Too Much to Swallow: On Terms Meaning 'Swallow' in Oceanic Languages

Too Much to Swallow: On Terms Meaning 'Swallow' in Oceanic LanguagesAuthor(s): John LynchSource: Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Dec., 2001), pp. 336-341Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3623445 .

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Too Much to Swallow: On Terms Meaning 'Swallow' in Oceanic Languages

John Lynch

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

At least seven terms with the meaning 'to swallow' can be reconstructed for Proto-Oceanic, and four more for lower-level protolanguages. All of these bear some phonological resemblance to each other, and also to forms reconstructed for Proto-Austronesian and Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (some of which have the meaning 'to sink, drown, disappear under water'). Only two, however, directly continue earlier terms. The remainder involve change in a single consonant, metathesis, or a process of blending in which the initial syllable of one earlier form combines with the second syllable of another form. Semantic change and Austronesian root theory are included in the discussion.

1. INTRODUCTION. Blust (1988, n.d.) reconstructs the following terms for the verb 'swallow' in high-level Austronesian protolanguages, which incorporate the root *-len:'

(I) PMP *telen, *tilen (doublets, both meaning 'to swallow') PCMP *belen 'to swallow'

He also reconstructs (i) PWMP *tufien 'to swallow', and (ii) the following terms meaning variously 'sink', 'disappear under water', 'drown' (which I will represent in this paper by the shorthand gloss 'sink+'), some of which seem to have a possible connection with one or more of the 'swallow' forms:

(2) PMP *telem 'sink, disappear under water' PWMP *benem 'sink, drown', *taR-benem 'sink' PWMP *teleur 'sink, disappear under water'

It is possible that the following term is also related:

(3) PWMP *inem 'drink' (doublet of PMP *inum) In looking at possibly cognate forms in Oceanic languages, it is clear that there

is a connection between forms reconstructed with the meaning 'sink+' and forms

I. Abbreviations are PMP, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian; PWMP, Proto-Western Malayo-Polynesian; PCMP, Proto-Central Malayo-Polynesian; POc, Proto-Oceanic. Unglossed forms in modern Oceanic languages have the meaning 'swallow'. I am grateful to Bob Blust, Terry Crowley, Franqoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Ken Rehg, and Malcolm Ross for comments.

Oceanic Linguistics, Volume 4o, no. 2 (December 200 1) ? by University of Hawai'i Press. All rights reserved.



ON TERMS MEANING 'SWALLOW' IN OCEANIC LANGUAGES 337

meaning 'swallow'. It is also clear that there is a considerable number of possible POc reconstructions with the meaning 'swallow', some of which involve minor permutations on higher-level terms; and there are other forms in certain restricted subgroups that exhibit other permutations.

2. PROTO-OCEANIC RECONSTRUCTIONS. In what follows, a form is labeled "POc" if it either regularly reflects a higher-order term or if there are cog- nates in widely separated branches of Oceanic; the label "POc?" means that the form continues a higher-level term but with a phonological modification that is found with a more restricted distribution.

2.1 POC *P-INITIAL FORM. POc may have had one *p-initial form meaning 'swallow' (noting that POc *p continues PMP *b):

(4) POc? *polo(m), *polom-i 'to swallow'. Blust lists as reflexes of *belen 'swallow' Samoanfolo and Rennellese hogo, and proposes a POc form *polon.2 Biggs (2000) reconstructs Proto-Polynesian *folo 'swallow, ingest', with exemplary reflexes in 27 Polynesian languages-that is, all languages reflect medial *1 and also *o in each syllable. However, the suffixed forms of these verbs (where such exist) contain the consonant m rather than the expected n: for example, Mae, Ifira-Mele, Maoriforo-mia, Pilenifolo-mia, Tahitian horo-mi'i, etc. These suggest an earlier form *polo(m) rather than *polo(n). I reconstruct this in the form *polo(m), *polom-i (following the conventions established in Ross, Pawley, and Osmond 1998:25, 27-28), with final *(m) indicating that no reflex has been found with word-final m, and final *m-i indicating that this m is found in suffixed forms.

Yapese fuul' is cognate with the Polynesian roots, but it is not clear whether it derived from a POc root with final *m or final *n. Ross (1996:I60) suggests that it may be a Polynesian loan, but later (pers. comm.) comments that it may be directly inherited. If it is directly inherited, initialfsuggests that the POc form is more likely to have had initial *pw.

This reconstruction does not derive regularly from either PCMP *belen 'swallow' or from PWMP *benem 'sink+', but appears to be a kind of "blend" of them both, with the medial *1 of the former and the final *m of the latter. I will return to this issue of blending below but, in discussing the next set of terms, I will assume that blending has also taken place in at least some of them.

2.2 POC *T-INITIAL FORMS. POc had two *t-initial terms meaning 'swallow' that regularly reflect two higher-level reconstructions, though in each case those terms meant 'sink+':

2. Because there is no reflex of final *n in the data Blust cites-these languages all losing word- final consonants-the more accurate form of the reconstruction would be *polo(n). However, I show below that this is probably not the correct reconstruction.



338 OCEANIC LINGUISTICS, VOL. 40, NO. 2

(5) POc *tolom 'to swallow, (to sink?)'. This derives regularly from PMP *telem 'sink+', and is reflected as Proto-North-Central Vanuatu (PNCV) *dolo-mi, with an unexpected initial prenasalized stop, and with reflexes like Mota nolo, Raga dolomi-a, Uripiv o-rrolmi, Port Sandwich ndroem-i, Lonwolwol rlum, rolme, and Paamese teemi.3 Proto-New Caledonian (PNC) *tonom (Nyelayu cMlOm, N8lmwa-Kumak ca/yanom, Cbmuhf nnm/ihi,

Tirni num/i) may also derive from this form, though PNC *n derives from both POc *1 and *n.

If Lau Noo 'sink, drown', olomai 'immerse' is cognate, this suggests that the meaning 'sink+' continued into Oceanic.

(6) POc *toloJ 'to swallow'. This derives regularly from PWMP *teleI3 'sink+', and is reflected as Anejoiii a/tley, e/tley.

There are, however, a number of other *t-initial reconstructions that could be made, though in each case they presuppose an irregular change in the earlier form. In some cases, these changes are blends of the kind discussed in relation to *polo(m), *polom-i above. These forms are discussed below.4

(7) POc *toI3ol 'to swallow'. This appears to be a metathesized form of (6) *tolorJ (< PWMP *telej). It has reflexes in two widely separated areas of Oceanic:

(a) Proto-Northwest Solomonic *toirol(o), with reflexes such as Haku toyol(o), Selau tagol(o) meaning 'swallow' and Haku (to)toyol(o) 'throat', Selau

(toQ)toool(o) 'throat, neck'. Note also Mono-Alu togon(i) 'swallow' with unexpected g.

(b) Proto-Southern Vanuatu *a-dVgol-i, with reflexes such as Sye e/tool-i, Ura e/rel-i, Lenakel tadai.

(It is, of course, possible that metathesis of *toloJ as to.9ol happened on two quite independent occasions, that these forms are thus reflexes of *toloJ, and that there was no POc form *toi3ol.)

(8) POc? *tono(m), *tonom-i 'to swallow'. This appears to derive from PMP *telem 'sink+' with medial *1 replaced by *n. It has reflexes in PNCV *dono-mi (Tamambo donomi, Lewo sinomi, Nakanamanga dinomi).s In Southeast Solomons languages, we find Lau, Arosi, Sa'a ono-mi, Arosi ono.6 PNC *tonom, mentioned above in (5), may reflect this form rather than *tolom, in which case we could reconstruct *tonom rather than *tono(m). This form may be a Central-Eastern Oceanic innovation rather than being attributable to POc, although if Cheke Holo tomno represents a met-

3. All PNCV reconstructions and data are from Clark n.d. 4. I am grateful to Malcolm Ross for supplying a large amount of data on Western Oceanic lan-

guages. 5. The last two reflexes have i in the first syllable; given the plethora of terms reconstructed in

this paper, however, I am reluctant to add yet another, of the form *tino(m), *tinom-i. 6. The Lau and Arosi forms probably do not reflect PWMP *tufien, as Blust (n.d.) has suggested.




athesized form, then it may need to be reconstructed at a higher level than CEOc.

(9) POc? *tilo(m), *tilom-i 'to swallow'. This appears to derive from PMP *tilen 'swallow' (as suggested by Blust n.d.), but the consonant in the suffixed form is m rather than n (recalling PMP *telem 'sink+'). Within Oceanic, it has reflexes in Fijian tilo-ma.

(Io) POc? *to(d,dr)om 'to swallow'. This appears to be related to *tolom (< PMP *telem 'sink+'), with a change in the medial consonant, and seems to have reflexes in two, possibly three, separated areas:

(a) The form is reflected in New Britain, as Bali-Vitu todomi, Bula, Bolo todo, and may be an innovation restricted to the Bali-Vitu/ Proto-Willaumez groups if (b) and (c) are invalid hypotheses.

(b) A possibly cognate form occurs in Micronesian: Chuukese woro-mi, Carolinian urumi, oromi, Woleaian woromi; note also Woleaian sorotn(i) 'drink, sip'.

(c) It is not clear whether Fijian todrou-ma 'lap up, drink from a stream or basin' is cognate; although the consonant in the suffix is m, there is an unexplained u in the root. If it is cognate, then the reconstruction *to(d,dr)om is attributable to POc.

Rotuman tolo could derive from (4) *tolom or (5) *tolol. Indeed, it could also derive from PMP *telen 'to swallow', but there is no other evidence for a POc form *tolon continuing this PMP reconstruction-with one possible exception: South Efate has tnol, which may be a metathesized form of PMP *telen. With no other forms showing this metathesis, however, I have to assume at this stage that this was a local innovation, and that the Rotuman form derived from (4) or (5).

2.3 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS: *K- AND *S-INITIAL FORMS. A number of forms in which initial *k or *s has replaced *t in some of the forms (5- io), can be reconstructed for lower-level protolanguages:

(I I) Proto-Meso-Melanesian *konom. See (8) *tono(m), *tonom-i. Reflexes of this form are found in a wide range of languages in New Ireland and Bougainville, for example: Lavongai konem 'swallow', konom(o) 'throat', Tabar konom, Patpatar kanam, Nehan konom.

(I2) Proto-Meso-Melanesian *ko(d,dr)om. See (io) *to(d,dr)om. Tolai kodom, Taiof korom, Banoni (ko)korom(o) 'neck'.

(13) Proto-Central Pacific *solo 'collapse, cave in, landslide'. See (5) *tolom and (6) *toloj. Note especially Rotuman solo 'sink down'.



340 OCEANIC LINGUISTICS, VOL. 40, NO. 2

(14) Proto-Bugotu/Gela/Guadalcanal *sono(m), *sonom-i. See (8) *tono(m), *tonom-i. Bugotu sono, Gela sono-mi.

Note also that Tangga (koV)koqo 'neck' shows replacement of the *t in (7) *tolol by k.

3. DISCUSSION. Blust (1988) has proposed the Austronesian root *-len 'to swallow'. With the possible exception of South Efate tnol, which may represent a metathesized reflex of PMP *telen, this root does not apparently occur in Oce- anic;7 none of the forms meaning 'swallow' listed in (I)-*telen, *tilen, *tupien, or *belen-is unambiguously reflected in Oceanic. Two MP forms meaning 'sink+' are unambiguously reflected, however, though with the meaning 'swallow': *telem and *teleU.

The remaining reconstructions in section 2 appear to consist of slightly mutated forms; I omit parentheses around final consonants for ease of reading. We can consider these mutations in two stages, with the *p- and *t-initial forms repre- senting the first stage and the *k- and *s-initial forms a later development. These developments are schematized in table I. The original forms in the first column are marked with subscripts according to their reconstructed meanings: I = 'swallow', 2 = 'sink+', 3 = 'drink'. The forms labeled "blend" appear to involve the combination of the first syllable of one PAN/PMP form and the second of another. There is evidence for a root-like form *-nem, as well as another of the form *-lem, (which itself may be a blend of Blust's *-len + *-nem). The initial syllables of the PMP forms *be- and *te- are continued unchanged in stage I, though in the more local innovations in stage 2 these undergo idiosyncratic changes.

TABLE 1. DEVELOPMENT OF 'SWALLOW' TERMS IN OCEANIC

DIRECT PMP, ETC. INHERITANCE STAGE I STAGE 2 .. ....... . . . . ::::::: .......... ....O.... .......>...o.d.dr .. > *ko?d?d .....t...le ..m.... >N atoom .............. o... l.... ... .. >. . ........... .....T A.T..........S.... >. ... ........o.l. ................ .............. *b ele n................... *benem.......

.................?.. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ..*. ...e m. .. . ............. + at8No > ton > *k no .a . ...............mX .. ......................... ...*i............n.....e.....m.......... *tiiiiii i.Aien, + BLEND >

"bl be i"nem,

............o .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . ................... . ............ .................... .... ..........:::::::::::: : ???:: ..........::::::::::??'::::::::????~~: '?`''''' i~ ~i: ~?Ri~jijjiiiiiiiii~ii' r 1r~::: II::: I:::::::::::: ??::::::::::::::...... .. .. ........iiiiiiiii ::ii~ ii~ 5i~ i~ ~:~li~ 5 515i:i ,,;,,,,,,.~ ,,,. ~i~i~~t :::::::::::........ ............: ::: ....... ....ii l~iiiI: ii::`?'''''': ???????:: ????:: ??ii: ??:::::::: ?? ????????????????????? ...........................- ....... ....... . ......... ...............-......: iiiiiiiii :~ii~:.:::: i~: , *i~bnem3

7. South Efate tnol could equally derive from (7) *toijol with an irregular change in the nasal.




It is possible, of course, that onomatopoeia may be responsible for at least some of these changes, and thus that we may be dealing with a number of similar or identical unrelated changes. (The similarity of some of these forms to the name -and speech habits-of the character Gollum in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has not escaped me!) Nevertheless, it does appear that a number of distinct but phonologically related forms with the meaning 'swallow' have to be reconstructed for Proto-Oceanic.

In dealing with phonological change in a large and diverse family like Austro- nesian, we can not expect everything to be neat and regular. This case, however, is of interest in that, on the one hand, we have a number of semantic changes taking place, and at the same time a complex set of regular and irregular phonological changes intersecting with these. To some extent, these data suggest that Blustian root theory may be on the right track. At the same time, there is evidence here for some consistency also in the first syllable of these forms, and that what we are dealing with is a small set of preroots combining, regularly or irregularly, with a small set of roots. It would be of interest for the theory of Austronesian lexical development if similar cases could be adduced.

REFERENCES

Biggs, Bruce. 2000. POLLEX (The Comparative Polynesian lexicon project). Elec- tronic manuscript.

Blust, Robert. 1988. Austronesian root theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. -.

n.d. An Austronesian comparative dictionary. Electronic manuscript. Clark, Ross. n.d. North and Central Vanuatu: A comparative study. Duplicated. Ross, Malcolm D. 1996. Is Yapese Oceanic? In Reconstruction, classification, descrip-

tion: Festschrift in honor of Isidore Dyen, ed. by Bernd Nothofer, 12I-I66. Ham- burg: Abera.

Ross, Malcolm, Andrew Pawley, and Meredith Osmond, eds. 1998. The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society I: Material culture. Series C-152. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Emalus Campus University of the South Pacific PMB 072 Port Vila Vanuatu lynchj @ vanuatu.usp.ac.fj



Too Much to Swallow: On Terms Meaning 'Swallow' in Oceanic Languages

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