North Moluccan Malay
| North Moluccan Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Pasar | |
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | North Maluku |
Native speakers | 700,000 (2001)[1] |
|
Malay Creole
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
max |
| Glottolog |
nort2828[2] |
North Moluccan Malay (also known as Ternate Malay) is a Malay-based creole language spoken in Ternate, Tidore and Halmahera islands, North Maluku for intergroup communications, and in the Sula Islands. The local name of the language is Bahasa Pasar, and the name Ternate Malay is also used, after the main ethnic group speaking the language. Since North Moluccan Malay is used only for spoken communication, there is no standard orthography.
While this creole resembles both Manado Malay and Papuan Malay, it differs significantly in lexicon and syntax. A large percentage of its vocabulary is borrowed from Ternatean, such as, ngana "you (sg.)", ngoni "you (pl.)", bifi "ant" and ciri "to fall".
Phonology
Vowels
The vowel system of North Moluccan Malay consists of five vowel phonemes and five diphthongs.[3]:15
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Low | a |
The five diphthongs are /ai/, /ae/, /ao/, /oi/ and /ei/.[3]:15
Consonants
North Moluccan Malay has eighteen consonants and two semivowels.[3]:19
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Plosive | p b | t d | c ɟ | k ɡ | ʔ |
| Fricative | f | s | h | ||
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j |
Grammar
Possession
In Ternate Malay, words do not align its forms with its grammatical roles; therefore, the functions of words are often determined by linguistic context and non-linguistic situation. In this case, possessions are often used as a tool to determine the borders of constituents for the sake of successful interpretation of word meanings and functions. (Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 41) [3]
Generally, words in Ternate Malay are often constructed in head-initial structure, except from the two possessive constructions – Y pe X constructions and YX constructions, where words are constructed in head-final structure. (Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 59) [3]
Y pe X constructions
In the Y pe X construction, the Y element refers to the modifier (possessor) while the X element refers to the head (possessum). The possessor and possessum are connected by pe, in which the possessum expresses de facto a nominal meaning. In English, the Y pe X constructions gives the meaning of ‘Y’s X’ and ‘the X or Y’. (Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 59) [3]
According to Litamahuputty (2012, pp. 92),[3] Y pe X construction can express different meanings ranging from possession in animate subjects and inanimate subjects to non-possessive meanings. The examples below are extracted from Litamahuputty (2012, pp. 92–98) [3] to illustrate situations when Y pe X construction is used to express possessions.
Non-human relationships
X is part of Y
In example (1), tong pe kaki is a possessive construction where the possessor tong ‘the first person plural – our’ is connected to the possessum kaki ‘leg’ using pe. Together, the construction gives the meaning of ‘our leg’, in which the leg is a part of ‘our’ body, demonstrating the relationship of ‘X is part of Y’
Example (1):
ka sana, de poloso tong pe kaki.
to there 3SG squeeze 1PL POSS leg
when we go there, she massages our legs
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 3) [3]
X is a product of Y
In example (2), ular pe bias is a possessive construction where the possessor ular ‘snake’ is connected to the possessum bias ‘venom’ using pe. Together, the construction means ‘the snake’s venom’, in which the venom is produced by the snake, demonstrating the relationship of ‘X is a product of Y’.
Example (2):
baru de buka ular pe bisa…
then 3SG open snake POSS poison
then he takes out the snake’s venom
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 94) [3]
X is a feature of Y
In example (3), motor pe warna is a possessive construction where the possessor motor ‘motorcycle’ is connected to the possessum warna ‘colour’ using pe. Together, the construction gives the meaning of ‘the colour of the motorcycle’, in which the colour is one of the features (such as shape, model, engine…etc.) of the motorcycle, demonstrating the relationship of ‘X is a feature of Y’.
Example (3):
motor pe warna deng dia sama.
motorcycle POSS colour and 3SG same
the colour of the motorcycle and him are the same.
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 95) [3]
Human relationships
Social relationship
In example (4), bank pe bini is a possessive construction where the possessor bank ‘bank employee’ is connected to the possessum bini ‘wife’ using pe. Together, the construction brings the meaning of ‘the bank employees’ wives’, which expresses the social relationship between the humane animates.
Example (4):
kalo dong lia ibu-ibu bank ka...
when 3PL see RED-mother bank or
when they see bank employees or
-
bank pe bini, orang-orang di bank,
bank POSS wife RED-person in bank
the wives of bank employees, employees at the bank,
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 95) [3]
Kinship relationship
In example (5), Fadin de kaka is a possessive construction where the possessor Fadin (a proper noun) is connected to the possessum kaka ‘older sibling’. Together, the construction gives the meaning of ‘Fadin’s older brother’, which expresses the kinship relationship between the two humane animates.
Example (5):
Fadin pe kaka ni.
Fadin POSS older.sibling this
he’s Fadin’s older brother
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 93) [3]
Time relationships
Future relationship
Example (6) is about a story of how the speaker accidentally spilled hot oil on himself.
In the possessive construction de pe beso, the possessor de ‘third person singular’ refers to the day of incident, where the possessum beso ‘tomorrow’ refers to the day after the incident. Future time relationship is shown between the day of incident and the day after the incident.
Example (6):
eh, de pe beso kita kage nae.
EXCL 3SG POSS tomorrow 1SG startled go.up
gee, the next morning I woke up in a shock.
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 97) [3]
Past relationship
Example (7) is about the journey of the speaker and his friends in an island where he heard a strange voice.
In the possessive construction de pe kalamareng malang, the possessor de ‘third person singular’ refers to the moment when the speaker was talking, where the possessum kalamareng malang ‘yesterday night’ refers to the night before that moment, demonstrating past time relationship between the time when the speaker heard strange voice and the time he talked.
Example (7):
baru de pe kalamareng malang tu
moreover 3SG POSS yesterday night that
moreover, last night
-
kita ada dengar orang pe suara.
1SG exist hear person POSS voice
I heard someone’s voice
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 97) [3]
Human Quality
Quality
In Example (8), de pe bae is a possessive expression where the possessor de ‘third person singular – his’ is connected to the possesum bae ‘kindness’ with pe. The expression has the meaning of ‘his kindness’, demonstrating a quality of the humane subject.
This relationship is similar to X is a feature of Y which was demonstrated earlier, where example (8) refers to an animate and example (3) refers to an inanimate.
Example (8):
kita inga de pe bae skali.
1SG remember 3SG POSS good very
I always remember his kindness.
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 98) [3]
From the above examples, it can be seen that wide ranges of possessions, including possessions in human, animals, objects or even abstract items like time, can be demonstrated from the Y pe X constructions.
As mentioned earlier, word functions in Ternate Malay are often determined from contexts rather than word forms. Therefore, not all Y pe X constructions show possessive meanings. The examples below demonstrate situations where Y pe X construction is used to express meanings other than possession, for example, to express evaluative meanings or additional information: (Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 99–102)[3]
When the possessum (X) denotes a quality with exclamative markers, it has an evaluative meaning rather than a possessive meaning.
In example (9), the Y element in the Y pe X construction ‘ngana pe capat’ is ngana, which refers to ‘second person singular’; and the X element is capa’, which refers to ‘fast’.
Since the sentence is expressed in exclamative intonations, which can be shown from the exclamation mark used at the end of the sentence and the use of ih (the exclamative expression), the construction has the evaluative meaning of ‘how fast you are!’ rather than a possessive meaning of referring the ‘quality of fastness’ to the subject.
Example (9):
ih, Anwar, ngana pe capat!
EXCL Anwar 2SG POSS fast
gee, Anwar, you’re fast!
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 99) [3]
When the possessum (X) denotes an action or activity, it supplies additional information to the action or activity rather than showing possessions.
In example (10), the Y element in the Y pe X construction ‘paitua pe cuci balangang’ is paitua, which refers to ‘old man’; and the X element is cuci balangan, which refers to ‘to wash a wok’.
The example provided extra information on what surprised the speaker rather than showing possession between the old man and his way of washing a wok.
Example (10):
paitua pe cuci balangang kita herang.
old.man POSS wash wok 1SG surprised
the way he washed the wok surprised me.
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 100) [3]
YX constructions
In the YX construction, the Y element refers to the modifier (possessor), which is often a personal pronoun or a kinship term; and the X element refers to the head (possessum), which is often a thing word. The construction also has a meaning of ‘Y’s X’ and ‘the X or Y’ in English. (Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 102)[3] The examples below are extracted from Litamahuputty (2012, pp. 103–104),[3] which demonstrated the use of element Y as a personal pronoun and kinship term in YX constructions:
Possessor Y as a personal pronoun
Example (11) has demonstrated the use of YX construction with element Y as a personal pronoun, where the possessor dong refers to ‘third person plural’ and the possessum parau refers to ‘boat’. Together, it has the meaning of ‘their boat’ .
Example (11):
ikang bawa dong parau.
fish bring 3PL boat
a fish is pulling their boat
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 104) [3]
Possessor Y as a kinship term
Example (12) has demonstrated the use of YX construction with element Y as a kinship term, where the possessor tete refers to grandfather and the possessum papa refers to father. Together, the expression has the meaning of ‘the grandfather’s father’, demonstrating the kinship relationship.
Example (12):
tete papa orang Ternate.
grandfather father person Ternate
my grandfather’s father is a person from Ternate.
(Litamahuputty, 2012, pp. 103) [3]
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in North Moluccan Malay only distinguish between person (first, second and third person) and number (singular and plural). Some pronouns can also be used to show respect to other speakers.[3]:142
| Person | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Shortened | Full | Shortened | |
| 1 | kita saya (respectful) | - | (ki)torang | tong |
| 2 | ngana | - | ngoni | - |
| 3 | dia | de | dorang | dong |
Politeness
The use of the first person singular pronouns kita and saya is dependent on the speech situation. Kita is used when talking to others of the same or lower age, rank or status. On the other hand, saya is used in more formal situations or when conversing with someone with a higher rank or status, to show respect to the other person.[3]:143
The second person singular and plural pronouns, ngana and ngoni also share a similar distinction. Ngana is used to refer to an addressee if they of the same or lower age, rank or status. Otherwise speakers may use personal names or kinship terms to refer to the addressee.[3]:144 Alternatively, the plural second person pronoun ngoni can occasionally be used to refer to a single addressee respectfully, although it is typically reserved for addressing a group of people.[3]:147
These distinctions are demonstrated in example (1) where the speaker telling his friends of a situation where he explains to a woman that he does not want to accept money for helping to carry her shopping onto the bus. Since he is talking to his friends he refers to himself as kita, but because he is not familiar with the woman he uses the more respectful saya to refer to himself and ngoni to address her.
(1) kita bilang, "Ibu... saya bantu saja pa ngoni." 1SG say mother 1SG assist only to 2 "I said: 'Madam, I'm only helping you.'"[3]:143
Full and shortened forms
For pronouns with a full and shortened form, the two forms may be used interchangeably in most contexts. However, following the conjunction deng or prepositions (such as di, ka, dari or pa) only the full form may be used.[3]:142 This is seen in example (2) where the short form de is used except following the preposition pa, where the full forms dia and torang appear instead:
(2) tikus ini, kalo manakal pa dia, de manakal pa torang. mouse this when be.naughty to 3SG 3SG be.naughty to 1PL "this mouse, if we harm it, it will harm us"[3]:145
In addition, the shortened forms do not appear post-verbally (i.e. after predicates).[3]:144–147 Hence in the following example tong cannot appear after the verb bunu "kill", only the full form torang is allowed:
(3) iblis tara mungkin bunu torang devil NEG possible kill 1PL "it's impossible for a devil to kill us"[3]:146
It should be noted that the full form of the first person plural pronoun torang is actually a shortening of kitorang which is sometimes used by older speakers however younger speakers rarely use this form.[3]:145
The only exceptions to the two restrictions mentioned above is when the pronoun is part of a Y pe X possessive construction in which case the shortened form may be used as the possessor Y.[3]:142 Example (4) shows a possessive Y pe X construction containing the first person plural short form pronoun dong occurring after a preposition pa:
(4) tong brenti pas pa dong pe muka. 1PL stop exact to 3PL POSS face "we stopped precisely in front of them."[3]:148
Similarly, example (5) shows the third person singular short form pronoun de occurring after the verb iko "follow" also as part of a Y pe X possessive construction. This contrasts with the use of the full form dia after the second instance of iko, where the pronoun is no longer part of a possessive construction:
(5) de pe lalar iko de pe luka, bukang iko dia. 3SG POSS fly follow 3SG POSS wound NEG follow 3SG "the flies are following his wounds, they are not following him."[3]:145
References
- ↑ North Moluccan Malay at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "North Moluccan Malay". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Litamahuputty, Bathseba Helena Johanna (2012). Ternate Malay: Grammar and Texts. Utrecht: LOT. ISBN 978-94-6093-088-1.
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