Moronene is an Austronesian language spoken in Bombana Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs to the Bungku–Tolaki branch of the Celebic subgroup.
Phonology Moronene has the following consonant inventory:.
+ Consonants Labial Alveolar Retroflex Velar Glottal Nasal Plosive Fricative Flap
The vowel phonemes are . Sequences of two like vowels are pronounced as a long vowel, e.g. .
Grammar
Word order Moronene has flexible word order. However, there is a high frequency of clause-initial verbs in "connected narrative discourse." Noun phrases are not marked for case.Andersen, Suree. 1999. When the Moronene say no. In David Mead (ed.), Studies in Sulawesi linguistics part V, 73-112. Jakarta, Indonesia: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. The language has prepositions.
Pronouns There are two forms of pronouns, free pronouns and absolutive clitics. There are singular and plural forms, there are no dual, trial or paucal forms. There is an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person plural forms. There is no gender, and there appears to be no present-day politeness distinction. +Moronene Free Pronouns and Absolutive CliticsPersonFreeAbsolutive1SG ~ ~ 2SG 3SG~~1PL (Inclusive) 1PL (Exclusive) 2PL 3PL ~
Genitive pronouns There are two classes of genitive pronouns in Moronene which must be learned by speakers, which is unique among Bungku–Tolaki languages.Mead, David. 1998. Proto–Bungku-Tolaki: Reconstruction of its phonology and aspects of its morphosyntax. PhD dissertation. Houston: Rice University. There are singular and plural forms; there are no dual, trial or paucal forms. There is an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person plural forms. Example (1) demonstrates the class 1 first person genitive pronoun in use with the noun 'hair'.
+Moronene Genitive PronounsPersonClass 1Class 21SG 2SG , 3SG 1PL (EX.) 1PL (IN) , 2PL 3PL ,
Number Moronene has a decimal numeral system.Andersen, T. David. 1999. Moronene numbers. In David Mead (ed.), Studies in Sulawesi linguistics part V, 1-72. Jakarta, Indonesia: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya.
References
Further reading Mead, David. 1998. Proto–Bungku-Tolaki: Reconstruction of its phonology and aspects of its morphosyntax. PhD dissertation. Houston: Rice University. Mead, David. 1999. The Bungku–Tolaki languages of south-eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Series D-91. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Andersen, T. David. 1999. Moronene numbers. In David Mead (ed.), Studies in Sulawesi linguistics part V, 1-72. Jakarta, Indonesia: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. Andersen, T. David. 2006. Topicality and functional voice in Hebrew and Moronene, with application to translation. (Doctoral dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary; 346pp.) Andersen, Suree. 1999. When the Moronene say no. In David Mead (ed.), Studies in Sulawesi linguistics part V, 73-112. Jakarta, Indonesia: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. Muthalib, Abdul and Johannes F. Pattiasina and Adnan Usmar and Rambe, {}. 1983. Struktur bahasa Moronene. Ujung Pandang: PPBSIDSS. vii+136pp.