Nii (Nii, other names - Ek Nii) - the language of Papua New Guinea , refers to the trans-Guinean macrofamily (the largest among the Papuan). About 12 thousand people speak the language in the Hagen area of the Western Highlands province.
| Nii | |
|---|---|
| Self name | Nii / Ek Nii |
| Countries | Papua New Guinea |
| Total number of speakers | 12000 |
| Classification | |
| Category | Languages Oceania |
Papuan languages
| |
| Writing | latin |
| Language Codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | - |
| ISO 639-2 | - |
| ISO 639-3 | nii |
| Ethnologue | |
| IETF | |
| Glottolog | |
Content
- 1 Genealogical and areal information
- 2 Sociolinguistic information
- 3 Typological characteristics
- 3.1 Type of expression of grammatical meanings and nature of the boundary between morphemes
- 3.2 Type of labeling in noun phrase and in predication
- 3.3 Basic word order
- 3.4 Type of role coding
- 4 Phonetics and phonology
- 4.1 Vowels
- 4.2 Diphthongs
- 4.3 Consonants
- 4.4 Prosody
- 5 Morphology
- 5.1 Verb
- 5.1.1 I class of verbs
- 5.1.2 class of verbs
- 5.1.3 III class of verbs
- 5.1.4 Class IV Verbs
- 5.1.5 Affixes
- 5.1.6 Inclination
- 5.2 Noun
- 5.3 Pronoun
- 5.4 Adjective
- 5.5 Numeral
- 5.6 Adverb
- 5.1 Verb
- 6 Literature
- 7 References
Genealogical and areal information
The NII language is part of the Chimbu-Vagi family, and the Vagi language group. The closest relatives are the Vagi languages and the Northern Vagi. Native speakers occupy the territory of the Vagi Valley, from the village of Kujip (in the east) to the Tuman River (in the west). The largest settlements: Banz, Kenjamb, Vapi-Eka, Komboy, Kominamb, Daramb and Menjpii.
Sociolinguistic Information
NII speaks about 12,000 people. Mostly carriers live in small villages scattered throughout the Vagi Valley. Most people also speak English.
Typological Characteristics
Type of expression of grammatical meanings and nature of the boundary between morphemes
Nii is a synthetic language of inflectional type. Morphemes are most often characterized by the cumulative expression of several grammatical meanings. The boundaries of morphemes are almost always unambiguous, but in some cases there are elements of partial fusion.
nu-mbui
eat-1SG.FUT
I will eat
po-amin-wa
go-1PL.FUT-HORT
Let's go
Type of marking in a noun phrase and in a predication
- In prediction: vertex marking .
Wu eii kung to-num
Man this pig hit-3SG.PRS
Man hits a pig
- In the nominative group, with case-wise constructions, both vertex and zero markings are presented (depending on the type of noun):
Onum ambɬ-am
Onum daughter-3SG.POSS
Onum's daughter
na ngii
I house
My house
Basic Word Order
The basic word order in a sentence is SOV:
- Eii ngii eiim tek-mba
He house his build-3SG.FUT
He will build his house
- Kung eii aka nu-m
pig this potato eat-3SG.PST
The pig ate this potato
Role Encoding Type
Nii refers to the languages of the nominative type. Sentences with transitive and intransitive verbs are encoded the same way, the main means of distinguishing syntactic roles is word order. In the language of research, a static and active member of a sentence is not opposed.
- Nim wu tu-njii?
You man hit-2SG.FUT
Will you hit a man?
- Wu nim tu-mba
Man you hit-3SG.FUT
Man will hit you
- Wu orpe-ɬum
Man sleep-3SG.FUT
The man will sleep
Phonetics and Phonology
Vowels
The NI vowel system has 6 phonemes:
| Front row | Middle row | Back row | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top lift | i | ɨ | u |
| Medium rise | ɛ | o | |
| Lower rise | ɑ |
Vowels can take any position. An exception is the phonemes i, ɨ, u, which cannot be at the beginning of a word.
Diphthongs
There are 6 diphthongs in the Institute:
ɛi - / ɛi / - “up”
ɛɨ - / ɛɨ / - “he / she / it”
ɑi - / kɑimb / - “sorry”
oi - / oi / - “moon”
oɨ - / oɨ / - “dirt”
ou - / ɑłou / - “wrong”
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labiodent | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hooked | Explosive | p, mb | nd | k, ŋg | |||||
| Affricates | ndz | ||||||||
| Nasal | m | ņ | n | ŋ | |||||
| Fricatives | Fricatives | s | |||||||
| Lateral fricatives | ɬ | ||||||||
| Approximants | Approximants | j | w | ||||||
| Lateral approximants | L | ||||||||
The labialized consonants bʷ, ŋgʷ, tʷ, kʷ, mʷ in front of / i / are interpreted as combinations of consonants and vowels: bu, ŋgu, tu, ku, mu.
Prosodion
In nii stress is free, with the exception of the following cases:
- for verbs consisting of 2 or more syllables, the stress always falls on the last syllable
- if the verb has a negation indicator, secondary stress arises (-)
- if the last syllable of the verb is an indicator of future tense, the main stress falls on it, and the secondary - on the negation indicator
- in all other cases, the main stress falls on the negation index, and the secondary - on the final syllable.
Morphology
Verb
Verbs are divided into 4 groups, according to the affixes that they can attach.
Verb class I
Vowel rotation rules at the core:
| Alternation | Alternation Terms | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| o -> u | Transition from the present to the past and future tenses | no -nd -> nu -r ("I eat" "I ate") |
| o -> w | Alternation occurs if the verb root consists of one vowel o and the following affix begins with a sound ɑ | o -amb -> w amb (“I will come” - “I am ready to come”) |
| o -> ∅ | Alternation occurs when the last sound of the verb root is o, and the next vowel of the affix is ɑ. | to -amb -> t amb (“I'll hit” - “I'm ready to hit”) |
| ɑ -> ɛ | Transition from the present to the past or future tense | ak -nim -> ek -rim (“he digs” - “he digs”) |
| ɛ -> i | Negative suffix | meng -nd -> ming -na-nd (“he carries” - “he does not bear”) |
| ɑ -> i | The presence of a negative suffix. Vowel ɑ not in initial position | ka -nd - ki -na-nd (“I see” - “I do not see”) |
| ɑ -> ɛ | The presence of a negative suffix. Vowel ɑ stands in the initial position | ak -nd - ek -na-nd ("I dig" - "I do not dig") |
Class II Verbs
The alternation of sounds at the core:
| Alternation | Alternation Terms | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| o -> u | Transition from the present to the past or future tense | pol -t - pul -t ("I write" - "I wrote") |
| ɑ -> ɛ | Transition to the future tense or perfect verb | kal -t - kel -s (“I cook” - “I cook”) |
| ɑ -> i | Irrealis | kal -t - kiɬ -iɬamb (“I cook” - “I would cook”) |
| ɬ -> l | Subsequent dental or explosive velar consonant in past / future suffixes, negative suffix | poɬ -∅ - pul -s (“Write!” - “I wrote”) |
| ɬ -> lt | Elapsed time singular | kaɬ -∅ - kal - t um (“Plant!” - “he planted”) |
Grade III Verbs
Class III verbs have only 1 case of alternating vowels in the root:
ɛ changes to i when moving from present tense or imperative forms to past / future tenses.
orpe -∅ - orpi -r (“Sleep!” - “I was sleeping”)
Class IV Verbs
Verbs of class IV are characterized by the following alternations in the root:
- o -> u
Alternation occurs when moving from present tense or imperative forms to past / future tenses.
moɬ -up - mul -mbii (“I stay” - “I will stay”)
- ɬ -> l
Replacing one consonant with another takes place during the transition from the singular to the plural, when ɬ stands in front of the dental or explosive velar consonant in the past / future tense, as well as in the presence of a negative suffix in the verb.
muɬ -um - mul -njung (“he stayed” - “they stayed”)
Affixes
There are 4 types of verbal affixes in the language of the research institute:
- Indicators of negation: join the verb root in the first place. Affixes coincide for verbs I and III, II and IV classes.
- Subjective-temporal affixes: join the verb root in the second place; Express the time as well as the face and number of the subject.
- Affixes expressing the mood of the verb: join after subject-temporal affixes.
- Affixes used for greeting: 2 singular and dual persons, 2 and 3 plural persons, as well as imperative forms join the forms.
Inclination
There are 6 types of mood in nii:
- indicative
tang-ind
pick-1SG.PRS
I choose
- irrealis
- imperative
tuɬ-∅
weave mat-2SG.IMP
Spin the mat!
- Jussive : indirect impulse, more polite form compared to the imperative.
- Gortative : invitation to action; possible only in combination with future tense; indicator of the hortative - suffix -wa-:
no-amb-wa
eat-1SG.FUT-HORT
Let me sing
- assertive : expression of confidence; used when talking, most often when answering a question. Assertive exponent - suffix -iɬa-:
pii-nd-iɬa
know-1SG.PRS-AS
Of course I know!
Noun
Nouns are divided into 3 categories:
1) Inalienable nouns (terms of kinship, body parts)
- kinship terms are characterized by vertex marking in possessive constructions:
ar-nim
father-2SG.POSS
Your father
Possessive affixes:
| Face | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | -nan | -njpiɬ | -njpin |
| 2 | -nim | -njingiɬ | -njing |
| 3 | -m | -njingiɬ | -njing |
- Words denoting body parts are characterized by zero marking:
na kumb
I nose
My nose
nim kumb
you nose
Your nose
2) Intermediate nouns: edible plants and animals, physical conditions, jewelry, etc. In possessive designs have zero marking.
na owu
I dog
My dog
3) Alienable : names of places, names of people, etc.
The number is not expressed with nouns.
Pronoun
In nii, pronouns are divided into 4 groups: personal, indicative , interrogative, and indefinite.
Personal pronouns:
| Face | Units hours | Dual | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incl. | Excl. | Incl. | Excl. | ||
| one | na | siɬip | siɬ | sinim | sin |
| 2 | nim | eɬip | eɬ eɬip | enim | enim |
| 3 | ei | eɬip taɬ | eɬ eɬip | enim pei | enim |
Adjective
Adjectives in NII cannot attach affixes. The expression of an increase in quality intensity occurs by means of reduplication:
Owu kuru
dog white
White dog
awii awii
big big
Very big
kembis kembis
small small
Very small
Numeral
The research institute presents mainly quantitative numerals. The score from 1 to 10 is most often accompanied by the bending of fingers on the hands. Thus, the numbers 1,2.3,4 and 10 are expressed in separate words, from 5 onwards with a combination of words:
| Numeral | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| one | endeim | one |
| 2 | taɬ | two |
| 3 | tekliki | three |
| four | kapiɬ kapiɬ | four |
| 5 | angiɬ orung | "Hand on one side" |
| 6 | angiɬ orung nga endeim | "Hand on one side and one more" |
| 7 | angiɬ orung nga taɬ | “A hand on one side and two more” |
| 8 | engki pemb taɬ mon | “Ten fingers - no two” |
| 9 | engki pemb orung mon | “Ten fingers - one (on the one hand) not” |
| 10 | engki | ten |
| eleven | engki nga aklamb endeim | "Ten and one toe" |
| 12 | engki nga aklamb taɬ | “Ten and two toes” |
| 13 | engki nga aklamb taɬ nga taɬ ei | “Ten and two plus two without one toe” |
| twenty | engki taɬ nga pemb taɬ pip tonum | “Two dozen - fingers and toes” |
| 21 | engki taɬ nga endeim | “Two dozen and one more” |
| thirty | engki tekliki | "Three dozen" |
In sentences and phrases, the numeral usually takes the final position:
owu ping kembis taɬ
dog black small two
Two little black dogs
The original system is actively crowded out by English numerals.
Adverb
Adverbs, like adjectives, cannot add affixes. Strengthening of quality intensity is expressed by means of reduplication:
sikir
quickly
Quickly
sikir sikir
quickly quickly
Very fast
Literature
- STUCKY, Alfred; STUCKY, Dellene // Nii phonology. 1973
- STUCKY, Alfred; STUCKY, Dellene // Ek Nii grammar essentials for translation. 1970
- STUCKY, Alfred; STUCKY, Dellene // Ek Nii sentences and paragraphs. 1970
- STUCKY, Alfred; STUCKY, Dellene // Nii grammar: from morpheme to discourse. 1976
Links
Nii language at Ethnologue. Languages of the World .