Musom is an Austronesian language spoken in the single village of Musom (6°41′01″S 147°06′52″E / 6.683574°S 147.11452°E) in Labuta Rural LLG, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.[2] The other name for Musom is Misatik, given by the older generations because this was the name of the village that the ancestors settled on.[3] Musom is currently an endangered language because native Musom speakers are continuing to marry other language speakers.[3] Musom is also endangered because of its change in grammar and vocabulary due to its bi- and multilingualism.[3] In the Musom village, other languages that Musom speakers may speak are Aribwuang and Duwet.[3] In the Gwabadik village, because of intermarriages other languages that Musom speakers may speak are Nabak and Mesem.[3]
| Musom | |
|---|---|
| Misatik | |
| Region | Markham Valley, New Guinea |
Native speakers | 200 (2000)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | msu |
| Glottolog | muso1238 |
| ELP | Musom |
 Musom is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
| Coordinates: 6°41′01″S 147°06′52″E / 6.683574°S 147.11452°E | |
Phonology
edit| Bilabial | Alveolar | Affricated
Alveolar |
Velar | Glottal | Labio-velar | |
| Stop: Voiceless | p | t | ts | k | ' | kw |
| Voiced | b | d | dz | g | gw | |
| Prenasalised | (nts) | |||||
| Voiceless | ||||||
| Voiced | mb | nd | ndz | ngg | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ng | |||
| Fricatives | s | h | ||||
| Liquid | r | |||||
| Semi-vowel | w |
In Musom, voiceless, voiced and prenasalised voice are the only series of stops when it comes to consonants.[3] For Musom consonants, if there is a prenasalised voice stop, the vowel is then seen after it and is can be as nasal only.[3] Allophones are contained in the prenasalised voiced affricated alveolar stop /ndz/ which occurs initially, medially, and then [nts] occurs finally.[3]
For the consonants, /w, kw, gw/ they do not occur initially, medially and finally, but all other consonants do.[3] Other consonants that do not occur finally are /d, g, ndz/.[3] When the word ends in with a consonant and the next word also begins with a consonant, a prothetic a is put in between the words.[3] For the consonant /r/, it contains two allophones [r] and [l], but only in free variation.[3]
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a | ||
| Diphthongs: ai, ou, au, oi, oai |
When Musom is compared to Yabim, there are claims that infer that Musom may have a 7-vowel system.[3]
Syllable Structure
editMusom language has a syllable structure of (C) V (C) (V) (C).[3]
Morphophonemics
editIn Musom language, if a speaker were to talk fast, /u/ could be heard as [i].[3] Some examples that could be heard are:[3]
- num > [nim] drink
- wutsin . [witsin] inside
If a subject pronoun prefix that contains a vowel, comes before the root that is within a vowel (verb root), the verb root changes according to what came before it.[3] Some examples are:[3]
- mbidi stand up
a-mbidi 1st person subject > u-mbudi 2nd person subject
i-mbidi 3rd person subject
- mbitsi cook on fire
a-mbitsi 1st person subject > u-mbutsi 2nd person subject
i-imbitsi 3rd person subject
Words that contain multiple syllables, those syllables could be dropped or centralized.[3] A vowel turns into schwa [ə] in the unstressed syllable.[3] Here is an example:[3]
- 'apun completive particle > ['apm] ~ ['apəm]
Pronouns
editFocal pronouns are able to be used as subjects and objects of verbs.[3] Prepositions only occur with objects of verbs.[3] Focal pronouns are also found in a possessive phrase.[3] For 1st singular, short form only occurs when wir is switched for u or ur.[3]
| SG | DU | PL | |
| 1 excl. | wir/u/ur | sikin | tse |
| 1 incl. | - | suk | tsir |
| 2 | ingg | som sikin | tsom |
| 3 | in | isikin | is |
Interrogative pronouns can be seen with who and what.[3] In Musom, who and what can be used with two different pronouns.[3] Those two different pronouns are:[3]
- asa "who"
- sira "what"
Some examples of these two pronouns are:[3]
- in asa? Who is he?
Rak anu sira? What is that there?
Asa ngaing gi-its ingg? Who hit you? (lit. Which man hit you?)
Both reflexive and emphatic pronouns both mean Pronoun + self.[3] This table shows the reflexive and emphatic pronouns:[3]
| SG | DU | PL | |
| 1EXC | (o)rong | ro(ng)geng | ro(ng)geng |
| 1INC | - | rons | rons |
| 2 | (i)rom | romem | romem |
| 3 | ron | rons | rons |
Possession
editThe first type of possession in Musom has inalienable nouns.[3] Some examples of these inalienable nouns are kin terms, body parts, name, namesake, friend or trade partner.[3]
| SG | DU | PL | |
| 1EXC | wir/ur a + N-ng(g) | sikin a + N-ng (g) | tse + N-ng(g) |
| 1INC | suk a + N-ng(g) | tsir a + N-ng(g) | |
| 2 | ingg a + N-m | som sikin a + N-m | tsom a + N-m |
| 3 | in a + N-n | isikin a + N-n | is a + N-m |
The second type of possession in Musom is Alienable possession.[3] The second type of possession holds all the nouns that are not in the first type.[3] The possessive phrase can contain noun or pronoun possession, and prothetic a.[3] Then there is a noun that is not attributed to the possessive markers which is the noun possessed.[3] Here are some examples:[3]
- wir a om my house
ingg a mimin your betelnut
in a tahung his smoke
is a kom/kom a is en their dog
Sentence Structure
editCoordination
editIn the Musom language, sentences can be formed by using conjunctions such as da 'and, but' and ma 'or'.[3] One example using da is:[3]
- Tse g-a-k g-a-bitsi ung da g-a-hur
weEXC P-SPP1-go P-SPP1-cook breadfruit and P-SPP1-fish
We cooked breadfruit and fished (for crayfish) in the river.
One example using ma is:[3]
- Ingg ng-u-ak Madang ma ingg ng-u-ak
youSG IRR-SPP2-go Madang or youSG IRR-SPP2-go
You can go to Madang or you can go to Ramu.
Conditional
editThe Musom language when using conditional sentences can be found in the form of:[3]
da + Subject 1 + ng-SPP-V da + Subject 2 bo-ng-SPP-V
An example using a conditional sentence is:[3]
- Da amik ng-i-ruk wir bo-ng-a-bum omb.
and rain IRR-SPP3-fall I FUT-IRR-SPP1-stay village
If it rains I will stay in the village
References
edit- ^ Musom at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Holzknecht, Susanne (1989). The Markham Languages of Papua New Guinea. Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-394-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av Wurm, Stephen A. (1997). Materials on Languages in Danger of Disappearing in the Asia-Pacific Region No. 1. Australia: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 67–102. ISBN 0 85883 467 7.
- Wurm, S.A. editor. Some Endangered Languages of Papua New Guinea: Kaki Ae, Musom, and Aribwatsa. D-89, vi + 183 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1997.