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'''Wena''' (also known as '''Hibu''', '''Hibuese''', '''Mannenese''' or '''Nenge''') is a language isolate spoken by around 60,000 people on the Hibu Islands in the Hibu Province of Papua New Guinea. It is called by its speakers either ''nenge wena'' or ''nenge wana'', both essentially meaning 'our language', the former using the exclusive word 'we, not you' and the latter using the inclusive word 'we, including you'. The closest land to the Hibu Islands is Simberi Island about 150 kilometres to the southwest. Nuguria Atoll is a similar distance away to the southeast. About half of the Wena people are monolingual, the other half also having knowledge of Tok Pisin and a much smaller percentage know English. Dialectal differences are little-documented and appear to be small, most likely owing to the high degree of travel around the island.
{{privatelang}}
'''Wena''' (also known as '''Hibu''', '''Hibuese''', '''Mannenese''' or '''Nenge''') is a language isolate spoken by around 60,000 people on the Hibu Islands in the Hibu Province of Papua New Guinea. It is called by its speakers either ''nenge wena'' or ''nenge wana'', both essentially meaning 'our language', the former using the exclusive word 'we, not you' and the latter using the inclusive word 'we, including you'. The closest land to the Hibu Islands is Simberi Island about 150 kilometres to the southwest. Nuguria Atoll is a similar distance away to the southeast. About half of the Wena people are monolingual, the other half also having knowledge of Tok Pisin and a much smaller percentage know English. Dialectal differences are little-documented and appear to be small, most likely owing to the high degree of travel around the islands.


Wena appears to be a language isolate. It is a right-branching, strongly isolating language, notable for its largely oligoanalytic nature, its complete lack of verbs other than the non-inflecting copula ''i'', and for its sex-based speech registers, whereby initiated men pronounce all consonants other than /h/ as voiced.
Wena appears to be a language isolate. It is a right-branching, strongly isolating language, notable for its largely oligoanalytic nature, its complete lack of verbs other than the non-inflecting copula ''i'', and for its sex-based speech registers, whereby initiated men pronounce all consonants other than /h/ as voiced.
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====Consonant Spelling====
====Consonant Spelling====


The consonants are written using their phonemic representations in IPA with the exception of the prenasalised plosives /<sup><small>m</small></sup>b <sup><small>n</small></sup>d <sup><small>ŋ</small></sup>g/, written '''mb''', '''nd''' and '''ngg''' respectively, /ŋ/, written '''ng''' and /j/ written '''y'''. The letter '''r''' is used in some texts to indicate where the tapped or flapped allophone of /d/ appears. This is not consistent, although the Wena bible uses this and many names are spelled this way.  
The consonants are written using their phonemic representations in IPA with the exception of the prenasalised plosives /<sup><small>m</small></sup>b <sup><small>n</small></sup>d <sup><small>ŋ</small></sup>g/, written '''mb''', '''nd''', and '''ngg''' respectively, /ŋ/, written '''ng''', and /j/, written '''y'''. The letter '''r''' is used in some texts to indicate where the tapped or flapped allophone of /d/ appears. This is not consistent, although the Wena bible uses this and many names are also spelled this way.  


The following table shows the basic pronunciation of each written letter or letter combination.
The following table shows the basic pronunciation of each written consonant or consonant combination.




{| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable"
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
|-
|-
! Writing !! ''Nenge La'' !! ''Nenge Hu''
! Writing !! ''Nenge La'' !! ''Nenge Hu''
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The true values of the vowels /a e i o u/ tend to be closer to [ä ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ] although, for simplicity's sake, they tend to be transcribed with <a e i o u> even in narrow phonetic transcription. Each vowel has a fairly wide allophonic range and the cardinal [a e i o u] values fall within these ranges.
The true values of the vowels /a e i o u/ tend to be closer to [ä ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ] although, for simplicity's sake, they are usually transcribed with <a e i o u> even in narrow phonetic transcription. Each vowel has a fairly wide allophonic range and the cardinal [a e i o u] values fall within these ranges.


The high vowels /i u/ have non-syllabic allophones, [i̯~j] and [u̯~w] respectively. These appear when these vowels are unstressed and following another vowel.
The high vowels /i u/ have non-syllabic allophones, [i̯~j] and [u̯~w] respectively. These appear when these vowels are unstressed and following another vowel.
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The distinction between '''''wena''''' "we" and '''''wana''''' "we" is that the latter includes any listeners whereas the former does not. In the second person, '''''wewa''''' is used to refer to a group with all members present and being addressed. '''''Wede''''' refers to a group whose members are not all present or being spoken to.
The distinction between '''''wena''''' "we" and '''''wana''''' "we" is that the latter includes any listeners whereas the former does not. In the second person, '''''wewa''''' is used to refer to a group with all members present and being addressed. '''''Wade''''' refers to a group whose members are not all present or being spoken to.


All the pronouns have distinct genitive forms equivalent to being preceded with '''''ya'''''. For example, '''''ya na''''' is equivalent to '''''nga''''', with the former being more emphatic and the latter being more common. The forms are shown in the following table.
All the pronouns have distinct genitive forms equivalent to being preceded with '''''ya'''''. For example, '''''ya na''''' is equivalent to '''''nga''''', with the former being more emphatic and the latter being more common. The forms are shown in the following table.
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:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="4" | '''''Wena i le zyide.'''''
| colspan="4" | '''''Wena i le <span style="color:blue">zyide</span>.'''''
|-
|-
|wena || i || le || zyide
|wena || i || le || zyide
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| 1p.<small>EXCL</small> || <small>COP</small> || love.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.each_other
| 1p.<small>EXCL</small> || <small>COP</small> || love.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.each_other
|-
|-
| colspan="4" | ''We love each other.''
| colspan="4" | ''We love <span style="color:blue">each other</span>.''
|}
|}


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:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="6" | '''''Hu gwe ndudu i li dede.'''''
| colspan="6" | '''''Hu gwe ndudu i li <span style="color:blue">dede</span>.'''''
|-
|-
|hu || gwe || ndudu || i || li || dede
|hu || gwe || ndudu || i || li || dede
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| colspan="6" | ''The man and the frog swapped bodies.''
| colspan="6" | ''The man and the frog swapped bodies.''
|-
|-
| colspan="6" | Lit.: ''The man and the frog became each other.''
| colspan="6" | Lit.: ''The man and the frog became <span style="color:blue">each other</span>.''
|}
|}


=====Reflexive=====
=====Reflexive=====


Reflexive pronouns may be formed by suffixing '''''-zu''''' onto any of the personal pronouns. In the first and second persons, the '''''-zu''''' is only used emphatically and otherwise dropped. In the third person, the '''''zu''''' is a separate word and it is the important part of the phrase, with the '''''de''''' able to be dropped.
Reflexive pronouns may be formed by adding '''''zu''''' to any of the personal pronouns. In the first and second persons, it is suffixed, '''''-zu''''', but is only used emphatically to emphasise reflexivity and otherwise dropped. In the third person, the '''''zu''''' is a separate word and it is the important part of the phrase, with the '''''de''''' able to be dropped.




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Quite frequently, '''''-zu''''' attaches as a compound element on to the end of other nouns in order to create a lexical reflexive. Compare the following three sentences.
Quite frequently, '''''-zu''''' attaches as a compound element on to the end of other nouns in order to create a lexical reflexive. This is quite like the English prefixes ''auto-'' and ''self-'', as in ''autoerotic'', ''self-destruct''. Compare the following three sentences.




:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | '''''Na i ze ngu nga.'''''
| colspan="5" | '''''Na i ze ngu <span style="color:blue">nga</span>.'''''
|-
|-
| na || i || ze || ngu || nga
| na || i || ze || ngu || nga
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| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || GEN.1s
| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || GEN.1s
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill myself.''
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill <span style="color:blue">myself</span>.''
|}
|}


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:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | '''''Na i ze ngu ngazu.'''''
| colspan="5" | '''''Na i ze ngu <span style="color:blue">ngazu</span>.'''''
|-
|-
| na || i || ze || ngu || ngazu
| na || i || ze || ngu || ngazu
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| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || GEN.1s.<small>REFL</small>
| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || GEN.1s.<small>REFL</small>
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill '''myself'''.''
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill <span style="color:blue">myself</span> (but possibly others).''
|}
|}


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:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="4" | '''''Na i ze nguzu.'''''
| colspan="4" | '''''Na i ze ngu<span style="color:blue">zu</span>.'''''
|-
|-
| na || i || ze || nguzu
| na || i || ze || nguzu
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| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.self.<small>AG</small>
| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.self.<small>AG</small>
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to commit suicide.''
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to commit <span style="color:blue">su</span>icide.''
|}
|}


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:{|
:{|
|-
|-
| colspan="6" | '''''Na i ze ngu o na.'''''
| colspan="6" | '''''Na i ze ngu <span style="color:blue">o na</span>.'''''
|-
|-
| na || i || ze || ngu || u || na
| na || i || ze || ngu || u || na
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| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || ADJN || 1s  
| 1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>NEG</small>.<small>E</small> || murder.<small>AG</small> || ADJN || 1s  
|-
|-
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill (anyone) myself.''
| colspan="5" | ''I'm not going to kill (anyone) <span style="color:blue">myself</span>.''
|}
|}


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===Specificity===
===Specificity===
===Tense and aspect===
===Tense and aspect===
====Progressive and present====
====Perfect and past====
====Prospective and future====
====Gnomic====
====Episodic====
====Habitual====
====Inceptive====
====Continuative====
====Cessative====


==Clauses==
==Clauses==
===NP clauses===
===Appellative clauses===
 
The simplest sentence type in Wena is an appellative clause, which consists of a single bare noun-phrase. The function of these clauses is to name the addressee. The meaning is the same as a clause beginning with '''''Wa i ...''''' 'You are ...' although in tone it is much more direct. The closest equivalent in English are the kind of vocative exclamations such as "Idiot!" or "Creep!" which are not used to gain attention but instead to make an assertion about the addressee (i.e. not "Hey, creep!" but "You are a creep!").
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="1" | '''''Vwindu!'''''
|-
|vwindu
|-
| lowlife.scum
|-
| colspan="1" | ''(You are) lowlife scum!''
|}
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="1" | '''''Hyo!'''''
|-
|hyo
|-
| sweet.<small>E</small>
|-
| colspan="1" | ''You are sweet!''
|-
| colspan="1" | Lit: ''Sweet person/thing!''
|}
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''''Zyendu ya nggu!'''''
|-
|zyendu || ya || nggu
|-
| drop.<small>AG</small> || GEN || money
|-
| colspan="3" | ''You dropped some money!''
|-
| colspan="3" | Lit: ''Money dropper!''
|}
 
 
Direct imperatives take the form of appellatives beginning with '''''he''''' 'one who should'.
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="2" | '''''He zomba!'''''
|-
|he || zomba
|-
| should.<small>AG</small> || go_home.<small>AG</small>
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(You should) go home!''
|-
| colspan="2" | Lit: ''One who should go home!''
|}
 
 
In giving extremely direct forceful orders, the '''''he''''' is dropped and the order is told as if it were a fact, similar to orders that start with 'You will ...'.
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''''Byebye hi bu!'''''
|-
|byebye || hi || bu
|-
| permanently_leave.<small>AG</small> || DEF.<small>E</small> || island
|-
| colspan="3" | ''You will leave this island and never return!''
|-
| colspan="3" | Lit: ''Permanent leaver of this island!''
|}
 
 
:{|
|-
| colspan="8" | '''''No u na i dyo zyi va nggu wo!'''''
|-
|no || u || na || i || dyo || zyi || va || nggu
|-
| give.<small>AG</small> || <small>ADJN</small> || 1s || <small>COP</small> || acquire.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.<small>DEF</small>.<small>E</small> || everything || money ||
|-
| colspan="8" | ''You will give me all of your money!''
|-
| colspan="8" | Lit: ''Person who gives me all of the money!''
|}
 
===Predicate clauses===
===Predicate clauses===
Predicate clauses consist of nothing but a predicate, which itself consists of the copula (or predicate marker) '''''i''''' of a noun phrase introduced by the copula. The missing subject in these sentences can, without further context, be thought of as representing an unspoken "someone" or "something". They therefore often have an existential meaning.
:{|
|-
| colspan="2" | '''''I nivi.'''''
|-
| i || nivi
|-
| <small>COP</small> || problem
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(Someone or something) is a problem.''
|-
| colspan="2" | I.e. ''There is a problem.''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="2" | '''''I nivi.'''''
|-
| i || nivi
|-
| <small>COP</small> || problem
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(Someone or something) is a problem.''
|-
| colspan="2" | I.e. ''There is a problem.''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''''I gwa nwevwa.'''''.
|-
| i || gwa || nwevwa
|-
| <small>COP</small> || two.<small>E</small> || banana
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(Someone or something) is two bananas.''
|-
| colspan="2" | ''There are two bananas.''
|}
Predicate clauses are often used rather like a passive construction.
:{|
|-
| colspan="6" | '''''I mo zyi we dyenggi nga.'''''.
|-
| i || mo || zyi || we || dyenggi || nga
|-
| <small>COP</small> || consume.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.<small>DEF</small>.<small>E</small> || <small>PL</small>.<small>E</small> || sago_cake || <small>GEN</small>.1s
|-
| colspan="6" | ''Someone (or something) ate my sago cakes.''
|-
| colspan="6" | ''There is an eater of my sago cakes.''
|}
Note the difference between this and a true passive formed with a prefixed '''''ne-'''''.
::{|
|-
| colspan="5" | '''''We dyenggi nga i nemo.'''''
|-
| we || dyenggi || nga || i || ne-mo
|-
| <small>PL</small>.<small>E</small> || sago_cake || <small>GEN</small>.1s || <small>COP</small> || <small>PASS</small>-consume.<small>AG</small>
|-
| colspan="5" | "My sago cakes are/were/have been eaten."
|}
In context, the unstate subject may refer to a specific entity understood from context. For example, after being asked the question "Where is the banana?" the answer may be ...
:{|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''''I lu vumbadi.'''''
|-
| i || lu || vumbadi
|-
| <small>COP</small> || <small>LOC</small>.<small>E</small> || bathroom
|-
| colspan="3" | ''(It's) in the bathroom.''
|}
Note that removing the copula and saying '''''lu vumbadi''''' would not simply mean "in the bathroom" but, being an unmarked noun phrase ("entity which is in the bathroom"), this forms an appellative sentence essentially meaning "You are in the bathroom." The copula thus appears at the beginning of short utterances warning of the presence of something.
:{|
|-
| colspan="2" | '''''I mongo'''''
|-
| i || mongo
|-
| <small>COP</small> || shark
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(There's a) shark!''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="2" | '''''I vyada'''''
|-
| i || vyada
|-
| <small>COP</small> || tree
|-
| colspan="2" | ''(There's a) tree!''
|}
===Subject predicate clauses===
===Subject predicate clauses===
===Topic fronting===
===Topic fronting===
===Questions===
===Questions===
===Coordination===
===Coordination===
Wena has the following coordinating conjunctions.
:{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
|-
! Conjunction !! Gloss !! English
|-
| '''''gwe''''' || and.<small>SIMULT</small> / and || ''and simultaneously, and at the same time''
|-
| '''''do''''' || and.<small>SUBSEQ</small> / then || ''and then, then, and subsequently''
|-
| '''''dozye''''' || and.<small>CONSEQ</small> / thus || ''so, and therefore, and consequently''
|-
| '''''mye''''' || but || ''but''
|-
| '''''agwe''''' || or.<small>INCL</small> || ''and/or, or (and possibly both/all)''
|-
| '''''amye''''' || <small>XOR</small> || ''or (but not both/all)''
|}
These conjunctions can all be used at any level of syntax, linking sentences, predicates, noun phrases or modifiers within noun phrases.
When more than two items are linked, the conjunction appears between each pair, unlike in English where it appears only between the last two. For example the structure '''A, B, and C''' is, in Wena, '''A ''gwe'' B ''gwe'' C'''.
====Correlative coordination====
The particle '''''a''''' (glossed: <small>COORD</small>) can be used to mark the beginning of a correlative phrase. They chiefly appear to disambiguate exactly which syntactic structures are being coordinated or for emphasis. The following structures exist.
:{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''gwe'' '''Y || both X and Y
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''do'' '''Y || first X then Y
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''dozye'' '''Y || if X then Y / the X the Y
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''mye'' '''Y || "admittedly" X but Y
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''agwe'' '''Y || either X or Y (or both)
|-
| '''''a'' '''X''' ''amye'' '''Y || either X or Y (but not both)
|-
| '''''a '''''(...)''''' ze'' '''X''' ''mye '''''(...)''''' ndwa'' '''Y || not X but (rather) Y
|-
| '''''a '''''(...)''''' ze myegi'' '''X''' ''mye gwe'' '''Y || not only X but also Y
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="7" | '''''De i hu <span style="color:blue">a</span> gu <span style="color:blue">do</span> vwe.'''''
|-
| de || i || hu || a || gu || do || vwe
|-
| <small>DEF</small>.<small>E</small> || <small>COP</small> || man || <small>COORD</small> || strike.<small>AG</small> || then || see.<small>AG</small>
|-
| colspan="7" | ''He's a "hit <span style="color:blue">first</span>, ask questions <span style="color:blue">later</span>" kind of guy.''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="14" | '''''<span style="color:blue">A</span> i he mbo u nyo i liba da <span style="color:blue">dozye</span> zyamo i liba homo.'''''
|-
| a || i || he || mbo || u || nyo || i || liba || da || dozye || zyamo || i || liba || homo
|-
| <small>COORD</small> || <small>COP</small> || should.<small>AG</small> || stay.<small>AG</small> || <small>ADJN</small> || <small>time</small> || <small>COP</small> || increasingly_intense.<small>E</small> || large.<small>E</small> || thus || food || <small>COP</small> || increasingly_intense.<small>E</small> || tasty.<small>E</small>
|-
| colspan="14" | ''<span style="color:blue">The</span> longer you have to wait, <span style="color:blue">the</span> better food tastes.''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="16" | '''''<span style="color:blue">A</span> i bawe nya lu vumba vyewa <span style="color:blue">mye</span> i he mbomu zyu hi mbalwe i dinggu.'''''
|-
| a || i || bawe || nya || lu || vumba || vyewa || mye || i || he || mbomu || zyu || hi || mbalwe || i || dinggu
|-
| <small>COORD</small> || <small>COP</small> || many.<small>E</small> || small_animal || <small>LOC</small>.<small>E</small> || room || <small>GEN</small>.2p || but || <small>COP</small> || should.<small>AG</small> || remember.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.<small>C</small> || <small>DEM</small>.<small>E</small> || guesthouse || <small>COP</small> || cheap.<small>E</small>
|-
| colspan="12" | ''<span style="color:blue">Yes</span>, <span style="color:blue">admittedly</span> your room '''is''' full of creepy crawlies, <span style="color:blue">but</span> please remember: this guesthouse '''is''' cheap.''
|}
:{|
|-
| colspan="15" | '''''Wa i mwe <span style="color:blue">a</span> mbo lu hi u vwevwe igidigi <span style="color:blue">amye</span> me nga u gunggi.'''''
|-
| wa || i || mwe || a || mbo || lu || hi || u || vwevwe || igidigi || amye || me || nga || u || gunggi
|-
| 2s || <small>COP</small> || able.<small>E</small> || <small>COORD</small> || stay.<small>AG</small> || <small>LOC</small>.<small>E</small> || <small>DEM</small>.<small>E</small> || <small>ADJN</small> || watch.<small>AG</small> || ant || <small>XOR</small> || accompany.<small>AG</small> || <small>GEN</small>.1s || <small>ADJN</small> || beat_sago.<small>AG</small>
|-
| colspan="15" | ''You can <span style="color:blue">either</span> stay here twiddling your thumbs'' (lit. "watching ants") ''<span style="color:blue">or</span> come and beat sago with me.''
|}
Additionally, in questions, the two versions of "either ... or" can be be used with '''h''' instead of having '''ha''' appear at the beginning of the sentence. This is much more usual for the exclusive "either ... or" than the inclusive.
:{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
|-
|-
| '''''ha'' '''X''' ''hagwe'' '''Y || either X or Y (or both)?
|-
| '''''ha'' '''X''' ''hamye'' '''Y || either X or Y (but not both)?
|}
===Subordination===
===Subordination===
===Conditional sentences===
===Conditional sentences===
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===''Nenge la''===
===''Nenge la''===
===''Nenge hu''===
===''Nenge hu''===
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
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