Hote language

Hote (Ho’tei), also known as Malê, is an Oceanic language in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.

A. In words up to four syllables, the first syllable is primarily stressed with occasional exceptions.

Example:

1. 'damak "lightening"
2. 'dumloli "mountain"
3. du'viyaŋ "earthquake"

B. Four-syllable words, rare in the Hote language, have primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress often on the third syllable. Some compound words have secondary stress on the fourth syllable.

Example:

1. 'kate'poli "potato"
2. 'kubaheŋ'vi "Friday"

Hote word classes include nouns, pronouns, verbs, modifiers, relators, location words, time words, demonstratives, and particles. Some words are members of several classes with no structural difference.

1. Common Nouns: Most nouns in Hote are common nouns without inflection.
   1. Example:
      1. kamuŋ "jungle"
      2. ayuk "firewood"
      3. pik "ground"
      4. uniak "house"
2. Person Names: Hote names are typically nouns and modifiers that have been put together (compound nouns), or sometimes taken from the Jabem or Tok Pisin language.
   1. Example:
      1. malak "home" [male's name]
      2. kambaŋ "lime" [male's name]
3. Place Names: Place names in Hote are nouns that occur as subject only in an equative clause.
   1. Example:
      1. valantik (name of village)
      2. biyaŋai (name of village)
      3. bayuŋ "Bulolo"

1. Example:
   1. 1. kubaheŋvi "Friday" [ku ("garden") baheŋvi ("five")]
      2. kuayova "Thursday" [ku ("garden") ayova ("four)]
      3. balaliŋ "playground" [ba ("ball") laliŋ ("imprint")]

Pronouns are positioned as regular nouns but not used in descriptive nouns phrases, unless modified by a quantifier. Additionally, they are unable to be possessed.

1. Example:

yilu sapeŋ ana tamu skul

l.dl.exc all go down to school

"we (exc) all are going to the school."

In the plural forms of both the inclusive and exclusive pronouns, 'aniŋ' is used over 'iniŋ' often by Hote villagers and by coastal dwellers.

1. Example:

yanaŋ sup "my cloth"

my cloth

anim avuŋ "your dog"

your dog

aneŋ kev "his shirt"

his shirt

6. Modifiers: Divided into four classes, these words modify nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Class one modifiers are adjectives used to modify nouns and pronouns. These words are found in descriptive noun phrases which indicate size, quality, color, etc. Class two modifiers are adverbs that indicate manner and aspect. Class three modifiers can modify both nouns and verbs, however, there is only one known word. Fourth class modifiers are intensifiers.

Class 1 Example:

daim "tall, long"

moma "dry"

ma "sharp"

lopali "wet"

thapuk "white"

doho "some"

sapeŋ "all"

tom "one"

Class 2 Example:

ketheŋ "quickly"

daŋ "completely"

katu "well"

loŋbu "again"

tibum "straight"

Class 3 Example:

kambom "bad, very."

Class 4 Example:

amuŋ "very"

na "very"

Location Words: Hote location words are often depicted by vertical and horizontal planes with the exception of kapo "inside" and yaiŋ "outside." The orientations are as follows:

Vertical:

vuliŋ on.top/overhead

vibiŋ "underneath"

vumak "underneath" (farther down)

Horizontal:

saka "over there" (nearest)

toka "over there" (near)

toku "over there" (far)

tuvulu "over there" (farthest)

Height:

daka up.there (near)

saku up.there (far)

daku up.there (farthest)

tamu down/down to (any distance)

Example:

hamu vibiŋ "It is underneath."

3s.is underneath

Manner Words: These words connect a clause to the following particle of the sentence.

Example:

entek "this"

aintek "this"

nena "that, called"

hatum "like, as"

ma yamalu hanaiŋ i aintek nena

and 3s. talk to them this that

"and her husband said this,. . ."

Prepositions: In Hote, prepositions connect phrases to clauses.

Example:

aniŋ "inside"

haviŋ "with"

imbiŋ "with"

lok "with, including"

ek "for, to, at"

hamu haviŋ talebu lo lambu

3s.stay with mother and father

"He stayed with his mother and father."

Example:

vemam "later"

vem "a little while, a little time"

wakbok "yesterday"

sebok "before"

yamuŋ "tomorrow"

denaŋ "not yet"

Example:

atu "this"

entek "this" (close to)

intu "that" (close to)

namalu yauna atu "This very small boy."

male.child small.very this

duviyaŋ entek "It is an earthquake."

Source:

In the Hote language, verbs are divided into four classes depending on what consonant the word begins with and how the word is tensed, class 1, class 2, class 3, and class 4. Class 1 verbs indicate tense signaled by a change in the first consonant of the stem. Class 1 verbs changed to voiced stops before the person marker prefix are prenasalized. Class 2 verb stems are identified by a beginning consonant of either the voiced stop d or b. The initial stop is prenasalized before the person marker to create the potential tense. Class 3 verb stems begin with the voiced prenasalized stop ŋg. Class 4 verb stems encompass all that are marked for poetneial b use of potential tense person markers or tense markers.

More Class 1 Verb Examples:

yaha-va "I made/ am making."

ls.make

ya-m-ba "I will make."

ls.pot.make

o-n-doyeŋ "You will dance."

2s.pot.dance

Class 2 Verb Examples:

yaha-dum "I worked/ am working."

1s.work

ya-n-dum "I will work."

1s.pot.work

i-n-dum "He will work."

3s.pot.work

Class 3 Verb Examples:

yaha-ŋgabom num "I am cooking food."

1s.cook food

ya-ŋgabom num "I will cook food."

1s.cook food

Class 4 Verb Examples:

yahu-mu "I am resting."

1s.rest

te ya-mu "I will rest."

pot 1s.rest

te i-tuŋ "He will find."

pot 3s.find

ha-tuŋ "He found."

3s.find

Actual Tense: verbs in action, completed, or habitual.

Potential Tense: verbs that have not yet taken place but will.

Example:

e-bi bok "They speared the pig."

3p.spear pig

ni-m-bi bok "They will spear the pig."

3p.pot.spear pig

ho-yuv "You blew/are blowing."

u-yuv "You will blow."

Reduplication: Complete reduplication of numerals signals distribution whereas complete reduplication of quantities signals an increase in quantity. However, reduplication is uncommon in the Hote language.

Example:

tom "one"

tom tom "each one"

hawa numbeŋ numbeŋ "He gets very many."

3s.get plenty plenty

The counting system of the Hote language is based on one man which utilizes seven different numerals as a base: 1,2,3,4,5,10, and 20. Numbers in between, (6-9, 11-19, 21+) are indicated by inclusion quantifiers (6-9), multiple quantifier phrases (11-19), and additional quantifier phrases (21+).

Example:

baheŋ vi "five"

hands half

Example:

baheŋ vi lahavu te "six"

hands half including one

baheŋ vi (ba) lahavu ayova "nine"

hands half and including four

Example:

laumiŋ ba lahavu te "eleven"

ten and including one

laumiŋ ba la baheŋ vi ba lahavu te "sixteen"

ten and including hands half and including one

Example:

buŋ te "twenty"

whole one

buŋ te ba lahavu lu "twenty-three"

whole one and including three

buŋ te ba la laumiŋ "thirty"

whole one and including ten

buŋ te ba la laumiŋ ba lahavu te "thirty-one"

whole one and including ten and including one

Prenasalization: In the Hote language, all voiced prenasalized stops occur in medial position across syllable boundaries in nouns and verbs, except for [ŋg] which occurs word initial. Other exceptions include the following: [mb] can occur in compounds, [g] can occur in the initial position of loan words, and names, and [ŋg] can occur word initial before a low vowel.

[mb] Examples:

Verb

[ ' i . bi . tak ] / i-bitak/ "they came up"

[ ' im . bi . tak ] /im-bitak/ "he will come up"

Nouns

[ ' ko . bɔm ] /kobom/ "custom"

[kam . ' bɔm] /kam ' bom/ "bad"

[ ' ka . bɛŋ ] /kabeŋ/ "famine"

[ ' mam . be^ŋ ] /mambeiŋ] "play"

Coumpound

[ ' no^m . ' be^ŋ ] /noum-beiŋ/ "plenty"

[ ' dʊm . ' be^ŋ ] /dum-beiŋ/ "a large group"

[nd] Examples:

Verb

[ ' i . dʊm ] /i-dum/ "they work"

[ ' in . dʊm ] /in-dum/ "he will work"

Noun

[ ' o^ . do^ŋ ] /oudouŋ/ "source"

[ ' lɛŋ . ɔŋ . ' dɔŋ ] /lenondoŋ/ "his ear"

[ng] Examples:

Verb

[ ' ne . g^ya ] /ne . gia/ "they will carry"

[ ' ɛŋ . g^ya ] /eŋ . gia/ "he will carry"

Noun

[ ' li . giŋ ] /ligiŋ/ "sickness"

[ ' maŋ . gin ] /maŋgin/ "thorn"