Lengo language

Lengo
Native to	Solomon Islands
Region	Guadalcanal
Native speakers	(14,000 cited 1999)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southeast Solomonic Gela–Guadalcanal Gelic Lengo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lgr
Glottolog	leng1259

Lengo is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Guadalcanal. It belongs to the Southeast Solomonic language family.

Phonology

Vowels

Lengo has 6 vowels.

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Close-Mid	e	o
Open-Mid	ɛ
Open		ɑ

Vowel sequences occur commonly for all combinations of these vowels, with the exception of /uo/. The front open-mid vowel /ɛ/ never occurs in sequence.

Consonants

Lengo has 15 consonants.

	Labial	Coronal	Velar
Nasal	m	n	ŋ
(prenasalized) Plosive	ᵐb	ⁿd	ᵑɡ
	p	t	k
Spirant	v	ð	ɣ
Sibilant		s
Trill		r
Lateral		l

Voiced stops are prenasalized. Two instances of regional variation in these phonemes have been observed. These are /v/ becoming /β/, and /ð/ becoming /z/.

Morphology

Pronominal systems

Lengo has five sets of pronominal forms. These are emphatic, subject reference, object, direct possessor, and indirect possessor. These distinguish maximally between four persons (first person inclusive and exclusive, second, and third person), and four numbers (singular, plural, dual, and paucal). There is no grammatical gender distinction, but there is an animacy distinction in the object paradigm. Two further uses of these pronominal forms occur - a reflexive pronoun, and a set of interrogative pronouns.

The dual and paucal forms are derived from the plural forms by the addition of ko- and tu- respectively. The dual forms are used only to indicate 'two and only two', whilst the plural and paucal forms mean 'two or more' and 'three or more' respectively. First person exclusive excludes the addresse(s).

Emphatic pronouns

The emphatic pronoun in Lengo is optional, and can occur in combination with obligatory pronouns that may occur with subject or object function. It can also appear without other pronouns. It is used to emphasize the semantic role of a noun in a clause.

		Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
1st	exclusive	inau	ighami	i-ko-ghami	i-tu-ghami
	inclusive		ighita	i-ko-ghita	i-tu-ghita
2nd		ighoe	ighami	i-ko-ghamu	i-tu-ghamu
3rd		gaia	gaira	i-ko-ira	i-tu-ira

Examples:

(1)

ara

3PL

gito-a

steal-o:3SG

t-i

REAL-LOC

m-ara

CONJ-3PL

lavi

take

dea-a

go-o:3SG

na

ART

kei-gu

basket-PS:1SG

inau

EP:1SG

ara gito-a t-i m-ara lavi dea-a na kei-gu inau

3PL steal-o:3SG REAL-LOC CONJ-3PL take go-o:3SG ART basket-PS:1SG EP:1SG

"They stole it and they took it away my basket - mine."

(2)

ara-ko

3PL-DU

gara

pull

iti-a

up-o:3SG

na

ART

thinaghe

canoe

i-ko-ira

DU.EP:3PL

m-u

CONJ-1SG

ghe

continue

tapa

run

inau

EP:1SG

ara-ko gara iti-a na thinaghe i-ko-ira m-u ghe tapa inau

3PL-DU pull up-o:3SG ART canoe DU.EP:3PL CONJ-1SG continue run EP:1SG

"they two pulled up the canoe and I continued to run."

Subject reference pronouns

The subject reference pronoun appears as the first element in a verb phrase. It is obligatory in any main clause, but can be excepted in subordinate clauses. It is optional in imperative sentences.

		Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
1st	exclusive	u	ami	ami-ko	ami-tu
	inclusive		a	a-ko	a-tu
2nd		o	amu	amu-ko	amu-tu
3rd		e	ara	ara-ko	ara-tu

Example:

(3)

i-ko-ghami

DU:EP:1PL.EXCL

a

ART

P.

P.

ami-ko

1PL.EXCL-DU

dea

go

i

LOC

nughu.

river

i-ko-ghami a P. ami-ko dea i nughu.

DU:EP:1PL.EXCL ART P. 1PL.EXCL-DU go LOC river

"We two, P. and I, we two went to the river."

Object pronouns

The object form in Lengo is identified using a set of pronominal suffixes, which index the object arguments on the verb. In instances where a verb takes both a direct and indirect object, only the indirect object is marked. The third person plural object form is marked for animate or inanimate objects.

		Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
1st	exclusive	-u	-ghami	-ko-ghami	-tu-ghami
	inclusive		-ghita	-ko-ghita	-tu-ghita
2nd		-gho	-ghamu	-ko-ghamu	-tu-ghamu
3rd		-a	-ra (animate), -i (inanimate)	-ko-ira	-tu-ira

Example:

(4)

ara

3PL

pitu-u

wait-o:1SG

ara pitu-u

3PL wait-o:1SG

"They await me."

Direct possessor pronouns

The direct possessor form is used for inalienably possessed nouns. It is a suffix on the possessed noun that indicates the possessor. In the case of the dual and paucal forms, number is indicated as a prefix on the noun, and the plural form of the possessive suffix is used.

		Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
1st	exclusive	-gu	-mami	ko- -mami	tu- -mami
	inclusive		-da	ko- -da	tu- -da
2nd		-mu	-mu	ko- -miu	tu- -miu
3rd		-e, -na	-dira	ko- -dira	tu- -dira

The third person singular direct possessor appears in two forms, with '-e' being more prevalent than '-na'.

Examples:

(5)

na

ART

vae-gu

house-PS:1SG

na vae-gu

ART house-PS:1SG

"My house."

(6)

A

ART

ko-dae-mami

DU-child-PL:1PL.EXCL

e

3SG

belo

ring.bell

A ko-dae-mami e belo

ART DU-child-PL:1PL.EXCL 3SG ring.bell

"our two's child is ringing the bell."

Indirect possessor pronouns

The indirect possessor form is used for alienably possessed nouns. It occurs as a free morpheme preceding the possessed noun. There are two categories distinguished - 'oral consumable' and 'general'. The oral consumable category includes items that are able to be eaten, drunk, or consumed via the mouth, such as tobacco.

	General				Oral consumable
	1st Inclusive	1st Exclusive	2nd	3rd	1st Inclusive	1st Exclusive	2nd	3rd
Singular	ni-gu-a		ni-mu-a	ne	gha-gu-a		gha-mu-a	ghe
Plural	no-da	ni-mami	ni-miu	no-dira	gha-da	gha-mami	gha-miu	gha-dira
Dual	ko-no-da	ko-ni-mami	ko-ni-miu	ko-no-dira	ko-gha-da	ko-gha-mami	ko-gha-miu	ko-gha-dira
Paucal	tu-no-da	tu-ni-mami	tu-ni-miu	tu-no-dira	tu-gha-da	tu-gha-mami	tu-gha-miu	tu-gha-dira

Oral consumable form:

(7)

gha-mu-a

oral.CLF-PS:2SG-O:3SG

na

ART

vudi

banana

lepa

ripe

gha-mu-a na vudi lepa

oral.CLF-PS:2SG-O:3SG ART banana ripe

"[Here is a] ripe banana for you to eat."

General form:

(8)

ne

PS:3SG

na

ART

be

pig

Ghaua.

Ghaua

ne na be Ghaua.

PS:3SG ART pig Ghaua

"Ghaua's pig."

Reflexive pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is composed when a direct possessor suffix is added to the stem 'tibo'. This results in a valency decrease of the verb.

Examples:

(9)

u

1SG

toka

cut

tibo-gu.

REFL-PS:1SG

u toka tibo-gu.

1SG cut REFL-PS:1SG

"I cut myself."

(10)

u

1SG

toka

cut

na

ART

ghai

tree

u toka na ghai

1SG cut ART tree

"I cut the tree."

Interrogative and relative pronouns

Lengo has two pronouns that have interrogative or relative uses. 'thei' is used if the reference is human, and 'tha' if the reference is non-human.

Relative use:

(11)

na

ART

tinoni

person

ketha

different

a

ART

thei

REL

ga

there

deni

DEM

ba

FUT

k-e

IRR-3SG

mai

come

lavi-a

take-o:3SG

na

little.bit-o:3SG

pile-a

ART

na

food

vanga

DEM

de

 

na tinoni ketha a thei ga deni ba k-e mai lavi-a na pile-a na vanga de

ART person different ART REL there DEM FUT IRR-3SG come take-o:3SG little.bit-o:3SG ART food DEM

"a different person who is over there will come take a bit of this food."

Interrogative use:

(12)

na

ART

tha

INT

t-o

REAL-3SG

ghali-a

do-o:3SG

na tha t-o ghali-a

ART INT REAL-3SG do-o:3SG

"What are you doing?"

Negation

There are several ways to indicate negation in Lengo.

There is the discontinuous morpheme mua 'NEG', which surrounds the verb being negated. There are three modals which can appear in the serial verb construction and are negative (taigha), prohibitive (tabu) or non-volitive (kou). Lastly, there is the auxiliary boro 'impossible FUT', which is sometimes glossed as 'NEG' and can negate the verb.

The mua... mua 'NEG ... NEG' structure can also be combined with taigha 'NEG' to create a double negative, which carries the meaning of a strong affirmative.

Discontinuous morpheme mua ... mua

The grammatical negator, the mua... mua 'NEG ... NEG' structure, is the only instance of a 'discontinuous' morpheme in Lengo. The morpheme mua appears both before and after the verb being negated. The basic structure of this construction is mua V mua, as seen in (13) and (14):

(13)

Mua

NEG

ole

walk

mua.

NEG

Mua ole mua.

NEG walk NEG

'Don't walk.'

(14)

Mua

NEG

thaghata

bad

leo

inside

mua.

NEG

Mua thaghata leo mua.

NEG bad inside NEG

'Don't worry.'

A variant of this construction is mo ... moa, as seen in (15).

(15)

ko

2SG

mua

NEG

lubathia

let.3SG

moa

NEG

pe

or.3SG

dea

go

ko mua lubathia moa pe dea

2SG NEG let.3SG NEG or.3SG go

'Don't let it out (release it) or it will run away.'

Note that although all examples presented by Unger show mua ... mua 'NEG ... NEG' used for a negative imperative, it should not be assumed that this construction is exclusive to a particular sentence structure. More examples are needed for a satisfactory conclusion.

Regardless, mua ... mua is an uncommon negator in Lengo. Much more frequently used is the modal taigha 'NEG'.

Modals

Lengo has a 'serial verb construction'. The various types of serial verb construction identified are directional, sequential, causative, manner, ambient, comitative, dative, instrumental and modal. The basic structure of a modal serial verb construction is as follows:

V + na V(-O)

The first verb is the modal verb, and the second verb follows an article (always na). This second verb is treated somewhat like an infinitive. Lengo has five modal verbs; of these, three are used to create negative constructions. These three are:

Modal	Meaning
taigha	negative
tabu	prohibitive
kou	non-volitive

Negative taigha

Of all the ways to express negation in Lengo, the modal taigha 'NEG' is the most versatile and often used. It can be used to negate verbs in statements, like in (16):

(16)

ami-ko

1PL.EXCL-DU

taigha

NEG

na

ART

ta~tavu

REDUP~find

thae-a

'arrive.at'-o:3SG

na

ART

kei

basket

ami-ko taigha na ta~tavu thae-a na kei

1PL.EXCL-DU NEG ART REDUP~find 'arrive.at'-o:3SG ART basket

'we didn't find the basket'

In (17) and (18), taigha appears at the very beginning of the serial verb construction, and the realis locative t-i appears between the negator and the article na. The entire serial verb construction is negated by taigha.

(17)

Ba

FUT

k-u

IRR-1SG

taigha

NEG

t-i

REAL-LOC

na

ART

mono

stay

varongo

quiet

i

LOC

vanua.

village

Ba k-u taigha t-i na mono varongo i vanua.

FUT IRR-1SG NEG REAL-LOC ART stay quiet LOC village

'I really won't be sitting around in the village.'

(18)

E

3SG

taigha

NEG

t-i

REAL-LOC

na

ART

mono

stay

varongo!

quiet

E taigha t-i na mono varongo!

3SG NEG REAL-LOC ART stay quiet

'He simply cannot be still!'

Sometimes the construction taigha na undergoes elision and is shortened to tai'na, note that the apostrophe exerted here is not a glottal stop but is merely an indicator to know that the word comes from the two root words taigha and na an example of this is in (19):

(19)

"amitai'na

g-ami

PFV-1PL.EXCL

 

teigha

NEG

talamaghi,"

na

ART

ge

agri

agree

tara

ighami

EP:1PL.EXCL

bosa

g-i

PFV-LOC

 

gea

EP:3SG

 

ena

3SG:stay

"amitai'na {} talamaghi," ge tara bosa

g-ami teigha na agri ighami g-i gea ena

PFV-1PL.EXCL NEG ART agree EP:1PL.EXCL PFV-LOC EP:3SG 3SG:stay

'"we don't agree," they said'

It is important to note that this shortened form tai'na 'NEG' should not be confused with tai'na 'LOC'. Refer to example (20), which shows both homophones in use: the first being the locative and the second (bolded) being the combined modal and article.

(20)

ge

tangomana

possible

po

tugu-a

story-o:3SG

tu

tena

LOC

tangomana

bona

time

ni

deni

DEM

tugua

e

3SG

tana

teigha

NEG

bona

na

ART

deni.

tuaghai

long

E

geia

EP:3SG

tai'na

po

LIM

 

taigu

thank.you

tuaghai.

 

 

Gaia

 

 

po.

 

 

Lakatoba.

 

 

ge po tu tangomana ni tugua tana bona deni. E tai'na {} tuaghai. Gaia po. Lakatoba.

tangomana tugu-a tena bona deni e teigha na tuaghai geia po taigu

possible story-o:3SG LOC time DEM 3SG NEG ART long EP:3SG LIM thank.you

'That just the story I am able to tell at this time. It's not long. That's it. Thank you.'

Taigha is flexible and can be used to create negative polar questions and answer polar questions, as in examples (21), (22) and (23).

Example (21) is a negative polar question which can be answered with either eo 'yes' or taigha 'no'. Answering with eo would mean 'yes, I have not seen your basket', whereas answering with taigha would mean 'no, I have seen it'.

In example (22), taigha is used to answer a polar question in the negative. In (23), taigha is modified by an adverbial, vata 'yet'.

(21)

o

2SG

taigha

NEG

na

ART

bere

see

na

ART

kei-gu?

basket-PS:1SG

o taigha na bere na kei-gu?

2SG NEG ART see ART basket-PS:1SG

'you haven't seen my basket?'

(22)

O

2SG

bo

IPFV

dea

go

i

LOC

leghai?

garden

Taigha.

NEG

O bo dea i leghai? Taigha.

2SG IPFV go LOC garden NEG

'Are you going to the garden?' 'No.'

(23)

A

ART

P.

P

t-e

REAL-3SG

mai?

come

Taigha

NEG

vata.

continue

A P. t-e mai? Taigha vata.

ART P REAL-3SG come NEG continue

'Has P. come?' 'Not yet.'

In (24), o taigha 'or NEG' is added to the end of the sentence to create an alternative question.

(24)

Ba

FUT

k-o

IRR-2SG

dea

go

pa

or

taigha?

NEG

Ba k-o dea pa taigha?

FUT IRR-2SG go or NEG

'Are you going or not?'

A content question can also be answered with taigha, as in (25).

(25)

E

3SG

ngitha

how.many

na

ART

igha

fish

t-o

REAL-2SG

lavi?

take

Taigha.

NEG

E ngitha na igha t-o lavi? Taigha.

3SG how.many ART fish REAL-2SG take NEG

'How many fish did you catch?' 'None.'

Prohibitive tabu

The word tabu 'prohibitive (with consequences); forbidden' is another common way of forming a negative. It is often used by parents who are correcting their children. As with taigha 'no/none', a clause could consist of the single word Tabu! 'Don't!' The basic structure is the same as with other modals: the first verb is the modal, and it is followed by the article na and the second verb.

In (26), the consequence of disobeying is explicitly addressed. In (27), the article na is omitted, and the consequence of 'or else ...' is implied.

(26)

Tabu

NEG

na

ART

lavi-a

grab-o:3SG

na

ART

ghau:

knife

bo-e

APPR-3SG

ghado-gho

pierce-o:2SG

Tabu na lavi-a na ghau: bo-e ghado-gho

NEG ART grab-o:3SG ART knife APPR-3SG pierce-o:2SG

'Don't grab the knife: no good it cuts you!'

(27)

Tabu

NEG

le~leu!

REDUP~fight

Tabu le~leu!

NEG REDUP~fight

'Don't fight!'

Non-volitive kou

The third and last negative modal is kou 'refuse', which is used to indicate non-volition. It appears in the same place as taigha and tabu, but carries a more specific meaning.

In example (28), if the more general taigha 'NEG' had been used instead of kou, it would simply mean that the fish do not eat the bait. However, in (28), the fish not only do not eat the bait, but they will not.

Example (29) has the words laka 'also' and t-i 'REAL-LOC' in between the negator and the article na.

(28)

Kou

NEG

na

ART

vanga

eat

na

ART

igha.

fish

Kou na vanga na igha.

NEG ART eat ART fish

'The fish are unwilling to eat [the bait].'

(29)

Ma

CONJ

na

ART

tha

REL

laka,

also

e

3SG

kou

NEG

laka

also

t-i

REAL-LOC

na

ART

lighu-ni-a

pass-TR-o:3SG

ghini-a

INST-o:3SG

igha

fish

deni

DEM

m-e

CONJ-3SG

ghe

continue

laka

also

po

LIM

t-i

REAL-LOC

tena

LOC

maone.

sand

Ma na tha laka, e kou laka t-i na lighu-ni-a ghini-a igha deni m-e ghe laka po t-i tena maone.

CONJ ART REL also 3SG NEG also REAL-LOC ART pass-TR-o:3SG INST-o:3SG fish DEM CONJ-3SG continue also LIM REAL-LOC LOC sand

'And what's more, it [the fish] was unwilling to be passed by him [the turtle] so this fish also just continued onto the sand.'

Auxiliary boro

In Lengo, tense auxiliaries appear before the subject reference pronoun and verb. There are two tense auxiliaries: bo 'FUT' and boro 'impossible FUT'. While boro is perhaps not a straightforward example of negation, it nevertheless does carry a meaning of 'negation for a reason'. If tabu is specifically prohibitive and kou is specifically non-volitive, then boro can be presented as a negator denoting impossibility. Furthermore, it is sometimes glossed as NEG, as in (30):

(30)

Boro

NEG

k-e

IRR-3SG

ghe

continue

dea

go

tena

LOC

group

group

sakai,

one

boro

NEG

tana

LOC

group

group

ruka,

two

ba

FUT

k-e

IRR-3SG

ba

must

oli

FUT

ba

return

tena

FUT

nimiu

LOC

na

PS:2PL

thara

ART

tibo-miu

feast.row

t-i

REFL-PS:2PL

ighamu

REAL-LOC

na

EP:2PL

K.

ART

 

K‍

Boro k-e ghe dea tena group sakai, boro tana group ruka, ba k-e ba oli ba tena nimiu na thara tibo-miu t-i ighamu na K.

NEG IRR-3SG continue go LOC group one NEG LOC group two FUT IRR-3SG must FUT return FUT LOC PS:2PL ART feast.row REFL-PS:2PL REAL-LOC EP:2PL ART K‍

'It cannot go to group one, it cannot go to group two; it must return to your feast row—yourselves [group] K.'

Example (31) shows boro glossed as 'impossible'. However, it still has the effect of negating the verb.

(31)

pukua

because

na

ART

thara

feast

deni

DEM

boro

impossible

k-a

IRR-1PL.INCL

tovothi

separate

thudu

sit

pukua na thara deni boro k-a tovothi thudu

because ART feast DEM impossible IRR-1PL.INCL separate sit

'because at this feast it will be impossible for us to sit separate'

Double negative construction

The modal taigha 'NEG can be combined with the mua ... mua 'NEG ... NEG' structure to create a double negative, which carries the meaning of a strong affirmative, as in (32). However, this construction (meaning 'must') is rarely used. Instead, the Pijin form masi 'must', a borrowing from English, is much more common.

Example (33) shows the same sentence as (32), but without either of the negation structures. This example is a simple imperative.

(32)

k-o

IRR-2SG

mo

NEG

ghe

continue

teigha

NEG

mo

NEG

na

ART

mai

come

k-o mo ghe teigha mo na mai

IRR-2SG NEG continue NEG NEG ART come

'you must come' (lit. 'you must'nt not come')

(33)

k-o

IRR-2SG

ghe

continue

mai

come

k-o ghe mai

IRR-2SG continue come

'you, continue coming'

Abbreviations

The following is a list of all the abbreviations used in this article.

1	first person
2	second person
3	third person
APPR	apprehensive
ART	article
CLF	classifier
CONJ	conjunction
DEM	demonstrative
DU	dual
EP	emphatic pronoun
EX	exclusive
FUT	future
IPFV	imperfective
INST	instrumental
INT	interrogative
IRR	irrealis
LIM	limiter
LOC	locative
o/O	object
PFV	perfective
PL	plural
PS	possessor pronoun / person
REDUP	reduplication
REAL	realis
REFL	reflexive
REL	relative pronoun
SG	singular
TR	transitivitiser

O:object PS:possessor pronoun / person EP:emphatic pronoun LIM:limiter

References

Unger, Paul (2008). Aspects of Lengo grammar (Thesis). Trinity Western University.

External links

• Materials on Karnai are included in the open access Arthur Capell collections (AC1 and AC2) held by Paradisec