# Dom language

Dom is a Trans–New Guinea language of the Eastern Group of the Chimbu family, spoken in the Gumine and Sinasina Districts of Chimbu Province and in some other isolated settlements in the western highlands of Papua New Guinea.

## Sociolinguistic Background

The Dom people live in an agricultural society, which has a tribal, patrilocal and patrilineal organization. There is only small dialectal differentiation among the clans. The predominant religion is Christianity.

## Language Contact Situation

There are three different languages spoken by Dom speakers alongside Dom: Tok Pisin, Kuman and English. Tok Pisin serves as the Papuan lingua franca. Kuman, which is a closely related eastern Chimbu language of high social and cultural prestige, functions as the prestige language used in ceremonies and official situations. School lessons are mostly held in English.

## Phonology
### Vowels

Vowels :
| | Front | Back |
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a aː | a aː |

#### Minimal pairs

| e~i | ˦de 'faeces'~˦di 'axe' |
| o~u | ˦kol 'part~˦kul 'grass' |
| e~o~a | ˥˩pel 'to dig'~˥˩pol 'to pull out'~˥˩pal 'to skin' |
| a~a: | ˥˩bna 'brother'~˥˩bna: 'frame over the fireplace' |

#### Allophones

Vowel lengthening in a contour pitched syllable has allophonic character.
| Vowels | default realisation | contour pitched syllable | word final | special context |
| e | [e]~[ɛ] | [e:] | [ə],Ø | #C_# |
| i | [i] | [i:] | [i] | [i] |
| o | [o]~[ɔ] | [o:]~[oɔ] | [o] | [o] |
| u | [u] | [u:] | [u] | [u] |
| a | [a] | [a:] | [a] | [a] |

#### Vowel Sequences

iu,io,ia uo
       eu,ei,ea o
             au,ai,ae a:

### Consonants

Source:
The Dom consonant system consists of 13 indigenous and 3 loan consonants.
| | | bilabial | alveolar | alveopalatal | velar |
| nasals | nasals | m | n | | |
| plosive/ affricate | voiceless | p | t | (ts~tʃ ⟨c⟩) | k |
| plosive/ affricate | prenasalized + voiced | ᵐb | ⁿd | (ⁿdʒ ⟨j⟩) | ᵑg |
| fricative | fricative | | s | | |
| lateral | lateral | | l | | (ʟ) |
| flap | flap | | ɾ | | |
| approximant | approximant | w | | j ⟨y⟩ | |
* 1 2 3 The three loan phonemes are unstable to a varying degree.

#### Minimal pairs

˩˥su 'two' ~ ˩˥tu 'thick'
          ~ ˩˥du 'squeeze'
          ~ ˩˥nu 'aim at'
          ~ ˩˥ku 'hold in the mouth'
          ~ ˩˥gu 'shave'
          ~ ˩˥pu 'blow'
          ~ ˩˥mu 'his/her back'
          ~ ˩˥yu 'harvest taro'

#### Allophones

| | /p/ | /t/ | /k/ | /b/ | /<d/ | /g/ | /m/ | /n/ | (/c/) | (/j/) | /s/ | /l/ | /(ʟ)/ | /r/ | /w/ | /y/ |
| default realization | [p] | [t] | [k] | [ᵐb] | [ⁿd] | [ŋg] | [m] | [n] | ([tʃ]) | ([ⁿdʒ]) | [s] | [l] | ([ʟ]) | [ɾ] | [w] | [j] |
| free alternation | | | | | | | | | | ([d(i)]) | [ts], [tʃ] | | ([k] [ʟ̥] [k͡ʟ̥]) | [r], [n], [l] | | |
| #_ | [pp] | [t],[tt] | [kk] | [b],[bb] | [d],[dd] | [g],[gg] | [m] | [n] | [tʃ] | [j],[jj] | [s],[ʃ] | Ø | Ø | ([ɾ]) | Ø | Ø |
| V_V | [β] | ([t]) | [ɣ] | | | [ŋ], [ŋg] | | | | | [s], [ʃ] | ([l]) | | | | |
| other contexts | | | | | [ɖ] | | | [ɳ] | | | [ʃ] | [ʟ] | [t^]/[d^] | Ø | |
Variants can be determined by the factors of dialect or age. Certain exceptions show archaic variants, for example the existence of intervocal [b] in the word ˥˩iba 'but' or the otherwise non-existent sequence [lk], which is used only by elderly people or in official situations. Brackets "" show, that the allophone is used only in loanwords.

## Tones

Source:
Dom is a tonal language. Each word carries one of three tones as shown in the examples below:
* high:
** ka˥ 'word'
** mu˥kal˥ 'a kind of bamboo'
** no˥ma˥ne˥ 'to think'
* falling:
** $^ŋ$gal˥˩ 'string back'
** jo˥pa˩ ' yopa tree', jo˥pal˥˩ 'people'
** a˥ra˥wa˩ 'pumpkin'
* rising:
** kal˩˥ 'thing'
** a˩pal˧ 'woman'
** au˩pa˩le˧ 'sister.3SG.POSS'

### Minimal pairs

wam˥˩ (personal name) ~ wam˩ 'to hitch.3SG' ~ wam˥ 'son.3SG.POSS'

### Non-phonemic Elements

* [ɨ] is optionally inserted between consonants:
          ˥˩komna 'vegetable' kom˥ na˩ or kom˥ ɨ na˩

## Morphology

Dom is a suffixing language. Morpheme boundaries between person-number and mood morphemes can be combined.

## Syntax

Source:

### Phrase Structure

Noun Phrase
| attributive noun phrases possessor marker relative clause noun classifier | head noun | numerals adjektives appositions | demonstratives |
* elements preceding the head:
   * attributive NP
yal
man
i
DEM
kal
thing
yal i kal
man DEM thing
'the thing of the man'
   * possessive marker
na
you
bola-n
pig-2SG.POSS
na bola-n
you pig-2SG.POSS
'your pig'
   * relative clause
o
hand.3SG.POSS
pal
by
bin-gwa
produce-3SG.SRD
kal
thing
o pal bin-gwa kal
hand.3SG.POSS by produce-3SG.SRD thing
'thing produced by hand'
   * noun classifier
bola
pig
sipsip
sheep
bola sipsip
pig sheep
'sheep'
* elements following the head:
   * numerals
yal
man
su
two
yal su
man two
'two men'
   * adjectives
gal
child
bl
big
gal bl
child big
'big child'
   * appositions
ge
girl
apal
woman
gal
child
ge apal gal
girl woman child
'girl, female child'
   * demonstratives
yal
man
i
DEM
yal i
man DEM
'this man'
If a noun phrase includes a demonstrative element, it has always the last position of the phrase:
yal
man
su
two
i
DEM
yal su i
man two DEM
'the two men'
Adjective Phrase
| head adjective | intensifier |
er
tree
wai
good
won
truly
ta
a
er wai won ta
tree good truly a
'a very good tree'
Postpositional Phrase
| noun | head postposition |
m-na
mother-1SG.POSS
bol
with
m-na bol
mother-1SG.POSS with
'with my mother'
Verbal Phrase
| subject (object) | object (subject) | adverbials conditional adverbial clauses final adverbial clauses | head verb | AUX mutual knowledge marker enclitics | demonstratives |
* elements preceding the head verb:
   * subject:
yal
man
su
two
al-ipke
stand up-2/3DU.IND
yal su al-ipke
man two {stand up-2/3DU.IND}
'two men stand up'
   * subject-object:
na
1.EXCL
keepa
sweet.potato
ne-ke
eat-1SG.IND
na keepa ne-ke
1.EXCL sweet.potato eat-1SG.IND
'I eat a sweet potato'
   * adverbial
orpl-d
quickly
u-o
come-2SG.IMP
orpl-d u-o
quickly come-2SG.IMP
'come quickly'
   * final clause
er
to
ila
inside
na-l
go-1SG.FUT
d
Q
u-ke
come-1SG.IND
er ila na-l d u-ke
to inside go-1SG.FUT Q come-1SG.IND
'I came to go inside'
* elements following the head verb:
   * auxiliars:
bl-n
head-2SG.POSS
de
burn.INF
bla
burst
d-na-wdae
(say)-FUT-3SG.MUT
bl-n de bla d-na-wdae
head-2SG.POSS burn.INF burst (say)-FUT-3SG.MUT
'Your head will be burnt and explode (as a matter of course)'
   * mutual knowledge marker
mol-me
stay-1SG.IND
=krae
=MUT
mol-me =krae
stay-1SG.IND =MUT
'he/she stay as we know'
   * demonstratives
yo-gwa
be-3SG.IND
ime
down.there
yo-gwa ime
be-3SG.IND down.there
'There it is down over there'
There are no zero-place predicates in Dom. As a subject ˩˥kamn 'world' is used:
˩˥kamn
rain
˥˩su-gwe
hit-3SG.IND
˩˥kamn ˥˩su-gwe
rain hit-3SG.IND
'It rains'

### Constituent Order

Source:
The predominant constituent order is SOV. Only the predicate has to be expressed overtly. An exception are absolute-topic type clauses, which consist only of one noun phrase.

#### Characteristics of the constituent order

* Three Place Predicate Order
In the case of a three place predicate the recipient noun always follows the gift noun:
˥Ella
tribe.name
Noun
˩˥Naur
tribe.name
adjunct
˥˩moni
money
Gift
˥na
1.EXCL
Recipient
˥˩te-na-m=˥˩ua
give-FUT-3SG=ENC.WA
V
˥Ella ˩˥Naur ˥˩moni ˥na ˥˩te-na-m=˥˩ua
tribe.name tribe.name money 1.EXCL give-FUT-3SG=ENC.WA
Noun adjunct Gift Recipient V
'The Naur subtribe of the Ella tribe shall give me money.' Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
The only position which can be optionally filled is the sentence topic. Possible constituents can be the subject of an equational sentence (default), an extrasentential or a topicalized constituent:
* subject in an equational sentence (default)
| subject | object | verb |
˩˥apal
woman
˩˥su
two
˥˩i
DEM
˥na
1.EXCL
˥˩ep-na
wife
˩˥apal ˩˥su ˥˩i ˥na ˥˩ep-na
woman two DEM 1.EXCL wife
'These two women are my wives'
* extrasentential:
| extrasentential | subject | verb |
˩˥apal
woman
˩˥su
two
˥˩i
DEM
˥na
1.EXCL
˥˩ep-na
wife-1SG.POSS
˩˥mo-ip-ke
stay-2/3DU-IND
˩˥apal ˩˥su ˥˩i ˥na ˥˩ep-na ˩˥mo-ip-ke
woman two DEM 1.EXCL wife-1SG.POSS stay-2/3DU-IND
'As for these two women, they are my wives'
* topicalized constituent:
| object (topicalzied) | subject | verb |
˩˥apal
woman
˩˥su
two
˥˩i
DEM
˥na
1.EXCL
˥i
take.INF
˩˥war-ke
move.around-1SG.IND
˩˥apal ˩˥su ˥˩i ˥na ˥i ˩˥war-ke
woman two DEM 1.EXCL take.INF move.around-1SG.IND
'As for these two women, I have them as spouses'

### Marking of Syntactical Relations
#### Person and Number

Source:
Dom has three different person-number-systems: for pronouns, possessive suffixes on nouns and cross reference markers on verbs.
person-number system for pronouns: :
| | 1 | 2 |
| general (excl) | ˥na | ˥en |
| non-singular (excl) | ˥no | ˥en |
| non-singular(incl) | ˩˥none | ˥en |
| non-singular | ˥ne | ˥en |
person-number system for possessive suffixes: :
| | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| singular | -na | -n | -m |
| non-singular | -ne | -ne | -ne |
cross reference markers: :
| | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| singular | -i~-Ø | -n | -m |
| dual | -pl | -ipl | -ipl |
| plural(three or more) | -pn | -im | -im |
The marking of dual and plural is not obligatory in all cases but depends on the sem ±human ±animate:
| | +human | -human |
| +animate | almost obligatory | optional/uncommon |
| -animate | Ø | scarcely used |

#### Tense

Source:
Dom has an unmarked non-future tense and a marked future tense.

##### Non-Future

Non-future tense is used, if
* the event follows immediately
* the event is in the past
˥ere
to
˥˩e-ke
go-1SG.IND
˥ere ˥˩e-ke
to go-1SG.IND
'I go/I went'

##### Future tense

Future tense is marked by the suffix -na (-na~-ra~-a) and is used, if
* the event is part of the speaker's plan for the next day
* the event is the speaker's intention and it is possible for the speaker to go through with it
* the event describes a potentiality or a permanent quality
˥ere
to
˥˩na-ke
go.FUT-1SG.IND
˥ere ˥˩na-ke
to go.FUT-1SG.IND
'I will go' 'I think I will go' 'I might go’ 'I am the kind of person, who goes'

### Negation

A predicate is negated by the suffix -kl. The preceding negation particle ˥ta is optional.
˥na
1.EXCL
˥˩kurl
fear
˥ta
NEG
˥go
die
+˩˥k
NEG
-pge
1PL.IND
˥na ˥˩kurl ˥ta ˥go +˩˥k -pge
1.EXCL fear NEG die NEG 1PL.IND
'We (excl.) did not fear'

## Lexic
### Noun Classifiers

Source:
Noun classifiers are lexical items preceding a noun with a more specified meaning. Phonetically and syntactically they form one unit with the following noun and thus differ from an apposition, which consists of two or more phonetic constituents. Noun classifiers can have the following functions:
* no obvious lexical specification:
˥˩nl
water
˥nul
river
˥˩nl ˥nul
water river
'river'
* specifying a polysemoous word:
˥ere
tree
˥˩aml
peanut/pandanus
˥ere ˥˩aml
tree peanut/pandanus
'pandanus which bears the nut-like fruit'
˥kul
grass
˥˩aml
peanut/pandanus
˥kul ˥˩aml
grass peanut/pandanus
'peanut'
* explaining loanwords:
˥˩nl
water
˥˩bia
alcohol
˥˩nl ˥˩bia
water alcohol
'Alkohol'
˥˩bola
pig
˥˩sipsip
sheep
˥˩bola ˥˩sipsip
pig sheep
'sheep'

### Repetition

A noun can be repeated to express the following relations:
* reciprocity
˥˩birua
enemy
˥˩birua
enemy
˩˥me-ipka
stay-2/3.SRD
˥˩birua ˥˩birua ˩˥me-ipka
enemy enemy stay-2/3.SRD
'The two are enemies for each other'
* plurality
˥˩kal
thing
˥˩kal
thing
˥˩kal ˥˩kal
thing thing
'several things'

### Loanwords

Tok Pisin is the main source for lexical borrowing, borrowings from English are often made indirectly via Tok Pisin. Borrowed lexemes mostly refer to new cultural objects and concepts as well as proper names and high numbers., which did not exist in the Dom language before:
* kar ’car’
* skul 'school, to study'
* akn 'Mount Hagen'
* andret 'hundred'
But recently some already existing Dom words have begun to be replaced by Tok Pisin lexical items:
* wanpla for dom tenanta 'one'
* blat for dom miam 'blood'
* stori for dom kapore-el- 'to tell a story'

## The Demonstrative System

Source:
Dom has a spatial referencing demonstrative system, i.e. there are certain demonstrative lexemes bearing information about the spatial relation of the referred object to the speaker alongside neutral demonstratives. A Dom speaker also uses different lexemes for visible and invisible objects. In the case of visible objects, the speaker locates it on a horizontal and vertical axis as to whether it is proximal, medium or distal from the speaker and on the same level, uphill or downhill.
Demonstratives with spatial alignment:
| | proximal | medium | distal |
| without vertical alignment | ˥ya | ˥˩sipi | |
| level | ˥yale | ˥˩ile | ˩˥ile |
| uphill | ˥yape | ˥˩ipe | ˩˥ipe |
| downhill | ˥yame | ˥˩ime | ˩˥ime |
For invisible objects one must be aware of the cause for its invisibility. If it is invisible because the object is behind the speaker, a proximal demonstrative is used. Objects obscured behind an obstacle are referred to with distal demonstratives and invisible objects by their nature with downhill demonstratives. Invisible objects, that are very far away, are referred to with the downhill distal demonstrative ˩˥ime.