18, Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press

Palmer, Bill (2002). Absolute spatial reference and the grammaticalisationof perceptually salient phenomena. In: Bennardo, Giovanni (ed)

Ross, Malcolm & Pawley, Andrew & Osmond, Meredith (2007). The Lexicon of Proto-Oceanic – The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics 545

Stephan, Emil & Graebner, Fritz (1907). Neu Mecklenburg (Bismarck-Archipel) – Die Küste von Umuddu bis Kap St. Georg –Forschungsergebnisse bei den Vermessungsfahrten von S.M.S. Möwe im Jahre 1904. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag

Zorc, R.D.P. (1994). Austronesian culture history through reconstructed vocabulary (an overview). In: Pawley, A. & Ross, M. (eds). Austronesian terminologies: community and change. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics