Archive:Kasambameng language

The Kasambameng language(Kasambameng: kasambameŋ setǫ) is a Palawe language spoken by the Kasambawek people(kasambawek means "ship people" in the kasambameng language), a group of Palawe peoples living in the coastal area of Eng Nax islands and the north shore of Ebo Nganagam. It belongs to the north branch of the Palawe languages.

Because of the sea-nomading lifestyle of the Kasambawek peoople, many details of the Kasambameng language is still not clear. It is estimated that there are less than 100,000 speakers of the Kasambameng language, although the use of the language seems to be robust and is not endangered.

The Kasambameng language has phonemic nasalized vowels, but nasalized vowels only occur word-finally.

Transcription

• A - /ɑ/
• (AI-/ai/)
• (AU-/au/)
• B - /b/
• D - /d/
• E - /ɛ/
• (F-/f/)
• Ę - /ɛ̃/
• G - /g/
• GW - /gʷ/~/w/
• H - /h/
• I - /i/
• K - /k/
• KW - /kʷ/
• L - /l/
• M - /m/
• N - /n/
• Ŋ - /ŋ/
• O - /o/
• Ǫ - /ɔ̃/
• P - /p/
• R - /r/
• S - /s/
• T - /t/
• (TS-/ts/)
• (U-/u/)
• (V-/v/)
• X - /ʃ/
• Y - /j/
• Z - /z/

Grammar

Word Order

• Basic Word Order: Subject-Object-Verb(SOV) when the subject is a noun; Object-Subject-Verb(SOV) when the subject is a personal pronoun.
• Adpositions are postpositions
• Demonstratives, numerals, adjectives, possessors, relative clauses precede the noun they modify
• The negation word is nak or na, it precedes the direct object and the verb of the sentence it negates.

Morphology

Nouns

The Kasambameng language is probably a marked-nominative language, nouns have five cases(nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative), three numbers(singular, dual, plural) and two genders(animate and inanimate), but there are no distinctions between the nominative form and the accusative form in inanimate nouns.

The accusative singular form of nouns are used as citation form. Generally, the accusative singular form of animate nouns end in -e, and the accusative singular form of inanimate nouns end in -ǫ and is the same to the nominative singular form.

Singular:

• Nominative: -ę/-ǫ
• Genitive: -ę/-ǫ
• Dative: -ema/-ama
• Accusative: -e/-ǫ
• Locative: -en/-on

Dual:

• Nominative: -enǫ/-onǫ
• Accusative: -en/-onǫ

Except for the nominative and accusative forms, dual forms of nouns are the same to the corresponding plural forms.

Plural:

• Nominative: -ekǫ/-okǫ
• Genitive: -eŋ/-aŋ
• Dative: -eŋe/-aŋe
• Accusative: -ek/-okǫ
• Locative: -eŋat/-oŋat

Adjectives

Adjectives agree with the case, number and gender of the noun they modify.

Singular:

• Nominative: -ę/-ǫ
• Genitive: -ę/-ǫ
• Dative/Locative: -ema/-ama
• Accusative: -e/-ǫ

Dual:

• Nominative: -enǫ/-onǫ
• Accusative: -en/-onǫ

Except for the nominative and accusative forms, dual forms of nouns are the same to the corresponding plural forms.

Plural:

• Nominative: -ekǫ/-okǫ
• Genitive: -eŋ/-aŋ
• Dative/Locative: -eŋe/-aŋe
• Accusative: -ek/-okǫ

Verbs

• Realis:
  • Present: -a
  • Present continuous: -at
  • Past perfective-ǫ
  • Past imperfective:-an
• Irrealis: -e
• imperative-hortative: -i
• Attributive: -o

• emphasis of a sentence(put at the end of a sentence): ya

There are no interrogative words or affixes or interrogative word order in Kasambameng, questions are formed by the use of intonation.

Vocabulary

The Kasambameng people are not isolated groups, they have consistently contacted with other peoples. It is estimated that more than 50% of the Kasambameng vocabulary are loanwords, and the largest source of loanword is the Temrinian language.

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

There are no specific 3rd person pronouns, one uses demonstratives for the meaning of 3rd pronouns.

Nominative:

• 1st person:
  • singular: a
  • dual: akan/yan
  • plural: ak/yak
• 2nd person:
  • singular: e
  • dual: in
  • plural: ik

Accusative:

• 1st person:
  • singular: aŋa~ŋa
  • dual: aŋekan~ŋekan
  • plural: aŋek~ŋek
• 2nd person:
  • singular: ne
  • dual: en
  • plural: ek

Genitive:

• 1st person:
  • singular: aŋǫ~ŋǫ
  • non-singular: aŋekaŋ~ŋekaŋ
• 2nd person:
  • singular: nę
  • non-singular: eŋ

Dative-Locative:

• 1st person:
  • singular: aŋama~ŋama
  • non-singular: aŋekaŋa~ŋekaŋa
• 2nd person:
  • singular: nema
  • non-singular: eŋa

Interrogative pronouns:

• who: ke
• what: kǫ

Demonstratives

• This: kere(animate)/kerǫ(inanimate)
• That(medial)(also used as the copula): xaye(animate)/xayǫ(inanimate)
• That yonder(distal): are(animate)/arǫ(inanimate)
• Here: neyǫ
• There(medial): nayǫ
• There(distal): nayarǫ

Numerals

1. 1：tom-
2. 2：not-
3. 3：sagw-
4. 4：notaŋ-
5. 5：xad-

• 7：kalon-
• 10：kom-
• 100: (Loanword)
• 1000: (Loanword)

Postpositions

• at/to(the preceding noun is in dative or locative): soŋ(this postposition means "at" if the preceding noun is in locative; "to/towards" if the preceding noun is in dative)
• from(the preceding noun is in locative): ler
• with(the preceding noun is in genitive): ni
• with, using(the preceding noun is in genitive): sik
• for/because(the preceding noun is in genitive): pa