View source for Mono-Alu language

{{short description|Austronesian language spoken in the Solomon Islands}}
{{Other uses|Mono language (disambiguation){{!}}Mono language}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Mono
|altname=Mono-Alu
|region=[[Solomon Islands]]
|ethnicity=[[Mono-Alu people|Mono-Alu]]
|speakers={{sigfig|2944|2}}
|date=1999
|ref=e18
|familycolor=Austronesian
  |fam2=[[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]
  |fam3=[[Oceanic languages|Oceanic]]
|fam4=[[Western Oceanic languages|Western]]
|fam5=[[Meso-Melanesian languages|Meso-Melanesian]]
|fam6=[[Northwest Solomonic languages|Northwest Solomonic]]
|fam7=[[Mono–Uruavan languages|Mono–Uruavan]]
|iso3=mte
|glotto=mono1273
|glottorefname=Mono-Alu
|dia1=Mono
|dia2=Alu
|dia3=Fauro
}}

'''Mono''', also known as '''Alu''', is an [[Oceanic language]] of [[Solomon Islands|the Solomon Islands]], reportedly spoken by a total of 2,944 people with 660 people on [[Treasury Island]] (Mono proper), 2,270 on [[Shortland Island]] (Alu dialect), and 14 on [[Fauro Island]] in 1999.<ref name=e18/>

The Mono-Alu language has been documented by Joel L. Fagan,<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Short grammar of the Alu language}}</ref> a researcher at the Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies at the [[Australian National University]]. His publication, "A Grammatical Analysis of Mono-Alu (Bougainville Straits, Solomon Islands),"<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Fagan |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/grammaticalanaly096bfaga |title=A Grammatical Analysis of Mono-Alu (Bougainville Straits, Solomon Islands) |publisher=The Australian National University |year=1986 |isbn=0-85883-339-5 |location=Canberra, Australia |doi=10.15144/PL-B96 |hdl=1885/145402 |url-access=registration}}</ref> is the first and only translation and analysis of the Mono-Alu language.

== Orthography ==

=== The Alu alphabet ===

# The Alu alphabet has 19 letters: A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, and V.
# Of these letters, D was seldom used instead of R for euphony's sake but is used now in new foreign words or names introduced in the language. It is also used to represent the allophonic variant [d] of the phoneme /ɾ/.
#The letter V is used to represent the allophonic variant [v] of the phoneme /b/.
#The letter H is sometimes replaced by F.
#Length distinctions of vowels and nasals are not represented in the current orthography.
#Although not in the alphabet, the letters J and Z can be used to represent the marginal phonemes /d͡ʒ/ and /z/, respectively, which only occur in [[Loanword|loanwords]] and appear to be phonologically integrated.

== Phonology ==
=== Consonants ===
There are 13 phonemic consonants in Mono-Alu.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}} ⟨ng⟩
|
|-
! [[Plosive]]
| {{IPA link|p}} {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{IPA link|g}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Fricative]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}}
|
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! [[Tap and flap consonants|Tap]]
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ}} ⟨r⟩
|
|
|-
! [[Approximant]]
| ({{IPA link|w}}) ⟨u⟩
| {{IPA link|l}}
| ({{IPA link|j}}) ⟨i⟩
|
|}

* /b/ can also be heard as [[Fricative|fricatives]] [β, v] under certain conditions.
* /ɡ/ can be heard as [ɣ] in free variation.
* /ɾ/ can also be heard as [d] in free variation within word-initial position, or as [dɾ] when following a nasal.
* /u, i/ are heard as glides [w, j] within vowel environments.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Meier |first=Sabrina C. |title=Topics in the Grammar of Mono-Alu (Oceanic) |publisher=University of Newcastle |year=2020}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
* Other sounds /z/ and /d͡ʒ/ only occur in loanwords.<ref name=":1" />

=== Vowels ===
The Mono-Alu vowel system consists of five phonemic monophthongs and three long vowels.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}, {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} ⟨e⟩
|
| {{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɔː}} ⟨o⟩
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
| {{IPA link|ɐ}}, {{IPA link|ɐː}} ⟨a⟩
|
|}

* /i/ has the allophone [iʲ] and it occurs before other vowels (e.g. [sɐpɐiʲɐ] ‘tuber species’, [mɐniʲɔkɔ] ‘papaya’).
* /u/ can occur as [ʊ] in casual speech when the vowel is short and it does not occur in word-final open syllables. The allophone [uʷ] occurs before /i/ and /ɛ/ (e.g. [kuʷisɐ] ‘basket’, [suʷɛlɛ] ‘sleep’).
* /ɔ/ has the allophonic variant [ɔʷ] and it occurs in the exclamation [kɔʷɛ] and is the only instance where this allophone is attested. Elsewhere it is pronounced as [ɔ].
* /ɐ/ and /ɛ/ do not have allophones.

=== Syllable structure ===
The syllable structure can be either (C)V<sub>1</sub>(V<sub>2</sub>)(N) or (ʔ)N, where C can be any consonant (including nasals), V can be any vowel, and N can be either /n/ or /ŋ/. The sequence V<sub>1</sub>V<sub>2</sub> represents a long vowel if both V's are the same phoneme, or a diphthong if they are different. In the syllable pattern (ʔ)N, N is a nasal [[Syllabic consonant|syllabic nucleus]] (e.g. [ŋ̩.kɐ] ‘mother’, [ŋ̩.kɔ.tɔ] ‘take, hold’).

Both in coda and nucleic position, N is always realized as velar [ŋ] before /k/, /g/ /ʔ/, and /h/.<ref name=":1" />

== Numerals ==
The number system of Mono-Alu is very similar to other [[Austronesian languages]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Letters written in Mono-Alu language of Western District, Solomon Islands to Hilary Forster of N.Z.; Mono-Alu word list by Hilary Forster of N.Z. and a teacher from Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands|last=Lincoln, Forster|first=Peter, Hilary|year=2001|location=Shortlands, Solomon Islands}}</ref> For example, Mono-Alu shares the words for the numbers 'two' ({{lang|mte|elua}}) and 'five' ({{lang|mte|lima}}) with the [[Hawaiian language]]. A number for 'zero' exists in the language but is under the same use as the word 'nothing.' Fagan identified numbers from one to ten thousand in Mono-Alu.
{| class="wikitable"
!Cardinal
!English
|-
|{{lang|mte|Menna}}
|zero
|-
|{{lang|mte|Kala}} (or {{lang|mte|elea}})
|one
|-
|{{lang|mte|Elua}}
|two
|-
|{{lang|mte|Episa}}
|three
|-
|{{lang|mte|Ehati}}
|four
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lima}}
|five
|-
|{{lang|mte|Onomo}}
|six
|-
|{{lang|mte|Hitu}}
|seven
|-
|{{lang|mte|Alu}}
|eight
|-
|{{lang|mte|Ulia}}
|nine
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu}}
|ten
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona elea}}
|eleven
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona elua}}
|twelve
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona episa}}
|thirteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona efati}}
|fourteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona lima}}
|fifteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona onomo}}
|sixteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona hitu}}
|seventeen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona alu}}
|eighteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu rohona ulia}}
|nineteen
|-
|{{lang|mte|Elua lafulu}} (or {{lang|mte|Tanaoge}})
|twenty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Episa lafulu}} (or {{lang|mte|Pisafulu}})
|thirty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Efati lafulu}} (or {{lang|mte|Fatiafulu}})
|forty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lima lafulu}} (or {{lang|mte|limafulu}})
|fifty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Onomo lafulu}}
|sixty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fitu lafulu}}
|seventy
|-
|{{lang|mte|Alu lafulu}}
|eighty
|-
|{{lang|mte|Ulia lafulu}} (or {{lang|mte|Siafulu}})
|ninety
|-
|{{lang|mte|Ea latuu}}
|one-hundred
|-
|{{lang|mte|Elua latuu}}
|two-hundred
|-
|{{lang|mte|Ea kokolei}}
|one-thousand
|-
|{{lang|mte|Elua kokolei}}
|two-thousand
|-
|{{lang|mte|Lafulu kokolei}}
|ten-thousand
|}
<ref name=":0" />

Mono-Alu also made{{clarify|date=February 2023}} use of ordinal numbers. However, only 'first' ({{lang|mte|famma}}) is an actual word, where as all other successive numbers are a grammatical construct.
{| class="wikitable"
!Ordinal
!English
|-
|{{lang|mte|famma}}
|first
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-elua-naang}}
|second
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-epis-naana}}
|third
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-ehati-naana}}
|fourth
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-lima-naana}}
|fifth
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-onomo-naana}}
|sixth
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-hitu-naana}}
|seventh
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-alu-naana}}
|eighth
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-ulia-naana}}
|ninth
|-
|{{lang|mte|Fa-lafulu-naana}}
|tenth
|}
<ref name=":0" />

== Grammar ==

=== Pronouns ===
Mono-Alu, like many other Austronesian languages, uses two separate [[Pronoun|pronouns]] for the first-person plural in order to express [[clusivity]]; that is, one first person plural pronoun is inclusive (including the listener), and the other is exclusive (not including the listener). Mono-Alu does not have third person pronouns. Fagan translated pronouns and their possessives.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ <ref name=":0" />
! colspan="3" | 
! Pronoun
! Obj
! Suffix
! Other
|-
! rowspan="3" | 1st<br />person
! colspan="2" | singular
| {{lang|mte|mafa}}
| {{lang|mte|-afa}}
| {{lang|mte|-gu}}
| {{lang|mte|sagu}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | plural
! exclusive
| {{lang|mte|mani}}
| {{lang|mte|-ami}}
| {{lang|mte|-mang}}, {{lang|mte|-ma}}
| {{lang|mte|samang/sama}}
|-
! inclusive
| {{lang|mte|maita}}
| {{lang|mte|-ita}}
| {{lang|mte|-ra}}
| {{lang|mte|sara}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2nd<br />person
! colspan="2" | singular
| {{lang|mte|maito}}
| {{lang|mte|-o}}
| {{lang|mte|-ng}}
| {{lang|mte|sang}}
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| {{lang|mte|maang}}
| {{lang|mte|-ang}}
| {{lang|mte|-mia}}
| {{lang|mte|samia}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 3rd<br />person
! colspan="2" | singular
| ---
| {{lang|mte|-i}}, {{lang|mte|-ng}}
| {{lang|mte|-na}}
| {{lang|mte|sana}}
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| ---
| {{lang|mte|-ri}}, {{lang|mte|-iri}}
| {{lang|mte|-ria}}
| {{lang|mte|saria}}
|}

=== Affixes ===
Mono-Alu is very specific regarding adverbs and other verb affixes. Verbs can be altered with a prefix, infix, and a suffix.
{| class="wikitable"
!Prefixes
!
!Infixes
!
!Suffixes
!
|-
|{{lang|mte|ang}}
|relative prefix, alternate forms {{lang|mte|an}}, {{lang|mte|ai}}, {{lang|mte|a'nta}}
|{{lang|mte|fa}}
|infix denoting completion
|{{lang|mte|ai}}
|there, away
|-
|{{lang|mte|fa}}
|causative prefix, {{lang|mte|fa}} becomes {{lang|mte|f}} before ''a'', alternate form {{lang|mte|ha}}
|{{lang|mte|fang}}
|one another (reciprocal infix), alternate form {{lang|mte|fan}}
|{{lang|mte|ma}}
|hither, thither, alternate form {{lang|mte|ama}}
|-
|{{lang|mte|ta}}
|infix or prefix showing action or state.
|{{lang|mte|fero}}
|elsewhere, to somewhere else
|
|
|-
|
|
|{{lang|mte|isa}}
|together, at the same time, alternate {{lang|mte|sa}}
|
|
|-
|
|
|{{lang|mte|male}}
|again (also occurs independently)
|
|
|-
|
|
|{{lang|mte|mea}}
|makes a plural
|
|
|-
|
|
|{{lang|mte|meka}}
|until tired, for a very long time, alternate form {{lang|mte|meko}}
|
|
|}
<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable"
|{{lang|mte|a}}
|place where or whether,{{clarify|date=February 2023}} alternate form {{lang|mte|ang}} occurs after ''a''
|-
|{{lang|mte|ng}}
|added to the first of two names gives the meaning 'and', alternate form ''m''
|-
|{{lang|mte|ua}}
|denotes addition, 'and', 'with'
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| {{lang|mte|-a}}
|'of', especially before {{lang|mte|-ang}}, alternate forms {{lang|mte|an}}, {{lang|mte|ang}}, {{lang|mte|aan}}
|-
|{{lang|mte|afa-}}
|'what?'
|-
| {{lang|mte|-ata}}
|often found after verbs and other words, alternate forms {{lang|mte|eta}}, {{lang|mte|ita}}, {{lang|mte|ota}}, {{lang|mte|uta}}
|-
|{{lang|mte|ga}}
|particle, most often after the first word in a sentence, untranslatable; 'so, therefore' at the beginning of a sentence, also used with pronoun forms to emphasise them: {{lang|mte|gafa}}, {{lang|mte|gami}}, {{lang|mte|gai}}, {{lang|mte|gaina}}, {{lang|mte|gang}}, etc.
|-
| {{lang|mte|-nana}}
|equivalent to copula, alternate form {{lang|mte|nina}}
|-
| {{lang|mte|-titi}}
|strengthens the idea of repetition or duration
|}
=== Grammatical gender ===
There are two ways of indicating differences of [[grammatical gender]]:

# By different words: - e.g.
#* {{lang|mte|Tiong}} 'man' – {{lang|mte|Betafa}} 'woman'
#* {{lang|mte|Fanua}} 'men' – {{lang|mte|Talaiva}} 'women'
#* {{lang|mte|Lalaafa}} 'headman' – {{lang|mte|Mamaefa}} 'headwoman'
#* {{lang|mte|Tua-na}} 'his grandfather' – {{lang|mte|Tete-na}} 'his grandmother'
#* {{lang|mte|Kanega}} 'old man' (husband) – {{lang|mte|Magota}} 'old woman' (wife)
# By using an ordinal indicative of sex: – e.g.
#* {{lang|mte|Kui manuale}} 'baby' (male) – {{lang|mte|Kui batafa}} 'baby' (female)
#* {{lang|mte|Boo sule}} 'boar' – {{lang|mte|Boo tuaru}} 'sow' ({{lang|mte|sule}} and {{lang|mte|tuaru}} are used for animals only)

In other cases, there is no distinction between masculine, feminine, and neuter.

=== Adverbs ===
Some exceptions within the rules of Mono-Alu have been discovered.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Some Instruments Are Really Good Companions - Some Are Not. On Syncretism and the Typology of Instrumentals and Comitatives.|last=Stolz|first=Thomas|year=1996|pages=Theoretical Linguistics 23. 113–200}}</ref>

Two adverbs of place, instead of being written with a double consonant, are written with only one accentuated.

* e.g. {{lang|mte|Nai}} (instead of {{lang|mte|NNai}}) – 'here'
* {{lang|mte|'Nao}} (instead of {{lang|mte|NNao}}) – 'there'

Instead of the [[Aspirated consonant|aspirate]] ''h'', the letter ''f'' can be used:

# in verbs preceded by the causative {{lang|mte|ha}} (or {{lang|mte|fa}})
#* e.g. {{lang|mte|fasoku}} (or {{lang|mte|hasoku}}) – 'let come'
# in verbs preceded by the prefix {{lang|mte|han}} (or {{lang|mte|fan}}), meaning reciprocity or duality
#* e.g. {{lang|mte|fanua}} (or {{lang|mte|hanua}}) - 'mon'{{verify spelling|date=February 2023}}
#* {{lang|mte|mafa}} (or {{lang|mte|maha}}) - 'I, no'<ref name=":0" />

==== Articles ====
There is no definite [[Article (grammar)|article]] in Alu. The number {{lang|mte|elea}} ('one') is used as an indefinite article.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Languages of the Solomon Islands}}
{{Meso-Melanesian languages}}
{{Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages}}

[[Category:Languages of the Solomon Islands]]
[[Category:Northwest Solomonic languages]]