Adzera language

Adzera (also spelled Atzera, Azera, Atsera, Acira) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 30,000 people in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.

Dialects

Holzknecht (1989) lists six Adzera dialects.

* ''Central'' dialect chain: 9,950 speakers
* ''Amari'' dialect: 5,350 speakers
* ''Ngarowapum'' dialect: 1,200 speakers
* ''Yaros'' dialect: 2,200 speakers
* ''Guruf / Ngariawang'' dialect: 1,550 speakers
* ''Tsumanggorun'' dialect: 400 speakers

Sukurum is spoken in the villages of Sukurum (), Rumrinan (), Gabagiap (), Gupasa, Waroum (), and Wangat () in Wantoat/Leron Rural LLG.

Sarasira is spoken in the villages of Sarasira (), Som (), Pukpuk, Saseang (), and Sisuk in Wantoat/Leron Rural LLG. Sarasira and Som share the same speech variety.

Phonology

Vowels

The diphthongs occur, while other sequences of vowels are split over two syllables.

does not occur in the Amari and Ngarowapum dialects.

Consonants

occurs in only one word: the interjection ''hai'' "yes".

In the Amari dialect, palato-alveolar affricates and are heard as only alveolar sounds and .

The prenasalized consonants tend to lose prenasalization initially and after consonants.

are sometimes realized as , especially in codas.

Writing system

J, o and z are used in some loanwords and names.

The letter ŋ was replaced by the digraph ng in the 2015 orthography.

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. 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.

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.

Negation of a verb phrase

Most negation is done through the verb phrase. For general circumstances, verbal negation is achieved by a verbal prefix ''anuŋʔ-'' And an optional negation particle ''u'' at the end of the sentence. 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.''

= Coordinated verb negation

=
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.

= 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 verb ''saŋʔ'' 'be able, be enough' before the main verb of the sentence, suggesting a reluctance toward making negative statements about the future. For example:

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.

List of abbreviations

''see List of Glossing Abbreviations.''

Below is a list of Grammatical abbreviations used throughout this article:

COMP:completive aspect
TIME:time marker

References

Further reading

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{{Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages

Markham languages
Languages of Morobe Province