Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun: Difference between revisions

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== ..... The 7 types of word==
== ..... The 5 basic word types==


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All words belong to one of the following 7 categories ...
All words are derived from these 5 basic types. Actually the '''fengi''' "particle" have so many subtypes (often single particles are a subtype to themselves) that it is a bit of a fudge to say that '''béu''' has 5 basic types. Maybe more honest to say that '''béu''' has 4 groups of words and the behaviour (syntactically) of any word in these 4 groups depends on which group it is in.


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1) '''feŋgi''' = particle ... this is a sort of "hold-all" category for all words (and affixes) that don't neatly fit into the other categories. Interjections, numbers,  pronouns, conjunctions, determiners and certain words that would be classed as adverbs in English, are all classed as '''feŋgi'''.
1) '''fengi''' = particle ... this is a sort of "hold-all" category for all words (and affixes) that don't neatly fit into the other categories. Interjections, numbers,  pronouns, conjunctions, determiners and certain words that would be classed as adverbs in English, are all classed as '''fengi'''.


An example is '''Í''' .. the preposition indicating the dative.
By the way ... all affixes are counted as a type of '''fengi'''.


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An example is '''wò''' .. the preposition indicating the oblique case.
 
[[Image:TW_517.png]]


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2) '''seŋko''' = object
2) '''kenʒi''' = an object


An example is '''bàu''' ... "a man"
An example is '''bàu''' ... "a man"
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5) '''maŋga''' = verb
5) '''manga''' = a verb in its base form (citation form). When used "actively" it will take its '''r'''-form, '''u'''-form or '''i'''-form.


An example is '''twá''' ... "to meet"  (the concept of "meet" disassociated from any arguments, tense, aspect or whatever).  
An example is '''twá''' meaning  "to meet" or "a meeting"  (the concept of "meet" disassociated from any arguments, tense, aspect or whatever).  


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6) '''maŋgas''' = a noun derived from a verb. A  '''maŋgas''' represents one instance of the activity denoted by the  '''maŋga'''.  For example ...
[[Image:SW_062.png]]


'''twás''' ... "a\the meeting" : '''nò twás''' ... "a\the meetings"
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== ..... Kenʒi==


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7) '''saidaus''' = a noun derived from an adjective. The  '''saidaus''' means one object possessing the property denoted by the  '''saidau'''.
'''kenʒi''' can mean "noun". It can also mean "noun phrase" (NP).


An example is  '''nelaus''' = a/the dark blue one : '''nò nelaus''' = a/the dark blue ones
.


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Probably the most "basic" of the basic 5 ... tangible and discrete.


[[Image:TW_516.png]]
The noun can take six types of modifiers. These six types must come in a certain order ...


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The '''maŋgas''' and  '''saidaus''' are transparently derived from the  '''maŋga''' and  '''saidau''' so there is no need to list them separately in a dictionary.  
[[Image:SW_070.png]]


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== ..... The Pilamo or case system==
In the above diagram, an descending arrow followed by a bar indicates a closed set. A descending arrow by itself indicates an open set. Branching arrows indicate multiple possibilities.


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The head of the NP can be referred to as '''kenʒita'''. Usually it is called this by lay people and by linguists when the concept is first brought up. However, thereafter it is usually referred to as '''húa''' meaning "head".


In total there are 17 cases (if you were to include the unmarked case as well the total would be 18). They are called the '''pilamoi'''.
'''kenʒita''' is  '''kenʒi''' plus the diminutive suffix. '''kenʒi''' can also take the augmentative suffix -'''uma'''. '''kenzuma''' "extended noun phrase" is a normal  '''kenʒi''', with either a relative clause (RC) appended to the right or a partitive appended to the left hand side


These are attached to a noun and show the relationship of that noun with respect to the rest of the sentence.
The words highlighted in red convert the noun phrase (or indeed the sentence in which the NP is embedded) into a question. A blue circle indicates the only mandatory element. But even these elements can be dropped on occasion ... when they are understood from context or the preceding conversation. When we have one adjective, and the head is understood, '''ɘ''' can be substituted for the head, '''kɘ''' if the head is plural.


..
'''ɘ gèu''' = a/the green one : '''kɘ gèu''' = a/the green ones


The word '''pilamo''' is built up from ;-
These two particles can also be used with other noun modifiers, however not always mandators with non-adjective modifiers.


'''pila''' (v) = to place, to position, to correctly align
'''ɘ nái''' = which one : '''kɘ nái''' = which ones


'''pilamo''' ( n) = the positioner
'''kɘ dí''' = these ones : '''ɘ dè''' = this one


..
However '''nái''', '''dí''' and '''dè''' can constitute NP's by themselves. A bit like English


Probably the most important case is the ergative (the 11th case). In English it is the order of the verb and the arguments that shows who is the doer and what is the "done to". Namely the A and S argument come before the verb and the O argument after ...  [ English is a non-ergative language and hence the A and S argument get treated in the same way.]
Looking at the chart above might give you a false impression of '''béu''' noun phrases. The number of modifiers within a noun phrase is usually only one or two. When there is two, they must occur in a certain order, hence the necessity of the chart above. I don't think it would be easy to process a noun phrase with six modifiers, probably some of them would be shunted off into a RC with an initial copula. A noun phrase can take multiple RC's. They can stand beside each other in a sort of apposition.


In '''béu''', to show who is the doer and what is the "done to", the suffix -'''s''' is appended to the A argument. For example ...
I should make one further point here. The particles '''ú''' "all" and '''jù''' "no" can appear to the left of the head. They can also appear in the quantity slot.


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'''glás bàu timporyə''' => The woman has hit the man ..... (with "the man" being the O argument)
=== ... Quality===


'''glá bàus timporyə''' => The man has hit the woman ...... (with "the man" being the A argument)
..


'''bàu doikora''' => The man is walking ........................... (with "the man" being the S argument) ... [ '''béu''' is an ergative language and hence the O and S argument have the same form.]
More than one adjective is allowed in this slot. For example ... '''bàu gèu tiji''' = the little green man


..
'''kái''' meaning "what type" can also appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole noun phrase (or sentence) into a question. For example ...


'''bàu gèu kái''' = what kind of green man ? ... (NP question)


[[Image:TW_805.png]]
'''há bàu gèu kái glà timpori''' = what kind of green man hit the woman ? ... (sentence question)


..
Now when you have multiple adjectives they will have a certain order depending upon their sub-category.
 
This is the same as English ... for example, you always say "the third big black dog" and never "the black third big dog".


The '''pilamoi''' are either realized as either affixes or as prepositions.  
'''béu''' uses the exact same order as in English but the other way around.


Whether the '''pilamoi''' appears as an suffix or a preposition depends on '''seŋko''' '''*''' ... if '''seŋko baga''', then the affix is used ... if '''seŋko kaza''', then the preposition is used.  For example ...
'''béu''' has two adjectives that come in this slot that are worth mentioning. They might have claims to particle-hood, but I guess their appearance in this slot marks them as adjectives. No reason that they can't be both.


'''nambodua''' = beyond the house
1) ... '''ló''' = "other"


'''dùa nambo yó yinkai hauʔe''' = beyond the house of the pretty girl
The semantics of this word remind me of the semantics of '''tuge'''/'''jige'''. With the relative quantifiers the speech participants have agreed on the number/amount relevant to the situation. '''tuge'''/'''jige''' are used to change this value. Similarly '''ló''' is used in a situation where the speech participants have agreed on the population (of whatever noun category) under consideration but one of them wants to expand this population.


'''*''' or in other words, if the NP is only one word one uses the suffix, and if the NP is more than one word one uses the preposition }
2) ... '''laubo''' = enough


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[[Image:TW_563.png]]
=== ... Quantity===


[[Image:TW_807.png]]
..


[[Image:TW_806.png]]
This slot is very interesting ...


[[Image:TW_658.png]]  
[[Image:SW_071.png]]


[[Image:TW_568.png]]
The above chart is split into ''definite'' and ''vague'' sections. All the items under ''definite'' represent an integer (or "the empty set" or "the full set"). The items under ''vague'' represent an approximate number/amount. This section is further divided into ''discrete'' and ''non-discrete'' (i.e. countable.non-countable).


'''yè''' modifies both discrete and non-discrete. It means a moderate amount ... some value between zero and "all". It does NOT mean "indefinite" ... "some man" is '''bàu èn''', not '''*bàu yè'''.


This word can be used to mark plurality (together with '''iyo''' and '''hài''') for those nouns that can not be pluralized in themselves. For example ... '''húa''', "head" : '''húa yè''', "heads".


Note on the script ... If they are realized as affixes then, in the '''béu''' script uses a sort of shorthand. That is the affix is represented as one letter.
'''jí jí''' and '''jía''' are about equally common and mean the same thing. However '''jía''' tends to be used in more formal situations and '''jí jí''' in less formal.


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Earlier we have seen that when 2 nouns come together the second one qualifies the first.
'''láu''' (how many) can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the NP (and hence the clause containing the NP) into a question. For example ...


However this is only true when the words have no '''pilamo''' affixed to them.  If you have two contiguous nouns suffixed by the same '''pilamo''' then they are both considered to contribute equally to the sentence roll specified. For example ...
'''bàu jutu láu''' = "How many men are big ?" or "How many big men ?" ???????????


'''jonos jenes solbur moze''' = "John and Jane drink water"
..


In the absence of an affixed '''pilamo''', to show that two nouns contribute equally to a sentence (instead of the second one qualifying the first) the particle '''lé''' should be placed between them. For example ...
The chart above shows only the terms used for ''absolute'' quantity ????????????????? It does not cover, what I call ''relative'' quantity. Let me explain ...


'''jenes solbori moʒi lé ʔazwo''' = "Jane drank water and milk"
Imagine the speaker and the hearer both have an idea of the number/amount relevant to a situation but one of them wants to change this number/amount. The amount he wants to change this agreed number/amount by, I call the ''relative quantity''. It can be positive or negative. When positive we use the word '''tuge''' "more" ... when negative we use the word '''jige''' "less" '''*'''. For example ...


'''jonos jenes bwuri hói sadu lé léu ʔusʔa''' = John and Jane saw two elephants and three giraffes.
'''turi waudo tuge''' = more dogs came
{|
|-
!  t-u-r-i  || waudo || tuge
|-
|  come-{{small|3PL-IND-PST}}  || dog || more
|}


[ Compare the above two examples to '''há jono jene solbori moze''' = Jane's John drank water ... i.e. The John that is in a relationship with Jane, drank water ]
These to particles can be modified by some (most) of the terms given in the chart above. They can be modified by any of the terms hi-lighted in orange.


This word is that is never written out in full but has its own symbol. See below ...
[[Image:Sw_060.png]]


..
For example ... '''bía tuge ima''' = two more beers please"


.. As parts of speech
Note : actually '''jía''' and '''tundu''' are not applicable to '''kenʒi'''. They are only applicable to '''olus'''


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'''pilamoi''' of location phrases (i.e. nouns with 1 -> 8 or 15) can be considered adjectives if they come after a noun and adverbs if they come after a verb. They must come after a noun or a verb. Sometimes they come after the copula<sup>*</sup>. In this case they are adjectives. Now often the copula is dropped ... but if this dropping results in any ambiguity it can be readily "undropped".
'''*''' These words might be derived somehow from '''jutu''' "big" and '''tiji''' "small" ... along with the comparative suffix -'''ge''' '''**'''.  


'''pilamoi''' of motional phrases (i.e. nouns with 13, 14, 16 or 17) can be considered adverbs. They can come in any position because it is understood that they are qualifying the verb.
The comparative suffix can be appended to any adjectives. For example ... '''jini''' "clever" => '''jinige''' "cleverer" : '''hau?e''' "beautiful" => '''hau?ege''' "more beautiful"


'''pilamo''' phrases defining sentence rolls (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 11 or 12) can come anywhere. They are considered nouns.
There is also a superlative suffix ... -'''mo'''. So '''jinimo''' "cleverest" amd '''hau?emo''' "most beautiful"


<sup>*</sup> [ Notice that in English, you can either say ... "a bird is in the tree" or "in the tree is a bird"
'''**''' There is an independant word '''gé''' which might be related to the comparative suffix. It is a particle that always comes in twos. For example ... '''gé tundu ... gé bói''' "the more the merrier".
 
Sometimes you coma across '''bù tuge''' "no more". This should be analysed as a contraction of '''bù ?ár tuge''' "I don't want more".


In '''béu''' only '''jwado r ʔupaiʔe''' is valid ... also note that in this case '''jwado''' is not definite because it is left of the verb. That rule doesn't work with the copula. ]
'''***''' Perhaps '''wóin''' is related to the verb '''gwói''' "to pass by" plus the past participle -'''in'''.


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== ..... Seŋko==
=== ... Ownership===


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'''seŋko''' is a noun or a noun phrase
Basically you can just stick a personal name, a pronoun or any NP in here and the head noun will be considered owned by the object inserted here.
 
Sometimes, the particle '''yó''' precedes the object inserted.
 
For example '''jwado gèu yó jene''' = Jane's big green bird
 
Note that the particle '''yó''' is usually dropped when the possessor is next to the head. However as other elements intervene, the likelihood that '''yó''' is used increases.
 
If '''mín''' (who) is stuck in this slot ... then we have a question. For example ...


All the elements in it can be thought of fitting into 10 slots.
'''jwado gèu yó mín''' = Whose big green bird ? = Whose's the big green bird ?


Below these slots are shown ...
There can be ambiguity with some '''kenʒi''' possessing a genitive. For example ...


..
Does '''waudo bàu dí''' mean "the dog of this man" or "this dog of the man" ?


[[Image:TW_801.png]]
To get around this, we have a special rule ...


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"If anything is in the ownership slot, '''dí''' and '''dè''' never appear in the determiner slot. Instead they appear as '''dían''' "here" and '''dene''' "there" in the locative slot"


Slots 1, 2 have only one value. Slot 3 has two. Slot 4 is restricted to 1731<sub>10</sub> values and slot 9 to six.
Note ... sometimes ownership as such is not what is of interest, it is if a person has actual physical possession. In this case '''yó''' is not used. But the object takes '''pila?o''' 2.


'''jwado gèu là''' ''Long John Silver'' '''catora''' = The big green bird (on Long John's shoulder presumably) is chatting away.


The words highlighted in red convert the noun phrase (or indeed the sentence in which the NP is embedded) into a question. A blue circle indicates the only mandatory element. Branching arrows indicate multiple possibilities.
Actually segments showing actually physical possession like the example above, go in the locative slot which we will cover next.


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=== ... The head===
=== ... Location===


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Nothing to say here.
Ordinal numbers appear in this slot. The ordinal numbers are ...


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[[Image:SW_066.png]]


=== ... The adjective===
You will notice that there are two words for first ... '''da?a''' and '''dahua'''. They are both equally common, but '''da?a''' tends to occur in the presence of '''dima''' or '''duya''' while '''dahua''' tends to occur in the presence of '''dauci'''.


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6) ... the adjective
Proper locatives comprise a noun plus one of the 9 '''pila?oi''' ....  '''pi la mau goi ce do bene komo ni'''. For example ...


More than one adjective is allowed. For example ... '''bàu gèu tiji''' = the little green man
'''duzu pobomau''' = The oryx on the mountain


'''kái''' "what type" can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole noun phrase (or sentence) into a question. For example ...
Also '''pila?o''' 14 turns up in this slot. These items are strictly not giving information about "location" but rather "origin". They are classed as a locatives nevertheless. For example ...


'''bàu gèu kái''' = what kind of green man ? ... noun phrase question
'''bàu glazgofi''' = a/the man from Glasgow


'''há bàu gèu kái glà timpori''' = what kind of green man hit the woman ? ... sentence question
If the location consists of more than one word, the usual rule applies and the '''pila?o''' appears as a preposition ...


Numbers can go in this slot also. When in this slot they are ordinal numbers. This is opposed to where the number comes before the head, in which case it is a cardinal number. For example ...
'''duzu máu pobo jutu''' = The oryx on the big mountain


'''há bàu hói glà timpori''' = The second man hit the woman
There is a tendance that  the longer the locative item, the more likely the locative item will be shunted into a relative clause ...


'''há hói bàu glà timpori''' = The two men hit the woman
'''duzu nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu''' = The oryx on the big beautiful mountain


..
'''nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu''' is a relative clause. We will cover RC's in a bit.


Now when you have multiple adjectives they will have a certain order depending upon their sub-category.
All prepositions that are not '''pila?o''' lead to the location being shunted into a relative clause. For example ...


This is the same as English ... for example, you always say "the third big black dog" and never "the black third big dog".
'''polga?o nài r fiagan gwai''' = "the sailing boat which is among the islands" or simply "the sailing boat among the islands"  


'''béu''' uses the exact same order as in English but reversed timewise. For example ...
..


Also '''dá''' "where" can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the noun phrase into a question. For example ...


{|
'''bàu gèu dá''' = where is the green man ?
|-
! waulo || àu || jutu || léu
|-
| dog || black  || big || third
|}


..
..


Or, you can say, '''béu''' has exactly the same order as English, in terms of proximity to the head.
Addendum ... To keep things simple I refrained from mentioning this before but time can also be expressed in this slot. For example "the turmoil '''jé''' 1300's". Actually location AND time can both be in this slot at the same time. For example "the anger '''pí''' Iceland '''jé''' 1950's ...".


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=== ... The locative===
'''*''' Probably derived from '''uci''' "tail".


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7) ... the locative. For example ... '''bàu gèu tiji pobomau''' = the little green man on top of the mountain
=== ... Determiner===


A locative comprises of a noun plus one of the nine affixes ....  '''pi la mau goi ce dua bene komo ?e'''
..


The locative is a type of adjective.  
There are five of these ... '''dí ''' (this), '''dè''' (that), '''nái''' (which),  '''èn''' (some) and '''ín''' (any) . For example ...  


Also a noun plus the affix '''fi''' can appear in this slot. This is not giving information about "location" but rather "origin". It is classed as a locative nevertheless.
'''dí''' and '''dè''' are called demonstratives in the WLT. They will be covered in the section after next.


Only '''pilamo''' locatives allowed in the locative slot.  
'''nái''' turns the whole noun phrase into a question. For example ...


'''duzu pobomau''' = The oryx on the mountain
'''bàu gèu tiji nái''' = which little green man ? ... noun phrase question


If the location consists of two words, the usual rule applies and the '''pilamo''' appears as a preposition ...
And of course, if a NP represents a question, any clause containing this NP will also be a question. For example ...


'''duzu máu pobo jutu''' = The oryx on the big mountain
'''bàu gèu tiji nái glà timpori ''' = which little green man hit the woman ? ... a clause AND a question


There is a tendance that the longer the locative phrase, the more likely the location will be shunted into a relative clause ...
'''èn''' "some" appear in this slot ... '''bàu gèu tiji èn''' = "some little green man" ...... indefinite


'''duzu nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu''' = The oryx on the big beautiful mountain
'''ín''' "any" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji ín''' = "any little green man" .............. super indefinite
 
All prepositions that are not '''pilamo''' lead to the location being shunted into a relative clause. For example ...


'''polgamo nài r bain gwai.a''' = The sailing boat among the islands
There is one little rule to remember ...


Also '''dá''' "where" can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole noun phrase (or sentence) into a question. For example ...
"Only one item is allowed in this slot, so if you want an indefinite as well as a demonstrative, the demonstrative is shunted off to the locative slot and given the form '''dían''' or '''dene'''."


'''bàu gèu dá''' = where is the green man ?
I guess this is logical in a way. '''dí''' and '''dè''' were originally associated with pointing. But when the object is indefinite, how can you point ? "here" or "there" is about as definite as you can get.


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=== ... The genitive===
=== ... Side-note re demonstratives===


..
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8) ... the genitive. For example '''jwado gèu nambomau yó jene''' = Jane's big green bird on top of the house
'''dí''' "this" and '''dè''' "that" are two words that orientate and focus the hearer's attention on an object (or location '''*''') in the speech situation. These words are called demonstratives in the WLT.


Note that the particle '''yó''' is usually dropped when the possessor is next to the head. However as other elements intervene, the likelihood that '''yó''' is used increases.
According to Holger [ Diessel (1999:57) ] ...


If '''mín''' (who) is used instead of '''jene''' in the above ... then we would have a question ...
i) A demonstrative can be construed as an argument in its own right. That is, it can constitute a NP without any additional elements.


'''jwado gèu nambomau yó mín''' = Whose big green bird on top of the house ? = Whose's the big green bird on top of the house ?
ii) A demonstrative can co-occur with a noun in a NP. That is, it can be a noun modifier.


..
iii)'''*''' A demonstatives can function as a verb modifier. It specifies (the) location (where something happens **).


=== ... The determiner===
'''*''' Perhaps in a more earlier version of the WLT "location" and (iii) would not be included in the definition of determiner. English and '''béu''' conform to this earlier version of the WLT. However I think it is a good idea when considering all the world's languages, to use this wider definition of "demonstrative".


..
"**" Perhaps in a language where a copula is not routinely used "where something happens" would not necessarily be appropriate.


9) ... the determiner
And here are examples of the above three functions (in English) ...


There are five determiners ... '''dí ''' (this) and '''dè''' (that). For example ...  
a) ''This'' is excellent.


'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau dé  ''' = that little green man on top of the mountain.
b) ''That'' guy is an idiot.


The primary meaning is for comparing two objects that can be seen. Perhaps accompanied by gestures, '''dé ''' will be appended to the further of the two objects and by way of distinction, '''dí ''' will be appended to the nearer one. Used very rarely compared to "this" and "that" in English.
c) ''Here'' we do things differently.


'''nái''' (which) can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole noun phrase (or sentence) into a question. For example ...
Diachronically, these three functions can run into each other. Function (a) and function (b) are particularly close. They have the exact same form in English, but no confusion can occur, because "this/that:b" can be deduced to be inside a NP by the rules of English grammar. Most languages in the world (70%) have identical forms for "this/that:a" and "this/that:b". Of the languages that do not have identical forms, the difference can be quite subtle. For example in Thai นี่ [ '''nii''' falling tone ] is "this:a" and นี้  [ '''nii''' high tone ] is "this:b". ........... [see WALS 42A]


'''bàu gèu tiji nái''' = which little green man ? ... noun phrase question
Some languages lack (a). For example, in Korean, to express "this:a" you must say "ce il" meaning "this thing". So (b) used instead of (a)


'''bàu gèu tiji nái glà timpori ''' = which little green man hit the woman ? ... sentence question
Some languages lack (b). They would say something like "the guy here" instead of "this guy". So (c) instead of (b)


'''lò''' "other" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji lò''' = "the other little green man" or "another little green man"
Some languages lack (c). They would say something like "this place we do things differently" instead of "here we do things differently". So (b) instead of (c.)


'''èn''' "some" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji èn''' = "some little green man" ...... indefinite
[ And while we are talking on this area, perhaps we should mention 3rd person pronouns (see WALS 43A). Some languages lack 3rd person pronouns. They cover this function by saying something like "this" or "that guy" ...  A further point of interest (well, I find it interesting anyway) is that the English ''he'' and ''here'' are cognates. Going back to a P.I.E. form meaning (a) or (b). ''-r'' was a ProtoGermanic adverbial suffix. ]


'''ín''' "any" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji ín''' = "any little green man" .............. super indefinite
'''béu''' patterns pretty much like English (and the pattern of English is not atypical of the world's languages) ...


..
'''dí''' = "this:a" : '''dè''' = "that:a"


Note ... '''dían''' = "here" or "to here", '''dèn''' = "there" or "to there" ... (not '''*dà dí''' and '''*dà dè''')
'''dí''' = "this:b" : '''dè''' = "that:b"


'''dían''' = "this:c" (i.e. "here") : '''dene''' = "that.c" (i.e. "there")


( '''dí''' and '''dè''' can represent direct speech. The appear in conjuction with one of the quotative verbs '''swé''' or '''aika'''. '''dè''' refers back to an utterance already spoken, '''dí''' to an utterance that is imminent (see Ch 3.7 ??? )
I was originally thinking of just appending the '''béu''' adverbial suffix -'''is''' to produce (c). But rejected that idea in order to get more phonological contrast between ...


----
(A) "this:c" and "that.c", (B) "this/that:a/b" and "this/that:c"


One little rule ... if a genitive is present, the determiners '''dí''' and '''dè''' can not be included. However '''dían''' "here" and '''dèn''' "there" can occur in the "locative" slot and we get the same meaning. If a genitive is absent, we do not get '''dían''' and '''dèn''' in the locative slot. Also if '''ló''' or '''nái''' are present '''dí''' and '''dè''' can not be included but '''dían''' "here" and '''dèn''' "there" can occur in the "locative" slot.
With '''dían''' there is a hint that it might be derived from '''dí''' plus '''pila?o''' 15. And also with '''dene''' ... a hint that it might have the same origin. But who can tell. These things are lost in the mists of time.


..
..


=== ... The numerative===
=== ... Further uses of '''dí''' and '''dè''' ===


..
..


4) ... the numerative
If we first hear a plural noun articulated in a conversation, the most likely meaning we would assigned to it would be the universal set. For example '''moltai.a'''. There is a more explicit means to express the universal set. For example ... '''kài moltai''' = "doctor.kind" but this construction is seldom used.


These are ...
An example of usage is ... '''moltai.a súr jini''' = "doctors are clever"


'''nò''' "plural" ... '''ʔà''' "one" ... '''hói''' "two" ... '''léu''' "three" ... '''iyo''' "few" ... '''ega''' "four" '''oda''' "five" ..... '''hài''' "many" .... '''tautaita''' (1727<sub>10</sub>) and '''ú''' "all"
OK ... now lets zoom in a bit. To zoom in we need to take in or give out some narrative. So now we hear the following ....


If you have ''any'' word in this slot the head of the NP must be in its singular form.
<b>Next week British junior doctors will withhold many services in protest against the long hour expected of them</b>


Only one word is allowed in the numerative slot'''*'''.
OK ... after hearing that ... '''moltai.a dè''' would be taken to mean "British junior doctors"


..
OK ... lets hear a further bit of narrative ...
 
<b>Much to the disgruntlement of the senior doctors who will have a hard week ahead of them making up for the short fall. </b>
 
OK ... after hearing that ...  '''moltai.a dè''' would be taken to mean "British senior doctors". So, what '''dè''' refers to doesn't persist long, Our perspective is continually changing.


'''láu''' (how many) can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole sentence into a question. For example ...
[ I can't help thinking that the proximate/obviate system existing in Plains Cree would be very useful. You could keep track of two protagonists through a discourse without reverting to full NPs. But I guess there are cognative reasons why it is difficult to use. Well, if it was easy to use, it would be far more wide-spread. It must be very useful. ]


'''láu bàu (r) pobomau''' = How many men (are) on top of the mountain ? .... '''**'''
This is in normal discourse. However if some objects are physically pointed out '''*''' when first introduced (and presumably they stay in sight for the duration of the discourse) what '''dí''' and '''dè''' referred to would persist.


With a more complex NP it is usual to break it up in order to specify exactly which element is being questioned. For example ...
So we can see that '''dè''' points back in time. It brings to the top of consciousness, the last set of doctors talked about.


'''láu bàu gèu tiji pobomau nài doikura''' = " How many little green men on the  mountain that are walking? " ... would be re-phrased as ...
..


'''wò bàu gèu tiji pobomau _ láu doikura''' = w.r.t. the little green man on top of the mountain, how many are walking ? ... or ...
In a narrative many objects are encountered. If a newly introduced object is marked by '''dí''' it means that the object is important to the narrative and you will shortly be getting more information about it. The process is not exactly the inverse of '''anaphora'''. But one is compatible with "information given in the past leading to easy identification of which object in particular we are talking about. The other is compatible with "in the near future I will give you information about this object and you will be able to identify which object in particular I am talking about as well as I can"


'''wò bàu tiji pobomau nài doikura _ láu r gèu''' = w.r.t. the little man on top of the mountain who are walking, how many are green ?
'''béu''' and English are exactly the same in this respect.


Note ... in the 2 examples above, '''fì''' can be substituted for '''wò'''. However '''wò''' is more felicitous.
'''*''' Not necessarily by using a finger ... a gesture with the head ... or even the orientation of the eyes can suffice.


..
..


'''*'''So how do we translate "all four men" or "none of the men". Well in depends on the situation ... for example ... imagine a story when one man meets three men, after a discussion they decide to go somewhere together. In English, the first S or A argument after they join up would be "all four men" or just "all four". In '''béu''' you would use '''egan''' "the foursome".
== ..... Kenzuma==


In another situation "all four man" would be translated using the "partitive particle" '''làu'''. So ... "all four men" would be '''ega bàu làu ú'''.
..


In a similar way to '''three out of the four men''' would be '''ega bàu làu léu'''. [ Note ... short for '''ega bàu làu léu bàu''' so never '''ega bàu làu uban''']
'''béu''' also has what I call an extended noun phrase. An extended noun phrase is a normal NP with either a partitive appended to the LHS, or a RC appended to the RHS.


"none of the four men" =>  '''ega bàu làu jù'''
The example below shows an extended noun phrase '''kenzuma''' with both a partitive AND an RC ...


..
..


'''**'''Notice that in English and '''béu''' the copula can be dropped. In '''béu''', when we drop the copula, what is left is analized as a NP as opposed to a clause.
[[Image:SW_090.png]]
 
 
{|
|-
! || uya ||  wì  || yiŋkai  || ofa || nài || tunheu-h || doik-u-r-a
|-
| ..... ||three  ||  of  || girl || five || {{small|REL}}  || townhall-{{small|DAT}} || walk-{{small|3PL-IND-PRES}}
|}
..... Three of the five girls that are walking to the townhall.


..
..
Line 370: Line 400:
..
..


10) ... the relative clause (RC)
The '''béu''' relative clause is pretty similar to the English relative clause. However not exactly so.


A relative clause is a clause that modifies a NP of course. I think the best way to explain how the '''béu''' RC  works is to give three examples. Each example will demonstrate a subtype of RC. In each example I will reconstitute the plain clause (PC) underlying the RC by looking at the NP and the RC.


If the roll of the head of the NP in the RC is absolutive or represented by one of the '''pilamo''', the '''pilamo''' is affixed to the relativizer ('''nài''') and the noun can be dropped inside the RC.
(1)
 
If the roll of the head of the NP in the RC is not absolutive and not represented by one of the '''pilamo''', the relativizer has no affix and the noun must be represented by a pronoun in the RC . This is the same way that Arabic structures its RC's.
 
 
Take, for example ... '''yiŋkai nài doikora'''
 


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! yiŋkai || nài  || doik-o-r-a  
! yiŋkai || ofa ||nài  || doik-u-r-a  
|-
|-
| the girl ||   {{small|REL}}  || walk-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}}  
| the girl || five ||  {{small|REL}}  || walk-{{small|3PL-IND-PRES}}  
|} => the girl who is walking
|} => the five girls who are walking


NP = '''yiŋkai ofa''' : RC = '''nài doikura''' => PC = '''yiŋkai ofa doikura''' "five girls are walking" ....... notice that '''nài''' is binned.


The clause that has been relativized is "the girl is walking" ... her roll is absolutive.
In the above PC  '''yiŋkai''' is absolutive.
 
..
 
And for example ... '''bàu nàin glás fyori yiŋkaiwo'''


(2)


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! bàui || nài-n || glá-s || fy-o-r-i || yiŋkai-wo
! bàu || nài-h || glá-s || fy-o-r-i || yiŋkai-wo
|-
|-
| the man ||  {{small|REL-DAT}}  || women-{{small|ERG}}  || tell-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}}  || girl-{{small|ABOUT}}  
| the man ||  {{small|REL-DAT}}  || women-{{small|ERG}}  || tell-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}}  || girl-{{small|ABOUT}}  
|} => the man to whom the woman told about the girl
|} => the man to whom the woman told about the girl


NP = '''bàu''' : RC = '''nàih glás fyori yiŋkaiwo''' => PC = '''bàuh glás fyori yiŋkaiwo''' ............ notice that '''nài''' is again binned. Also -'''h''' has to find some other word to stick on to.


The clause that has been relativized is "the woman told about the girl to the man" ... his roll is dative, hence the dative affix on the relativizer.
In the above PC '''bàu''' is dative.
 
..
 
And for example ... '''gwai.a nài polgura ala ʃì'''


(3)


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! gwai.a || nài  || polg-u-r-a || ala || ʃì
! gwai.a || nài  || polg-ai-r-a || fía || ?ode
|-
|-
| the islands ||  {{small|REL}}  || sail-{{small|1PL-IND-PRES}}  || between || them
| the islands ||  {{small|REL}}  || sail-{{small|1PL.INC-IND-PRES}}  || between || them
|} => "the islands that we are sailing between"
|} => "the islands that we are sailing between"


NP = '''gwaia''' : RC = '''nài polgaira fía ?ode''' => PC = '''polgaira fía gwaia''' ......................  '''nài''' is again binned. Also '''?ode''' is discarded. The NP must be positioned behind '''fía''', the preposition that governs it.


The clause that has been relativized is "we are sailing between the islands" ... well I don't think there is a fancy name for it, but the islands' roll is defined by the preposition "between". "between" is not a '''pilamo''' hence no affix on '''nài''' and the pronoun in the RC (representing the islands).
In the above PC '''gwaia''' is not absolutive, also not adorned by a '''pila?o'''. Instead it exists in a prepositional phrase. For this reason, a pronoun '''?ode''' is needed in the RC to represent the NP


..
..


This is discussed in detail nearer the end of this chapter (see the section headed '''nài''').
I believe that Arabic structures its RC in a similar way to the above.


..
..


=== ... The emphatic particle===
OK ... you should all be experts in RC's now. You just run backward the 3 NP + RC => PC processes.


..
..


1) ... the emphatic particle is '''só'''.
This is discussed in greater detail in CH5.
 
'''só''' is used where we would use what is called  "right dislocation" in English. For example ...
 
'''bàus só glán nori alha''' = It is the woman to whom the man gave flowers.
 
'''bàus só glán nori alha @''' = Is it the woman to whom the man gave flowers ?
 
'''só''' might be used in exasperated when somebody can not see something. For example ...
 
{|border=1
|align=center| '''só dí'''
|align=center| "this one !"
|align=center| '''só dè'''
|align=center| "that one !"
|-
|align=center| '''só nò dí '''
|align=center| "these ones!"
|align=center| '''só nò dè'''
|align=center| "those ones !"
|}
 
This can also used as a sort of vocative case ... not obligatory but can be used before a persons name when trying to get their attention. For example ...
 
'''só jene''' = Hey, Jane
 
'''só gì''' = Hey, you
 
There is an adjective intensifier '''sowe''' "very" ... no doubt related to the above.


..
..


 
=== ... The partitive===
=== ... "no", "more" and "less"===


..
..


'''jù''' = "no" .... if slot 2 is filled, then slot slot 4 must be empty.
A few sections back I mentioned '''ló''' ... the '''béu''' equivalent to "other/others/the other/another/the others".


'''yú''' = "more"
'''ló''' is used where the speech participants have agreed on the population (of whatever noun category) under consideration but one of them wants to expand this population.


'''yuyo''' = less ... (maybe '''yuyo''' < '''yú iyo''')
This expansion is a bit like "a shot in the dark", the speech participant requesting additional items usually is in the dark as to that additional items are available. Because of this, there is only one word '''ló'''. I mean, if the speech participant requesting additional items had an idea about what additional items were available, he could add more detail along with his request. Perhaps we would have '''donu''' meaning "another with a bell", '''doni''' meaning "another with a whistle" ... well O.K. I am being a bit facetious ... but you understand what I am getting at.


..
Now '''ló''' is used to expand the population under consideration ... to increase the scope of the conversation ... to sort of "zoom out".


== ..... Olus==
Now sometimes it is necessary to "zoom in". For instance suppose you heard "three of the doctors decided to stop off at the pub on the way home" within  larger narrative. After this point, these three doctors could be referred to as ''they''. The main-protagonists/subject/topic have been reduced from eight to three. Zooming in is not a shot in the dark. The population under consideration is a known concept. The usual method is to specify the "new scope" plus the "original scope" in some sort of construction. The languages of the world all have methods for zooming in ... usually some quite simple construction, often involving a particle which has evolved from "from"/"out of". '''wì''' is the particle used in '''béu'''. Some examples of its use ...


..
'''ú wì moltai''' = all of the doctors


In this category are such uncountable things such as "water" '''moze'''.
'''yè wì moltai''' = some of the doctore = several of those doctors = a number of those doctors


..
'''jù wì moltai''' = none of the doctors


[[Image:TW_799.png]]
'''tontu wì moltai dí''' = the majority of these doctors


A NP with '''olus''' as head is similar to a NP with '''seŋko''' as head, except the numerative is discarded. A  "partitive measure phrase" can be added if you want to specify the quantity.
'''a?a lú tuge wì moltai dè''' more = one or more of those doctors


'''hài wì moltai dè''' = many of those doctors


''' hói hoŋkoi''' "two cups" ... is a typical "measure phrase" and '''làu''' is the "partitive particle".
'''ima ín wì moltai dè''' = any two of those doctors


So ... an example of a NP with '''olus''' as head ...
'''moltai wì bawa dí''' = the doctors out of these men
 
'''?azwo pona làu hói hoŋkoi''' "two cups of warm milk"
 
Two extra adjectives are admitted into the adjective slot ... '''hè''' "a lot of" and '''iyo''' "a little" (Yes ... '''iyo''' was formerly in the numerative slot meaning "few")


[ Note ... '''ú wì moltai''' = "all of the doctors" is pretty similar to '''ú moltai''' and '''moltai ú''' ... similarly these expressions with '''jù'''. Nothing really to worry about. You have similar flexibility in many languages (including English). Perhaps '''ú wì moltai''' stresses that no "zooming" is happening. Perhaps '''ú moltai''' is used for generic statements such as '''ú moltai r jini''' "all doctors are clever". Perhaps '''moltai ú''' is used in non-generic statements such as '''moltai ú ture tìa pà''' "all the doctors came to my home this morning" ]
..
..


A few hundred words have a dual existence. With final vowel can be '''e u a o''' or '''i''' (the last one is especially common) they have a collective meaning. For example ...
I suppose the nearest equivalent of '''wì''' is "of". However '''wì''' has not so many functions as "of". For "belonging to", '''yó''' is used. For "relating to"/"connected with". '''wò''' is used.
 
{|
! bodi ||align=center|  py-o-r
|-
| birds || fly-{{small|3SG-IND}}
|} =>small birds fly ................. [notice the third person singular agreement on the verb]


[Still thinking if '''wì''' should be involved with "a glass of milk"/"a heart of gold"]


However with a change of the final vowel to '''ai''' these concepts become countable.
..


Pronouns are used in partitives in the same way as NP's.


{|
'''a?a wì pài''' = "one of us"
! bodai ||align=center|  lail-o-r-a
|-
| a small bird || sing-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}}
|} => a small bird is singing


'''ima wì onde''' = "two of them"


Which can be made plural by putting a number in front (or one of the other numeratives).
'''há ima wì onde glá timpura''' = "two of them are hitting the woman"


[ I guess English is a bit stange w.r.t. plural pronoun. I mean ... why not "*two of they are walking" {following the pattern "they are walking"} instead of "two of them are walking" ]


{|
----
! léu || bodai ||align=center|  lail-u-r-a
|-
| three || small bird || sing-{{small|3PL-IND-PRES}}
|} => three small birds are singing


Two other numeratives that we haven't mentioned yet are '''tontu''' "the majority"/"most" and '''tonji''' "the minority".


Note .... the singular of some nouns also end in -'''ai'''. For example '''moltai''' "doctor". These words take a plural by adding an '''a''' ... '''moltai.a''' "doctors". However the nouns ending in -'''ai''' that have a collective equivalent, never mark plurality on the actual word. So "little birds" is '''nò bodai''' rather than '''*bodai.a'''.
'''ton''' = bit/part/section ... '''tontu''' <= '''ton jutu''' ... '''tonji''' <= '''ton tiji''' ... '''toŋko''' = to seperate ???


..
..


{| border=1
== ... 16 useful little words==
  |align=center| '''bodi'''
  |align=center| birds'''**'''
  |align=center| '''bodai'''
  |align=left| a small bird
  |-
  |align=center| '''fiʒi'''
  |align=center| fish
  |align=center| '''fizai'''
  |align=left| a fish
  |-
  |align=center| '''yinki'''
  |align=center| crumpet
  |align=center| '''yinkai'''
  |align=left| a young unmarried woman, an attractive girl, a virgin
  |-
  |align=center| '''toti'''
  |align=center| children
  |align=center| '''totai'''
  |align=left| a child
  |-
  |align=center| '''wazbo'''
  |align=center| distance
  |align=center| '''wazbai'''
  |align=left| 3,680 m  (the unit of distance ... the '''béu''' km or mile)
  |-
  |align=center| '''malkufa'''
  |align=center| cabbages
  |align=center| '''malkufai'''
  |align=left| a cabbage
  |}
 
.. [[Image:TW_793.png]]


..
..


So there a bunch of concepts that have a dual identity ... sometimes appearing in their '''olus''' form, and sometimes appearing in their '''seŋko''' form.
{| border=1
  |align=center| '''jupu'''  
  |align=center| nobody
  |align=center| '''upu'''
  |align=center| everybody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''juku'''
  |align=center| never
  |align=center| '''uku'''
  |align=center| always
  |- 
  |align=center| '''juda'''
  |align=center| nowhere
  |align=center| '''uda'''
  |align=center| everywhere
  |- 
  |align=center| '''jufen'''
  |align=center| nothing
  |align=center| '''ufen'''
  |align=center| everything
|}


..
..


Words derived using the prefixes '''mi'''/'''mai''' also pattern with these dual identity words. For example ... '''beumai''' = "somebody who believes in '''béu''' : '''beumi''' = "the entire body of people who believes in '''béu'''.
The above are obviously eroded forms of '''jú pú''', '''ú pú''', ... etc. etc.


..
..


Remember that all collectives take singular pronouns and, if they are A or S arguments, produce an -'''o'''- in slot 1 of the verb (as opposed to -'''u'''-).
{| border=1
  |align=center| '''pu.en'''
  |align=center| somebody
  |align=center| '''pu.in'''
  |align=center| anybody
  |-
  |align=center| '''kyu.en'''  
  |align=center| sometime
  |align=center| '''kyu.in'''
  |align=center| any time
  |-
  |align=center| '''da.en'''
  |align=center| somewhere
  |align=center| '''da.in'''
  |align=center| anywhere
  |-
  |align=center| '''fenen'''
  |align=center| something
  |align=center| '''fenin'''
  |align=center| anything
|}


..
..


There is a prefix -'''kai''', that can ''theoretically'' change any '''seŋko''' into an '''olus'''. In practice it is not used that much ... although you do hear it a lot prefixed to animal names ... like when talking about characteristics which are common to an entire species. For example ...
The above are obviously eroded forms of '''pú èn''', '''pú ín''' etc. etc. They are all two syllable words, and of course as two syllable words lack tone.
 


'''sadu''' "elephant" ... '''kaizadu''' "the elephants" or "elephants" ... as in '''kaizadu r jodo jini''' "the elephant is an inteligent animal"
The words in the first column above can be made plural by adding '''yè''' ... '''pu.in yè''' = some people, '''kyu.en yè''' = sometimes, etc. etc.
 
 
'''**''' Birds smaller than pidgeons are '''bodi'''. Birds that are pidgeon size and above are '''jwadoi''' (the singular being '''jwado''').


..
..


== ..... Saidaus==
'''upu''' and '''ufen''' can be followed by '''uwe''' to show that the group is acting (or undergoing an action) collectively.  


..
'''a?awe''' can be added to show that the group is acting (or undergoing an action) individually.
 
'''saidaus''' is a noun or noun phrase derived from a adjective.


..
..


[[Image:TW_801.png]]
== ..... Olus==


..
..


You can see that the elements that surround the head are the exact same elements that surround '''seŋko''' head.
'''olus''' can mean "noun". It can also mean "noun phrase" (NP).


There is one tiny difference though. The word '''sowe''' "very" which usually modifies adjectives can if fact become an adjective itself and modify a '''saidaus'''. For example ...
Whereas '''kenʒi''' refers to countable nouns, '''olus''' is the term used for uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns).


'''gèu''' = green, '''gèu sowe''' = very green => '''gèus''' = a/the green one, '''gèus sowe''' = a/the very green one ... whereas '''sowe''' never modifies '''seŋko'''.
The expansion of '''olus''' by various modifiers is quite similar to  '''kenʒi''' ...


..


Actually '''saidaus''' can be derived from "locatives" and "genitives" as well. For example ...
[[Image:SW_091.png]]


'''pobomaus''' = the one on top of the mountain
Of course numbers, '''iyo''' and '''hài''' are not appropriate (quantity slot)


'''yós jene''' = the one belonging to Jane
Also the items in the determiner slot are a bit "iffy". For example '''moze dí''' is perhaps '''kài moze dí''' with '''kài''' elided.


..
..


By the way ... determiners and relative clauses can also stand by themselves, but they are unmodified when they do so.
So ... an example of an  '''olus''' ...


..
'''hoŋko ima wì ?azwo pona''' = "two cups of warm milk"
 
== ..... Maŋga==


..
..


This corresponds to what is called the "infinitive" in the Western Linguistic tradition or the "masDar" in the Islamic Linguistic tradition.
A few hundred words have a dual existence ... in one guise '''olus''' in another guise  '''kenʒi'''.  With final vowel '''e u a o''' or '''i''' (the last one is especially common) they have a collective meaning. For example ...  
 
Let us take '''solbe''' meaning "to drink" as an example of a '''maŋga'''.
 
Now phrases can be built up around '''maŋga'''. For example ...
 
'''solbe saco''' = "to drink quickly" or "drinking quickly"
 
or ... adding more elements ...
 
'''solbe moze sacowe''' = "to drink the water quickly" or "drinking the water quickly"
 
Note that what is the S or O argument in an active clause, in a '''maŋga''' phrase, must immediately follows the '''maŋga'''. Also because '''saco''' no longer immediately follows the '''maŋga''', it must be explicitly tagged as an adverb be the -'''we''' suffix.
 
or ... adding even more elements ...
 
'''solbe moze sacowe hí jono''' = "John drinking the water quickly" or "for John to drink the water quickly".
 
Note that what is the A argument in an active clause, in a '''maŋga''' phrase, comes last and has the particle '''hí''' in front of it. (the particle '''hí''' is probably related to the particle '''há''' somehow)
 
Note ... other clausal elements ( dative object, time, adverb, instrument, reason, purpose) can be added ... in our example they would come between '''sacowe''' and '''hí'''.
 
And we can expand the '''maŋga''' phrase even more ... it can become the head of what we defined before as the '''seŋko''' phrase.
 
 
[[Image:TW_803.png]]
 
 
The '''seŋko''' phrase is slightly modified in that the numerative slot and the genitive slot must be empty.
 
In the example we are using '''sacowe''' "quickly" can be taken out of the heart, and placed in the '''seŋko''' phrase as '''saco'''. In the adjective slot of course.
 
Also you have a choice as to where you can place any locative. A locative can be placed in the locative slot of the '''seŋko''' phrase, or they can be placed in the heart, just before '''hí'''. For example ...
 
'''solbe moze sacowe nambofi hí jono''' = "John drinking the water quickly in the house" or "for John to drink the water quickly in the house".
 
Note ... in a '''maŋga''' phrase, we can not show definiteness by placing an argument before or after the verb (well actually only the S A and O arguments can be tagged for definiteness in this way). All arguments are assumed to be definite if bare, if the have '''èn''' "some/a" in front of them, they are indefinite.


..
..


All '''pilamo''' can be appended to '''maŋga''' ... but most don't make much sense ... however  -'''tu''' and -'''la''' appear often.
{|
 
! bodi ||align=center|  ng-o-r
'''tore doikatu''' = "he/she came on foot" or  "he/she came by walking"
|-
 
| birds || fly-{{small|3SG-IND}}
The -'''la''' usuage produced an adjective meaning ... "verbing" at the moment of speach. As with all adjectives it can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...
|} =>small birds fly ................. [notice the third person singular agreement on the verb]
 
'''bàu doikala''' = a/the walking man
 
'''bàu r doikala''' = a/the man is walking
 
Note ... '''bàu r doikala''' means exactly the same as '''bàu doikora'''.


..
..


== ..... Maŋgas==
However with a change of the final vowel to '''ai''' these concepts become countable.


..
..


English is very chaotic as to the various means it derive nouns from verbs. For example ... "discover" + "y" => the discovery ... "destroy" + "tion" => the destruction ... "run" + ∅ => the run.
{|
 
! bodai ||align=center|  lail-o-r-a
'''béu''' is a lot more orderly.
|-
 
| a small bird || sing-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}}
 
|} => a small bird is singing
'''maŋgas''' are similar to '''maŋga''' but defining a specific instance of the action rather than the action in general. Derived from '''maŋga''' by appending -'''s'''. If the '''maŋga''' is not vowel final, -'''os''' is appended.


..
..


'''solbe''' = "to drink" or "drinking"  =>  '''solbes''' = "the drinking"
Which can be made plural by putting a number in front (or one of the other numeratives).
 
'''dàin''' = "to kill" or "killing"  =>  '''dainos''' = "the killing", "the assassination"


..
..


[[Image:TW_804.png]]
{|
!  bodai ||align=center| uya || lail-u-r-a
|-
|  small bird || three || sing-{{small|3PL-IND-PRES}}
|} => three small birds are singing


..
..


For '''maŋgas''' the wider NP can contain numeratives. For example ...
Here are some more of these concepts treated in this way ...
 
'''hói solbes moze sacowe hí jono''' = "those two times that John drank the water quickly"
 
In fact, if you come across "times that"in an English text, inevitably it is translated by  "numerative" + '''maŋgas'''.


..
..


'''pilamo''' can be appended just as to a normal NP but some are not appropriate. For example none of the '''pilamo''' of location are appropriate. '''há''' is put in front to show ergativity (when '''maŋgas''' acts as an A argument)
{| border=1
  |align=center| '''yinki'''
  |align=center| crumpet
  |align=center| '''yinkai'''
  |align=left| a young unmarried woman, an attractive girl, a virgin
  |-
  |align=center| '''toti'''
  |align=center| children
  |align=center| '''totai'''
  |align=left| a child
  |-
  |align=center| '''wazbo'''
  |align=center| distance
  |align=center| '''wazbai'''
  |align=left| 3,680 m  (the unit of distance ... the '''béu''' km or mile)
  |-
  |align=center| '''malkufa'''
  |align=center| cabbages
  |align=center| '''malkufai'''
  |align=left| a cabbage
  |-
  |align=center| '''alha'''
  |align=center| flowers
  |align=center| '''alhai'''
  |align=left| a flower
  |}


One '''pilamo''' that is often found with '''maŋgas''' is -'''pi'''. For example ...
.. [[Image:TW_793.png]]


..
..


'''jono lailore doikaspi''' = "John sang while walking earlier today"
Words derived using the suffixes '''mi'''/'''mai''' also pattern with these dual identity words. For example ... '''beumai''' = "somebody with knowledge of the '''béu''' language and/or culture" : '''beumi''' = "the entire body of people with knowledge of the '''béu''' language and/or culture"
 
'''jono lailore pí doikas tunheun''' = "John sang while walking to the civic centre earlier today"


..
..


It can be difficult for an English speaker to grasp the difference between '''maŋgas''' and  '''maŋga'''. In English the semantic difference is often expressed using the definite article. For example ...
Remember that all collectives take singular pronouns and, if they are A or S arguments, produce an -'''o'''- in slot 1 of the verb (as opposed to -'''u'''-).


..
..


'''solbe moze hí fanfa''' = a horse drinking water
There is a particle '''k+''', that when put in front of a '''saidau''' or a '''kenʒi''' gives an '''olus'''


'''solbes moze hí fanfa''' = the drinking of the water by the horse
You hear it a lot prefixed to animal names ... like when talking about characteristics which are common to an entire species. For example ...


..
'''sadu''' "elephant" ... '''k+ sadu''' "the elephants" or "elephants" ... as in '''k+ sadu r jodo jini''' "the elephant is an inteligent animal"


'''maŋgas''' and  '''maŋga''' both can appear as S, A, O, CS and CO arguments ... depending of course on whether we are talking about one specific act or the action in general.
'''gèu''' "green" .......... '''k+ gèu''' "the green ones"


However it is always '''maŋga''' that appear in verb complements.  (Note to self ... maybe we can continue the  '''maŋga'''/ '''maŋgas''' distinction into the complement).  For example ...


..
{|
 
|-
'''tomo tumori doika jene''' = Thomas forced Jane to walk .... [ note '''doika jene''' is one element and must stay in this order ]
! k+ sadu || r || jodo || jini
 
|-
'''tomo tumori timpa jene hí jono''' = Thomas forced John to hit Jane ... [ note '''timpa jene hí jono''' is one element an must stay in this order ]
| elephant-kind || {{small|COP}} || animal || clever
 
|}
..


Above are examples with intransitive and transitive  '''maŋga''' respectively.
Note ... '''k+''' is in free variation with '''kài''' "sort/type/kind"


By the way,  when the O argument is '''seŋko''',  '''tuma''' is a regular verb, meaning  it "to squeaze". For example ...


'''tomos komo jwuba jene tumori''' = Thomas squeazed Jane's left buttock
'''**''' Birds smaller than pidgeons are '''bodai'''. Birds that are pidgeon size and above are '''jwado''' ... '''jwado''' is '''kenʒi'''.


..
..
----
1) ... '''blèu''' = to hold ..... '''laila''' = to sing, singing ..... '''jenes blor laila bòi''' = Jane can sing well.
2) ... '''cùa''' = to depart ... '''timpa''' = to hit, hitting ...  '''jonos cori timpa jene''' = John stopped hitting Jane
----
Note to self : Dixon makes a big deal over the below .... think about it again.
1) The killing of the president was an atrocious crime.
2) Killing the president was an atrocious crime.
You can see that one form "killing" is used in 2 different constructions. By the way ... "killing" in (1) is considered more noun-like.
----


== ..... Saidau==
== ..... Saidau==
Line 775: Line 713:
..
..


The '''saidau''' has two uses in the '''béu'''. It can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...
The '''saidau''' (adjective) has two uses in '''béu'''. It can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...


'''bàu gèu''' = a/the green man
'''bàu gèu''' = a/the green man
Line 783: Line 721:
'''gèu''' above is a simple adjective. Adjective phrases exist as well.
'''gèu''' above is a simple adjective. Adjective phrases exist as well.


First there are a number of particles which are placed after an adjective to modify its degree.
An important particle that increases the degree of an adjective is  '''sowe'''. For example ... '''gèu sowe''' "very green"
 
Foe example '''gèu sowe''' "very green"
 
Secondly nearly every verb can produce an adjective by the suffixing of '''la''' to give the "present participle". For example '''doika''' "to walk" or '''kata''' "to cut" produce '''doikala''' "in the process of walking" and '''katala''' "in the process of cutting". When derived from a transitive verb the object can be icluded as well. For example '''katala lazde''' "in the process of cutting the grass".
 
Note ... objects (in an equivalent active clause) can take these participles as well. For example ... '''lazde jwola kata''' "grass being cut" ... '''jwola kata''' being classed as an adjective phrase as well.
 
..
 
Note .... '''bàu katala lazde''' = '''bàu nàis katora lazde''' .................. however the first ... '''bàu katala lazde''' is nearly always preferred.
 
 
 
Also note ... '''pà r katala lazde''' = '''(pás) katara lazde''' .............. however the second ... '''katara lazde''' is nearly always preferred.
 
 
In both cases the briefer version is chosen.


..
..


And a further note ... "I saw a man cutting the grass" is an English clause. I think Dixon analyses "the man cutting the glass" as a complement clause ??? This sees a bit strange to me. The '''béu''' equivalent .... '''bwari bàu katala lazde''' is just analyzed as Verb '''bwari''' ... Object '''bàu''' and Adjective Phrase '''katala lazde'''
These adjectives can become nouns by froning them with '''ə''',  '''kə''' and '''kuwai'''.


..
'''ə gèu''' = a/the green one


== ..... Feŋgi==
'''kə gèu''' = a/the green ones


..
'''kuwai gèu''' = greenness


The '''feŋgi''' or particles are too diverse to say anything meaningful about them here. We will learn them one by one as we go though the ten chapters.


..
[ NOTE : I don't think the schwa is visually distinct enough. From now on I will use a plus sign to depict the schwa ]


But just to fill out this section a bit,  I will give you two sets of pronouns. One set being the pronouns in their unmarked form'''*''' and the other ... the pronouns in their ergative form'''**'''.


Here, for a transitive clause, "that which initiates the action" is called the A argument, and "that which is affected by the action" the O argument. Also, for an intransitive verb, the noun is called the S argument. It is convenient to make a distinction between all three cases. I follow RMW Dixon in using this terminology.
'''+ gèu''' = a/the green one


In most languages the S argument is marked the same way as the A argument. However in some languages the S argument is marked the same way as the O argument. These are called ergative languages. '''béu''' is one of these ergative languages. About a quarter of the world languages are ergative or partly ergative.
'''k+ gèu''' = a/the green ones


Below are the '''béu''' pronouns for the S and O arguments. This form can be considered the "unmarked form".
'''kuwai gèu''' = greenness


..


{| border=1
OK ... that's better.
  |align=center| me
  |align=center| '''pà'''
  |align=center| us
  |align=center| '''wìa'''
  |align=center| inclusive
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| us
  |align=center|  '''yùa'''
  |align=center| exclusive
  |-
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''gì'''
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''jè'''
  |-
  |align=center| him, her
  |align=center| '''ò'''
  |align=center| them
  |align=center| '''nù'''
  |-
  |align=center| it
  |align=center| '''ʃì'''
  |align=center| them
  |align=center| '''ʃì'''
    |}


..


NOTE ... Pronouns  differ from nouns in that their tones change between the ergative and the unmarked form. For a normal noun it is sufficient that -'''s''' is suffixed. For example ...
'''+''' and '''k+''' are historically derived from '''?à''' "one" and '''kài''' "type". Actually they are in free variation with their historical counterparts ... a bit like "either" in English can have two pronounciations. When you want to emphasize, you would of course use the phonetically heavier version.


..
'''kuwai''' is a word meaning  property/characteristic.


{|
Actually these 3 words are also productive with "locatives" and "genitives" as well. For example ...
|-
! bàu-s ||align=center| glá || timp-o-r-yə
|-
| man-{{small|ERG}} |align=center|woman||align=center| hit-{{small|3SG-IND-PRF}}
|} ==> The man has hit the woman


'''+ pobomau''' = the one on top of the mountain


{|
'''+ yó jene''' = the one belonging to Jane
|-
! bàu ||align=center| glá-s || timp-o-r-yə
|-
| man ||align=center| woman-{{small|ERG}}|| hit-{{small|3SG-IND-PRF}}
|} ==> The woman has hit the man


..
..


Below are the pronouns in the ergative form.
[[Image:TW_918.png]]


..
..


{| border=1
The above chart shows the main derivational pathways in '''béu'''. Only pathways 2, 3, 4 are relevent to this section.
  |align=center| I
  |align=center| '''pás'''
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''wías'''
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''yúas'''
  |-
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''gís'''
  |align=center| you
  |align=center| '''jés'''
  |-
  |align=center| he, she
  |align=center| '''ós'''
  |align=center| they
  |align=center| '''nús'''
  |-
  |align=center| it
  |align=center| '''ʃís'''
  |align=center| they
  |align=center| '''ʃís'''
    |}


..
..


'''jè''' and '''jés''' are the second person plural forms.  
Note ... '''+ gèu sowe''' = "a/the very green one" ...  '''sowe''' never modifies a  '''senko'''.


There is one other pronoun ... the reflexive pronoun '''tí'''. This is always an O argument. Notice that it is the only O argument with a high tone.
By the way ... determiners and relative clauses can also stand by themselves, but they are unmodified when they do so. (Note to self : are you sure about this ?)
 
'''*''' In the Western Linguistic Tradition, these "forms" are called "cases". The English word case used in this sense comes from the Latin casus, which is derived from the verb cadere, "to fall", from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱad-.  The Latin word is a calque of the Greek πτῶσις, ptosis, "falling, fall". The sense is that all other cases are considered to have "fallen" away from the nominative (considered the unmarked form in Latin).
 
'''**''' By the way, there are 17 marked forms in '''béu''' ... the ergative being just one of these 17.


..
..


== ... Intensifiers==
== ..... Pila?o==


..
..


Remember earlier in this chapter, we mentioned the numerative slot (for the '''senko'''). To recap, this slot can contain ...
In total there are 17 cases plus the unmarked case (the absolutive case). The absolutive is not called a case in the '''béu''' linguistic tradition : instead it is called "noun base"


'''nò''' "plural" ... '''ʔà''' "one" ... '''hói''' "two" ... '''léu''' "three" ... '''iyo''' "few" ... '''ega''' "four" ... '''oda''' "five" ..... up to ..... '''tautaita''' "1727<sub>10</sub> ... '''hài''' "many"and '''ú''' "all"
These 17 cases are called '''pila?o'''.


Below is show how '''hài''' and '''iyo''' divide up the semantic space of quantity(intensity).
These are attached to a noun and show the relationship of that noun with respect to the rest of the sentence.


..
..


[[Image:TW_788.png]]
The word '''pila?o''' is built up from ;-


..
'''pila''' (v) = to place, to position, to correctly align


Now all '''saidau'''(adjectives) can be affixed by -'''ge''' to form the comparative'''*''' form. For example ...
'''pila?o''' (n) = the positioner
 
'''bàu jutu''' = "the big man" : '''bàu jutuge''' = "the bigger man"
 
This affix can also be used with the numbers ...
 
'''juge''' "more than zero", '''?age''' "more than one" : '''hoige''' "more than two" .... up to '''tautaitage''' "more than 1727<sub>10</sub>'''**'''
 
Now -'''ge''' can also be affixed to '''iyo''' letting us fill in every box of the chart given above ... [[Image:TW_789.png]]


..
..


Now when attached to '''saidau''', -'''ge''' gives a relative value (i.e. you are comparing one thing with another). However when -'''ge''' is attached to a numbers you get an absolute value (i.e. you are not comparing the modified item with anything).
Probably the most important case is the ergative (the 11th case). In English it is the order of the verb and the arguments that shows who is the doer and what is the "done to". Namely the A and S argument come before the verb and the O argument after ... [ English is a non-ergative language and hence the A and S argument get treated in the same way.]


When you want to compare two items as to their numerative value, you must use the particle '''yú'''.
In '''béu''', to show who is the doer and what is the "done to", the suffix -'''s''' is appended to the A argument. For example ...
 
(The word '''yú''' and the suffix -'''ge''' both can be translated as "more", however '''yú''' only qualifies nouns and -'''ge''' only qualifies adjectives)
 
'''jonos byór yú klogau jenewo''' = "John has more pairs of shoes than Jane"
 
'''?ár yú halmai''' = "I want more apples"
 
'''?ár hài halmai''' = "I want a lot of apples" or "I want many apples"


..
..


Now a number can immediately follow '''yú'''. For example ...
'''glás bàu timporI''' => The woman hit the man ............... (with "the man" being the O argument)


'''?ár yú léu halmai''' = "I want three more apples"  
'''glá bàus timporI''' => The man hit the woman ................. (with "the man" being the A argument)


'''yár yú halmai jenewo''' = "I have more apples than Jane"
'''bàu tìah doikori''' => The man walked home ........................... (with "the man" being the S argument) ... [ '''béu''' is an ergative language and hence the O and S argument have the same form.]


..
..


To indicate "less" ... use '''yú iyo***'''. For example ...
[[Image:SW_063.png]]
 
'''jenes yór yú iyo halmai pawo''' = "Jane has less apples than me"
 
'''jenes yór yú iyo hói halmai pawo''' = "Jane has two less apples than me" .... but it would sound better to rephrase these as ...
 
'''yár yú halmai jenewo''' = "I have more apples than Jane" : '''yár yú hói halmai jenewo''' = "I have two more apples than Jane"


..
..


'''*'''The affix -'''mo''' is the superlative for adjectives. When joined to '''hài''' and '''iyo''' ... we get "the majority" '''haimo''' and "the minority" '''iyomo'''
There is a regular relationship between preposition and affix, apart from (11) which is highly irregular, (16) which is irregular and (17) which is very slightly irregular. When suffixes they all are usually written using a single consonant. No confusion can arise as normally consonants are illicit word finally. However there is no abbreviated forms for (15) and (17). Of the 17 consonants, ? and n are not involved in these abbreviations.
 
'''**'''Note ... the words '''noge''', '''haige''' and '''uge''' do not exist.
 
'''***'''I guess the existence of '''yú iyo''' mucks up the 10 slots I have worked out for the NP (Note to self : '''yú iyo''' => '''yuyo''' ?)


..
..


----
The '''pila?o''' are either realized as either affixes or as prepositions.


..
Whether the '''pila?o''' appears as an suffix or a preposition depends on whether you have a N (noun) or a NP (noun phrase). If you have N the affix is used, if you have NP the preposition is used.


Above we have talked about numeratives and in detail about how to quantify '''senko'''.
'''tiadua''' = beyond the house


Below we will touch on how other categories of words have their own intensifiers ...
'''dùa tìa yó yinkai hauʔe''' = beyond the house of the pretty girl


..
..


[[Image:TW_800.png]]
[[Image:TW_940.png]]  


..
[[Image:SW_092.png]]


'''hài bawa''' = many men
[[Image:SW_093.png]]


'''moze hè''' = a lot of water
[[Image:SW_094.png]]


[[Image:TW_568.png]]


'''hè''' also can qualify verbs. As with normal adverbs, if it doesn't immediately follow the verb it must take the form '''hewe'''.


(Note to self : I can't think of a reason you would want to separate '''hè''' from its verb)


'''glá doikori hè''' = the woman walked a lot
Note on the script ... If they are realized as affixes then, in the '''béu''' script uses a sort of shorthand. That is the affix is represented as one letter.
 
'''hewe glá doikori''' = the woman walked a lot
 
'''báus timpori glá hewe''' = the man hit a woman a lot
 
And also can intensify '''manga''' and '''mangas'''
 
'''solbe hè moze''' = "to drink a lot of water"
 
'''solbe moze hè''' = "to drink a lot of water"
 
The above two forms are equally likely to be found. There is a difference in meaning but you would be a real nitpicker to worry about that.


..
..


'''saidau''' and '''saidaus''' are both intensified by '''sowe''' ...  
Earlier we have seen that when 2 nouns come together the second one qualifies the first.


'''jutu sowe''' = "very big"
However this is only true when the words have no '''pila?o''' affixed to them.  If you have two contiguous nouns suffixed by the same '''pila?o''' then they are both considered to contribute equally to the sentence roll specified. For example ...


'''jutus sowe''' = "the very big one"
'''jonos jenes solbur moze''' = "John and Jane drink water"
 
..


Notice that '''mangas''' and '''saidaus''' can take two intensifiers ...
In the absence of an affixed '''pila?o''', to show that two nouns contribute equally to a sentence (instead of the second one qualifying the first) the particle '''lé''' should be placed between them. For example ...


'''hài solbes hè wiski''' = the many a lot of whisky was drink ... '''hài solbes hè wiski hí pà''' = the many I have drunk a lot of whisky
'''jono lé jene maumur''' = "John and Jane sleep"


'''hài gèus sowe''' = the many very green ones
Compare the above two examples to '''jono jene maumor''' = "Jane's John sleeps" ... that is "the John that is in a relationship with Jane, sleeps".


..
..


We will take about the opposite of intensifiers and other quantifiers in a later chapter. These are a lot rarer. The intensifiers are the ones most commonly used.
.. As parts of speech


..
..


== ... The 7 types versus basic types==
'''pila?o''' of location phrases (i.e. nouns with 1 -> 8 or 15) can be considered adjectives. They must come after a noun or a verb. 


..
'''pila?o''' of motional phrases (i.e. nouns with 13, 14, 16 or 17) can be considered adverbs. They can come in any position because it is understood that they are qualifying the verb.  


I have heard of people constucting languages and their main aim from the start was to create a language that contained only nouns or only verbs or what have you. I have always considered this a bit silly ... however it appears that I have arrived at such a position myself ... well at least as to the non-derived (basic form) of the words'''*'''.
'''pila?o''' phrases defining sentence rolls (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 11 or 12) can come anywhere. They are considered clause arguments.


..
----


[[Image:TW_784.png]]
(Note to self : move the below to a different section)


..
<sup>*</sup> [ Notice that in English, you can either say ... "a bird is in the tree" or "in the tree is a bird"


The base form of '''béu''' verbs are the '''maŋga''' which you can consider an "infinitive" or a "verbal noun". "MaSdar" if you will. To get a finite verb [called a "hook word" in '''béu'''] it must go through a derivational process [see Ch 3.1 for more information].
In '''béu''' only '''jwado r ʔupaiʔe''' is valid ... also note that in this case '''jwado''' is not definite because it is left of the verb. That rule doesn't work with the copula. ]


The '''béu''' adjectives seem to straddle two categoties ... nouns and adjectives. For example '''gèu''' means both "green" and "greenness" ("the green one" is represented by the '''saidaus''' '''gèus'''). But this is similar to many languages. For example in the English phrase "green is good",  "green" must be a noun.
----


In '''béu''' (as in English) '''gèu''' will most often occur as an adjective. In '''béu''' when '''gèu''' must appear as a noun in a position where it might be mistaken for an adjective it is put into a NP with head  '''kuwai''' ...  '''kuwai''' = property, quality, attribute, characteristic, feature. So  '''kuwai gèu''' is a NP meaning "greenness". In English when "green" must appear as a noun in a position where it might be mistaken for an adjective, it is changed into a noun with the affiX  "ness" of course.
'''jenes solbori moʒi lé ʔazwo''' = "Jane drank water and milk"


By the way ... there is one sure way to check if a word is  '''saidau''' or not. If a word can take the intensifier '''sowe''' then the word is  '''saidau''' (or a '''saidaus''' but you know it is '''saidau''' if it doesn't end in '''s''')
'''jonos jenes hecuri sadu ima lé ʔusfa uya''' = John and Jane saw two elephants and three giraffes.


(Note to self ... what '''béu''' word class is '''kuwai''' )
This word is that is never written out in full but has its own symbol. See below ...
 
As a theoretical basis I am following Basic Theory as forwarded by RMW Dixon in his trilogy of the same name. I don't consider '''béu''' to  diverge from Basic Theory. Just some of my categories are sub-categories of Basic Theory categories.
 
'''*'''In the chart we are ignoring grammatical words ... the '''fengi'''.  


..
..


== ... The main derivation pathways==
== ..... Maŋga==


..
..


Derivational morphology often involves the addition of a derivational suffix or other affix. Such an affix usually applies to words of one lexical category (part of speech) and changes them into words of another such category. For example, the English derivational suffix -ly changes adjectives into adverbs (slow → slowly).
These are verbs. In particular '''maŋga''' = "the infinitive form of the verb" or "verbal noun". They call it "maSdar" in Arabic.
 
Examples of English derivational patterns and their suffixes:


*adjective-to-noun: -ness (slow → slowness)
I shall call it "base verb".
*adjective-to-verb: -ize (modern → modernize)
*adjective-to-adjective: -ish (red → reddish)
*adjective-to-adverb: -ly (personal → personally)
*noun-to-adjective: -al (recreation → recreational)
*noun-to-verb: -fy (glory → glorify)
*verb-to-adjective: -able (drink → drinkable)
*verb-to-noun (abstract): -ance (deliver → deliverance)
*verb-to-noun (agent): -er (write → writer)


Derivation can be contrasted with inflection, in that derivation produces a new word (a distinct lexeme), whereas inflection produces grammatical variants of the same word.
In the BLT ('''béu''' linguistic tradition) the base verb is considered "dead" or "inactive". Only when a suitable "tail" is added does it become "alive" or "active".  


Generally speaking, inflection applies in more or less regular patterns to all members of a part of speech (for example, nearly every English verb adds -s for the third person singular present tense), while derivation follows less consistent patterns (for example, the nominalizing suffix -ity can be used with the adjectives modern and dense, but not with open or strong).
So "finite verb" is called '''maŋga ?algu'''. The infinitive form of the verb is simply  '''maŋga'''


Derivation can also occur without any change of form, for example telephone (noun) and to telephone. This is known as zero derivation. [ All the above from "wikipedia" under "linguistic derivation" ]
(By the way ...  '''?algu''' = alive) ... the next Chapter is all about  '''maŋga ?algu'''.


..
..


The diagram below shows the five main derivational processes which are absolutely fundamental to the working of the language.
In '''béu''' the base verb is a noun. This is different to most languages in the world. In most languages, verbal nouns are derived from verbs. For example ... destroy => destruction : verb => noun whereas in '''béu'''. For example ... '''twá''' : "a/the meeting" => '''twarua''' : "I intend to meet".


..


[[Image:TW_814.png]]
English is very chaotic as to the various means it derives nouns from verbs. For example ... "discover" + "y" => the discovery ... "destroy" + "tion" => the destruction ... "run" + '''∅''' => a/the run. Whereas '''béu''' is as orderly as it is possible to get.  


OK ... lets get started ...


[1]
'''solbe''' = "to drink"


Most nouns can be used as adjectives just by placing them directly after the noun they are qualifying. Like "school bus" in English. For example ...
Now the '''manga''' can amalgamate with other elements. For example ...
 
'''solbes moze''' = a drink of water
 
Also there is a particle '''yó''' joining the possessed to the possessee ... however it is rarely used.
 
"John's house" => '''nambo yó jono''' .... but more usually '''nambo jono'''
 
This is zero derivation and is marked as <b>ø</b> in the above diagram.
 
[2]
 
We have already remarked on the '''saidau''' => '''saidaun''' [ Ch 2.1 ].
 
(Note to self : well I think we have)
 
[3]
 
We have already remarked on the  '''manga''' => '''mangan'''  transforms [ Ch 2.1 ].
 
[4]
 
'''solbe''' = to drink
 
'''solben''' = the drinking
 
[5]
 
'''yubau''' = strong
 
'''yubako''' = to strengthen
 
'''pona''' = hot
 
'''ponako''' = to heat up
 
[6]
 
'''kwofan''' = bicycle
 
'''kwofanko tunheun''' = to bicycle
 
[7]
 
This will be covered in detail in the next chapter. However here is a quick example ...
 
{|
|-
! solb-a-r-a || moze
|-
| drink-{{small|1SG-IND-PRES}} || water
|} ==> I am drinking water
 
[8]
 
{|
|-
! tunheu-n || kwofan-a-r-u
|-
| townhall-{{small|DAT}} || bicycle-{{small|1SG-IND-FUT}} 
|} ==> I will bicycle to the townhall
 
[9]
 
'''pazba yubara''' = I am strengthening the table  .... note <u>not</u> '''pazba *yubakara'''
 
'''ponara moze''' = I am heating up some water .... note <u>not</u> '''*ponakara moze'''
 
[10]
 
'''saco''' = fast, '''sacos''' = quickly


'''solbe saco''' = "to drink quickly" or "drinking quickly"


----
...and adding more elements ...


The remaining two transformations shown on the diagram are for verbalization. Actually the affix -'''ko''' is added to all adjectives or nouns in order to make a verb. However in one circumstance this affix is not needed. This is for the R-form based on a multi-syllable adjective or noun. For example ...
'''solbe moze sacois*''' = "to drink the water quickly" or "drinking the water quickly"


..
'''solbe moze sacois''' and  '''solbe saco''' are examples of '''maŋguma''' ('''maŋga''' plus the augmentive  -'''uma''')


'''pazba yubaku''' = strengthen the table (a command)
Actually a  '''maŋguma''' can get as involved as a clause can. With arguments to the left of the head considered definite and arguments to the right, indefinite. But there is one difference. The ergative argument is marked by the particle '''hí''' rather than '''há''' or -'''ta''' or -'''s'''.


'''pazba yubakis''' = you should strengthen the table
so adding even more elements ...


..
'''hí jono solbe moze sacois hí jono''' = "John drinking the water quickly" or "for John to drink the water quickly".


'''ponaku moze''' = heat up some water  (a command)
This is as involved as I will go. But note that other clausal elements ( dative object, time, adverb, instrument, reason, purpose) can be added. As in normal clauses there is a tendancy to add them to the RHS.


'''ponakos moze''' = he/she should heat up some water
Now the '''maŋguma''' is basically a noun ... as is '''kenʒi''' and '''olus'''. And as with '''kenʒi''' and '''olus''' more modifiers can be added.


..
..


[[Image:SW_095.png]]I don't know the '''béu''' name for this. Actually I don't know the English name for this.


'''baukara téu dí''' = I am manning this position
The items in the determiner slot are quite rare compared to '''kenʒi''', but they are licit. There can be nothing in the quantity slot or the ownership slot.
 
'''bauku téu dí''' = man this position (a command)
 
'''baukos téu dí''' = he/she should man this position
 


The "number + '''wì'''" modifier is quite rare. It means "so many iterations of the action". For example ...


'''bàu''' = man
'''uya wì hí pà solbe moze''' = (the) three times I drank water


'''bauko''' = to man (exact same meaning as in English)
..
..


'''gèu''' = green : '''geuko''' = to make green
Adjectives can be a bit confusing. For example '''saco''' "quick" would be used immediately after '''maŋga'''. But if not immediately after '''maŋga''' but within the '''maŋguma''', it should take the form '''sacois''' (-'''is''' being the adjective => adverb suffix). But is it is outwith the '''maŋguma''' in the quality slot it will be '''saco'''. Got it ?
 
'''naike''' = sharp : '''naikeko''' = to sharpen
 
'''keŋkia''' = salty : '''keŋkiko''' = to add salt  ... when the adjective ends is a diphthong (and is non-monosylabic) the last vowel is dropped.
 
'''keŋkikara''' = "I am adding salt"  .... note <u>not</u> '''*keŋkara''' ... this is because '''keŋkia''' is a derived word.
 
'''sài''' = colour : '''saiya''' = colourful : '''saiwa''' = colourless : '''saiko''' = to paint (maybe via '''*saiyako''')


..
..


Note ... -'''ko''' is possibly an eroded version of '''gàu''' ( "to do" or "to make" ).
In the example we are using '''sacois''' "quickly" can be taken out of the heart, and placed in the '''senko''' phrase as '''saco'''. In the adjective slot of course.


Note ... There seems to be a method of deriving a two place verb from a one place verb by affixing -'''n'''. For example ... '''diadia''' = "to happen" : '''diadian''' = "to cause". While this mechanism is seen all over the language I have not mentioned it in the chart above. This is because I consider it non-productive. I count '''daidia''' and '''diadian''' both as base words. In a similar way that English speakers consider "rise" and "raise" independent words, "lie" and "lay" independent words and "sit" and "set" independent words.
In a similar vain you have a choice as to where to put a locative. A locative can be placed in the locative slot or it can be placed in '''maŋguma'''. No change of form for the locative ...


..
'''solbe moze sacois tiapi hí jono''' = '''solbe moze sacois hí jono tiapi''' = "John drinking the water quickly in the house" = "for John to drink the water quickly in the house".


== ... Questions==
OK ... so much for  '''maŋguma'''.


..
..


English is quite typical of languages in general and has 8 question words ... "which", "what", "who", "whose", "where", "when", "how" and "why". '''*'''  
Now we have already introduced the  '''pila?o'''. The '''pila?o''' are totally compatible with '''kenʒi'''. Nearly totally compatible with '''olus'''. However only two '''pila?o''' fit in with '''maŋga'''. These are '''pila?o''' 2 and 9 ... '''là''' and '''tú'''. When fitted to '''maŋga''' they produce an adjective and an adverb respectively.
 
..
 
'''béu''' has nine  ...  [[Image:TW_794.png]]


..
..


If you hear any of these words you know you are being solicited for some information. These words have no other function apart from asking questions.
We'll talk about and adverbial construction first ...


..
'''tore doikatu''' = "he/she came on foot" or  "he/she came by walking"


Notice that there is no word for "how" or "why" in the above table. These are expressed by '''wé nái''' and '''nenji**''' respectively.
'''tore tú doika saco''' = "he/she came by walking quickly"


On the other hand, '''béu''' has single words where English has "how much" and "what kind of".
Notice that the particle '''tú''' acts as it normally does and appends to the end of a single word, but stands alone to the left of a multi-word phrase.


..
..


The first two have dual forms ... '''nén''' and '''mín''' are the absolutive forms and '''nós''' and '''mís'''  are the ergative forms.
And the adjectival constuction ...


..
..
Now  '''ʔai?''' always comes utterance final ...  '''ʔala''' always comes between two NP's. This leaves 7 QW's. Of these '''nén mín dá''' and '''kyú''' are fronted'''***'''
And '''láu kái dá''' and '''nái ****''' are found in their respective slots within a NP ... [[Image:TW_785.png]]
Note that when questioning who owns something '''yó mín''' occurs within the NP ... this is a sort of secondary usuage of '''mín''' and is not considered here.
Also note that '''dá''' can be either fronted or within a NP.  When fronted it asked where the action takes place. When within a NP it asks about the NP's location. For example ...


..
..
Line 1,272: Line 977:
{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! jene-s  || halma  || dá || hump-o-r-u
! bàu || doika-la
|-
|
| Jane- {{small|ERG}}  || apple || where || eat-{{small|3SG-IND-FUT}}  
| man || walk-{{small|1SG-IND-PRES}}  
|} => where is the apple that Jane will eat
|}  
 
A suitable answer to the above is '''pazbala''' "on the table"


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! dá || jene-s  || halma || hump-o-r-u
! bàu || r ||doika-la
|-
|
| where || Jane- {{small|ERG}} || apple || eat-{{small|3SG-IND-FUT}}  
| man || {{small|COPULA} ||walk-{{small|P2}}
|} => where will Jane eat the apple
|}  


A suitable answer to the above is '''pazba?e''' "at the table"
Also '''là''' appears often in conjunction with '''manga'''


..
The '''là'''-constuction acts as an adjective. An adjective meaning "XXX-ing" at the (relevant ???) moment of speech". As with all adjectives it can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...


Statement .... '''bàus glán nori alha''' = the man gave the woman flowers
'''bàu doikala''' = a/the walking man
 
Question 1 .... '''mís glán nori alha''' = who gave the woman flowers ?
 
Question 2 .... '''í mín bàus nori alha''' = the man gave flowers to who ?
 
Question 3 .... '''nén bàus glán nori''' = what did the man give the woman ?
 
Question 4 ... '''bàus glán nori láu alha''' = How many flowers did the man gave the woman ?
 
Question 5 ... '''bàus glán nori alha kái''' = What kind of flowers did the man give the woman ?
 
Question 6 ... '''dá bàus glán nori alha''' = Where did the man give the woman flowers ?
 
Question 7 ... '''kyú bàus glán nori alha''' = When did the man give the woman flowers ?
 
Question 8 ...  '''í glá nái bàus nori alha''' = to which woman did the man gave the flowers ?
 
Question 9 .... '''há bàu nái glán nori alha''' = which man gave the woman flowers ?
 
Question 10 .... '''bàus glán nori alha ʔala cokolate''' = Did the man gave the woman flowers or chocolate ?
 
Question 11 ... '''ʔír doika ʔala jaŋka''' = Do you want to walk or run


Question 12 .... '''bàus glán nori alha ʔai?''' = Did the man gave the woman flowers ?
'''bàu r doikala''' = a/the man is walking .... [Note ... '''bàu r doikala''' means exactly the same as '''bàu doikora''']


Question 13 ... '''minji bàus glán nori alha''' = Why did the man give the woman flowers ?
'''là''' differs from most other '''pila?o''' in that, with a '''manga''', it never stands alone. For example ...


..
'''bàu doikala sacois''' = a/the quickly walking man .... [Note ... the affix -'''is''' is appended to '''saco''' to show it is connected to '''doika''' and not '''bàu'''] instead of '''*bàu là doika saco'''


'''*'''Note ... there was also a "whom" until quite recently. Also some people count "whose" as a separate QW ... however it shouldn't be ... it is just "who" + "z" (the genitive clitic).
In a '''là'''-constuction, everything has the same order as a MP ... the only difference is that -'''la''' is appended to the '''manga''' and '''hí''' XXX is dropped. Well  '''hí''' XXX represents the A argument and the A argument is the thing being described by the '''là'''-constuction, so no need to exist inside the construction.


'''**'''Well '''nenji''' is the normal traslation of "why". In certain situations you might hear '''minji''' ... when it is knows that an action/state is for somebody's benefit and no other reason is applicable.
This '''là'''-constuction can be called the present participle. The present participle has the meaning "in the process of XXXing".For example ...  


'''***'''Around one third of the world's languages front a question word.  English is one of them.  [ see http://wals.info/feature/93A#2/25.5/151.2 ]
'''doika''' "to walk" =>  '''doikala''' "in the process of walking"


'''****'''Actually these 4 words often stand alone. But when they do, they are still considered within a NP ... only that the rest of the NP has been dropped.
'''kata''' "to cut" => '''katala''' "in the process of cutting".


..
When derived from a transitive verb the object can be included as well. For example '''katala lazde''' "in the process of cutting the grass".  
 
----


In the table of question words above I have marked the top two and the bottom two off. The top two because they are the QW's par excellence ... they are used more than the other QW's. The bottem two because their answers are restricted to two items. '''?a''' is restricted to "yes" or "no" ... '''?ala''' to one of the NP's that sandwich it.
[ Note ... '''bàu katala lazde''' "the man cutting the grass" means the same as '''bàu nàis katora lazde''' "the man who is cutting the grass" ... however the first is nearly always preferred ... well it is shorter ]


'''láu kái dá kyú''' and '''nái''' each have low tone equivalents. These particles are important grammatical words in their own right and they each are related to their high tone equivalent in subtle ways. Basically '''làu''' introduces the "partitive construction" , '''kài''' means "like" or "similar", '''dà''' introduces an adverbial phrase of location, '''kyù''' introduces an adverbial phrase of time, and, '''nài''' is a "relativizor".
[ Also note ... '''pà r katala lazde''' means the same as '''(pás) katara lazde''' ... however the second is nearly always preferred ... well it is shorter ]


=== ... nài===
O arguments (in an equivalent active clause) can be modified by the '''là'''-construction as well. For example ... '''lazde jwola kata''' "grass being cut" ... '''jwola kata''' being classed as an adjective phrase ('''jwòi''' meaning "to undergo").


..
..


In English "who", "that" and "which" are relativizors  ... a particle that introduced a relative clause. For example ...
'''maŋga''' ... as well as appearing as arguments in a clause. That is S, A, O, CS and CO, also appear as complements to auxiliary verbs.
 
"The man ''who'' ate the chicken"


"The chicken ''that'' was eaten"
One such auxilliary is '''tuma''' meaning "to squeaze" or "to force". [ when it means "to squeaze" it is followed by a '''kenʒi''' and is acting as a normal verb, when it means "to force" it is followed by a '''manga''' and is acting as an auxiliaryl verb ]


"The knife and fork ''which'' were used to eat the chicken"


..
In these constructions, there is a very strong tendency (almost a rule) that the '''maŋga''' is on RHS of  '''maŋguma'''. However if an ergative (A) argument is present, that element can instead be on RHS. Also a very strong tendency fot the O aurgment to directly follow the '''maŋga'''. There is a fairly strong tendency for the S argument to directly follow the '''maŋga'''.  


In '''béu''' there is only one relativizer, which is '''nài'''.  For example ...
So ...


'''glá nài bàu timpori''' = "The woman who the man hit"
Thomas forced John to hit Jane => '''tomos tumori timpa jene hí jono''' or '''tomos hí jono timpa jene'''


Now ... in the above ... '''glá''' is being modified by '''nài bàu timpori'''. '''nài bàu timpori''' implies a clause '''bàu timpori glà'''.
Thomas forced Jane to walk => '''tomos tumori doika jene'''


To construct a relative clause for '''glá''', '''nài''' is inserted between the noun and clause, and the noun is dropped from the clause.
[By the way ... as an example of '''tuma''' being a normal verb ... '''tomos jwuba komo jene tumori''' = Thomas squeazed Jane's left buttock ]
 
Now in the above example ... the roll of '''glá''' in the clause is absolutive (i.e. '''glá''' is unmarked). However if the roll of the noun ... in the clause ... is one defined by one of the 17 '''pilamo''', this '''pilamo''' must be suffixed to '''nài'''. For example ...


..
..


pi ... the basket '''naipi''' the cat shat was cleaned by John.
Two other examples of '''maŋga''' with auxilliary verbs (why not) ...


la ... the chair '''naila''' you are sitting was built by my grandfather.
1) ... '''mbe''' = to hold ..... '''lelpa''' = to sing, singing ..... '''jenes mbor lelpa bòi''' = Jane can sing well. ['''lelpai''' = a song ?]


... mau / goi / ce / dua / bene / komo ...
2) ... '''glù''' = to depart ... '''timpa''' = to hit, hitting ... '''jonos glori timpa jene''' = John stopped hitting Jane
 
tu ... '''báu naitu ò''' is going to market is her husband = the man with which she is going to town is her husband ... '''kli.o naitu''' he severed the branch is rusty
 
ji ... The old woman '''naiji''' I deliver the newspaper, has died.
 
-s ... '''báu nàis timpori glá_rò  jutu sowe''' = The man that hit the woman is very big.
 
wo ... The boy '''naiwo''' they are all talking, has gone to New Zealand.
 
-n ... the woman '''nàin''' I told the secret, took it to her grave.
 
fi ... the town '''naifi''' she has come is the biggest south of the mountain.
 
?e ... '''nambo naiʔe''' she lives is the biggest in town = the house in which she lives is the biggest in town
 
-lya ... the boat '''nailya''' she has just entered is unsound
 
-lfe ... the lilly pad '''nailfe''' the frog jumped was the biggest in the pond ... (note to self : improve this, work out translation for all these concepts)


..
..


If the roll of the noun (in the clause) is one not specificated by the 17 '''pilamo''' then the noun can not be dropped entirely, it must be represented by a pronoun. For example ...
One notable use of the '''maŋga''' is emphasis, where the '''manga''' is used right next to the same word in '''r'''-form. For example ...
 
 


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! gwài || nài  || polg-u-r-a || ala || ʃì
! daw-o-r-u || dàu
|-
|-
| the islands ||  {{small|REL}}  || sail-{{small|1PL-IND-PRES}} || between || them
| die-{{small|3SG-IND-FUT}} || death
|}
|} = He/she will die a death => He/she will die for sure
 
Literally "the islands that we are sailing between them" ... or ... in good English ... "the islands that we are sailing between"
 


..


{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! gawa || nài  || toto-s  || lent-o-r-e || tài  || nù
! lay-o-r-i || lái
|-
|-
| the women ||  {{small|REL}}  || children-{{small|ERG}} || play-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}} || in front of || them
| live-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}} || life
|}
|} = He/she lived a life => He/she had a full life
 
Literally "the women that the children played in front of them" ... or ... in good English ... "the women that the children played in front of"


..
..
Line 1,416: Line 1,066:
{|  
{|  
|-
|-
! há ||  gawa || nài  || toto-s  || lent-o-r-e || tài  || nù || waulo || dainuru
! maum-a-r-i || mauma
|-
|-
| {{small|ERG}} || the women ||  {{small|REL}}  || children-{{small|ERG}} || play-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}} || in front of || them || dog || kill-{{small|3PL-IND-FUT}}
| sleep-{{small|1SG-IND-PAST}} || sleep
|}
|} = I slept a sleep => I had a deep and satisfying sleep
 
Literally "the women that the children played in front of them, will kill the dog" ... or ... in good English ... "the women that the children played in front of will kill the dog"


..


In English we have what is called a headless relative clause. '''béu''' has this also ...
Now '''maumori mauma''' and '''daw.oru dàu''' are strange. Normally both verbs are strictly intransitive. But here there are transitive. Seemingly sometimes '''béu''' allows


'''nài bwair r nài mair''' = "what you see is what you get"
a) intransitive => transitive
b) A argument => absolutive form
c) O argument = '''maŋga'''  


'''nàis bwor r nàis mair''' = "that which sees is that which gets"
'''pà maumari mauma''' is the answer to '''mìn maumari mauma'''  
 
'''ò nàis bwor r ò nàis mor''' = 'he that sees is he that gets" ... [this one not headless of course ... a pronoun has been added to narrow down what exactly we are talking about]


..
..
..


=== ... kyù===
'''*''' Another way to say this is '''solbe saco moze**'''


..
'''**''' If '''saco''' doesn't immediately follows the  '''manga''', it must be explicitly tagged as an adverb by the -'''is''' suffix. The exact same rule as for (finite)clauses.


'''kyù''' = when
----
 
Note ... "I saw a man cutting the grass" is an English clause. I think Dixon analyses "the man cutting the glass" as a complement clause ??? This sees a bit strange to me. The '''béu''' equivalent .... '''hecari bàu katala lazde''' is just analyzed as Verb '''hecari''' ... Object '''bàu''' and Adjective Phrase '''katala lazde'''
'''toili gìn naru kyù twairu''' = I will give you the book when we meet ............................  '''kyù twairu'''  can be considered an adverb of time.
 
..
 
=== ... dà===
 
..
 
'''dà''' = where
 
'''pà twahu dà yildos twaire''' = meet me where we met in the morning ........................  '''dà yildos twaire'''   can be considered an adverb of place.
 
..
 
=== ... kài===
 
..
 
'''kài''' = as, like
 
 
{|
|-
! jono || r || kài || dada || ò
|-
| john || is || like/as || older brother} || his
|} => John is like his older brother  .................................................................... in this example '''kài''' and what follows can be considerd an adjective.
 
 
 
{|
|-
! jono || r || kài || dada
|-
| john || is || like/as || older brother}
|} => John is like my older brother  .................................................................... in this example '''kài''' and what follows can be considerd an adjective.
...
 
 
{|
|-
! jono-s || klud-o-r || kài || tomo-s || klud-o-r
|-
| john-{{small|ERG}} || writes-{{small|3SG-IND}} || like/as || thomas-{{small|ERG}} || writes-{{small|3SG-IND}}
|} => John writes like Thomas writes ........................................................ in the following examples '''kài''' and what follows can be considerd an adverb of manner.
 
 
 
{|
|-
! jono-s || klud-o-r || kài || tomo-s
|-
| john-{{small|ERG}} || writes-{{small|3SG-IND}} || like/as || thomas-{{small|ERG}}
|} => John writes like Thomas ...........................................Note ... the final verb has been dropped but Thomas keeps the ergative marking.
 
 
 
{|
|-
! jono-s || huz-o-r || kài || kulumo
|-
| john-{{small|ERG}} || smoke-{{small|3SG-IND}} || like/as || chimney
|} => John smokes like a chimney
 
 
 
{|
|-
!  taud-o-r-a || kài || hunwu || tú || húa || gayana
|-
|  to be annoyed-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}} || like/as || bear || with || head || aching
|} => he/she is annoyed like a bear with a  headache
 
(Note to self .... is '''gayana''' still valid)
 
 
{|
|-
! bù || ?oim-o-r-a || kài || fiʒi || mù || moze
|-
|  not || to be happy-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}} || like/as || fish || out || water
|} => he/she is unhappy like a fish out of water
 
 
 
{|
|-
! gì || r || gombuʒi || kài || jono
|-
|  you || are || argumentative  || like/as || John
|} => you are argumentative like John .............................. i.e. in the same manner ... for example ... shouting over other people when they try and put forward their arguments
 
 
Note ... the wide variety of things being compared ... clause to clause : clause to noun : noun to noun
 
..
 
=== ... làu===
 
..
 
Question ... '''ò r láu bòi''' "how good is he ?"
 
Answer .... '''ò r làu bòi jonowo "he is as good as John"
 
 
 
'''làu''' means "to such an extent or degree" and is used in front of adjectives. The below are all single clauses.


..
'''jono r làu bòi jenewo''' = "john is as good as jane"
'''tomo r làu''' fat _ '''plùa bù blòr doika''' = "thomas is so fat that he can not walk"
'''ʔazwo pona làu hói hoŋko''' = two cups of hot milk 
..
There are three main usages for this particle. The three examples above demonstrate these three usages.
..
----
----


== ..... Feŋgi==


..
..


Note ... all the above should be actually two clauses but because of truncation ... [ a chimney ] <= [ a chimney smokes ] ... [ before ] <= [ she used deceit before ] ...  [ John ] <= [ John is argumentative ] ...  [ agreed ] <= [ all parties agreed ] ... [ John ] <= [ John is ] ... these constructions often appear as if only a NP follows '''kài'''.
The '''feŋgi''' or particles are too diverse to say anything meaningful about them here. We will learn them one by one as we go though the ten chapters.
 
Usually for particles that can either be followed by a NP or a clause, I add '''gò''' after the particle when a clause follows. This is to prevent errors in comprehention. For example '''jì''' means "for" and is followed by a NP (usually a person). I have '''jì gò''' meaning "in order that"  ...  '''jì gò''' being followed by a clause. In '''béu''' the first word of a clause is often a noun. If I had '''jì''' meaning "in order that" there might be misunderstanding (albeit temporary). English does this also in many constructions [ I should go into this more fully ??? ]. Of course I could have a totally different particle for "in order that" but I wanted to emphasis the semantic overlap between these to constructions.
 
But there is no chance of misunderstanding when '''kài''' is heard ... it is always followed by a clause. Even in (5) what we have is a clause. The clause is '''jono r''' (with the '''r''' dropped). Actually '''kài''' means "in the manner or roll specified" ... the last bit added to include cases like (5).


..
..


Note ... '''kài''' can not be followed by an adjective.
But just to fill out this section a bit,  I will give you two sets of pronouns. One set being the pronouns in their unmarked form'''*''' and the other ... the pronouns in their ergative form'''**'''.


Here, for a transitive clause, "that which initiates the action" is called the A argument, and "that which is affected by the action" the O argument. Also, for an intransitive verb, the noun is called the S argument. It is convenient to make a distinction between all three cases. I follow RMW Dixon in using this terminology.


There are 5 nouns that are associated with 5 of these above question word / indefinite pairs. '''làus''' = amount, quantity : '''kàin''' = kind, sort, type : '''dàs''' = place : '''kyùs''' accasion, time : '''sàin''' = reason, cause, origin
In most languages the S argument is marked the same way as the A argument. However in some languages the S argument is marked the same way as the O argument. These are called ergative languages. '''béu''' is one of these ergative languages. About a quarter of the world languages are ergative or partly ergative. The ergative system ...
 
These 5 nouns are never followed by '''nài'''. The table below is interesting. It shows the logical equivalence of a hypothetical expession (on the LHS) and the logical equivalent actually used (on the RHS).


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..


'''*làus nài''' => '''làu'''
{|
|-
! bàu || lé || glá || maum-u-r-i
|-
| man || and || woman||align=center| sleep-{{small|3PL-IND-PAST}}
|} ==> The man and the woman slept


'''*kàin nài''' => '''kài'''


'''*dàs nài''' => '''dà'''
{|
|-
! bàu-s ||align=center| glá || timp-o-r-i
|-
| man-{{small|ERG}} || align=centre|woman|| hit-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}}
|} ==> The man hit the woman


'''*kyùs  nài''' => '''kyù'''


'''*sàin nài''' => '''sài'''
{|
|-
! bàu ||align=center| glá-s || timp-o-r-i
|-
| man ||align=centre| woman-{{small|ERG}}|| hit-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}}
|} ==> The woman hit the man


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..


There are two adjectives associated with these question word / particle pairs.  '''laubo''' meaning "enough" and '''kaibo''' meaning "suitable".
Below are the '''béu''' pronouns for the S and O arguments. This form can be considered the "unmarked form".  
 
Also there are two nouns associated with these question word / particle pairs. '''lauja''' meaning "level" and '''kaija''' meaning "species/model".
 
 
sài
 
..
 
'''sài''' = because of
 
'''dari solbe sài ò''' = I started to drink because of her  ..................................................  '''sài ò'''  can be considered an adverb of reason.
 
Note ... '''sài''' means "because of" ... '''sài gò''' means "because"


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..


----
[[Image:SW_119.png]][[Image:SW_108.png]]


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..


'''mpau''' includes the listener in the "we", '''pài''' excludes the listener from the "we" and '''jè''' indicates a plural "you".


The proper way to use '''?o''' is to use it for all non-humans. But in actually practice, some people might "elevate" the status of a family pet and call it '''òn''' or '''ʃì'''.


To say something like "john is as good at writing as jane" you have to use '''ʔà''' (or '''ʔàbis''') ... see the next section.
'''onde''' is used for "they" when they are all male, '''ʃide''' is used for "they" when they are all female, '''ʃinde''' is used for "they" when they are mixed, and '''?ode''' is used for "they"when they are all non-human.


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..


Note that 3) and 8) do not mean the same thing ... '''kài''' defines a multi-characteristic concept (thing or action) while '''làu''' specifies position'''*''' on a uni-characteristic scale. ['''*''' or "degree" or "amount"]. So '''làu''' introduces only a quantity and '''kài''' intruduces a quality or manner.
Below are the '''béu''' pronouns for the A argument  ... the "ergative form".


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[[Image:TW_621.png]]
[[Image:SW_120.png]]


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..


I find the above table interesting. It is skewed ... OK '''pí wé nài''' ("in the manner that") can be used but it hardly ever is. Usually '''kài''' = "in the manner that". Why is it skewed ? My answer is ...
NOTE ... Pronouns differ from nouns in that their tones change between the ergative and the unmarked form. For a normal noun it is sufficient that -'''s''' is suffixed. For example ...
 
"For everyone the most important things around them are other people. And the most important "attribute" of a person is "how" they behave."
 
Hence '''kài''' has supplanted '''pí wé nài'''.


Also notice that any adjective outwith a NP has to be introduced by the copula, hence '''sàu kài''' instead of simply '''kài'''.
From now on I will call the ergative form the '''s'''-form, and the unmaked form the base form.


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..


Note ... '''nù r làu jutu saduwo''' and '''nù r jutu kài sadu''' do not mean the same thing ...  '''nù r làu jutu saduwo''' would be said when you have one specific '''sadu''' "elephant" in mind.
There is one other pronoun ... the reflexive pronoun '''tí'''. This is always an O argument. Notice that it is the only O argument with a high tone.
 
So  '''nù r làu jutu saduwo''' => "they're as big as the elephant" ... '''nù r jutu kài sadu''' would be said when you are talking about elephants in general. So => "they're as big as elephants"


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..


'''*''' In the Western Linguistic Tradition, these "forms" are called "cases". The English word case used in this sense comes from the Latin casus, which is derived from the verb cadere, "to fall", from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱad-.  The Latin word is a calque of the Greek πτῶσις, ptosis, "falling, fall". The sense is that all other cases are considered to have "fallen" away from the nominative (considered the unmarked form in Latin).


 
'''**''' By the way, there are 17 marked forms (cases) in '''béu''' ... the ergative being one of these.
Good, Better, Best
 
..
 
'''làu''' is part of a larger paradigm ... the comparative paradigm ... demonstrating with the help of '''bòi''' ("good")  ...
 
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{| border=1
  |align=center| >>>
  |align=left| '''boimo'''
  |align=left| best
  |-
  |align=center| >
  |align=left| '''boige'''
  |align=left| better
  |-
  |align=center| =
  |align=left| '''làu bòi'''
  |align=left| as good
  |-
  |align=center| <
  |align=left| '''boizo'''
  |align=left| less good
  |-
  |align=center| <<<
  |align=left| '''boizmo'''
  |align=left| least good
  |}
 
..
 
The top and the bottom items are the superlative degree and so have no "standard of comparison".
 
The fourth one down is used less frequently than the second one down. This is because its sentiment is sometimes expressed by negating the third one down. For example ...
 
'''gì bù r làu bòi pawo''' = "you're not as good as me" can be used instead of  '''gì r boizo pawo''' "you are less good than me"
 
[ actually '''gì r boizo pawo''' would be the normal way to express this sentiment. But '''gì bù r làu bòi pawo''' would be used, for example,  as a retort to "I'm as good as you" ]
 
The superlative forms are found as nouns more often than as adjectives. That is '''boimo''' and '''boizmo''' are rarer than '''boimos''' and '''boizmos'''. (see table below)
 
..
 
'''boimos''' =  the best : '''bàu boimo''' = the best man
 
'''boizmos''' = the least good :  '''bàu boizmo''' = the least good man
 
..
 
[ you are argumentative like John but you are even worse ] ... explain this more
 
 
=== ... ?ài===
 
..
 
The same or not the same
 
..
 
'''ʔài''' = "same"
 
'''bù ʔài''' = "different"
 
Note ... for "the other", NP before the verb : for "another", NP after the verb)
 
1a) ''' jono lé jene sùr ʔài bèn ''' = "John and Jane are the same"  ... logically the ''' bèn ''' is unnecessary, but it is often included ... euphony.
 
1b) '''jono r ʔài jenewo''' = "John is the same as Jane"
 
The above two examples are ambiguous as to whether John and Jane are the same w.r.t. one characteristic or the same w.r.t. all characteristic.
 
2a) '''jono lé jene r ʔài jutuwo''' = "John and Jane are the same size"
 
2b) '''*jono r ʔài jenewo jutuwo''' = "John is the same as Jane, sizewise" = "John is the same size as Jane"
 
The above is not allowed ... there is a rule saying that you can't have two consecutive -'''wo''' endings. So 2b) has to be re-assembled as ...
 
'''jono r làu jutu jenewo''' .... see Ch2.11.1
 
[Note '''jutuwo''' is derived from '''jutumiwo''' but the '''mi''' "ness" is invariably dropped.
 
'''ʔàibis''' = similar
 
'''ʔài dù''' = exactly the same
 
'''ʔaimai''' = similarity
 
'''lomai''' = difference
 
To say something like "John is as good at writing as Jane" we can not say '''*jono r làu bòi jenewo kludauwo''' [ ??? ] [ two consecutive -'''wo''' no good ? ]
 
You must use a sort of topic comment construction.
 
'''wo kludau bòi_jene r ʔài jonowo''' or '''wo kludau bòi_jene lé jono r ʔài '''


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Latest revision as of 21:00, 26 June 2020

TW 415.png

..... The 5 basic word types

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All words are derived from these 5 basic types. Actually the fengi "particle" have so many subtypes (often single particles are a subtype to themselves) that it is a bit of a fudge to say that béu has 5 basic types. Maybe more honest to say that béu has 4 groups of words and the behaviour (syntactically) of any word in these 4 groups depends on which group it is in.

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1) fengi = particle ... this is a sort of "hold-all" category for all words (and affixes) that don't neatly fit into the other categories. Interjections, numbers, pronouns, conjunctions, determiners and certain words that would be classed as adverbs in English, are all classed as fengi.

By the way ... all affixes are counted as a type of fengi.

An example is wò .. the preposition indicating the oblique case.

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2) kenʒi = an object

An example is bàu ... "a man"

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3) olus = material, stuff

An example is moze ... "water"

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4) saidau = adjective

An example is nelau ... "dark blue"

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5) manga = a verb in its base form (citation form). When used "actively" it will take its r-form, u-form or i-form.

An example is twá meaning "to meet" or "a meeting" (the concept of "meet" disassociated from any arguments, tense, aspect or whatever).

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SW 062.png

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..... Kenʒi

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kenʒi can mean "noun". It can also mean "noun phrase" (NP).

.

Probably the most "basic" of the basic 5 ... tangible and discrete.

The noun can take six types of modifiers. These six types must come in a certain order ...

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SW 070.png

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In the above diagram, an descending arrow followed by a bar indicates a closed set. A descending arrow by itself indicates an open set. Branching arrows indicate multiple possibilities.

The head of the NP can be referred to as kenʒita. Usually it is called this by lay people and by linguists when the concept is first brought up. However, thereafter it is usually referred to as húa meaning "head".

kenʒita is kenʒi plus the diminutive suffix. kenʒi can also take the augmentative suffix -uma. kenzuma "extended noun phrase" is a normal kenʒi, with either a relative clause (RC) appended to the right or a partitive appended to the left hand side

The words highlighted in red convert the noun phrase (or indeed the sentence in which the NP is embedded) into a question. A blue circle indicates the only mandatory element. But even these elements can be dropped on occasion ... when they are understood from context or the preceding conversation. When we have one adjective, and the head is understood, ɘ can be substituted for the head, kɘ if the head is plural.

ɘ gèu = a/the green one : kɘ gèu = a/the green ones

These two particles can also be used with other noun modifiers, however not always mandators with non-adjective modifiers.

ɘ nái = which one : kɘ nái = which ones

kɘ dí = these ones : ɘ dè = this one

However nái, dí and dè can constitute NP's by themselves. A bit like English

Looking at the chart above might give you a false impression of béu noun phrases. The number of modifiers within a noun phrase is usually only one or two. When there is two, they must occur in a certain order, hence the necessity of the chart above. I don't think it would be easy to process a noun phrase with six modifiers, probably some of them would be shunted off into a RC with an initial copula. A noun phrase can take multiple RC's. They can stand beside each other in a sort of apposition.

I should make one further point here. The particles ú "all" and jù "no" can appear to the left of the head. They can also appear in the quantity slot.

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... Quality

..

More than one adjective is allowed in this slot. For example ... bàu gèu tiji = the little green man

kái meaning "what type" can also appear in this slot. In which case it turns the whole noun phrase (or sentence) into a question. For example ...

bàu gèu kái = what kind of green man ? ... (NP question)

há bàu gèu kái glà timpori = what kind of green man hit the woman ? ... (sentence question)

Now when you have multiple adjectives they will have a certain order depending upon their sub-category.

This is the same as English ... for example, you always say "the third big black dog" and never "the black third big dog".

béu uses the exact same order as in English but the other way around.

béu has two adjectives that come in this slot that are worth mentioning. They might have claims to particle-hood, but I guess their appearance in this slot marks them as adjectives. No reason that they can't be both.

1) ... ló = "other"

The semantics of this word remind me of the semantics of tuge/jige. With the relative quantifiers the speech participants have agreed on the number/amount relevant to the situation. tuge/jige are used to change this value. Similarly ló is used in a situation where the speech participants have agreed on the population (of whatever noun category) under consideration but one of them wants to expand this population.

2) ... laubo = enough

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... Quantity

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This slot is very interesting ...

SW 071.png

The above chart is split into definite and vague sections. All the items under definite represent an integer (or "the empty set" or "the full set"). The items under vague represent an approximate number/amount. This section is further divided into discrete and non-discrete (i.e. countable.non-countable).

yè modifies both discrete and non-discrete. It means a moderate amount ... some value between zero and "all". It does NOT mean "indefinite" ... "some man" is bàu èn, not *bàu yè.

This word can be used to mark plurality (together with iyo and hài) for those nouns that can not be pluralized in themselves. For example ... húa, "head" : húa yè, "heads".

jí jí and jía are about equally common and mean the same thing. However jía tends to be used in more formal situations and jí jí in less formal.

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láu (how many) can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the NP (and hence the clause containing the NP) into a question. For example ...

bàu jutu láu = "How many men are big ?" or "How many big men ?" ???????????

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The chart above shows only the terms used for absolute quantity ????????????????? It does not cover, what I call relative quantity. Let me explain ...

Imagine the speaker and the hearer both have an idea of the number/amount relevant to a situation but one of them wants to change this number/amount. The amount he wants to change this agreed number/amount by, I call the relative quantity. It can be positive or negative. When positive we use the word tuge "more" ... when negative we use the word jige "less" *. For example ...

turi waudo tuge = more dogs came

t-u-r-i waudo tuge
come-3PL-IND-PST dog more

These to particles can be modified by some (most) of the terms given in the chart above. They can be modified by any of the terms hi-lighted in orange.

Sw 060.png

For example ... bía tuge ima = two more beers please"

Note : actually jía and tundu are not applicable to kenʒi. They are only applicable to olus

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* These words might be derived somehow from jutu "big" and tiji "small" ... along with the comparative suffix -ge **.

The comparative suffix can be appended to any adjectives. For example ... jini "clever" => jinige "cleverer" : hau?e "beautiful" => hau?ege "more beautiful"

There is also a superlative suffix ... -mo. So jinimo "cleverest" amd hau?emo "most beautiful"

** There is an independant word gé which might be related to the comparative suffix. It is a particle that always comes in twos. For example ... gé tundu ... gé bói "the more the merrier".

Sometimes you coma across bù tuge "no more". This should be analysed as a contraction of bù ?ár tuge "I don't want more".

*** Perhaps wóin is related to the verb gwói "to pass by" plus the past participle -in.

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... Ownership

..

Basically you can just stick a personal name, a pronoun or any NP in here and the head noun will be considered owned by the object inserted here.

Sometimes, the particle yó precedes the object inserted.

For example jwado gèu yó jene = Jane's big green bird

Note that the particle yó is usually dropped when the possessor is next to the head. However as other elements intervene, the likelihood that yó is used increases.

If mín (who) is stuck in this slot ... then we have a question. For example ...

jwado gèu yó mín = Whose big green bird ? = Whose's the big green bird ?

There can be ambiguity with some kenʒi possessing a genitive. For example ...

Does waudo bàu dí mean "the dog of this man" or "this dog of the man" ?

To get around this, we have a special rule ...

"If anything is in the ownership slot, dí and dè never appear in the determiner slot. Instead they appear as dían "here" and dene "there" in the locative slot"

Note ... sometimes ownership as such is not what is of interest, it is if a person has actual physical possession. In this case yó is not used. But the object takes pila?o 2.

jwado gèu là Long John Silver catora = The big green bird (on Long John's shoulder presumably) is chatting away.

Actually segments showing actually physical possession like the example above, go in the locative slot which we will cover next.

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... Location

..

Ordinal numbers appear in this slot. The ordinal numbers are ...

SW 066.png

You will notice that there are two words for first ... da?a and dahua. They are both equally common, but da?a tends to occur in the presence of dima or duya while dahua tends to occur in the presence of dauci.

..

Proper locatives comprise a noun plus one of the 9 pila?oi .... pi la mau goi ce do bene komo ni. For example ...

duzu pobomau = The oryx on the mountain

Also pila?o 14 turns up in this slot. These items are strictly not giving information about "location" but rather "origin". They are classed as a locatives nevertheless. For example ...

bàu glazgofi = a/the man from Glasgow

If the location consists of more than one word, the usual rule applies and the pila?o appears as a preposition ...

duzu máu pobo jutu = The oryx on the big mountain

There is a tendance that the longer the locative item, the more likely the locative item will be shunted into a relative clause ...

duzu nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu = The oryx on the big beautiful mountain

nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu is a relative clause. We will cover RC's in a bit.

All prepositions that are not pila?o lead to the location being shunted into a relative clause. For example ...

polga?o nài r fiagan gwai = "the sailing boat which is among the islands" or simply "the sailing boat among the islands"

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Also dá "where" can appear in this slot. In which case it turns the noun phrase into a question. For example ...

bàu gèu dá = where is the green man ?

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Addendum ... To keep things simple I refrained from mentioning this before but time can also be expressed in this slot. For example "the turmoil jé 1300's". Actually location AND time can both be in this slot at the same time. For example "the anger pí Iceland jé 1950's ...".

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* Probably derived from uci "tail".

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... Determiner

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There are five of these ... dí (this), dè (that), nái (which), èn (some) and ín (any) . For example ...

dí and dè are called demonstratives in the WLT. They will be covered in the section after next.

nái turns the whole noun phrase into a question. For example ...

bàu gèu tiji nái = which little green man ? ... noun phrase question

And of course, if a NP represents a question, any clause containing this NP will also be a question. For example ...

bàu gèu tiji nái glà timpori = which little green man hit the woman ? ... a clause AND a question

èn "some" appear in this slot ... bàu gèu tiji èn = "some little green man" ...... indefinite

ín "any" appear in this slot ... bàu gèu tiji ín = "any little green man" .............. super indefinite

There is one little rule to remember ...

"Only one item is allowed in this slot, so if you want an indefinite as well as a demonstrative, the demonstrative is shunted off to the locative slot and given the form dían or dene."

I guess this is logical in a way. dí and dè were originally associated with pointing. But when the object is indefinite, how can you point ? "here" or "there" is about as definite as you can get.

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... Side-note re demonstratives

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dí "this" and dè "that" are two words that orientate and focus the hearer's attention on an object (or location *) in the speech situation. These words are called demonstratives in the WLT.

According to Holger [ Diessel (1999:57) ] ...

i) A demonstrative can be construed as an argument in its own right. That is, it can constitute a NP without any additional elements.

ii) A demonstrative can co-occur with a noun in a NP. That is, it can be a noun modifier.

iii)* A demonstatives can function as a verb modifier. It specifies (the) location (where something happens **).

* Perhaps in a more earlier version of the WLT "location" and (iii) would not be included in the definition of determiner. English and béu conform to this earlier version of the WLT. However I think it is a good idea when considering all the world's languages, to use this wider definition of "demonstrative".

"**" Perhaps in a language where a copula is not routinely used "where something happens" would not necessarily be appropriate.

And here are examples of the above three functions (in English) ...

a) This is excellent.

b) That guy is an idiot.

c) Here we do things differently.

Diachronically, these three functions can run into each other. Function (a) and function (b) are particularly close. They have the exact same form in English, but no confusion can occur, because "this/that:b" can be deduced to be inside a NP by the rules of English grammar. Most languages in the world (70%) have identical forms for "this/that:a" and "this/that:b". Of the languages that do not have identical forms, the difference can be quite subtle. For example in Thai นี่ [ nii falling tone ] is "this:a" and นี้ [ nii high tone ] is "this:b". ........... [see WALS 42A]

Some languages lack (a). For example, in Korean, to express "this:a" you must say "ce il" meaning "this thing". So (b) used instead of (a)

Some languages lack (b). They would say something like "the guy here" instead of "this guy". So (c) instead of (b)

Some languages lack (c). They would say something like "this place we do things differently" instead of "here we do things differently". So (b) instead of (c.)

[ And while we are talking on this area, perhaps we should mention 3rd person pronouns (see WALS 43A). Some languages lack 3rd person pronouns. They cover this function by saying something like "this" or "that guy" ... A further point of interest (well, I find it interesting anyway) is that the English he and here are cognates. Going back to a P.I.E. form meaning (a) or (b). -r was a ProtoGermanic adverbial suffix. ]

béu patterns pretty much like English (and the pattern of English is not atypical of the world's languages) ...

dí = "this:a" : dè = "that:a"

dí = "this:b" : dè = "that:b"

dían = "this:c" (i.e. "here") : dene = "that.c" (i.e. "there")

I was originally thinking of just appending the béu adverbial suffix -is to produce (c). But rejected that idea in order to get more phonological contrast between ...

(A) "this:c" and "that.c", (B) "this/that:a/b" and "this/that:c"

With dían there is a hint that it might be derived from dí plus pila?o 15. And also with dene ... a hint that it might have the same origin. But who can tell. These things are lost in the mists of time.

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... Further uses of dí and dè

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If we first hear a plural noun articulated in a conversation, the most likely meaning we would assigned to it would be the universal set. For example moltai.a. There is a more explicit means to express the universal set. For example ... kài moltai = "doctor.kind" but this construction is seldom used.

An example of usage is ... moltai.a súr jini = "doctors are clever"

OK ... now lets zoom in a bit. To zoom in we need to take in or give out some narrative. So now we hear the following ....

Next week British junior doctors will withhold many services in protest against the long hour expected of them

OK ... after hearing that ... moltai.a dè would be taken to mean "British junior doctors"

OK ... lets hear a further bit of narrative ...

Much to the disgruntlement of the senior doctors who will have a hard week ahead of them making up for the short fall.

OK ... after hearing that ... moltai.a dè would be taken to mean "British senior doctors". So, what dè refers to doesn't persist long, Our perspective is continually changing.

[ I can't help thinking that the proximate/obviate system existing in Plains Cree would be very useful. You could keep track of two protagonists through a discourse without reverting to full NPs. But I guess there are cognative reasons why it is difficult to use. Well, if it was easy to use, it would be far more wide-spread. It must be very useful. ]

This is in normal discourse. However if some objects are physically pointed out * when first introduced (and presumably they stay in sight for the duration of the discourse) what dí and dè referred to would persist.

So we can see that dè points back in time. It brings to the top of consciousness, the last set of doctors talked about.

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In a narrative many objects are encountered. If a newly introduced object is marked by dí it means that the object is important to the narrative and you will shortly be getting more information about it. The process is not exactly the inverse of anaphora. But one is compatible with "information given in the past leading to easy identification of which object in particular we are talking about. The other is compatible with "in the near future I will give you information about this object and you will be able to identify which object in particular I am talking about as well as I can"

béu and English are exactly the same in this respect.

* Not necessarily by using a finger ... a gesture with the head ... or even the orientation of the eyes can suffice.

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..... Kenzuma

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béu also has what I call an extended noun phrase. An extended noun phrase is a normal NP with either a partitive appended to the LHS, or a RC appended to the RHS.

The example below shows an extended noun phrase kenzuma with both a partitive AND an RC ...

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SW 090.png


uya wì yiŋkai ofa nài tunheu-h doik-u-r-a
..... three of girl five REL townhall-DAT walk-3PL-IND-PRES

..... Three of the five girls that are walking to the townhall.

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... The relative clause

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The béu relative clause is pretty similar to the English relative clause. However not exactly so.

A relative clause is a clause that modifies a NP of course. I think the best way to explain how the béu RC works is to give three examples. Each example will demonstrate a subtype of RC. In each example I will reconstitute the plain clause (PC) underlying the RC by looking at the NP and the RC.

(1)

yiŋkai ofa nài doik-u-r-a
the girl five REL walk-3PL-IND-PRES

=> the five girls who are walking

NP = yiŋkai ofa : RC = nài doikura => PC = yiŋkai ofa doikura "five girls are walking" ....... notice that nài is binned.

In the above PC yiŋkai is absolutive.

(2)

bàu nài-h glá-s fy-o-r-i yiŋkai-wo
the man REL-DAT women-ERG tell-3SG-IND-PAST girl-ABOUT

=> the man to whom the woman told about the girl

NP = bàu : RC = nàih glás fyori yiŋkaiwo => PC = bàuh glás fyori yiŋkaiwo ............ notice that nài is again binned. Also -h has to find some other word to stick on to.

In the above PC bàu is dative.

(3)

gwai.a nài polg-ai-r-a fía ?ode
the islands REL sail-1PL.INC-IND-PRES between them

=> "the islands that we are sailing between"

NP = gwaia : RC = nài polgaira fía ?ode => PC = polgaira fía gwaia ...................... nài is again binned. Also ?ode is discarded. The NP must be positioned behind fía, the preposition that governs it.

In the above PC gwaia is not absolutive, also not adorned by a pila?o. Instead it exists in a prepositional phrase. For this reason, a pronoun ?ode is needed in the RC to represent the NP

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I believe that Arabic structures its RC in a similar way to the above.

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OK ... you should all be experts in RC's now. You just run backward the 3 NP + RC => PC processes.

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This is discussed in greater detail in CH5.

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... The partitive

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A few sections back I mentioned ló ... the béu equivalent to "other/others/the other/another/the others".

ló is used where the speech participants have agreed on the population (of whatever noun category) under consideration but one of them wants to expand this population.

This expansion is a bit like "a shot in the dark", the speech participant requesting additional items usually is in the dark as to that additional items are available. Because of this, there is only one word ló. I mean, if the speech participant requesting additional items had an idea about what additional items were available, he could add more detail along with his request. Perhaps we would have donu meaning "another with a bell", doni meaning "another with a whistle" ... well O.K. I am being a bit facetious ... but you understand what I am getting at.

Now ló is used to expand the population under consideration ... to increase the scope of the conversation ... to sort of "zoom out".

Now sometimes it is necessary to "zoom in". For instance suppose you heard "three of the doctors decided to stop off at the pub on the way home" within larger narrative. After this point, these three doctors could be referred to as they. The main-protagonists/subject/topic have been reduced from eight to three. Zooming in is not a shot in the dark. The population under consideration is a known concept. The usual method is to specify the "new scope" plus the "original scope" in some sort of construction. The languages of the world all have methods for zooming in ... usually some quite simple construction, often involving a particle which has evolved from "from"/"out of". wì is the particle used in béu. Some examples of its use ...

ú wì moltai = all of the doctors

yè wì moltai = some of the doctore = several of those doctors = a number of those doctors

jù wì moltai = none of the doctors

tontu wì moltai dí = the majority of these doctors

a?a lú tuge wì moltai dè more = one or more of those doctors

hài wì moltai dè = many of those doctors

ima ín wì moltai dè = any two of those doctors

moltai wì bawa dí = the doctors out of these men

[ Note ... ú wì moltai = "all of the doctors" is pretty similar to ú moltai and moltai ú ... similarly these expressions with jù. Nothing really to worry about. You have similar flexibility in many languages (including English). Perhaps ú wì moltai stresses that no "zooming" is happening. Perhaps ú moltai is used for generic statements such as ú moltai r jini "all doctors are clever". Perhaps moltai ú is used in non-generic statements such as moltai ú ture tìa pà "all the doctors came to my home this morning" ] ..

I suppose the nearest equivalent of wì is "of". However wì has not so many functions as "of". For "belonging to", yó is used. For "relating to"/"connected with". wò is used.

[Still thinking if wì should be involved with "a glass of milk"/"a heart of gold"]

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Pronouns are used in partitives in the same way as NP's.

a?a wì pài = "one of us"

ima wì onde = "two of them"

há ima wì onde glá timpura = "two of them are hitting the woman"

[ I guess English is a bit stange w.r.t. plural pronoun. I mean ... why not "*two of they are walking" {following the pattern "they are walking"} instead of "two of them are walking" ]

Two other numeratives that we haven't mentioned yet are tontu "the majority"/"most" and tonji "the minority".

ton = bit/part/section ... tontu <= ton jutu ... tonji <= ton tiji ... toŋko = to seperate ???

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... 16 useful little words

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jupu nobody upu everybody
juku never uku always
juda nowhere uda everywhere
jufen nothing ufen everything

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The above are obviously eroded forms of jú pú, ú pú, ... etc. etc.

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pu.en somebody pu.in anybody
kyu.en sometime kyu.in any time
da.en somewhere da.in anywhere
fenen something fenin anything

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The above are obviously eroded forms of pú èn, pú ín etc. etc. They are all two syllable words, and of course as two syllable words lack tone.

The words in the first column above can be made plural by adding yè ... pu.in yè = some people, kyu.en yè = sometimes, etc. etc.

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upu and ufen can be followed by uwe to show that the group is acting (or undergoing an action) collectively.

a?awe can be added to show that the group is acting (or undergoing an action) individually.

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..... Olus

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olus can mean "noun". It can also mean "noun phrase" (NP).

Whereas kenʒi refers to countable nouns, olus is the term used for uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns).

The expansion of olus by various modifiers is quite similar to kenʒi ...


SW 091.png

Of course numbers, iyo and hài are not appropriate (quantity slot)

Also the items in the determiner slot are a bit "iffy". For example moze dí is perhaps kài moze dí with kài elided.

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So ... an example of an olus ...

hoŋko ima wì ?azwo pona = "two cups of warm milk"

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A few hundred words have a dual existence ... in one guise olus in another guise kenʒi. With final vowel e u a o or i (the last one is especially common) they have a collective meaning. For example ...

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bodi ng-o-r
birds fly-3SG-IND

=>small birds fly ................. [notice the third person singular agreement on the verb]

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However with a change of the final vowel to ai these concepts become countable.

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bodai lail-o-r-a
a small bird sing-3SG-IND-PRES

=> a small bird is singing

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Which can be made plural by putting a number in front (or one of the other numeratives).

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bodai uya lail-u-r-a
small bird three sing-3PL-IND-PRES

=> three small birds are singing

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Here are some more of these concepts treated in this way ...

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yinki crumpet yinkai a young unmarried woman, an attractive girl, a virgin
toti children totai a child
wazbo distance wazbai 3,680 m (the unit of distance ... the béu km or mile)
malkufa cabbages malkufai a cabbage
alha flowers alhai a flower

.. TW 793.png

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Words derived using the suffixes mi/mai also pattern with these dual identity words. For example ... beumai = "somebody with knowledge of the béu language and/or culture" : beumi = "the entire body of people with knowledge of the béu language and/or culture"

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Remember that all collectives take singular pronouns and, if they are A or S arguments, produce an -o- in slot 1 of the verb (as opposed to -u-).

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There is a particle k+, that when put in front of a saidau or a kenʒi gives an olus

You hear it a lot prefixed to animal names ... like when talking about characteristics which are common to an entire species. For example ...

sadu "elephant" ... k+ sadu "the elephants" or "elephants" ... as in k+ sadu r jodo jini "the elephant is an inteligent animal"

gèu "green" .......... k+ gèu "the green ones"


k+ sadu r jodo jini
elephant-kind COP animal clever

Note ... k+ is in free variation with kài "sort/type/kind"


** Birds smaller than pidgeons are bodai. Birds that are pidgeon size and above are jwado ... jwado is kenʒi.

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..... Saidau

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The saidau (adjective) has two uses in béu. It can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...

bàu gèu = a/the green man

bàu r gèu = a/the man is green

gèu above is a simple adjective. Adjective phrases exist as well.

An important particle that increases the degree of an adjective is sowe. For example ... gèu sowe "very green"

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These adjectives can become nouns by froning them with ə, kə and kuwai.

ə gèu = a/the green one

kə gèu = a/the green ones

kuwai gèu = greenness


[ NOTE : I don't think the schwa is visually distinct enough. From now on I will use a plus sign to depict the schwa ]


+ gèu = a/the green one

k+ gèu = a/the green ones

kuwai gèu = greenness


OK ... that's better.


+ and k+ are historically derived from ?à "one" and kài "type". Actually they are in free variation with their historical counterparts ... a bit like "either" in English can have two pronounciations. When you want to emphasize, you would of course use the phonetically heavier version.

kuwai is a word meaning property/characteristic.

Actually these 3 words are also productive with "locatives" and "genitives" as well. For example ...

+ pobomau = the one on top of the mountain

+ yó jene = the one belonging to Jane

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TW 918.png

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The above chart shows the main derivational pathways in béu. Only pathways 2, 3, 4 are relevent to this section.

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Note ... + gèu sowe = "a/the very green one" ... sowe never modifies a senko.

By the way ... determiners and relative clauses can also stand by themselves, but they are unmodified when they do so. (Note to self : are you sure about this ?)

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..... Pila?o

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In total there are 17 cases plus the unmarked case (the absolutive case). The absolutive is not called a case in the béu linguistic tradition : instead it is called "noun base"

These 17 cases are called pila?o.

These are attached to a noun and show the relationship of that noun with respect to the rest of the sentence.

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The word pila?o is built up from ;-

pila (v) = to place, to position, to correctly align

pila?o (n) = the positioner

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Probably the most important case is the ergative (the 11th case). In English it is the order of the verb and the arguments that shows who is the doer and what is the "done to". Namely the A and S argument come before the verb and the O argument after ... [ English is a non-ergative language and hence the A and S argument get treated in the same way.]

In béu, to show who is the doer and what is the "done to", the suffix -s is appended to the A argument. For example ...

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glás bàu timporI => The woman hit the man ............... (with "the man" being the O argument)

glá bàus timporI => The man hit the woman ................. (with "the man" being the A argument)

bàu tìah doikori => The man walked home ........................... (with "the man" being the S argument) ... [ béu is an ergative language and hence the O and S argument have the same form.]

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SW 063.png

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There is a regular relationship between preposition and affix, apart from (11) which is highly irregular, (16) which is irregular and (17) which is very slightly irregular. When suffixes they all are usually written using a single consonant. No confusion can arise as normally consonants are illicit word finally. However there is no abbreviated forms for (15) and (17). Of the 17 consonants, ? and n are not involved in these abbreviations.

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The pila?o are either realized as either affixes or as prepositions.

Whether the pila?o appears as an suffix or a preposition depends on whether you have a N (noun) or a NP (noun phrase). If you have N the affix is used, if you have NP the preposition is used.

tiadua = beyond the house

dùa tìa yó yinkai hauʔe = beyond the house of the pretty girl

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TW 940.png

SW 092.png

SW 093.png

SW 094.png

TW 568.png


Note on the script ... If they are realized as affixes then, in the béu script uses a sort of shorthand. That is the affix is represented as one letter.

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Earlier we have seen that when 2 nouns come together the second one qualifies the first.

However this is only true when the words have no pila?o affixed to them. If you have two contiguous nouns suffixed by the same pila?o then they are both considered to contribute equally to the sentence roll specified. For example ...

jonos jenes solbur moze = "John and Jane drink water"

In the absence of an affixed pila?o, to show that two nouns contribute equally to a sentence (instead of the second one qualifying the first) the particle lé should be placed between them. For example ...

jono lé jene maumur = "John and Jane sleep"

Compare the above two examples to jono jene maumor = "Jane's John sleeps" ... that is "the John that is in a relationship with Jane, sleeps".

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.. As parts of speech

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pila?o of location phrases (i.e. nouns with 1 -> 8 or 15) can be considered adjectives. They must come after a noun or a verb.

pila?o of motional phrases (i.e. nouns with 13, 14, 16 or 17) can be considered adverbs. They can come in any position because it is understood that they are qualifying the verb.

pila?o phrases defining sentence rolls (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 11 or 12) can come anywhere. They are considered clause arguments.

(Note to self : move the below to a different section)

* [ Notice that in English, you can either say ... "a bird is in the tree" or "in the tree is a bird"

In béu only jwado r ʔupaiʔe is valid ... also note that in this case jwado is not definite because it is left of the verb. That rule doesn't work with the copula. ]

jenes solbori moʒi lé ʔazwo = "Jane drank water and milk"

jonos jenes hecuri sadu ima lé ʔusfa uya = John and Jane saw two elephants and three giraffes.

This word is that is never written out in full but has its own symbol. See below ...

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..... Maŋga

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These are verbs. In particular maŋga = "the infinitive form of the verb" or "verbal noun". They call it "maSdar" in Arabic.

I shall call it "base verb".

In the BLT (béu linguistic tradition) the base verb is considered "dead" or "inactive". Only when a suitable "tail" is added does it become "alive" or "active".

So "finite verb" is called maŋga ?algu. The infinitive form of the verb is simply maŋga

(By the way ... ?algu = alive) ... the next Chapter is all about maŋga ?algu.

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In béu the base verb is a noun. This is different to most languages in the world. In most languages, verbal nouns are derived from verbs. For example ... destroy => destruction : verb => noun whereas in béu. For example ... twá : "a/the meeting" => twarua : "I intend to meet".

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English is very chaotic as to the various means it derives nouns from verbs. For example ... "discover" + "y" => the discovery ... "destroy" + "tion" => the destruction ... "run" + ∅ => a/the run. Whereas béu is as orderly as it is possible to get.

OK ... lets get started ...

solbe = "to drink"

Now the manga can amalgamate with other elements. For example ...

solbe saco = "to drink quickly" or "drinking quickly"

...and adding more elements ...

solbe moze sacois* = "to drink the water quickly" or "drinking the water quickly"

solbe moze sacois and solbe saco are examples of maŋguma (maŋga plus the augmentive -uma)

Actually a maŋguma can get as involved as a clause can. With arguments to the left of the head considered definite and arguments to the right, indefinite. But there is one difference. The ergative argument is marked by the particle hí rather than há or -ta or -s.

so adding even more elements ...

hí jono solbe moze sacois hí jono = "John drinking the water quickly" or "for John to drink the water quickly".

This is as involved as I will go. But note that other clausal elements ( dative object, time, adverb, instrument, reason, purpose) can be added. As in normal clauses there is a tendancy to add them to the RHS.

Now the maŋguma is basically a noun ... as is kenʒi and olus. And as with kenʒi and olus more modifiers can be added.

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SW 095.pngI don't know the béu name for this. Actually I don't know the English name for this.

The items in the determiner slot are quite rare compared to kenʒi, but they are licit. There can be nothing in the quantity slot or the ownership slot.

The "number + wì" modifier is quite rare. It means "so many iterations of the action". For example ...

uya wì hí pà solbe moze = (the) three times I drank water

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Adjectives can be a bit confusing. For example saco "quick" would be used immediately after maŋga. But if not immediately after maŋga but within the maŋguma, it should take the form sacois (-is being the adjective => adverb suffix). But is it is outwith the maŋguma in the quality slot it will be saco. Got it ?

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In the example we are using sacois "quickly" can be taken out of the heart, and placed in the senko phrase as saco. In the adjective slot of course.

In a similar vain you have a choice as to where to put a locative. A locative can be placed in the locative slot or it can be placed in maŋguma. No change of form for the locative ...

solbe moze sacois tiapi hí jono = solbe moze sacois hí jono tiapi = "John drinking the water quickly in the house" = "for John to drink the water quickly in the house".

OK ... so much for maŋguma.

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Now we have already introduced the pila?o. The pila?o are totally compatible with kenʒi. Nearly totally compatible with olus. However only two pila?o fit in with maŋga. These are pila?o 2 and 9 ... là and tú. When fitted to maŋga they produce an adjective and an adverb respectively.

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We'll talk about and adverbial construction first ...

tore doikatu = "he/she came on foot" or "he/she came by walking"

tore tú doika saco = "he/she came by walking quickly"

Notice that the particle tú acts as it normally does and appends to the end of a single word, but stands alone to the left of a multi-word phrase.

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And the adjectival constuction ...

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bàu doika-la man walk-1SG-IND-PRES
bàu r doika-la man COPULA} walk-P2

Also là appears often in conjunction with manga

The là-constuction acts as an adjective. An adjective meaning "XXX-ing" at the (relevant ???) moment of speech". As with all adjectives it can either be part of a NP or it can be a copular complement. For example ...

bàu doikala = a/the walking man

bàu r doikala = a/the man is walking .... [Note ... bàu r doikala means exactly the same as bàu doikora]

là differs from most other pila?o in that, with a manga, it never stands alone. For example ...

bàu doikala sacois = a/the quickly walking man .... [Note ... the affix -is is appended to saco to show it is connected to doika and not bàu] instead of *bàu là doika saco

In a là-constuction, everything has the same order as a MP ... the only difference is that -la is appended to the manga and hí XXX is dropped. Well hí XXX represents the A argument and the A argument is the thing being described by the là-constuction, so no need to exist inside the construction.

This là-constuction can be called the present participle. The present participle has the meaning "in the process of XXXing".For example ...

doika "to walk" => doikala "in the process of walking"

kata "to cut" => katala "in the process of cutting".

When derived from a transitive verb the object can be included as well. For example katala lazde "in the process of cutting the grass".

[ Note ... bàu katala lazde "the man cutting the grass" means the same as bàu nàis katora lazde "the man who is cutting the grass" ... however the first is nearly always preferred ... well it is shorter ]

[ Also note ... pà r katala lazde means the same as (pás) katara lazde ... however the second is nearly always preferred ... well it is shorter ]

O arguments (in an equivalent active clause) can be modified by the là-construction as well. For example ... lazde jwola kata "grass being cut" ... jwola kata being classed as an adjective phrase (jwòi meaning "to undergo").

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maŋga ... as well as appearing as arguments in a clause. That is S, A, O, CS and CO, also appear as complements to auxiliary verbs.

One such auxilliary is tuma meaning "to squeaze" or "to force". [ when it means "to squeaze" it is followed by a kenʒi and is acting as a normal verb, when it means "to force" it is followed by a manga and is acting as an auxiliaryl verb ]


In these constructions, there is a very strong tendency (almost a rule) that the maŋga is on RHS of maŋguma. However if an ergative (A) argument is present, that element can instead be on RHS. Also a very strong tendency fot the O aurgment to directly follow the maŋga. There is a fairly strong tendency for the S argument to directly follow the maŋga.

So ...

Thomas forced John to hit Jane => tomos tumori timpa jene hí jono or tomos hí jono timpa jene

Thomas forced Jane to walk => tomos tumori doika jene

[By the way ... as an example of tuma being a normal verb ... tomos jwuba komo jene tumori = Thomas squeazed Jane's left buttock ]

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Two other examples of maŋga with auxilliary verbs (why not) ...

1) ... mbe = to hold ..... lelpa = to sing, singing ..... jenes mbor lelpa bòi = Jane can sing well. [lelpai = a song ?]

2) ... glù = to depart ... timpa = to hit, hitting ... jonos glori timpa jene = John stopped hitting Jane

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One notable use of the maŋga is emphasis, where the manga is used right next to the same word in r-form. For example ...

daw-o-r-u dàu
die-3SG-IND-FUT death

= He/she will die a death => He/she will die for sure

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lay-o-r-i lái
live-3SG-IND-PAST life

= He/she lived a life => He/she had a full life

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maum-a-r-i mauma
sleep-1SG-IND-PAST sleep

= I slept a sleep => I had a deep and satisfying sleep


Now maumori mauma and daw.oru dàu are strange. Normally both verbs are strictly intransitive. But here there are transitive. Seemingly sometimes béu allows

a) intransitive => transitive b) A argument => absolutive form c) O argument = maŋga

pà maumari mauma is the answer to mìn maumari mauma

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* Another way to say this is solbe saco moze**

** If saco doesn't immediately follows the manga, it must be explicitly tagged as an adverb by the -is suffix. The exact same rule as for (finite)clauses.

Note ... "I saw a man cutting the grass" is an English clause. I think Dixon analyses "the man cutting the glass" as a complement clause ??? This sees a bit strange to me. The béu equivalent .... hecari bàu katala lazde is just analyzed as Verb hecari ... Object bàu and Adjective Phrase katala lazde

..... Feŋgi

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The feŋgi or particles are too diverse to say anything meaningful about them here. We will learn them one by one as we go though the ten chapters.

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But just to fill out this section a bit, I will give you two sets of pronouns. One set being the pronouns in their unmarked form* and the other ... the pronouns in their ergative form**.

Here, for a transitive clause, "that which initiates the action" is called the A argument, and "that which is affected by the action" the O argument. Also, for an intransitive verb, the noun is called the S argument. It is convenient to make a distinction between all three cases. I follow RMW Dixon in using this terminology.

In most languages the S argument is marked the same way as the A argument. However in some languages the S argument is marked the same way as the O argument. These are called ergative languages. béu is one of these ergative languages. About a quarter of the world languages are ergative or partly ergative. The ergative system ...

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bàu lé glá maum-u-r-i
man and woman sleep-3PL-IND-PAST

==> The man and the woman slept


bàu-s glá timp-o-r-i
man-ERG woman hit-3SG-IND-PAST

==> The man hit the woman


bàu glá-s timp-o-r-i
man woman-ERG hit-3SG-IND-PAST

==> The woman hit the man

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Below are the béu pronouns for the S and O arguments. This form can be considered the "unmarked form".

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SW 119.pngSW 108.png

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mpau includes the listener in the "we", pài excludes the listener from the "we" and jè indicates a plural "you".

The proper way to use ?o is to use it for all non-humans. But in actually practice, some people might "elevate" the status of a family pet and call it òn or ʃì.

onde is used for "they" when they are all male, ʃide is used for "they" when they are all female, ʃinde is used for "they" when they are mixed, and ?ode is used for "they"when they are all non-human.

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Below are the béu pronouns for the A argument ... the "ergative form".


SW 120.png

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NOTE ... Pronouns differ from nouns in that their tones change between the ergative and the unmarked form. For a normal noun it is sufficient that -s is suffixed. For example ...

From now on I will call the ergative form the s-form, and the unmaked form the base form.

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There is one other pronoun ... the reflexive pronoun tí. This is always an O argument. Notice that it is the only O argument with a high tone.

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* In the Western Linguistic Tradition, these "forms" are called "cases". The English word case used in this sense comes from the Latin casus, which is derived from the verb cadere, "to fall", from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱad-. The Latin word is a calque of the Greek πτῶσις, ptosis, "falling, fall". The sense is that all other cases are considered to have "fallen" away from the nominative (considered the unmarked form in Latin).

** By the way, there are 17 marked forms (cases) in béu ... the ergative being one of these.

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... Index

  1. Introduction to Béu
  2. Béu : Chapter 1 : The Sounds
  3. Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun
  4. Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
  5. Béu : Chapter 4 : Adjective
  6. Béu : Chapter 5 : Questions
  7. Béu : Chapter 6 : Derivations
  8. Béu : Chapter 7 : Way of Life 1
  9. Béu : Chapter 8 : Way of life 2
  10. Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
  11. Béu : Chapter 10 : Gerund Phrase
  12. Béu : Discarded Stuff
  13. A statistical explanation for the counter-factual/past-tense conflation in conditional sentences
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