Ma Manda language
Finisterre language of Papua New Guinea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sauk, or Ma Manda, is one of the Finisterre languages of Papua New Guinea.
| Sauk | |
|---|---|
| Ma Manda | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Morobe Province |
Native speakers | 1,600 (2018)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | skc |
| Glottolog | sauk1252 |
A detailed grammar of the language was published by Ryan Pennington in 2016.[2]
Grammar
Switch-reference
Ma Manda has a switch-reference system in which verbal suffixes on non-final verbs in a clause chain indicate whether the subject of the following clause is the same as or different from the current subject. The same-subject suffix is -ka (SS) and the different-subject suffix is -ng (DS).[2]
kadet
road
men=nang
mouth=LOC
ba-ka
come-SS
ngat-ng-tnang
be-DS-1NSG
tandonta-go-k
night-RP-3SG
'While we were coming on the main road, (it) became night.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
In this example, the same-subject suffix -ka on ba ('come') indicates that its subject is identical to that of ngat ('be'). The different-subject suffix -ng on ngat signals that the subject changes before the following impersonal clause tandonta-go-k ('it became night').[2]
