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GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS of the

MANDARA LANGUAGE of

NEW IRELAND PROVINCE

Steven & Holly Hong Summer Institute of Linguistics

Papua New Guinea

April 2003



CONTENTS

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 8

2. Phonology ........................................................................................... 8 2.1 Phonemes ............................................................................................ 8 2.2 Stress and Syllable Patterns ................................................................. 9 2.3 Vowel Harmonization ............................................................................ 9

3. Word Level and Morphology .............................................................. 9 3.1 Nouns ................................................................................................... 9 3.1.1 Personal, Locative, and Common Nouns ..................................................... 10 3.1.1.1 Personal Nouns ..................................................................................................... 10 3.1.1.1.1 Personified Non-Human Animate .......................................................................... 10 3.1.1.1.2 Job Titles as Personal Nouns ................................................................................ 10 3.1.1.1.3 Borrowed Kin Terms as Personal Nouns .............................................................. 11 3.1.1.1.4 Personal Nouns in Direct Address ......................................................................... 11 3.1.1.2 Locative Nouns ...................................................................................................... 11 3.1.1.2.1 Unpossessed Locative Nouns ............................................................................... 11 3.1.1.2.2 Inalienable Locative Part Nouns ............................................................................ 12 3.1.1.3 Common nouns ..................................................................................................... 12 3.1.1.4 Derived Nouns ....................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1.4.1 Nominalizer Infix -in- .............................................................................................. 13 3.1.1.4.2 Derivation by Reduplication ................................................................................... 14 3.1.1.4.3 Derivation by the Cognitive Prefix bai- ................................................................... 14 3.1.1.4.4 Derivation by Generalizer Prefix ro ........................................................................ 14 3.1.1.5 Compound Nouns .................................................................................................. 15 3.1.2 Inalienable and Alienable Possession .......................................................... 15 3.1.2.1 Inalienable Nouns .................................................................................................. 15 3.1.2.2 Alienable Nouns .................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2.2.1 Intimate Alienable Nouns ....................................................................................... 16 3.1.2.2.2 Non-Intimate Alienable Nouns ............................................................................... 17 3.2 Articles, Deictics, and Deictic Locations ............................................. 18 3.2.1 Articles ......................................................................................................... 18 3.2.1.2 Referential Articles ................................................................................................ 18 3.2.1.2.1 Singular Referential Articles .................................................................................. 18 3.2.1.2.2 Plural Referential Articles ...................................................................................... 19 3.2.1.3 Non-Referential Article .......................................................................................... 20 3.2.2 Deictics ........................................................................................................ 20 3.2.3 Deictic Locations .......................................................................................... 21 3.3 Numerals ............................................................................................ 23 3.3.1 Cardinal numerals ........................................................................................ 23 3.3.2 Ordinal numerals ......................................................................................... 24 3.4 Arrangement Classifiers ..................................................................... 24 3.4.1.1 Arrangement Classifiers for Alienable Common Nouns ....................................... 24 3.4.1.2 Arrangement Classifier for Group of People ......................................................... 26 3.4.1.3 Arrangement Classifier for Mass Nouns ............................................................... 26 3.5 Adjectives and Other Nominal Modifiers ............................................. 27 3.5.1 Pure Adjectives ............................................................................................ 27 3.5.2 Other Nominal Modifiers .............................................................................. 27



3.6 Pronouns ............................................................................................ 27 3.6.1 Independent Pronouns ................................................................................. 28 3.6.2 Object Pronouns .......................................................................................... 28 3.6.2.1 Third Person Singular Object Pronoun ................................................................. 29 3.6.3 Subject Reference Pronoun ......................................................................... 29 3.6.4 Possessor Suffix Pronouns .......................................................................... 29 3.6.5 Possessive Pronouns .................................................................................. 30 3.6.5.1 Intimate Alienable Possessive Pronouns .............................................................. 30 3.6.5.2 Non-Intimate Alienable Possessive Pronouns ...................................................... 30 3.6.6 Emphatic Pronouns...................................................................................... 30 3.7 Prepositions ........................................................................................ 31 3.7.1.1 Locative Preposition ‘si’ ......................................................................................... 31 3.7.1.2 Reason Preposition ‘surie’ ..................................................................................... 31 3.7.1.3 Instrumental and Manner Preposition ‘ngan’ ......................................................... 32 3.7.1.4 Accompaniment Preposition ‘meie’ ........................................................................ 32 3.7.1.5 Malefactive Preposition ‘veie’ ................................................................................ 32 3.7.1.6 Benefactive Preposition ‘nia’ ................................................................................. 33 3.7.1.7 Source Preposition ‘ni’ .......................................................................................... 33 3.7.1.8 Path Preposition ‘ka’ .............................................................................................. 33 3.7.1.9 Examples of verbs that are used as prepositions ................................................. 33 3.8 Conjunctions and Complementisers ................................................... 34 3.8.1 Phrase Level Conjunctions .......................................................................... 34 3.8.2 Clause Level Conjunctions ........................................................................... 35 3.8.3 Sentence Level Conjunctions ....................................................................... 36 3.9 Interrogative/Indefinite Pronouns and Pro-Words ............................... 36 3.10 Verbs .................................................................................................. 37 3.10.1 Stative Verbs ............................................................................................... 37 3.10.2 Action Verbs ................................................................................................ 38 3.10.2.1 Intransitive Verbs ............................................................................................... 38 3.10.2.2 Transitive Verbs ................................................................................................. 38 3.10.2.3 Object Incorporation into Verbs ......................................................................... 39 3.10.3 Reciprocal Prefix ve- .................................................................................... 40 3.10.4 Stative Derivational Prefix ka- ...................................................................... 40 3.10.5 Stativizer Prefix ma- ..................................................................................... 40

4. Phrase Level ...................................................................................... 41 4.1 Noun Phrase ....................................................................................... 41 4.1.1 Basic noun phrase ....................................................................................... 41 4.1.1.1 Preposed Nominal Modifiers ................................................................................. 41 4.1.1.2 Postposed Nominal Modifiers ............................................................................... 42 4.1.1.2.1 The Noun Phrase Headed by ni as a Post-Nominal Modifier ................................ 44 4.1.1.2.2 The Relative Clause as a Post-Nominal Modifier .................................................. 44 4.1.1.2.3 Negation Marker ‘kap’ heading a Post Nominal Modifier Phrase .......................... 44 4.1.1.2.4 Reduplicated Verb as a Post-Nominal Modifier ..................................................... 44 4.1.1.2.5 Topicalization of Post Modifiers ............................................................................. 45 4.1.2 Pronominally Headed Noun Phrases ........................................................... 45 4.1.3 Possessive Noun Phrases ........................................................................... 45 4.1.3.1 Inalienably Possessed Noun Phrases .................................................................. 45 4.1.3.2 Alienably Possessed Noun Phrases ..................................................................... 46 4.1.3.3 Locative Possessive Noun Phrase ........................................................................ 47 4.1.4 Complex Noun Phrases ............................................................................... 47 4.1.4.1 Coordinate Noun Phrase ....................................................................................... 47 4.1.4.2 Alternative Noun Phrase........................................................................................ 47



4.1.4.3 Appositional Noun Phrase ..................................................................................... 47 4.1.4.4 Coordinated Pronoun Phrase ................................................................................ 48 4.2 Verb Phrase ........................................................................................ 48 4.2.1 Definition and Structure of the Verb Phrase. ................................................ 48 4.2.2 Head of the Verb Phrase ............................................................................. 48 4.2.2.1 Minimum Verb Root ............................................................................................... 48 4.2.2.2 Serial Verb Constructions (SVC) ........................................................................... 50 4.2.2.2.1 SVC 1 .................................................................................................................... 50 4.2.2.2.2 SVC 2 .................................................................................................................... 50 4.2.2.2.3 SVC 3 .................................................................................................................... 51 4.2.2.2.4 Subject Reference ................................................................................................. 51 4.2.3 Pre-Nuclear Auxiliaries................................................................................. 51 4.2.3.1 Co-occurrence of the Pre-nuclear Auxiliaries ....................................................... 51 4.2.3.2 Tense ..................................................................................................................... 52 4.2.3.2.1 Distant Past Tense: ............................................................................................... 52 4.2.3.2.2 Near-Past to Present Tense Events ...................................................................... 52 4.2.3.2.3 Future Events ........................................................................................................ 52 4.2.3.3 Negation................................................................................................................. 53 4.2.3.4 Modality Adverbs ................................................................................................... 53 4.2.3.4.1 Irrealis/Realis ......................................................................................................... 53 4.2.3.4.2 Intention - be .......................................................................................................... 54 4.2.3.4.3 Counter Expectation Possibility - masi ................................................................... 54 4.2.3.4.4 Counter Expectation - si ........................................................................................ 55 4.2.3.4.5 Assurance - ba ....................................................................................................... 55 4.2.3.4.6 Counter Approval - ger ........................................................................................... 55 4.2.3.4.7 Persistent - ngas .................................................................................................... 56 4.2.3.4.8 Desired Result - mang ............................................................................................ 56 4.2.3.4.9 Relief - nangaba ..................................................................................................... 56 4.2.3.4.10 Comparative –ki ................................................................................................... 57 4.2.3.4.11 Politeness: - ve ..................................................................................................... 57 4.2.3.4.12 Frustration – pilang .............................................................................................. 57 4.2.3.5 Aspect Markers ...................................................................................................... 58 4.2.3.5.1 Completive - te ....................................................................................................... 58 4.2.3.5.2 Repetitive - buer ..................................................................................................... 58 4.2.3.5.3 Habituative - ko ...................................................................................................... 59 4.2.3.5.4 Immediate - so ....................................................................................................... 59 4.2.3.5.5 Ready to - visi ........................................................................................................ 59 4.2.3.5.6 Progressive - vor .................................................................................................... 59 4.2.3.5.7 Continuative/durative - mono .................................................................................. 59 4.2.3.5.8 In the Morning- vo .................................................................................................. 60 4.2.4 Object Reference Pronoun .......................................................................... 60 4.2.5 Post-Nuclear Auxiliaries ............................................................................... 60 4.2.5.1 Intensifier ............................................................................................................... 60 4.2.5.2 Manner Adverbs .................................................................................................... 61 4.3 Prepositional Phrase ........................................................................... 62 4.3.1 Temporal prepositional phrase ..................................................................... 62 4.3.2 Locational prepositional phrase ................................................................... 63 4.3.3 Reason prepositional phrase ....................................................................... 63 4.3.4 Instrumental and Manner Prepositional Phrase ........................................... 63 4.3.5 Accompaniment Prepositional Phrase ......................................................... 63 4.3.6 Malefactive Prepositional Phrase ................................................................. 64 4.3.7 Benefactive Prepositional Phrase ................................................................ 64 4.3.8 Source Prepositional Phrase ........................................................................ 64

5. Clause Level syntax .......................................................................... 65



5.1 Word Order ......................................................................................... 65 5.2 Grammatical relations ......................................................................... 66 5.3 Topic and Focus ................................................................................. 67 5.4 Clause Types Defined by Predicate Type and Transitive Issues ........ 68 5.4.1 Non-Verbal Clauses ..................................................................................... 68 5.4.2 Verbal Clause .............................................................................................. 69 5.4.2.1 Stative Clause ........................................................................................................ 69 5.4.2.1.1 Descriptive Clause ................................................................................................. 69 5.4.2.1.2 Numerical Clause .................................................................................................. 70 5.4.2.2 Active Clause ......................................................................................................... 71 5.4.2.2.1 Intransitive Clause ................................................................................................. 71 5.4.2.2.2 Transitive Clause ................................................................................................... 71 5.4.2.2.3 Ditransitive Clause ................................................................................................. 71 5.4.2.3 Negation in Verbal Clauses ................................................................................... 72 6. Sentence Types by Modal Features ................................................ 72 6.1.1 Imperative and Hortatory Sentences ............................................................ 72 6.1.1.1 Imperative Sentence .............................................................................................. 72 6.1.1.2 Hortatory Sentence ................................................................................................ 73 6.1.1.3 Prohibitive Sentence .............................................................................................. 73 6.1.2 Interrogative Sentences ............................................................................... 73 6.1.2.1 Polar questions ...................................................................................................... 73 6.1.2.2 Rhetorical questions .............................................................................................. 74 6.1.2.3 Content-information questions .............................................................................. 74 6.1.2.3.1 Ese ‘who’ questions .............................................................................................. 74 6.1.2.3.2 misa ‘what’ questions ............................................................................................ 75 6.1.2.3.3 misana ‘which’ question ........................................................................................ 75 6.1.2.3.4 sisa or venenges ‘when’ question ........................................................................... 75 6.1.2.3.5 ivie - en ‘where’ question ..................................................................................... 75 6.1.2.3.6 vasa - ven ‘how’ question ...................................................................................... 76

7. Complex Sentences .......................................................................... 76 7.1 Subordinate Clauses .......................................................................... 77 7.1.1 Relative Clause ............................................................................................ 77 7.1.2 Nominalized Clauses ................................................................................... 77 7.1.3 Complement Clauses ................................................................................... 78 7.1.3.1 Complement Clauses with the complementiser va ............................................... 78 7.1.3.2 Complement Clause headed by nia ...................................................................... 80 7.1.4 Temporal Clause ......................................................................................... 81 7.1.5 Conditional Structures .................................................................................. 81 7.1.6 Result-Reason Construction ........................................................................ 81 7.1.7 Concessive Sentence .................................................................................. 82 7.1.8 Purpose Clause ........................................................................................... 82 7.1.8.1 Purpose Subordinate Particle nia .......................................................................... 82 7.1.8.2 Purpose Clause with va ......................................................................................... 84 7.1.9 Quotations ................................................................................................... 85 7.1.9.1 Indirect Quotation .................................................................................................. 85 7.1.9.2 Direct Quotation ..................................................................................................... 85 7.1.10 Complex Subordinate Clause ...................................................................... 86 7.2 Coordination ....................................................................................... 87 7.2.1 Coordinate Sentence ................................................................................... 87 7.2.2 Sentences Encoding Contrast ...................................................................... 87 7.2.3 Sentences Encoding Alternatives................................................................. 88



8. Residual Issues ................................................................................. 88

8.1 Verb ra ‘go’ & me ‘come’.................................................................... 88 8.2 Irrealis Marker ta ................................................................................. 89

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................ 89

10. Appendix ........................................................................................... 90 10.1 E Us mi banga bor ‘Us, a good pig’ by Joseph Tulok ......................... 90 10.2 Ken kina bor e Tames ‘Tames’ female pig’ by Susana Vivnero ........ 119

List of Abbreviations

1 first person 2 second person 3 third person ACCM accompaniment preposition (meie) ARR arrangement classifier ART Article ASSU assurance modality marker (ba) C common noun CA modality marker for counter approval (ger) CAUS causativizer prefix for a verb (va-) CE counter expectation modality marker (si) CEP counter expectation possibility modality marker (masi) CINS consonant insertion CMPL completive aspect marker (te) COMP comparative COGN cognative prefix (bai-) CONT continuative/durative aspect marker (mono) CR SUB subordinating conjunction (va) DEIC deictic DEM deictic location DIST1 distal (ian) DIST2 distal further away (die) DL dual EMPH emphatic EXC exclusive GEN general area or time prefix (ro-) HAB habituative or customary aspect marker (ko) HOW1 first manner question word (vasa) HOW2 second manner question word (ven) IMM immediate aspect marker (so) INC inclusive INST instrumental and manner preposition (ngan) INT intention modality marker (be) INTS intensifiers (beitsak, rovoriu)



IRR irrealis marker (ta) L locative noun LOC locative preposition (si) MASS mass nouns MLFC malefactive preposition (veie) N noun NEG negation NOM nominalizer NP noun phrase NR non-referential article OP object reference clitic P personal noun PASS stative derivational prefix (ka-) PAST past tense marker (nga) PC paucal PERS persistent modality marker (ngas) PI possessive pronoun for intimate alienable nouns PL plural PN possessive pronoun for non-intimate alienable nouns POL politeness modality marker (ve) PROG progressive aspect marker (vor) PROX proximate PURP benefactive/purposepreposition (nia, na) QTAG polar question tag morpheme READY aspect marker for ready to do something (visi) RCPR reciprocal prefix (veve-, ver-, ve-) RDP reduplication RELF relief modality marker (nangaba) REP repetitive aspect marker (buer) RES desired result modality marker (mang) RSON reason preposition (surie) S singular SPEC-LOC specific-location SR subject reference clitic SRCE source preposition (ni) STAV stativizer SUP (pg. 16- ki) TR transitivizer suffix VCON verb conjunction VIS visible



1. INTRODUCTION This paper is a preliminary description of the grammar of the Mandara language in New Ireland Province of

Papua New Guinea. Mandara is an SVO Austronesian language. According to Malcolm Ross (1988) in his grouping of Proto-Oceanic languages in Western Melanesia, Mandara (which he refers to as Tabar) belongs to the Tabar chain of the New Ireland network of the Meso-Melanesian cluster. Notsi and Lihir are the other two languages that belong to the Tabar chain.

The Mandara language is noteworthy for its complex noun classification system, based on both gender and possession classes. It has two classes of nouns distinguished by direct and indirect marking of possession. Indirectly possessed nouns are further divided into two sub-classes based on the intimacy of the item to the possessor. The two possession classes of noun are interwoven into a gender system with three classes (personal, locative, and common nouns.). There are also a dozen sub-classes within common nouns that take arrangement classifiers to identify the quantity groupings of the nouns.

Mandara is spoken by the residents on the group of islands called the Tabar Islands, which are the most northeasterly islands off of the mainland of New Ireland. This group is composed of four islands: Simberi, Tatau, Mapua, and Big Tabar. There are approximately 3,000 people in the language group occupying 28 villages, which are scattered along the coasts of the four islands.

Although the Mandara that is spoken in each of these 28 villages has minor variations, the language can be divided into three major dialect groups: the Big Tabar dialect, the Mapua-Southern Tatau dialect, and the Simberi-Northern Tatau dialect. The dialects differ mainly in phonological patterns such as vowel shifting, vowel harmonization and one or two consonants consistently changing. The difference for lexical items is minimal. The Big Tabar dialect usually retains the underlying forms of morphemes in its surface structure representation. However, in the final syllable of words, the vowel is devoiced, [e.g. sina → sinA] The Simberi-Northern Tatau dialect manifest vowel harmony with the verb stem vowel influencing all the other vowels. (See section 2.3 for examples.) It also evidence metathesis of the final vowel and consonant [e.g. mate → maet], if one assumes that the Big Tabar dialect indicates the underlying forms of morphemes in its surface structure.

The data for this paper was gathered during the fieldwork done from April 1991 to the present. The authors, Steven and Holly Hong, are members of Summer Institute of Linguistics and have lived in four villages in different dialect groups. The analysis for this paper was mainly based on the texts gathered in Simberi-Northern Tatau dialect. Some examples that are used in this paper may resemble the Big Tabar dialect as we have written with underlying forms of the words.

We express our sincere appreciation to the people of the Tabar Islands who have allowed us to reside among them and have patiently taught us their language.

2. PHONOLOGY

2.1 Phonemes Table 2.1 Consonant Phonemes

p t k

b d g

v s ts ng

m n

l

r

Mandara has 14 consonant phonemes and 7 vowel phonemes in the Simberi-Northern Tatau dialect.



The phonemes / p, t, k / are non-aspirated voiceless stops. The phonemes / b, d, g / are prenasalized voiced stops. The phoneme /r/ is a flap. The phoneme /v/ represents the voiced bilabial fricative, /ts/ is an alveolar affricate, and /ng/ is a velar nasal.

Table 2.2 Vowel Phonemes

i u

˜ → e o → o

› → e š → o

a The vowel phonemes /›/ and /š/ phonetically contrast with the phonemes /˜/ and /o/ but the occurrence of these phonemes is rare in the language and the majority of the mother tongue writers prefer writing them with the letter <e> for phonemes both /˜/ and /›/ and the letter <o> for phonemes both /o/ and /š/. is chosen . Therefore this convention of orthography has been adapted.

2.2 Stress and Syllable Patterns Word stress is not a salient feature; there is no phonological evidence for its being phonemic. The final

syllable in a word is stressed. Intonational contours, however, do play a part in expressing different moods.

Unlike many Austronesian languages, the Simberi-Northern Tatau dialect of Mandara has many vowel clusters. Many of these vowel clusters are perceived by the native speakers to fill in a single vowel slot in a syllable. All vowel clusters with the shape: low vowel [e, o, a] + high vowel [i, u] are considered diphthongs, not complex syllable nuclei , ex: ei [eI], ou [ou].

There are four syllable patterns in the language: V, CV, VC, CVC.

2.3 Vowel Harmonization The vowel harmonization within words and a phrase is a dominating feature in the Simberi-Northern Tatau

dialect. The vowel of the initial syllable of the root morpheme before the affixation controls the vowel harmonization and influences the vowels in the preceding syllable(s). Many of the examples used in this paper are written with underlying forms in order to show the process of affixation.

For example, as shown in the table below, the vowel of the causative prefix va- is vowel harmonized in the process of affixation by the vowel of the initial syllable of the stems.

Table 2.3 Examples of Vowel Harmonization

verb stem & its meaning after affixation Pronounced Meaning after affixation

tsak ‘bad’ vatsaktie ‘atsaktÞe to damage

pan ‘awake’ vapanda ‘apa‡da to wake up (someone)

kor ‘fall’ vakorngie ‘okorƒÞe to drop

maturu ‘lay down’ vaturungie ‘uturuƒÞe to put (something down)

liki ‘small’ valikitie ‘ilikitÞe to humble (oneself)

3. WORD LEVEL AND MORPHOLOGY

3.1 Nouns All Mandara nouns can be categorized in two different classification systems. First, nouns are divided into

three gender classes: personal, locative, or common. This is marked by the kind of article that precedes the noun.

Second, nouns are categorized according to the marking of possession. Some nouns occur with a possessor suffix whilst others occur with a possessive pronoun preceding the noun. This structural distinction reflects a



semantic distinction between inalienable and alienable possession. There is no correlation between the gender and possession systems of categorization, so a noun is classified within one system independently of its class within the other. However, nouns in the alienable possession class are mostly common nouns with the exception of few kin relation terms and many abstract nouns,

3.1.1 Personal, Locative, and Common Nouns Each of these three noun genders is indicated by an obligatory article preceding the noun in its singular

form. The articles for each gender are e, i, and mi for personal, locative, and common nouns respectively. Gender class is not overtly marked, because the paucal article ba or the plural article bu replace the singular articles regardless of the gender class of the noun. These non-singular articles are usually applied to personal and common nouns since locative nouns represent a specific location and are therefore semantically singular. Gender class is also unmarked when non-referential articles replace the gender articles. (see Section 3.2.1)

3.1.1.1 Personal Nouns

Personal nouns include personal proper names and inalienable kin/relation terms. The personal article e preceding the noun when referring to one individual marks the gender. It is not overtly marked when the noun is plural, because the singular article is replaced either by the paucal article ba or the plural article bu, neither of which differentiates gender class. 1) Ine mi ka e tama-ung.

DEIC.PROX this man ART.P father-1S.PS ‘This man is my father’

2) E Tulok a muang. ART.P Tulok 3S.SR sleep ‘Tulok is sleeping’

3) e palapala-n a nga peven, ART.P friend-3S.PS 3S.SR PAST talk ‘his/her friend said,’

4) Ba kina-ung kokouk guor nga mesei. ART.few mother-1S.PS together 3DL.SR PAST die ‘Both of my mothers died.’

5) bu kasi-ung a nepeririem ART.PL same.gender.sibling-1S.PS 3S.SR five ‘my brothers are five’

3.1.1.1.1 Personified Non-Human Animate A common noun may become a personal noun when a non-human animate is personified in a story. For

example, in a story which personifies a pig and a dog, the article used for these animals is e instead of mi

6) E Bor a nga pengan si e Kopuen. ART.P Pig 3S.SR PAST tell LOC ART.P Dog ‘Pig told Dog.(In a story where a pig and a dog are personified)’

3.1.1.1.2 Job Titles as Personal Nouns When someone is identified by a job title, the noun used is classified as a personal noun. This occurs when

an individual’s job title is used in place of the individual’s name and the person in reference is commonly known both to the speaker and the listeners. 7) E Robinson eie mi hetmasta.

ART.P Robinson 3S ART.C headmaster ‘Robinson he is a headmaster.’

8) E Hetmasta a te pitser. ART.P Headmaster 3S.SR CMPL angry ‘The Headmaster got angry.’



3.1.1.1.3 Borrowed Kin Terms as Personal Nouns Some kin terms that are loanwords from outside the language group also function as ‘job titles’. They are

marked with the personal gender class article and have no marking for possession class.

9) Ine mi ka e Papa si-eou. DEIC.PROX ART.C man ART.P father LOC-1S ‘This man is my father’

10) e tata si-eou mi ka kuar. ART.P mother’s.brother LOC-1S ART.C man long ‘my mother’s brother is a tall man.’

3.1.1.1.4 Personal Nouns in Direct Address For direct address, a personal noun is stripped of its article and its possession suffix (the latter, if it is an

inalienably possessed kin term).

11) “Tama, Tama, entau nta ta peuk i rou.” father, father, 1DL.Inc 1DL.Inc.SR IRR go.down ART.L sea “Father, father, let us two go to the sea.”

12) “Tulok, be lapus!” Tulok, INT come “Tulok, come!”

13) A nga peven, “Kopuen, e ta te mo ros-ie iou.” 3S.SR PAST say, “Dog, 2S.SR IRR CMPL only wait-TR 1S.OP ‘He/she said, “Dog, you just wait for me.”’

3.1.1.2 Locative Nouns The gender class of locative nouns includes specific locations in relation to an item, proper place names, and

nouns denoting large territories surrounding people’s living area such as the sea, residential areas, areas in the bush, beach, and bush trails. There are two categories of locative nouns: the unpossessed locative nouns and the inalienable locative part nouns. Due to their characteristic of referring to a particular location, locative nouns are seldom pluralized and when a locative noun occurs with the plural article bu, it refers to the people from that location.

3.1.1.2.1 Unpossessed Locative Nouns The unpossessed locative nouns include proper place names and large territories surrounding people’s living

area. Each of the unpossessed locative nouns that is not a proper place name has a derived counterpart in the common noun class which refers to a large non-specific area of the environment. (see Section 3.1.1.4.4)

14) A mon i Tatau. 3S.SR stay ART.L Tatau(village) ‘He(she) stays in Tatau village.’

15) A ra kien i ot. 3S.SR go go.up ART.L bush ‘He(she) goes up to the bush.’

16) A sisi i rou. 3S.SR bathe ART.L sea ‘He(she) is bathing in the sea.’

The words for the inside and outside of a building are also locative nouns.

17) E Timot a palu i marar. ART.P Timot 3S.SR play ART.L outside ‘Timot is playing outside.’



18) E Timot a muang die i rom. ART.P Timot 3S.SR sleep DEIC.DIST2 ART.L inside ‘Timot is sleeping way over there inside(of the house)’

3.1.1.2.2 Inalienable Locative Part Nouns Inalienable locative part nouns are the only locative nouns which can be possessed.. There is a closed set of

lexical items which function as locative part nouns in Mandara. popo- ‘on top of’, peke- ‘underneath of’, gege- ‘on side of’, babare- ‘next to’, mua- ‘in front of’, muir- ‘on the back of’, aro- ‘inside of’, binga- ‘on side of’ and etc.

19) E ta magos i gege-n e Timot. 2S.SR IRR sit ART.L next.to-3S.PS ART.P Timot ‘Sit next to Timot.’

20) Mi buk a mon i peke-ung. ART.C book 3S.SR stay ART.L under-1S.PS ‘The book is underneath me.’

21) A nga mogos i muri-ung. 3S.SR PAST sit ART.L rear-1S.PS ‘He/she sat behind me.’

Several of these inalienable locative part nouns can communicate a location in time.

22) i muri-en e ta ba veiv ART.L rear-3S.PS 2S.SR IRR ASSU hot.stone.bake ‘you bake with hot stones after that’

If a body part is referred to as the location where the action of a verb is taking place, then it becomes a locative noun rather than a common noun and is preceded by the locative article.

23) A te kor i ngutsu-Ø. 3S.SR CMPL fall ART.L mouth-2S.PS ‘It dropped from your mouth.’

24) Ke kovamon a mon i rima-ung. 2S.PN hat 3S.SR stay ART.L hand-1S.PS ‘Your hat is in my hand.’

3.1.1.3 Common nouns Common nouns are all other nouns that do not belong to either of the genders above. This gender of noun

includes inalienable nouns (e.g. body parts), general place nouns, abstract nouns, sun, moon, sky, etc. Singular common nouns are marked by the article mi. This article can be replaced by the same paucal and plural articles ba and bu that are used with the personal noun gender class. It can also be replaced by the non-referential articles. (see Section 3.2.1).

25) mi ma ART.C bird

‘bird(singular)’

26) mi rima-ung ART.C hand-1S.PS ‘my hand’

27) mi vura ART.C moon ‘the moon’



28) ba mata-ung ART.few eye-1S.PS ‘my two eyes’

29) bu madar ART.PL boy ‘(more than 4) boys’

Although the sky is a large area in the environment, it does not fall into the class of locative noun, but is marked by the article mi as a common noun. This may be because the sky is not a part of a person’s living area.

30) E Raban a mon si mi ringit. ART.P God 3S.SR stay LOC ART.C heaven ‘God lives in heaven.’

When appearing in a possessive construction led by the possessive pronoun, the singular common noun article is omitted.

31) kong madar 1S.PN boy ‘my boy’

32) mong ba vuin 1S.PI ART.few banana ‘my few bananas’

3.1.1.4 Derived Nouns All the derived nouns belong to the common noun class and occur with the common noun article, mi. There

are five ways to derive nouns: by reduplication, by affixation (either with a nominalizer infix, a cognitive prefix or a generalizer prefix), or by compounding.

3.1.1.4.1 Nominalizer Infix -in-

Many abstract nouns are derived from verbs. Affixation with the infix -in- after the first consonant of the verb stem is the most common pattern for deriving abstract nouns. The infix -in- changes to -en- in some words as a result of the morphophonemic change caused by low vowel in the root.

33) veis => mi v-in-eis walk => ART.C NOM-walk

‘to walk’ => ‘journey or trip’

34) palo => mi p-in-alo play => ART.C NOM-play ‘to play’=> ‘game, drama’

35) ro-rong => mi r-en-orong RDP-ear => ART.C NOM-hear ‘to hear intensely’ => ‘obedience’

Some abstract nouns are derived by affixing the metathesized infix -in- which then swaps position with the first consonant of the verb stem. No phonological rules have been found to explain this phenomena.

36) res => mi ni-res happy => ART.C NOM-happy ‘happy,enjoy’ => ‘happiness, joy’

37) ve-ve-ken =>mi ni-veveken RCPR-RCPR-hit => ART.C NOM-fight ‘fight’ => ‘war’



3.1.1.4.2 Derivation by Reduplication Reduplication is used to generate a class of instruments and abstract nouns from verbs. In many words only

the first syllable of the verb is reduplicated (ex. (38) and (41)), while in others the whole word is reduplicated (ex. (39) and (40)).

38) palu => mi pa-palu play => ART.C RDP -play ‘to play’ => ‘toy’

39) ngeis =>mi ngeis-ngeis strong => ART.C RDP-strong

‘strong’ => ‘power’

40) voto =>mi voto-voto ’to.finish’ => ART.C RDP-finish ‘to finish => the ending’

41) vasengei => va-vasengei => mi va-vavasengi show => RDP-show => ART.C RDP-teach ‘to show’ => ‘to teach’ => teacher(S.)

Some common nouns are derived from the reduplication of locative part nouns.

42) i muo =>mi muo-muo ART.L front => ART.C RDP-front

‘at front’ => ‘leader’

3.1.1.4.3 Derivation by the Cognitive Prefix bai-

There are a few abstract nouns which are derived by affixing the cognitive prefix bai to a reduplicated verb which carries a meaning of intense action.

43) de-deng =>kong bai-de-deng RDP-watch => 1S.PN COGN-RDP-watch ‘to watch intensely’ => ‘my view(sight, opinion)’

44) ro-rong => kenga bai-ro-rong RDP-hear => 2PL.PN COGN-RDP-hear ‘to listen intensely’ => ‘your(plural) interpretation(hearing)’

45) veis-veis => mi bai-veis-veis RDP-walk => ART.C COGN-RDP-walk ‘to walk intensely’ => ‘path’

3.1.1.4.4 Derivation by Generalizer Prefix ro

Affixing the prefix ro- to some locative nouns changes the meaning from a specific location to the general broad area of a particular environment. The gender of these nouns changes from locative to common as a result of the derivation.

46) i marar =>mi ro-marar ART.L outside => ART.C GEN-path ‘outside or a location in the residential area’=>‘general residential area’

47) i rou => mi ro-rou ART.L sea => ART.C GEN-sea ‘a location in the sea’ => ‘ocean’



48) i ar =>mi ro-ng-ar ART.L men’s.courtyard => ART.C GEN-CINS-men’s.courtyard ‘a location in men's courtyard’ => ‘men's sacred area including the courtyard, men's house, and the grave yard’

49) i ot =>mi ro-ni-ot ART.L bush => ART.C GEN-CINS-bush ‘a location in the bush’=> ‘forest’

Affixing the prefix ro- to some temporal nouns changes the meaning from a specific to a general temporal reference.

50) mi kiti =>mi ro-kiti ART.C night => ART.C GEN-night ‘night’ => ‘all night’

51) mi sisiat =>bu ro-sisiat ART.C mid-day => ART.PL GEN-midday ‘midday’ => ‘(many) mid-days’

3.1.1.5 Compound Nouns Some nouns are compound words made up of words from different classes.

52) i mua + mi riem => mi muariem ART.L front + ART.C hand => ART.C first.born ‘front’ + ‘hand’ => ‘first born off.spring’

53) ve + i muir =>mi vemuir MLFC + ART.L rear => ART.C last.born ‘against + rear’ => ‘last born off.spring’

54) bara + mi teis =>mi barateis wide + ART.C current => ART.C sea.water ‘wide+current’ => ‘sea water or salt’

55) e tama- + mi tinum =>mi tamatinum ART.P father + ART.C sorcery => ART.C witch.doctor ‘father (of) + sorcery’ => ‘a witch doctor’

3.1.2 Inalienable and Alienable Possession Nouns in Mandara are divided into two classes according to the way possession is marked. Inalienable

nouns are nouns which take a possessor suffix to mark the possession, and alienable nouns are nouns that mark possession by the use of a possessive pronoun which precedes the noun.

3.1.2.1 Inalienable Nouns Nouns that are inalienably possessed include body parts, many kinship terms, and locative part nouns. These

noun stems take an obligatory suffix which agrees in person and number with the possessor. (See Section 3.6 for the set of possessor suffixes.)

56) mi mata-ung ART.C eye-1S.PS ‘my eye’

57) e kasi-ung ART.P same.sex.sibling-1S.PS ‘my brother’



58) i peke-n mi vono ART.L under-3S.PS ART.C house ‘under the house’

59) Mi ma a te rov ka i popo-ung ART.C bird 3S.SR CMPL fly by ART.L top-1S.PS ‘A bird flew above me.’

3.1.2.2 Alienable Nouns The nouns that can be alienably possessed are marked by possessor pronouns. These alienable nouns are

divided into two classes: intimates and non-intimates and each class has its own set of possessive pronouns which precede the head nouns in the possessive noun phrase. (See Section 6.3 for the sets of pronouns.)

60) mong sar vuin 1S.PI ART.PL banana ‘my bananas’

61) kegi vono 3Pl.PN house ‘their house’

62) man pemet 3S.PI mother’s.brother ‘his/her mother’s brother’

63) ke koko 2S.PN wife’s.mother ‘your wife’s mother(your mother-in-law)’

All alienable nouns belong to the common noun gender class except for several kinship terms. These kinship terms can only be used in the genitive noun phrase construction for alienable nouns and cannot occur with any gender articles. They are the brother of ego’s mother, ego’s husband, ego’s wife, brother of ego’s wife, husband of ego’s sister, the children of a female ego’s brother, and the mother of ego’s wife.

64) man pemet 3S.PI mother’s brother ‘his/her mother’s brother’

65) kong vevin 1S.PN female ‘my wife’

66) kong vinuor 1S.PN law ‘my(female ego) nephew/niece from my brother’

3.1.2.2.1 Intimate Alienable Nouns The intimate alienable nouns generally include edible items for personal consumption, a few very close

possessions, and two relationship terms. The few personal possessions which belong to this class are a person’s canoe, boat, bicycle, shirt, blouse, and pants. Interestingly, one’s laplap belongs to the non-intimate alienable noun class and shoes belong to either class.

67) mong ka buo be. 1S.PI ART.NR betel.nut INT

‘Give me a betel nut (which I will consume by myself).’

68) ma kolos 2S.PI meri-blouse ‘your meri-blouse’



69) man geleu 3S.PI canoe ‘his/her canoe’

70) mong vuilvuil 1S.PI bicycle ‘my bicycle’

Essential Part of Things

An essentially needed part of something is also included in the intimate alienable nouns.

71) man naots mi botol 3S.PI stopper ART.C bottle ‘the stopper of a bottle’

Intimate Alienable Noun Relationship Terms

The nouns pemet ‘mother’s brother’ and nguts ‘lord or the orator of a clan’ are the only two relationship terms that fall into this class. Historically these relationships are considered the two most important people in one’s life, since they have the authority to make decisions for both the clan and the individual.

72) magiet nguts 1PL.Inc.PI lord ‘our lord’

73) mong pemet 1S.PI mother’s.brother ‘my mother’s brother(maternal uncle)’

Intimate Alienable Abstract Nouns

Many abstract nouns, such as vinavaso ‘beauty, glory’, belong to the class of the intimate alienable noun.

74) man mat v-in-avaso e Soloman 3S.PI look NOM-beautify ART.P Solomon ‘The glory/beauty of Solomon’

75) man vuevue mi nama 3S.PI meaning ART.C word ‘the meaning of the word’

3.1.2.2.2 Non-Intimate Alienable Nouns Any alienable common noun which does not belong to the intimate alienable noun class belongs to the non-

intimate alienable noun class. As mentioned above in Section 3.1.2.2, several kinship terms belong to this class of non-intimate alienable noun.

76) kong vono 1S.PN house ‘my house’

77) ken bor e Timot 3S.PN pig ART.P Timot ‘Timot’s pig’

All edible items which are not intended for personal consumption by the possessor fall into the non-intimate class.

78) gi te nga voir vaton ken sar tsoik 3PL.SR CMPL PAST buy finish 3S.PN ART.PL wrapped.food ‘They bought out her wrapped foods’



79) kong ka buo be. 1S.PN ART.NR betel.nut INT ‘Give me a betel nut (which I will give away to others).’

Some personal clothing items belong to the non-intimate alienable class.

80) ken lavlav 3S.PN laplap ‘his/her laplap’

Some abstract nouns are included in the non-intimate alienable class.

81) ken vina-v-in-don 3S.PN RDP-NOM-think ‘his/her thought’

82) ke.Ø s-in-avei 2S.PN NOM-know ‘your knowledge or personality’

3.2 Articles, Deictics, and Deictic Locations 3.2.1 Articles

Mandara articles mark noun gender class and number as well as distinguishing between nouns that are referential and those that are non-referential. The articles are an obligatory constituent of a noun phrase except in alienable possessive noun phrases, terms of direct address, and several temporal references.

Table 3.1 Mandara Articles Gender Used in

Genitive NP

3.2.1.1.1.1 Singular

Paucal (2-4)

Plural (5 or more)

Referential

Personal e ba bu

Locative i ba bu Common No mi ba bu Yes -Ø- ba sar Non-Referential

All Three Genders ka kaba kovo

3.2.1.2 Referential Articles The two sets of referential articles are used for identifiable nouns. These two sets of articles make

distinctions in gender-class membership for singulars and also in numbers. As described in the noun section, the singular referential articles e, i, and mi each precedes personal nouns, locative nouns, and common nouns respectively. These are the only articles which mark gender class.

3.2.1.2.1 Singular Referential Articles

The singular article e is used for singular personal nouns.

83) e kina-giet ART.C mother-1PL.Inc.PS ‘our mother’

84) e mama si-eou ART.C mother LOC-1S ‘my mother’



The article i is used for locative nouns. Locative nouns do not take any plural articles as they only refer to a location or an area in the environment.

85) i popo-ung ART.L top-1S.PS ‘on top of me’

86) i Kavieng ART.L Kavieng ‘Kavieng (town)’

The singular article mi is used for common nouns.

87) mi rima-ung ART.C hand-1S.PS ‘my hand’

88) mi bor ART.C pig ‘a pig’

The singular common noun article mi is omitted in a genitive noun phrase construction with alienable nouns.

3.2.1.2.2 Plural Referential Articles

There are two plural articles: ba and bu. The article ba is paucal which represents numbers between two and four while bu is plural which is five or more. They do not indicate gender.

89) ba kina-giet ART.few mother-1PL.Inc.PS ‘our few mothers’

90) ba bor tour ART.few pig three ‘three pigs’

91) kong ba bor 1S.PN ART.Few pig ‘my (2-4) pigs’

92) ba Marvio ART.few Marvio.island ‘two Marvio islands (twin island)’

The plural article bu is used for both common and personal nouns that are 5 or more in number.

93) bu kasi-ung ART.PL brother-1S.PS ‘my (more than 4)brothers’

94) bu bor ART.PL pig ‘(many) pigs’

95) Bu bor palan gi nga tsimbour i rou. ART.PL pig many 3Pl.SR PAST jump.into ART.L sea ‘Many pigs jumped into the sea.’

In genitive noun phrase constructions with alienable nouns, the article bu is replaced by the particle sar.



96) Kong sar bor a palan. 1S.PN several pig many ‘My pigs are many.’

3.2.1.3 Non-Referential Article

There are three non-referential articles in Mandara: ka for singular, kaba for few, and kovo for more than four in number. A non-referential article is used for unspecified items, unknown items or unpossessed items which the speaker desires to possess or to get information about. Therefore a non-referential article only occurs in polar questions (example (100)), direct or indirect requests (example (99)), negative clauses (example (97)), and unrealized events (examples (99) and (101)). In an alienable possessive noun phrase the non-referential article directly follows the possessive pronoun (examples (97), (99)and (100)).

97) O kap suvuon kong kaba bateri. 1S.SR NEG possess 1S.PN ART.NR.Few battery ‘I don’t have any batteries that are mine.’

98) Gi nga vor dedeng ngan ka vunan va gi ta vorte e Iesu. 3PL PAST PROG RDP-see INST ART.NR reason SUB 3PL IRR accuse ART.P Jesus ‘They looked for a reason to accuse Jesus.’

99) Tina, mong kovo buo be. Tina, 1S.PI ART.NR.PL betel.nut INT ‘Tina, give me some betel nuts to be mine.’

100) Ma ka da a mon si evoi? 2S.PI ART.NR water(bottle) 3S.SR stay LOC 2S ‘Do you have any (bottles of) water that are yours?’

101) Giet ta rakot si ka enamon mene. 2PL.INC IRR go.to LOC ART.NR village other ‘Let’s go to (some)other villages.’

Compare above example with the next.

102) Giet ta rakot si mi enamon. 2PL.INC IRR go.to LOC ART.C village. ‘Let’s go to the village.’

3.2.2 Deictics Mandara has four deictics: arie, ine, ian, and die. These deictics are based on how close or distant the

referred item is temporally or locationally to the speaker. Deictics precede the head noun phrase or the prepositional phrase of which the noun phrase is the object.

The arie refers to a very current event, time, person, object, location, or manner. It is usually used with much emphasis.

103) Arie mi vevin o nga pengan si evoi. DEIC.exact ART.C female 1S.SR PAST tell LOC 2S ‘This is the woman I told you about.’

104) Eou arie ken vevin ian mi tsotsoi e ta 1S DEIC.exact 3S.PN female DEIC.DIST1 ART.C snake 2S.SR IRR kada. kill ‘I am (precisely) the wife of that snake you killed.’

105) Arie a te mo. DEIC.exact 3S.SR CMPL only ‘This is all (when ending a story).’



The deictic ine refers to a proximate time, event, person, location, or an object from the point of reference of the speaker.

106) Ine mi madar a nga kuil nama. DEIC.PROX ART.C young.man 3S.SR PAST help word ‘This young man answered.’

107) Surie ine mi vunan, o nga kada kong vevin. RSON DEIC.PROX ART.C reason 1S.SR PAST hit 1S.PN female ‘For (because of) this reason, I hit my wife.’

108) Teie tomekan ine i keim. pull throw DEIC.PROX ART.L bottom ‘Pull and throw (it) to here on the ground.’

109) Ine giet oit nia pere palan bu ngeitngeit. DEIC.PROX 1PL.SR able PURP see many ART.PL mosquitos ‘Now we are able to see many mosquitos.’

110) Ma a kelei ine o ta tere ke v-in-atorois. and 3S.SR good DEIC.PROX 1s.SR IRR give 2s.PN NOM-punish ‘And it is good, this fact that I am giving you your punishment.’

The deictic ian refers to a location, time, person, or an object which is a bit distant in time and space from the point of reference of the speaker.

111) Ian si mi ra, bu mene palan gi nga nemei. DEIC.DIST1 LOC ART.C day, ART.PL person many 3PL.SR PAST come ‘On that day, many people came.’

112) Duis ian si mi keipkeipde ra, eguor kokouk right DEIC.DIST1 LOC ART.C fragment day 3DL all

guor nga kudier. 3DL.SR PAST be.surprise

‘At that moment, they(dual) together were surprised.’

113) ian mi natu madar DEIC.DIST1 ART.C off.spring young.man ‘that boy’

114) ian si mi korot ivie gi ta nga beit DEIC.DIST1 LOC ART.C place WHERE 3pl.SR IRR PAST arrive kouk en together Spec.Loc ‘that place where they gathered’

The deictic die refers to a distant location or a distant time in the past or the future. For a geographical location, it specifically refers to a location on the other side of a point of land on the coastline.

115) O nga beit die ngas te. 1S.SR PAST arrive DEIC.DIST2 PERS EMP ‘I arrived long time ago.’

116) O ta te ra teter die i Napakur. 1S.SR IRR CMPL go go.over DEIC.DIST2 ART.L Napakur ‘I am going to go to Napakur (a distant village pass a point of an island).’

3.2.3 Deictic Locations The deictic locations in Mandara communicate the direction of a geographical location in relation to the

speaker. There are five deictic locations in Mandara: nokot, nusuo, nisei, notso, and nikien.



The deictic location nokot refers to a visible geographical location relatively near to the speaker. It not only refers to a location only few steps away but also a village in a neighboring island which the speaker and the hearer can see.

117) E pere ? E tama-Ø a mon nokot si mi ameir. 2S.SR see Q ART.P father-2S.PS 3S.SR stay DEM.VIS LOC ART.C boi.haus ‘You see? Your father is over there in the servant’s quarters.’

118) A mon nokot i Totou. 3S.SR stay DEM.VIS ART.P Totou ‘He/she is over there at Totou village( a village on a neighboring island which is visible).’

The deictic locations nisei and nusuo are mainly used with the name of a village or a hamlet within an island or language group. Both words refer to a location which is the same distance from the beach as the speaker. And since all the hamlets in the language group are located along the coast, all of them on the same island are referred to by these terms. People also use nisei to refer to the villages on the other islands in the language group except for the ones which the speaker can see across the ocean.

The deictic location nisei refers to a geographical location which is not visible to the speaker and is relatively farther away from a point of an island than the location of the speaker.

119) A te ratan nisei i Saba. 3S.SR CMPL go.away.point DEM.far ART.L Saba ‘He went to Saba(hamlet)’

The deictic location nisuo refers to a geographical location which is not visible to the speaker and relatively nearer to a point of an island than the location of the speaker.

120) O ratun nusuo si mi mission. 1S.SR go.near.point DEM.near LOC ART.C mission ‘I am on my way to the mission ground.’

The deictic location notso refers to a location closer to the ocean or lower in altitude relative to the location of the speaker. The referred location can be as close as only a few feet away. All the places outside of the language group are also referred to with this deictic location.

121) O ta ba peuk notso i Nuailan sivo. 1S.SR IRR ASSU go.down DEM.Down ART.L New.Ireland tomorrow ‘I’m going to go down to New Ireland tomorrow.’

122) Gi te vatar notso i koen. 3pl.SR CMPL come.shore DEM.Down ART.L beach ‘They arrived on the beach.’

The deictic location nikien refers to a location further inland or higher in altitude relative to the location of the speaker. The referred location can be as close as only a few feet away. All the places in the language group are referred to with this deictic location when the speaker is speaking from any place outside of the language group.

123) E Timot a mon nikien i ot. ART.P Timot 3S.SR stay DEM.Up ART.L bush

‘Timot is up in the bush.’

124) E Raban a mon nikien si mi ringit. ART.P God 3S.SR stay DEM.Up LOC ART.C heaven ‘God is up there in heaven.’



3.3 Numerals 3.3.1 Cardinal numerals

The numerals in Mandara manifest a combination of quinary and decimal systems. The numbers 6 to 9 are phrases with the word napaririem ‘five’ preceding the joining word potsu ‘to bring out’, followed by the numeral words for numbers 1 to 4. The word napaririem is derived from the compound word of napa ‘a flat object’ and ri-riem ‘a duplicated form of riem ‘hand’’. When describing a complex number beyond ten, the word napaririem may optionally be deleted.

The noun mi sinangavour is used for numeral ten. The word sinangavour is a compound word of sinang ‘work(noun)’ and vour ‘new’. The multiples of tens are described with sinangavour plus the morpheme for one to nine. For numbers between eleven and ninety-nine of which one digit is between one and nine, the ten’s digit number and the one’s digit number is conjoined by the conjunction word ma and with the phrase i popon ‘on top of (it)’ following the phrase describing the one’s digit number.

Though rarely used, two phrases mi sinangavour solova ‘complete ten’ or mi sinangavour koboit ‘full ten’ are used for the numeral one hundred. The complex numerals beyond one hundred are rarely spoken in Mandara because they use English instead. Many people use the morpheme mar for the multiples of hundred. But this appears to be a borrowed word from Kuanua language, the previous church language.

Following are some examples of numerals described in the Mandara language.

1 kes

2 luo

3 tour

4 voveit

5 paririem

6 napaririem potsu kes

7 napaririem potsu luo

8 napaririem potsu tour

9 napaririem potsu voveit

10 mi sinangavour kes

11 mi sinangavour kes ma kes i popon

27 mi sinangavour luo ma (napaririem) potsu luo i popon

90 mi sinangavour (napaririem) potsu voveit

100 mi sinangavour kes solova

423 mi sinangavour voveit solova ma ba sinangavour luo ma tour i popon

777 mi sinangavour potsu luo solova ma sinangavour potsu luo ma potsu luo i popon.

Numerals function as a postmodifier for a nominal head in noun phrases and also function as stative verbs in stative predicates.

125) bu natu-madar napaririem potsu luo ART.PL off.spring-young.man five bring.out two ‘seven children’

126) Kong sar avareit a napaririem potsu tour. 1S.PN ART.PL year 3S.SR five bring.out three ‘I am eight years old./My years are eight.’



3.3.2 Ordinal numerals The ordinal numeral vour-vour ‘RDP-new’ is used for the first item in a sequence. The last item in order is

specified by the use of the word veve-muir ‘RCPR-rear’. The ordinal numbers between the first and last are constructed in a verb phrase with a ‘3S.SR’ preceding a cardinal number followed by ngan the instrumental preposition.

127) mi kepineits vour-vour ART.C thing RDP-new ‘the first thing’

128) mi madar a luo ngan ART.C young.man 3S.SR two INST ‘the second boy’

129) mi ra vevemuir ART.C day RCPR-rear ‘the last day’

The numerals that are used for birth orders are identical to numerals that are used with other items except in the case of the first born off-spring. mua-ngan ‘front-INST’ or mua-riem ‘front-hand’ are used to refer the first born. These two words for the first born and vemuir ‘RCPR-rear’ which is used for the last born are compound nouns. Birth order numerals are generally followed by a prepositional phrase to specify the possessor.

130) E Timot mi mua-ngan. ART.P Timot ART.C front-INST ‘Timot is the first born (of )’

131) Eou mi mua-riem si egei. 1S ART.C front-hand LOC 1PL.EXC ‘I am the first born of us.’

132) Eie a luo ngan si egie bu baser tama-n e Kavok. 3S 3S.SR two INST LOC 3PL ART.C ARR.people father-3S.PS ART.P Kavok ‘He is the second born of the family of Kavok.’

133) E Tulok mi ve-muir si eou. ART.P Tulok ART.C RCPR-rear-INST LOC 1S ‘Tulok is the last born of me.(Tulok is my youngest child)’

3.4 Arrangement Classifiers The arrangement classifiers are preposed to the head noun in a noun phrase. In Mandara there are two

categories of the arrangement classifiers: the ones that are used with alienable common nouns and the other one which is used only with inalienable personal nouns.

3.4.1.1 Arrangement Classifiers for Alienable Common Nouns There are several arrangement classifiers that are used with limited number of alienable common nouns.

The arrangement classifier pout is used for ‘bundle’ of greens, bamboos, sago leaves, or tree branches.

134) mong sar pout bie 1S.PI ART.PL ARR.bundle greens ‘my several bundles of greens

The arrangement classifier varin is used for a herd of large animals like pigs which move in groups.

135) mi varin bor ART.C ARR.anim pig ‘a herd of pigs’

The arrangement classifier ou is used for a flock of birds.



136) mi ou ma ART.C ARR.bird bird ‘a flock of birds’

The arrangement classifier nav is used for a school of fish.

137) mi nav ie ART.C ARR.fish fish ‘a school of fish’

The arrangement classifier kevkev is used for a bunch of fruits from the branch of a tree. It is also used for schools of small fish which travel very tightly together.

138) mi kevkev noung ART.C ARR.fruit anchovy ‘a school of anchovies’

139) mi kevkev ta ART.C ARR.fruit fruit.type ‘a bunch of fruit (Pometia pinnata)’

The arrangement classifier kiev is used mainly for a group of banana shoots from a mother banana tree. The phrase mi kiev vuin ‘a banana family’ also refers to a lineage.

140) mi kiev vuin ART.C ARR.family banana ‘a cluster of banana trees’

The arrangement classifier eti is used for a hand of banana,

141) ba eti vuin ART.Few ARR.hand banana ‘two hands of bananas’

The arrangement classifier keu is used for a bunch of nuts from a branch of a tree..

142) mi keu buo ART.C ARR.nut betel.nut ‘a bunch of betel nuts’

The arrangement classifier da is used for a paired bundle of edible items like coconuts.

143) mi da niu ART.C ARR.pair coconut ‘a pair of bundled young coconuts’

The arrangement classifier bua is used for a molded shape made from powdery substances like sago or sand.

144) mi bua leseik ART.C ARR.mold sago ‘a hand molded lump of sago powder’

The arrangement classifier napa is used for flat objects like timber, thongs etc

145) mi napa so-sos ART.C ARR.flat RDP-trash ‘a traditional dust pan made from the bark of sago palm’

The arrangement classifier poko is used for measurable items like garden area, fabric, time, plastic sheet, roofing iron, etc.



146) mi poko lavlav vour ART.C ARR.measurable fabric new ‘a new (piece of ) fabric’

147) kong sar poko lavlav vour 1S.PN ART.PL ARR.measurable fabric new ‘my several new (pieces of) fabric (or laplaps)’

148) kong poko tu 1S.PN ARR.measurable garden ‘my (small area ) garden’

149) mi poko keipkeipde ra ART.C ARR.measurable fragment day ‘a moment’

3.4.1.2 Arrangement Classifier for Group of People

The arrangement classifier baser is used for groups of people and co-occurs with the plural articles ba and bu.

150) ba baser kasi-en ART.Few ARR.people brother-3S.PS ‘a group of (2-4) brothers’

151) bu baser tama-n ART.PL ARR.people father-3S.PS ‘a father and his family’

152) ba baser tamat rei ART.Few ARR.people male marriage ‘a married couple’

153) ba baser palapala-n ART.PL ARR.people friend-3S.PS ‘a group of (2-4) friends’

154) ba baser tura-n mogoits ART.Few ARR.people companion-3S.PS brother.in.law ‘a group of (2-4) people who are married into same lineage’

3.4.1.3 Arrangement Classifier for Mass Nouns

The arrangement classifier puk is used for mass nouns. It communicates a portion of something. The morpheme puk is also used as one of the true adjectives which takes the preposed modifier slot in a noun phrase and communicates the meaning of smallness in size.

155) mong puk da 1S.PI ARR.MASS water ‘my (portion of) water’

156) ka puk berber lili ART.NR ARR.MASS light small ‘a little (bit of) light’

157) kovo puk nginonginou kelei ART.NR.PL ARR.MASS food good ‘some portions of good food’

158) keguor puk leing 3DL.PN ARR.MASS fire ‘Their(dual) fire’(hot coals for starting a fire)



159) si puk ngingi LOC ARR.MASS darkness ‘some time in the night’

3.5 Adjectives and Other Nominal Modifiers 3.5.1 Pure Adjectives

There is a small closed set of pure adjectives: ni ‘tiny’, banga ‘good’, bira ‘excellent’, puk ‘small’, and tsaka ‘bad’. These occur only in the slot designated preposed nominal modifier in a noun phrase. They do not occur in any other slot in any other phrase. There is no trace of derivation from other classes for the adjectives ni, banga, bira, and puk.. But tsaka appears to be derived from the stative verb root tsak ‘bad’. These adjectives carry the sense of the supreme quality of the description.

160) mi ni natu-natu doer ART.C tiny RDP-off.spring earthworm ‘a (very) tiny young earthworm’

161) mong banga nguts 1S.PI good Lord ‘My (very) good lord’

162) mi bira nginonginou ART.C very.excellent food ‘an (very) excellent food’

163) kong puk leke 1S.PN small basket ‘my (very) small basket’

164) man puk geleu 3S.PI small canoe ‘his (very) small canoe’

165) mi tsaka vevin ART.C bad woman ‘a (very) bad woman’

3.5.2 Other Nominal Modifiers Some inalienable nouns without the possessor suffix fill in the preposed noun modifier’s slot. (See Section

4.1.1.1.) Stative verbs, numerals, relative clauses, noun phrases, preposition phrases, and a limited set of words which can modify both nouns and verbs can function as post nominal modifiers. (see Section 4.1)

3.6 Pronouns The Mandara pronominal system marks a contrast between first, second and third person. The first person

plural pronouns distinguish inclusive from exclusive reference. It also makes a distinction in number for four categories: singular, dual, paucal(three or four or few), and plural (more than 4). Pronouns in Mandara are used for any objects regardless of the animacy.

The pronouns are organized into six sets based on their distribution and function, as in the following descriptions.

Table 3.2 Mandara Pronoun Chart number 1st INCL 1 EXC 2 3 Independent Singular eou evoi eie Dual entau egor engodo eguor Paucal ento egato engato egito Plural egiet egei enga egie



Subj.Ref. Singular o e a Dual nta gor ngodo guor Paucal nto gato ngato gito Plural giet gei nga gi Obj. Pron. Singular -eu/ iou no -n / -Ø- Dual -ntau -gor -ngodo -guor Paucal -nto -gato -ngato -gito Plural -giet -guor -nga -gie Poss.Suffix Singular -ung -Ø -n/en/an Dual -ntau -gor -ngodo -guor Paucal -nto -gato -ngato -gito Plural -giet -gei -nga -gie Poss.Pron . Intimate

Singular mong ma man

Dual mantau magor mangodo maguor Paucal manto magato mangato magito Plural magiet magei manga magi Poss.Pron. Non-Intimate

Singular kong ke ken

Dual kentau kegor kengodo keguor Paucal kento kegato kengato kegito Plural kegiet kegei kenga kegi

3.6.1 Independent Pronouns Independent pronouns can function as the subjects of clauses (ex. (166), as topics in topic-comment

constructions and as nouns in prepositional phrases that communicate the indirect object of a clause (ex. (167). 166) Eie a ko tsatsang ngeisngeis. 3S 3S.SR HAB work strong ‘He(she) always works hard. 167) Tere mi buk si eie!

give ART.C book LOC 3S ‘Give a book to him/her.’

3.6.2 Object Pronouns Object pronouns in Mandara are a set of postverbal clitics indicating the person and the number of the direct

object. Except for the second and the third person singular, the object pronouns are the same as the independent pronouns, but without the personal article e. (Refer to the pronoun chart.) The second person singular object pronoun is no. The third person singular object pronoun is either –n or null and is further discussed in the section 3.6.2.1.

The object pronouns are mandatory constituents of transitive verb phrases and can co-occur with an optional object noun phrase.

168) O pere guor. 1S.SR see 3DL.OP ‘I see them(two).’



169) O nga vorota guor kokouk ke ba su. 1S.SR PAST find 3DL.OP together 2S.PN ART.few shoe ‘I found both of your shoes.’

170) O lalaro no. 1S.SR want 2S.OP ‘I want you.’

3.6.2.1 Third Person Singular Object Pronoun

The third person singular object pronoun is either -n, or null. Some transitive verbs require the suffix -n for the third person singular object (example (172)), while some other verbs encode the third person singular object with a zero morpheme (examples (171) and (173)).

171) E Tulok a nga kada –Ø e Timot. ART.P Tulok 3S.SR PAST hit 3S.OP ART.P Timot ‘Tulok hit Timot.’

172) E Tulok a nga vorota-n e Timot. ART.P Tulok 3S.SR PAST find-3S.OP ART.P Timot ‘Tulok found Timot.’

173) E Tulok a nga bitie-Ø e Timot. ART.P Tulok 3S.SR PAST deceive ART.P Timot ‘Tulok deceived Timot.’

3.6.3 Subject Reference Pronoun There is a set of obligatory preverbal clitics that reference the subject of a clause. These clitics show the

person and number of the subject. Several TAM markers and the negation morpheme may be inserted between the subject reference pronoun and the verb root. (See Section 4.2 on verb phrases.) 174) Eou o motou.

1S 1S.SR afraid ‘I am afraid.’

175) Gi mon i ot. 3S.PL stay ART.L bush ‘They are in the bush.’

176) E Timot a nga mono ta-ta. ART.P Timot 3S.SR PAST DUR RDP-cry ‘Timot kept crying.’

3.6.4 Possessor Suffix Pronouns Possessor suffix pronouns on inalienable nouns mark the person and number of the possessor.

177) mi kova-ung ART.C head-1S.PS ‘my head’

178) mi kova-Ø ART.C head-2S.PS ‘your head’

179) e tama-ung ART.P father-1S.PS ‘my father’

180) i muo-giet ART.L front-1PL.INC.PS ‘in front of us’



3.6.5 Possessive Pronouns Alienable possessor pronouns may precede an alienably-possessed head noun in a noun phrase. There are

two sets of alienable possessor pronouns: one for intimates and the other for non-intimates. The possessive pronouns are constructed by adding the obligatory possessor suffix to the morpheme which marks that class of noun.

3.6.5.1 Intimate Alienable Possessive Pronouns

The morpheme ma- is used to construct a set of possessive pronouns for intimate alienable nouns.

181) magiet nguts 1PL.INC.PI lord ‘our lord (orator)’

182) man tou mi ma 3sg.PI nest ART.C bird ‘the bird’s nest’

183) magie sar nginonginou 3PL.PI ART.PL food ‘their food’

The intimate alienable possessive pronoun for first person singular is ma-ung in underlying form but its vowels fuse to o in a vowel fusion process.

184) mong sar buo ma-ung sar buo 1S.PI ART.PL betel.nut ‘my betel nuts(to be consumed by me)’

3.6.5.2 Non-Intimate Alienable Possessive Pronouns

The morpheme ke- is used to construct a set of possessive pronouns for non-intimate alienable nouns.

185) ken vienviendon 1S.PN thought ‘my thought’

186) kegi sar buo 3PL.PN ART.PL betel.nut ‘my betel nuts(which I intend to give to others later)’

As in the case of the intimate alienable possessive pronoun, the first person singular is actually ke-ung in underlying form but its vowels became o due to vowel coalescence process.

187) kong lavlav ke-ung lavlav 1S.PN laplap ‘my laplap’

3.6.6 Emphatic Pronouns Independent pronouns can be made emphatic, reflexive, or express independent action by the addition of the

morpheme kese ‘one’ which is affixed by the possessor suffix of its own.

When a pronoun is filling either a subject or object slot, it may be made more emphatic by the addition of its emphatic pronoun. An emphatic pronoun is constructed by an independent pronoun followed by the morpheme kese ‘one’ which is inflected with its person possessor suffix.

188) Eie kese-n a nga tsana ken vono. 3S one-3S.PS 3S.SR PAST make 3S.PN house ‘He himself built his house./ He built his house by himself’



189) Ba natu-mandar guor sisi eguor kese-guor. ART.Few off.spring-young.man 3PC.SR swim 3PC one-3PC.PS ‘The children swim by themselves.’

190) E Timot a nga tsoka eie kese-n. ART.P Timot 3S.SR PAST pierce 3S one-3S.PS ‘Timot pierced himself.’

191) Gi nga ngungulili si egie kese-gie. 3PL.SR PAST whisper LOC 3PL one-3PL.PS ‘They whispered among themselves.’

3.7 Prepositions There are seven morphemes that head prepositional phrases: They are si ‘LOCATIVE’, surie ‘REASON’,

ngan ‘INSTRUMENT, MEANS’, meie ‘ACCOMPANIMENT’, veie ‘MALEFACTIVE’, nia ‘PURPOSE’, and ni ‘SOURCE’. Another one whose original word class is not clear is ka ‘PATH’.

However, some verbs appear to grammaticise and function as prepositions: oit ‘able→until’, tuiroit ‘stand able→until’, vemusurie ‘follow’ used to express the path semantic notion, and malan ‘like’. The interrogative-indefinite word ven in vasa…ven ‘how?’ also is used to express ‘similar to, like.’

The prepositions si also functions as a clause level subordinator. The benefactive preposition nia can head noun phrases and it also gets used to express purpose complements heading a verb phrase.

3.7.1.1 Locative Preposition ‘si’

The preposition si is used for communicating locative and possessive information (example (194)). The locative phrases can communicate location in either time (example (193)) or space (examples (192) and (195)).

192) Mi buk a mon si kegei vono. ART.C book 3S.SR stay LOC 1PL.EXC.PN house ‘The book is at our house.’

193) O ta ba pere no si reivreiv. 1S.SR IRR ASSU see 2S.OP LOC afternoon ‘I will see you in the afternoon.’

As described in the section 4.3.2, general temporal words of the day do not get the article as in the above example.

194) Eie e mama si eou. 3S ART.P mother LOC 1S ‘She is the mother of mine’

195) O ta be ra si mi sikul. 1S.SR IRR INT go LOC ART.C school ‘I am going to school.’

3.7.1.2 Reason Preposition ‘surie’

The preposition surie is used to communicate reason, topic, or a path.

196) O rengeir surie no. 1S.SR pray RSON 2S ‘I pray for you.’

197) A te nga vatar surie mi rovang. 3S.SR CMPL PAST come.ashore RSON ART.C coral.free.passage ‘He came ashore by following the coral free passage.’



198) E ta tsour surie mo mi rima-ung. 2S.SR IRR come.down RSON only ART.C hand-1S.PS ‘You just come down following my arm.’

199) A vosore e Lurang surie mi piripiri vo. 3S.SR ask ART.P Lurang RSON ART.C skin turtle ‘He asks Lurang about the turtle shell.’

3.7.1.3 Instrumental and Manner Preposition ‘ngan’

The preposition ngan is used to head prepositional phrases encoding instrument and manner.

200) O tabeve mi nil ngan mi ama. 1S.SR hammer ART.C nail INST ART.C hammer ‘I am hammering the nail with a hammer.’

201) Poro nemei ngan mi nil. get come INST ART.C nail ‘Bring a nail.’

202) A nga tsatsik-ie e natu-on ngan mi kato ei. 3S.SR PAST spank-TR ART.P child-3S.PS INST ART.C piece tree ‘He spanked his child with a stick.’

203) A nga keveir ngan mi ni-res. 3S.SR PAST sing INST ART.C NOM-happy ‘He sang with joy.’

3.7.1.4 Accompaniment Preposition ‘meie’

The preposition meie encodes accompaniment. It can directly precede a personal noun phrase, but a common noun phrase will have meie with the instrumental preposition ngan following.

204) O mono mon meie e Lobo. 1S.SR DUR stay ACCM ART.P Lobo ‘I am staying with Lobo.’

205) O ko ngene meie ngan mi piripiri-en. 1S.SR HAB eat ACCM INST ART.C skin-3S.PS ‘I (habitually) eat (it) with its skin.’

206) a kap nga ar kes ngan meie e Skoburur... 3S.SR NEG PAST mind one INST ACCM ART.P Skoburur ‘he was not one mind with Skoburur (he did not agree with Skoburur)…’

207) A lalaro kien i ot meie no. 3S.SR like go.up ART.L bush ACCM 2S.OP ‘He wants to go up to the bush with you.’

3.7.1.5 Malefactive Preposition ‘veie’

The preposition veie express the malefactive. The object that follows this preposition is generally human, but a non-human object may follow this preposition if the actor acts toward the object as if it were a human.

208) A petseir veie no. 3S.SR angry MLFC 2S.OP ‘He is angry at you’

209) A nga vakokote ine mi namapoppo veie gie. 3S.SR PAST talk DEIC.PROX ART.C parable MLFC 3PL ‘He told this parable against them. (The content of this parable he told was negative things about them.)’



210) E Iesu a nga eng ngeisngeis veie mi mour. ART.P Jesus 3sr.SR PAST talk strong MLFC ART.C wind ‘Jesus talked strongly to the wind.’

3.7.1.6 Benefactive Preposition ‘nia’

The preposition nia is used for benefactive or purpose. In the Simberi-Tatau dialect area, nia and na are used almost interchangeably. The object in a benefactive prepositional phrase can be communicated either by a noun phrase or by marking the beneficiary on the preposition as an object reference pronoun suffix.

211) O tutu nia nga. 1S.SR cook PURP 2PL.OP ‘I am cooking for you (plural).’

212) Gei leik leseik nia-n mi Pitevarpa. 1PL.EXC mix sago.starch PURP-3S.OP ART.C christening.service ‘We are mixing sago starch for (eating at) the christening service tomorrow.’

3.7.1.7 Source Preposition ‘ni’

The preposition ni is used to communicate the source or the point of origin of something.

213) O kovu ni i Samba. 1S.SR come.from SRCE ART.L Samba ‘I am coming from Samba (hamlet).’

214) ken sar ra ni tino 3S.PN ART.PL day SRCE NOM-live ‘his days for living (his life time)’

215) mi nama ni Madara ART.C word SRCE Madara ‘the word for Madara (Mandara language)’

216) keng ka ni va-vato 1S.PN man SRCE RDP-save ‘my man for saving (my savior)’

3.7.1.8 Path Preposition ‘ka’ The word ka is also used to signify semantically the means by which something is accomplished.

Examples with the preposition ka ‘by way of’ include the following: 217) O nga veis ka i koen

1S.SR PAST walk PATH ART.L beach ‘I walked along the beach.’

218) Mi kina vo a vo peuk ka ine ART.C female turtle 3S.SR MORN go.down PATH DEIC.PROX ‘A female turtle went down (to the sea) through here.’

219) Gi nga rakot si mi nuos ka eie 3pl.SR PAST go.to LOC ART.C island PATH 3S ‘They went to the other island.’

3.7.1.9 Examples of verbs that are used as prepositions Examples with oit ‘until’ involve clauses as the object of the preposition.



220) Ine mi nutu bor a nga mon me guor vakak ta DEIC.PROX ART.C child pig 3S.SR PAST stay ACCM 3DL.OP begin IRR nga lili oit ta te nga leong. PAST small until IRR CMPL PAST large

‘This piglet stayed with them ever since it was little until it got big.’ The oit also is used in a verb combination tuiroit ‘stand-able’ to mean ‘until’. 221) Ine mi kulou gi nga veis nge veis tuiroit

DEIC.PROX ART.C men 3PL.SR PAST walk and walk until gi nga so beit ine si-mi rie. 3PL.SR PAST IMM arrive DEIC.PROX LOC-ART.C cave ‘These people walked and walked until they arrived at the cave.’

222) Gi nga ser nge ser tuiroit gi nga so beit i 3PL.SR PAST run and run until 3PL.SR PAST IMM arrive ART.L marar… residential.area ‘They ran and ran until they arrived in the residential area…’

Examples with the verb vemusurie which also functions as a preposition to indicate ‘until’ are:

223) Vemusurie bu kepineits kokouk va e ta tsana follow ART.PL thing all SUB 2S.SR IRR do ‘Following all the things you do...’

The verb malan ‘alike, (be) like’ is used as a comparative preposition. 224) Sibu vura palan kegituo tino a nga mon malan mo

LOC-ART.PL month plenty 3PC.PN life 3S.SR PAST stay alike only ne. DEM.PROX ‘For many months their(pc) lives remained just like this.’

The interrogative marker ven also functions as a preposition ‘like’.

225) Ian mi nutu naor a te nga pe-ven ne DEIC.DIST1 ART.C off.spring single 3S.SR CMPL PAST say-HOW2 DEIC.PROX

eou te. 1S EMPH ‘That fatherless child spoke this way, “I (will)’

226) Gi nga pe-ven ne, te tomeka-n ine 3PL.SR PAST say-HOW2 DEIC.PROX, pull throw-3S.OP DEIC.PROX

i keim. ART.L ground ‘They said this, “Pull and throw it here on the ground.”

3.8 Conjunctions and Complementisers 3.8.1 Phrase Level Conjunctions

The conjunctions ma ‘and’, o ‘or’, and a ‘and’ join noun phrases. The ma is the coordinating conjunction for two noun phrases.



227) mi lengei ma mi kulou ART.C women AND ART.C men ‘women and men’

The o is the alternating conjunction for two or more noun phrases.

228) O ta poro mi mene lili o mi mene leong ? 1S.SR IRR get ART.C other small or ART.C other big Q ‘Shall I get a small one or a big one?

And the a is the coordinating conjunction for more than two noun phrases. It immediately precedes the final noun phrase in the list.

229) eou, e Bungtabu, a, e Lenre 1S, ART.P Bungtabu, and.then, ART.P Lenre ‘I, Bungtabu, and Lenre’

The conjunction nge joins verbs into one verb phrase for serial actions. The nge also appears to function almost like a preposition encoding something similar to object incorporation into the verb phrase. The noun following nge never occurs with an article.

230) A nga kor nge maet. 3S.SR PAST fall VCON die ‘He fell and died’

231) A nga pot-pot nge gie. 3S.SR PAST RDP-divide VCON 3PL.OP ‘He divided and divided them.’

232) O te nga vakak nge tsok nge tina. 1S.SR CMPL PAST begin VCON pick VCON NOM-cry ‘I began to start with a cry.’

3.8.2 Clause Level Conjunctions The conjunctions ma ‘and’, si mi vunan ‘because of’, o ‘or’, misasin ‘in spite of’, sen ‘when’, surie

‘pertaining of’, and eiekesen ‘but’ join clauses.

233) O nga vo pan ma o nga ra keken. 1S.SR PAST MORN wake, and 1S.SR PAST AWAY gather.firewood ‘I woke up and I went to gather firewood.’

234) E Timot a nga ta si mi vunan a nga kor. ART.P Timot 3S.SR PAST cry LOC ART.C reason 3S.SR PAST fall ‘Timot cried because he fell.’

235) O ta ngas peuk o, o ta mon? 1S.SR IRR PERS go.down or 1S.SR IRR stay ‘Should I go down or should I stay’

236) A ngas nga tuir ngeisngeis misasin ta te nga komois te. 3S.SR PERS PAST stand strong in.spite.of IRR CMPL PAST old EMPH ‘He still stood strong (in his good work) even though he was old.’

237) Sen ta nga visi rov, mi rakarakra ei a te nga korot. WHEN IRR PAST READY swing, ART.C branch tree 3S.SR CMPL PAST break’ ‘When he was about to swing, the tree branch broke.’

238) O nga eng si eie, eiekesen a kap nga rorong. 1S.SR PAST tell LOC 3S, BUT 3S.SR NEG PAST listen ‘I told him, but he didn’t listen.’



3.8.3 Sentence Level Conjunctions The conjunctions a ‘and then’, samo ‘then suddenly’, and io ‘and then’ are usually used to join sentences of

more than one clause together.

239) A, a nga kuin ngan mi kato ei. and.then 1S.SR PAST shoot INST ART.C ARR.piece tree ‘And then he shoot with a piece of stick’

240) Samo, a nga tomeka-n mi pakapaka vosvos. then.suddenly, 3S.SR PAST threw.away-3S.OP ART.C leaf tree.type ‘Then suddenly, he threw away the vosvos leaf.’

241) Io, a te buer nga ra beit vorota-n bu palapala-n then, 3S.SR CMPL REP PAST go arrive find-3S.OP ART.PL friend-3S.PS ‘Then, he again arrived and found his friends.’

3.9 Interrogative/Indefinite Pronouns and Pro-Words There are several interrogative or content question words that are used to get information.

misa ‘what?’:

242) Misa a pengan ? what 3S.SR say Q ‘What is he saying?’

sisa, or venenges ‘when?’

243) Sisa e te beit ? when 2S.SR CMPL arrive Q

‘When did you arrive?’

244) Venenges giet ta rakot i Tatau ? when 1PL.INC.SR IRR go.to ART.L Tatau Q ‘When will be go to Tatau?’

ivie ‘where?’

245) Ivie e ta ra ? where 2S.SR IRR go Q ‘Where are you going?’

vasa ~ ven ‘how?’

246) Vasa a to ven ? HOW1 3g.SR live HOW2 Q ‘How does it grow?’

247) Vasa nga vodon ven ngan ? HOW1 2PL.SR think HOW2 INST Q ‘How do you think? (or) What is your opinion?’

surie misa, or misana mi vunan ‘why?’

248) Surie misa e ta ta ? RSON what 2S.SR IRR cry Q ‘Why are you crying?’

249) Misana mi vunan e ta kanda e kina-Ø ? which ART.C reason 2S.SR IRR hit ART.P mother-2S.PS Q ‘Why do you hit your mother?’

ese ‘who?’



250) Ese mi asa-Ø ? who ART.C name-2S.PS Q ‘What is your name?’

251) Ese ine mi ka ta vakokoit ? who DEIC.PROX ART.C man IRR talk Q ‘Who is this man who is speaking?’

avoves ‘how many?’

252) Avoves bu natu madar gi te beit si mi sikul? how.many ART.PL off.spring young.man 3PL.SR CMPL arrive LOC ART school ‘How many boys arrived at school?’

253) Avoves man voirvoir mi melen? how.many 3S.PI price ART.C water.melon ‘How much is the water melon?’

The interrogative pro-words often function as indefinite pro-words. 254) A, evoi ngas buer te e ta deng telekiran va ke sar

interjector 2S PERS again EMPH 2S.SR IRR look know that 2S.PI several

koukou e ta tsipie a oit avoves ke ba sweet.potato 2S.SR IRR split 3S.SR enough how.many 2S.PI ART.DL

tu e ta outie senva a luo, a tour, evoi ngas te mumu.wrap 2S.SR IRR wrap if 3S.SR two 3S.SR three 2S PERS CMPL

e deng telekiran. 2S.SR look know ‘Then again you yourself will see and know that your sweet potatoes that you split can be wrapped to make how many bundles, two, three, you yourself see and know.’

3.10 Verbs Mandara verbs function as the head of verb phrases and occur with a subject reference pronoun unless there

are other intervening conditions. They can be divided into two general classes: stative and active.

3.10.1 Stative Verbs The stative verbs include numerals, colors, descriptive words like ‘good’ or ‘short’.

255) E Timot a ngeisngeis. ART.P Timot 3S.SR strong ‘Timot is strong.’

256) Mi komois a ngas nga ngeisngeis. ART.C old.man 3S.SR PERS PAST strong ‘The old man was still strong.’

These words are also used as modifiers for a noun in a noun phrase or as modifiers for a verb in few cases. They are classified as verbs because they can take subject reference pronoun and some TAM markers in a verb phrase and function as the main predication. However, the following examples when compared to examples (255) and (256) above show the multiple grammatical functions that these words can fill.

257) E Timot [mi madar ngeisngeis]. (post-head modifier in NP) ART.P Timot ART.C young.man strong ‘Timot is a strong man.’

258) A nga te-tei ngeisngeis. 3S.SR PAST RDP-pull strong ‘He pulled strongly.’



3.10.2 Action Verbs There are five general categories of action verbs: intransitive, transitive, ditransitive , reciprocal and passive.

3.10.2.1 Intransitive Verbs Verbs that don’t require an object are in this class. Intransitive verbs are a much larger class than the

transitive verbs, because many transitive verbs are derived from the intransitive ones.

259) O rongmitsikien kelei. 1S.SR feel well ‘I feel good.’

260) Eou o ko mon mo. 1S 1S.SR HAB stay only ‘I just stay as always.(I’m not doing anything in particular).’

261) A vo pan lalapus. 3S.SR MORN wake hurry ‘He woke up early in the morning.’

3.10.2.2 Transitive Verbs Many transitive verbs are derived from intransitive verbs by affixing transitivising inflections. Others are

originally transitive verbs. Some examples of non-derived genuine transitive verbs are: kenda ‘to hit’, tsana ‘to make’, etc. There are four devices to increase transitivity for an intransitive, or stative verb. However, not all of these devices may be used for all verbs.

Affixing -ie

There are two classes of derived transitive verbs, each with its own transitivity suffix. The reason that some verbs take the -a suffix and others take the –ie suffix to increase transitivity is not clear.

The most common way to add transitivity to a verb is to suffix –ie to the verb stem. Following the transitivity marker, an obligatory object pronoun clitics additionally suffixes these transitive verbs. Note that the object suffix for the third person singular for these verbs is null. In almost all cases, an epenthetic consonant appears before the transitivity suffix –ie. This additional consonant might be an underlying phoneme which has been historically lost from the verb root over the years, but surfaces only in this context. Or it might indicate a certain class of action. This will require further research.

262) Mi natu madar a tangi-s-ie-Ø e kina-n. ART.C off.spring young.man 3S.SR cry-CINS-TR-3S.OP ART.P mother-3S.PS ‘The boy is crying for his mother.’

263) A te ra utu-v-ie-Ø mi da. 3S.SR CMPL go fetch-CINS-TR-3S.OP ART.C water ‘He went to fetch water.’

264) A vododo-m-ie-guor ba kasi-en. 3S.SR think-CINS-TR-3dl.OP ART.few brother-3S.PS ‘He thinks about his two brothers.’

Affixing -a

Affixing of the transitive suffix morpheme -a increases the valence of some verbs to make them transitive or di-transitive. Some verbs have a consonant inserted before the transitivizer as in above section. Some of these transitive verbs take the suffix –n, while the others take the null suffix for the third person singular object reference pronoun clitic. 265) A nga tutu-a-Ø mi biribirit.

3S.SR PAST punch-TR-3S.OP ART.C wall ‘He punched the wall.’



266) A nga tsuor-k-a-gie ine bu arir kokouk. 3S.SR PAST plant-CINS-TR-3S.OP DEIC.imm ART.PL post all ‘He planted all of these posts.’

267) O ngeits-a-gito. 1S.SR laugh-TR-3PC.OP ‘I am laughing at them (few).’

Affixing va-

The prefixing of a causative morpheme va- on an intransitive verb also increases its valence. It co-occurs with either of the transitivity suffixes, but there are a few exceptions. Sometimes verbs with va- occur unmarked for transitivity, and in a few cases, transitivity is marked by the suffix –o. If va- occurs on a stative verb, the subject is demoted to the object of the derived transitive verb, and becomes the experiencer of the change brought on by the subject/agent, as in examples (268), (269), (270) and (271).

268) A te va-go-a-Ø ine mi poko aien. 3SR.SR CMPL CAUS-bow-TR-3S.OP DEIC.imm ART.C ARR.piece iron ‘He bent this piece of iron.’

269) A vo me va-pan-d-a-gei kokouk. 3S.SR MORN come CAUS-wake-CINS-TR-1pl.exc.OP all ‘He came in the morning and woke all of us.’

270) A te va-to-a-eu. 3S.SR CMPL CAUS-live-TR-1S.op ‘He saved me.’

271) Gi te va-tuir-ie-Ø mi vono. 3pl.SR CMPL CAUS-stand-TR-1S.OP ART.C house ‘They made the house to stand (built the house).’

272) tuir => va-tuir-ie stand => CAUS-stand-TR ‘to stand => to cause (an object) to stand’

273) kor => va-kor-ng-ie fall => CAUS-fall-CINS-TR ‘to fall => to cause (an object) to fall’

274) tsour => va-tsour-ng-ie descend => CAUS-descend-CINS-TR ‘to descend => to lower (an object)

275) par => va-par-s-o (sun)shine(verb) => CAUS-(sun)shine-CINS-TR ‘to (sun) shine => to sun tan’

3.10.2.3 Object Incorporation into Verbs Some verbs can incorporate the object into the verb phrase by deleting the final vowel of the verb stem and

dropping the article on the noun which was functioning as the object. This focuses attention on the predication rather than on the goal or recipient of the action. Compare the alternate ways of stating a proposition in the examples below.

276) O ngou mi vuin. =>O ngo vuin. 1S.SR eat ART.C banana => 1S.SR eat banana ‘I am eating a banana.=> ‘I banana-eat. (eat bananas).’



277) A tara bu ei. => A tar ei. 3S.SR cut ART.PL tree => 3S.SR cut tree ‘He is cutting several trees.=> ‘He tree-cuts.’

3.10.3 Reciprocal Prefix ve-

The prefix ve- adds the meaning of reciprocity to an action taking place between individuals. It is often reduplicated to signify repetitive actions. The verb is often followed by phrases like i kinortogie ‘among themselves’ or se gie keskes ‘to each other’. The prefix veis not used to encode reflexive action.

278) Giet ta ba ve-deng. 1PL.INC.SR IRR ASSU RCPR-see ‘We will see each other (later)’

279) Guor nga ve-ve-sas. 3dl.EXC.SR PAST RDP=RCPR-work ‘They(two) argued with each other.’

280) Gi nga ve-ve-eng i kinorto-gie. 3PL.SR PAST RDP-RCPR-talk ART.L middle-3PL.PS ‘They talk to each other among themselves.’

The prefix ver- is another reciprocal prefix used with some verbs. The fact that this variation of the reciprocal prefix is pronounced vera- in Big Tabar dialect indicates that it could have been derived from the prefix ve- in combination with the verb ra ‘go’ which often functions as a directional marker.

281) Gi nga ver-kulie si egie kes-kes. 3PL.SR PAST RCPR-help LOC 3PL one-one ‘They exchanged with each other.’

282) Eguor guor ko ver-ver-kasi. 3DL 3DL.SR HAB RDP-RCPR-brother ‘They(dual) treat each other in a brotherly manner(help each other like brothers do).’

3.10.4 Stative Derivational Prefix ka-

Prefixing the morpheme ka- to some verb stems makes the subject a patient of the action. Austronesian scholars do not consider it a true passive prefix, but rather a stative pre-formative or a stative derivative prefix.

283) Mi botol a te ka-pot. ART.C bottle 3S.SR CMPL PASS-break ‘The bottle is broken.’

284) O nga ka-tit si mi bat. 1S.SR PAST PASS-block LOC ART.C rain ‘I was stopped (blocked) by rain.’ or ‘I couldn’t come because of rain.’

285) Mi geleu a te ka-tit si mi moru. ACT.C canoe 3S.SR CMPL PASS-block LOC ART.C wind ‘The canoe is hindered by wind.’ or ‘They can not travel on canoe due to the wind.’

3.10.5 Stativizer Prefix ma-

There is a small set of intransitive verbs which describe human postures and they can take the prefix ma- to express long term continuation. Some examples of this type of verb include magos ‘sit’, maturu ‘lie down’, and maturi ‘stand’.

286) A nga ma-turu. 3S.SR PAST STAV-lie ‘He laid down.’



287) Be ra ma-turi. INT go STAV-stand ‘Go and stand.’

288) A ma-gos i popo-n mi tsur. 3S.SR STAV-sit ART.L top-3S.PS ART.C bench ‘He is sitting on the bench.’

The prefix ma- drops when these words occur with the causativizer prefix va-, but is retained in nominalized forms.

289) magos => va-gos-ng-ie => m-in-agos sit => CAUS-sit-CINS-TR => NOM-sit ‘sit’ => ‘to put (an object) down’ => ‘relationship’

290) ma-turu => va-turu-ng-ie lie.down => CAUS-lie.down-CINS-TR ‘to lie down’ => ‘to lay down (someone/something).’

4. PHRASE LEVEL

4.1 Noun Phrase 4.1.1 Basic noun phrase

NP1=(Deictic) Article (Mod.1) (Mod. 2) (Arr. Class.) Head.Noun (Mod. 3) (Numeral) (Mod. 4) (Mod.5)

A Mandara basic noun phrase consists of an obligatory noun preceded by an optional deictic, an obligatory article, one or more optional modifiers of a special type. The head noun can be followed by one or two optional modifiers and an optional numeral.

An article and a head noun are the only obligatory components of a basic noun phrase. 291) mi vono

ART.C house ‘a house’

4.1.1.1 Preposed Nominal Modifiers

Modifier 1 slot is filled by one of the closed set of 5 adjectives (ni ‘tiny’, banga ‘good’, bira ‘excellent’, puk ‘small’, and tsaka ‘bad’) or an inalienable noun without the possessor suffix. Example (292) also has a deictic at the beginning of the noun phrase.

292) ian mi tsaka komois DEIC.DIST1 ART.C bad old.man ‘that bad old man’

293) mi banga natu madar ART.C good off.spring young.man ‘a good boy’

294) mi natu kina bor ART.S off.spring mother pig ‘the female piglet’

Modifier 2 slot is filled by one or two inalienable nouns without their possession suffixes.

295) mi bira mata vono ART.C excellent eye house ‘an excellent entrance of a house’



296) mi banga kina bor ART.C good mother pig ‘a good female pig’

297) mi ni natu-natu duir ART.C tiny RDP-off.spring worm ‘a tiny little worm’

An arrangement classifier immediately precedes the head noun when applicable.

298) mi poko lavlav mereik ART.C ARR.measurable fabric red ‘a piece of red fabric’

4.1.1.2 Postposed Nominal Modifiers The optional post noun modifier slots can be filled with a stative verb (with or without its intensifier), a

numeral, a prepositional phrase, a noun, a noun phrase, or a relative clause.

Modifier 3

The modifier 3 slot can be filled by a noun, a noun phrase which can be embedded, a stative verb root which can be modified by an adverb, or a prepositional phrase. Examples of a Noun in Modifier 3 Position

299) mi bor tamat ART.C pig male ‘a male pig’

300) bu tamat m-in-arouk ART.C male NOM-sick ‘sick people’

Examples of a Noun Phrase in Modifier 3 Position

301) mi kamkam i pek ART.C star ART.L distant.place ‘a star in a long distance’

302) mi tsoik bira bor ART.C grated.food.type fat pig ‘a traditional grated food mixed with pig’s fat’

Examples of a Stative Verb with Optional Modifier in Modifier 3 Position

303) mi ei kuar ART tree/stick long ‘a long stick/tree’

304) bu roko megeot ART.PL louse black ‘black lice’

305) mi vono kelei beitsak ART.C house good very.much ‘the(a) very good house’



306) mi vevin kelei rovoriu ART.C woman good extremely

‘a very pretty woman’

Examples of a Prepositional Phrase in Modifier 3 Position

307) mi reok nia-n mi bor ART.C trap PURP-3S.PS ART.C pig ‘a trap for a pig (to catch a pig)’

Modifier 4

Modifier 4 slot can be filled by a limited set of words which can modify both nouns and verbs. They are mo ‘only’, ngas ‘persistent ’, te ‘emphatic’, kokouk ‘together, all’, and buer ‘also’.

308) bu ka kuar kokouk ART.PL man tall all ‘all tall men’

309) Mi mei kes mo a nga muer. ART.C person one only 3S.SR PAST return ‘Only one person returned.’

310) Eou buer o mon i peki-en mi vinuor. 1S also 1S.SR stay ART.P under-3S.PS ART.C law ‘I too am under the law. (I am ruled by the law also.)’

311) Gi nga vorotan bu natu-natu koukou mo te 3PL.SR PAST find ART.PL RDP-off.spring sweet.potato LIM EMPH ‘They found only very small sweet potatoes.’

312) Egie ngas te gi nga tourtelekira-n. 3PL PERS EMPH 3PL.SR PAST appoint-3S.OP ‘They (emphasis) appointed him/her. (They are the ones who appointed him.)’

Modifier slot 4 can also be filled by a stative verb.

313) bu ka ngeisngeis palan ART.C man strong many ‘many strong men’

Numeral Slot

The numeral slot can be filled either by a cardinal or an ordinal number.

314) ba ka tour ART.few man three ‘three men’

315) mi ra vourvour ART.C day first ‘the first day’

Following is an example of a complex noun phrase with all three post noun modifiers.

316) ba ka kuar tour kokouk ART.Few man tall three all ‘all three tall men’

A noun phrase can have a co-occurrence of both pre and post modifiers.

317) bu tsaka natu madar tamat kokouk ART.PL bad off.spring young.man male all ‘all the bad boys’



4.1.1.2.1 The Noun Phrase Headed by ni as a Post-Nominal Modifier

A phrase initiated with the particle ni followed by a noun or a verb can fill the post modifier 3 slot. The ni incorporates a noun phrase without its article into another noun phrase.

318) mi ka ni ts-in-atsang ART.C man SRCE NOM-work ‘a man for work (a worker)’

319) bu ra ni t-in-o ART.C day SRCE NOM-live ‘days for life (life time)’

320) mi tino ni madar lili ART.C NOM-live SRCE young.man small ‘life for boyhood’

4.1.1.2.2 The Relative Clause as a Post-Nominal Modifier A relative clause may fill the post modifier slot 3 or 4.

321) mi tsaka natu madar ta nga kada e kina-n ART.C bad off.spring young.man IRR PAST beat ART.P mother-3S.PS ‘the bad boy who had beaten his mother’

322) mi ra vourvour o ta nga tout ART.C day first 1S.SR IRR PAST shark.calling ‘the first day I went shark calling’

323) …ian mi niu mi tengteng ta nga ken DEIC.DIST1 ART.C coconut ART.C lightening IRR PAST hit

va-mat-ie. CAUS-die-TR

‘…that coconut tree that the lightening had struck and killed.’

4.1.1.2.3 Negation Marker ‘kap’ heading a Post Nominal Modifier Phrase The negation marker kap leads a post nominal modifier phrase.

324) mi tino kap man ka votovoto ART life NEG 3S.PI ART.NR end ‘life without end (eternal life)’

325) A nga mon si [mi enamon kap kovo mene en] 3S.SR PAST stay LOC ART.P village NEG ART.NR.PL person WHERE2 ‘He stayed at the village where no one lived (at the peopleless village)’

4.1.1.2.4 Reduplicated Verb as a Post-Nominal Modifier Modifier slot 3 can be filled by a reduplicated verb (plus its object) in order to describe a person who is

specialized in a particular type of work or one who loves doing a certain type of work.

326) mi ka po-po-poloik ART man RDP-RDP-work.on.copra ‘a man who loves to work on copra’

327) mi vevin tsuo-tsuor melen ART woman RDP-plant water.melon ‘a woman who loves(specialized) in planting(growing) water melons’



328) ba madar vongon-vongon ART.few young.man RDP-catch.fish ‘few young specialized in fishing’

4.1.1.2.5 Topicalization of Post Modifiers Some postposed noun modifiers may switch their position to the slot immediately preceding the article slot

for topicalization. Compare following examples.

329) bu mene palan ART.PL people many ‘many people’

330) palan bu mene many ART.PL people ‘many(Topicalized) people’

331) ba bor luo ART.few pig two ‘two pigs’

332) mi sinangavour kes ma luo bu bor ART.C 10 one and two ART.PL pig ‘twelve (topicalized) pigs’

4.1.2 Pronominally Headed Noun Phrases A noun phrase headed by a pronoun has up to four constituents. An independent pronoun realizes the

pronominal head. It occurs initially and is followed by up to three optional constituents. PRONOUN HEAD (MODIFIER 1) (MODIFIER 2) (MODIFIER 3) 333) eie buer

3S again ‘she also’

334) ...a, eie kes-en mo te a te nga vor mon mon ...interjector 3S one-3S.PS only EMPH 3S.SR CMPL PAST PROG stay stay

i popo-n mi ei. ART.L top-3S.PS ART.C tree ‘…and then he himself only alone continuously stayed on the tree.’

4.1.3 Possessive Noun Phrases Genitive constructions in Mandara have two different types of possessive noun phrases: the inalienably

possessed noun phrase and the alienably possessed noun phrase.

4.1.3.1 Inalienably Possessed Noun Phrases POSS. NP 1: (Deictic) ARTICLE HEAD.NOUN-PS (Deictic) (Modifier)

The obligatory components in an inalienably possessed noun phrase are the possessed head noun with its possessor suffix and its article. The optional post modifier slot can be filled by an embedded noun phrase specifying the possessor. A deictic can immediately precede the article and/or the post modifier.

335) mi tama-ung ART.C father-1S.PS ‘my father’

336) i popo-n mi kova-Ø ART.P top-3S.PS ART.C head-2S.PS ‘on top of your head’



337) mi vuruvuru-kova-n ian mi vevin vour ART.C hair-head-3S.PS DEIC.DIST1 ART.C woman young ‘that young woman’s hair’

338) ine mi rima-n e kina-n e Timot DEIC.PROX ART.C her.hand ART.P mother-3S.PS ART.P Timot ‘this hand belonging to Timot’s mother’

4.1.3.2 Alienably Possessed Noun Phrases Poss. NP 2:

(Deictic) POSS.PRON (Art) (Mod.1) (Arr.Class.) HEAD.NOUN (Mod.2) (Num) (Deic) (Mod.3)

In alienably possessed noun phrases, the head noun and its possessor pronoun are obligatory. The singular article is always dropped in this genitive construction. As in other types of noun phrases, a deictic, an article, or an arrangement classifier may fill the corresponding slots to modify the possessor or the possessed item in discussion. Modifier 1 slot can be filled by one of the closed set adjectives and modifier 2 slot is filled by a stative verb or a reduplicated verb. The numeral slot can be filled by a numeral phrase. Modifier 3 can be filled by an optional noun phrase which further identifies the possessor.

(possessive pronoun + noun)

339) kong bor 1S.PN pig ‘my pig’

(possessive pronoun, article, noun, NP)

340) man ba niu e Timot 3S.PI ART.few coconut ART.P Timot

‘Timot’s (few) coconut drinks’ (deictic, possessive pronoun, noun, stative verb, NP)

341) ian ken kopuen megeot e Timot DEIC.DIST1 3S.PN dog black ART.P Timot

‘that black dog of Timot’ (possessive pronoun, noun, stative verb, deictic, NP)

342) ken vono leong ian mi komois 3S.PN house big DEIC.DIST1 ART.C old.man ‘that old man’s big house’

(possessive pronoun, article, adjective, arrangement classifier, noun, NP)

343) ken ba banga napa so-sos e Morong 3S.PN ART.few excellent ARR.flat RDP-trash ART.P Morong

‘Morong’s (few) excellent trashing panels.’ (possessive pronoun, article, noun, numeral phrase, NP)

344) ken sar bor mi napaririem potsu kes e Timot 3S.PN ART.PL pig ART.C five bring.out one ART.P Timot ‘Timot’s 6 pigs’



4.1.3.3 Locative Possessive Noun Phrase In the locative possessive noun phrase, the item in discussion in a noun phrase is followed by a locative

preposition si followed by a noun phrase of which noun head is the owner of the item. Locative Possessive NP: NP +Si+ NP

345) [[e papa] [si e Timot]] ART.P father LOC ART.P Timot ‘Timot’s father’

346) [[[mi tino] [ni madar lili ngas]]NP1 [si e Moso]] LOCPOSS NP ART.C life PURP young.man little PERS LOC ART.P Moso ‘Moso’s life when he was still a boy...’

4.1.4 Complex Noun Phrases The complex noun phrase is a combination of two or more noun phrases.

4.1.4.1 Coordinate Noun Phrase

The coordinate noun phrase is composed of two noun phrases connected by the preposition meie 'with' or the conjunction ma 'and'. In the coordinate noun phrase joined by the accompaniment preposition meie, the first participant is more significant while in the coordinate noun phrase joined by ma both participants share the equal significance. 347) e kina-Ø meie e tama-Ø

ART mother.of-2S.PS with ART father-2S.PS ‘your parents’

348) mong banga geleu ma ken vuna-vios vour e Tulok 1S.PI good canoe and 3S.PN root-bamboo new ART.P Tulok ‘my good canoe and Tulok’s new engine’

4.1.4.2 Alternative Noun Phrase. The alternative noun phrase consists of two or more noun phrases linked together by the alternative

conjunctions o ‘or’.

349x181) E lalaro un mi da rarap o mi da tuong? 2S like drink ART water hot or ART water cold? 'Do you want to drink hot tea or cold water?'

350) O lalaro vorotan e Tulok o e Masasa o e Sobara. 1.S like find ART Tulok or ART Masasa or ART Sobara 'I wanted to find Tulok or Masasa or Sobara.’

4.1.4.3 Appositional Noun Phrase The appositional noun phrase immediately follows the noun phrase and it functions to clarify or specify the

meaning of the first.

351x180) E Timot, mi ka kovun i Matlik, a te mesei. ART.P Timot, ART.C man come.from ART.L Matlik, 3S.SR CMPL die 'Timot, a man from Matlik village, died.'

352) Eie, e Timot, a ko vovovo. 3S ART.P Timot 3S.SR HAB fuss ‘He, Timot, fusses all the time.’

353) E Timot, e natu-n e Rosi, a ko vovovo. ART.P Timot, ART.P off.spring-3S.PS ART.P Rosi, 3S.SR HAB fuss ‘Timot, Rosi’s child, fusses all the time.’



354) E ta ngas poro mi bor lili, mi natu bor mo. 2S.SR IRR PERS get ART.C pig small, ART.C off.spring pig only. ‘You must get a small pig, a piglet only.

4.1.4.4 Coordinated Pronoun Phrase The coordinated pronoun phrase is formed by a dual, a paucal, or plural independent pronoun followed by

one or more noun phrases to specify individuals that are referred by the pronoun.

355) egor e Timot 1DL.EXC ART Timot ‘Timot and I’

356) engondo e Timot 2DL ART Timot ‘you (to whom I speak) and Timot’

357) Egato e Lenre, e Lakpe, a, e Bungtabu... 1PC.EXC ART.P Lenre, ART.P Lakpe, and, ART.P Bungtabu ‘We few, (myself), Lenre, Lakpe, and Bungtabu…’

4.2 Verb Phrase 4.2.1 Definition and Structure of the Verb Phrase.

The verb phrase in Mandara functions as the predicate of a clause. The minimal obligatory constituents for the intransitive verb phrase are a subject reference pronoun clitic (see Section 3.6.3) and a verb root. The transitive verb phrase has the additional obligatory constituent of the object reference pronoun. The verb phrase may have optional tense, negation, aspect, or modality markers as pre-nuclear auxiliaries as well as optional post-nuclear auxiliaries such as limiters, intensifiers, and manner adverbs.

VP1 (for intransitive)=SRef.Pron.+[Pre-Nuclear Aux.]+V+[Post-Nuclear Aux]

VP2(for transitive)=SRef.Pron.+[Pre-Nuclear Aux]+V+ORef.Pron+[Post-Nuclear Aux]

See Table 4.1 The Structure of the Verb Phrase on page 49.

4.2.2 Head of the Verb Phrase

4.2.2.1 Minimum Verb Root The head of the verb phrase may consist of a single verb root.

358) Mi bor a ngou. ART.C pig 3S.SR eat ‘The pig is eating.'



Table 4.1 The Structure of the Verb Phrase

Subj. Ref.

Pron.

Pre-Nucl

1

Neg Pre-Nucl

2

Pre- Nucl

3

Pre- Nucl

4

Past Diminish. Asp Pre-Nucl 5

V

Obj. Ref.

Pron.

Ints

Mann. Adv.

Lim Emph

Rep.

See Pron. Chart

ta kap te be

mangmasi si1

ba ger ngas

nangaba

buer

nga ki ko so visi vo vor

ve mono pilang

See Pron. Chart

beitsak rovoriu

be

ngas nangaba lalapus vendir

mo te buer ne

1 The pre-nuclear counterexpectation marker si shifts positions in the VP. It precedes kap ‘not’ in example (372): Nta si kap ngas vongon potaram. ‘We two have not been fishing for as long a time (as I would like

to).’ But it follows kap ‘not’ in example (384): Gi ta kap si ger palu ngan kong sele. ‘You did not play with my bush knife (without my approval).’



4.2.2.2 Serial Verb Constructions (SVC) The head of the verb phrase may be a serial verb construction. There are three types of verb

serialization in Mandara. The first type of verb serialization is constructed by the juxtaposition of uninflected verb roots adjacent to each other. Up to four verb roots may be used to construct a serial verb in this manner. The second type of verb serialization is constructed with a sequencing particle, nge. The third type involves a repetition of the stem several times. It concludes with ra ‘go’ and is sometimes followed by oit ‘until’.

4.2.2.2.1 SVC 1 The verbs in SVC type 1 have no conjoining particles and share all arguments and auxiliary

markers.

359) A nga ser beit si man voto-voto mi s-in-er. 3S.SR PAST run arrive LOC 3S.PI RDP-finish ART.C NOM-run ‘He ran and arrived at the finishing line of the race.’

360) Gi te nga ra sor nemei ngan. 3PL.SR CMPL PAST go carry come INST ‘They went and carried (the ladder) and came.’

Stative verbs and numbers may occur as the second member of a serial construction, taking the causative prefix va-. They express the manner or the number of times an action is performed. +++

361) O tere va-kal-ie bu kepineits. 1S.SR put CAUS-good-TR ART.PL thing ‘I am putting things well. OR I am cleaning.’

362) O te ase va-luo ine mi buk. 1S.SR CMPL read CAUS-two DEIC.PROX ART.C book ‘I read this book twice.’

4.2.2.2.2 SVC 2

The verbs in SVC type 2 are conjoined by the particle nge. This differs from the common Austronesian pattern of serialization. Each verb may independently have a modifier or a direct object, in the case of a transitive verb, but all the verbs in a verb phrase share the subject reference, negation, and tense-aspect-modality markings which precede the initial verb. Only the final verb is followed by optional post-auxiliaries. Generally up to three verbs may be conjoined in this manner to create one complex information unit.

363) a te nga vakak nge veis 3S.SR CMPL PAST start VCON walk ‘He began to walk.’

364) Mi bor a te tsok tamtir nge ser. ART.C pig 3g.SR CMPL shoot stand VCON run ‘The pig got up and ran.’

365) A nga poro ken biul nge tsok vakak nge suiv. 3S.SR PAST take 3S.PN fishing.spear VCON pick start VCON dive ‘He took his fishing spear and started to dive.’

366) Gor nga ka si mi geleu nge vuros rakot i kutum. 1dl.EXC.SR PAST ride LOC ART.C canoe VCON paddle go.to ART.L middle ‘We got on the canoe and went paddling to the middle(of ocean).’



4.2.2.2.3 SVC 3 We also have found repetitive segments when the verb is repeated several times with maybe

one or two other verbs. 367) …na kitipan, pan pan pan ra oit si-vovo.

PURP block wake wake wake go able LOC-morning ‘…in order to block sleep, stay awake, awake, awake until morning.’

368) Gato te kekeis vatar ra-ra-ra nokot i Marvio 1PC.EXC.SR CMPL swim come.ashore go-go-go DEM.VIS ART.L Marvio ‘We swam and came ashore on and on over there at Marvio.’

4.2.2.2.4 Subject Reference As described in the Pronoun section, the subject reference particle indicates the person and

the number of the subject. (See Section 3.6.3)

369) E Timot a te beit. ART.P Timot 3S.SR CMPL arrive ‘Timothy has arrived.’

4.2.3 Pre-Nuclear Auxiliaries Pre-Nuclear Auxiliaries =

SRef. Pron (Pre-Nucl 1) (Neg) (Pre-Nucl 2) (Pre-Nucl 3) (Pre-Nucl 4) (Past) (Asp) (Pre-Nucl 5)

4.2.3.1 Co-occurrence of the Pre-nuclear Auxiliaries The subject reference morpheme is the only obligatory pre-nuclear auxiliary in the verb

phrase.

370) O ngou mi koukou. 1S.SR eat ART.C sweet.potato ‘I am eating a sweet potato.’

Two or more of the optional pre-nuclear auxiliaries may co-occur.

371) E ta masi kor. 2S.SR IRR CEP fall ‘You might fall.’

372) O kap ngas nga ko ngene beie. 1S.SR NEG PERS PAST HAB eat shark ‘I still wasn’t used to eating shark meat.’

373) A te buer nga ra pere e kina-n. 3S.SR CMPL REP PAST go see ART.C mother-3S.PS ‘He went to see his mother again.’

Due to semantic incompatibility, some tense, negation, aspect, and modality markers never co-occur while some others must accompany certain TAM markers. For example, the modal adverb si ‘Counter Expectation’ never occurs with the irrealis marker ta, while the modal adverb masi ‘counter expectation possibility’ must occur with ta, but cannot with the past tense marker nga.



4.2.3.2 Tense In the Mandara language, there are three general tense categories. The tenses are in relation to

the time of utterance and fall into one of the three categories on the timeline: distant past, near past to present, and future.

4.2.3.2.1 Distant Past Tense: An event that has taken place some time in the past beyond about 24 hours before the time of

speech is marked by the past tense marker nga. In narrative texts describing an event in the distant past, speakers often omit the distant past tense marker nga once the time setting has been clearly communicated to the listener.

374) Gi nga mon kokouk. 3PL.SR PAST stay together ‘They stayed together’

375) A te nga tsoka mi ie. 3S.SR CMPL PAST shoot ART.C fish ‘He shot a fish.’

4.2.3.2.2 Near-Past to Present Tense Events Near-past to present tense in Mandara covers an event or a condition which has taken a place

within the past 24 hours or is currently taking a place at the time of speech. The near-past to present tense is unmarked: Ø. 376) E Timot a muang.

ART.P Timot 3S.SR sleep ‘Timot is sleeping.’

377) Mi redio a kelei. ART.C radio 3S.SR good ‘The radio is in good condition. (It works.)’

378) A tuktuk. 3S.SR true ‘It is true.’

379) O beit nanor. 1S.SR arrive yesterday ‘I arrived yesterday’

380) E Timot a te muang. ART.P Timot 3S.SR CMPL sleep ‘Timot fell asleep and still sleeping. (or) Timot slept.’

4.2.3.2.3 Future Events An event which has not happened but may happen in the future is marked with the irrealis

modality marker ta.

381) E ta poro mi sele. 2S.SR IRR get ART.C bush.knife ‘You take a bush knife.’

382) O ta be ra eng si-en. 1S.SR IRR INT go tell LOC-3S.OP ‘I intend to go and tell him.’

383) Gi ta ba veis. 3PL.SR IRR ASSU walk

‘They will walk(leave).'



The event which is beginning at the time of utterance is marked with the irrealis marker ta followed by the completive aspect marker te.

384) O ta te ra. 1S.SR IRR CMPL go ‘I will go.(as starting to leave the place).’

4.2.3.3 Negation

The negation morpheme kap optionally occurs in a verb phrase filling the negation slot. The modality adverbs masi, mang, ger, ki, nangaba, be, ba, and so cannot co-occur with kap due to the nature of their meaning.

385) O kap lalaro ra. 1S.SR NEG like go 'I don't want to go.'

386) A kap nga vo tabar-ie ken natu bor. 3S.SR NEG PAST MORN feed-TR 3S.PN off.spring pig ‘He did not feed his piglet in the morning.’

387) Gi kap ngas nga ko pere bu kuir kavel. 3PL.SR NEG PERS PAST HAB see ART.PL skin foreign ‘They were never used to seeing foreigners (lit. foreign skins).’

4.2.3.4 Modality Adverbs There are 12 modality adverbs which optionally fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries slot in a verb

phrase. The table below shows the modality adverbs with their definitions and the information on which slot in the verb phrase they can occupy.

Table 4.2 Mandara Modality Markers Modality Marker

Definition Slot in Verb Phrase

ta Irrealis Pre-Nuclear 1

be Intention Pre- Nuclear 2

masi Counter expectation possibility Pre- Nuclear 2

si Counter expectation Pre-Nuclear 2

ba Assurance or Certainty Pre- Nuclear 3,

Post- Nuclear

ger Counter Approval Pre- Nuclear 3

ngas Persistent Pre- Nuclear 3,

Post- Nuclear

mang Desired Result Pre- Nuclear 2

nangaba Relief Pre- Nuclear 3,

Post- Nuclear

ki Comparative Diminisher

ve Politeness Pre- Nuclear 5

pilang Frustration Pre- Nuclear 5

4.2.3.4.1 Irrealis/Realis

The irrealis modality marker ta can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 1 slot. It marks all events in independent clauses which have not happened up to the time of utterance. It also marks the clauses where the speaker is unsure whether the event has occurred or not. Events encoding



background information are sometimes also marked by ta in subordinate clauses. This area will be discussed further in our paper on the uses of ta. 388) O ta peuk i koen.

1S.SR IRR go.down ART.L beach ‘I will go to the beach.’

389) Nga ta ngas ra. 3PL.SR IRR MUST go ‘You (plural) must go.’

390) Sen o ta nga pere e tama-ung, o nga res beitsak. when 1S.SR IRR PAST see ART.P father-1S.PS, 1S.SR PAST happy INTS ‘When I saw my father, I was very glad.’

391) Senva e ta rong tsak, o ta tsatsik-ie no. if 2S.SR IRR hear bad, 1S.SR IRR spank-TR 2S.OP ‘If you disobey, I will spank you.’

4.2.3.4.2 Intention - be

The intention modality marker be can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 2 slot and also the post-nuclear intensifier slot. It is used to express the speaker’s intention to have an event take place. It is often used together with the immediacy aspect morpheme so. It is also often used in commands. A command with this morpheme indicates that the speaker has a strong desire for the event to occur.

392) O ta be ra sisi. 1S.SR IRR INT go bathe ‘I will go to bathe very soon.’

393) O ta be so pengan si e kina-Ø. 1S.SR IRR INT IMM tell LOC ART.P mother-2S.PS ‘I will immediately tell your mother.’

394) Be ra poro kong sele. INT go get 1S.PN bush.knife ‘Go get my bush knife.’

395) A be nga ko tsana. 3S.SR INT PAST HAB do ‘He used to do it(and it would be good to see him do it again)’

4.2.3.4.3 Counter Expectation Possibility - masi

The counter expectation possibility modality marker masi can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 2 slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s desire for an event not to happen. This modality marker always accompanies the irrealis marker ta. The masi is interchangeably used with mansi. It is generally used to warn someone to take caution.

396) Veis kelei. E ta masi kor. Walk good 2S.SR IRR CEP fall ‘Walk carefully. You might fall.’

397) E ta masi kiva mi nutu-nutu uriet. 2S.SR IRR CEP guess ART.C RDP-off.spring octopus ‘You might think it is very young octopus.(I hope not)’



398) Gi vi ngan e Naliek va ta mansi nga kada gie. 3S.SR flee INST ART.P Naliek SUB IRR CEP PAST hit 3PL.OP

‘They ran from Naliek, for he might have hit them.

4.2.3.4.4 Counter Expectation - si

The counter expectation modality marker si occasionally occurs in the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 1 slot and sometimes occurs in the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 2 slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s feeling of frustration or surprise. It is only used for past events which happened against the speaker’s expectation or the situation. It never co-occurs with the irrealis marker ta, or the completive aspect marker te. This modality marker immediately follows the subject reference particle in a verb phrase.

399) A si nga tara mi rima-n. 3S.SR CE PAST cut ART.C hand-3S.PS ‘He cut his hand. (Or How silly, he cut his finger?)’

400) Nta si kap ngas vongon potaram. 1DL.Inc CE NEG PERS fishing long-time ‘We two have not been fishing for a long time (as I would like to)’

4.2.3.4.5 Assurance - ba

The assurance modality marker ba can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 3 slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s assurance or certainty of an event that has taken place or will happen. For future events the speaker is communicating that he has some evidence which causes him to believe that the event will take a place.

401) Sivo ge ta ba peuk i rou. tomorrow 1PL.EXC IRR ASSU down ART.L sea ‘Tomorrow, we are going to go out to the sea.’

402) Ine sisiat, o ba vatar nangaba. DEIC.PROX mid.day, 1S.SR ASSU come.ashore RELF ‘I certainly disbarked(came ashore) this mid-day finally.’

403) Gi ba nga ra vongon si ba Mariviot. 3PL.SR ASSU PAST go find.fish LOC ART.Few Mariviot ‘They (plural) certainly went fishing at two Mariviot islands.’ ’

4.2.3.4.6 Counter Approval - ger

The counter approval modality marker ger can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 3 slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s opinion or feeling about the event which is taking place or might take place without an approval either from an owner or one in authority. It is always preceded by the counter expectation marker si or the counter expectation possibility marker masi. For future events, it is accompanied either by the negation marker kap or by the counter expectation possibility marker ma.

404) A si ger nga poro kong sele. 3S.SR CE CA PAST take 1S.PN bush.knife ‘He took my bush knife without my approval.’

405) E ta kap si ger palu ngan kong sele. 2S.SR IRR NEG CE CA play INST 1S.PN bush.knife ‘You do not play with my bush knife(without my approval)’



406) Gi ta masi ger van kong sar buo. 3pl.SR IRR CEP CA climb 1S.PN ART.PL betel.nut ‘They might climb my betel nut trees (without my approval. I am worried that they might.’

4.2.3.4.7 Persistent - ngas

The persistent modality marker ngas can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 3 slot and the post-nuclear auxiliaries slot for manner adverbs. It is used to communicate the speaker’s opinion about a persistent condition or action. When it is accompanied by the irrealis marker ta, it communicates the obligation to do something. This marker communicates modality in some situations, but it also communicates aspect in some other situations.

407) O ta ngas suer i marar. 1S.SR IRR PERS weep ART.L outside ‘I must sweep outside.'

408) Ian mi komois a ngas ngeisngeis. DEIC.DIST1 ART.C old.man 3S.SR PERS strong ‘That old man is still strong.’

409) Mi vuin a kap ngas mases. ART.C banana 3S.SR NEG PERS ripe ‘The banana still is not ripened yet.’

410) Gi kap ngas tsuk. 3PL.SR NEG PERS embark ‘They still have not embarked’

4.2.3.4.8 Desired Result - mang

The desired result modality marker mang can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 2 slot. It indicates the happening of the anticipated or desired result.

411) A mang ba nga ra deng kilala. 3S.SR RES ASSU PAST go look recognize ‘He indeed recognized. (him)’

412) Suer ine, va mi vono ta mang mat katsep. sweep DEIC.PROX COM ART.C house IRR RES look clear ‘Sweep here, (so that) the house might look clean.’

4.2.3.4.9 Relief - nangaba

The relief modality marker nangaba can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 3 slot and the post-nuclear auxiliaries slot for manner adverbs. This modality marker marks the relief from a tense situation. This morpheme most often appears in a discourse right after the climax or at the ending. The equivalent meaning of this morpheme in English would be something like ‘finally, at last, indeed’.

413) O te nangaba beit. 1S.SR CMPL RELF arrive ‘I just arrived now.’

414) A nangaba nga beit. 3S.SR RELF PAST arrive ‘He arrived right then.’

415) Gi te nga nes-ie nangaba e Roroton. 3PL.SR CMPL PAST find-TR RELF ART.P Roroton ‘They found Roroton right then. OR They finally found Roroton.’



4.2.3.4.10 Comparative –ki

The comparative modality marker ki can fill the pre-nuclear diminisher slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s opinion that there is a slight difference in the condition or quality.

416) O ki morouk nevere. 1S.SR COMP sick today ‘I feel a bit sick today.’

417) O ki rongmitsikien kelei nevere. 1S.SR COMP feel good today ‘I feel(physically) a bit better today.’

418) E Rosi a ki kuar rio si e Timot. ART.P Rosi 3S.SR COMP tall win LOC ART.P Timot ‘Rosi is a bit taller than Timot.’

419) Mi Singa a ki tsak si mi Batapilai. ART.C Singer 3S.SR COMP bad LOC ART.C Butterfly ‘Singer(sawing machine) is a bit better than Butterfly(sawing machine).’

4.2.3.4.11 Politeness: - ve

The politeness modality marker ve can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 5 slot. This modality marker in a verb phrase adds the politeness or the careful attitude of the speaker. Generally verb phrases of admonition clauses will have this morpheme. And the conversations between the people who must show respect to each other will have many occurrence of this morpheme.

420) E ta ve poro kovo sur. 2S.SR IRR POL get ART.NR.PL dried.coconut.leaf ‘You get some dried coconut leaves.’(spoken politely)

421) E ta ve pere ian mi sinave-n ian 2S.SR IRR POL see DEIC.DIST1 ART.C manner-3S.PS DEIC.DIST1 mi vevin. ART.C woman ‘Look at that manner of that woman.’(spoken politely)

To express his/her positive feeling towards the condition, a speaker can also use this morpheme ve in a verb phrase which describes a hopeful condition which is progressing.

422) E Ngavato a te vor ve kele-kelei. ART.P Ngavato 3S.SR CMPL PROG POL RDP-good ‘Ngavato is getting better (from sickness).’

423) A te vor ve butse-butseik. 3S.SR CMPL PROG POL RDP-water.rising ‘It is becoming high tide. (lit. The water level is rising)’

The sentences above can also be uttered without the morpheme ve and communicate the same basic meanings. But by using the morpheme ve, the speaker communicates that he/she is not resentful, but is pleased with the situation.

4.2.3.4.12 Frustration – pilang

The frustration modality marker pilang can fill the pre-nuclear auxiliaries 5 slot. It is used to communicate the speaker’s frustration with not being able to achieve any positive result from an action in spite of the fact that the action went on for a significant length of time.

424) O pilang auil nanor. 1S.SR FRUS hook.fishing yesterday ‘I (went) fishing yesterday in vain (but did not catch any fish).’



425) Gor vo pilang ros-ie no si vovo. 2DL.EXC.SR MORN FRUS wait-TR 2S.OP LOC morning. ‘We (two) waited for you this morning in vain. (But you never showed up)’

4.2.3.5 Aspect Markers In Mandara there are 7 aspect markers and one temporal marker which optionally fill pre-

nuclear auxiliary slots in a verb phrase. The table below shows the aspect markers with their definitions and the information on which slot in the verb phrase they can occupy.

Table 4.3 Mandara Aspect Markers Aspect Marker Definition Slot in VP

te Completive Pre-Nuclear 2

buer Repetitive Pre-Nuclear 4,

Post-Nuclear

ko Habituative Aspect

so Immediate Aspect

visi Ready to Aspect

vor Progressive Aspect

mono Continuative Pre-Nuclear 5

There is one temporal marker which can occupy the aspect slot in the verb phrase.

vo ‘in the morning’ Aspect

4.2.3.5.1 Completive - te

Speakers often choose to speak with the completive aspect morpheme te in order to emphasize that the action has already taken place. te is used to communicate the perfected or completed state of an event. It is frequently used with the past tense but also with the irrealis marker ta to mark an event which is beginning at the moment of utterance. te can occupy the pre-nuclear auxiliary slot 2.

426) A te nga koup-koup. 3S.SR CMPL PAST shout-shout ‘He screamed.’

427) A te kelei tie mi vono. 3S.SR CMPL good EMPH ART.C house ‘The house is (truly) fixed well.’

428) O ta te ra. 1S.SR IRR CMPL go ‘I’m going now (lit. leaving now and going)’

4.2.3.5.2 Repetitive - buer

An event which is occurred repeatedly is emphasized with this modality morpheme buer. This buer can occupy the pre-nuclear auxiliary slot 4 and the post-nuclear auxiliary slot for manner adverbs.

429) A te buer nga vitor. 3S.SR CMPL REP PAST hungry ‘He was hungry again.’



430) Gi te buer nga so ra palo. 3PL.SR CMPL REP PAST IMM go play ‘They quickly went to play again.’

4.2.3.5.3 Habituative - ko

Habitual activities are indicated by the habituative morpheme ko.

431) Gei ko ngen-ie mi leseik. 1PL.EXC HAB eat-TR ART.C sago ‘We habitually eat sago.(We are used to eating sago)’

432) O ko vemusur-ie ba ro-sar luo. 1S.SR HAB follow-TR ART.Few GEN-path two ‘I habitually follow two ways.’

4.2.3.5.4 Immediate - so

The morpheme so emphasizes the immediateness or the suddenness of an event.

433) A nga muer, a nga so tun-ie mi ie. 3S.SR PAST return, 3S.SR PAST IMM cook-TR ART.C fish ‘He returned. (And) He immediately cooked the fish.’

434) O ta so pengan si-en. 1S.SR IRR IMM tell LOC-3S.PS ‘I'm going to tell him soon.’

4.2.3.5.5 Ready to - visi

An event which was about to happen is marked by the morpheme visi. It adds the modality of readiness to do an action. The morpheme visi can occupy the aspect slot.

435) Si-en ta nga visi poutskak, mi kitita-n nokot a te LOC-3S.PS IRR PAST READY step, ART.C stomach-3S.PS DEM.VIS 3S.SR CMPL

nga puor ka-pot. PAST explode PASS-break ‘When he was ready to take a step, his tummy over there burst opened.’

436) E Tames a nga visi karar-ie mi kina bor. ART.P Tames 3S.SR PAST READY chase-TR ART.C mother pig ‘Tames was about to chase after the female pig.’

4.2.3.5.6 Progressive - vor

An action that is in progress is marked with the progressive morpheme vor. Since the action is progressive, the main verb is always in reduplicated form to indicate the ongoing action.

437) A te vor kele-kelei. 3S.SR CMPL PROG RDP-good ‘He is getting better.’

438) Gi nga vor de-de-denangan ka rosar. 3PL.SR PAST PROG RDP-RDP-seek ART.NR way ‘They were looking for a way.’

4.2.3.5.7 Continuative/durative - mono

An action that is continuing is marked with the continuative morpheme mono that occurs in the pre-nuclear 5 position.



439) O mono ro-rosie no 1S.SR CONT RDP-wait 2S.OP ‘I'm waiting for you.’

440) A ko mono pitse-pitseir. 3S.SR HAB CONT RDP-angry ‘He is gets and stays mad all the time.’

4.2.3.5.8 In the Morning- vo

An event which takes place in the morning is marked with the temporal morpheme vo. The vo replaces the completive aspect marker te when used to communicate an event which took place in the near past, if the event occurs in the morning. An event in the morning in the distant past is encoded by both vo and the past tense marker nga. An event predicted to happen in the mroning in the future is indicated by both vo and the irrealis marker ta. A presently progressing event is not marked with vo, even if it is taking place in the morning.

441) O vo me suer. 1S.SR MORN COME sweep ‘I came to sweep in the morning.’ (Near Past)

442) O ta vo vorota no. 1S.SR IRR MORN find 2S.OP ‘I will visit you in the morning.(referring to next day)’ (Future)

443) Gi te nga vo kien i tu. 3PL.SR CMPL PAST MORN go.up ART.L garden ‘They went up to the garden in the morning.’ (Far Past)

4.2.4 Object Reference Pronoun The object reference pronoun clitic immediately follows the verb root in a transitive verb

phrase. The object of the verb root is specified in person and in number. Refer to the pronoun section.

444) A nga nasara guor. 3S.SR PAST scold 3DL.OP ‘He scolded them(two).’

4.2.5 Post-Nuclear Auxiliaries Post-Nucl. Aux.=(Ints) (Mann.Adv.) (Lim) (Emph) (Rep)

Several optional post-nuclear auxiliaries may follow the head part of a verb phrase. Then the rest of the post-nuclear auxiliary slots are filled in the order as described in the post-nuclear auxiliary formula above. One or more of the intensifiers, manner adverbs, the limiter, the emphasis marker, and the repetitive marker can occupy these slots between the object reference pronoun and the noun phrase which adds the information for the object.

4.2.5.1 Intensifier

There are three intensifiers in Mandara: beitsak, rovoriu and be.

The verb modifier beitsak is used to describe the intensified state of a condition or an action.

445) Ine mi bor a leong beitsak. DEIC.PROX ART.C pig 3S.SR big INTS ‘This pig is very big.’

446) Gi nga res beitsak. 3PL.SR PAST happy INTS ‘They were very happy.’



447) Gito nga ta beitsak. 3PC.SR PAST cry INTS ‘They cried very much.’

The verb modifier rovoriu is similar to that of beitsak in its use but rovoriu is also used to modify the intensity of an action verb and indicate extremes of the action. It also indicates that the effect of the event will remain for a long period of time or forever.

448) Keguor menagos a nga kelei rovoriu. 3DL.PN relationship 3S.SR PAST good INTS ‘Their(two) relationship was extremely good.’

449) Nta te mogos sinartsak rovoriu te. 1DL.Inc CMPL sit poor INTS CMPL ‘We(two) are staying extremely poor.’

450) A te nga tseptseprio rovoriu. 3S CMPL PAST win INTS ‘He (totally) won.’

451) A te ngingi rovoriu. 3S CMPL dark INTS ‘It is extremely dark.’

452) E Larvi a te mon rovoriu. ART.P Larvi 3S.SR CMPL stay INTS ‘Larvi stays forever.(she is not going)’

453) A kelei be mo. 3S.SR good INT LIM

‘It is just alright.’

454) Arie be mo DEIC.exact INT LIM ‘That is it. (lit. That’s the exact one.)’

4.2.5.2 Manner Adverbs Several manner adverbs including three modality adverbs and two aspect markers which also

can occupy one of the pre-nuclear auxiliary slots can occupy this post-nuclear auxiliary slot. The morphemes ngas ‘PERS’, lalapus ‘quickly’ and nangaba ‘RELF’ are the three modality adverbs that can occupy both the pre-nuclear and the post-nuclear auxiliary slot. The morphemes buer ‘REP’ and te ‘CMPL’ are two aspects that can occupy the post-nuclear auxiliary slot. The completive aspect marker te is used to emphasize the event rather than focusing on the completion of the event when it is forms a manner phrase with manner adverbs in the post-nuclear auxiliary slot.

455) A te nga vatar nangaba. 3S.SR CMPL PAST come.ashore RELF ‘He finally came ashore.’

456) A nga tuir i pek ngas te. 3S.SR PAST stand ART.L distant.spot PERS EMPH ‘He still (emphasized) was standing at a distant spot.’

457) A nga keveir te buer. 3S.SR PAST sing EMPH also ‘He sang again(Emphasize).’



458) A kap nga voto lalapus. 3S.SR NEG PAST finish quickly ‘It did not finish quickly.’

459) Kenga sar vodo-vodon tuktuk a lili beitsak ngas 3PL.PN ART.PL RDP-think true 3S.SR small INTS PERS te. EMPH ‘Your faith is very small.’

4.3 Prepositional Phrase A prepositional phrase is composed of a preposition and its object, which can be a noun

phrase, or a pronoun. The object reference pronoun is omitted for the third person singular object in all prepositional phrases. The noun phrase is optional when the object of the prepositional phrase is the third person singular or when the information is already known at the discourse level.

The deictic in the object noun phrase of a prepositional phrase may either precede or follow the preposition.

460) ian si mi enamon DEIC.DIST1 LOC ART.C female ‘in that village’

461) ine si vovo DEIC.PROX LOC morning ‘in this morning’

462) …va gi ta nga sor kien ngan ine mi bor ...that 3PL.SR IRR PAST carry go.up INST DEIC.PROX ART.C pig

si man rie mi tadaor…... LOC 3S.PI cave ART.C local.spirit ‘…so that they would carry this pig and go up to the local spirit's cave…’

4.3.1 Temporal prepositional phrase Like the general prepositional phrase, the temporal prepositional phrase is headed by the

locative preposition si.

Temporal PP = si NP

463) si mi kato keipkeipde ra LOC ART.C piece fragment day ‘at the moment’

464) si mi Sarere LOC ART.C Saturday ‘on Saturday’

When the general temporal words such as vovo ‘morning’, sisiat ‘midday’, reivreiv ‘afternoon’, and kiti ‘night’ are incorporated into the temporal prepositional phrase the article is omitted.

465) si reivreiv LOC afternoon ‘in the afternoon’



466) E Tseong a nga pan si vovo mokopkop. ART.P Tseong 3S.SR PAST wake LOC morning dawn ‘Tseong woke at dawn.’

4.3.2 Locational prepositional phrase The locational prepositional phrase is headed by the preposition si which can be preceded by

an optional deictic and followed by an optional independent pronoun which references the object of the preposition. A full noun phrase follows to further identify the object.

Locational PP = (DEIC) si (Ind.Pron) NP

467) die si mi ringit DEIC.DIST2 LOC ART.C heaven ‘Way over there in heaven’

468) si egie mi lengei LOC 3PL ART.C women ‘(allocated) for the women’

4.3.3 Reason prepositional phrase The reason prepositional phrase is led by the reason preposition surie followed by its object

reference pronoun, an optional deictic, and an optional noun phrase.

Reason PP = surie-Object Pron. (DEIC) (NP)

469) surie-Ø ine e natu-ung RSON-PRON DEIC.PROX ART.P off.spring-1S.PS ‘because of this child of mine’

470) O rengeir surie no. 1S.SR pray RSON 2S.OP ‘I am praying for you.’

4.3.4 Instrumental and Manner Prepositional Phrase The instrumental and manner prepositional phrase is headed by the preposition ngan ‘with’

followed by its object reference pronoun, an optional deictic, and an optional noun phrase.

Instrumental PP = ngan-Object.Reference.Pronoun (DEIC) (NP)

471) ngan- ne bu tsoik INST-3S.OP DEIC.PROX ART.PL traditional.bread ‘with these traditional bread.’

472) Gituo nga mon ngan- mi ni-res. 3PC.SR PAST stay INST-3S.OP ART.C NOM-happy ‘They(paucal) stayed with happiness.’

473) A te nga tsikei ngan- mi naip kopra. 3S.SR CMPL PAST poke INST-3S.OP ART.C knife copra ‘She poked it with a copra knife.’

4.3.5 Accompaniment Prepositional Phrase The accompaniment prepositional phrase is led by the preposition meie which is followed by

the object reference pronoun followed by an optional noun phrase.

Accompaniment PP = meie-Object.Reference.Pronoun (NP)



474) O te muerngei nia me mon meie-no. 1S.SR CMPL return PURP come stay ACCM-2S.OP ‘I returned to come and stay with you.’

475) E Kivkiv meie-Ø e Pias guor nga ART.P Kivkiv ACCM-3S.OP ART.P Pias 3DL.SR PAST

va-turu-ngie mi bor. CAUS-lay.down-TR ART.C pig ‘Kivkive with Pias they(dual) made the pig to lay down.’

4.3.6 Malefactive Prepositional Phrase The malefactive prepositional phrase is headed by the preposition veie which is followed by

the object reference pronoun followed by an optional noun phrase.

Malefactive PP = veie-Object.Reference.Pronoun (NP)

476) A si kengeir veie-eu. 3S.SR CE upset MLFC-1S.OP ‘He unexpectedly upset at me.’

477) A nga aor putu veie-Ø e kinan. 3S.SR PAST mind heavy MLFC-3S.OP ART.P mother-3S.PS ‘He was heavy-minded at his mother.’

478) A nga petseir veie-gor e Nobet. 3S.SR PAST angry MLFC-1DL.EXC.OP ART.P Nobet ‘He got angry at me and Nobet.’

4.3.7 Benefactive Prepositional Phrase The benefactive preposition phrase is headed by the preposition nia which is followed by the

object reference pronoun suffix for beneficiary and an optional noun phrase.

Benefactive PP = nia-Object.Reference.Pronoun (NP)

479) O tutu nia-nga bu madar. 1S.SR cook PURP-2PL.OP ART.PL young.man ‘I am cooking for you(plural) young men.’

480) Gi te nga ko kien nge sor nia-gie. 3pl.SR CMPL PAST HAB go.up VCON carry PURP-3pl.OP ‘They used to go up (to the melon garden) and carried (melons) for them(to eat).’

4.3.8 Source Prepositional Phrase The source prepositional phrase is headed by ni followed either by a nominalized noun

without the article or by a locative noun phrase.

Source PP1 = ni Nominalized Noun

Source PP2 = ni ART.L Locative.Noun

481) kong ka ni va-va-to 1S.PN man SRCE RDP-RDP-live ‘my man, the source of rescue’

482) ken sar ra ni t-in-o 3S.NP ART.PL2 day SRCE NOM-live ‘his days of life (lit. his life time)’



483) mi ka kovu ni i Rabat ART.C man come.from SRCE ART.L Rabat ‘a man from Rabat (village)’

5. CLAUSE LEVEL SYNTAX

5.1 Word Order The unmarked word order in an intransitive clause is (S) V. The V is always realized by a

VP composed of:

subject.reference.marker (tense-aspect-mode markers) V (modifiers).

See section 4.2. S VP

484) E Timot a te beit. ART.P Timot 3S.SR CMPL arrive ‘Timothy has arrived.’

However, if the subject referent is clear from the context, then the VP can occur by itself.

VP

485) Gito nga ta beitsak. 3PC.SR PAST cry INTS ‘They cried very much.’

The normal or unmarked word order in a transitive clause in Mandara is SVO. The obligatory predicate (SR-V), is preceded by subject (S), and followed by object (O). These constituents form the basic nucleus of a transitive clause. Subject VP Object 486) E Timot a te kanda mi kout.

ART.P Timot 3S.SR CMPL kill ART mouse 'Timot killed a mouse.'

The subject can be demoted to the end of a verbal clause, in order to de-emphasize it. This less common grammatical pattern is indicated by intonational clues. The displaced subject always follows a pause and the pitch on the word preceding the pause drops only to a mid pitch, whereas clause finally, the intonational contour drops to a low pitch. Whether the noun phrase immediately following a verb is the subject or the object is determined by the transitivity of the main verb in the clause. If the verb is an intransitive verb, then the noun phrase immediately following the verb phrase is the subject. But if the verb is a transitive verb then the noun phrase which immediately follows is the object of the clause, and the clause final noun phrase is the displaced subject. VP S 487) A muang e Timot.

3S.SR sleep ART.P Timot ‘Timothy is sleeping.’ VP O S

488) A te ked-a mi kout e Timot. 3S.SR CMPL kill-TR ART mouse ART.P Timot ‘Timot killed a mouse.’

An expanded clause includes the optional constituents communicating time (which commonly precedes the SVO nucleus), or accompaniment, location, benefactive, manner, and instrument (which regularly follow the SVO nucleus).

Cl=[Time] + SVO + [Accompaniment] [Location] [Benefit] [Manner] [Instrument]



489) Si vovo e Tulok a vo tsang meie e Timot

LOC morning ART.P Tulok 3S.SR MORN work ACCM ART.P Timot si mi sikul . LOC ART.C school ‘In the morning, Tulok worked with Timot at school.’

The time constituent generally precedes the nucleus of a clause, but can be placed after the predicate in order to allow another constituent to be topicalized.o other constituent of the clause.

490) E Tseong a nga pan si vovo mokopkop.

ART.P Tseong 3S.SR PAST wake LOC morning dawn ‘Tseong woke at dawn.’

5.2 Grammatical relations Noun phrases realize both the subject and the object constituents of clauses. The grammatical

relations of these two arguments are determined by their position in relation to the verb in a clause. The subject either precedes the verbal predicate or else it follows the object NP (see Section 5.3). Since the subject NP can occur clause terminally, the noun phrase that immediately follows the predicate in a transitive clause is recognized as the object of the clause. S VP O 491) Mi kopuen a nga art-ie mi bor.

ART.C dog 3S.SR PAST bite-TR ART.C pig ‘The dog bit the pig.’

VP O S 492) A nga art-ie mi bor, mi kopuen.

3S.SR PAST bite-TR ART.C pig, ART.C dog ‘The dog bit the pig.’

The indirect object slot of a di-transitive clause is realized by a locative prepositional phrase which encodes the goal or the beneficiary of the action. VP INDIRECT OBJECT O (DIRECT OBJECT)

493) A nga ter-ie si eou ken ba sele kokouk. 3S.SR PAST feed-TR LOC 1S 3S.PN ART.few bush.knife all ‘He gave me all of his few(2-4) bush knifes.’

VP INDIRECT OBJECT

494) A te nga ra tus vasanga-n si eie 3S.SR CMPL PAST go point show-3S.OP LOC 3S

DIRECT OBJECT ken korot nia mutur.

3S.PN place PURP lay.down ‘She went and pointed and showed him his place to lay down.’

Sometimes, the referent of the direct object is already known and the actual object NP is ellipsed leaving only a VP and an indirect object in the surface structure of the clause. VP INDIRECT OBJECT

495) A kap nga penga-n si e Tsakie. 3S.SR NEG PAST tell-3S.OP LOC ART.P Tsakie ‘She did not tell Tsakie (what happened).’

The order of the direct and indirect object can be switched and still carry the same meaning.



VP DIRECT OBJECT INDIRECT OBJECT

496) A nga ter-ie ken ba sele kokouk si eou. 3S.SR PAST feed-TR 3S.PN ART.few bush.knife all LOC 1S ‘He gave all of his few(2-4) bush knifes to me.’

As stated in the discussion of temporal and locative prepositional phrases in section 4.3, temporal and locative constituents in the clause structure are encoded primarily by prepositional phrases, often bracketing the nuclear clausal structure. Temporal Locative

497) Si vovo o vo mon si kong vono. LOC morning 1S.SR MORN stay LOC 1S.PN house ‘Mornings I stay at home.’

The person and number of the subject is always indexed by the obligatory subject reference pronoun in the verb phrase. The person and number of the object are often indexed by an object reference pronoun in the verb phrase. Generally, if the object of a clause is known clearly by the context, then just an object pronoun is used to mark the object. Otherwise, a noun phrase that identifies the direct object follows the verb with the third person singular object pronoun.

Therefore in the following examples where the object is known in the context, only the object pronoun is used to identify the object.

498) E Mama a nga nasara-gie. ART.P mother 3S.SR PAST scold-3PL.OP ‘Mother scolded them.’

499) E Posai a nga bit-ie-guor. ART.P Posai 3S.SR PAST cheat-TR-3DL.OP ‘Posai cheated them(dual).’

In sentences where the objects need to be identified or emphasized, a noun phrase immediately follows the object pronoun.

500) E mama a nga nasara-gie bu tetsikevin. ART.P mother 3S.SR PAST scold-3PL.OP ART.PL young.girl ‘Mother scolded the young girls.’

501) E Posai a nga bit-ie-guor e Timot ma ART.P Posai 3S.SR PAST cheat-TR-3DL.OP ART.P Timot and e Lunga. ART.P Lunga ‘Posai cheated Timot and Lunga.’

5.3 Topic and Focus A clause constituent are topicalised by fronting it in its sentence. Generally the topicalised

constituent is uttered with an ascending pitch contour and followed by a pause.

502) E Pagin, eie mi banga ka. ART.P Pagin 3S ART good man ‘Pagin (topic), he is a good man.’

503) Mi ei nokot, bu pakapaka-n a leong. ART tree DEM.VIS ART.PL leaf-3S.PS 3S.SR big ‘That tree over there(topic), its leaves are big.’



The normal order for the above example would be as below:

504) Bu pakapaka-n mi ei nokot a leong. ART.PL leaf-3S.PS ART tree over.there 3S.SR big ‘The leaves of the tree over there are big.’

A constituent of a subordinate clause can be marked as a focus constituent by fronting it before the subordinate connecting particle. In the example below, the underlined phrases encoding focus are the temporal constituent and the subject of the subordinate clause, but they have been fronted before the subordinate clause connector va. VP CONNECTOR FOCUS:

LOCATION 505) O lalaron va mi belo ta ta i mua-n

1S.SR want SUB ART.C bell IRR cry ART.L front-3S.PS FOCUS: SUBJECT CONNECTOR mi matanias va ta van kien. ART.C sun SUB IRR climb go.up ‘I want the bell to cry before the sun ascends.’

In the example below, the underlined phrase is a fronted manner adverbial construction functioning as the focus of the sentence. 506) O te nga eng si e Joe ngan mi

kar 1S.SR CMPL PAST tell LOC ART.P Joe INST ART.C car va ta nemei. SUB IRR come ‘I told Joe to come with the car.’

5.4 Clause Types Defined by Predicate Type and Transitive Issues Clauses in Mandara language function as the bases in sentences. They can be sub-divided into

non-verbal and verbal clauses. A verb phrase functions as the predicate of a verbal clause. Verbal clauses can be sub-divided into active clauses and stative clauses. The predicates of non-verbal clauses are commonly noun phrases.

5.4.1 Non-Verbal Clauses A non-verbal clause is made up of two obligatory elements, subject and predicate.

Non-Verbal Clause = S + P

The subject is realised by a noun phrase. Usually a noun phrase (sometimes in a possessive construction) functions as the predicate. There is no copula in Mandara non-verbal clauses, nor does the predicate have a subject referent marker.

In the following equative clauses, the subjects are indicated by bold font, and the predicates are underlined.

507) E Lurang e natu-ung. ART.P Lurang ART.P off.spring-1S.PS ‘Lurang is my child.’

508) Eie mi va-va-vasengei. 3S ART.C RDP-RDP-show ‘He/She is a teacher.’



509) E Skoburur man beie bu Rumrum ma bu Kakang. ART.P Skoburur 3S.PI shark ART.PL Rumrum and ART.PL Kakang ‘Skoburur is the shark(totem) that bilongs to Rumrum clan and Kakang clan.’

510) Ine ken buk e Larvi. DEIC.PROX 3S.PN book ART.P Larvi ‘This is Larvi’s book.’

511) Eie e papa si eou. 3S ART.P father LOC 1S ‘He is my father (father of mine)’

512) E Ko ma e Kiem eguor ba baser palapala-n. ART.P Ko and ART.P Kiem 3DL ART.few ARR.people friend-3S.PS kelei. good ‘Ko and Kiem they two are good friends.’

513) Ian mi natunatu bor mi bor rong tsak. DEIC.DIST1 ART.C baby pig ART.C pig hear bad ‘That piglet is a disobedient pig.’

Negation in Non-Verbal Constructions

A negated non-verbal construction has the following structure: The negation morpheme ‘kap’ functions as a rhetorical predicate, does not occur with a subject referent and dominates the subordinate clause which encodes the semantic predicate. The complementizer ‘va’ initiates the subordinate clause.

Negated Non-Verbal Construction = S kap [va non-verbal P]SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

514) E Lunga kap va mi natu madar lili. ART.P Lunga NEG SUB ART.C off.spring young.man small ‘Lunga is not a little boy.’

5.4.2 Verbal Clause The verbal clause type covers both active and stative clauses. The only obligatory element of

a verbal clause is the predicate that is realised by a verb phrase.

Verbal Clause=(S) P (O) 515) A mereik.

3S.SR red ‘It is red.’ **Stative clause

516) A palu. 3S.SR plays ‘He/She plays.’ ** Active clause

5.4.2.1 Stative Clause The stative clause type includes descriptive and numerical clauses.

5.4.2.1.1 Descriptive Clause The descriptive clauses express the feeling, description, or the state of a situation. The verb

slot in the verb phrase is filled with a stative verb or a derived stative verb. The true adjectives discussed in Section 3.6.1 never fill the stative verb slot of the predicate.

517) Ine mi bor a lili. DEIC.PROX ART.C pig 3S.SR small ‘This pig is small.’



518) E Lenre a meneir. ART.P Lenre 3S.SR light.colored ‘Lenre is light colored(skin).’

519) E Lenre a nga matpomar. ART.P Lenre 3S.SR PAST tired ‘Lenre was tired.’

In Mandara impersonal environmental conditions like weather are expressed with this type of clause. The environmental factor can be overtly stated in the subject slot but is optional.

520) Mi bat a os. ART.C rain 3S.SR rain ‘It is raining.’

521) Mi inamon a rarap. ART.C village 3S.SR hot ‘The weather in the village is hot.’

A clause in which the main predicate is a verb with the stative derivational prefix ka- is another form of a stative clause.

522) Mi lavlav a te ka-deir. ART.C fabric 3S.SR CMPL PASS-tear ‘The fabric is torn.’

In the below example the wind has been demoted from the agent to an oblique position in order to make a passive construction.

523) Mi geleu a nga ka-pot si mi mour ngeisngeis. ART.C canoe 3S.SR PAST PASS-break LOC ART.C wind strong ‘The canoe was broken by the strong wind.’

Comparison Clause

In a comparison clause the comparison of the subject to another item or a person is expressed by inserting the modality morpheme ki in the verb phrase. The compared item or person is described in a phrase headed by the preposition si.

524) Mi singa a ki kelei si mi batapalai. ART.C Singer 3S.SR SUP good LOC ART.C Butterfly ‘The Singer(brand sewing machine) is better than the Butterfly (brand).’

525) E Lunga a ki tsak si e Lenre. ART.P Lunga 3S.SR SUP bad LOC ART.P Lenre ‘Lunga is worse than Lenre.’

A superlative comparison is expressed by the use of the intensifier beitsak after the verb,888888 88 which is then followed by a phrase headed by the preposition si.

526) E Lunga a leong beitsak si e gito ART.P Lunga 3S.SR big INTS LOC ART.P 3PC ‘Lunga is the tallest of them three.’

527) I Poponovam a lili beitsak si bu inamon kokouk ART.L Poponovam 3S.SR little INTS LOC ART.PL village together ‘Poponovam ( village) is the smallest village of all the villages.’

5.4.2.1.2 Numerical Clause Functioning as stative verbs a numeral can also fill the predicate slot of a stative clause along

with the obligatory subject reference pronoun and some of the optional pre-nuclear auxiliaries such as tense and aspect markers. The optional post-nuclear auxiliaries can also accompany a numeral.



528) Ken sar avreit e Lenre a te nepeririem. 3S.PN ART.PL year ART.P Lenre 3S.SR CMPL five ‘Lenre’s age became five.’

529) Si mi avreit 1997, ken sar avreit e Lenre LOC ART.C year 1997, 3S.PN ART.PL year ART.P Lenre 3S.SR

anga voveit. PAST four ‘In the year of 1997, Lenre’s age was four.’

530) Kong sar bor a ngas tour mo. 1S.PI ART.PL pig 3S.SR PERS three LIM ‘My pigs are only three.(I only have three pigs)’

5.4.2.2 Active Clause Active clauses in Mandara fall into three categories according to transitivity. They are

intransitive, transitive, and ditransitive clauses.

5.4.2.2.1 Intransitive Clause An intransitive clause is predicated by an intransitive verb. By definition, there is only one

core argument, the subject in an intransitive clause, and may only be referenced by a subject reference pronoun within the verb phrase.

531) O vo pan. 1S.SR MORN wake ‘I woke up in the morning.’

532) A vongon si mi raman. 3S.SR fishing LOC ART.C deep.water ‘He is fishing in the deep water.’

5.4.2.2.2 Transitive Clause In transitive clauses, the verbsl predicate is followed by an obligatory object pronoun. An

optional noun phrase may follow this verb + object pronoun construction.. If the information the noun phrase is communicating is already known at the discourse level, the referential object pronoun is sufficient to communicate the object. 533) A nga vorota-n ken bor.

3S.SR PAST find-3S.OP 3S.PN pig ‘He found his pig.’

534) A nga me vorota-iou. 3S.SR PAST come find-1S.OP ‘He came and found me.’

5.4.2.2.3 Ditransitive Clause Like the intransitive and transitive clauses, the ditransitive clause has an obligatory verb

phrase with a subject reference pronoun and in the transitive clause, an obligatory post-verbal clitic pronoun that references the direct object. Additionally ditransitive clauses have an obligatory indirect object, realised by a benefactive phrase with the preposition ‘si’ followed by either just an independent pronoun or a full noun phrase.

535) A nga vasanga-gie si eou bu natu-on. 3S.SR PAST feed-TR-3PL.OP LOC 1S ART.PL off.spring-3S.PS ‘He showed me his children(more than 4).’



536) A nga ter-ie-Ø si eou mi sele. 3S.SR PAST give-TR-3S.OP LOC 1S ART.C bush.knife ‘He gave me a bush knife.’

The basic order of the two object noun phrases that may occur in a ditransitive clause is the indirect object prepositional phrase immediately following the verb phrase and then the direct object noun phrase afterwards. When the speaker wishes to promote or topicalize the direct object, he or she reorders the noun phrases so the direct object noun phrase precedes the indirect object prepositional phrase, as in examples (537) and (538).

537) A nga vasanga-gie bu natu-on si eou. 3S.SR PAST feed.TR-3PL.OP ART.PL off.spring-3S.PS LOC 1S ‘He showed his children (more than 4) to me.’

538) A nga ter-ie-Ø mi sele si eou. 3S.SR PAST give-TR-3S.OP ART.C bush.knife LOC 1S ‘He/She gave a bush knife to me.’

5.4.2.3 Negation in Verbal Clauses Except in the case of imperative clauses, a verbal clause is negated by inserting the negation

marker kap as a pre-nuclear constituent of the verb phrase .

539) E Lunga a kap lalaro-n mi ie. ART.P Lunga 3S.SR NEG like-3S ART.C fish ‘Lunga doesn’t like fish’

540) A kap ngas nga ko per-ie ka kuir kevel. 3S.SR NEG PERS PAST HAB see-TR ART.NR skin foreign ‘He had never seen foreigners.’

6. SENTENCE TYPES BY MODAL FEATURES Sentences Mandara can be organised by modal categories, which reflect the intent of the

speaker. As clauses in the previous section describe the indicative sentences, this section presents the examples of imperative, hortatory, prohibitive, and interrogative sentences.

6.1.1 Imperative and Hortatory Sentences

6.1.1.1 Imperative Sentence An imperative sentence encodes a strong command. It is generally short, and the subject

reference pronoun in the verb phrase is dropped. Depending on the level of transitivity, a main verb may occur by itself or with a direct object and sometimes an indirect object of the verb. VERB DIRECT OBJECT 541) Poro mi sele!

take ART.C bush.knife ‘Take the bush knife.’

VERB-OP INDIRECT OBJECT DIRECT OBJECT. 542) Vasanga-n si eou mi kout!

show-3S.OP LOC 1S ART.C rat ‘Show me the rat!’

VERB 543) Bong!

silent ‘Be silent!’



6.1.1.2 Hortatory Sentence An exhortation or a mild command is given with more complete clause structure. The subject

reference pronoun and the irrealis marker precede the verb. This manner of speech communicates a gentler attitude of the speaker than the imperative sentence does.

544) E ta bong! 2S.SR IRR silent ‘You be silent!’

545) Nga ta ra tsatsang! 2PL.SR IRR go work ‘You guys go to work!’

More careful and polite advice is expressed by adding the modality word ve to the verb phrase. 546) E ta ve ra penga-n si-en!

2S.SR IRR POL go tell-3S LOC-3S ‘(You) go tell him/her!’

6.1.1.3 Prohibitive Sentence

The negation of an imperative sentence is done with the prohibitive verb kia inflected for the person of the commandee plus the verb sequencing particle nge in front of the main verb.

547) Kia-Ø nge vaparir! PROH-2S.PS VCON disturb ‘(You-singular) Don’t disturb!’

548) Kia-ngodo nge vaparir! PROH-2DL.PS VCON disturb ‘(You people) Don’t disturb!’

Another form of the negative imperative sentence is possible with the prohibitive verb kia inflected for third person singular which dominates either a noun phrase with a nominalised verb (ARTICLE + action verb root) or a regular imperative sentence subordinated by the complementizer va.

549) Kia-n mi bit! PROH-3S.PS ART.C lie ‘No lying!(Don’t lie!)’

550) Kia-n va e ta ar-tsak! PROH-3S.PS SUB 2S.SR IRR mind-bad ‘Don’t feel sad!’

551) Kia-n va nga ta vangenge gie! PROH-3S.SR SUB 2PL.SR IRR prevent 3PL.OP ‘(You – plural) Do not prevent them.’

6.1.2 Interrogative Sentences There are three types of interrogative sentences in Mandara: the polar questions which

anticipate an answer of “yes” or “no”, those which expect reconfirmation of the fact, and those which expect some content information in response.

6.1.2.1 Polar questions Questions which expect an answer of “yes” or “no” often differ from statements only in the

associated intonational contour. The intonational contour is rising, and the clause ends at a fairly high pitch.



552) E Lunga a mon si mi vono? (raised pitch) ART.P Lunga 3S.SR stay LOC ART.C house ‘Is Lunga home?’

553) Ma ka da a mon si evoi? 2S.PI ART.NR water(bottle) 3S.SR stay LOC 2S ‘Do you have any (bottles of) water that are yours?’

6.1.2.2 Rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions are asked with the question word vasa ‘how about that’ preceding a polar question. There is always a distinctive pause after the word vasa.

554) Vasa, a kon kelei ? HOW1, 3S.SR taste good ? ‘How about that, tastes good (doesn’t it)?

Rhetorical questions often end with the question tag word gerek to receive confirmation.

555) Vasa, kong v-in-akokoit a duis , gerek? HOW1, 1S.PN NOM-talk 3S.SR straight , QTAG ‘How’s that, my words are right, aren’t they?’

6.1.2.3 Content-information questions There are question-words used in content questions which are asked in order to obtain

information. These words substitute (are pro-forms) for other words in declarative clauses: ese ‘who’ and misa ‘what’ for nouns and pronouns; misana ‘which’ for adjectives; sisa or venenges ‘when’ for temporal expressions; ivie together with en meaning ‘where’ for location; a discontinuous phrase, vasa together with ven meaning ‘how’ for manner, and surie misa ‘following what’ is used for reasons. Generally, the question words occur initially in a clause.

6.1.2.3.1 Ese ‘who’ questions

The interrogative-indefinite pronoun ese is used to inquire about the identity of a person in focus or to elicit the name of a person. It substitutes for an independent pronoun or a personal noun phrase. The word order of ese questions is not particularly different from statements, with the exception of possessive structures.

556) Ese ine mi ka? WHO DEIC.PROX ART.C man ‘Who is this man?’

557) Ese mi asa-n? WHO ART.C name-3S.PS ‘What is his/her name?’

558) Ese a vovovo? WHO 3S.SR fuss ‘Who is fussing?’

559) Egie ese? 3pl WHO ‘Who are they?’

560) Si ese ken kopuen ine? LOC WHO 3S.PN dog DEIC.PROX ‘Whose dog is this?’



6.1.2.3.2 misa ‘what’ questions

The interrogative-indefinite pronoun misa is used to elicit more details concerning the object of a clause.

561) Misa e lalaro-n? WHAT 2S.SR like-3S ‘What does he/she want?’

562) Misa a nga kuin ngan? WHAT 3S.SR PAST shoot INST ‘What did he/she shoot with?’

563) Misa a petseir surie ? WHAT 3S.SR upset REAS ‘What is he/she upset about?’

6.1.2.3.3 misana ‘which’ question

The interrogative indefinite pro-word misana functions as a modifier for the head noun in a noun phrase.

564) Misana ie a ko tseptseprio-no? WHICH fish 3S.SR HAB defeat-2S.OP ‘Which fish (always) defeats you?

565) Misana kepineits e te tsana si kong bor? WHICH thing 2S.SR CMPL do LOC 3S.PN pig ‘Which thing did you do to my pig?’(What have you done to my pig?)

6.1.2.3.4 sisa or venenges ‘when’ question

The interrogative-indefinite pro-words sisa and venenges are used interchangeably for inquiring about time information.

566) Sisa nga te beit? WHEN 3PL.SR CMPL arrive ‘When did you(plural) arrive?’

567) Venenges giet ta ba tsuk? WHEN 1PL.INC.SR IRR ASSU embark ‘When will we embark?’

The specific day or time of day can be asked with the misana question word in a temporal phrase.

568) Si misana ra e te nga beit? LOC WHICH day 2S.SR CMPL PAST arrive ‘Which day did you arrive?’

569) Si misana kepkepde ra mi sikul a ko vakak? LOC WHICH piece day ART.C school 3sr.SR HAB start ‘What time (of the day) does the school start?’

6.1.2.3.5 ivie - en ‘where’ question

The interrogative-indefinite pro-word ivie is used to elicit locational information. It is used at the beginning of a clause which is often tagged by en ‘Specific Location’ at the end of the clause. This clause type is used to get more specific information about a location.

570) Ivie a mon en? WHERE 3S.SR stay SPEC-LOC ‘Where is he at?’ or ‘Where does he live?’



571) Ivie ngodo ta ra? WHERE 2DL.SR IRR go ‘ Where are you (dual) going?’

572) Ivie e ta ra kot en? WHERE 2S.SR IRR go NEAR SPEC-LOC ‘Where are you going to?’

6.1.2.3.6 vasa - ven ‘how’ question

The interrogative-indefinite pro-words vasa and ven encoding manner are used together in a clause to inquire about the manner in which something is done, but their position in a clause is not together: vasa is in the clause initial position while ven is post-verbal. Generally, the intonational contour rises at the end of clauses of this kind.

573) Vasa a to ven? HOW1 3g.SR live how.2 ‘How does it grow?’

574) Vasa nga ko pal beie ven i rou? HOW1 3PL.SR HAB tie shark HOW2 ART.L sea ‘How do you (plural) catch shark in the sea?

7. COMPLEX SENTENCES2 In Mandara, the relative clauses and the nominal clauses do not take any clause connecting

particles while other subordinate clauses require sentence level connectors.

Table 7.1 Sentence Level Connectors

Clause Connectors

Types of sentence the connector is used for.

Marked with ta, the irrealis marker?

General Position in relation to the main

va Complement, Purpose, Reason

yes after

si/sien/ tuiroit Temporal yes before

sen va Conditional yes before

si mi vunan Reason no after

misasin Adversative yes before or after

nia Complement, Purpose no after

ma/a/io Coordinated no after

eiekesen Contrastive no after

o Alternation yes after

terengen va Purpose yes before or after

2 This section has been superceded by a paper Holly Hong is currently writing: ‘Connectors in Mandara’. Although this

grammar essentials was written in 199? and approved as fulfilling the grammar essentials, the editing process is just being completed now.



7.1 Subordinate Clauses In all non-future event describing subordinate clauses, if the subordinate clause is marked by

the irrealis marker ta and the subject of the subordinate clause is the third person singular then the subject reference pronoun is omitted.

7.1.1 Relative Clause A subordinate clause may modify a noun head in a noun phrase. It is postposed to the noun

head without any subordinate conjunction and is marked by the irrealis marker ta. In below examples, the head noun phrase is bolded and the relative clause is underlined.

575) Ine mi geleu e Lekion ta nga tara a kap nga mat kelei. DEIC.PROX ART.C canoe ART.P Lekion IRR PAST cut 3S.SR NEG PAST look good ‘This canoe (that) Lekion cut didn’t look nice.’

576) Gi nga per-ie ine mi ka ta nga veis beit. 3PL.SR PAST see-TR DEIC.PROX ART.C man IRR PAST walk arrive ‘They saw this man (who) walked and arrived.’

577) A nga visi dedeng si mi berber ian ta 3S.SR PAST READY RDP-see LOC ART.C light DEIC.DIST1 IRR

nga rar rovtsor ka si mi vindua. PAST illuminate exit by.way.of LOC ART.C window ‘He was about to see intendly at that light (that) was illuminating and was coming out through the window.’

578) A si nga per-ie mi morumorua-n mi vevin ta nga 3S.SR CE PASR see-TR ART.C image-3PS ART.C female IRR PAST

mogos die i rom. sit DEIC.dist2 ART.L inside ‘He unexpectedly saw an image of a woman (who) was sitting there inside.’

The content-information question words can be described by a subordinate clause.

579) Gi nga rakot ivie ta nga mon en. 3PL.SR PAST go.to WHERE IRR PAST stay SPEC-LOC ‘They went to where (he) was staying.’

580) A nga ra pengan si-en misana ta te nga tsana si 3S.SR PAST go tell LOC-3S.PS which IRR CMPL PAST make LOC

e Us. ART.P Us ‘She went and told him what she had done to Us.’

581) A nga vasangan si egie vasa gi ta palu ven ngan mi bal. 3S.SR PAST illustrate LOC 3PL HOW1 3PL.SR IRR play HOW2 INST ART.C ball ‘He/she illustrated to them how they would play with a ball.’

7.1.2 Nominalized Clauses A subordinate clause may fill the subject or the object slot of a clause. It is also marked with

the irrealis marker ta.

In the example below the subordinate clause is occupying the subject slot



582) Mi uriet ta nga mogos a nga mat ART.C octopus IRR PAST sit 3S.SR PAST look

malan mi madar ta nga kok like ART.C young.man IRR PAST piggy.back.ride i vunaturu-on e Lenre. ART.L back-3S.PS ART.P Lenre ‘That the octopus was sitting it looked like a child was piggy-back-riding on the back of Lenre.’

583) O si vo pere mi ro-rou ta nga vous ngan mi kulou... 1S.SR CE MORN see ART.C GEN-sea IRR PAST fill INST ART.C men… ‘In the morning I unexpectedly saw that the ocean was filled with men...(fishing in their canoes’

7.1.3 Complement Clauses There are two types of complement clauses in Mandara. The first type is headed by the

subordinating conjunction va; the second type is headed by the purpose preposition nia. The complement clause always follows the main clause.

7.1.3.1 Complement Clauses with the complementiser va

The subordinate clause headed by va complements encodes many different notions. It realises icognitive predicates,. indirect quotations, complements of desiderative predicates, complements of modal verbs, predicates commmunicating fear and feeling, purpose constructions, and temporal constructions. The verb phrase in the va clause is marked with the irrealis marker ta and is fully inflected with its own subject reference pronoun, tense, aspect, and modality markers.

Complementing Cognitive Predicates

The cognitive verbs such as vodon ‘think’, telekiran ‘know’, and deng kilala ‘recognize’ take the complementation clauses led by va as their objects.

584) Guor te nga vodon va guor ta nga ra rakpe ine 3PL.SR CMPL PAST think SUB 3DL.SR IRR PAST go catch DEIC.PROX

mi bebe. ART.C butterfly ‘They(two) thought that they go to catch this butterfly.’

585) A kap nga telekiran va o te nga vor de-deng menentan. 3S.SR NEG PAST know SUB 1S.SR CMPL PAST PROG RDP-see secretly ‘He did not know that I was secretly watching him.’

586) A nangaba nga deng kilala va mi berber a nga 3S.SR RELF PAST see mark SUB ART.C light 3S.SR PAST

rovtsor si mi vono. exit LOC ART.C house ‘He finally recognized that a light was coming out of a house.’

Although infrequent, the particle nia is also used as a complementiser with the cognitive verb vodon ‘think’. See Section 6.1.3.2 for the description of the subordinate clause headed by the particle nia.

587) A te nga vodon nia ra keken. 3S.SR CMPL PAST think PURP go gather.firewood ‘He though to go and gather (some) firewood.’

Indirect quotation

An indirect quotation is declared by the verbs eng ‘say’, pengan ‘say-INST’, and verie ‘ask’. The goal of the talk immediately follows the verb, and the direct object is realised by a



subordinate clause, optionally headed by one of the complementizers va and nia, or one of the content-information question words.

588) E Tseong a nga eng si e Gom va guor ART.P Tseong 3S.SR PAST say LOC ART.P Gom SUB 3DL.SR

ta nga ser beit si man votovoto mi siner. IRR PAST run arrive LOC 3S.PI RDP-finish ART.C NOM-run ‘Tseong told Gom that they run a race of arriving on the finishing line.’

589) E kina-guor a te nga pengan si eguor ART.P mother-3DL.PS 3S.SR CMPL PAST say LOC 3DL

va mi bor leong a nga karar-ie gie. SUB ART.C pig big 3S.SR PAST chase-TR 3PL.OP ‘Their(dual) mother told them(dual) that a big pig chased them(plural).’

590) A nga oeng si bu madar tovtov nia tabare gie 3S.SR PAST say LOC ART.PL young.man RDP-practice PURP feed 3PL.OP ‘He told the students to feed them.’

591) A nga oeng si egie misa ta nga pere 3S.SR PAST say LOC 3S.OP what IRR PAST see ‘He told them what he saw.’

Complements of Desiderative Predicates 592) E lalaron va gi ta me kada-no?

2S.SR want SUB 3PL.SR IRR COME hit-2S.OP ‘Do you want them to come and kill(hit) you?’

593) O lalaron va o ta te vor-ie nokot mi bor. 1S.SR want SUB 1S.SR IRR CMPL buy-TR DEM.VIS ART.C pig ‘I want to buy the pig over there.’

Complements of Modal Verbs 594) A kap nga oit va gato te nga tir

3S.SR NEG PAST able SUB 1PC.EXC.SR CMPL PAST stand i popo-n ka vuna vout.

ART.L top-3S.PS ART.NR root stone ‘It was not possible for us to stand on top of any rock.’

595) A oit va e ta kul-ie iou. 3S.SR able SUB 2S.SR IRR help-TR 1S.OP ‘Is it possible for you to help me?’

Predicates of Fearing & Feeling 596) Gor nga motou va mi uriet ta masi rak-rak

1DL.EXC.SR PAST afraid SUB ART.C octopus IRR CEP RDP-clasp ngan gor.

INST 1DL.EXC.OP ‘We were afraid that the octopus might clasp unto us(dual).’



597) E kina-n a te nga motou va e tama-n ART.P mother-3S.PS 3S.SR CMPL PAST afraid SUB ART.P father-3S.PS

ta te nga so patser-ie bu natu madar. IRR CMPL PAST IMM angry-TR ART.PL off.spring young.man

‘His mother was afraid that his father might have gotten mad at the boys.’

598) A te nga rongmititsien va man menrouk 3S.SR CMPL PAST feel SUB 3S.PI sickness

a te nga voto. 3S.SR CMPL PAST finish ‘He felt that his sicknedd was finished.’

Complements with other predicates 599) A te nga ko mon malan va eie mi sinartsak.

3S.SR CMPL PASR HAB stay alike SUB 3S ART.C poor ‘He used to stay like a poor man.’

600) A kelei be mo va e ta ter-ie 3S.SR good INT LIM SUB 2S.SR IRR give-TR mong vinatorois. 1S.PI NOM-punish ‘It is alright only that you give me the punishment of mine.’

601) Guor te nga pere va ian mi korot 3DL.SR CMPL PAST see SUB DEIC.dist1 ART.C place

a vous ngan bu gam. 3S.SR full INST ART.PL shell.fish ‘They(dual) saw that that place was full of shell fish.’

602) Guor te nga pere va a te nga meit kelei te. 3DL.SR CMPL PAST see SUB 3S.SR CMPL PAST low.tide good Emph ‘They(dual) saw that it(water) was really well low tide.(?English)’

603) Guor nga rev va guor ta nga ra vongon. 3DL.SR PAST promise SUB 3DL.SR IRR PAST go fishing ‘They(dual) promised that they(dual) would go fishing.’

604) A nga konon va ta nga veis nia ra pere... 3S.SR PAST try SUB IRR PAST walk PURP go see ‘He tried to walk in order to go see…’

7.1.3.2 Complement Clause headed by nia

The complement clause headed by the purpose preposition nia can complement modal verbs. The description of a subordinate clause led by nia is described in Section 6.1.3.2.

605) Mi kina bor a kap nga oit nia veis kelei te buer. ART.C mother pig 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP walk good Emph also ‘The female pig was not able to walk well again.’

606) Gor kap oit nia vodonpunan ine mi kepineits. 1DL.EXC.SR NEG able PURP forget DEIC.PROX ART.C thing ‘We (dual) cannot forget this event’



7.1.4 Temporal Clause The temporal subordinate clause is led by a locative preposition ‘si’, ‘sien’ ‘when’ or by the

connector tuiroit ‘stand-able (until)’ . It is marked with the irrealis marker ta. It generally occurs initially in a complex sentence.

607) Si mi poko keipkeipde ra ta nga mono ser, LOC ART.C ARR.measureable fragment day IRR PAST CONT run,

a nga mono er muer... 3S.SR PAST MONO observe return.... ‘At the time (he) was running, he kept looking back...’

608) Si-en ta nga visi rov, mi rakaraka ei LOC-3S.PS IRR PAST READY swing, ART.C branch tree

a te nga ka-rot. 3S.SR CMPL PAST PASS-break ‘When (he) was ready to swing, the tree branch got broken.’

609) Tuiroit guor ta nga beit i marar, until 3DL.SR IRR PAST arrive ART.L outside,

bu patsa-guor gi kap nga ra muang. ART.PL relative-3DL.PS 3PL.SR NEG PAST go sleep ‘Until they (two) returned to the living-area, their relatives did not go to sleep.’

7.1.5 Conditional Structures The protasis clause is headed by sien ‘when’ followed by the subordinated va. It is marked by

the irrealis marker ta. The protasis generally precedes the main clause (apodosis), but it can also follow the main clause (apodosis).

610) Si-en va e ta mogos i popo-n, mi tsuru ta korot LOC-3S.PS SUB 2S.SR IRR sit ART.L top-3S, ART.C bench IRR break ‘If you sit on it, the bench will break.’

611) Si-en va ta te vaton mi pul, e ta te outie LOC-3S.PS SUB IRR CMPL finish ART.C, 2S.SR IRR CMPL wrap ‘If done with milking with coconut, then (you) wrap it.’

612) Si-en va ese si eguor va ta nga LOC-3S.PS SUB WHO LOC 3DL SUB IRR PASTfind-

vorota-n ka puk sa, ta ngas nga 3S.OPART.NR ART.NR ARR.MASS thing, IRR PERS PAST

vododo-m-ie e palapala-n ka eie think.about-TR ART.P friend-3S.PS by.way.of 3S ‘If one of them(dual) found some portion of something, then he had to think about the other (person).’

7.1.6 Result-Reason Construction The most common way to express a reason in a clause is to incorporate the locative

prepositional phrase si mi vuna-n ‘LOC ART.C root-3S.PS (because)’. The reason clause always come after the main clause which contains the event which is the result of the event of the reason clause.



613) E Momoi a kap nga maet si mi vuna-n ART.P Momoi 3S.SR NEG PAST die LOC ART.C root-3S.PS

e kina-n a te nga suru-v-ie nge da. ART.P mother-3S.PS 3S.SR CMPL PAST wash-CINS-TR VCON water ‘Momoi did not die. Because his mother washed him with water.’

614) O kap oit nia sor-k-ie no te, 1S.SR NEG able PURP carry-CINS-TR 2S.OP Emph,

si-mi vunan o te ngou ti beitsak. LOC-ART.C root-3S.PS 1S.SR CMPL eat full INTS1 ‘I cannot carry you because I ate and got full too much.’

To some predicates like petseir ‘to get angry’ and nasara ‘to scold’, the subordinate clause led by va is used to explain the reason for the action in the main clause.

615) Guor te nga petseir, 3DL.SR CMPL PAST angry

va guor ta ngas keda ian mi bor. SUB 3DL.SR IRR PERS hit(kill) DEIC.dist1 ART.C pig ‘They(dual) were angry because they(dual) had to kill that pig.’

616) Guor te nga nasara gor e Bungtabu, 3DL.SR CMPL PAST scold 1DL.EXC.OP ART.P Bungtabu

va gor kap nga mono kul-ie guor. SUB 1DL.EXC.SR PAST CONT help-TR 3DL.OP ‘They(dual) scold me and Bungtabu, because we continuously did not help them(dual)’

7.1.7 Concessive Sentence The subordinate clause encoding a concession is headed by the particle misa-si-en ‘although

(lit. what-LOC-3S.PN ()’. It generally follows the main clause, but can be made the sentential topic by fronting it as in example (618). The clause is marked by ta the irrealis marker.

617) A ngas nga tuir ngeisngeis misasien ta te nga komois te. 3S.SR PERS PAST stand strong regardless IRR CMPL PAST old Emph ‘He still stood strong (in his good work) even though (he) was old.’

618) Misasien mi bat ta uos, ine mi labateven ta ngas ve vekesie mi leke... regardless ART.C rain IRR rain.down, DEIC.PROX ART.C old.woman IRR PERS POL hang.on.head ART.C basket.type... ‘Even though it would rain, this old woman must hang her basket on her head...’(to go to sell her food)’

7.1.8 Purpose Clause

7.1.8.1 Purpose Subordinate Particle nia

The subordinate clause headed by nia is composed of a verb phrase without the subject reference pronoun and the tense, aspect, modality markers in the pre-nuclear auxiliary slots. The scope of the tense, aspect, modality, and the negation of the main clause dominates the event in the nia clause.



619) Mi kina bor a kap nga oit nia veis kelei te buer. ART.C mother pig 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP walk good Emph also ‘The female pig was not able to walk well again.’

The nia subordinate clause construction focuses on the projected event itself rather than the agent of the event.Therefore reference of the subject in the nia clause can be ambiguous, left for the listener to figure out from the sentential context. However, there are some general rules that apply. When the main clause is intransitive, the nia subordinate clause usually has the same subject as that of the main clause. The subject of the subordinate nia clause for a transitive or a di-transitive main clause can be any of the three arguments of the main clause. One commonly used device is that the noun phrase immediately preceding the nia clause is its subject. Most of the time, contextual clues are sufficient to establish reference.

In the example below, the main clause and the nia subordinate clause have the same subject.

620) A te nga vakak nia ser. 3S.SR CMPL PAST begin PURP run ‘He begain to run.’

The subject of the nia clause in example (622) is Ador, the direct object of the main clause.

621) E Kopuen a te tura-n mo e Ador ART.P Kopuen 3S.SR CMPL send-3S.OP LIM ART.P Ador

nia kien i ot. PURP go.up ART.L bush ‘Kopuen sent Ador only to go up to the bush.’

The subjects of the nia clauses in the examples below are the same as that of the main clause.’ 622) Gi te nga poro kegi sar matou

3PL.SR CMPL PAST take 3S.PN ART.PL axe

nia me keda mi kulou si mi enamon PURP come kill ART.C people LOC ART.C village ‘They took their several axes to come and kill the people in the village.’

623) E Pus a te nga so ser i muo te

ART.P Pus 3S.SR CMPL PAST IMM run ART.L front Emph

nia ra per-ie mi leke nout. PURP go see-TR ART.C basket fruit.type ‘Pus quickly ran in the front to go see the basket with nout fruits.’

The subjects of the nia clause in the examples below are the indirect object of the main clause. 624) Ine mi vevin a te nga ra tus

vasanga-n DEIC.PROX ART.C woman 3S.SR CMPL PAST go point show-3S.OP

si-eie ken korot nia mutur. LOC-3S 3S.PN place PURP lay.down ‘This woman pointed and showed him his place to lay down.’



625) O ta ter-ie si-evoi bu ngeisngeis 1S.SR IRR give-TR LOC-2S ART.PL strength

nia tsitsing-ie bu mata-vono. PURP open-TR ART.PL eye-house ‘I will give you the power to open the doors to houses.’

In example (626), Tames is asking his brother to make a noose to snare the female pig. Because this is a command Tames is giving to his brother, the default subject of the nia clause is encoded by the second person, singular subject reference marker in the verb phrase i the main clause. 626) E ta tsana ka pal

2S.SR IRR make ART.NR noose nia pala die mi kina bor

PURP tie DEIC.dist1 ART.C mother pig ‘You make a noose to tie that female pig.’

In the example below, the subject of the nia clause is unclear. Is it the subject of the main clause who will get rid of his bad skin or someone else? 627x661) A te nga nes-ie ka rosar

3S.SR CMPL PAST search-TR ART.NR way

nia tsang rivie ine mi pirpir tsak. PURP work discard DEIC.PROX ART.C skin bad ‘He searched for a way to get rid of this bad skin.’

Although the scope of the tense in the main clause is applied to the nia subordinate clause, some speakers choose to mention the tense marker nga ‘PAST’ again.

628) Mi ra a te nga vatavatat ART.C day 3S.SR CMPL PAST near

nia nga keda ian mi natu madar. PURP PAST kill DEIC.DIST1 ART.C off.spring young.man ‘The day was near to kill this boy.’

7.1.8.2 Purpose Clause with va

The clause headed by the subordinating particle va can also fill the effect slot in a complex sentence of which the main clause is functioning as the cause for the event. It often includes the desired result modality marker mang or the politeness marker ve to communicate the desired result of the event in the cause clause which is the main clause. 629) A te nga ko tsanga-tsanga

3S.SR CMPL PAST HAB RDP-do

va ta mang ve por lekep palan. SUB IRR RES POL get money many ‘She did it repeatedly, so that she could get much money.’

630) Gi te nga tara man kaka kuar ian 3PL.SR CMPL PAST cut 3S.PI bamboo.ladder long DEIC.DIST1

mi madar va ta nga vaen surie. ART.C young.man SUB IRR PAST climb RSON ‘They cut a long bamboo ladder for that boy so that he would climb along it.’



631) A nga tura-n e Lukeip 3S.SR PAST send-3S.PS ART.P Lukeip

va ta nga ra tara ka etou. SUB IRR PAST go cut ART.NR tree.type ‘He sent Lukeip to go cut an etou tree.’

Often the va clause which sometimes encodes purpose is preceded by the connector terengen.

632) O ta soburo mi kunkun kokouk terengen va ma minorouk ta 1S.SR IRR touch ART.C worm all so.that SUB 2S.PI sickness IRR mang voto. RES finish ‘I will touch all the worms so that your illness might end.’

633) O te ver-kuil ngan nge lekep, 1S.SR CMPL RCPR-help INST VCON money

terengen va ian mi lekep ta mang oit so.that SUB DEIC.DIST1 ART.C money IRR RES able

nia vor-ie kovo puk nginonginou kelei. PURP buy-TR ART.NR.PL ARR.MASS food good ‘I exchange it with money so that that money might able to buy some good food.’

7.1.9 Quotations

7.1.9.1 Indirect Quotation For descriptions on the indirect quotaion refer to Section 7.1.3.1.

7.1.9.2 Direct Quotation

A direct quotation is usually followed by a verb phrase with the action verb peven ‘say-how’, oeng ‘say’, virei ‘ask’, vosorie ‘ask’, koup ‘shout’, and kuil nama ‘help word (reply)’. Some people like to add the phrase ven ne ‘like this’ or ne ‘this’ after the verb and before the direct quotation.

634) Ian mi nutu naor a te nga pe-ven ne DEIC.DIST1 ART.C off.spring single 3S.SR CMPL PAST say-HOW2 DEIC.PROX

eou te. 1S EMPH ‘That fatherless child spoke this way, “I (will).

635) A te nga oeng si-en, e ta be ra tara kovo ei 3S.SR CMPL PAST say LOC-3S.PS, 2S.SR IRR INT go cut ART.NR.PL tree ‘He said to him, “You go and cut some trees.”’

636) A nga koup, bu madar, mi ador ne 3S.SR PAST shout, “ART.PL young.man, ART.C opossum DEIC.PROX ‘He shouted, “Guys, here is an opossum.”’

637) A nga vosor-ie, vasa e veis ven ? 3S.SR PAST ask-TR, HOW1 2S.SR walk HOW2 ? ‘She asked, “How are you walking?(What is the purpose of your trip)’



638) Mi ka vour a nga kuil-nama, o visi namei mo si e Tsakie ART.C man new 3S.SR PAST reply, 1S.SR READY come LIM LOC ART.P Tsakie ‘The young man replied, “I just came to (see) Tsakie.”’

639) A nga virei, avoves bu tsoik nga suvuon ? 3S.SR PAST ask, how.many ART.PL bread 3PL.SR possess ‘He asked, “How many pieces of bread do you(plural) have?’

640) Gi nga pe-ven ne, te tomeka-n ine 3PL.SR PAST say-HOW2 DEIC.PROX, pull throw-3S.OP DEIC.PROX

i keim. ART.L ground ‘They said this, “Pull and throw it here on the ground.”’

7.1.10 Complex Subordinate Clause It is not uncommon to find complex sentences in which a subordinate clause is subordinated

to another subordinate clause in Mandara. In such embedded subordinate constructions, if a nia heads the subordinate clause which is subordinated to another clause, then the scope of negation, tense, aspect, and the modality of the dominant subordinating clause is applied to the nia clause.

641) A te nga vodon va be nga so por minaes nge so 3S.SR CMPL PAST think SUB INT PAST IMM get rest VCON IMM

muang lili en oit va ta nga ra sar va ta sleep small SPEC.LOC able SUB IRR PAST go track SUB IRR

nga vo muerngei peuk te buer si ken enamon. PAST MORN return go.down Emph also LOC 3S.PN village ‘He thought that he would quickly get some rest and sleep a little bit there until he goes and tracks (down the road) in order that he (could) return and go down to his village again in the morning.’

642) A te nga lalaro-n va ta nga keveir nia karar-ie 3S.SR CMPL PAST want-3S.OP SUB IRR PAST sing PURP chase-TR

mi m-in-atou ma va ta nga kono-n nia karar-ie ART.C NOM-afraid and SUB IRR PAST try-3S.OP PURP chase-TR

bu tadaor. ART.PL local.spirit

‘He wanted to sing (lit. that he sang) to chase away the fear, and to try (lit. that he tried) to chase away the local spiritual beings.is.’

643) Ine mi m-in-arouk a ngeisngeis, ma a nga tsana DEIC.PROX ART.C NOM-sick 3S.SR strong and 3S.SR PAST make

e Tsakie va ta kap ba nga oit nia veis. ART.P Tsakie SUB IRR NEG ASSU PAST able PURP walk ‘This sickness was strong, and it made Tsakie so that he surely was not able to walk.’



7.2 Coordination 7.2.1 Coordinate Sentence

Two or more clauses or sentences may be coordinated by the particle ma ‘and’, io ‘then’, or a ‘and then’. The particle io which is mainly used as an interjector in a narrative text is often used to coordinate clause. The particle samo ‘suddenly’ is also used in a clause or a sentence which describes the series of action.

644) E Revrou a kap nga pengan si-en, ma ART.P Revrou 3S.SR NEG PAST tell LOC-3S.PS and

a kap nga votong-ie ian mi asa-n mi ie. 3S.SR NEG PAST mention-TR DEIC.DIST1 ART.C name-3S.PS ART.C fish ‘Revrou did not tell him, and he did not mention the name of the fish.’

645) E Valut a nga rongometsik-ie-n mi v-in-avsor leong, ART.P Valut 3S.SR PAST fell-TR-3S.OP ART.C NOM-painful big

ma a nga ta koup-koup. and 3S.SR PAST cry RDP-shout ‘Valut felt a great pain and he cried and repeatly shouted.’

646) Gi nga me beit si ken puk enamon e Tsakie, 3S.SR PAST come arrive LOC 3S.PN small village ART.P Tsakie

io, e Lutor a nga songora-gie. and.then ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST feed-3PL.OP ‘They arrived at Tsakie’s small hamlet, then Lutor fed them.’

647) Ian mi madar a te nga mon meie DEIC.dist1 ART.C young.man 3S.SR CMPL PAST stay ACCM

bu natu-natu geis i marar. ART.PL RDP-off.spring monster ART.L living.area.

A samo a te nga ver-ie gie THEN suddenly 3S.SR CMPL PAST ask-TR 3PL.OP

ngan bu rakaraka mea... INST ART.PL branch tree.type ‘This young man stayed with the young monsters. Then suddenly, he asked with the branch of mea tree…’

7.2.2 Sentences Encoding Contrast When two independent clauses are coordinated to express contrast, they are linked by the

contrast coordinating particle eiekesen ‘3S-oneself-3S.PS (but)’. the contrast sentence always follows the other. 648) E Lutor a nga konon nia nane vakal-ie ken komois

ART.C Lutor 3S.SR PAST try PURP care well-TR 3S.PN old.man

va man m-in-arouk ta nga voto, eiekesen SUB 3S.PN NOM-sick IRR PAST finish, but

mi m-in-arouk a kap nga voto mo. ART.C NOM-sick 3S.SR NEG PAST finish LIM ‘Lutor tried to take a good care of her husband so that his illness would end but the illness did not end.’.



649) Ine ba venvendon guor nga veve-ken si kong

DEIC.PROX ART.few thought 3DL.SR PAST RCPR-hit LOC 1S.PN

venvendon nia tuir birit-ie iou thought PURP stand block-TR 1S.OP

va o ta kap nga peuk. eiekesen SUB 1S.SR IRR NEG PAST go.down but

kong venvendon a ngas nga ngeisngeis va o ta peuk. 1S.PN thought 3S.SR PERS PAST strong SUB 1S.SR IRR go.down ‘These two thoughts struggled with each other in my thoughts to stand and block me that I would not go down but my thought was still strong that I should go down.’

7.2.3 Sentences Encoding Alternatives The arternation particle o is used to coordinate alternation clauses. There is a brief pause after

this o ‘or’.

650) O ta peuk, o, o ta mon? 1S.SR IRR travel.down OR 1S.SR IRR stay ‘Should I go or should I stay.’

651) E lalaro mon i marar o e lalaro ra muang 2S.SR want play ART.L outside OR 2S.SR want go sleep

die i roum? DEIC.DIST2 ART.L inside ‘Do you want to stay outside or do you want to go and sleep inside?’

8. RESIDUAL ISSUES

8.1 Verb ra ‘go’ & me ‘come’ The literal meaning of the morpheme ra as a verb is ‘to go’. But it does a lot more than

simply meaning going. In fact, it appears to add some modality to the event when it appears in the serial verb construction. In some clauses, it quite clearly is used to indicate the direction from the speaker’s point of view. But at this point, further research needs to be done before determining if it has a modal role.

652) E ta ra ut! 2S.SR IRR go fetch.water ‘Go to fetch water!’

653) O lalaro ra nemei si evoi si reivreiv. 1S.SR want go come LOC 2S LOC afternoon ‘I want to come to you in the afternoon.’

654) A kalei, e te ra nemei. 3S.SR good, 2S.SR CMPL go come ‘It’s good, you came./ Thanks for coming.’



Like in the case of the verb ra, me adds some mobility to the event and sometimes implies the direction toward the speaker. This also needs more research to determine if it has a modal functions. 655) O ta me vakokoit.*****

1g.SR IRR come talk ‘I will talk (right now).’

656) E ta ba me vorota-eu si reivreiv. 2S.SR IRR ASSU come find-1S.OP LOC afternoon ‘Come to see me in the afternoon.’

657) O ta me ra ut 1S.SR IRR come go fetch.water ‘I will go to fetch water(right now).’

658) A me tere si-eou mong sar tapiok. 3S.SR come give LOC-1S.OP 1S.PI ART.PL tapiok ‘She(he) gave me some tapiok tubers.’

659) Io, si kiti tie gi te nga me muang. then LOC night EMPH 3PL.SR CMPL PAST come sleep ‘Then, at night they went to sleep.’

660) Ian mi madar a te nga me vi si kiti nge soer. DEIC.DIST1 ART.C boy 3S.SR CMPL PAST come flee LOC night VCON run ‘That boy fled at night and ran.’

8.2 Irrealis Marker ta Although the irrealis marker ta appears to mark the majority of the subordinate clauses there

are some subordinate clauses that are not marked by ta. Since all the future events in main clauses are marked by ta, this causes us to suspect that ta is marking background information in a discourse. This area needs further research.

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY Elson, Benjamin and Velma Pickett. 1983. Beginning Morphology and Syntax. Mexico:

Summer Institute of Linguistics Halliday, M.A.K. 1985. An introduction to functional grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

Ross, Malcolm D. 1988 Proto-Oceanic and the Autstronesian Languagaes of Western Melanesia. Pacific Linguistics C-98. Canberra: Autralian National University



10. APPENDIX Interlinearized Native Mandara Texts.

10.1 E Us mi banga bor ‘Us, a good pig’ by Joseph Tulok \ref 001 \t Muomuo, muomuo te sibu ra simi Tubugiet, \m muomuo muomuo te si - bu ra si - mi tubu -giet \g before before Emph LOC - ART.PL day LOC - ART.C grandparent -1PL.inc.PS \p ADV ADV ADV PREP - ART N PREP - ART N -PRON \t mi komois a nga mon simi nuos i Metiom. \m mi komois a nga mon si - mi nuos i Metiom \g ART.C old.man 3S.SR PAST stay LOC - ART.C island ART.L Metiom \p ART N PRON TAM Vi PREP - ART N ART PROP \ft Long time ago, in the time of our ancestors, an old man lived on Metiom island. \ref 002 \t Mi asan ine mi komois e Tsakie. \m mi asa -n ine mi komois e Tsakie \g ART.C name -3S.PS DEIC.prox ART.C old.man ART.P Tsakie \p ART N -PRON DEIC ART N ART PROP \ft This old man's name is Tsakie. \t eie a nga ko mon meie ken labatevin, \m eie a nga ko mon meie ken labatevin \g 3S 3S.SR PAST HAB stay ACCM 3S.PN old.woman \p PRON PRON TAM TAM Vi PREP PRON N \t mi asan e Lutor. \m mi asa -n e Lutor \g ART.C name -3S.PS ART.P Lutor \p ART N -PRON ART PROP \ft He used to live with his old woman(wife), her name is Lutor. \ref 003 \t Ine mi komois ma ken labatevin, guor kap nga suvu nout \m ine mi komois ma ken labatevin guor kap nga suvu nout \g DEIC.prox ART.C old.man and 3S.PN old.woman 3DL.SR NEG PAST possess off.spring \p DEIC ART N CONJ PRON N PRON TAM TAM V N \t ma guor nga mon sinartsak. \m ma guor nga mon sinartsak \g and 3DL.SR PAST stay poor \p CONJ PRON TAM Vi V \ft This old man and his wife, they(dl) did not have any children and they(dl) remained poor. \ref 004 \t Eiekesen si keguor tino, eguor babeser tamat rei kuilkuil, \m eiekesen si keguor tino eguor ba - beser tamat rei kuilkuil \g but LOC 3DL.PN life 3DL ART.DL - people male marriage help \p CONJ PREPPPRON N PRON ART - ARR N N N



\t ma keguor menagos a nga kelei rovoriu. \m ma keguor menagos a nga kelei rovoriu \g and 3DL.PN relationship 3S.SR PAST good INTS \p CONJ PPRON N PRON TAM V ADV \ft But in their(dl) lives, they(dl) were a married couple (who loves to) help and their(dl) relationship was very good. \ref 005 \t E Tsakie eie mi komois tebe-tebeir. \m e Tsakie eie mi komois dupCV- tebeir \g ART.P Tsakie 3S ART.C old.man love.to.do- feed \p ART PROP PRON ART N V- V \ft Tsakie is an old man of giving. (who loves to give) \t Misasin va ka nutu madar, ka ka leong \m misasin va ka nutu madar ka ka leong \g regardless that NR.S child young.man NR.S man big \p CONJ SUB ART N N ART N V \t o, ese mene mo va ta nga pinat \m o ese mene mo va ta nga pinat \g OR who another only that IRR PAST lack \p CONJ IPRON ADV ADV SUB TAM TAM V \t o, a kap nga pinat va ta nga beit sien, \m o a kap nga pinat va ta nga beit si -en \g OR 3S.SR NEG PAST lack that IRR PAST arrive LOC -3S.PS \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM V SUB TAM TAM Vi PREP -PRON \t e Tsakie ta nga tsanga vaote va ta nga tabare \m e Tsakie ta nga tsanga vaote va ta nga tabare \g ART.P Tsakie IRR PAST make make.possible that IRR PAST feed \p ART PROP TAM TAM Vt Vt SUB TAM TAM Vt \t misasin eie mi sinartsak. \m misasin eie mi sinartsak \g regardless 3S ART.C poor \p CONJ PRON ART V \ft Even though he was a poor man, he would feed anybody whoever comes to him regardless (of the fact) that he was a little child, a big man, one who is in need, or one who is not in need. \ref 006 \t E Lutor ken labatevin, eie buer mi labatevin sou-sou-soung. \m e Lutor ken labatevin eie buer mi labatevin dupCV- dupCV- soung \g ART.P Lutor 3S.PN old.woman 3S again ART.C old.woman love.to.do- love.to.do- feed.people \p ART PROPPRPRON N PRON ADV ART N V- V- V \t Ese mene va ta nga beit si keguor vono, \m ese mene va ta nga beit si keguor vono \g who another that IRR PAST arrive LOC 3DL.PN house \p IPRON ADV SUB TAM TAM Vi PREP PPRON N \t e Lutor ta nga tabare nge nane \m e Lutor ta nga tabare nge nane



\g ART.P Lutor IRR PAST feed and care.for \p ART PROP TAM TAM Vt VConj Vt \t ma ken komois buer a nga ko nane vakalie. \m ma ken komois buer a nga ko nane vakalie \g and 3S.PN old.man again 3S.SR PAST HAB care.for make.good \p CONJ PRON N ADV PRON TAM TAM Vt Vt \ft Lutor, his wife, she too is a generous old woman. Whoever came to their house, Lutor would feed them and look after them and she also looked after her old man(husband) well. \ref 007 \t Keguor menagos kokouk me bu mei ka eie \m keguor menagos kokouk me bu mei ka eie \g 3DL.PN relationship together ACCM ART.PL person along.side 3S \p PPRON N ADV PREP ART N PREP PRON \t simi nuos i Metiom a nga kelei rovoriu. \m si - mi nuos i Metiom a nga kelei rovoriu \g LOC - ART.C island ART.L Metiom 3S.SR PAST good very \p PREP - ART N ART PROPPRON TAM V ADV \ft Their relationship with all the people on Metiom island was very good. \ref 008 \t Ine ba beser tamat rei, guor nga nane keguor nutu bor kes mo. \m ine ba beser tamat rei guor nga nane keguor nutu bor kes mo \g DEIC.prox ART.dl people male marriage 3DL.SR PAST care.for 3DL.PN child pig one only \p DEIC ART ARR N N PRON TAM Vt PPRON N N V ADV \ft This married couple was looking after their only one piglet. \ref 009 \t E Tsakie a nga votongie ngan e Us. \m e Tsakie a nga votongie ngan e us \g ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST to.name INST ART.P Us \p ART PROP PRON TAM Vt PREP ART PROP \ft Tsakie called it Us. \ref 010 \t Ine mi nutu bor a nga mon me guor vakak ta nga lili \m ine mi nutu bor a nga mon me guor vakak ta nga lili \g DEIC.prox ART.C child pig 3S.SR PASTstayACCM 3DL.OP begin IRR PAST small \p DEIC ART N N PRON TAM Vi PREP PRON V TAM TAM ADJ \t oit ta te nga leong. \m oit ta te nga leong \g until IRR CMPL PAST large \p PREP TAM TAM TAM V \ft This piglet stayed with them ever since it was little untill it got big. \ref 011 \t Eie mi aten tuktuk e Tsakie.



\m eie mi at -en tuktuk e Tsakie \g 3S ART.C liver -3S.PS true ART.P Tsakie \p PRON ART N -PRON V ART PROP \ft It is Tsakie's true liver. (Tsakie really loved it.) \ref 012 \t Vakak ta nga lili, bu keipkeipde ra kokouk ta nga ngou, \m vakak ta nga lili bu keipkeipde ra kokouk ta nga ngou \g begin IRR PAST small ART.PL fragment day all IRR PAST eat \p V TAM TAM V ART ARR N ADV TAM TAM Vt \t senva guor ta nga visi kien i ot o, veririu, \m senva guor ta nga visi kien i ot o veririu \g if 3DL.SR IRR PAST about.to go.up ART.L bush OR wander \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM TAM V ART N CONJ V \t ine mi natu bor ta nga vemuir \m ine mi natu bor ta nga ve - muir \g DEIC.prox ART.C off.spring pig IRR PAST Rcpr - rear \p DEIC ART N N TAM TAM AFF - N \t simi vunan a nga rats kelei te. \m si - mi vuna -n a nga rats kelei te \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS 3S.SR PAST tame good Emph \p PREP - ART N -PRON PRON TAM V V ADV \ft Ever since it was little, all the time it was eating, if they(dl) went up to the bush, or walk about, this piglet would follow (them) because it was tamed well truly. \ref 013 \t Sien ta te nga leong, ne mi bor a nga bungebungeng \m si -en ta te nga leong ne mi bor a nga bungebungeng \g LOC -3S.PS IRR CMPLPAST large DEIC.prox ART.C pig 3S.SR PAST fat \p PREP -PRON TAM TAM TAM V DEIC ART N PRON TAM V \t nge tebeir surie bu karton kokouk ma a kap ba nga ko veis. \m nge tebeir surie bu karto -n kokouk ma a kap ba nga ko veis \g and give RSON ART.PL body -3S.PS all and 3S.SR NEG ASSU PAST HAB walk \p VConj V PREP ART N -PRON ADV CONJ PRON TAM TAM TAM TAM Vi \ft When it became big, this pig was fat and fed for all parts of his body and it habitually didn't walk. \t A te nga ko mon mo i marar. \m a te nga ko mon mo i marar \g 3S.SR CMPL PAST HAB stay only ART.L residential.area \p PRON TAM TAM TAM Vi ADV ART N \ft It used to stay only in the residentail area. \ref 014 \t E Tsakie si ken tino kokouk, ine mi bor \m e Tsakie si ken tino kokouk ine mi bor \g ART.P Tsakie LOC 3S.PN life together DEIC.prox ART.C pig \p ART PROP PREP PPRON N ADV C ART N \t a nga malan te va e natuen. \m a nga malan te va e natu -en



\g 3S.SR PAST alike CMPL that ART.P off.spring -3S.PS \p PRON TAM V TAM SUB ART N -PRON \ft In all of Tsakie's life, this pig was just like his child. \ref 015 \t Io, ken menagos e Tsakie ma e Lutor meie keguor bor \m io ken menagos e Tsakie ma e Lutor meie keguor bor \g so 3S.PN relationship ART.P Tsakie and ART.P Lutor ACCM 3DL.PN pig \p CONJ PPRON N ART PROPCONJ ART PROP PREP PPRON N \t e Us a nga kelei mo i aro-n bu avreit palan, \m e us a nga kelei mo i aro -n bu avreit palan \g ART.P Us 3S.SR PAST good only ART.L inside -3S.PS ART.PL year plenty \p ART PROPPRON TAM V ADV ART N -PRON ART N V \t kap ka kepineits a nga tsola kegituo minon. \m kap ka kepineits a nga tsola kegituo minon \g NEG NR.S thing 3S.SR PAST disturb 3PC.PN stay \p TAM ART N PRON TAM V PPRON N \ft So, his relationship with Lutor with their(dl) pig Us was just good during many years, nothing disturbed their(pc) stay. \ref 016 \t E Tsakie a ngas nga tuir ngiesngeis simi tsana \m e Tsakie a ngas nga tuir ngiesngeis si - mi tsana \g ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PERS PAST stand strong LOC - ART.C make \p ART PROPPRON TAM TAM Vi V PREP - ART Vt \t mi banga sinavei, misasin ta te nga komois te. \m mi banga sinavei misasin ta te nga komois te \g ART.C good behavior regardless IRR CMPL PAST old.man Emph \p ART ADJ N CONJ TAM TAM TAM N ADV \ft Tsakie still kept strong in doing good deeds even though he was (really) old. \ref 017 \t Simi ra mene te, mi menrouk leong a nga poro e Tsakie. \m si - mi ra mene te mi menrouk leong a nga poro e Tsakie \g LOC - ART.C day another Emph ART.C illness large 3S.SR PAST get ART.P Tsakie \p PREP - ART N ADV ADV ART N V PRON TAM Vt ART PROP \ft One day, a serious illness got Tsakie. \ref 018 \t Ine mi menrouk a nga ngeisngeis \m ine mi menrouk a nga sngeis \g DEIC.prox ART.C illness 3S.SR PAST ng \p DEIC ART N PRON TAM \t ma a nga tsana e Tsakie va ta kap ba nga oit na veis. \m ma a nga tsana e Tsakie va ta kap ba nga oit na veis \g and 3S.SR PAST make ART.P Tsakie that IRR NEG ASSU PAST able PURP walk \p CONJ PRON TAM Vt ART PROP SUB TAM TAM TAM TAM V PREP Vi \ft This sickness was very strong (bad) and it caused Tsakie



not be able to walk. \ref 019 \t Sibu vura palan, e Tsakie a nga mon mo i ruom. \m si - bu vura palan e Tsakie a nga mon mo i ruom \g LOC - ART.PL month plenty ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST stay only ART.L indoor \p PREP - ART N V ART PROPPRON TAM Vi ADV ART N \ft For many monthes, Tsakie just stayed inside (the house). \ref 020 \t E Lutor a nga konon na nane vakalie ken komois \m e Lutor a nga konon na nane vakalie ken komois \g ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST try PURP care.for make.good 3S.PN old.man \p ART PROP PRON TAM V PREP Vt Vt PPRON N \t va man menrouk ta nga voto, \m va man menrouk ta nga voto \g that 3S.PI illness IRR PAST finish \p SUB PRON N TAM TAM Vi \t eiekesen mi menrouk a kap nga voto mo. \m eiekesen mi menrouk a kap nga voto mo \g but ART.C illness 3S.SR NEG PAST finish only \p CONJ ART N PRON TAM TAM Vi ADV \ft Lutor tried to take a good care of her husband (so) that his sickness would end, but the sickness just did not end. \ref 021 \t Surie ta nga ko mon mo nge nane e Tsakie ma e Us, \m surie ta nga ko mon mo nge nane e Tsakie ma e Us \g RSON IRR PAST HAB stay only and care.for ART.P Tsakie and ART.P Us \p PREP TAM TAM TAM Vi ADV VConj Vt ART PROPCONJ ART PROP \t gituo te nga mon sinartsak rovoriu. \m gituo te nga mon sinartsak rovoriu \g 3PC.SR CMPL PAST stay poor very \p PRON TAM TAM Vi V ADV \ft Because she was only caring for Tsakie and Us, they(pc) remained very poor. \ref 022 \t Simi vunan e Lutor a kap ba nga oit na veis \m si - mi vuna -n e Lutor a kap ba nga oit na veis \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS ART.P Lutor 3S.SR NEG ASSU PAST able PURP walk \p PREP - ART N -PRON ART PROPPRON TAM TAM TAM V PREP Vi \t nge ra neis nginonginou o, tsatsang na gituo, bu puk \m nge ra neis nginonginou o tsatsang na gituo bu puk \g and go search food OR work PURP 3PC.OP ART.PL small \p VConj Vi V N CONJ Vi PREP PRON ART ADJ \t tenebeir bu mei gi ta nga ko me tere are e Lutor \m tenebeir bu mei gi ta nga ko me tere are e Lutor \g gift ART.PL person 3PL.SR IRR PAST HAB come give DEIC.exact ART.P Lutor \p N ART N PRON TAM TAM TAM V Vt DEIC ART PROP



\t a te nga ko tunie na vararapa e Tsakie. \m a te nga ko tunie na va - rarap - a e Tsakie \g 3S.SR CMPL PAST HAB burn PURP CAUS - hot - TR ART.P Tsakie \p PRON TAM TAM TAM Vt PREP AFF - V - AFF ART PROP \ft Because Lutor was not able to go and find food, or work for them(their benefit), a small amount of gifts(food) that some people used to come and give were what Lutor used to cook to warm(nurse) Tsakie. \ref 023 \t Palan bu ra e Tsakie a nga oeng si ken labatevin \m palan bu ra e Tsakie a nga oeng si ken labatevin \g plenty ART.PL day ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST talk to LOC 3S.PN old.woman \p V ART N ART PROPPRON TAM Vi PREPPRON N \t va ta ngas nga nane vakalie buer e Us. \m va ta ngas nga nane vakalie buer e Us \g that IRR PERS PAST care.for make.good again ART.P Us \p SUB TAM TAM TAM Vt Vt ADV ART PN \ft Many times Tsakie told his wife that she should also take a good care of Us. \t A kap nga lalaron e Us va ta vitor nge lois. \m a kap nga lalaron e Us va ta vitor nge lois \g 3S.SR NEG PAST like ART.P Us that IRR hungry and skinny \p PRON TAM TAM Vi ART PROPCR TAM V VConj V \ft He did not like Us to be hungry and skinny. \ref 024 \t Sibu vura palan kegituo tino a nga mon malan mo ne. \m si - bu vura palan kegituo tino a nga mon malan mo ne \g LOC - ART.PL month plenty 3PC.PN life 3S.SR PAST stay alike only DEM.prox \p PREP - ART N V PPRON N PRON TAM Vi V ADV DEM \ft For many months their(pc) lives remained just like this. \ref 025 \t I pek lili, ine simi nuos i Metiom, \m i pek lili ine si - mi nuos i Metiom \g ART.L down.below small DEIC.prox LOC - ART.C island ART.L Metiom \p ART N ADJ DEIC PREP - ART N ART PROP \t mi nuos mene a nga mon mi asan i Narlik. \m mi nuos mene a nga mon mi asa -n i Narlik \g ART.C island another 3S.SR PAST stay ART.C name -3S.PS ART.L Narlik \p ART N ADV PRON TAM Vi ART N -PRON ART PROP \ft A little bit far away from this Metiom island, there was another island named Narlik. \ref 026 \t Mi sinavei simi tubugie \m mi sinavei si - mi tubu - gie \g ART.C behavior LOC - ART.C grandparent - 3PL.OP \p ART N PREP - ART N - PRON \t a nga kekineits sorvekenagie simi nuos i Metiom.



\m a nga kekineits sorvekena - gie si - mi nuos i Metiom \g 3S.SR PAST different leave - 3PL.OP LOC - ART.C island ART.L Metiom \p PRON TAM V Vi - PRON PREP - ART N ART PROP \ft Their tradition was different from (the traditions of ) of Metiom island. \ref 027 \t Ine simi nuos egie mi kulou put-put nginou \m ine si - mi nuos egie mi kulou put - put nginou \g DEIC.prox LOC - ART.C island 3P ART.C men organize - organize feast \p DEIC PREP - ART N PRON ART N V - V N \t ma egie mi kulou voir-voir bor. \m ma egie mi kulou dupCV- voir bor \g and 3P ART.C men love.to.do- buy pig \p CONJ PRON ART N V- V N \ft The people on this island are the people who loves to organize feasts and the people (who) like to buy pigs. \ref 028 \t Eiekesen mi sinavei ta nga kekineits beitsak, \m eiekesen mi sinavei ta nga kekineits beitsak \g but ART.C behavior IRR PAST different INTNS \p CONJ ART N TAM TAM V ADV \t eie kegi sinavei na rangare mi tadaor mi asan e Dula. \m eie kegi sinavei na rangare mi tadaor mi asa -n e Dula \g 3S 3PL.PN behavior PURP worship ART.C local.spirit ART.C name -3S.PS ART.P Dula \p PRON PPRON N PREP V ART N ART N -PRON ART PROP \ft But the tradition which was totally different was their tradition to worship the local spirit named Dula. \ref 029 \t Ine mi tadaor, gi nga vodon tuktuk va eie a nga vuorte \m ine mi tadaor gi nga vodon tuktuk va eie a nga vuorte \g DEIC.prox ART.C local.spirit 3PL.SR PAST think true that 3S 3S.SR PASTrule \p DEIC ART N PRON TAM Vi V SUB PRON PRON TAM V \t mi parpar, mi bat, mi mour ma a nga nane \m mi parpar mi bat mi mour ma a nga nane \g ART.C sunny.weather ART.C rain ART.C wind and 3S.SR PAST care.for \p ART N ART N ART N CONJ PRON TAM Vt \t bu nginonginou nge vunan bu banga kepineits kokouk. \m bu nginonginou nge vuna -n bu banga kepineits kokouk \g ART.PL food and originate -3S.OP ART.PL good thing all \p ART N VConj V -PRON ART ADJ N ADV \ft They believed that this local spirit governed the sunny weather, the rain, and the wind and that he took care of food(garden) and originate all the good things. \ref 030 \t Ine mi tadaor a nga ko mon i aro-n \m ine mi tadaor a nga ko mon i aro -n \g DEIC.prox ART.C local.spirit 3S.SR PAST HAB stay ART.L inside -3S.PS



\p DEIC ART N PRON TAM TAM Vi ART N -PRON \t mi rie leong. \m mi rie leong \g ART.C cave large \p ART N V \ft This local spirit used to stay inside of a big cave. \ref 031 \t Sibu kepineits kokouk malan ka vineis o, mi niv o, \m si - bu kepineits kokouk malan ka vineis o mi niv o \g LOC - ART.PL thing all alike NR.S journey or ART.C hunting OR \p PREP - ART N ADV V ART N CONJ ART N CONJ \t mi venongon, gi ta nga ra rangare ine mi tadaor. \m mi venongon gi ta nga ra rangare ine mi tadaor \g ART.C fishing 3PL.SR IRR PAST go worship DEIC.prox ART.C local.spirit \p ART N PRON TAM TAM Vi Vt DEIC ART N \ft For all things like journey, hunting, or fishing, they would go and worship this local spirit. \ref 032 \t Eiekesen sibu nginou, eie mi keipkeipde ra kes mo \m eiekesen si - bu nginou eie mi keipkeipde ra kes mo \g but LOC - ART.PL food 3S ART.C fragment day one only \p CONJ PREP - ART N PRON ART ARR N V ADV \t va gi ta ngas nga vile ka bor mat kelei na kada \m va gi ta ngas nga vile ka bor mat kelei na kada \g that 3PL.SR IRR PERS PAST choose NR.S pig look good PURP hit to kill \p SUB PRON TAM TAM TAM V ART N Vi V PREP Vi \t nge tunie rakot ine simi tadaor. \m nge tunie rakot ine si - mi tadaor \g and burn go.to DEIC.prox LOC - ART.C local.spirit \p VConj Vi Vi DEIC PREP - ART N \ft But among several feasts, there is only one time that they had to choose a good looking pig to kill and burn(offer) to this local spirit. \ref 033 \t Palan bu banga kepineits va ta nga betingie gie malan bu \m palan bu banga kepineits va ta nga betingie gie malan bu \g plenty ART.PL good thing that IRR PAST bring.forth 3PL.OP alike ART.PL \p V ART ADJ N SUB TAM TAM Vt PRON V ART \t banga ra parpar, mi bat ma bu minous kovuni i rou ma i ot, \m banga ra parpar mi bat ma bu minous kovuni i rou ma i ot \g good day sun.ray ART.C rain and ART.PL blessing come.from ART.L sea and ART.L bush \p ADJ N N ART N CONJ ART N Vi ART N CONJ ART N \t gi nga vodon tuktuk va e Dula a nga teir vunie nge gie. \m gi nga vodon tuktuk va e Dula a nga teir vunie nge gie \g 3PL.SR PAST think true that ART.P Dula 3S.SR PAST give direct.to and 3PL.OP \p PRON TAM Vi V SUB ART PROP PRON TAM Vt Vt VConj PRON \ft Lots of good things that he(the local spirit) brought forth



(to the people), things like good sunny days, rain, and blessings from the sea and from the bush, they believed that Dula (the local spirit) gave and directed to them. \ref 034 \t Io, simi ra mene te, mi kulou ine simi nuos \m io si - mi ra mene te mi kulou ine si - mi nuos \g then LOC - ART.C day another Emph ART.C men DEIC.prox LOC - ART.C island \p CONJ PREP - ART N ADV ADV ART N DEIC PREP - ART N \t i Narlik gi te nga tebikie mi nginou leong. \m i Narlik gi te nga tebikie mi nginou leong \g ART.L Narlik 3PL.SR Emph PAST break ART.C feast large \p ART PROP PRON ADV TAM Vi ART N V \ft Then one day, the people on this Narlik (island), they began a big feast. \ref 035 \t Vourvour, gi nga tsana bu nabar tu leong \m vourvour, gi nga tsana bu nabar tu leong \g first 3PL.SR PAST make ART.PL large.in.area garden large \p N PRON TAM Vt ART ADJ N V \t ma sen ine bu tu gi tate nga komois, \m ma sen ine bu tu gi ta - te nga komois \g and 3S.OBJ DEIC.prox ART.PL garden 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST old.man \p CONJ PRON DEIC ART N PRON TAM - TAM TAM N \t bu nguts, i murien gi tate nga ra rangare e Dula, \m bu nguts i muri -en gi ta - te nga ra rangare e Dula \g ART.PL orator ART.L rear -3S.3PL.SR - CMPLPASTgo worship ART.PDula \p ART N ART N -PROPRON TAM - TAM TAM Vi Vt ART PROP \t gi te nga turan mi kulou rakot sibu enamon \m gi te nga turan mi kulou rakot si - bu enamon \g 3PL.SR CMPL PAST send ART.C men go.to LOC - ART.PL place \p PRON TAM TAM Vi ART N Vi PREP - ART N \t ma nuos ka eie na ra voir bor nge visie gie. \m ma nuos ka eie na ra voir bor nge visie gie \g and island along.side 3S PURP go buy pig and tie.up 3PL.OP \p CONJ N PREP PRON PREP Vi Vt N VConj Vt PRON \ft Firstly, they made some large big gardens and when these gardens were ready (for harvest), the orators, after they had gone to pray to Dula, they sent the people in other villages and islands to go and buy pigs and tie them up. \ref 036 \t I murien kegi minuer ine mi kulou vis bor, \m i murien kegi -in- muer ine mi kulou vis bor \g ART.L after 3PL.PN -NOM- return DEIC.prox ART.C men tie.up pig \p ART ADV PPRON -NOM- Vi DEIC ART N V N \t mi nginou ta ba nga kor. \m mi nginou ta ba nga kor \g ART.C food IRR ASSU PAST fall



\p ART N TAM TAM TAM V \ft Upon the return of these men who went to tie up pigs, the feast would commence. \ref 037 \t Si kegi vineis ine mi kulou vis bor, \m si kegi -in- veis ine mi kulou vis bor \g LOC 3PL.PN -NOM- walk DEIC.prox ART.C men tie pig \p PREP PPRON -NOM- Vi DEIC ART N V N \t bu mei mene gi nga rakot sibu enamon \m bu mei mene gi nga rakot si - bu enamon \g ART.PL person another 3PL.SR PAST go.to LOC - ART.PL place \p ART N ADV PRON TAM Vi PREP - ART N \t ma nuos ka eie. \m ma nuos ka eie \g and island along.side 3S \p CONJ N PREP PRON \ft In their travel of these people who were getting pigs, some people went to the other villages and islands. \ref 038 \t Ma mi gargar mene si egie gi nga kesie megi tseim leong \m ma mi gargar mene si egie gi nga kesie megi tseim leong \g and ART.C group another LOC 3P 3PL.SR PAST board 3PL.PN canoe large \p CONJ ART QUAN ADV PREPPRON PRON TAM Vt PPRON N V \t ma gi nga tsuk rakot simi nuos i Metiom. \m ma gi nga tsuk rakot si - mi nuos i Metiom \g and 3PL.SR PAST sail.out go.to LOC - ART.C island ART.L Metiom \p CONJ PRON TAM Vi Vi PREP - ART N ART PROP \ft And one group of them got on their big canoe and sailed out to the Metiom island. \ref 039 \t Sen gi tate nga so tsaer i Metiom, gi nga veis veriris \m sen gi ta - te nga so tsaer i Metiom gi nga veis veriris \g when 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST IMM land ART.L Metiom 3PL.SR PAST walk around \p ADV PRON TAM - TAM TAM TAM Vi ART PROPPRON TAM Vi ADV \t simi nuos ma i muir gi nga me beit si ken puk \m si - mi nuos ma i muir gi nga me beit si ken puk \g LOC - ART.C island and ART.L rear 3PL.SR PAST come arrive LOC 3S.PN small \p PREP - ART N CONJ ART N PRON TAM V Vi PREPPRON ADJ \t enamon e Tsakie ma ken labatevin. \m enamon e Tsakie ma ken labatevin \g place ART.P Tsakie and 3S.PN old.woman \p N ART PROPCONJ PRON N \ft When they landed at Metiom, they walked around the island and later they arrived at the hamlet that belongs to Tsakie and his wife. \ref 040



\t Io, e Lutor a nga songora gie nge marangata gie. \m io e Lutor a nga songora gie nge marangata gie \g so ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST feed.people 3PL.OP and welcome 3PL.OP \p Interj ART PROP PRON TAM Vt PRON VConj Vt ON \ft Then, Lutor fed them and welcomed them. \ref 041 \t E Tsakie a kap nga oit na mon megie \m e Tsakie a kap nga oit na mon me - gie \g ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP stay ACCM - 3PL.OP \p ART PROPPRON TAM TAM V PREP Vi PREP - PRON \t simi vunan ian ta nga morouk. \m si - mi vuna -n ian ta nga morouk \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS DEIC.dist1 IRR PAST sick \p PREP - ART N -PRON DEIC TAM TAM Vi \ft Tsakie could not be with them because he was sick. \ref 042 \t Samo mi ka ian ta nga muomuo ngan mi kulou vis bor, \m samo mi ka ian ta nga muomuo ngan mi kulou vis bor \g then ART.C man DEIC.dist1 IRR PAST before INST ART.C men tie pig \p CONJ ART N DEIC TAM TAM ADV PREP ART N V N \t a singa pere e Us ta nga mutu-mutur ma a nga \m a si - nga pere e Us ta nga mutu- mutur ma a nga \g 3S.SR CE - PAST look ART.P Us IRR PAST repeat- lay.down and 3S.SR PAST \p PRON TAM - TAM Vt ART PROPTAM TAM RDUP- Vi CONJ PRON TAM \t vosore e Lutor, "Labatevin, o lalaron va o tate vore nokot mi bor." \m vosore e Lutor labatevin o lalaro -n va o ta - te vore nokot mi bor \g ask ART.P Lutor old.woman 1S.SR want -3S.OP that 1S.SR IRR - CMPL buy DEM.vis ART.C pig \p Vt ART PROP N PRON V -PRON SUB PRON TAM - TAM Vt DEM ART N \ft Then the man who was leading the people whose duty was to get pig, he unexpectedly saw Us laying down and he asked Lutor, "Old woman, I want to buy the pig over there." \ref 043 \t E Lutor a kap nga kuil nama lalapus, simi vunan \m e Lutor a kap nga kuil nama lalapus si - mi vuna -n \g ART.P Lutor 3S.SR NEG PAST reciprocate talk hurry LOC - ART.C root -3S.PS \p ART PROP PRON TAM TAM Vi V ADV PREP - ART N -PRON \t ken venvendon a nga vodonomie mi pinat ta nga mon nge gituo \m ken venvendon a - nga vodonomie mi pinat ta nga mon nge gituo \g 3S.PN thought 3S.SR - PAST think ART.C needs IRR PAST stay and 3PC.OP \p PRON N PRON - TAM Vt ART N TAM TAM Vi VConj PRON \t ma buer surie ian mi bor eie mi aten e Tsakie. \m ma buer surie ian mi bor eie mi at -en e Tsakie \g and again RSON DEIC.dist1 ART.C pig 3S ART.C liver -3S.PS Tsakie \p CONJ ADV PREP DEIC ART N PRON ART N -PRON PROP



\ft Lutor did not answer quickly, because her mind was thinking about the need that was with them(pc), and also about this pig which is Tsakie's liver (which Tsakie loved very much). \ref 044 \t I muir ba te e Lutor a nga kuil nama, \m i muir ba te e Lutor a nga kuil nama \g ART.L rear ASSU Emph ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST reciprocate talk \p ART N TAM ADV ART PROP PRON TAM Vi V \t "A kelei mo, e ta visie e Us." \m a kelei mo e ta visie e Us \g 3S.SR good only 2S.SR IRR tie.up ART.P Us \p PRON V ADV PRON TAM Vt ART PROP \ft (Sometime) later, Lutor answered, "OK, you tie up Us." \ref 045 \t Eiekesen e Lutor a kap nga ra pengan se Tsakie. \m eiekesen e Lutor a kap nga ra pengan se Tsakie \g but ART.P Lutor 3S.SR NEG PAST go talk LOC.P Tsakie \p CONJ ART PROP PRON TAM TAM Vi Vi PREP PROP \ft But Lutor did not tell Tsakie. \ref 046 \t I murien te gi tate nga vore mi bor \m i muri -en te gi ta - te nga vore mi bor \g ART.L rear -3S.PS Emph 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST buy ART.C pig \p ART N -PRON ADV PRON TAM - TAM TAM Vt ART N \t nge tsuk muerngei rakot i Narlik, \m nge tsuk muerngei rakot i Narlik \g and leave by vessel retrun go.to ART.L Narlik \p VConj Vi Vi Vi ART PROP \t e Lutor a nga rubukien vorotan e Tsakie na nga ra pengan \m e Lutor a nga rubukien vorota -n e Tsakie na nga ra pengan \g ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST enter find -3S.OP ART.P Tsakie PURP PAST go talk \p ART PROP PRON TAM V Vt -PRON ART PROP PREP TAM Vi Vi \t sien mi sana tate nga tsana se Us. \m si -en mi sana ta - te nga tsana se Us \g LOC -3S.PS ART.C what IRR - CMPL PAST make LOC.P Us \p PREP -PRON ART N TAM - TAM TAM Vt PREP PROP \ft After they bought the pig and sailed out returning to Narlik, Lutor went inside finding Tsakie to tell him what she had done to Us. \ref 047 \t Sen tate nga so mogos i bingan ken komois, e Lutor a nga pevin, \m sen ta - te nga so mogos i bingan ken komois e Lutor a nga pevin \g when IRR - CMPL PAST IMM sit ART.L side 3S.PN old.man ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST say \p ADV TAM - TAM TAM TAM Vi ART N PRON N ART PROP PRON TAM Vi \t "Tsakie, o lalaro pengan sevoi mi kepineits." \m Tsakie o lalaro pengan se - voi mi kepineits



\g Tsakie 1S.SR want talk LOC.P - 2S ART.C thing \p PROP PRON V Vi PREP - PRON ART N \ft When she sat down beside her husband, Lutor told, "Tsakie, I like to tell you one thing." \ref 048 \t E Tsakie a nga vere, "Lutor, mi sana kepineits?" \m e Tsakie a nga vere Lutor mi sana kepineits \g 2S.SR Tsakie 3S.SR PAST ask Lutor ART.C what thing \p PRON PROPPRON TAM Vt PROPART N N \ft Tsakie asked, "Lutor, what is it?" \ref 049 \t E Lutor a nga kuil nama, "O lalaro pengan sevoi \m e Lutor a nga kuil nama o lalaro pengan se - voi \g 2S.SR Lutor 3S.SR PAST reciprocate talk 1S like talk ASSO.P - 2S \p PRON PROPPRON TAM Vi V PRON Vt Vi PREP - PRON \t va e Us o te verkuil ngan nge lekep sibu kingi Narlik \m va e us o te verkuil ngan nge lekep si - bu kingi Narlik \g that ART.P Us 1S.SR CMPL RCPR- help INST and money LOC - ART.PL native Narlik \p SUB ART PROP PRON TAM AFF- Vi PREP VConj N PREP - ART N PROP \t terengen va ian mi lekep ta mang oit na vore kovo puk \m terengen va ian mi lekep ta mang oit na vore kovo puk \g so.that that DEIC.dist1 ART.C money IRR RES enough PURP buy NR.PL small \p CONJ SUB DEIC ART N TAM TAM V PREP Vt ART ADJ \t nginonginou kelei na vararapa no \m nginonginou kelei na va - rarap - a no \g food good PURP CAUS - hot - TR 2S.OP \p N V PREP AFF - V - AFF PRON \t ma na kulie buer kenatau menagos. \m ma na kulie buer kenatau menagos \g and PURP help again 1DL.PN relationship \p CONJ PREP Vt ADV PPRON N \ft Lutor answered, "I want to tell you that I exchanged Us for money to the Narlik people, so that that money might be enough to buy some good food to nurse you and also to help our(dl) living. \ref 050 \t Pere! e tate mogos sinartsak rovoriu te." \m pere e ta - te mogos sinartsak rovoriu te \g look 2S.SR IRR - CMPL sit poor very Emph \p Vt PRON TAM - TAM Vi V ADV ADV \ft Look! you are remaining very poor." \ref 051 \t Sen e Tsakie ta nga rongomie ine mi nama, \m sen e Tsakie ta nga rongomie ine mi nama \g when ART.P Tsakie IRR PAST hear DEIC.prox ART.C word \p ADV ART PROP TAM TAM Vt DEIC ART N



\t mi aten a nga kitip \m mi at -en a nga kitip \g ART.C liver -3S.PS 3S.SR PAST cut.remove \p ART N -PRON PRON TAM V \t ma anga ta koupkoup, "Ai-io Us, kong bor kovoung. \m ma a - nga ta koupkoup Ai-io Us kong bor kova -ung \g and 3S.SR - PAST cry shout ohhh Us my pig head -1S.PS \p CONJ PRON - TAM Vi Vi Interj PROPPRON N N -PRON \ft When Tsakie heard this word, his liver(heart) was torn (very sad) and he cried aloud, "Ohhh Us, my pig my head(my precious one). \ref 052 \t O ta kap ba buer oit na pere mi mata ai-io Us." \m o ta kap ba buer oit na pere mi mata ai-io Us \g 1S IRR NEG ASSU again able PURP look ART.C eye ohhh Us \p PRON TAM TAM TAM ADV V PREP Vt ART N Interj PROP \ft I will not be able to see your face again, Us." \ref 053 \t Ma ine man tenteiv e Us i aron e Tsakie \m ma ine man tenteiv e Us i ar -n e Tsakie \g and DEIC.prox 3S.PI grace ART.P Us ART.L mind -3S.PS ART.P Tsakie \p CONJ DEIC PRON N ART PROPART V -PRON ART PROP \t a nga mon me sibu ra, sibu rovovo, \m a nga mon me si - bu ra si - bu ro - vovo \g 3S.SR PAST stay ACCM LOC - ART.PL day LOC - ART.PL all, big - morning \p PRON TAM Vi PREP PREP - ART N PREP - ART ADV - N \t rosisiat ma roreivreiv. \m ro - sisiat ma ro - reivreiv \g all, big - day.time and all, big - afternoon \p ADV - ADV CONJ ADV - N \t E Tsakie ta nga munu tengisie sien, ken bor. \m e Tsakie ta nga munu tengisie si -en ken bor \g ART.P Tsakie IRR PAST continueously cry.for LOC -3S.PS 3S.PN pig \p ART PROPTAM TAM ADV Vt PREP -PRON N N \ft And this love of/for Us in Tsakie's mind remained with him all the days, all the mornings, all the noon time, and all the afternoons. Tsakie would continuously cry for him, his pig. \ref 054 \t Ken labatevin a nga ko kono-n va ta nga vamada \m ken labatevin a nga ko kono -n va ta nga vamada \g 3S.PN old.woman 3S.SR PAST HAB try -3S.OP that IRR PAST comfort \p PRON N PRON TAM TAM Vt -PRON TAM TAM V \t eiekesen a kap nga oit na vaton ine mi tenteiv \m eiekesen a kap nga oit na vato -n ine mi tenteiv \g but 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP end -3S.OP DEIC.prox ART.C love \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM V PREP V -PRON DEIC ART N



\t i aron e Tsakie. \m i ar -n e Tsakie \g ART.L mind -3S.PS ART.P Tsakie \p ART V -PRON ART PROP \ft His wife used to try that she would comfort him, but she was not able to stop this sorrow in Tsakies heart. \ref 055 \t Ine bu kepineits kokouk ta nga tsourbeit se Tsakie, \m ine bu kepineits kokouk ta nga tsourbeit se Tsakie \g DEIC.prox ART.PL thing all IRR PAST appear LOC Tsakie \p DEIC ART N ADV TAM TAM V PREP PROP \t e Dula mi tadaor a te nga telekiran. \m e Dula mi tadaor a te nga telekira -n \g ART.P Dula ART.C local.spirit 3S.SR CMPL PAST know -3S.OP \p ART PROPART N PRON TAM TAM VVt -PRON \ft All of these things that happenned to Tsakie, Dula the local spirit knew about it. \ref 056 \t I murien te mi kulou kokouk gi ta nga veis na vis bor \m i murien te mi kulou kokouk gi ta nga veis na vis bor \g ART.L after CMPL ART.C men all 3PL.SR IRR PAST walk PURP tie pig \p ART ADV TAM ART N ADV PRON TAM TAM Vi PREP V N \t gi tate nga me beit muerngei i Narlik, \m gi ta - te nga me beit muerngei i Narlik \g 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST come arrive retrun ART.L Narlik \p PRON TAM - TAM TAM V Vi Vi ART PROP \t mi nguts ese ta nga vunan mi nginou a nangba nga \m mi nguts ese ta nga vuna -n mi nginou a nangba nga \g ART.C orator who IRR PAST become.source -3S.OP ART.C feast 3S.SR RELF PAST \p ART N PRON TAM TAM V -PRON ART N PRON TAM TAM \t votongie mi ra va mi nginou ta nga kor sen. \m votongie mi ra va mi nginou ta nga kor sen \g to.name ART.C day that ART.C feast IRR PAST fall 3S.OBJ \p Vt ART N SUB ART N TAM TAM V PRON \ft After all the people who went to get pig had come back to Narlik, the leader who started/planned the feast finally appointed a day on which day the feast would happen. \ref 057 \t Simi ringi tsuok vuvutuir, va sivo sien te mi oror, \m si - mi ringi tsuok vuvutuir va sivo si -en te mi dupCV- or \g LOC - ART.C day start display that tomorLOC -3S.PS Emph ART.C NOM- watch \p PREP - ART N V V SUB N PREP -PRON ADV ART NOM- V \t bu nguts me e taman mi nginou \m bu nguts me e tama -n mi nginou \g ART.PL orator ACCM ART.P father -3S.PS ART.C feast \p ART N PREP ART N -PRON ART N \t gi te nga mogos kokouk na vile ka bor na nga ra kada \m gi te nga mogos kokouk na vile ka bor na nga ra kada \g 3PL.SR CMPL PAST sit all PURP choose NR.S pig PURP PAST day hit to kill \p PRON TAM TAM Vi ADV PREP V ART N PREP TAM N Vt



\t nge tunie tere se Dula mi tadaor. \m nge tunie tere se Dula mi tadaor \g and burn give LOC.P Dula ART.C local.spirit \p VConj Vt Vt PREP PROP ART N \ft On the day of display, that the following day was the watching (show), the orators with the host of the feast sat together to choose a pig to kill in order to offer to Dula the local spirit. \ref 058 \t Ma egie kokouk gi nga vile e Us. \m ma egie kokouk gi nga vile e Us \g and 3P all 3PL.SR PAST choose ART.P Us \p CONJ PRON ADV PRON TAM V ART PROP \ft And they all chose Us. \ref 059 \t Simi vunan ine mi bor a nga bungebungeng. \m si - mi vuna -n ine mi bor a nga bungebungeng \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS DEIC.prox ART.C pig 3SPAST fat \p PREP - ART N -PRON DEIC ART N PRTAM V \ft Because this pig was fat. \ref 060 \t Sen gi tate nga vile ine mi bor, \m sen gi ta - te nga vile ine mi bor \g when 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST choose DEIC.prox ART.C pig \p ADV PRON TAM - TAM TAM V DEIC ART N \t e taman mi nginou anga turan ba ka \m e tama -n mi nginou a - nga turan ba ka \g ART.P father -3S.PS ART.C feast 3S.SR - PAST send ART.dl man \p ART N -PRON ART N PRON - TAM Vi ART N \t me ba nguts mene va gi ta nga sor kien ngan \m me ba nguts mene va gi ta nga sor kien ngan \g ACCM ART.dl Lord another that 3PL.SR IRR PAST carry go.up INST \p PREP ART N ADV SUB PRON TAM TAM Vi V PREP \t ine mi bor si man rie mi tadaor \m ine mi bor si man rie mi tadaor \g DEIC.prox ART.C pig LOC 3S.PI cave ART.C local.spirit \p DEIC ART N PREP PRON N ART N \t nge ra kada nge tunie rakot sen. \m nge ra kada nge tunie rakot sen \g and go hit to kill and burn go.to 3S.OBJ \p VConj Vi Vi VConj Vi Vi PRON \ft When they finished choosing this pig, the host of the feast sent few men with few orators so that they would carry this pig and go up to the local spirit's cave and to kill and offer it to him. \ref 061



\t Ine mi kulou gi nga veis nge veis tuiroit \m ine mi kulou gi nga veis nge veis tuiroit \g DEIC.prox ART.C men 3PL.SR PAST walk and walk until \p DEIC ART N PRON TAM Vi VConj Vi PREP \t gi nga so beit ine simi rie. \m gi nga so beit ine si - mi rie \g 3PL.SR PAST IMM arrive DEIC.prox LOC - ART.C cave \p PRON TAM TAM Vi DEIC PREP - ART N \ft These people walked and walked until they arrived at the cave. \ref 062 \t Ma i murien gi tate nga rorois ngan bu keriot \m ma i muri -en gi ta - te nga rorois ngan bu keriot \g and ART.L rear -3S.PS 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST prepare INST ART.PL fire.wood \p CONJ ART N -PRON PRON TAM - TAM TAM V PREP ART N \t ma bu kepineits gi ta nga pinat surie na tunie ine \m ma bu kepineits gi ta nga pinat surie na tunie ine \g and ART.PL thing 3PL.SR IRR PAST needs RSON PURP burn DEIC.prox \p CONJ ART N PRON TAM TAM N PREP PREP Vi DEIC \t mi tenebeir, gi nga tsinga mi leing leong. \m mi tenebeir gi nga tsing - a mi leing leong \g ART.C gift 3PL.SR PAST set.fire - TR ART.C fire large \p ART N PRON TAM Vi - AFF ART N V \ft And after they prepared the firewoods and the things they would need for offer the sacrifice, they set a big fire. \ref 063 \t Samo mi menmenen ian bu nguts a nga poro ken sele \m samo mi menmenen ian bu nguts a nga poro ken sele \g then ART.C one.of.them DEIC.dist1 ART.PL orator 3S.SR PAST hold 3S.PN knife \p CONJ ART N DEIC ART N PRON TAM Vt PRON N \t ma a nga veis rakot nge tir i bingan e Us \m ma a nga veis rakot nge tir i bingan e Us \g and 3S.SR PAST walk go.to and stand ART.L beside 2S.SR Us \p CONJ PRON TAM Vi Vi VConj Vi ART PREP PRON PROP \t ma anga koup leong, "Oua, Dula! Magei tadaor. \m ma a - nga koup leong oua Dula magei tadaor \g and 3S.SR - PAST shout large Hear! Dula 1PL.EXC.PI local.spirit \p CONJ PRON - TAM Vi V Interj PROP PPRON N \ft Then one of the orators took his knife and walked up to Us and stood beside him and shouted aloud, "Hear! Dula! Our local spirit. \ref 064 \t Ine kegei tenebeir rakot sevoi \m ine kegei tenebeir rakot se - voi \g DEIC.prox 2PL.PN gift go.to LOC.P - 2S \p DEIC PPRON N Vi PREP - PRON



\t va e ta nane kegei nginou." \m va e ta nane kegei nginou \g that 2S.SR IRR care.for 2PL.PN feast \p SUB PRON TAM Vt PPRON N \ft This is our offering to you so that you will look after our feast." \ref 065 \t Puk va ta nga poro ken sele nge kitip \m puk va ta nga poro ken sele nge kitip \g small that IRR PAST get 3S.PN knife and behead \p ADJ SUB TAM TAM Vt PPRON N VConj V \t ka i ruon mi bor, e gie kokouk \m ka i rua -n mi bor e gie kokouk \g along.side ART.L head.part -3S.PS ART.C pig ART.P 3PL.OP all \p PREP ART N -PRON ART N ART PRON ADV \t gi si nga rongmitsikien mi kaber ta oin \m gi si nga rongmitsikien mi kaber ta oin \g 3PL.SR CE PAST feel ART.C ground IRR quake \p PRON TAM TAM Vt ART N TAM V \t ma bu kepineits kokouk a nga dedeir. \m ma bu kepineits kokouk a nga dedeir \g and ART.PL things all 3S.SR PAST shake \p CONJ ART N ADV PRON TAM V \ft Shortly before he was going to take his knife and behead the pig's head, they all suddenly felt quaking and everythings were shaken. \ref 066 \t Ma i aro-n ne mi oin gi nga rongomie \m ma i aro -n ne mi oin gi nga rongomie \g and ART.L inside -3S.PS DEM.prox ART.C earthquake 3PL.SR PAST hear \p CONJ ART N -PRON DEM ART N PRON TAM V \t mi ien, a nga malan mi tenengen bu kudu palan, \m mi ien a nga malan mi tenengen bu kudu palan \g ART.C voice 3S.SR PAST alike ART.C sound.of ART.PL drum plenty \p ART V PRON TAM V ART N ART N V \t a nga pevin, "Eou e Dula. \m a nga pevin eou e Dula \g 3S.SR PAST say 1S ART.P Dula \p PRON TAM Vi PRON ART PROP \ft During the earthquack they heard a voice like the sound of many drums, said "I am Dula. \ref 067 \t Ma o vuorte bu kepineits kokouk. \m ma o vuorte bu kepineits kokouk \g and 1S control ART.PL things all \p CONJ PRON V ART N ADV \ft And I rule all things. \ref 068



\t Kenga tenebeir o resen, eiekesen nga ta kap kada \m kenga tenebeir o res -en eiekesen nga ta kap kada \g 2P.POS gift or happy -3S.PS but 2PL.SR IRR NEG hit to kill \p PRON N CONJ Vi -PRON CONJ PRON TAM TAM Vi \t ine mi bor. \m ine mi bor \g DEIC.prox ART.C pig \p DEIC ART N \ft I am happy about your(PL) offering, but don't kill this pig. \t Nga tsupukrivie ma nga ta lalapus peuk muerngei i marar." \m nga tsupukrivie ma nga ta lalapus peuk muerngei i marar \g 2PL.SR abandon and 2PL.SR IRR rush go.down retrun ART.L residential.area \p PRON V CONJ PRON TAM V Vi Vi ART N \ft You leave it alone and you hurriedly go back down to your residential area." \ref 069 \t Kap ka mene a nga oit na vakokoit ma kap ka mene a nga \m kap ka mene a nga oit na vakokoit ma kap ka mene a nga \g NEG NR.S person 3S.SR PAST able PURP talk and NEG man another 3S.SR PAST \p TAM ART N PRON TAM V PREP Vi CONJ TAM N ADV PRON TAM \t oit na koup o ser, simi vunan mi mentou ta nga \m oit na koup o ser si - mi vuna -n mi -in- motou ta nga \g able PURP shout or run LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS ART.C -NOM- afraid IRR PAST \p V PREP Vi CONJ V PREP - ART N -PRON ART -NOM- V TAM TAM \t poro gie, a nga tseiptseiprio gie. \m poro gie a nga tseiptseiprio gie \g hold 3PL.OP 3S.SR PAST over.power 3PL.OP \p Vt PRON PRON TAM V PRON \ft No one was able to talk and no one was able to shout or run, because the fear captured them, it overpowered them. \ref 070 \t Sen mi mentou tate nga ko voto lili, \m sen mi -in- motou ta - te nga ko voto lili \g when ART.C -NOM- afraid IRR - CMPL PAST HAB finish small \p ADV ART -NOM- V TAM - TAM TAM TAM Vi ADJ \t egie kokouk gi nga samprorou ngan mi rosar \m egie kokouk gi nga samprorou ngan mi rosar \g 3P together 3PL.SR PAST stampede INST ART.C big.road \p PRON ADV PRON TAM V PREP ART N \t va ese tanga muo ma ese ta nga vemuir. \m va ese ta - nga muo ma ese ta nga ve - muir \g that who IRR - PAST lead and who IRR PAST Rcpr - rear \p SUB PRON TAM - TAM V CONJ PRON TAM TAM AFF - N \ft When the fear was gone a little bit, they all stampede onto the road that who was leading and who was



following(without thinking about who was in front and who was in the back). \ref 071 \t Gi nga ser nge ser tuiroit gi nga so beit i marar \m gi nga ser nge ser tuiroit gi nga so beit i marar \g 3PL.SR PAST run and run until 3PL.SR PAST IMM arrive ART.L residential.area \p PRON TAM V VConj V PREP PRON TAM TAM Vi ART N \t ma gi nga so pengan bu kepineits kokouk \m ma gi nga so pengan bu kepineits kokouk \g and 3PL.SR PAST IMM talk ART.PL things all \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM Vi ART N ADV \t ta nga tsourbeit segie nikien i ot. \m ta nga tsourbeit se - gie nikien i ot \g IRR PAST appear LOC - 3PL.OP DEM.up ART.L bush \p TAM TAM V PREP - PRON DEM ART N \ft They ran and ran until they arrived in the residential area and they talked about all the things that happenned to them up in the bush. \ref 072 \t I murien te mi kulou gi tate nga vi peuk i marar, \m i murien te mi kulou gi ta - te nga vi peuk i marar \g ART.L after CMPL ART.C men 3PL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST run.away go.down ART.L residential.area \p ART ADV TAM ART N PRON TAM - TAM TAM Vi Vi ART N \t e Dula a nga vurisan e Us rakot simi ka mat dokei rovoriu. \m e Dula a nga vuris -n e us rakot si - mi ka mat dokei rovoriu \g ART.P Dula TR PAST change -3S.OP 2S.SR Us go.to LOC - ART.C man look-like fair very \p ART PROPAFF TAM VVi -PRON PRON PROP Vi PREP - ART N Vi V ADV \ft After the people had run down to the village, Dula turned Us into a very handsome man. \ref 073 \t Samo e Dula a nga oeng sen, "Us, bu kepineits kokouk o \m samo e Dula a nga oeng sen us bu kepineits kokouk o \g then ART.P Dula 3S.SR PAST speak 3S.OBJ Us ART.PL thing all 1S.SR \p CONJ ART PROPPPRON TAM Vi PRON PROP ART N ADV PRON \t telekiran surie ken menagos sinartsak e Tsakie \m telekira -n surie ken menagos sinartsak e Tsakie \g know -3S.OP RSON 3S.PN relationship poor ART.P Tsakie \p Vt -PRON PREP PRON N V ART PROP \t ma man menrouk me ken tenteiv surie no. \m ma man menrouk me ken tenteiv surie no \g and 3S.PI illness ACCM 3S.PN love RSON 2S.OBJ \p CONJ PRON N PREP PRON N PREP PRON \ft Then Dula said to him, "Us, I know all the things about the poor life of Tsakie and his sickness and his love for you.



\ref 074 \t Rorong kelei, o ta ture muernga no rakot se Tsakie \m rorong kelei o ta ture muernga no rakot se Tsakie \g hear good 1S IRR send return 2S.OBJ go.to LOC Tsakie \p Vi V PRON TAM V PRON Vi PREP PROP \t ma mi kepineits vourvour va e ta so tsana a malan ne. \m ma mi kepineits dupCV- vour va e ta so tsana a malan ne \g and ART.C things NOM- new that 2S.SR IRR IMM do 3S.SR alike DEIC.prox \p CONJ ART N NOM- V SUB PRON TAM TAM Vt PRON V DEIC \ft Listen well, I will send you back to Tsakie and first thing that you will do is like this. \ref 075 \t Sen va e tate so beit se Tsakie, \m sen va e ta - te so beit se Tsakie \g when that 2S.SR IRR - CMPL IMM arrive LOC Tsakie \p ADV SUB PRON TAM - TAM TAM Vi PREP PROP \t e ta so vot vasangan sen mi asa \m e ta so vot vasangan sen mi asa \g 2S.SR IRR IMM call show 3S.OBJ ART.C name \p PRON TAM TAM V Vt PRON ART N \t ma i muir e ta so soburo mi kurikurien kokouk \m ma i muir e ta so soburo mi kurikuri -en kokouk \g and ART.L rear 2S.SR IRR IMM touch ART.C skin -3S.PS all \p CONJ ART N PRON TAM TAM V ART N -PRON ADV \t ma ian ngas te man menrouk ta so voto. \m ma ian ngas te man menrouk ta so voto \g and DEIC.dist1 PERS CMPL 3S.PI illness IRR IMM finish \p CONJ DEIC TAM TAM PRON N TAM TAM Vi \ft When you come up to Tsakie, you will say your name to him and later you touch all of his body and at that moment his sickness will be ended. \ref 076 \t Vemusurie bu kepineits kokouk va e ta tsana, malan mi tu, \m vemusurie bu kepineits kokouk va e ta tsana malan mi tu \g follow ART.PL things all that 2S.SR IRR make alike ART.C garden \p Vt ART N ADV SUB PRON TAM Vt V ART N \t mi tsentsang lekep ma bu tsentsang ka eie \m mi tsentsang lekep ma bu tsentsang ka eie \g ART.C work money and ART.PL work along.side 3S \p ART N N CONJ ART N PREP PRON \t iva va e ta soburo ngan mi riem gi ta vua palan, \m iva va e ta soburo ngan mi riem gi ta vua palan \g where that 2S.SR IRR touch INST ART.C hand 3PL.SR IRR flourish plenty \p ADV SUB PRON TAM V PREP ART N PRON TAM Vi V \t gi ta tsourbeit palan ma gi ta tsourbeit leong." \m gi ta tsourbeit palan ma gi ta tsourbeit leong \g 3PL.SR IRR become plenty and 3PL.SR IRR appear large \p PRON TAM V V CONJ PRON TAM V V \ft Following all the things the you will make, like a garden,



job(work to earn money) and many other works where you touch with hand, they will flourish, they will multiply and they will become big. \ref 077 \t Simi ringi oror te simi nginou i Narlik, \m si - mi ringi dupCV- or te si - mi nginou i Narlik \g LOC - ART.C day NOM- watch Emph LOC - ART.C feast ART.L Narlik \p PREP - ART N NOM- V ADV PREP - ART N ART PROP \t e Lutor a te nga vo pan nge mogos i matan \m e Lutor a te nga vo pan nge mogos i matan \g ART.P Lutor 3S.SR CMPL PAST TM.morning wake and sit ART.L in.front.of.him \p ART PROPPRON TAM TAM ADV Vi COVConj ART PREP \t keguor vono ken komois simi nuos i Metiom. \m keguor vono ken komois si - mi nuos i Metiom \g 3DL.PN house 3S.PN old.man CE - ART.C island ART.L Metiom \p PPRON N PRON N TAM - ART N ART PROP \ft On the day of show at the feast in Narlik, Lutor woke up in the morning and set down in front of their(dl) house on Metiom island. \ref 078 \t A nga visi dedeng, a si nga pere mi ka vour mat dokei \m a nga visi dedeng a si nga pere mi ka vour mat dokei \g 3S.SR PAST about.to look 3S.SR CE PAST look ART.C man new look-like fair \p PRON TAM TAM Vi PRON TAM TAM Vt ART N ADJ Vi ADJ \t ta nga nemei si keguor vono. \m ta nga nemei si keguor vono \g IRR PAST come LOC 3DL.PN house \p TAM TAM Vi PREPPPRON N \ft She was about to look around, she unexpectedly saw a handsome young man coming to their(dl) house. \t Puk lalapus e Lutor a nga veis rubukien i ruom \m puk lalapus e Lutor a nga veis rubukien i ruom \g small.amount quickly 2S.SR Lutor 3S.SR PAST walk enter ART.L indoor \p ADJ ADV PRON PROP PRON TAM Vi V ART N \t nge ra pengan se Tsakie ma i muir, a te buer nga rovtsour \m nge ra pengan se Tsakie ma i muir a te buer nga rovtsour \g and go talk LOC.P Tsakie and ART.L rear 3S.SR CMPL REP PAST exit \p VConj Vi Vi PREP PROP CONJ ART N PRON TAM TAM TAM V \t nge me mogos. \m nge me mogos \g and come sit \p VConj V Vi \ft Hurriedly Lutor went back inside and told Tsakie and later she came out again and sat down. \ref 079 \t Sen ine mi ka vour tate nga me beit i matan \m sen ine mi ka vour ta - te nga me beit i matan



\g when DEIC.prox ART.C man new IRR - CMPL PAST come arrive ART.L in.front.of.him \p ADV DEIC ART N ADJ TAM - TAM TAM V Vi ART PREP \t mi vono, e Lutor a nga vovo kelei ngan ma a nga \m mi vono e Lutor a nga vovo kelei ngan ma a nga \g ART.C house ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST morning good INST and 3S.SR PAST \p ART N ART PROP PRON TAM N V PREP CONJ PRON TAM \t vosore, "Vasa e veis ven?" \m vosore vasa e veis ven \g ask how 2S.SR walk how \p Vt QMARK PRON Vi ADV \ft When this young man arrived at the front of the house, Lutor greeted(good morning) him and she asked, "How are you traveling(what's the purpose of your walk)?" \ref 080 \t Mi ka vour anga kuil nama, \m mi ka vour a - nga kuil nama \g ART.C man new 3S.SR - PAST reciprocate talk \p ART N ADJ PRON - TAM Vi V \t "O visi nemei mo se Tsakie. \m o visi nemei mo se Tsakie \g 1S about.to come only LOC Tsakie \p PRON TAM Vi ADV PREP PROP \ft The young man answered, "I just came to see Tsakie. \ref 081 \t Eie iva ngan?" \m eie iva ngan \g 3S where INST \p PRON ADV PREP \ft Where is he?" \ref 082 \t E Lutor a nga kuil nama, "Eie die i ruom." \m e Lutor a nga kuil nama eie die i ruom \g ART.P Lutor 3S.SR PAST reciprocate talk 3S Dem.dist2 ART.L indoor \p ART PROP PRON TAM Vi V PRON DEM ART N \ft Lutor replied, "He is inside over there." \ref 083 \t Ma a nga kir vurukide ine mi ka vour i roum \m ma a nga kir vara- - kien ine mi ka vour i roum \g and 3S.SR PAST carry CAUS- - go.up DEIC.prox ART.C man new ART.L room \p CONJ PRON TAM V AFF- - V DEIC ART N ADJ ART N \t ma eie a te buer nga muerngei rovtsour \m ma eie a te buer nga muerngei rovtsour \g and 3S 3S.SR CMPL again PAST return exit \p CONJ PRON PRON TAM ADV TAM Vi V \t na nga me tunie ka puk nginonginou. \m na nga me tunie ka puk nginonginou



\g PURP PAST come burn NR.S Mass food \p PREP TAM V Vt ART ARR N \ft And she took he young man going up into the inside and she returned back to the outside to cook some food. \ref 084 \t Samo e Tsakie a nga vovo kelei ngan nge vosore, \m samo e Tsakie a nga vovo kelei ngan nge vosore \g then ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST morning good INST and ask \p CONJ ART PROPPRON TAM N V PREP CONVConj \t "Palapala, misa e lalaron va o ta kulie no ngan?" \m palapala misa e lalaron va o ta kulie no ngan \g friend what 2S.SR like that 1S IRR help 2S.OBJ INST \p N PRON PRON Vi SUB PRON TAM Vi PRON PREP \ft Then Tsakie greeted him and asked, "Friend, What do you want me to help you with?" \ref 085 \t Ine mi ka vour a nga kuil nama, "A kap ka kepineits \m ine mi ka vour a nga kuil nama a kap ka kepineits \g DEIC.prox ART.C man new 3S.SR PAST answer talk 3S.SR NEG NR.S things \p DEIC ART N ADJ PRON TAM Vi V PRON TAM ART N \t o lalaron sevoi eiekesen o lalaro pengan mo sevoi \m o lalaron se - voi eiekesen o lalaro pengan mo se - voi \g 1S like LOC - 2S but 1S like talk only LOC - 2S \p PRON Vi PREP - PRON CONJ PRON Vt Vi ADV PREP - PRON \t va are eou mo e Us ke bor. \m va are eou mo e us ke bor \g that DEIC.exact 1S only ART.P Us 2S.PI pig \p SUB DEIC PRON ADV ART PROP PPRON N \ft The young man replied, "I want nothing from you, but I just want to say to you that I am Us your pig. \ref 086 \t O te tsourbeit mala ka ma ine buer o ta soburo \m o te tsourbeit mala ka ma ine buer o ta soburo \g 1S CMPL become alike man and DEIC.prox again 1S.SR IRR touch \p PRON TAM V V N CONJ DEIC ADV PRON TAM V \t mi kurikuri kokouk terengen va ma menrouk ta mang voto." \m mi kurikuri-0 kokouk terengen va ma menrouk ta mang voto \g ART.C skin-2S.PS all so.that that 2S.PI illness IRR RES finish \p ART N ADV CON SUB PRON N TAM TAM Vi \ft I became like a man and now also I will touch your body so that your sickness might end. \ref 087 \t Puk lalapus mo i murien tate nga soburo \m puk lalapus mo i muri -en ta - te nga soburo \g small.amount quickly only ART.L rear -3S.PS IRR - CMPL PAST touch \p ADJ ADV ADV ART N -PRON TAM - TAM TAM V



\t mi kurikurien e Tsakie, \m mi kurikuri -en e Tsakie \g ART.C skin -3S.PS ART.P Tsakie \p ART N -PRON ART PROP \t ian ngas te man menrouk kokouk a nga voto. \m ian ngas te man menrouk kokouk a nga voto \g DEIC.dist1 PERS CMPL 3S.PI illness all 3S.SR PAST finish \p DEIC TAM TAM PRON N ADV PRON TAM Vi \ft Shortly after he touched Tsakie's body, at that moment his sickness ended. \ref 088 \t E Tsakie a kap nga oit na vodon tuktuk sen ta nga rongmitsikien \m e Tsakie a kap nga oit na vodon tuktuk sen ta nga rongmitsikien \g ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP think true when IRR PAST feel \p ART PROP PRON TAM TAM V PREP Vi V ADV TAM TAM Vt \t va man menrouk a te nga voto. \m va man menrouk a te nga voto \g that 3S.PI illness 3S.SR CMPL PAST finish \p SUB PRON N PRON TAM TAM Vi \ft Tsakie could not believe when he felt that his sickness ended. \ref 089 \t Ine bu kepineits a nga malan va e Tsakie a nga borea. \m ine bu kepineits a nga mala -n va e Tsakie a nga borea \g DEIC.prox ART.PL things 3S.SR PAST alike -3S.OP that ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST dream \p DEIC ART N PRON TAM V -PRON SUB ART PROP PRON TAM N \ft All these things were as if Tsakie were dreaming. \ref 090 \t Eiekesen i muir sen, e Tsakie a nga rakape e Us \m eiekesen i muir sen e Tsakie a nga rakape e us \g but ART.L rear 3S.OBJ ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST grab ART.P Us \p CONJ ART N PRON ART PROP PRON TAM Vt ART PROP \t nge ta koupkoup ngan mi nires, "Ai-io Us kovoung, o si nga vodon \m nge ta dupCV- koup ngan mi nires ai-io us kovo -ung o si nga vodon \g and IRR RDP- shout INST ART.C joy ohhh Us NR.PL -1S.PS 1S.SR CE PAST think \p VConj TAM V- Vi PREP ART N Interj PROP ART -PRON PRON TAM TAM Vi \t va o ta kap pere no te, eiekesen ine o te buer pere no. \m va o ta kap pere no te eiekesen ine o te buer pere no \g that 1S.SR IRR NEG look 2S.OP Emph but DEIC.prox 1S.SR CMPL REP look 2S.OP \p SUB PRON TAM TAM Vt PRON ADV CONJ DEIC PRON TAM TAM Vt PRON \ft But after this, Tsakie hugged Us and cried and shouted repeatly with joy, "Ohhh, Us my head, I thought I would never see you again, but now I see you again. \ref 091 \t Ai-io Us kovaung ba mo te." \m ai-io us kova -ung ba mo te \g ohhh Us head -1S.PS indeed only Emph



\p Interj PROP N -PRON ADV ADV ADV \ft Ohhh, Us, my head, it is you ." \ref 092 \t Sen e Lutor ta nga rongomie e Tsakie ta nga ta votvotongie \m sen e Lutor ta nga rongomie e Tsakie ta nga ta vot(V) - votongie \g when ART.P Lutor IRR PASThear ART.P Tsakie IRR PAST cry REDUP - call \p ADV ART PROPTAM TAM V ART PROPTAM TAM Vi V \t e Us, a nga beket ken venvendon \m e Us a nga beket ken venvendon \g ART.P Us 3S.SR PAST confuse 3S.PN thought \p ART PROPPRON TAM V PRON N \t ma a nga ser rubukien na nga ra pere \m ma a nga ser rubukien na nga ra pere \g and 3S.SR PAST run enter PURP PAST go look \p CONJ PRON TAM V V PREP TAM Vi Vt \t va simi sana kepineits tuktuk a nga beit. \m va si - mi sana kepineits tuktuk a nga beit \g that LOC - ART.C what.kind things true 3S.SR PAST arrive \p SUB PREP - ART ADJ N ADV PRON TAM Vi \ft When Lutor heard that Tsakie was crying and calling Us (by name), she was confused and she rushed in to see that what things really had happened. \ref 093 \t Sen tate nga so rubukien e Tsakie a nga pengan sen \m sen ta - te nga so rubukien e Tsakie a nga pengan sen \g when IRR - CMPL PAST IMM enter ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST talk 3S.OBJ \p ADV TAM - TAM TAM TAM V ART PROP PRON TAM Vi PRON \t bu nama kokouk e Us ta nga pengan, \m bu nama kokouk e us ta nga pengan \g ART.PL word all ART.P Us IRR PAST talk \p ART N ADV ART PROP TAM TAM Vi \t eiekesen eie buer a kap nga oit na vodon tuktuk \m eiekesen eie buer a kap nga oit na vodon tuktuk \g but 3S also 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP think true \p CONJ PRON ADV PRON TAM TAM V PREP Vi V \t ine sibu nama. \m ine si - bu nama \g DEIC.prox LOC - ART.PL word \p DEIC PREP - ART N \ft When she went inside, Tsakie told her all the words that Us had told him, but she could not believe these words either. \ref 094 \t A nga malan va ian bu nama a kap nga kedeve mi \m a nga mala -n va ian bu nama a kap nga kedeve mi \g 3S.SR PAST alike -3S.OP that DEIC.dist1 ART.PL word 3S.SR NEG PAST convince ART.C \p PRON TAM V -PRON SUB DEIC ART N PRON TAM TAM V ART



\t aro-n, eiekesen sen ta pere e Tsakie tate nga tuir mat sese \m aro -n eiekesen sen ta pere e Tsakie ta - te nga tuir mat sese \g mind -3S.PS but when IRR look ART.P Tsakie IRR - CMPL PAST stand look active \p N -PRON CONJ ADV TAM Vt ART PROP TAM - TAM TAM Vi Vi V \t ma e Us ta nga mogos, eie buer a nga ta ngan mi nires. \m ma e us ta nga mogos eie buer a nga ta ngan mi nires \g and ART.P Us IRR PAST sit 3S also 3S.SR PAST cry INST ART.C joy \p CONJ ART PROP TAM TAM Vi PRON ADV PRON TAM Vi PREP ART N \ft It seemed like that these words did not convince her mind, but when she saw Tsakie was standing looking active and that Us was sitting down, she also cried with joy. \ref 095 \t Io, egituo kokouk gituo nga veverak ma gituo nga ta beitsak \m io egituo kokouk gituo nga ve - ve - rak ma gituo nga ta beitsak \g then 3PC all 3PC.SR PAST Rcpr - Rcpr - hug and 3PC.SR PAST cry INTNS \p Interj PRON ADV PRON TAM AFF - AFF - Vt CONJ PRON TAM Vi ADV \t ngan mi nires simi vunan e Us a te buer nga muerngei \m ngan mi nires si - mi vuna -n e Us a te buer nga muerngei \g INST ART.C joy LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS ART.P Us 3S.SR CMPL again PAST retrun \p PREP ART N PREP - ART N -PRON ART PROPPRON TAM ADV TAM Vi \t ma man menrouk e Tsakie a te nga voto. \m ma man menrouk e Tsakie a te nga voto \g and 3S.PI illness ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR CMPL PAST finish \p CONJ PRON N ART PROPPRON TAM TAM Vi \ft Then they(pc) all hugged each other and they(pc) cried alot with joy, because Us had returned and Tsakie's sickness had ended. \ref 096 \t Samo gituo nga rovtsour nge ngene magituo puk \m samo gituo nga rovtsour nge ngene magituo puk \g then 3PC.SR PAST exit and eat 3PC.PI Mass \p CONJ PRON TAM V VConj Vt PPRON ARR \t nginonginou e Lutor tate nga tu rorois ngan. \m nginonginou e Lutor ta - te nga tu rorois ngan \g food ART.P Lutor IRR - CMPL PAST cook prepare INST \p N ART PROPTAM - TAM TAM V V PREP \ft Then they(pc) went outside and ate their food that Lutor had cooked and prepared. \ref 097 \t Vakak ian simi ra e Us ta nga me beit sen, ken tino \m vakak ian si - mi ra e Us ta nga me beit sen ken tino \g begin DEIC.dist1 CE - ART.C day ART.P Us IRR PAST come arrive 3S.OBJ 3S.PN life \p V DEIC TAM - ART N ART PROPTAM TAM V Vi PRON PRON N \t e Tsakie a nga kekineits, mi nires na kulie bu mei mene \m e Tsakie a nga kekineits mi nires na kulie bu mei mene \g ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST different ART.C joy PURP help ART.PL person another



\p ART PROPPRON TAM V ART N PREP Vi ART N ADV \t ma na tabare gie a nga kekineits rio vourvour. \m ma na tabare gie a nga kekineits rio dupCV- vour \g and PURP feed 3PL.OP 3S.SR PAST different exceed NOM- new \p CONJ PREP Vt PRON PRON TAM V ADV NOM- V \ft Beginning on that day that Us had come to him, Tsakie's life was different, the joy to help others and feed them was greater than the first time. \ref 098 \t I aro-n ken vono buer mi nires a nga leong \m i aro -n ken vono buer mi nires a nga leong \g ART.L inside -3S.PS 3S.PN house also ART.C joy 3S.SR PAST large \p ART N -PRON PRON N ADV ART N PRON TAM V \t i kotubugituo e Lutor, e Us ma eie. \m i kotubu - gituo e Lutor e Us ma eie \g ART.L midst - 3PC.SR ART.P Lutor ART.P Us and 3S \p ART N - PRON ART PROPART PROPCONJ PRON \ft In his house also the joy was great among them(pc) of Lutor, Us and himself, \t Kap ka kepineits a mang ba nga vara misitineiv nge gituo. \m kap ka kepineits a mang ba nga vara misitineiv nge gituo \g NEG NR.S things 3S.SR RES ASSU PAST CAUS worry and 3PC.OP \p TAM ART N PRON TAM TAM TAM AFF Vi VConj PRON \ft There was nothing that might have made them(pc) sad. \ref 099 \t Bu kepineits kokouk e Us ta nga soburo ngan ba riman, \m bu kepineits kokouk e Us ta nga soburo ngan ba rima -n \g ART.PL things all ART.P Us IRR PAST touch INST ART.dl hand -3S.PS \p ART N ADV ART PROPTAM TAM V PREP ART N -PRON \t malan mi tu, bu lekep ma bu sinsuv ka eie, \m malan mi tu bu lekep ma bu sinsuv ka eie \g alike ART.C garden ART.PL money and ART.PL possesion along.side 3S \p V ART N ART N CONJ ART N PREP PRON \t ine bu kepineits kokouk gi nga vua palan \m ine bu kepineits kokouk gi nga vua palan \g DEIC.prox ART.PL things all 3PL.SR PAST flourish plenty \p DEIC ART N ADV PRON TAM Vi V \t ma gi nga tsourbeit palan. \m ma gi nga tsourbeit palan \g and 3PL.SR PAST appear plenty \p CONJ PRON TAM V V \ft All the things that Us touched with his hand, like the garden, money and other possesions, all of these things flourished plenty and they became plenty. \ref 100 \t Io, surie ine bu kepineits e Tsakie a nga tsourbeit



\m io surie ine bu kepineits e Tsakie a nga tsourbeit \g then RSON DEIC.prox ART.PL things ART.P Tsakie 3S.SR PAST appear \p Interj PREP DEIC ART N ART PROP N TAM V \t mi ka suvuram ma i aron kegituo tino kokouk \m mi ka suvu - ram ma i aro -n kegituo tino kokouk \g ART.C man possess - huge and ART.L inside -3S.PS 3PC.PN life all \p ART N V - V CONJ ART N -PRON PPRON N ADV \t gituo nga mon ngan mi nires leong \m gituo nga mon ngan mi nires leong \g 3PC.SR PAST stay INST ART.C joy large \p PRON TAM Vi PREP ART N V \t ma gituo kap nga pinat si ka kepineits. \m ma gituo kap nga pinat si ka kepineits \g and 3PC.SR NEG PAST lack LOC NR.S things \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM V PREP ART N \ft And because of the these things, Tsakie became a rich man and in their lives together they(pc) lived with a great joy and they(pc) did not need anything. \ref 101 \t A te Voto. \m a te voto \g 3S.SR CMPL finish \p PRON TAM Vi \ft It is finished.

10.2 Ken kina bor e Tames ‘Tames’ female pig’ by Susana Vivnero \ref 001 \t Mi ka mi asan e Tames kuvu i Sebeir \m mi ka mi asa -n e Tames kuvu i Sebeir \g ART.C man ART.C name -3S.PS ART.P Tames come.from ART.L Simberi \p ART N ART N -PRON ART PROP Vt ART PROP \t a nga songaran ken kina bor. \m a nga songaran ken kina bor \g 3S.SR PAST look.after 3S.PN female pig \p PRON TAM Vt PRON N N \ft A man named Tames from Sebeir village looked after his female pig. \ref 002 \t Ne ken kina bor a nga ko ngo-ngo to. \m ne ken kina bor a nga ko ngo - ngo to \g DEIC.prox 3S.PN female pig 3S.SR PAST HAB eat - eat chicken \p DEIC PRON N N PRON TAM TAM Vt - Vt N \ft This his female pig used to eat chickens. \ref 003 \t Simi ra mene ne ken kina bor \m si - mi ra mene ne ken kina bor



\g LOC - ART.C day another DEIC.prox 3S.PN female pig \p PREP - ART N ADV DEIC PRON N N \t a te buer nga karere mi kina to. \m a te buer nga karere mi kina to \g 3S.SR CMPL again PAST chase.away ART.C female chicken \p PRON TAM ADV TAM V ART N N \ft One day this his female pig chased a hen again. \ref 004 \t E Tames a nga visi karere mi kina bor. \m e Tames a nga visi karere mi kina bor \g ART.P Tames 3S.SR PAST about.to chase.away ART.C female pig \p ART PROP PRON TAM TAM V ART N N \ft Tames was about to chase after the female pig. \ref 005 \t Eiekesen a ba nga me beit i muir. \m eiekesen a ba nga me beit i muir \g but 3S.SR ASSU PAST come arrive ART.L rear \p CONJ PRON TAM TAM V Vi ART N \ft But he (certainly) arrived late. \ref 006 \t Mi kina bor a te nga ngo vaton bu nutu to \m mi kina bor a te nga ngo vato -n bu nutu to \g ART.C female pig 3S.SR CMPL PAST eat finish -3S.OP ART.PL child chicken \p ART N N PRON TAM TAM Vt V -PRON ART N N \t nge vi kien i ot. \m nge vi kien i ot \g and run.away go.up ART.L bush \p CONJ Vi V ART N \ft The female pig ate up chicks and rand away to the bush. \ref 007 \t Mi kina to a te nga tengisie bu natuon. \m mi kina to a te nga tengisie bu natu -n \g ART.C female chicken 3S.SR CMPL PAST cry.for ART.PL off.spring -3S.PS \p ART N N PRON TAM TAM V ART N -PRON \ft The hen cried for her children. \ref 008 \t E Tames a nga oeng simi kina to, \m e Tames a nga oeng si - mi kina to \g ART.P Tames 3S.SR PAST say LOC - ART.C female chicken \p ART PROP PRON TAM Vi PREP - ART N N \t “E ta kap ta. Ke aortsak evoi ta lili mo. \m e ta kap ta ke aor - tsak evoi ta lili mo \g 2S.SR IRR NEG cry 2S.PI center.of.emotion - bad 2S IRR small only \p PRON TAM TAM Vi PPRON N - ADV PRON TAM ADJ ADV \t Eiekesen simi kina bor ta leong beitsak te."



\m eiekesen si - mi kina bor ta leong beitsak te \g but LOC - ART.C female pig IRR large INTNS CMPL \p CONJ PREP - ART N N TAM V ADV TAM \ft Tames said to the hen, "Don't cry your broken heart will be small only. But to the female pig it will be great truly. \ref 011 \t Samo a te nga oeng se kese-n, \m samo a te nga oeng si kisi -n \g then 3S.SR CMPL PAST say LOC brother -3S.PS \p ADV PRON TAM TAM Vi PREP N -PRON \t “Kisi, e ta tsana ka pal na pala die mi kina bor.” \m kisi e ta tsana ka pal na pala die mi kina bor \g brother 2S.SR IRR make NR.S snare PURP tie Dem.dist2 ART.C female pig \p N PRON TAM Vt ART N PREP Vt DEM ART N N \ft Then he said to his brother, "Brother, make a snare to tie that female pig. \ref 012 \t E kese-n a nga rorong kelei sen nge tsanga mi pal. \m e kisi -n a nga rorong kelei sen nge tsanga mi pal \g ART.P brother -3S.PS 3S.SR PAST hear good 3S.OBJ and make ART.C snare \p ART N -PRON PRON TAM Vi V PRON CONJ Vt ART N \ft His brother listened to him well and made a snare. \ref 013 \t Si reivreiv te, mi kina bor a te nga me beit. \m si reivreiv te mi kina bor a te nga me beit \g LOC afternoon Emph ART.C female pig 3S.SR CMPL PAST come arrive \p PREP N ADV ART N N PRON TAM TAM V Vi \ft In the afternoon, the female pig arrived. \ref 014 \t Sen e Tames ta nga kudier pere mi kina bor, \m sen e Tames ta nga kudier pere mi kina bor \g when ART.P Tames IRR PAST suprise look ART.C female pig \p ADV ART PROP TAM TAM Vi Vt ART N N \t a nga koup varongomie ba kese-n, \m a nga koup va - rongomie ba kisi -n \g 3S.SR PAST shout CAUS - hear ART.DL brother -3S.PS \p PRON TAM Vi AFF - V ART N -PRON \t e Kivkiv me Pias. \m e Kivkiv me Pias \g ART.P Kivkiv ACCM Pias \p ART PROP PREP PROP \ft When Tames was surprised and saw the female pig, he shouted for his brothers, Kivkiv and Pias, to hear. \ref 015 \t “Arie te. \m arie te



\g Dem.exact CMPL \p DEM TAM \ft This is it. \ref 016 \t Kap ka ra te buer. \m kap ka ra te buer \g NEG NR.S day CMPL again \p TAM ART N TAM ADV \ft There is no other time again. \ref 017 \t Ngatuo ta te tsang.” \m Ngatuo ta te tsang \g 2PC.SR IRR CMPL work \p PRON TAM TAM Vi \ft You(paucal) do it. \ref 018 \t E Tames a nga tabare mi kina bor a e Kivkiv \m e Tames a nga tabare mi kina bor a e Kivkiv \g ART.P Tames 3S.SR PAST feed ART.C female pig interjector ART.P Kivkiv \p ART PROP PRON TAM Vt ART N N CONJ ART PROP \t va tanga pala. \m va ta - nga pala \g that IRR - PAST tie \p SUB TAM - TAM Vt \ft Tames fed the female pig so that Kivkiv (can) tie(trap) it. \ref 019 \t E Pias a ngas nga kekeiv simi vuna niu. \m e Pias a ngas nga kekeiv si - mi vuna niu \g ART.P Pias 3S.SR PERS PAST hide LOC - ART.C root coconut \p ART PROP PRON TAM TAM Vi PREP - ART N N \ft Pias was still hiding under a coconut tree. \ref 020 \t Sen e Kivkiv tate nga tei vokotsore mi pal, e Pias a \m sen e Kivkiv ta - te nga tei vokotsore mi pal e Pias a \g when ART.P Kivkiv IRR - CMPL PAST pull tighten ART.C loop ART.P Pias 3S.SR \p ADV ART PROP TAM - TAM TAM Vi Vt ART N ART PROP PRON \t nga ser nge me tsok legen mi kina bor. \m nga ser nge me tsok lege -n mi kina bor \g PAST run and come pick leg -3S.PS ART.C female pig \p TAM V CONJ V Vi N -PRON ART N N \ft When Kivkiv pulled and tighten the snare, Pias ran and picked up the female pig's leg. \ref 021 \t Sen e Kivkiv me Pias guor tate nga tei vuturungie \m sen e Kivkiv me Pias guor ta - te nga tei vuturungie



\g when ART.P Kivkiv ACCM Pias 3DL.SR IRR - CMPL PAST pull cause.to.lay.down \p ADV ART PROP PREP PROP PRON TAM - TAM TAM Vi Vt \t mi kina bor, e Tames a nga sik tsour lalapus \m mi kina bor e Tames a nga sik tsour lalapus \g ART.C female pig ART.P Tames 3S.SR PAST slide climb.down fast \p ART N N ART PROP PRON TAM Vi Vi ADV \t i popon mi tsur te ken sele, a mang ba nga tavatava \m i popo -n mi tsur te ken sele a mang ba nga tava - tava \g ART.L top -3S.PS ART.C bench Emph 3S.PN knife 3S.SR RES ASSU PAST slice - slice \p ART N -PRON ART N ADV PRON N PRON TAM TAM TAM Vi - Vi \t mi ngutuon mi kina bor. \m mi ngutu -n mi kina bor \g ART.C mouth -3S.PS ART.C female pig \p ART N -PRON ART N N \ft When Kivkiv and Pias pulled and made the female pig to lay down, Tames slid and came down quickly from the top of the bench with his knife., and finally cut up the female pig mouth. \ref 022 \t Samo a si nga tei mi legelegen mi kina bor nge \m samo a si nga tei mi lege - lege -n mi kina bor nge \g suddenly 3S.SR CE PAST pull ART.C leg - leg -3S.PS ART.C female pig and \p ADV PRON TAM TAM Vi ART N - N -PRON ART N N CONJ \t toik vuturungie i popon man poko kereot. \m toik vuturungie i popo -n man poko kereot \g carve cause.to.lay.down ART.L top -3S.PS 3S.PI piece firewood \p V Vt ART N -PRON PRON ADJ N \ft Suddenly he pulled the female pig's leg and carved it out and lay it down on top of the firewood (to cook it) \ref 023 \t Mi kina bor tate nga barabarar a kap nga palo. \m mi kina bor ta - te nga bara -barar a kap nga palo \g ART.C female pig IRR - CMPL PAST RDP-squeal 3S.SR NEG PAST play \p ART N N TAM - TAM TAM V PRON TAM TAM V \ft The female pig's squealing was not like a game.(it was serious) \ref 024 \t Ba kese-n guor nga soer ngan mi nginiets simi vunan \m ba kisi -n guor nga soer ngan mi -in- ngiets si - mi vuna -n \g ART.DL brother -3S.PS 3DL.SR PAST sweep INST ART.C -NOM- laugh LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS \p ART N -PRON PRON TAM Vi PREP ART -NOM- V PREP - ART N -PRON \t a si nga mono vosore mi kina bor, “E te toiv nangaba?” \m a si nga mono vosore mi kina bor e te toiv nangaba \g 3S.SR CE PAST CONT ask ART.C female pig 2S.SR CMPL sympathize finally \p PRON TAM TAM TAM Vt ART N N PRON TAM V ADV



\ft His two brothers swept with a laugh because he kept asking the female pig, "You finally feel sorry?" \ref 025 \t Mi kina bor a kap nga oit na veis kelei te buer, \m mi kina bor a kap nga oit na veis kelei te buer \g ART.C female pig 3S.SR NEG PAST able PURP walk good CMPL again \p ART N N PRON TAM TAM V PREP Vi V TAM ADV \t simi vunan a te nga rongmitsikien mi vinavsor leong \m si - mi vuna -n a te nga rongmitsikien mi -in- vavsor leong \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS 3S.SR CMPL PAST feel ART.C -NOM- painful large \p PREP - ART N -PRON PRON TAM TAM Vt ART -NOM- V V \t simi ngutsuon ma mi keme-n. \m si - mi ngutsu -n ma mi keme -n \g LOC - ART.C mouth -3S.PS and ART.C foot -3S.PS \p PREP - ART N -PRON CONJ ART N -PRON \ft The female pig was not able to walk well again because she felt a great pain on his mouth and his leg. \ref 026 \t I murien ne e Tames a te buer nga pere mi kina to. \m i muri -n ne e Tames a te buer nga pere mi kina to \g ART.L rear -3S.PS DEIC.prox ART.P Tames 3S.SR CMPL again PAST look ART.C female chicken \p ART N -PRON DEIC ART PROP PRON TAM ADV TAM Vt ART N N \ft After this Tames saw the hen again. \ref 027 \t Samo a te nga oeng sen, “E tate res, \m samo a te nga oeng sen e ta - te res \g then 3S.SR CMPL PAST say 3S.OBJ ART.P IRR - CMPL happy \p ADV PRON TAM TAM Vi PRON ART TAM - TAM Vi \t simi vunan mi kina bor a te por man vinatereis \m si - mi vuna -n mi kina bor a te por man -in- vatereis \g LOC - ART.C origin -3S.PS ART.C female pig 3S.SR CMPL get 3S.PI -NOM- punish \p PREP - ART N -PRON ART N N PRON TAM Vt PRON -NOM- V \t mi sinavein ta tsana sibu natu.” \m mi sinavei -n ta tsana si - bu natu \g ART.C behavior -3S.PS IRR make LOC - ART.PL off.spring \p ART N -PRON TAM Vt PREP - ART N \ft Suddenly he said to her, "Be happy because the female pig got the punishment for his behavior that he was doing to your children. \ref 028 \t A te voto. \m a te voto \g 3S.SR CMPL finish \p PRON TAM Vi \ft It is finished.

grammar essentials of mandara language - sil.org · pdf file3.6.2.1 third person singular...

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