The letter ŋ was replaced by the digraph ng in the 2015 orthography.[4]
Grammar
Negation
Simple negation
Simple negation in Adzera is achieved by the word imaʔ 'no'. This word can be used on its own in response to a question, or paired with a negative sentence.[5] For example:
The Amari dialect of Adzera is specifically noted for its use of namu for 'no' where all other Adzera dialects would use imaʔ. however, in Amari both words can be used interchangeably.[5]
Negation of a noun phrase
The simple negative forms above can be used in a noun phrase after the noun to modify it. Such as mamaʔ namu 'No children'. This can also apply to a coordinated noun phrase, such as iyam da ifab 'dog and pig' where iyam da ifab namu would mean that there were no dogs and no pigs.[6]
Negation of a verb phrase
Most negation is done through the verb phrase. For general circumstances, verbal negation is achieved by a verbal prefixanuŋʔ- And an optional negation particleu at the end of the sentence.[6] For example:
However, for verbs in the imperative or hortative forms, which take a prefix wa- or na- respectively, the negative is achieved by replacing their respective prefixes with a negative form ma- followed at the end of the sentence by a compulsory particle maʔ.[7]
When two negative verbs or phrases are joined by da ‘and’ the first verb takes the negative prefix anuŋʔ-, and the negative particle u comes at the end of the whole sentence.[8]
muŋʔ ugu
a.long.time.ago
da
TIME
sagat
woman
anuŋʔ-
NEG
i-
REAL
ga
eat
was
lime
da
and
i-
REAL
is
hit
pauʔ
tobacco
u
NEG
{muŋʔ ugu} da sagat anuŋʔ- i- ga was da i- is pauʔ u
a.long.time.ago TIME woman NEG REAL eat lime and REAL hit tobacco NEG
A long time ago, women neither chewed betel nut nor smoked tobacco.[8]
Negation with future tense
When negating a sentence in the future tense, the future tense prefix is replaced with the realis prefix. Any future time marking still remains. There is also a preference toward forming negative sentences in the future tense with an auxiliary verbsaŋʔ 'be able, be enough' before the main verb of the sentence, suggesting a reluctance toward making negative statements about the future.[9] For example:
tataʔ
tomorrow
da
TIME
u
2SG
anuŋʔ-
NEG
i-
REAL
saŋʔ
be.enough
fa
go
-da
PTCP
taun
town
u
NEG
tataʔ da u anuŋʔ-i- saŋʔ fa -da taun u
tomorrow TIME 2SG NEGREAL be.enough go PTCP town NEG
When coordinating two sentences of future tense, the first verb phrase replaces the future prefix with the realis, but all following verb phrases retain their future tense marking.[9]
Cates, Ann R. (1974). "The Atzera Literacy Programme: An Experimental Campaign in Papua New Guinea". Papua New Guinea Journal of Education. 10: 34–38.
Holzknecht, K. G. (1973a). "The Phonemes of the Adzera Language". In Holzknecht, K.; Phillips, D. (eds.). Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 17. Series A – No. 38. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 1–11. doi:10.15144/PL-A38.1. hdl:1885/145022.
Holzknecht, K. G. (1973b). "Morphophonemics of the Adzera Language". In Holzknecht, K.; Phillips, D. (eds.). Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 17. Series A – No. 38. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 13–19. doi:10.15144/PL-A38.13. hdl:1885/145022.
Holzknecht, K. G. (1973c). "A Synopsis of Verb Forms in Adzera". In Holzknecht, K.; Phillips, D. (eds.). Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 17. Series A – No. 38. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 21–28. doi:10.15144/PL-A38.21. hdl:1885/145022.
Holzknecht, K. G. (1978). Adzera–English Dictionary.
Holzknecht, S. (1986). "A Morphology and Grammar of Adzera (Amari Dialect), Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea". Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 24. Series A – No. 70. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 77–166. doi:10.15144/PL-A70.77. hdl:1885/145029.
