Western Pantar language
Encyclopedia
Western Pantar is a Papuan language spoken in the western part of Pantar island in the Alor archipelago
of Indonesia
. Western Pantar is spoken widely in the region by about 10,000 speakers.
Dialect differences are primarily lexical:
The glottal fricative /h/ is very lightly articulated. It occurs in both word-initial and word-medial positions. Words which begin with a glottal fricative can be difficult to distinguish from vowel-initial forms, which actually begin with a glottal stop.
Consonants /p t k b d ɡ s m n l/ contrast in length with longer (geminate) counterparts (written double).
and Pantar
comprise the Alor–Pantar language family. This family is often itself included within the Timor–Alor–Pantar family, a larger grouping which includes some (though perhaps not all) of the non-Austronesian languages of Timor
Island.
The TAP group is clearly Papuan
(i.e., non-Austronesian]], but just how it is related to the 20 or so families which fall under the rubric Papuan is unclear. Located some 1000 km from their nearest Papuan neighbor on the New Guinea mainland, the TAP family is the most distant Papuan outlier. In contrast, the other well-known outlier, the North Halmaheran subgroup of the West Papuan family, lies a mere 300 km from its nearest Papuan neighbor, and its genetic affiliation is well established.
Based on an examination of possessive prefixes, Capell (1944) originally postulated that the TAP languages were related to the West Papuan Phylum languages of North Maluku and the Bird's Head of New Guinea. This hypothesis was later countered by Wurm et al. (1975), who classified these languages as members of the putative Trans–New Guinea Phylum. However, the authors offered little evidence for this classification and remained somewhat doubtful, noting, "whichever way they [the Timor–Alor–Pantar languages] are classified, they contain strong substratum elements of the other … phyla involved" (Wurm et al. 1975:318). Indeed, substratum may play an important role in understanding the history of TAP languages. Ross (2005) assigns TAP to his West Trans–New Guinea linkage, a subgroup of Trans–New Guinea. The evidence for this relies entirely on pronominal shapes, and yet there is significant variation in pronoun shapes in this linkage. TAP languages share some innovations/retentions with some members of the linkage, and other innovations/retentions with yet other different members of the linkage. For example, TAP languages retain *na as a reflex of pTNG first person singular *na, whereas several other members of the linkage show metathesis here. This kind of variation is to be expected, since by a "linkage" Ross means a dialect chain which has diversified in situ via overlapping innovations. More problematic is the correspondence of second and third person pronouns, an issue which is not addressed by Ross. TAP languages show a reversal of pTNG second and third pronouns, as can be seen comparing Ross's pTNG reconstructions with Nedebang pronouns.
Western Pantar pronouns can only be derived from pTNG by a flip-flop in which second person pronouns trade places with third person, a typologically unusual situation. Recent work by Donohue & Schapper (2007) suggests that both Capell and Wurm may be right and that TAP may involve an overlay of both Trans–New Guinea and West Papuan elements. Clearly, much more work is needed in order to unravel the complex linguistic pre-history of the TAP languages. One of the main stumbling blocks to further progress is the lack of adequate primary data from the individual languages.
Alor Archipelago
The Alor Archipelago is located at the easternmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands.Alor is the largest island in the archipelago which is located at its eastern end. Other islands in the archipelago include Pantar, Kepa, Buaya, Ternate , Pura and Tereweng...
of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Western Pantar is spoken widely in the region by about 10,000 speakers.
Dialects
There are three primary dialects.- Tubbe (spoken in PuntaruPuntaruPuntaru is a village on Pantar Island in the Alor Regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Puntaru has a population of approximately 600 and is the administrative seat of Desa Tude...
and Air Panas) - Mauta (spoken in Kakamauta, Alimakke, Lauki, Kapas, Kolihabbang, and Alikallang)
- Lamma (spoken in Kalondama and Latuna)
Dialect differences are primarily lexical:
| Tubbe | Mauta | Lamma | |
|---|---|---|---|
| niar | nisser | niba | ‘my father’ |
| niaku | nebu | nekul | ‘my younger sibling’ |
| niu | niau | nau | ‘my mother’ |
| ganiaka | ganeka(r) | ginaka | ‘see (it)’ |
| dia | si | yel | ‘go’ |
Sound System
The Western Pantar consonant inventory includes: voiced and voiceless stops /p t k ’/ and /b d g/; voiceless fricatives /s h/; nasals /n m ng/; trill /r/ and lateral /l/; and glides/w/ and /y/.| labial | alveolar | velar | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| plosive | p | t | k | ' |
| b | d | g | ||
| fricative | s | h | ||
| nasal | m | n | ng | |
| liquid | r | |||
| l | ||||
| approximant | w | y | ||
The glottal fricative /h/ is very lightly articulated. It occurs in both word-initial and word-medial positions. Words which begin with a glottal fricative can be difficult to distinguish from vowel-initial forms, which actually begin with a glottal stop.
| ai ‘clothing louse’ | hai ‘boat’ |
| ar ‘root’ | har ‘for you’ |
| abbang ‘shake’ | habbang ‘village’ |
Consonants /p t k b d ɡ s m n l/ contrast in length with longer (geminate) counterparts (written double).
| duba ‘slippery’ | dubba ‘push’ |
| dake ‘now’ | dakke ‘dry pandanus’ |
| dala ‘ripe’ | dalla ‘tomorrow’ |
| asi ‘roof thatch’ | assi ‘bite you’ |
| wenang ‘old man’ | wannang ‘near’ |
Numbers
- anuku 'one' Media:WP one.ogg
- alaku 'two' Media:WP two.ogg
- atiga 'three' Media:WP three.ogg
- atu 'four'
- yasing 'five'
- hisnakkung 'six'
- betalaku 'seven'
- betiga 'eight'
- anuktannang 'nine'
- keanuku 'ten'
- keanuku wali ye 'eleven'
- keanuku wali alaku 'twelve'
- kealaku 'twenty'
Classification
Western Pantar and the other non-Austronesian languages of AlorAlor
Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago located at the eastern-most end of the Lesser Sunda Islands that runs through southern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores....
and Pantar
Pantar
Pantar is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 km away,...
comprise the Alor–Pantar language family. This family is often itself included within the Timor–Alor–Pantar family, a larger grouping which includes some (though perhaps not all) of the non-Austronesian languages of Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
Island.
The TAP group is clearly Papuan
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. The term does not presuppose a genetic relationship. The concept of Papuan peoples as distinct from Melanesians was first suggested and named by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1892.-The...
(i.e., non-Austronesian]], but just how it is related to the 20 or so families which fall under the rubric Papuan is unclear. Located some 1000 km from their nearest Papuan neighbor on the New Guinea mainland, the TAP family is the most distant Papuan outlier. In contrast, the other well-known outlier, the North Halmaheran subgroup of the West Papuan family, lies a mere 300 km from its nearest Papuan neighbor, and its genetic affiliation is well established.
Based on an examination of possessive prefixes, Capell (1944) originally postulated that the TAP languages were related to the West Papuan Phylum languages of North Maluku and the Bird's Head of New Guinea. This hypothesis was later countered by Wurm et al. (1975), who classified these languages as members of the putative Trans–New Guinea Phylum. However, the authors offered little evidence for this classification and remained somewhat doubtful, noting, "whichever way they [the Timor–Alor–Pantar languages] are classified, they contain strong substratum elements of the other … phyla involved" (Wurm et al. 1975:318). Indeed, substratum may play an important role in understanding the history of TAP languages. Ross (2005) assigns TAP to his West Trans–New Guinea linkage, a subgroup of Trans–New Guinea. The evidence for this relies entirely on pronominal shapes, and yet there is significant variation in pronoun shapes in this linkage. TAP languages share some innovations/retentions with some members of the linkage, and other innovations/retentions with yet other different members of the linkage. For example, TAP languages retain *na as a reflex of pTNG first person singular *na, whereas several other members of the linkage show metathesis here. This kind of variation is to be expected, since by a "linkage" Ross means a dialect chain which has diversified in situ via overlapping innovations. More problematic is the correspondence of second and third person pronouns, an issue which is not addressed by Ross. TAP languages show a reversal of pTNG second and third pronouns, as can be seen comparing Ross's pTNG reconstructions with Nedebang pronouns.
| pTNG | W Pantar | |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG | *na | nang |
| 2SG | *ŋga | haŋ |
| 3SG | *(ya) | gaŋ |
Western Pantar pronouns can only be derived from pTNG by a flip-flop in which second person pronouns trade places with third person, a typologically unusual situation. Recent work by Donohue & Schapper (2007) suggests that both Capell and Wurm may be right and that TAP may involve an overlay of both Trans–New Guinea and West Papuan elements. Clearly, much more work is needed in order to unravel the complex linguistic pre-history of the TAP languages. One of the main stumbling blocks to further progress is the lack of adequate primary data from the individual languages.
External links
- Western Pantar language at University of Alaska FairbanksUniversity of Alaska FairbanksThe University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
- Languages of Alor and Pantar at Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...