Lengo language

Lengo has 6 vowels.[3]

Vowel sequences occur commonly for all combinations of these vowels, with the exception of /uo/. The front open-mid vowel /ɛ/ never occurs in sequence.

Lengo has 15 consonants.[4]

Voiced stops are prenasalized. Two instances of regional variation in these phonemes have been observed. These are /v/ becoming /β/, and /ð/ becoming /z/.

Lengo has five sets of pronominal forms. These are emphatic, subject reference, object, direct possessor, and indirect possessor. These distinguish maximally between four persons (first person inclusive and exclusive, second, and third person), and four numbers (singular, plural, dual, and paucal). There is no grammatical gender distinction, but there is an animacy distinction in the object paradigm. Two further uses of these pronominal forms occur - a reflexive pronoun, and a set of interrogative pronouns.[5]

The dual and paucal forms are derived from the plural forms by the addition of ko- and tu- respectively. The dual forms are used only to indicate 'two and only two', whilst the plural and paucal forms mean 'two or more' and 'three or more' respectively. First person exclusive excludes the addresse(s).

The emphatic pronoun in Lengo is optional, and can occur in combination with obligatory pronouns that may occur with subject or object function. It can also appear without other pronouns. It is used to emphasize the semantic role of a noun in a clause.[6]

Examples:

(1)	ara	gito-a	t-i	m-ara	lavi	dea-a	na	kei-gu	inau
	3PL	steal-o:3SG	RL-LOC	CONJ-3PL	take	go-o:3SG	ART	basket-PS:1SG	EP:1SG
	"They stole it and they took it away my basket - mine."[7]

(2)	ara-ko	gara	iti-a	na	thinaghe	i-ko-ira	m-u	ghe	tapa	inau
	3PL-DU	pull	up-o:3SG	ART	canoe	DU.EP:3PL	CONJ-1SG	continue	run	EP:1SG
	"they two pulled up the canoe and I continued to run."[8]

The subject reference pronoun appears as the first element in a verb phrase. It is obligatory in any main clause, but can be excepted in subordinate clauses. It is optional in imperative sentences.[9]

Example:

(3)	i-ko-ghami	a P.	ami-ko	dea	i	nughu.
	DU:EP:1EX.PL	ART P.	1EX.PL-DU	go	LOC	river
	"We two, P. and I, we two went to the river."[10]

The object form in Lengo is identified using a set of pronominal suffixes, which index the object arguments on the verb. In instances where a verb takes both a direct and indirect object, only the indirect object is marked. The third person plural object form is marked for animate or inanimate objects.[11]

Example:

(4)	ara	pitu-u
	3PL	wait-o:1SG
	"They await me."[11]

The direct possessor form is used for inalienably possessed nouns. It is a suffix on the possessed noun that indicates the possessor. In the case of the dual and paucal forms, number is indicated as a prefix on the noun, and the plural form of the possessive suffix is used.[12]

The third person singular direct possessor appears in two forms, with '-a' being more prevalent than '-na'.[13]

Examples:

(5)	na	vae-gu
	ART	house-PS:1SG
	"My house."[12]

(6)	A	ko-dae-mami	e	belo
	ART	DU-child-PL:1EX.PL	3SG	ring.bell
	"our two's child is ringing the bell."[14]

The indirect possessor form is used for alienably possessed nouns. It occurs as a free morpheme preceding the possessed noun. There are two categories distinguished - 'oral consumable' and 'general'. The oral consumable category includes items that are able to be eaten, drunk, or consumed via the mouth, such as tobacco.[12]

Oral consumable form:

(7)	gha-mu-a	na	vudi	lepa
	oral.CLF-PS:2SG-O:3SG	ART	banana	ripe
	"[Here is a] ripe banana for you to eat."[15]

General form:

(8)	ne	na	be	O.
	PS:3SG	ART	pig	O
	"O's pig."[16]

A reflexive pronoun is composed when a direct possessor suffix is added to the stem 'tibo'. This results in a valency decrease of the verb.[15]

Examples:

(9)	u toka	tibo-gu.
	1SG cut	REFL-PS:1SG
	"I cut myself."[17]

(10)	u toka	na	ghai
	1SG cut	ART	tree
	"I cut the tree."

Lengo has two pronouns that have interrogative or relative uses. 'thi' is used if the reference is human, and 'tha' if the reference is non-human.[17]

Relative use:

(11)

na

tinoni

ketha

a thi

ga

deni

ba

k-e

mai

lau-a

pile-a

na

vanga

de

ART

person

different

ART REL

there

DEM

FUT

IRR-3SG

come

take-o:3SG

little.bit-o:3SG

ART

food

DEM

"a different person who is over there will come take a bit of this food."[17]

Interrogative use:

(12)	na	tha	t-o	goni-a?
	ART	INT	RL-3SG	do-o:3SG
	"What are you doing?"[18]

The grammatical negator, the mo ... mo 'NEG ... NEG' structure, is the only instance of a 'discontinuous' morpheme in Lengo. The morpheme mo appears both before and after the verb being negated.[19] The basic structure of this construction is mo V mo, as seen in (13) and (14):

(13)	Mo	ole	mo.
	NEG	walk	NEG
	'Don't walk.'[20]

(14)	Mo	thaghata	leo	mo.
	NEG	bad	inside	NEG
	'Don't worry.'[20]

A variant of this construction is mo ... moa, as seen in (15).

(15)	ko	mo	lubathia	moa	pe	dea
	2SG	NEG	let.3SG	NEG	or.3SG	go
	'Don't let it out (release it) or it will run away.'[21]

Note that although all examples presented by Unger show mo ... mo 'NEG ... NEG' used for a negative imperative, it should not be assumed that this construction is exclusive to a particular sentence structure. More examples are needed for a satisfactory conclusion.

Regardless, mo ... mo is an uncommon negator in Lengo. Much more frequently used is the modal teigha 'NEG'.

Lengo has a 'serial verb construction'. The various types of serial verb construction identified are directional, sequential, causative, manner, ambient, comitative, dative, instrumental and modal.[22] The basic structure of a modal serial verb construction is as follows:

V + na V(-O)[22]

The first verb is the modal verb, and the second verb follows an article (always na). This second verb is treated somewhat like an infinitive.[23] Lengo has five modal verbs; of these, three are used to create negative constructions. These three are:[24]

Of all the ways to express negation in Lengo, the modal teigha 'NEG' is the most versatile and often used.[25] It can be used to negate verbs in statements, like in (16):

(16)	ami-ko	teigha	na	ta~tavu	thai-a	na	kei
	1EX.PL-DU	NEG	ART	RDP~find	'arrive.at'-o:3SG	ART	basket
	'we couldn't find the basket'[25]

In (17) and (18), teigha appears at the very beginning of the serial verb construction, and the realis locative t-i appears between the negator and the article na. The entire serial verb construction is negated by teigha.

(17)	Ba	k-u	teigha	t-i	na	mono	varongo	i	vanua.
	FUT	IRR-1SG	NEG	RL-LOC	ART	stay	quiet	LOC	village
	'I really won't be sitting around in the village.'[26]

(18)	E	teigha	t-i	na	mono	varongo!
	3SG	NEG	RL-LOC	ART	stay	quiet
	'He simply cannot be still!'[25]

Sometimes the construction teigha na undergoes elision and is shortened to tena, like in (19):

(19)	"gami	tena		agri	ighami,"	gi	gea	ena
	g-ami	teigha	na	agri	ighami	g-i	gea	ena
	PFCT-1EX.PL	NEG	ART	agree	EP:1EX.PL	PFCT-LOC	EP:3SG	3SG:stay
	'"we don't agree," they said'[25]

It is important to note that this shortened form tena 'NEG' should not be confused with tena 'LOC'. Refer to example (20), which shows both homophones in use: the first being the locative and the second (bolded) being the combined modal and article.

(20)

tangomana

tugua

tena

bona

deni.

E.

tena

tuaghai.

Geia

po.

Taigu.

tangomana

tugu-a

tena

bona

deni

e

teigha

na

tuaghai

geia

po

taigu

possible

story-o:3SG

LOC

time

DEM

3SG

NEG

ART

long

EP:3SG

LIM

thank.you

'That just the story I am able to tell at this time. It's not long. That's it. Thank you.'[27]

Teigha is flexible and can be used to create negative polar questions and answer polar questions, as in examples (21), (22) and (23).

Example (21) is a negative polar question which can be answered with either eo 'yes' or teigha 'no'. Answering with eo would mean 'yes, I have not seen your basket', whereas answering with teigha would mean 'no, I have seen it'.[28]

In example (22), teigha is used to answer a polar question in the negative. In (23), teigha is modified by an adverbial, vata 'continue'.

(21)	o	teigha	na	bere	na	kei-gu?
	2SG	NEG	ART	see	ART	basket-PS:1SG
	'you haven't seen my basket?'[28]

(22)	O	bo	dea	i	leghai?	Teigha.
	2SG	IMPF	go	LOC	garden	NEG
	'Are you going to the garden?'					'No.'[29]

(23)	A	P.	t-e	mai?	Teigha	vata.
	ART	P	RL-3SG	come	NEG	continue
	'Has P. come?'				'Not yet.'[30]

In (24), o teigha 'or NEG' is added to the end of the sentence to create an alternative question.

(24)	Ba	k-o	dea	o	teigha?
	FUT	IRR-2SG	go	or	NEG
	'Are you going or not?'[29]

A content question can also be answered with teigha, as in (25).

(25)	E	ngitha	na	igha	t-o	lavi?	Teigha.
	3SG	how.many	ART	fish	RL-2SG	take	NEG
	'How many fish did you catch?'						'None.'[29]

The word tabu 'prohibitive (with consequences); forbidden' is another common way of forming a negative. It is often used by parents who are correcting their children.[30] As with teigha 'no/none', a clause could consist of the single word Tabu! 'Don't!'[31] The basic structure is the same as with other modals: the first verb is the modal, and it is followed by the article na and the second verb.

In (26), the consequence of disobeying is explicitly addressed. In (27), the article na is omitted, and the consequence of 'or else ...' is implied.

(26)	Tabu	na	lavi-a	na	ghau:	b-e	ghado-gho
	NEG	ART	grab-o:3SG	ART	knife	APPR-3SG	pierce-o:2SG
	'Don't grab the knife: no good it cuts you!'[30]

(27)	Tabu	le~leu!
	NEG	RDP~fight
	'Don't fight!'[32]

The third and last negative modal is kou 'unwilling', which is used to indicate non-volition. It appears in the same place as teigha and tabu, but carries a more specific meaning.

In example (28), if the more general teigha 'NEG' had been used instead of kou, it would simply mean that the fish do not eat the bait. However, in (28), the fish not only do not eat the bait, but they will not.[32]

Example (29) has the words laka 'also' and t-i 'RL-LOC' in between the negator and the article na.

(28)	Kou	na	vanga	na	igha.
	NEG	ART	eat	ART	fish
	'The fish are unwilling to eat [the bait].'[32]

(29)

Ma

na

tha

laka

e

kou

laka

t-i

na

lighu-ni-a

ghini-a

igha

deni

m-e

ghe

laka

po

t-i

tena

maone.

CONJ

ART

REL

also

3SG

NEG

also

RL-LOC

ART

pass-TR-o:3SG

INST-o:3SG

fish

DEM

CONJ-3SG

continue

also

LIM

RL-LOC

LOC

sand

'And what's more, he [the fish] was unwilling to be passed by him [the turtle] so this fish also just continued onto the sand.'[32]

In Lengo, tense auxiliaries appear before the subject reference pronoun and verb. There are two tense auxiliaries: bo 'FUT' and boro 'impossible FUT'. While boro is perhaps not a straightforward example of negation, it nevertheless does carry a meaning of 'negation for a reason'. If tabu is specifically prohibitive and kou is specifically non-volitive, then boro can be presented as a negator denoting impossibility. Furthermore, it is sometimes glossed as NEG, as in (30):

(30)

Boro

k-e

ghe

dea

tena

group

sakai,

boro

tena

group

ruka,

ba

k-e

masi

ba

oli

ba

tena

nimiu

na

thara

tibo-miu

t-i

ighamu

na

K.

NEG

IRR-3SG

continue

go

LOC

group

one

NEG

LOC

group

two

FUT

IRR-3SG

must

FUT

return

FUT

LOC

PS:2PL

ART

feast.row

REFL-PS:2PL

RL-LOC

EP:2PL

ART

K

'It cannot go to group one, it cannot go to group two; it must return to your feast row—yourselves [group] K.'[33]

Example (31) shows boro glossed as 'impossible'. However, it still has the effect of negating the verb.

(31)	pukua	na	thara	deni	boro	k-a	tovothi	thudu
	because	ART	feast	DEM	impossible	IRR-1IN.PL	separate	sit
	'because at this feast it will be impossible for us to sit separate'[34]

The modal teigha 'NEG can be combined with the mo ... mo 'NEG ... NEG' structure to create a double negative, which carries the meaning of a strong affirmative, as in (32). However, this construction (meaning 'must') is rarely used. Instead, the Pijin form masi 'must', a borrowing from English, is much more common.[20]

Example (33) shows the same sentence as (32), but without either of the negation structures. This example is a simple imperative.

(32)	k-o	mo	ghe	teigha	mo	na	mai
	IRR-2SG	NEG	continue	NEG	NEG	ART	come
	'you must come' (lit., 'you must not not continue to come')[20]

(33)	k-o	ghe	mai
	IRR-2SG	continue	come
	'you, continue coming'[35]