SELEPET VERB MORPHOLOGY

K.A. McELHANON

O. Introduction
1. Independent Verb Periphery
2. Dependent Verb Periphery
3. Conclusion

O. INTRODUCTION

In a recent art i c l e , Kenneth L . Pike h as demonstrated the v a l ue o f

using mat ri x theory as " a t o o l for gai ning ins i gh t i n t o morphemic
p at t erns of great comp lexi t y " (19 6 3:1 ) . Morphemes , whi c h in the i n i t i al
analysis were simp ly l isted and memorised as c omplex uni t s , were l ater
shown to have s i gn i fi c an t i nternal pat terni n g . Th is p a t t erning was
graph i c a l ly disp layed in mat ri ces which i n d i c ated the format i ves , the
vec t ors and t he c ategories . The format i ves are ph o n o l o gi c al part i c les
fi l li n g the c e l ls of the ma t ri x . The vec t ors are cont rast i ve rows or
c o l umns in the mat rix (e . g . , c o lumns i n di c at i n g s ingular , dual and
p lu r a l number ) . The c ategories are t he meani ngs of emi c vec t ors . The
formati ve is re levan t to phonology , the ve c t o r to grammar , and the
c ategory t o seman t i c s ; the t o t a l being a fo rm-mean i n g c omposi te .
In an early t rea tment of Selepet verb morph o l o gy the w r i t e r
c o n c l uded t h at the morphemes were o f s u c h c omp lex i t y that t h e y sho u l d
b e simp ly l isted a s p ortmanteau morphemes indi c at i n g person , n umber and
1
tense and memorised as c omp osi tes ( McE lh anon 19 67a : 21 ) . A list o f
data re levant t o t h i s p aper i s p resented b e low w i t h the verb root ari
2
' to g o , . The symb o l i represents [0].

§l remote past tense (rpt) 'I we n t a l ong t i me ago ' et c .

S D P

1st person ari-wan ari-wit ari-win

2nd person ari-on ari-owot ari-wi

3 r d p erson ari-op ari-owot ari-wi

19

McElhanon, K.A. "Selepet Verb Morphology". In Voorhoeve, C., McElhanon, K., Blowers, B. and Blowers, R. editors, Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 12.
A-25:19-36. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1970. DOI:10.15144/PL-A25.19
©1970 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
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The rpt is made h ab i t uat ive by the o c c urrence of - m i ni pre c e di n g

the ab o ve su ffi xes: a r i -m i ni-w a n ' I u s e d t o g o ' e t c.

§2 immediate past tense ( ipt) ' I pecen t�y w en t ' e t c.

S D P
1st person a r i -a n a ri-ai t a ri - a i n
-i t - in
2nd person ari-at a r i -awo t a r i -a i
3 r d person a ri - a p a r i -awo t a r i -a i
The ipt is made h ab i t ua t i ve or proh i b at i ve b y the o c c urren c e o f
-m pre c e ding the above su f f i xes : a r i -m - a p ' H e a�w a y s g oe s ' o r 'He
s h o u�d n o t g o ' .

§3 inceptive future tense ( icft) 'I am ab o u t t o eo ' e t c.

S D P
1st person a r i-woman a ri - roma i t a r i - n om8in
2nd pe rson a r i -woma t a r i - ro m8iwo t a r i -n om8 i
- romaw o t - n omai
3 r d person a r i -womap a ri- roma i wo t a r i - n o m8i
- ro m a w o t -nomai

§4 delayed future tense (dft) ' I w i l Z s oon g o ' e t c .

S D p
1st person a r i - womo s a n a ri- romo s ait a ri - n omo s ain
- romo s i t - n omosin
2nd person a ri-womo s a t a ri- romo s awo t a ri - n o mo s a i
3 r d p e rson a r i - womos a p a r i - romo s awo t a ri - n o mo s a i

§5 immediate future tense (ift) ' I wi Z Z go. y o u wi�� go. you mus t go '
et c .
S D p
1st person a ri-wom a r i - ro m a r i -n o m
2nd pe rson a r i -w u a t a r i - romawo t a ri- n oma i
3 r d p e rson a ri - w u a p a r i - rom a w o t a ri - nomai

§6 remote future tense ( rft) 'I w ii� g o i n t h e d i s t an t fu t upe ' e t c.

S D P
1st pe rson a r i -w i om a ri - wioi t a r i - wio i n
-wie i t -w i e i n
2nd person a ri-w i on a ri- wiow o t a ri - w i oi
- wiei
3 rd pe rson a ri-w i op a r i - wiowo t a ri -wioi
-w i ei
 21

§7 future te nse, habituative (hbt ) ' I wi l l a lw a y s go ' etc .

S D P
1st pe rson a r i -b i s am a r i - b i sa i t a r i -b i sa i n
2nd p e rson a r i -b i s a n a r i - b i s awo t a r i -b i sa i
3rd p e rson a r i - b i sap a r i - b i s awo t a r i - b i sa i

§8 des iderative (de s id ) ' I w an t to go ' e t c .

S D P
1st p e rson a r i -we s a man a r i - re s ama i t a r i - n e s ama i n
2nd p e rson a r i - w e s ama t a r i - r e s amaw o t a r i - n e s ama i
3 r d p e rson a r i - w e s amap a r i - re s amawot a r i - n e s ama i
In addi t i on to the ab ove fo rms the deside rat i ve may e vi d e n c e
lab i a l isation a f t e r t h e m : [ariees�mwanJ etc .

§9 contrary-to-fact (ctf) ' I s h o u l d h a ve gone ' o r ' I m i gh t go ' e t c .

s D p
1st p e rson a r i - ba i t a r i - ba i n
2nd p e rson a r i - ba t a r i - bawot a r i - ba i
3 rd pe rson ar i -bap a r i - b awo t a r i -ba i

§l O inchoative future (i f ) ' I mus t go ! Y o u go ! L e t h i m go ! ' e t c .

S D p
1st p e rson a r i -we a r i - re a r i -ne
2nd p e rson a r i -0 ari -yet a r i - I) e t
3rd p e rson a r i -ilk a r i - ye t a r i - I)e t
-ek
A l l omorph -ek fo l l ows vow e ls a and a and a l lomorph -ilk fol lows
vowe ls i , e, 0, u and consonant s .

§l l permi s s ive (pe rm) ' Y o u may go ' e t c .

s D p
2nd p e rson a r i -wot a r i -welOI) a r i - w i OI)

§1 2 dependent heterope rsonal (hetero) 'I w e n t and . . . ( s o m e o n e e ls e ) . . . '

etc .

S D P
1st p e rson a r i - mune a r i - m u tl)e a r i - m unl)e
2nd p erson a r i - dl a r i -muta a r i - lje t S
3 r d p e rson a r i -mu a r i -muta a r i - I) e t a
22

§1 3 The depe ndent homope r50nal ( homo) forms are: {- mal punctiliar and
-ma habituative. The morpheme {- m a l has two al l omorphs : - m a fo l l owing
c onsonan t s and -m f o l lowing vowe ls. Examp les are: e k - ma kin s a p 'He
s t o o d and l o o k e d ' ; s a - m kln s a p ' H e s t o o d and s p o k e ' ; s a - ma kin s a p 'He
s to o d and s p o k e aon t inua l ly ' .
A s i mp le c omp arison o f the forms did not y ie l d any c learly
segme n t ab le morph o l o gy w i t h separate forms indic a t i ng tense , person
o r n umber . E . g . , comp a r i n g (ipt) and (rpt) 1 . 5 suggest ed -w as rpt
and - � as ipt; c omp aring (ipt) and (rpt) 2 . 5 p resented no b asis for
segment ation ; c omp aring (ipt) and (rpt) 3 . 5 y ielded -a as ipt and - 0

as rpt. A c omp arison o f (ipt) and (ift) 1 . 5 y i elds no b asis for seg­
men t a t i on whereas (ipt) and (ift) 2 . 5 and 3 . 5 p resents - w u ift and -�
ipt as p ossib i li t ies . Add i n g (icft) and (dft) singular forms t o t h e
c omparison suggests -wom a s icft a n d - womos a s d ft. The c omp arison o f
dual a n d p lural forms , howeve r , only adds t o t h e c omp lex i t y o f t he
ana ly s i s. A l th ough rec urrent p a r t i als were re c o gnizab le , no c onsist ent
l i near ordering o f s l o t s marking tense , person and numb er was discern­
ib le. I t was n o t unt i l t he w riter app lied mat r i x theory and c onsi dered
each p aradigm as a mat rix w i th row ve c t o rs and c o l umn ve c t ors p ossib l y
man i fest i n g a l lo- fo rmatives , that t h e morp h o l o gy bec ame c lear. Thi s
p aper , i t i s h oped , wil l attest t o the usefu lness o f mat rix theory i n
morphemi c analysi S .

1. INDEPENDENT VERB PERIPHERY

1.1. Benefacthe tagmeme

The fi rst o rder su ffix is fil led by t h e b ound b enefa c t i ve p r o n o uns:

s o p
1st person -n i h i -n i tk i -n i ng i
2nd p erson -gi h i -y i tki -yingi
3rd person -wag i - y it k i - y i n gi

ot-n i h i -ap ' He di d i t fo r me . '

do-for m e - h e

p u l uhu-wag i - w i ' Th e y b o ugh t i t for h im . '

b uy - fo r h i m - t h e y

a r i - yit k i - op ' H e w e n t f o r t h e m ( duJ . '

g o - fo r them - h e

t u h u - y i n g i -w i 'They d i d i t fo r t h e m ( p l J . '
d o - fo r t h e m - t h e y
 23

1.2. The se cond orde r suffix i s fi l l e d b y mo rphe mes indi c ' a t

- min i habituative (see § l ) , -m prohibitive or habituative (see § 2).
O t h e r morph e mes i nd i c atin g mode appear to be fused forms and are
ana lyse d in t h e c ourse o f this pap e r .

1.3. The remainder o f the p e r i p h e ry , t h ose forms l i s t e d i n parad i gms

1 - 1 3 , c onsists o f fuse d forms indi c at i n g t e nse, p e rson and numb e r.

1.3.1. T h e p arad i gm w h i ch app ears t o b e the simp lest is ipt ( § 2). The
format ive -a o c c u rs t h r o ugh out the mat rix as a t h i r d orde r morp h e me and
3
may be t e n t a t i ve ly ass i gn e d the mean ing immediate pas t tense . One may
p os i t a ze ro a l l omorph o c curing in l . d and l . p. Thi s l e a ve s the
f o l l o w i n g forms i n d i c a t i n g p e rson and n umb e r:

S D P
1st pe rson -n t
- i -in
2nd p e rson -t -wo t -i
3 r d p e rson -p -wot -i

1.3.2. The p arad i gm indi c at in g rpt ( § l) may now b e c ompare d . C o mp ar ison

of o t h e r p aradi gms is not as frui t ful. It is i mme di ate ly e v i de nt t h at
most fo rms a l r e ady tent at i ve ly i de n t i f i e d as i n di c at in g pe rson and
n umb e r may be separat e d . On ly -n 2 . s i s app are n t l y di fferent . This
l e a ve s t h e format i ve s indi c at i n g rpt i n a c l e arly d i s c e rn i b l e L
p at t e rn open i n g to t h e l ow e r l e f t :

-wa -w -w
-0 -0 -w
-0 -0 -w
T h e i rre gularity o f t h e fo rmat i ve -wa c a uses u s t o re - e va l u a t e o ur
analysis o f t h e format i ves indi c a t i n g pe rson and n umb e r . I f we p o s i t
t h e morp h e me di vision o f - w a n ( § l) a s -w and -an we re solve t h is
i rre gu lari t y . The new format i ve indi c at i n g l.s is -an . Th i s does n o t
c on f l i c t w i t h t h e re a l i s e d form indi c at i ng l.s i n ipt ( § 2) b e c ause o f
a p h o n o l o gi c a l r u l e w h i ch st ates t h at "when tw o l i ke vowe ls come i n t o
c onj un c t i on t h e y re d u ce " (M c E l h anon 19 6 7b:1 8 ) . Thus a r i - a - a n ( go-ipt-I)
is re a l i s e d as ari an ' I we n t ' .

1.3.3. The p e rson-numb e r c omposit es are e asi ly sep arab l e i n the rft
( § 6) and hbt ( § 7) . The morph - m l . s may b e adde d t o t h e i n ve n t o ry o f
p e rson-numb e r m9rp h e mes . The forms n o t y e t ana lysed are : - w i o future
tense , punctiliar mode and - blsa future tense , habituative mode .
C o n t in u e d i n ve' s t i ga t i on o f t hese forms does n o t y i e l d any furth e r
morp h e mi c d i visi ons . O n e may assume , h ow e v e r, t h at mode pre c e de s t e nse
24

on the b as i s o f the forms -m i n i , - m habituative mode o c curring as

se c on d - o r d e r suffi xes ( §l, §2 ) .

1. 3.4. In c ompa r i n g the forms o f ctf ( §9 ) , one may again se p arat e t h e

p erson-numb e r morphemes a n d i dent i fy -ba contrary-to-f ac t mode . There
is no o c c u r re n c e o f'a t e nse morpheme w it h t h i s mode. Time i s indi c a t e d
b y the o c c u r re n c e o f a fi l l e r i n t he t i me s l o t o f the c lause .

mukan a r i - ba -p ' He s h o u Z d h ave gone yes t e rday . '

ye s t e rday go - s h o u Z d have - h e

Ma d a Me n a r i -ba - p ' H e migh t g o t omo rrow . '

t o m or row go-migh t - h e

In ant i c i p a t i on o f furth e r analysis, a summary o f the descri p t i on

t h us far is gi ven in Ch art A . The t e rm non-immediate future verb i s
4
use d t o des c ri b e t h e suf f i x a l st ruc t ure .

CHART A

Non-immediate Future Verb

+ nucleus ± bene . + mode + tens e + person-number

pm .
1.5 2.5 3.5 l.d 2-3 . d l.p 2-3 . p
I
-m i n i I
I
habit .
I
I
- w . -0 -n
I rpt
-0 I

punct . I
I
I
- a n r--
-m I
habit . I

prohib . : - a,- " -t -p -it -wot -in -i

I ipt
- " I
I
punct'l

- ba I
,

ctf I
-m
-b i 5 a
fut . habit .
-n
- w i o,-w i e .

fut . punc t .
 25

The chart ab o ve is i nt e n d e d t o i l l ust rate t h e c o - o c cu r re n q e

rest r i c t i ons amongst the s u f f i xes . T h e al l omorph -an 1 . 5 o c c urs w i t h
p ast t e nse s ; a l lomorph -m oc c urs e lse whe re . The al l omorph -t 2 . 5
o c c u rs w i t h ipt and ctf only ; a l lomorph -n o c c urs e lsewhe re . A l l omo rphs
-w -0 rpt are. p h on o l o gi c a l ly c ondi t i one d ; -w p re ce des vowe ls , -0
'V
5
p re ce des c onsonants . A l lomorph -a ipt o c c urs w i t h a l l p e rson-numb e r
forms ; � o c c urs only w i th 1st p e rson , dual and p l ural forms . The
rema i n i n g p e rson-numb e r su ffixes have no c o - o c curre n c e re s t ri c t i ons .

1 . 3. 5 . A c o mp arison o f i f t ( § 5 ) y ie lds st r i k i n g diss i mi l ari t ies b e t w e e n

i t s s t r u c t ure an d t h e st ruct u re o f t he Non- immediate future ve rb .
P e rson-numb e r s u f fi xes indi c at i n g 2nd and 3rd p e rson ( see 1 . 3 . 1 . ) may
be e asi ly i s o l at e d . Note , how eve r , t h at in t he fi rst p e rson t h e forms
d i s t i n guish i n g s in gu lar , dual and p l u ral are resp e c t i ve ly -w , - r and
-n o These forms c arry on t h rough the 2nd and 3 rd p e rsons . F i rst p e rson
is i n di c at e d by - � b ut t h e re i s no amb i gui t y re gardin g n umb e r b e c ause
of the sep arate forms indi c at i n g n umb e r . C h a r t B p rese n t s t he s t r u c t ure
of t he Immedi ate future verb .

C H A RT B

Immedi ate Future Verb

+ nuc leus ± bene . + number + tense-mode + person-number

pm .
( i ft )

-w sg . -om - Q! 1st p e rson

- r du o -t 2.5
-ua
-n pI. -p 3.5

-wo t 2- 3 . d
- oma
-i 2-3 . p

Co-oc curre n c e rest r i c t ions are : - � 1st p erson o c c urs w it h -om ; -t 2.5
and - p 3 . 5 o c c u r with -ua ; and - w o t 2- 3 . d and - i 2-3 . p o c c u rs w i t h - om a .
C on c ord e xi s t s b e t w e e n t he numb e r i n d i c a t e d i n t he n umb e r s l o t and t h e
numb e r i n d i c a t e d i n t h e pe rson-numb e r c o mpos it e s .

1. 3. 6. A c omp arison o f i f ( § lO ) and pe rm ( § l l ) reveals some simi l ari t i es

b ut a lso some unreso l vab le dissimi lari t i es . The 1st p e rson i f forms
rese mb le t he 1st p e rson i ft forms s i n c e only t h e t e nse -mode mark e r - e
"
i s di fferent. A c o mp arison o f t h e format i ve s i n di c at in g 2nd and 3 r d
26

p e rson in if w i t h the format i ves o f the p ersonal p ronoun p aradi gm i s

i l l umi n at in g . The p e rsona l p r on o un parad i gm i s :

S D p
1st p e rson na ne t nen
2nd p e rson ga yet yen
3 r d p e rson yak ya k y e t yakyen

I n t h e p r o n oun p ar ad i gm t h e forma t i ves indi c a t i n g p erson are : -n 1st

p e r son, - g 2nd person ( o c c ur r i n g w i th s i n gu lar numb e r ) and - y 2nd, 3 rd
p e rson . The f orma t ives i nd i c a t i n g numb e r are : - ak/-� s i n gu lar ( a
t e n ta t i v e assi gn me n t of the assump t i on that the v ow e l is s i mp ly a p a r t
6
of sy l lab le stru c t u re ) , - t d u a l and - n p lura l .
.
It may b e p osi t e d t h at in if ( § lO ) the forma t i ve - y h as taken on
n umb e r mark i n g si gn i fi can ce , so that -y indi c at e s dua l , -Q i nd i c a t e s
p l ur a l a n d - e k /a k / � indi c at e singu l ar . The final -t may h ave t ak e n o n
non-sin g u l a r si gn i fi c an c e rat h e r than spe c i f i c a l ly dua l . The p os t ­
u l a t i on o f -y b e i n g a n a l l o - fo rmat i ve o f -r i s n o t i n c ongruous i n
l i gh t o f t h e p ossi b i l i ty o f y and r b e i n g submemb e rs o f o n e p h on e me i n
t h e p ro t O- l an guage (M c E l h anon 19 6 8 : 9 ) .
The if forms e xh i b i t the st ruct u re o f t h e Immediate future verb
and t h e f o l l ow i n g mo rphe mes may be adde d t o the i n ve n t o ry : - � /a k / e k
singular , -y dua l , - Q p l ural and - e if . 7

1. 3 . 7 . The forma t i ve s o f t h e perm ( § l l ) are not c le ar ly d i s c e rn i b le.

Numb e r i s e vi d e nt i n the I o f -we l o Q dua l . P e rh aps a ze ro may be
p osi t e d for p lura l as i n -w i - " - o Q since ze ro may i n d i c at e p l ural in the
p e rson-numb e r c o mp os i t e s (se e 1. 3 . 11. ) .

1. 3 . 8 . The desiderative verb ( § 8) i s analyse d as a c la use man i fest i n g

t w o e mb e dd e d c l auses a n d h a v i n g the p h on ol o gi c a l charact e r i s t i cs o f a
8
word . The st ruct ure i s :

+
Deside rative + inchoative future verb + sam ot- ( i n ipt )
Verb in first pers on

C o n c ord e x i sts b e tween the n umb e r indi c at e d in the inchoative verb and
the numb e r i n d i c a t e d i n ot- ' to do ' . The i nc h o ati ve future verb i s an
i n de p e nd e n t c lause fun c t i on i n g as the ob j e c t o f the dependent ve rb sam
' s ay i ng ' . Thi s dependent c l ause i n t urn fun c t i ons a s the ob j e c t o f t h e
i n d e p e n d e n t ve rb ot- ' t o do ' . The e xamp les g i v e n b e l ow are . w r i t t e n
i nd i c at i n g grammat i c a l st ruct ure rather than p h on o logi c a l uni t y a s i n
p arad i gm ( § 8 ) .

a r i - w e s a - m o - a - an ( g o -mus t I, say-ing, do ipt - I )

-

' I w an t t o g o . '
 27

a r i - re s a -m o - a - i t ( g o - m us t we ( du . ) , s ay - ing, do - ip t - w e ( du . ) )
' We ( du . ) wan t t o go . ,

a r i - re s a - m o - a -w o t ( go-mus t w e ( du . ) , s ay - ing, d o - ipt-yo u/ t h ey ( du . ) )

' Yo u/ th e y ( du . ) w an t t o go . ,

a r i -n e s a -m o - a - i n ( go - m us t we (p L ) , s ay - ing, do - ip t - w e (p L ) )
' We (p L ) wan t t o g o . ,

a r i -n e s a -m o- a - i (go -mus t we (p z. . ) , s ay - ing, do - ip t-you/ t h e y ( p Z . ) )

, Y o u/ th e y (p L ) wan t t o go . ,

1 . 3. 9 . The inceptive future tense ( § 3) wh i ch i n d i c at e s i mme d i at e

i n tended a c t i on , i s an alyse d a s a c l ause man i fe s t i n g a n emb e dded c l ause
as the ob j e c t . I t too h as the phono l ogi c a l charac t e r i s t i c s o f a word .

Inceptive Future + immediate future ve rb + ot- ( i n ipt)

Tense Ve rb in f i rst person

The ve rb ot- o c c u rs in i t s cont rac t e d form 0- . In singular forms o f

parad i gm § 3 t h e 0- i s l ost . In dual and p l ural forms the 0- and t h e
f o l l o w i n g tense ma rke r -a c o n t ra c t to form a. Some sp eak e rs ,
p art i c u l arly y oun ge r p e op le , re p l ace 2nd and 3rd p e rson , dual and p lural
forms w it h the c orre sponding i ft ( § 5) fo rms . C o n c ord e xists b e tw e e n t h e
n umb e r indi c a t e d i n t h e i mme d i ate fut ure verb a n d t h e n umb e r indi c a t e d
in -o t .

a r i -wom o - a - a n ( g o - I wi Z Z , do - ipt- I )
,
' I am ab o u t t o go .

a r i -wom o - a - t (go-I wi n , do - ipt-yo u )

,
' Yo u a l'e ab ou t t o go .

a r i - r om o- a - i t ( g o - w e ( d u . ) wi n , do - ipt-we ( du . ) )
,
' We ( du . ) a l'e ab o u t t o g o .

a r i - rom o - a - w o t ( g o - we ( du . ) w i Z l , do - ipt -yo u / t h e y ( du . ) )

, Y o u / t h e y ( du . ) al'e ab o u t t o go . '

a r i -nom o - a - i n (go-we ( p L ) w i l l. do-ipt-we ( p L ) )

' We (p L ) a N ab o u t t o go . '

a r i -n om o - a - i ( go - w e (p l . ) wi l l , do - ipt-you/the y ( p Z . ) )
' Yo u / t h ey ( p L ) al'e ab o u t t o go . '
28

1 . 3. 1 0 . The delayed future ten s e verb ( § 4 ) h as the same s t r u c t ure

as the i n c e pt i ve f ut ure t e nse verb ( § 3 ) e x cept that o t - o c c urs i n a
Note the morphophonemi c rule t + 5 � 5 whi ch
n on - c o n t ra c t e d form .
9
y i e l ds the forms o - s a n , o - s a t , o-s a p e t c . Th i s c onst ruc t i o n i s use d
to i n di c at e i n t ended a c t i on whi ch w i l l c omme n c e a f t e r a sho r t de l ay .
C on c ord exists b e tween the n umb e r indi c a t e d i n the i mme di at e fut ure
ve rb and the n umb e r indi c at e d in ot- .

a r i -wom o - s a - a n (go-I w i l l, do - ipt - I )

' I w i l l B o on g o . '

a r i -wom o - s a - t (go-I wi l l , dO - ipt- y o u )

' Yo u w i l l s oon g o . '

a r i - ro m o -s a - i t ( go - w e ( du . ) w i l l , do - ipt-we ( du . ) )
' We ( du . ) w i l l B o on g o . '

a r i - rom o-s a -wo t ( go - we ( du . ) w i l l, do - ipt - y o u / t h e y ( du . ) )

' Yo u/ t h e y ( du . ) w i l l B oon g o . '

a r i -nom o -s - i n ( g o - w e (p l . ) w i l l , do - ipt-w e ( p l . JJ
' We (p l . ) wi l l B o on g o . '

a r i -n om 0-5 a - i ( g o -we (p l . ) w i l l , do - ipt - y o u/ t h e y ( p Z . ) )

' Yo u / t h e y (p l . ) w i l l B oon g o . '

1. 3. 1 1. The person-number composi tes may be ana lyse d t o i n di c at e that

the pe rson-mark i n g format i ve pre ce des the n umb e r-ma rk i n g format i ve .
This i s i mme d i at e ly apparen t i n compari n g -i t l.d w it h- i n l.p. The
t marks d ua l and the n marks plural . We may posi t that B marks
lO
s in gu l ar . The s t r u c t ure is + pe rson + number and the formati ve s are:

5 0 P

1st person - a n -e - i -t - i -n
2 n d pe rson - t -B -wo - t - i -B
3 rd person -p - B - wo - t - i -B

2. D EPEN D EN T VERB PERIPHERY

T h e depende n t verb , as the i n de pendent verb , has fi rs t - o rde r

b e ne fa c t i ve pronoun suffixes . The remain de r o f the pe r i ph e ry c onsists
of fuse d forms i n di c at i n g mode , p e rson and n umb e r. I n paradi gm §12 ,
one may tent at i ve ly isolate -mu pun c t i l iar mode as a se c on d - o r de r s u f f i x.
Thi s l e aves �he re ma i n i n g forms indi c at i n g pe rson-numb e r :
 29

s 0 P
1st p e rson -ne - t l) e - n l) e
2nd p e rson - ra - ta - I) e t a
3rd p e rson -0 - ta - I) e t a

I n a c c o rdan c e w i t h the morphophonemi c ru les, vowe l + d + vowe l + r and

t + d + t, these forms may be rew ri t ten and a zero mo rp h e me indi c a t i n g
singu l ar adde d t o for m :

s 0 P
1st p e rson -0-ne - t - I)e - n - I) e
2nd p e rson - fl - d a - t-da - I) e t - d a
3rd p e rson - 0 - jl - t - da - I) e t - d a

One may t h e n posi t t he st ruc t ure : + nucleus ± bene . pm . + mode

+ numbe r + pe rson . The morpheme s indi c at i n g p erson and n umb e r are :
-0 singula r , -t dua l , - n or - I)e t p lural ( comp are t h e i f forms § l O and
1 . 3. 6 . ) , - n e or - I) e fi rst p e rson , - d a se c ond p erson and -jl 3 . s ( the
dist i n c t i on b e tween se cond and t h i rd p e rson in the d u a l a n d p lural
fo rms b e i n g ne ut ralise d ) .

3. CO N C L U S I O N

One may q ue st i on the value o f such a s o l u t i on . W o u l d i t n o t h a ve

b ee n su ffi c ie n t j us t to list the su ffi xes in t h e p aradi gma t i c sty le
and n o t a t t emp t furth e r an alysis? For pe dagogi cal p urp oses , o f c ou rse ,
i t may be p re fe rab le t o simp ly list p a radi gms . But for t h o ro u gh
grammat i c a l analysis and espe ci ally c o mp arat i ve gramma t i c al analyse s ,
i t is ne cessary to go b e y on d such s i mp le l i s t i n gs . Had the analy sis
been t e rmi n a t e d w i t h lists of p aradi gms , th e grammat i c al analysis o f
t h e ve rb morp h o l o gy w o u l d n e v e r h a ve b e e n c omp le te d .
I n a t e nt a t i ve an a lysis o f Mape ve rb morp h o logy , the w ri te r found
l1
simi lar appare n t ly c o n t ras t i n g types o f p e ri phe ral ve rb st ruc t ure .

( 1) �ediate Future and Inchoati ve Future : + nuc leus ± bene .

p m . + person + number + tense .

k p a - y a re - k i - c - m i l) ( k i L L i t - fo r t h e m ( p L . ) - ls t pe r . -p l . - i f t )
' We (p L . ) w i L L k H L i t for t h e m (p L . ) . '

k p a - y a re - k i - c - 0 ( k i L L i t - fo r t h e m ( p L . ) - ls t per . -p l . - i f)
' L e t u s (p L . J k i L L i t fo r t h e m (p L . ) . '
30

( 2) P resen t , I mmediate P as t , Remote Future , Remote Inchoative :

+ nuc leus ± bene . prn . + mode + tense + person + n umber + numbe r .

k p a - y a re - e - g o - b e - n e - � ( k i L L i t - fo r t h e m ( p L . ) -h ab it . - ? - ls t per . ­
p l . -p l . )
' We ( p L ) a Lw a y s ki H i t for t hem (p L ) . '

k p a - y a re - � - go - b e - n e - � ( k i L L i t - fo r t h e m ( p L ) - punct . -? - ls t per . ­
.

p l . -p l . )
' We (p L ) are k i Hing i t fo r t h em ( p L . ) . '

k p a - y a re - � - � - b e - n e - � ( k i L L i t - fo r them ( p L . ) -punc t . -ipt-lst per . ­

p l . -p l . )
' We (p L ) ki L Ze d i t for t h e m (p L ) . '

k p a - y a re - i e - go - b e - n e - � ( k i Z L i t -for them (p L . ) - r ft- ? - l s t per . -p l . ­

pl. )
' We (p L . ) wi Z L L a t e r k i Z Z it fo r t he m ( p Z . ) .

k p a - y a re - i n e - � - b e - ne - � ( k i L Z i t - fo r them (p L . ) - rif - ? - ls t p er . -p l . ­
pl . )
' We (p L ) mus t L a t e r ki L Z i t fo r t h e m (p L ) . '

( 3) Remote P as t , Contrary-to- fac t Pas t , Contrary-to-fact Future :

+ n uc le us ± bene . prn . + mode + person + numbe r .

k p a - y a re - ' - b e - � ( ki L l i t - fo r t h e m ( p l ) - factual pas t- 1 s t per . ­

.

pl . )
' We (p Z . ) ki Z Z e d i t for t h e m ( p L ) a l o n g time ago . '

k p a - y a re - n o - b e - � ( k i l l i t - fo r them ( p l . ) - ct f . p as t- ls t per . -p l . )
' We ( p L ) s h o u l d h a v e k i L Z e d i t fo r t h e m (p L ) . '

k p a - y a re - i go - b e - � ( k i Z l i t - for t h e m ( p l . ) - c t f . future- ls t pe r . -p l . )
' We (p L ) migh t ki l Z i t for t he m (p L ) . '

(4) Dependent Heterope rsonal : + nucleus ± bene . prn . + mode +

re l ative time + person + number .

k p a - y a re - g u - k a - b e - n e ( ki l L i t - fo r th e m (p l . ) -habit . -s imultan­
eous - ls t per . -p l . )
' Wh i L e we (p L . ) u s e d t o k i l l i t fo r
them(p L ) . • . '
 31

k p a - y a re - � - k a - b e - n e ( k i l l i t -for t h e m ( p l . ) - punct . -simultaneous -

1st per . -p l . )
' Wh i l e we (p l . ) k i l le d i t fo r t h e m ( p L . ) . . . '

k p a - y a re -� - 0 - b e - n e ( k i l l i t - fo r t h e m (p l . ) - punct . - ante ce dent -

1st per . -pl . )
, Afte r we k i n e d i t for t h e m ( p L ) . . . '

k p a - y a re - g u - 0 - b e - n e ( k i l l i t - fo r t h e m ( p l . ) -hab i t . - antecedent -
1st per . -p l . )
' A fte r we us e d t o k i l l/h i t i t fo r t he m (p L ) . . . '

(5) Dependent Homopersonal : + nuc leus ± bene . prn . + mode +

re la tive time .

k p a - y a re - k u - c ( k i l l i t - fo r the m ( p l . ) -punct . -simultaneous )

' Wh i l e k i l ling i t fo r t h e m ( p L ) . . . '

k p a - y a re - r u - 0 ( k i l l i t -for the m ( p l . ) -p unct . - an te c edent )

' A f t e r k i l l i ng i t for t h e m ( p L ) . . . '

k p a - y a re - g u - II ( k i l l i t - fo r t h e m ( p L . ) -hab it . - antecedent )
' A fte r con t i n ua L L y k i l L i ng/h i t ti n g i t fo r
the m ( p L ) . . . '

One may n o t e t h a t w h e re as Se le p e t mani fe sts four cont ras t i n g

s t ru c t ure s o f v e rb pe riphe ry , Mape mani fests f i ve . I n t he dep e n d e n t
fo rms S e l e p e t mani fests t h e o rde r number + person and Mape mani fests
the re ve rse , i . e . , pers on + numbe r . The i mp li c ations for t y p o l o gi c al
and c omp arat i ve w o rk a re ob vi o us . As data in the other languages o f
t he Huon Mi c ro-phy l um b e come avai l ab l e , one may e xpe c t a firm b asis
12
t o b e estab l ishe d for t h e app li c at i on o f s t r u c t ure s t a t i st i cs .
 N O T E S

1. Dat a fo r t h i s p ap e r w e re gat he re d duri n g t h e y e ars 19 6 4 - 6 8 w h i l e

t h e w ri t e r w as unde r t h e aus p i ce s o f t h e S umme r I n s t i t ut e o f L i n gu i s t i cs
and t he Aus t ra l i an N a t i on a l Uni ve rs i t y . The 5 , 5 0 0 Se lepe t -s p e ak i n g
p e op le a re lo c at e d i n t h e K abwum Sub-di s t ri c t , Morobe Di s t ri c t , Te r r i t ory
of New Gui n e a . The language b e l ongs to t he We s te rn fami l y of t h e
Huon P e n i n s u la S t o c k ( s e e M c E l h anon 19 6 9 ) .
Anal y s i s o f the data was fac i l i t at e d by use of a c o n c o rdan c e o f
25 , 0 0 0 w ords o f te xt i n t he s o ut h e rn d i a l e c t o f Se l e p e t . Thi s
con c o rdan ce w as made on the I B M 1 4 10 comp ut e r at the Un i ve rs i t y o f
Ok l ahoma b y the Lingui s t i c In format i on Re t ri e val P roj e c t o f the Summe r
I ns t i t ut e o f L i n gui s t i cs an d t he Uni vers i ty o f Okl ahoma Re s e ar ch
I ns t i t ut e , an d s p on s o re d by Gran t GS - 9 3 4 o f the N a t i on a l S c i e n ce
Foundat i on.
Abb re viat i ons used in t h i s pap e r are : rpt - remo t e pas t t e n s e ;
ipt - imme d i at e p a s t t ens e ; i c ft - i nc e p t i v e fut ure t e n s e ; r f t - remote
fut ure t e n s e ; hbt - fut ure t e n s e , hab i t uat ive ; desid - d e s i derat i v e ;
ctf - c o n t rary - t o- fa c t ; i f - inc hoat i ve fut ure ; rif - remote i n c h oa t i ve
f u t ure ; perm - p e rmi s s i ve ; hetero - de pendent h e t e ro p e r s ona l ; homo -
d e p e n d e n t homop e rs ona l ; l . s - fir s t p e r s o n s ingu l ar ; 2 . s - s e cond
p e rs on s i ngul ar ; 3 . s - th ird p e rs on s i ngul a r ; l . d - first p er s on d ua l ;
2.d - s e c ond p e rs on d ual ; 3 . d - t h i rd p e r s on d ua l ; l . p - f i r s t p er s on
p l ura l ; 2 . p - s e cond p e r s on p l ura l ; 3 . p - th ird p e rs on p l ural ; 2 - 3 . d -
s e c ond and / or th ird p e r s on d ual ; 2 - 3 . p - s e c ond and / or third p e rs on
p l ura l ; + - ob l i ga t o ry o c c urrenc e ; ± - op t i on a l o c c urren ce .

2. The s uffixal forms gi ven h e re o c c u r o n l y fo l l owing vowe l s . The

fo l l o w i n g mo rphophonemi c ru l e s p ro vi de a l t e rnate mo rphemi c s hape s :
cons. + w � cons . + b , cons . + r � cons . + d.

3. T h i s mo rpheme has an a l t e rn ate form -sa fo l lowing consonan t - fi n a l

fi l l e rs o f t he n u c l e us .

4. T h e nu c l e us i s fi l le d by e i t he r a n i n t rans i t i ve ve rb roo t , e. g. ,
ari ' to g o ' , o r a t rans i ti ve ve rb s te m. Tran s i t i ve ve rb s te ms are
di vi de d i n t o three c l as s e s on t he b a s i s o f t he i r o c c urre n c e w it h b oun d

32
 33

ob j e ct - p ronoun al l omo rphs : e . g . , ga i -nek- s ap ( cu t - me - h e ) ' H e c u t me ' ;

pe n e - n i h i - a p ( j o i n -me - h e ) ' H e j o i n e d me ' ; an d t an - n o h o - a p ( h e Zp-me - h e )
' He h e Zp e d me ' . For furt he r discussi on see M c E l h anon 19 6 7a : 2 3 - 4 .

5. This raises the i n t e re s t i n g q uestion p osi t e d b y P i ke an d E ri ckson ,

19 6 4 : 212 ; "Emi c mat r i ces may p ro ve to be sub j e c t t o h i s t o r i cal
re c onst ru c t i on an d to o c c u r i n d i a c h ro n i c os c i l l at i on from app ro x i ma t i ons
of simp le t ow ard i d e a l mat ri x , and from i de al toward simp le mat r i x
st ruct u re s. " As more dat a from l anguages re l at e d to Se lepe t b e come
avai lab le , h i st ori c a l re constru c t i on o f the phono l o gi c a l de ve l o p me n t
o f m a t r i x pat t e rns may i n de e d b e p ossib le.

6. The fa c t t hat � marks si n g u l ar , t dual and n p lural i s re adi ly

appare n t i n an e xami n at i on of t he b o un d obj e c t - p rono un fo rms . N o t e t he
f o l l o w i n g fi rst p e rson fo rms t aken from the b o un d ob j e c t -p r on oun
p aradi gms :

S D P
C l ass I n e - QJ - e k ne - l - e k ne-n-ek
C l ass I I n i - II - g i n i - t-gi n i -n-gi
C l ass I I I n o - II - go n o - t - go n o - n - go

7. The desi gnat i on inchoative future i s p re fe rre d over t he desi gn at i o n

imperative b e c a use t h e i de a o f t i me i s foremost . T h e En glish t ransl a t i on ,
how eve r, i s b e s t rep resen t e d by the Engl ish i mp e rat i ve .

8. C l ue s to t h e grammat i c a l struct u re o f t he forms i n p aradi gm § 8

we re gai n e d from the an alysis o f dependent t ransforms o f t hose forms
and the analysis o f fo rms o f simi l ar s t r u c t ure i n vo l vi n g ot- i n rpt
o r o t h e r ve rb s commut ab le w ith ot - . These t r ansforms an d t he o t h e r forms
h a ve phono l o gi c a l chara cte rist i cs o f un i t s l arge r t h an w ords .

a r i - w e s a - m o t - ma ( g o - m us t I. s ay - i n g . do - in g )
' Wan t i n g t o go . . . ' ( a c t o r i n s i n gu l a r n umbe r )

n e -be s a- m g a - a - an ( e a t - m u s t I. s ay - i ng. com e - ip t - I )

, I came wan t in g t o/ i n o rde r t o e a t . '

9. See n o t e 3.

10 . See note 6 . The o c c u rren ce o f - QJ and -n mark i n g p lural i s a lso

found i n the n o mi n a l p ossessi ve-mark i n g suffi xes :

- n e - n - I) e ' o urs (p z ' } ' . - y e - II - I)e ' y o u rs / t he i rs ( p z ' } ' .

34

11 . The Mape l anguage i s 19 p e r c e nt lex i c a l l y re l a t e d to S e l e p e t

( M c E lhanon 19 6 9 ) . T h e me aning o f t h e morpheme - g o o c cu rring a s a
t hi rd-orde r su ffix i s not c l e ar. A p ossib le meani n g i s non-past tense .

12. For t he t e chn i que o f st ruc ture stat i st i cs , see C ap e l l , 1 9 6 2 .

 8 1 8 L I O G R A PHY

CAPELL , ARTHUR
1962 ' The t e c h n i q ue s o f st ru c t ure s t at ist i c s ' . O c e a ni a ,
vol. X X X I I I , No. 1 : 1-11 .

McELIlANON , K . A .
1967a ' Pre l i mi nary obse rva t i ons o n Huon P e n i nsula languages ' .
O c e a ni c Li n g ui 6 ti c6 , vol . V I , No . 1 : 1- 4 5 .

1 9 6 7b ' Se le p e t V o c o i d C l ust e rs ' . Paci6i c Li n g ui 6 ti c6 , P ap e rs

i n New G ui n e a L i ngu i st i c s No . 6: 1-1 8 .

1968 ' S tops and F r i c a t i ves : non-unique so l u t i o ns i n S e l e p e t ' .

MS . ( t o appe ar in Ung ui 6 ti c 6 ) .

1969 ' Lexi c ostat i st i cs and t h e c lassi f i c at i on o f Huo n P e n i nsula

languages ' . MS . ( t o appear in O c eani a ) .

PIKE , KENNETH L .
19 6 3 ' Th e o re t i ca l imp l i c a t i ons o f matrix p e rmut a t i o n i n F o re
( New G u i n e a ) ' . Anth�o p o t o gi cat Li n g ui 6 t� c 6 , vOl . 5 ,
N o . 8 : 1-23 .

P I KE , KENNETH L . AND BARBARA E RICKSON

19 6 4 ' C o n f l a t e d fie ld s t ru c t u res i n P o t aw a t om i and i n Arab i c ' .
1 n t e�nati o nat J o u �n at 06 Ame��can Li n g ui 6 ti c6 , vOl . 30,
N o . 3: 201-12 .

35
McElhanon, K.A. "Selepet Verb Morphology". In Voorhoeve, C., McElhanon, K., Blowers, B. and Blowers, R. editors, Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 12.
A-25:19-36. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1970. DOI:10.15144/PL-A25.19
©1970 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.