NOMINAL MARKING SYSTEM OF BAHASA MANGGARAI AND ITS INTERRELATION TO NAMING SYSTEM OF ENTITIES: A CULTURAL LINGUISTIC STUDY
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NOMINAL MARKING SYSTEM OF BAHASA MANGGARAI AND ITS INTERRELATION TO NAMING SYSTEM OF ENTITIES: A CULTURAL LINGUISTIC STUDY
Kletus Erom1, Aron Meko Mbete2, Ketut Artawa2,
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Ida Bagus Putra Yadnya2
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1Postgraduate Program, Udayana University
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2Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the cultural imagery of the Manggaraian Speech Communities (MSC) in “Nominal Marking System (NMS) of Bahasa Manggarai and Its Interrelation with Naming Systems of Entity (NSE): A Cultural Linguistic Study”. The result of the analysis is useful for both the academic world and the life of the society, especially the MSC.
The study conducted in Manggarai Regency, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, is qualitative. The data were obtained through observation, elicitation, interview, documentation study, listening, and note taking. For this reason, a number of questions were prepared in a written form. The data obtained were analyzed through steps of selection, listing, translation, and interpretation of the formal linguistic meaning and cultural imagery of the MSC. The result of the data analysis is informally reported and verbally described.
To analyze the data, the Cultural Linguistic Theory was applied and supported by the structural and the dynamic theories. To know the chance and to inspire the study, a number of previous studies were reviewed. To easily understand, direct, and limit the discussion of the study, a number of basic concepts were defined.
Syntactically and semantically, there are four kinds of nominal markers (NMs) of BM. NMs in the forms of personal pronouns (PP): hau ‘you SG’, hia/hi ‘he/she’, meu ‘you-PLUR’, and ise ‘they’ mark proper nouns (PN) as the Subject/Agent or Object/Patient in a clause bearing the meaning of subject or object position of a clause and not common nouns (CN). NMs in the forms of de/ di/ dise mark the noun (CN/pronoun or PN) as the possessor of the possessed noun in a clause bearing the meaning of possession. NMs in the forms of le/ li/ lise mark the noun (CN/pronoun or PN) as the agent diathesis of an action targeted to a noun as the patient diathesis in a clause bearing the meaning of addition or the target/locality of an action. And NMs in the forms of ge/ gi/ gise mark the noun (CN/pronoun or PN) added to another noun or become the target/locality of an action taking place in a clause bearing the meaning of addition or the target/locality of an action.
Beside the four meanings above, NMS of BM also bears a number of the meanings, as stated in the following. The meaning of kinship intimacy is marked by the PN marking the kinship names. The meanings of individual and group representations are revealed by the singular PN itself simultaneously by the plural
PN. The meaning of priority to a majority group is revealed by the morpheme of the Subject Pronominal Copy fused in one of clause functions (Predicator, Object, and Adverb). The meaning of group of representation is revealed by plural markers on the singular PN representing other PN that is physically absent from a clause.
The NMS of BM has its own phonological and graphological characteristics. Phonology deals with the pronunciation and graphology with the writing of the NM and the noun marked in a clause.
The four NMs are grouped into two on the basis of the noun marked, i.e. Common Nominal Markers (CNM), covering de, le, and ge and Proper Nominal Markers (PNM), covering NM in the forms of PP, PNM of possessive di/ dise, PNM of agent diathesis li/ lise, and PNM of combined/targeted gi/ gise. The four PNMs are also grouped into two based on the number of the proper noun (PN) marked, i.e the singular PNM: hau, hia/ hi, di, li, gi, and the plural PNM: meu, ise, dise, lise, gise.
Other linguistic facts in BM seem to appear, such as the common syntactic pattern of BM: Predicator (V) – Object/Patient (N) – Subject/Agent (N), Subject Pronominal Copy, Possessive Pronominal Copy, and nominal repetitions meaning plural in BM are not found.
The NSE is given to entities humans, domestic animals: dogs and horses, static objects made by human: cleave and whip, and objects of natural environment: rocks, trees, water sources, and wild animals. The MSC has four kinds of names, i.e. Manggaraian Names (MN), Catholic/Christian Names, Kinship Term Names, and Pseudonyms. The interrelation between the NMS and the NSE bears a number of cultural imageries: differentiation, animacy, honorific, solidarity, identity, prestige, democracy, and work. Initial consonant, especially in proper names, is considered impolite, cruel, strong, energetic, while initial vowels polite or gentle.
The NMS of BM has undergone significant changed. The change has only occurred on the lexicons, such as changing from BM to BI, even English. The NSE of the MSC has changed significantly. The MN has changed its phonological characteristics, the number of unit names, the tendency of the children’s names following their fathers’ names, the decrease in assonance practice in proper names and some pseudonyms, naming of dogs is not only based on the colour of their fur, the declination of the practice of naming a cleave and a whip, and the PN of the objects of the natural environment.
Key Words: Bahasa Manggarai, common noun, cultural linguistics, dynamics, imagery, interrelation, marking system, naming system, nominal marker, noun, proper noun.
Every language has its own unique system. One of the language systems is grammar, which has its own meaning, that both is created by the lexicogrammatical system and the interrelation between language and other cultural systems living in the society.
Bahasa Manggarai (BM) has its own unique systems of meaning and form. One of them is the nominal marking system (NMS) interrelated with naming system of entities (NSE). The system is greatly determined by the cultural imagery of the Manggaraian speech communities (MSC) on the meaning of both common name/noun (CN) and proper name/noun (PN). The PN is very important in the cultural imagery of the MSC. The importance of such name is not merely described but is also linguistically, grammatically, syntactically revealed by the specific marking system. The cultural imagery is the most important determinant on language grammar (Palmer, 1996: 114).
Nowadays our world is facing the process of globalization in all aspects of human life: ideology, politics, economy, social, culture, defence, and security which necessitates the important role of the international language. Any international negotiation which sounds those aspects of life is usually conducted in international language, like English. As a result of this condition, more and more people think that it is a great need of learning and mastering the international language, especially English for the sake of prestige, achievement, and job access. This condition can disturb the activity of learning and speaking of BI, more over local languages.
The stream of globalization is so stronger that it impacts the local languages and cultures that certainly needs higher role of the national language, BI. As a result, the local languages and cultures would be pressed and colonized by two forces: the national language and culture of Indonesia and the international language and culture (Tantra, 2002) which can also disturb the activity of learning and speaking of local languages. This condition can seriously threaten local languages and cultures (Mbete, 2003), including BM in Manggarai Regency, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province.
The stream of globalization does not only impact the local languages but also other aspects of local cultures, such as Naming System of Entities (NSE) which is
undergoing significant changes and developments on the number and phonological characters of the name of the MSC. The number of name for an MSC has changed and developed from one name to two when Catholic Church entered Manggarai in 1913 or other religions. Such changes and developments were considered positive because the introduction of the Catholic Church to Manggarai only added one more name without eliminating Manggaraian name (MN) with its own peculiar phonological characteristics.
However, the changes and developments since 1980-ish indicate that NSE has shown not only the specific characteristics revealing two identities, as an MSC and as religious people, in this case, Catholic. MNs often have been replaced by the names of other region, ethnic, or religion characteristics, such as Hironimus Sartono, Remigius Anwar, etc. Besides, the number of names increased from two unit names to be three, four, even five for an MSC, for example, Ivantus Gunawan Mahang, Petronela Nelci Diana Edita Dali.
Based on the local languages and cultures development phenomena, the researcher was inspired to design and do a study on BM interrelated with naming system. The research was formulated in a title “Nominal Marking System of Bahasa Manggarai and Its Interrelation to Naming System of Entities: a Cultural Linguistic Study”. This topic is specified into four problems. How is the nominal marking system of BM? How is the naming system of entities of the MSC? How is the dynamics of the MSC and the NSE? How is the cultural imagery of the MSC in NMS interrelated with NSE? The study is expected to be able to discover the NMS of BM and the NSE of the MSC that bears formal linguistic meaning and the cultural imagery of the MSC.
To see the chance and to inspire this study, a number of studies consisting of theses, dissertations, the studies in books and articles, were reviewed. Bustan’s study (2005) about “Cultural Discourse of Tudak Penti” seems to be an anthropological study. Erom’s study (2004) about Parallelism Expressions of BM and Its Dynamics in Reality of the Manggaraian Social Culture” also seems to be an anthropological study. Comrie’s (1989) study about animacy seemed to define animacy not as a
mental model, but a hierarchy of entities arranged on the scale of human → animal → inanimate being. According to Palmer (1996: 148) cultures vary greatly attributing life to natural phenomena. Dedrick’s study about DaiÞa/NaioÞa/ LaioÞa names has some similarities with the NSE of MSC. Palmer’s study (1996: 148) about the Yaqui speakers, who concluded that for Yaqui speakers animate images have greater salience than static images. Hoijer’s study about Navajo language extracted by Palmer (1996: 149-150) who concluded that the Navajo speakers have dominant concept about the universe in motion. Hale’s study (1973) and Witherspoon’s study (1977) on Navajo language extracted by Palmer (1996: 150151) found that control marking is a salient grammatical features in Navajo languages. Lucy’s study (1992) about attending to numbers in Yucatec Maya and English extracted and commented by Palmer (1996: 159-163, who concluded that language influenced the thought or the frequency of pluralizing in every language influences the verbal and nonverbal interpretations to pictures and the main lexical structures associated with number marking in language. Jeladu’s study (2000) about “Argumen Aktor dalam Bahasa Manggarai dan Pemetaan Fungsinya”. Jeladu used the term Pronominal Copy for –n and –s ending which has not specified their grammatical meaning. Palmer’s study (1996: 262) about the language of Coeur d’Alene in which one of his conclusions is that the language pattern is V–O–S which is similar to the common pattern of the clause of BM. All the studies, with their lackness and excellence inspired this study.
To understand, direct and limit the study, a number of basic concepts dealing with the study were adopted. Such concepts include nominal marking system (NMS), BM, interrelation, naming system of entities (NSE), Manggaraian speech communities (MSC), cultural linguistic analysis (CLA), and dynamics.
NMS is a system of specific signing or marking both common noun and proper noun. BM is a language spoken by speakers living in Manggarai Regency in various social interactions. Interrelation is a syntactical co-variation between NMS and NSE. NSE is a system of naming entities covering humans, domestic animals, static object made by humans, and objects of natural environment. MSC refers to speaker of BM living in Manggarai Regency. CLA is a kind language analysis applying theory of cultural linguistics which pays specific attention on imagery roles
in each language expression. And dynamics refers to changes and development in NMS and NSE.
To analyze the data, the theory of cultural linguistics, a cultural theory of linguistic meaning, was applied. It is the synthesis of cognitive linguistics with Boasian linguistics, ethnosemantics, and ethnography of speaking. The theory of cultural linguistics really revitalizes the theory of cognitive linguistics. Both theories are fundamentally theory of mental imageries. The theory of cultural linguistics pays specific attention to imagery role in each language expression.
Imagery governs a grammatical construction of language (Palmer, 1996: 5). Grammatical construction is only one of so many systems in language. Thus, imagery also influences or bases all other language systems. This statement is made clearer in the assertion of Palmer (1996: 4) that the theme of imagery in language provides a basis for examining a surprisingly wide range of linguistic topics, such as narrative, figurative language, semantics of words, grammatical constructions, discourse, even phonology.
The grammatical constructions we use usually form our ideas about the world (Whorf in Kövecses, 2006: 245). Some cognitive linguists also stated that grammar reflects the way its speakers schematically conceptualize the world (Kövecses, 2006: 244). Many of cognitive processes that we find in cognition and culture can be found in what is called grammar of language. The grammar of language is a complex cognitive system which its principle and process work together with cognitive system in general (Kövecses, 2006: 295).
Thus, NMS of BM and NSE of MSC are influenced by or based on imagery because both are language expressions, which represents the play of verbal symbols that are based in imagery (Palmer, 1996: 3).
The study located in Manggarai Regency, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, with data source in oral and written, is qualitative. So, the qualitative method of study, a kind of social study relevant to analyze cultural linguistics to find out qualitatively the cultural imagery of the MSC revealed in NMS of BM interrelated with NSE, was applied.
Qualitative study focuses on the quality of observation on human life. Besides, the findings of qualitative study are not gained through quantification or statistical procedure, like the tradition in pure empirical sciences (Mantra, 2004: 26). It is so because the main problem in qualitative study is to understand the meaning, called imagery in cultural linguistics, which is determined by the quality of the data, called the depth of data by (Kleden, 1984: 61), not by large amount of data.
As a qualitative study, data analysis was inductively done, i.e. starting from the data analysis to theory. Dealing with this, qualitative method has some main features, i.e. (1) the primary data is natural and cultural life, (2) the study process is of the same important with the study result, (3) to prioritize constructive negotiation between the researcher and the informants to seek and find out the shared meaning, and (4) it is supported by the sufficient rational theories.
As a cultural linguistic study attempting to seek and find out the cultural imagery of the MSC revealed in language expression used, the analysis of this study started from the analysis of the linguistic system, i.e. NMS of BM interrelated with NSE flowing into the finding of kinds of nominal markers (NMs) of BM on the basis of lexicogrammatical and lexicosemantic systems. From the systems the formal linguistic meaning of BM can be revealed. Finally, still basing on such meaning, the cultural imagery of the MSC was analyzed by way of interpretation.
Two kinds of data (oral and written) were gained through active participation, elicitation, standardized and nonstandardized interviews, documentation study, and note taking. For this reason, a number of written questions was prepared. The data gained were analyzed by ways of selection, listing, translating, and interpreting the formal linguistic meaning and the cultural imagery of the MSC. As a qualitative study, the result of the data analysis is informally reported, i.e. verbally described.
The result of the data analysis is divided in line with the specification of the problem questions and the steps of analysis. The problems questions include NMS of BM, NSE of MSC, the dynamics of the two systems, and cultural imagery of NMS interrelated with NSE. Each research problem has its own steps of analysis.
The result of the analysis of NMS of BM involves aspects of syntax, semantics, phonology and graphology, and cultural imagery. However, language as a system, of course has interrelation interaspects. So, when discussing the syntax it is also touches the semantics, phonology and graphology, even imagery.
On the basis of lexicogrammatical, four kinds nominal markers (NM) of BM are found. The NMs in the forms of personal pronouns (PP) hau ‘you SG’, hia/hi ‘he/she’, meu ‘you PLUR’, and ise ‘they’ mark proper nouns (PN) as Subject/Agent or Object/Patient in a clause, e.g. Kawe hi Maria-y hi Pius/ Hi Pius kawe hi Maria-y ‘Pius is/was looking/looked for Maria’. Hi and hi are NMs that respectively marks PN Pius functioning as Subject/Agent, and PN Maria as Object/Patient in the clause.
The NMs in the forms of de/ di/ dise mark nouns (CN/PP, PN) as possessor of a noun possessed in a clause, e.g. Wa’i de acu ho‘o ‘This is a(the) leg of a(the) dog’, Acu daku ho’o ‘This is my dog’, Wa’i di Kampa ho’o ‘This is the leg of Kampa’. De is an NM marking the CN acu ‘dog’ and the PP aku ‘I’, and di is an NM marking the PN Kampa, that all functions as possessors in the clause.
The NMs in the forms of le/ li/ lise mark nouns as agent/doer diathesis targeted to a noun as a patient diathesis in a clause, e.g. Tungkal le kaba-y hi Romas ‘Romas was butted by a buffalo’, Ita lise-y acu hitu ‘The dog was found/seen by them’, Ita lise Pius-y acu hitu ‘The dog was found by Pius et al’. Le is an NM marking the CN buffalo and the PP ise, and li an NM marking the PN Pius, who all function as agent diathesis in the clause.
The NMs in the forms of ge/ gi/ gise mark nouns combined with another noun or target/locality of an action in a clause, e.g. Hi Eti gi Nesti ka’eng gise-s ‘Eti and Nesti stay/ stayed/ are staying with them’, Hi Eti gi Nesti ka’eng ge inang-d ‘Eti dan Nesti stay/ stayed/ are staying with their aunt’, Hi Eti gi Nesti ka’eng gi Maria-s ‘Eti and Nesti stay/ stayed/ are staying with Maria’. Gi marking the PN Nesti in the three clauses is the PN of combination. Gi marking the PN Maria in the third clause and ge marking the PP ise ‘they’ in the first clause and the CN inang ‘aunt’ in the second clause are the NMs of target/locality of the action ka’eng ‘stay’ taking place.
The four kinds of the NMs are divided into two based on kinds of nouns marked. The NMs of de, le, ge mark CN, so it is called common nominal markers (CNM). The NMs in the forms of (PP) hau, hia/hi, meu, and ise; the NMs in the forms of di/ dise; the NMs in the forms of li/ lise; and the NMs in the forms of gi/ gise. The four NMs mark PN, so it is called proper nominal marker (PNM). For example, Wa’i de acu ‘The leg of the dog’ and Wa’i di Kampa ‘The leg of Kampa’. In the first clause, the NM de is properly used because the noun marked, i.e. acu ‘dog’ is a CN. On the contrary, in the second clause, the NM di is properly used because the noun marked, i.e. Kampa is a PN (for a dog).
The four PNM is also divided into two on the basis of the number or amount of the noun marked. PNMs of hau, hia/hia, di, li, and gi mark singular proper nouns (SPN), so it is called SPN marker (SPNM). The PNMs meu, ise, dise, lise, and gise mark plural proper nouns, so it is called PPN marker (PPNM). For example, Acu di Pius hi Kampa/ Hi Kampa acu di Pius ‘Kampa is the dog of Pius’ and Acu dise Pius gi Maria ise Kampa gi Mbako ‘Kampa and Mbako are the dogs of Pius and Maria’. In the first clause, the NMs di and hi are respectively used with Pius and Kampa because they are singular proper nouns (SPN). On the contrary, in the second clause, the NMs dise ‘their’ and ise ‘they’ are respectively used with Pius and Maria, Kampa and Mbako because they are plural proper nouns (PPN).
Besides, the result of the analysis also shows other linguistic evidence of BM. The common syntactic pattern of BM is Predicator (V) – Object/Patient (N) – Subject/Agent. For example, Hang latung-k aku ‘I ate/ eat/ am, was eating corn’. It is a normal, neutral, or common pattern of a clause in BM. However, the clause can also be patterned to be S-P-O, Aku hang latung-k ‘I ate/ eat/ am, was eating corn’ if the Subject/Agent Aku ‘I’ who does the activity of hang ‘eat’ is emphasized.
Subject Pronominal Copy (SPC) also appears in BM. See again the previous example, Hang latung-k aku. The morpheme {-k} at the final position of the word latung ‘corn’ is the SPC of aku. It seems clear that the Subject Aku is copied in the Object of the clause, latung represented by the morpheme {-k} which is the consonant /k/ in the Subject aku ‘I’. The complete SPC is presented in the following: aku → k ‘I’, hau → h ‘you SG’, hia → y ‘he/she’, kami → km ‘we’, ite → t ‘we’, meu → m ‘you PLUR’, and ise → s ‘they’.
Although the Subject of a clause is in the form of CN and PN instead of pronoun, the SPC is still in the form of pronoun. See the following example. Hang latung-s acu/ Acu hang latung-s ‘The dogs ate/ eat/ are, were eating corn’ or Kawe acu-y hi Pius/ Hi Pius kawe acu-y ‘Pius looked/ is, was looking a dog’. So, the term SPC is applied here.
Beside the SPC, Possessive Pronominal Copy (PPC) also appears in BM. For example, Kaba-g ho’o ‘This is my buffalo’. The morpheme {-g} at the final position of the word kaba ‘buffalo’ is the PPC of the pronoun aku ‘my’. The complete PPC is presented in the following: aku → g ‘my’, hau → m ‘your SG’, hia → n ‘his/her’, kami → gm ‘our’, ite → d ‘our’, meu → s ‘your PLUR’, and ise → d ‘their’. It is clear that only the PPC for the first singular and plural personal pronoun (aku → g ‘my’ and kami → gm ‘our’) has phonological correspondence. SPC and PPC in BM specify the term Pronominal Copy proposed by Jeladu (2000).
The plural form of noun in BM is not quantified by repetition as stated by Kebol (1997) but other lexical words showing plural meaning, such as sanggen(d) ‘all’, do ‘many’, taung ‘all’, e.g. Sangged ata mai taung ‘All people came’.
On the basis of lexicosemantics, there are four kinds of meanings revealed by the NMS of BM. The meaning of Subject/Agent or Object/Patient of a clause revealed by NMs of the PPs hau ‘you SG’, hia/ hi ‘he or she’, meu ‘you PLUR’, and ise ‘they’, e.g. Kawe hi Maria-y hi Pius ‘Pius looked was/is looking for Maria’. The proper noun (PN) Pius functioning as the Subject and the PN Maria as the Object of the clause are marked by the NM of PP for its correct grammatical form. It is unacceptable to say *Pius kawe Maria-y as good BM.
The meaning of possessiveness is expressed by the NMs of de/ di/ dise, e.g. Acu di Pius ho’o ‘This is the dog of Pius/ This is Pius’ dog’. The PN Pius functioning as the possessor of the CN acu ‘dog’ in the clause is revealed by the NM di ‘his’ for its correct grammatical form. It is unacceptable to say *Acu Pius ho’o/ Ho’o acu Pius as good BM.
The meaning of agent diathesis is revealed by the NMs of le/ li/ lise, e.g. Acu hitu ita li Piu-s ‘The dog was found/seen by Pius’. The PN Pius functioning as the agent diathesis of the action to the patient diathesis in the clause is marked by the
NM li ‘by him’ for its correct grammatical form. It is unacceptable to say *Acu hitu ita Pius as good BM. Even the meaning is far different from the original one.
The meaning of combination or target/locality of an action is revealed by the NMs of ge/ gi/ gise, e.g. Hi Eti gi Nesti ka’eng gi Maria-s ‘Eti and Nesti stayed were/are staying with Maria’. The PN Nesti combined/grouped together with the PN Eti and the PN Maria as target/locality of the action ka’eng ‘stay’ in the clause is respectively marked by the NM gi ‘and, with’ for its correct grammatical from. It is not acceptable to say * Eti Nesti ka’eng Maria-s as good BM.
The meaning of intimate kinship relationship is expressed by the four kinds of the NMs of BM marking the kinship terms, e.g. Hi Pius kawe hi Amang-y ‘Pius looked/ was, is looking for my uncle’. The NM hi ‘he’ marking the kinship word amang ‘uncle’ shows the admission of the first speaker raised to the speech opponent that the person spoken about is his uncle (amang). So, the sentence is properly translated into BING as ‘my uncle’. It is clear that the NM intimates kinship relationship.
The meaning of individual appreciation is revealed by the NMs of hia/ hi ‘he/she’ and gi ‘with him/her’ marking the singular PN, beside collectively marked with plural PN together with another PN, e.g. Ise Pius gi Maria kawe acu-s ‘Pius and Maria looked/ were, are looking for a dog’. It is clearly seen in the clause that beside being marked by the PN ise ‘they’ together with the first PN, Pius, the second PN, Maria is still individually marked by the NM gi (agu hi) ‘and, with’. Such marking shows the meaning of individual representation.
The meaning of majority group priority is revealed by Subject Pronominal Copy (SPC) fused in either one of the clause functions (Predicator, Object, and Adverb), e.g. Ise Pius gi Maria kawe acu-s ‘Pius and Maria were/are looking/looked for a dog’. The subject of the clause is PN Pius and PN Maria that grammatically marked by the NM ise ‘they’ in front of PN Pius and the NM gi ‘and’ in front of the PN Maria respectively. The NM ise ‘they’ collectively marks Pius and Maria and Maria is still individually marked by the NM gi (agu hi) ‘and’ as the Subject of the clause. However, the Subject Pronominal Copy is prioritized to the NM marking the plural Subject that is copied in the final position of the Object acu ‘dog’ in form of morpheme {-s} represented the phoneme /s/ in ise.
The meaning of group representation is revealed by the NMs of meu ‘you PLUR’, ise ‘they’, dise ‘their/theirs’ lise ‘by them’, or gise ‘and, on, with them’ marking singular nouns representing other PN that are physically absent from a clause, e.g. Ise Pius hang latung-s ‘Pius et al ate/ eat/ are, were eating corn’. The NM ise ‘they’ commonly marks the plural PN in BM. But it is clearly seen in the clause that the NM ise marks the singular Subject, Pius. Such marking is still acceptable in that Pius represents other PNs that are physically absent from the clause. Such marking shows the meaning of group representation.
Connected to the textual meaning in the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics proposed by Halliday (Eggins, 2004: 296-326), the general pattern of Manggaraian clauses: Predicator – Object – Subject bears the meaning of work/ activity. Work is the message of the Manggaraian clauses.
The meaning of plural in BM is not quantified by repeating but by other lexical words representing plural meanings, such as sanggen/sangged ‘all’, do ‘many/much’, taung ‘all’, e.g. Sangged ata mai taung ‘All people came’. This fact shows that the MSC think qualitatively and collectively about the existence of noun representing given entities.
Pronunciation system of BM greatly influences the writing system. In other words, the writing system of BM is greatly influenced by its pronunciation system. A number of findings dealing with the two systems will be presented below.
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1. The NM in form of PP marking the PN is pronounced and written completely and separately, e.g. hi Pius, hi Maria.
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2. The phoneme /e/ in CNMs of de, le, or ge marking the PP having initial vowels loses and the left phonemes /d/, /l/, or /g/ fuses to PP it marks (following it). The way they are pronounced and written are combined, e.g. daku ‘my/mine’, laku ‘by me’, gaku ‘and, with, at me’.
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3. The CNMs of de, le, or ge marking the PP having initial consonants fuses to PP. The way they are pronounced and written are combined and complete, e.g. dehau ‘your/yours SG’, demeu ‘your/yours PLUR’.
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4. The variant of hia is ia ‘he/she’. Ia is more homorganic with SPC /y/ than hia.
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5. The phoneme /e/ in CNMs of de, le, or ge marking the CN having initial vowels loses and the left phonemes /d/, /l/, or /g/ fuses to CN it marks (following it). The way are pronounced and written are combined, e.g. dacu ‘dog’s/dogs’, lacu ‘by dog/dogs’, gacu ‘and, with, at dog/dogs’.
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6. The CNMs of de, le, or ge marking the CN having initial consonants are pronounced and written completely and separately, e.g. de kaba ‘buffalo’s’, le kaba ‘by buffalo’, ge kaba ‘and, with, at buffalo’.
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7. PNMs of di/ dise, li/ lise, or gi/ gise marking PN are pronounced and written completely and separately, e.g. di John ‘John’s’, dise John ‘John’s cs’.
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8. The phoneme of SPC in a clause patterning S – P – O is pronounced and written combined with the word where it fuses to, e. g. Aku hang latung-k /Aku hang latungk/ ‘I (am, was) eating/ eat/ ate corn’.
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9. The phoneme of SPC in a clause patterning P – O – S is pronounced and written combined with PP where it fuses to, e. g. Hang latung-k aku /Hang latung kaku/ ‘I (am, was) eating/ eat/ ate corn’.
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10. BM does not have consonant clusters except prenasal sounds such as mb (mbang ‘starvation’), mp (mpelar ‘the sounds of explosion’), nd (ndong ‘is allowed/ permitted’), nt (ntaung ‘year’), ngg (nggelok ‘clean’), ngk (ngkang ‘the sounds of a beaten dog’).
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11. The PP of ami ‘we’ is derived from kami ‘we’ for softening, honour.
There are four entities that are given proper names, they are human being, domestic animals, static objects made by human being, and entities of natural environment covering rocks, threes, water sources, and wild animals.
There are four PNs of the MSC. Manggaraian name (MN) is considered impolite or rude, such as Buhar. Catholic or Christian name, e.g. Urbanus, kinship term name, e.g. Hi Amang, and pseudonym, e.g. Lopo Kijol, all the three names are considered polite. There are fourteen pseudonyms.
Traditionally, the names of male and female are phonologically different. The names of the male tend to have round vowels {a, o, u}, e.g. Dasa, while the female names flat vowels {i, e}, e.g. Disi. Traditionally, the children were not named after their fathers. For example, the father is Buhar and the son is Sulam.
Often an MSC was named after his dead grandfather, great grandfather, or ancestor, for example, Aloysius Tamong. Tamong was the name of the sixth generation above Aloysius. Traditionally, the PN of the MSC was only one, and became two when Catholic Church entered Manggarai in 1913, for example Aloysius Tamong.
Traditionally, all dogs of all owners were given PN based on the colour of their fur, such as Kampa. Only racing and riding horses are usually given PNs for prestige of the horses themselves and their masters, for example, Rae Dale ‘A brown horse from the village of Dale’. The cleaver was only given PN as Belang Lali and the whip as Cepogemo. The PN of the natural environmental entities were derived from their CNs. The PN for wild animals were Kaka ‘Animal’ for politeness. The wild animal will be angry if its name is directly called, such as motang ‘wild pig’. 4.3 Dynamics of NMS of BM and NSE of MSC
NMS of BM has not undergone significant changes except NSE. MN has changed to be names with other region, clan, or religion phonological characteristics, such as Sartono. One PN became two when Catholic Church entered Manggarai in 1913 or other religion, such Mathias Ata. Since 1980 the PN of MSC added some more names to be 3 – 5 PNs, for example, Marianus Grasiano Nggalas, Imelda Erni Ati Doho, and Petronela Nelci Diana Edita Dali. Nowadays, many sons and daughters are given PN after their fathers, for example, Maria Goreti Marut and Paulus Serapion Marut following their father’s name, Andreas Marut. This naming practice lessens the creation of assonance in the names of the children adapting to the names of their fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, or their ancestors. A number of pseudonyms, such as the ones based on the name of sex organs, the name of the relative’s child, possession, idiolect, are not practicing anymore. Dogs are named not only based on the colour of its fur, for example, Jaga Rumah. The practice of giving names to cleavers and whips have vanished. The ceremony of worshipping entities of the natural environment has decreased resulting in reduction in giving PNs derived from their CNs. This causes the decrease of the use of NMS of BM, especially NSE.
Language is the play of verbal symbols that are based in imagery (Palmer, 1996: 3). Imagery governs a grammatical construction (Palmer, 1996: 5). In line
with Palmer’s statements, the NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE is a kind of grammatical construction of BM that is certainly influenced by the imagery of the MSC. So, the NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE certainly reveals/bears a number of cultural imageries of the MSC, such as differentiation, animacy, honorific, harmony, solidarity, identity, prestige, and democracy.
Different marking on CN and PN is a linguistic fact revealing imagery of difference in noun representing given entities. The practice of similar marking and naming entities of human being, domestic animals, static objects made by humans, objects of natural environment, plants, and wild animals bears imageries of animacy, honorific, and harmony. The practice of marking and naming entities of natural environment, plants, and wild animals reveals imageries of solidarity and harmony with human being. The practice of marking and naming racing and riding horses reveals imageries of prestige and identity. Plural marking on singular PN representing other PNs physically absent from a clause reveals imagery of representation democracy. The priority of SPC larger in number on one a clause functions reveals imagery of democracy of majority.
The common syntactic pattern of BM: Predicator (V) – Object (N) – Subject (N) bears imagery of work. Initial consonants, especially in PNs bear imagery of impoliteness, strong, energy, while initial vowels express soft, gentle. Foe examples, Nece → Ece, Kudek → Udek, Ndela → Ela, lompok → ompok ‘cut the top part of a tree’ , wereng → ereng ‘cut the lowest part of a tree’. In other way round, ami → kami ‘we’ and ia → hia ‘he/she’ bear strength or energy. Seeing the linguistic facts, it can be stated that the NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE is very important in the cultural imagery of the MSC. This is their worldview.
The theory of cultural linguistics can be applied because it can reveal the imagery role in every language expression that is certainly based in imagery. The NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE are two tied language expressions revealing a number of imageries. So the NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE is very important in the cultural imagery of the MSC.
In line with the result of the data analysis, study aims, and the benefits of the study, a number of conclusions and recommendations would be offered. The NMS of BM interrelated with the NSE of MSC contains a number of imageries. If they can be modified to be values applied in daily lives and natural insights, they will lift up the life quality of the MSC both with human and their environment.
In line with this, a number of recommendations would be offered to some sides in line with their competence and capacity to perpetuate BM and naming tradition. The experts of linguistics, culture, cultural linguistics, and related subjects should do continued study or similar study to confirm and extend. The local government of Manggarai Regency, Central Government of Republic of Indonesia should allocate the fund for local language research, seminar, and workshop. The Catholic Church and other religion institutions should give understanding and regulation of naming system. Teachers of BI and other foreign language teachers, like English, should become pioneers the teaching of BM. And the MSC themselves should attempt and feel proud in having and using BM in proper situation, living side by side with the national language, Indonesia, and the foreign languages, such as English. They should be realized of living in multilingual and multicultural situations. These are the forms of their moral responsibility to language, culture, and the MSC.
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