[5] The Wikipedia entry for Longgu, which is a Southeast Solomonic language spoken on Guadalcanal, is reported to be originally from Malaita.
Lynch in his review of Oceanic languages found that this constituent order is in fact the most widely geographically distributed pattern.
[8] Verbs in Toqabaqita can include a variety of affixes, both suffixes and prefixes, which mark other grammatical categories of tense aspect, sequentiality and negation.
Nia3SGka3SG.SEQriki-asee.3SG.OBJmaandka3SG.SEQthathami-awant-3.OBJkai3.SG.FUTlaigobiiCOMkeeroqa3DUNia ka riki-a ma ka thathami-a kai lai bii keeroqa3SG 3SG.SEQ see.3SG.OBJ and 3SG.SEQ want-3.OBJ 3.SG.FUT go COM 3DU"He (a boy) saw it and wanted to go with them (his parents)"[18]Nia3SGe3SG.NFUTmataqibe.sicknenaN.PAST.THERENia e mataqi nena3SG 3SG.NFUT be.sick N.PAST.THERE"It (a chicken) is sick (the chicken is in view)"[19]The third person pronoun can be used to specify subject topicalization, even with inanimate objects, as is: dadaku)Calophyllum.spqerithatnia3SGqe3SG.NFUTtakwithatqi'standlaaLOConein sanddadaku) qeri nia qe takwi qi' laa oneCalophyllum.sp that 3SG 3SG.NFUT that stand LOC {in sand}"The dadaku tree, it stood in the sand on the beach"[19]There are numerous specific uses of the independent personal pronouns such as the third person singular pronoun being used to close off a story or a narration, in a verb-less statement: Nia3SGbo-naqaASRT=PRFneriN.PAST>HERENia bo-naqa neri3SG ASRT=PRF N.PAST>HERE"That's all I have to say"[20]To emphasize a pronoun the same strategies that are used with lexical nouns are also employed, but with a specific pronominal foregrounder ni.
The inclusive pronouns can be used in a way to include the addressee, to index personal closeness or in a jocular sense.
"[25]Tha is used with the nouns that refer to children, wela (child, young person), kale (offspring), or weleqi (adult males).
In terms of semantics the personal suffixes are used with relational nouns where the relationship is described as inalienable possession.
The two following examples display this, in that a possessor noun phrase is pronominal, and it is the independent personal pronoun that is employed.
[40] biquhousekeeroqa3DUna=iREL=LOCTakwaraasiTakwarassibiqu keeroqa na=i Takwaraasihouse 3DU REL=LOC Takwarassi"their house at Takwaraasi"[40]tarausistrouserstekwabe.longnau1SGbaathattarausis tekwa nau baatrousers be.long 1SG that"those long trousers of mine"[40]There are a range of strategies that can be used to express negation in Toqabaqita.
"[45]The negative additiveness construction does, however, allow distinct subject identities when its constituent clauses involve weather expressions.
This verb has a range of meanings, including ‘not be so, not be the caseʼ in general uses, and ‘not exist; not be availableʼ in existential constructions.
This is in contrast to the standard constituent order in Toqabaqita in which the subject precedes the verb,[9] shown in the non-negative existential sentence in example (41).
It can be schematised as follows: The NP is optional as indicated by parentheses, while the "mini-clause" qe aqi and the subsequent negative event clause are both obligatory.
"[53]Nau1SGku1SG.NFUTsoe-toqo-naask-TEST-3SG.OBJboqo,ASRTmaandka3SG.SEQaqiNEGVsi3SG.NEGoli-sireturn-TRnau1SGNau ku soe-toqo-na boqo, ma ka aqi si oli-si nau1SG 1SG.NFUT ask-TEST-3SG.OBJ ASRT and 3SG.SEQ NEGV 3SG.NEG return-TR 1SG"I did ask him, but (lit.
[55] Indeed, these four basic categories are loosely defined on criteria outlined by Nikolaus P Himmelmann,[56] however this entire article will also briefly consider demonstrative type criteria as argued by Holger Diessel,[57] which draws on evidence from linguistic theories beyond typology, including child language acquisition, markedness theory, and grammaticalisation.
[62] There is some flexibility in terms of which sphere a referent may be categorised, starting with the most apparent: Additionally, spatial distinctions are often combined with temporal aspects in Toqabaqita, where the time of the speech act also approximates physical proximity to a speaker.
[59] The below table summarises this: In addition to speaker relativity encoded by spheres, spatial distinctions are also made in terms of planar and elevational dimensions in Toqabaqita.
[64] Primarily, the encoding of spheres correlates to the position of referents along a medial-distal plane, which contrasts with elevational, up-down distinctions which are described using qualifying demonstratives.
It also includes use of an addressee proximal determiner demonstrative: Welachildqe3SG.NFUTbiinga;be.asleepqoko2SG.SEQalu-aput-3.OBJtaunamomosquito.netqenathat(2)faafi-a.SUPER-3SG.OBJWela qe biinga; qoko alu-a taunamo qena faafi-a.child 3SG.NFUT be.asleep 2SG.SEQ put-3.OBJ mosquito.net that(2) SUPER-3SG.OBJ"The child is asleep; put the mosquito net over him.
Additionally, that wela, is glossed as meaning 'the child', indicating a form of definiteness about the unmarked noun.
See below for a full list of determiner demonstratives and their meanings: Note that the numbers 2, and 3 in parentheses in the table exist to differentiate the addressee and the distal, since in English, there is no comparable distinction.
[56][58] Since determiner demonstratives encode such a strong sense of spatial deixis in Toqabaqita, they have been included in this section, despite the increased level of syntactical restriction in typological formal criteria pertaining to its usage.
"[71]Examples 56 and 57 demonstrate the addressee proximal forms used where the referent is part of the whole: Losi-aremove.nasal.mucus-3.OBJgwangonasal.mucusqena.that(2)Losi-a gwango qena.remove.nasal.mucus-3.OBJ nasal.mucus that(2)"Get rid of your snot."
[73] Unlike the other determiner demonstratives, baa, signals exophoric use which describes the absence rather than the location of a referent.
It is used to refer to entities which were once in the speaker's sphere, but which are no longer, for instance, it is commonly used in questions asking for where things are (see example 59).
"Note that locative adverbs are not part of the noun phrase, and so they are not, for instance, followed by a postnominal marker, which has been a criterion of both determiner and qualifying demonstratives (see example 64).
While determiners are confined in use as part of a noun phrase, the use of the presentative locative demonstrative adverbs is far less restricted.
)[85]The presentative adverb may also take on an oblique object, as in example 65: Olireturnfaafi-aCONF-3.OBJnaifaknifewanemann=oREL=2SG.NFUTbili-asteal-3.OBJmaiVENTnena.there(2)Oli faafi-a naifa wane n=o bili-a mai nena.return CONF-3.OBJ knife man REL=2SG.NFUT steal-3.OBJ VENT there(2)"Take back (lit.
"[93]Stylistic choices are also possible in that it is grammatical to choose a situational adverb depending on how the speaker wishes to contextualise the speech act.
[95] ASRT:assertive PROFORE:prenominal foregrounder PRSMKR:person marker NEGV:negative verb SBEN:self-benefactive LIM:limiter GENP:general preposition IDENT:identifier VENT:ventive ADD:additive DVN:deverbal noun HERE:speaker proximal THERE:non speaker proximal TEST:test SUPER:superessive PRTT:partitive CONF:confective