Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Thesis Approval Sheet This thesis, entitled Grammar of ...

395 Pages·2008·2.06 MB·English

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Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics

Thesis Approval Sheet

This thesis, entitled
Grammar of Narrative Discourse in Migabac, a Papuan (non-Austronesian) Language
Written by
Richard Steven McEvoy
And submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
With major in
Applied Linguistics
Has been read and approved
by the undersigned members of the faculty
of the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics.

___________________________________________
Arden G. Sanders (Mentor)

___________________________________________
Paul R. Kroeger

___________________________________________
Shin Ja J. Hwang

___________________________________________
[date signed]
GRAMMAR OF NARRATIVE DISCOURSE IN MIGABAC,
A PAPUAN (NON-AUSTRONESIAN) LANGUAGE
By
Richard Steven McEvoy
Presented to the Faculty of
the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts
with major in
Applied Linguistics
Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics
December 2008
' 2008 Richard Steven McEvoy
All Rights Reserved
THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE

I hereby authorize the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Library to duplicate this
thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship.

Agreed: ___________________________________________
(student signature)

Refused: ___________________________________________
(student signature)
ABSTRACT
GRAMMAR OF NARRATIVE DISCOURSE IN MIGABAC,
A PAPUAN (NON-AUSTRONESIAN) LANGUAGE

Richard Steven McEvoy
Master of Arts
With major in
Applied Linguistics
The Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, December 2008

Supervising Professor: Arden G. Sanders
Migabac is a Papuan (non-Austronesian) language spoken in Morobe Province, Papua
New Guinea, and is grouped in the same Eastern Huon family as the K(cid:226)te language.
Migabac is an SOV clause chaining language with a Switch reference system and
tail-head linkage. This thesis presents a basic grammatical description of Migabac below
the sentence level with phrase and clause structure presented in an X-bar theoretical
framework. Then narrative discourse structure is analyzed based upon the methodologies
developed by Longacre, Dooley, Levinsohn, and Giv(cid:243)n. The plot structure, participant
reference system, Switch reference system, and other features that contribute to text
cohesion are described. The notional and surface structures of interclausal relations are
presented, which includes coordinated, chained, subordinated, and embedded clauses.
Then intersentential relations are presented, which include dialogue. The conclusion
illustrates how the findings contribute to the production of natural translated texts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This thesis would not have happened without the help and encouragement of
many people. The Migabac people welcomed my family and me to share in their lives.
They have been eager to teach us their language and share their stories and lives with us.
Many members of the SIL Papua New Guinea branch encouraged me in my research and
initial efforts to describe the Migabac language.
My committee has been faithful in encouraging and in guiding the process of the
development of this thesis. They all contributed significant time and energy. Arden
Sanders was a superb proof-reader and editor. Shin Ja Hwang provided expert advice to
appropriately apply theory to the analysis. Paul Kroeger affirmed the interesting features
of the langauge and challenged me to explain the details clearly. They all helped to guide
me to further research that aided in the development of this thesis.
My wife, Debbie, faithfully supported me during the work on this project, even
when it meant that she was left to care for all the other responsibilities in our home. Our
four children helped to keep in perspective the important things in life.
The Lord provided the motivation for this project. He is the one who made this
thesis possible and gave me the opportunity and ability to complete it.
[July 31, 2008]
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract...............................................................................................................................v
Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................vi
List of Tables.....................................................................................................................ix
List of Figures....................................................................................................................xi
List of Maps......................................................................................................................xii
List of Abbreviations.......................................................................................................xiii
Chapter 1: Introduction.......................................................................................................1
1.1. Problem statement.......................................................................................1
1.2. Literature review.........................................................................................1
1.3. Methodology...............................................................................................5
1.4. Elements of study......................................................................................17
Chapter 2: The Migabac Language...................................................................................19
2.1. Speakers of Migabac and their socio-political context.............................19
2.2. Phonology.................................................................................................22
2.3. Grammar...................................................................................................30
2.4. Summary...................................................................................................78
Chapter 3: Narrative discourse..........................................................................................79
3.1. Interlinear texts.........................................................................................79
3.2. Plot structure.............................................................................................91
3.3. Participant reference...............................................................................100
3.4. Switch reference......................................................................................130
3.5. Other cohesive devices...........................................................................145
Chapter 4: Interclausal relations.....................................................................................153
4.1. Framework for interclausal relations......................................................153
4.2. Interclausal relations in Migabac............................................................161
4.3. Conclusion..............................................................................................208
Chapter 5: Intersentential relations.................................................................................210
5.1. Framework for intersentential relations..................................................210
5.2. Migabac intersentential relations............................................................213
5.3. Migabac Paragraph structure..................................................................233
Chapter 6: Conclusion- Implications for translation.......................................................239
6.1. Source text..............................................................................................240
6.2. Translated text.........................................................................................243
6.3. Translation solutions...............................................................................246
6.4. Summary of proposed changes...............................................................263
6.5. Conclusion..............................................................................................267
Appendix A: Cassowary story text chart........................................................................269
Appendix B: Flierl interlinear.........................................................................................274
Appendix C: Tobacco interlinear....................................................................................303
vii
Appendix D: Languages interlinear................................................................................308
Appendix E: Trip interlinear...........................................................................................313
Appendix F: Mapoisa interlinear....................................................................................317
Appendix G: Mula interlinear.........................................................................................327
Appendix H: Kpea interlinear.........................................................................................341
Appendix I: Wasika interlinear.......................................................................................356
Appendix J: Kwengeng interlinear.................................................................................366
Works Cited....................................................................................................................378
Vita..................................................................................................................................381

viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Participant reference codes in text charts..................................................11
Table 2. Verbal suffix codes in text charts..............................................................13
Table 3. Consonant phonemes................................................................................23
Table 4. Vowel phonemes.......................................................................................25
Table 5. Syllable Types...........................................................................................26
Table 6. Syllable type distribution..........................................................................26
Table 7. Postpositions.............................................................................................28
Table 8. Possessive agreement suffixes..................................................................28
Table 9. Possessive with locative postposition.......................................................29
Table 10. Orthography chart.....................................................................................30
Table 11. Existential Verbs.......................................................................................33
Table 12. Ditransitive verbs......................................................................................35
Table 13. Object Agreement suffixes.......................................................................35
Table 14. Benefactive Object Agreement suffixes...................................................36
Table 15. Tense suffixes...........................................................................................38
Table 16. Modal suffixes..........................................................................................39
Table 17. Medial switch-reference suffixes..............................................................40
Table 18. Aspect suffixes..........................................................................................40
Table 19. Personal pro-forms & possessive agreement............................................42
Table 20. Interrogative pro-forms.............................................................................42
Table 21. Demonstratives.........................................................................................43
Table 22. Numerals...................................................................................................44
Table 23. Quantifiers.................................................................................................45
Table 24. Conjunctions.............................................................................................45
Table 25. Adverbs.....................................................................................................47
Table 26. Postpositions.............................................................................................48
Table 27. Typical adjectives.....................................................................................49
Table 28. Derivative adjectives.................................................................................50
Table 29. Derived verbs............................................................................................50
Table 30. Derived nouns...........................................................................................51
Table 31. Narrative discourse with surface peaks.....................................................92
Table 32. Migabac narrative discourse with surface peaks......................................99
Table 33. Noun Phrase structures...........................................................................103
Table 34. Subject marker........................................................................................104
Table 35. Linguistic encoding of participants.........................................................106
Table 36. Grammatical roles of referent forms.......................................................108
Table 37. Referential distance.................................................................................110
Table 38. Persistence...............................................................................................111
Table 39. First mention by grammatical role..........................................................112
ix
Table 40. Continuity of participants.......................................................................113
Table 41. Continuity in Migabac texts (RD=1)......................................................114
Table 42. Discontinuity in Migabac texts (RD= 2+)..............................................115
Table 43. First mention by status & form...............................................................117
Table 44. First mention by status & grammatical role............................................118
Table 45. Forms of Subject according to status......................................................119
Table 46. Operations and forms of reference..........................................................122
Table 47. Referential distance of Overt Subjects....................................................123
Table 48. Continuity of Overt Subjects..................................................................124
Table 49. Persistence of Overt Subjects..................................................................124
Table 50. Operations and forms of reference..........................................................126
Table 51. Noun Phrase forms by grammatical role................................................129
Table 52. Noun Phrase forms by status...................................................................129
Table 53. Referential distance for noun phrase forms............................................130
Table 54. Medial verb count...................................................................................131
Table 55. Final verb count......................................................................................132
Table 56. Sentence length.......................................................................................133
Table 57. Switch reference Subject tracking consistency.......................................135
Table 58. Longacre(cid:146)s relations and RST relations..................................................159
Table 59. Direct Attribution formulas and links.....................................................184

x