Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun: Difference between revisions

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== ..... Pronouns==
[[Image:TW_415.png]]
 
== ..... The 5 basic word types==


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..


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 the linguist RMW Dixon in using this terminology.
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.
 
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.  


..


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


{| border=1
An example is '''wò''' .. the preposition indicating the oblique case.
  |align=center| me
  |align=center| '''pà'''
  |align=center| us
  |align=center| '''yùa'''
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| us
  |align=center| '''wìa'''
  |-
  |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'''
    |}


..
..


Below are the pronouns for the A  arguments ( the ergative arguments ).
2) '''kenʒi''' = an object


Pronouns  differ from nouns in that their tones change between the ergative and the non-ergative form. This is in addition to the normal suffixing of  -'''s''' when a noun becomes marked as ergative.
An example is '''bàu''' ... "a man"


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..


{| border=1
3) '''olus''' = material, stuff
  |align=center| I
 
  |align=center| '''pás'''
An example is '''moze''' ... "water"
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''yúas'''
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |align=center| we
  |align=center| '''wías'''
  |-
  |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.
4) '''saidau''' = adjective


'''yùa''' and '''yúas''' are first person exclusive forms. That is they exclude the person being talked to.
An example is '''nelau''' ... "dark blue"


'''wìa''' and '''wías''' are first person inclusive forms. That is they include the person being talked to.
..


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


There is a strong tendency for it to come after the A argument. For example ...
An example is '''twá''' meaning  "to meet" or "a meeting"  (the concept of "meet" disassociated from any arguments, tense, aspect or whatever).  


'''jonos tí timparu''' = john has not yet hit myself
..
 
This particle can be amalgamated to the infinitive to give a reflexive infinitive. For example ...
 
'''timpa''' = to hit ... '''ti.timpa''' = "to self-hit"/ "to hit oneself"/"to hit yourself"


[ A dot is used to show that the word comprises two separate elements. I suppose most linguists would use "=" to show cliticisation. The dot makes no difference to the pronunciation ]
[[Image:SW_062.png]]


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== ..... Word order==
== ..... Kenʒi==


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..


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


[ 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 ...
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 ...


'''glás bàu timpori''' = The woman has hit the man
..


'''glá bàus timpori''' = The man has hit the woman
[[Image:SW_070.png]]
 
'''bàu doikora''' = The man is walking
 
 
[ '''béu''' is an ergative language and hence the O and S argument have the same form. ]


..


But even though '''béu''' doesn't use word order  to show who is the doer and what is the "done to", it does use word order for another purpose. Namely to show if an argument is definite<sup>*</sup> or not. For example ...
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".


'''bàu doikora''' = The man is walking
'''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


'''doikora bàu''' = A man is walking
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


So we see ... an argument coming before the verb is definite and one coming after the verb is indefinite.
These two particles can also be used with other noun modifiers, however not always mandators with non-adjective modifiers.


[ <sup>*</sup>And when we say definite, we mean that <U>the person being spoken to</U> can identify X as one particular X instead of some X or any X. ]
'''ɘ nái''' = which one : '''kɘ nái''' = which ones


'''kɘ dí''' = these ones : '''ɘ dè''' = this one


In English only 2 orders are found. Namely ... SV and AVO ...  (V = verb). However in '''béu''' you have what is called "free word order". This means that you can come across the following 8 orders ... SV, VS, AVO, AOV, VAO, OVA, OAV and VOA.  
However '''nái''', '''dí''' and '''dè''' can constitute NP's by themselves. A bit like English


But actually in a piece of discourse, it is most likely that the S or A argument are old information and probably the topic (the thing that you have been going on about for some time). In '''béu''' an established  topic is usually dropped and so the 8 sentence types shown above collapse into 3 sentence types. Namely ...  V(s), O V(a) and V(a) O
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.


[ V(s) represents a verb marked for the person/number of the S argument and V(a) represents a verb marked for the person/number of the A argument ]
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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== ..... The case system==
=== ... Quality===


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..


We have just mentioned the ergative case. In total there are 17 cases of course (if you were to include the unmarked case as well you have 18 different forms). They are called the '''pilana'''.
More than one adjective is allowed in this slot. For example ... '''bàu gèu tiji''' = the little green man


These are suffixed to a noun and show how that word stands in relation to the rest of the sentence.
'''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 ...


The word '''pilana''' is built up from ;-
'''bàu gèu kái''' = what kind of green man ? ... (NP question)


'''pila''' (v) = to place, to position
'''há bàu gèu kái glà timpori''' = what kind of green man hit the woman ? ... (sentence question)


'''pilana''' (a, n) = positioning, the positioner
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".


<u>Specific Location</u>
'''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.


The first 8 define location.
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.


1) -'''pi''' = in
2) ... '''laubo''' = enough


2) -'''la''' = on
..


3) -'''mau''' = above, over, on top of
=== ... Quantity===


4) -'''goi''' = below, under, underneath, beneath
..


5) -'''ce''' = this side of
This slot is very interesting ...


6) -'''dua''' = beyond, at the far side of
[[Image:SW_071.png]]


7) -'''bene''' = right, at the right hand side of
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).


8) -'''komo''' = left, on the left hand side of
'''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".


These are used to give a location with respect to some object. For example …
'''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.


'''nambopi''' = in the house
..


'''nambomau''' = on the house, over the house
'''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 ...


[ Note ... in a lot of situations, where "on" would be used in English, "above" is used in '''béu'''. For example ...
'''bàu jutu láu''' = "How many men are big ?" or "How many big men ?" ???????????


"John is on the mountain" = "'''jono pobomau'''"  not "'''jono pobola'''" ]
..


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


<u>Roll</u>
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-{{small|3PL-IND-PST}}  || dog || more
|}


The next 4 define the roll that the noun plays in the sentence.
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.


[[Image:Sw_060.png]]


9) -'''tu''' = with, using
For example ... '''bía tuge ima''' = two more beers please"


10) -'''ji''' = for, for the benefit of
Note : actually '''jía''' and '''tundu''' are not applicable to '''kenʒi'''. They are only applicable to '''olus'''


11) -'''s''' = “the ergative case”
..


12) -'''wo''' = about, with respect to
'''*''' 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"


'''bàus glaji nambo bundori kontotu''' = the man built the house for the woman with a hammer
There is also a superlative suffix ... -'''mo'''. So '''jinimo''' "cleverest" amd '''hau?emo''' "most beautiful"


'''gala bauwo catura''' = the women are talking about the man
'''**''' 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".


[ There are a number of words which end in '''n'''. For these words the ergative case is indicated by adding -'''sə'''. For example ...
Sometimes you coma across '''bù tuge''' "no more". This should be analysed as a contraction of '''bù ?ár tuge''' "I don't want more".


'''yaivanzə gador wìa''' = "possessions slow one down" : Note ... this is the only instance of a word final schwa ]
'''***''' Perhaps '''wóin''' is related to the verb '''gwói''' "to pass by" plus the past participle -'''in'''.


..


<u>Motion</u>
=== ... Ownership===


..


The next 2 specify motion.
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.


13) -'''-n''' = to
For example '''jwado gèu yó jene''' = Jane's big green bird


14) -'''fi''' = from
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 ...


Now these are used to give a motion with respect to some object. For example …
'''jwado gèu yó mín''' = Whose big green bird ? = Whose's the big green bird ?


'''nambon''' = to the house
There can be ambiguity with some '''kenʒi''' possessing a genitive. For example ...


'''nambovi''' = from the house
Does '''waudo bàu dí''' mean "the dog of this man" or "this dog of the man" ?


[ For words ending in '''n''', the dative suffix is -'''on'''. For example ...  
To get around this, we have a special rule ...


'''nén''' = what, '''nenon''' = to what : '''mín''' = who, '''minon''' = to who ]
"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.


<u>General Location</u>
'''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.


The next is a “general locative”.
..


=== ... Location===


15)  -'''ʔi''' = at, on, in
..


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


'''glá (yú) pà (sòr) namboʔi''' = My wife is at home
[[Image:SW_066.png]]


'''flovan gì pazbaʔi''' = Your food is on the table
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'''.


'''boloŋgai flovanʔi''' = the flies are at the food (some buzzing around and some crawling on the surface of the food)
..


'''boloŋga flovanʔi''' = the fly is at the food (sometimes buzzing around and sometimes crawling on the surface)
Proper locatives comprise a noun plus one of the 9 '''pila?oi''' ....  '''pi la mau goi ce do bene komo ni'''. For example ...


'''boloŋga flovanla''' = the fly is on the food (i.e. its legs are touching the food)
'''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 ...


<u>Hybrids of motion & position</u>
'''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 ...


The last two define motion AND position. They are sort of hybrids of the second '''pilana''' and the '''pilana''' of motion.
'''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 ...


16) -'''lna''' = onto
'''duzu nài r máu pobo hau?e jutu''' = The oryx on the big beautiful mountain


17) -'''lfe''' = off
'''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 ...


=== ... As parts of speech===
'''polga?o nài r fiagan gwai''' = "the sailing boat which is among the islands" or simply "the sailing boat among the islands"


..
..


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


'''pilana''' 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.
'''bàu gèu dá''' = where is the green man ?


'''pilana''' phrases defining sentence rolls (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 11 or 12) can come anywhere. They are considered nouns.
..
 
<sup>*</sup> [ 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 (sòr) ʔupaiʔi''' 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. ]
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 ...".


..
..


=== ... Stand alone forms===
'''*''' Probably derived from '''uci''' "tail".


..
..


In all the above examples the noun that the '''pilana''' qualifies is a single word. However when the '''pilana''' qualifies a NP the '''pilana''' is not a suffix but appears as an independent word. This particle comes before the NP. For example …
=== ... Determiner===


'''nambodua''' = beyond the house
..


'''dùa nambo yinkai hauʔe''' = beyond the house of the pretty girl
There are five of these ... '''dí ''' (this), '''dè''' (that), '''nái''' (which),  '''èn''' (some) and '''ín''' (any) . For example ...


Below are the forms that the '''pilana''' take when appearing as independent words ...
'''dí''' and '''dè''' are called demonstratives in the WLT. They will be covered in the section after next.


1) '''pí''' = in
'''nái''' turns the whole noun phrase into a question. For example ...


2) '''là''' = on
'''bàu gèu tiji nái''' = which little green man ? ... noun phrase question


3) '''máu''' = above
And of course, if a NP represents a question, any clause containing this NP will also be a question. For example ...


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


5) '''cé''' = this side of
'''èn''' "some" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji èn''' = "some little green man" ...... indefinite


6) '''dùa''' = beyond, at the far side of
'''ín''' "any" appear in this slot ...  '''bàu gèu tiji ín''' = "any little green man" .............. super indefinite


7) '''bene''' = the right hand side of
There is one little rule to remember ...


8) '''komo''' = the left hand side of
"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'''."


9) '''tú''' = with, using
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.


10) '''jì''' = for
..


12) '''só''' = “the ergative case”
=== ... Side-note re demonstratives===


11) '''wò''' = about, with respect to
..


13) '''ná''' = to
'''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.


14) '''fì''' = from
According to Holger [ Diessel (1999:57) ] ...


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


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


17) '''alfe''' = off
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".


=== ... Script truncations===
"**" 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) ...


Another thing that sets the pilana apart from other particles, is that they are never written in full. Whether appearing as affixes or independent words, the vowels are always dropped.
a) ''This'' is excellent.


[[Image:TW_224.png]]
b) ''That'' guy is an idiot.


The letter "y" represents '''alfe''' and the letter "h" represents "alna".
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]


== ..... The '''fandaunyo'''==
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)


'''fandau''' means <u>noun</u> and '''fandauza''' means  <u>noun phrase</u>
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.)


'''fandaunyo''' means <u>a noun or a noun phrase</u>
[ 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. ]


Below are all the eight possible elements of a '''fandauza''' in the order in which they must occur.
'''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"


{| border=1
'''dí''' = "this:b" : '''dè''' = "that:b"
  |align=center| 1
  |align=center| 2
  |align=center| 3
  |align=center| 4
  |align=center| 5
  |align=center| 6
  |align=center| 7
  |-
  |align=center| -------------------
  |align=center| -----------------
  |align=center| ---------------
  |align=center| -------------
  |align=center| ----------------
  |align=center| -----------------
  |align=center| -------------------
  |-
  |align=center| emphatic particle
  |align=center| specifier
  |align=center| number
  |align=center| head
  |align=center| adjective
  |align=center| determiner
  |align=center| relative clause
  |-
  |align=center|
  |align=center|  '''koiʒi'''
  |align=center|
  |align=center| '''hua'''
  |align=center| '''saidau'''
  |align=center|
  |align=center|
  |}


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


We have already seen that the '''pilana''' can only be suffixed to a '''fandau''' ... for a '''fandauza''' they would precede it in their free standing form.
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"


=== ... The head 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.


..
..


This is a noun. For example '''bàu''' "man"
=== ... Further uses of '''dí''' and '''dè''' ===


..
..


=== ... The adjective slot===
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"


Many many adjectives. They can be chained up. Locative phrases and genitives also can occupy this slot. For example ...
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 ....


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


'''bàu gèu tiji''' = the little green man
OK ... after hearing that ... '''moltai.a dè''' would be taken to mean "British junior doctors"


'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau''' = the little green man on top of the mountain
OK ... lets hear a further bit of narrative ...


'''jwado gèu nambomau yú jene''' = Jane's big green bird on top of the house
<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.


It can be seen that there is internal structure to this slot. That is some elements like to be nearer the head than others.
[ 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.


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


..
..


Only two ... '''dí''' "this", or '''dè''' "that". For example ...
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"
 
'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau dè''' = that little green man on top of the mountain.


The primary meaning is for comparing two things that can be seen. Perhaps accompanied by gestures, '''dè''' will be appended to the further of the two and by way of distinction, '''dí''' will be appended to the nearer.
'''béu''' and English are exactly the same in this respect.


So ... so far we have got to ... '''head + adjective + determiner'''
'''*''' Not necessarily by using a finger ... a gesture with the head ... or even the orientation of the eyes can suffice.
 
[ But what about secondary uses coming out of the primary use ?? ]
 
Now there are three question words that can go in this slot as well.
 
'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau nái''' = which little green man on top of the mountain.
 
'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau kái''' = what type of little green man on top of the mountain.
 
'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau láu''' = how many little green man on top of the mountain.


..
..


=== ... The RC slot===
== ..... Kenzuma==


..
..


Relative clauses "RC" work pretty much the same as English relative clauses. The relativizer is '''hù'''. Near are some examples ...
'''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 ...


'''yiŋkai hù doikora''' = the girl that is walking
..


'''bàu hù glás timpori''' = the man whom the woman has hit
[[Image:SW_090.png]]


'''glá hùs bàu timpori''' = the woman who has hit the man


'''bàu hùn glás fyori yiŋkaiwo''' = the man to whom the woman told about the girl
{|
|-
! || 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.


'''glá huji bàus bundori nambo''' = the woman for whom the man has built a house
..


=== ... The relative clause===


All the '''pilana''' can be appended to the relativizer to specify what roll the noun has (or would have if you like) in the clause.
..
 
In the same way that English has restrictive relative clauses and non-restrictive relative clauses "NRRC", so has '''béu'''.


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


'''yiŋki hù doikora nambon sùr hauʔe ''' = the girls that are walking home are pretty
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.


'''yiŋki . hù doikora nambon . sùr hauʔe ''' = the girls, that are walking home, are pretty
(1)


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


In the second sentence, the relative clause is giving us extra information about the girls. It is non-restrictive. Notice that the relative clause is bookended by pauses in my transliteration. In '''béu''' script the relative clause would have a gap on either side of it.
NP = '''yiŋkai ofa''' : RC = '''nài doikura''' => PC = '''yiŋkai ofa doikura''' "five girls are walking" ....... notice that '''nài''' is binned.


[ Some thoughts ... I guess a RC is a bit like an adjective and it directly qualifies a noun. A NRRC is a bit like the second element in apposition. It is giving us extra information about the noun (which might otherwise be given in a separate utterance). Both NRRC and the second elements in apposition are isolated using pauses. ]
In the above PC  '''yiŋkai''' is absolutive.  


In English you get what is sometimes called a <u>headless relative clause</u> "HRC" or a <u>free relative clause</u> ... I guess "free from a noun" is the thinking behind the second term.
(2)


"What you see is what you get" is an example of a HRC ... well two examples to be precise.
{|
|-
! 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 to whom the woman told about the girl


We have exactly the same in '''béu''' ...
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.


'''hù káir è hù màir''' = what you see is what you get
In the above PC '''bàu''' is dative.


So ... so far we have got to ... '''head + adjective + determiner + RC''' For example ...
(3)


'''bàu gèu tiji pobomau láu hù doikora''' = how many little green man on top of the mountain that are walking ?
{|
|-
! gwai.a || nài  || polg-ai-r-a || fía || ?ode
|-
| the islands ||  {{small|REL}}  || sail-{{small|1PL.INC-IND-PRES}}  || between || them
|} => "the islands that we are sailing between"


out of the little green men on top of the mountain ... how many are walking ??????
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.


'''wò bàu gèu tiji pobomau . láu hù doikora''' = w.r.t. the little green man on top of the mountain, how many are walking ?
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


..
..


<u>Number</u>
I believe that Arabic structures its RC in a similar way to the above.


..
..


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


..
..


<u>Specifier</u>
This is discussed in greater detail in CH5.


{| border=1
..
  |align=left| '''jù'''
  |align=left| no
  |align=left| '''ù'''
  |align=left| all
  |-
  |align=left| '''í'''
  |align=left|  any
  |align=left| '''é'''
  |align=left| some
  |align=left| '''éu'''
  |align=left| ....... some (plural)
  |-
  |align=left| '''nò'''
  |align=left| plural
  |-
  |align=right| '''auva''' =>
  |align=right| '''ataitauta'''
  |align=right|  numbers
  |align=left|  (2 => 1727)
  |-
  |align=left| '''uwe'''
  |align=left|  many
  |align=left| '''iyo'''
  |align=left|  few
  |-
  |align=left| '''ege'''
  |align=left| more
  |align=left| '''ozo'''
  |align=left| less
  |}


I need to work out the numbers for 1 => 5 ???
=== ... The partitive===


..
..


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.  
However it can also be an adjective. When it is an adjective it has concrete reference instead of representing a quality (as happens often in English). For instance, when talking about ... say ... a photograph, you could say "the green is too dark". In this sentence "the green" is a NP meaning the quality of being green. In '''béu''' if green is used as the head of a NP it always means "the green one" : "the person/thing that is green".  


In '''béu''', '''geumai''' would be used in a sentence such as "the green is too dark".
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.


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


'''geumai''' = "greenness"
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 ...


'''saco''' = "slow" or "the slow one"
'''ú wì moltai''' = all of the doctors


'''sacomi''' = "slowness"
'''yè wì moltai''' = some of the doctore = several of those doctors = a number of those doctors


Notice that the suffix has two forms ... depending upon whether the base adjective has one syllable or more than one syllable.
'''jù wì moltai''' = none of the doctors


Sometimes the head is a determiner. In these cases the NP is understood to refer to some noun ... but it is not spoken ... it is just understood by all parties. In these cases the determiners undergo a change of form ...
'''tontu wì moltai dí''' = the majority of these doctors


'''dí''' =>  '''adi''' = "this one"
'''a?a lú tuge wì moltai dè''' more = one or more of those doctors


'''dè''' =>  '''ade''' = "that one"
'''hài wì moltai dè''' = many of those doctors


'''nái''' =>  '''anai''' = "which one"
'''ima ín wì moltai dè''' = any two of those doctors


Related to '''dí''' and '''dè''' are the two nouns '''dían''' (here) and '''dèn''' (there). Although nouns, they never occur with the locative case or the ergative case.
'''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.


<sup>*</sup>The usual word building process would give '''fanyədau''' (from '''nandau''' "word" and '''fanyo''' "thing/object"). However in this particular word, there has been a further contraction to '''fandau'''.
[Still thinking if '''wì''' should be involved with "a glass of milk"/"a heart of gold"]


<sup>**</sup> the suffix -'''za''', is a suffix used to give the meaning "something more complicated than the basic word".
..
 
<sup>***</sup> the suffix -'''nyo''', is a suffix used to give the meaning "something more complicated than the basic word OR the basic word''.


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


<u>The countable nouns fandauza</u>
'''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" ]


Only the head is mandatory.
----


Actually there are quite a few restrictions. For example (7) would never occurs with (8)    .... mmmh why did I insert "would" here ??
Two other numeratives that we haven't mentioned yet are '''tontu''' "the majority"/"most" and '''tonji''' "the minority".


Many restrictions between (2) and (3)
'''ton''' = bit/part/section ... '''tontu''' <= '''ton jutu''' ... '''tonji''' <= '''ton tiji''' ... '''toŋko''' = to seperate ???


..
..


 
== ... 16 useful little words==
<u>The specifiers</u>


..
..


The specifiers = '''nandau.a koiʒi''' or just '''koiʒia'''
{| 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
|}


'''koiʒi''' actually means "preface" as in "the preface to the book"  ... ??? or may be I could call it :head" ???
..


It also means forewarning or harbinger ... as in "that slight tremor on Tuesday night, was '''koizi''' of the quake on Friday"
The above are obviously eroded forms of '''jú pú''', '''ú pú''', ...  etc. etc.


Immediately before the core you can have a specifier.
..
 
The specifiers are ...


{| border=1
{| border=1
   |align=left| '''jù'''
   |align=center| '''pu.en'''  
   |align=left| no
   |align=center| somebody
   |align=left| '''ù'''
   |align=center| '''pu.in'''
   |align=left| all
   |align=center| anybody
   |-
   |-   
  |align=left| '''í'''
   |align=center| '''kyu.en'''  
  |align=left| any
   |align=center| sometime
   |align=left| '''é'''
   |align=center| '''kyu.in'''
   |align=left| some
   |align=center| any time
   |align=left| '''è'''
   |-   
  |align=left| ....... some (plural)
   |align=center| '''da.en'''  
  |-
   |align=center| somewhere
  |align=left| '''nò'''
   |align=center| '''da.in'''
   |align=left| plural
   |align=center| anywhere
   |-
   |-
  |align=right| '''auva''' =>
   |align=center| '''fenen'''  
  |align=right| '''ataitauta'''
   |align=center| something
  |align=right| numbers
   |align=center| '''fenin'''
   |align=left|  (2 => 1727)
   |align=center| anything
  |-
|}
  |align=left| '''uwe'''
   |align=left| many
   |align=left| '''iyo'''
   |align=left| few
   |-
   |align=left| '''ege'''
   |align=left| more
   |align=left| '''ozo'''
   |align=left| less
  |}


..
..


Notice that the specifier that implies zero number has low tone, the 3 specifiers that imply singular* number have high tone and the 3 specifiers that imply plural* number have low tone.
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.


.* Well this is true for the English translations anyway. (Side Note ... Actually I am not so sure about the "logic" of my little scheme. Also I would like to look into how a spectrum of other languages use specifiers)
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.
 
Also note that '''nò''' is a noun (meaning "number") as well as a particle that denotes plurality. In the '''béu''' mathematical tradition, '''nò''' means a number from 2 -> 1727 only (of course there are expressions for expanding the concept to integers, rational numbers etc. etc.)
 
After a '''koiʒi''' the head is always in its base form with regard to number. For example ...


..
..


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


'''è glà''' = some women ... not *'''è gala'''
'''a?awe''' can be added to show that the group is acting (or undergoing an action) individually.
 
'''í toti''' = any child .......... not *'''í totai'''


..
..


The are 4 cases where you can have two '''koiʒi''' together ... '''é nò''' or when you have '''í''' followed by a number greater than one. For example ...
== ..... Olus==


..
..


'''é nò toti''' = some child or children ... this is a contraction of "'''é toto''' OR '''nò toti'''"  
'''olus''' can mean "noun". It can also mean "noun phrase" (NP).


'''í auva toti''' = any two children
Whereas '''kenʒi''' refers to countable nouns, '''olus''' is the term used for uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns).


'''ege auva toti''' = two more children
The expansion of '''olus''' by various modifiers is quite similar to  '''kenʒi''' ...


'''ozo auva toti''' = two less children


..
[[Image:SW_091.png]]
 
Of course numbers, '''iyo''' and '''hài''' are not appropriate (quantity slot)


<u>The emphatic particle</u>
Also the items in the determiner slot are a bit "iffy". For example '''moze dí''' is perhaps '''kài moze dí''' with '''kài''' elided.


..
..


Now even before the specifiers it is possible to have an element. This is the emphatic particle '''á'''.
So ... an example of an  '''olus''' ...


This is also used as a sort of vocative case. Not really obligatory but used before a persons name when you are trying o get their attention.
'''hoŋko ima wì ?azwo pona''' =  "two cups of warm milk"
 
..


When this particle comes directly in front of '''adi''', '''ade''' and '''anai''' an amalgamation takes place ( '''á adi''' etc etc are in fact illegal)
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 ...


'''á adi'''  =>  '''ádí'''  = "this one!"
..


'''á ade''' => '''ádé''' = "that one!"
{|
! bodi ||align=center| ng-o-r
|-
| birds || fly-{{small|3SG-IND}}
|} =>small birds fly ................. [notice the third person singular agreement on the verb]


'''á anai'''  =>  '''ánái''' = "which one!"
..


These three words break the rule that only monosyllabic words can have tone. These 3 words are the only exception to that rule.
However with a change of the final vowel to '''ai''' these concepts become countable.


By the way, emphasis is always used when contrasting two things. as in "this is wet, but that is dry" = '''ádí nucoi, ádé mideu'''
..


When written using the '''béu''' writing system, only the initial '''a''' is given the dot on the RHS which indicates high tone. The second syllable is unmarked.
{|
! bodai ||align=center|  lail-o-r-a
|-
| a small bird || sing-{{small|3SG-IND-PRES}}
|} => a small bird is singing


..
..


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


..


<u>The uncountable noun fandauza</u>
{|
!  bodai ||align=center| uya || lail-u-r-a
|-
|  small bird || three || sing-{{small|3PL-IND-PRES}}
|} => three small birds are singing


..
..


It can consist of ... (1) "the holder"  ... (2) the head '''hua''' ... (3) adjectives '''saidau''' ... (4) a determiner '''didedau'''. Only the head is mandatory.
Here are some more of these concepts treated in this way ...


'''auva hoŋko ʔazwo pona dí''' = two cups of this hot milk
..


Note ... even though we have no word "of" ... there is no ambiguity. If the above was two '''fandaunyo''', there would either be a pause between '''hoŋko''' and '''ʔazwo''' (for example if one was A and one was the O argument), or they would be separated by "and" '''wí''' if they were separate '''fandaunyo''' but comprised only one 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
  |}


In this respect '''béu''' takes after Indonesian. For example ... five big bags of this black rice = lima tas besar beras hitam ini (literally ... five bag big rice black this)
.. [[Image:TW_793.png]]


Note that the "holder ???" can be a complete countable noun '''fandaunyo''' in itself.
..


lima tas besar beras hitam ini
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"


(5 bag big) (rice black this)  .... Usually languages have a linker, particular when the phrases are long. For example Chinese "de", English "of", Japanese "no". '''béu''' has no linker (similar to Indonesian) ... (however '''à''' or '''fí''' could be pressed into service if needed ??? )
..


(SideNote) ... '''ʔazwe''' = to suck ... '''ʔazweye''' = to suckle, to offer the breast
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'''-).


..
..


<u>The pronoun phrase</u>
There is a particle '''k+''', that when put in front of a '''saidau''' or a '''kenʒi''' gives an '''olus'''
 


Below is a table with '''nù''' "they" occurring with the allowed specifiers. '''yùa''', '''wìa''', '''jè''' and '''ʃì''' pattern in a similar way.
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"
  |align=center| 1
  |align=center| '''í nù'''
  |align=left| any of them
  |-
  |align=center| 2
  |align=center| '''é nù'''
  |align=center| one of them
  |-
  |align=center| 3
  |align=center| '''yú nù'''
  |align=center| every one of them
  |-
  |align=center| 4
  |align=center| '''è nù'''
  |align=left| some of them
  |-
  |align=center| 5
  |align=center| '''kyà nù'''
  |align=center| none of them
  |-
  |align=center| 6
  |align=center| '''ù nù'''
  |align=center| all of them
  |-
  |align=center| 7
  |align=center| '''kyà nù'''
  |align=center| none of them
  |-
  |align=center| 8
  |align=center| '''í auva nù'''
  |align=center| any two of them
  |-
  |align=center| 9
  |align=center| '''ege nù'''
  |align=center| more of them
  |-
  |align=center| 10
  |align=center| '''ozo nù'''
  |align=center| less of them
  |}


Nothing really surprising in the above. However I thought that I should lay it out in black and white. (what about '''emo''' "the most" and '''omo''' "the least" ??)
'''gèu''' "green" .......... '''k+ gèu''' "the green ones"


..


Because the person and number of the A or S argument is expressed in the actual verb. The above are usually dropped (however the third person pronoun is occasionally retained to give the distinction between human and non-human subject) so when the pronouns above are come across, it might be better to translate them as "I myself", "you yourself" etc. etc.
{|
|-
! k+ sadu || r || jodo || jini
|-
| elephant-kind || {{small|COP}} || animal || clever
|}


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


It is a rule that '''tí''' must follow the A argument (if it is overtly expressed ... i.e. by a free-standing pronoun and not just in the verb)


LINGUISTIC JARGON ... "myself" is what is called a "reflexive pronoun". In English there are many reflexive pronouns (i.e. "myself", "yourself", "herself", etc. etc.) : in '''béu''' only one.
'''**''' Birds smaller than pidgeons are '''bodai'''. Birds that are pidgeon size and above are '''jwado''' ... '''jwado''' is '''kenʒi'''.


..
..


There are 4 types of noun phrase in '''béu''' ...
== ..... Saidau==


..
..


1) The noun phrase for countable nouns
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 ...


2) The noun phrase for uncountable nouns
'''bàu gèu''' = a/the green man


3) The noun phrase for pronouns
'''bàu r gèu''' = a/the man is green


4) The noun phrase for verbs
'''gèu''' above is a simple adjective. Adjective phrases exist as well.


5) The noun phrase for places
An important particle that increases the degree of an adjective is  '''sowe'''. For example ... '''gèu sowe''' "very green"


..
..


== ..... '''hipe''' & '''hipeza'''==
These adjectives can become nouns by froning them with '''ə''',  '''kə''' and '''kuwai'''.


..
'''ə gèu''' = a/the green one


Now a '''hipe''' or "infinitive" is a type of noun. So it can be the head of a NP ( '''fandaunyo''' ) using the rules as given previously.
'''kə gèu''' = a/the green ones


However there are additional restrictions compared to a normal '''fandaunyo''' ... namely they never take plurals and are never possessed (that is followed by '''yú''' ).
'''kuwai gèu''' = greenness


However there is a second type of NP allowed. This also has a '''hipe''' core. However the A O, O, A or S arguments are directly incorporated into this second type of NP. It is called a '''hipeza'''.


These two types are distinct ... apart from the case where you have a '''hipe''' standing alone.
[ NOTE : I don't think the schwa is visually distinct enough. From now on I will use a plus sign to depict the schwa ]


So there is no direct translation of the term NP. Instead NP must be translated as either '''fandaunyo''', '''hipeza''' or '''hipe'''.


[ and pronouns as well I suppose, if you consider "pronoun" to be a subset of NP in English ]
'''+ gèu''' = a/the green one


Below are the five forms that the '''hipeza''' can take.
'''k+ gèu''' = a/the green ones


'''kuwai gèu''' = greenness


'''timpa . báu . glà''' = the man's hitting of the woman


'''timpa glà hí báu''' = the man's hitting of the woman
OK ... that's better.


'''timpa glà''' = the hitting of the woman ... (note that this can be ambiguous in English)


'''timpa hí báu''' = the man's hitting ... (actually you wouldn't say this in English. I don't know why)
'''+''' 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.


'''doika jono''' = john's walking
'''kuwai''' is a word meaning  property/characteristic.


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


The first and second mean the exact same thing ... nothing at all wrong with a bit of redundancy.
'''+ pobomau''' = the one on top of the mountain


Other elements relating to time, place and manner can come after the S, O and A arguments. However they are not considered part of the '''hipeza''' core.
'''+ yó jene''' = the one belonging to Jane


In the first form ,,, the inter word dots represent a pause that is required by the grammar.  
..
Maybe you could have pauses elsewhere ( for example if the speaker was panting ) ... but these pauses wouldn't change the meaning of the phrase : the two pauses in the first example are mandatory.


In a '''hipeza''' '''béu''' is quite strict on how arguments can be added. English is a bit chaotic when it comes to this. For example ...
[[Image:TW_918.png]]


Attila's destruction of Rome
..


Attila's destroying of Rome
The above chart shows the main derivational pathways in '''béu'''. Only pathways 2, 3, 4 are relevent to this section.


Rome's destruction (by Attila)
..


The destruction of Rome (by Attila)
Note ... '''+ gèu sowe''' = "a/the very green one" ...  '''sowe''' never modifies a  '''senko'''.


The destroying of Rome (by Attila)
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 ?)


---two old ideas------------
..


The S or A argument (if it exists or is mentioned) must come before the '''hipe'''. It is preceded by '''hí''' (the same particle that indicates the agent in the passive construction)
== ..... Pila?o==


The O argument (if it exists or is mentioned) must come after the '''hipe'''. It is followed by '''jwìa''' (possibly related to '''jwèu''' ... "to endure" ( but if it was this would mean this construction takes two subjects ??)
..


Often in fast speech, '''hí''' and '''jwìa''' are dropped, but they are always available to make things clear.
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'''.


The '''sandaunyo''' is similar to the '''fandaunyo''' but built around a '''sandau''' as opposed to a '''fandau'''.
These are attached to a noun and show the relationship of that noun with respect to the rest of the sentence.


'''sandau''' = a verbal noun, an infinitive, a maSdar .... whatever you want to call it. Ultimately derived from the word '''sanyo''' which means "an event". ('''fanyo''' and '''sanyo''' are equivalent to the Japanese "mono" and "koto"). The word for "verb" is '''jaudau'''. Of course there is a one to one relationship between the '''jaudau''' and the '''sandau''' (as in English if you have an infinitive verb form, you are of course going to have a corresponding finite verb form).
..


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The word '''pila?o''' is built up from ;-


Tie in the participle phrase ... wanting to get a ride, John went down to walking street.
'''pila''' (v) = to place, to position, to correctly align


..
'''pila?o''' (n) = the positioner
 
== ..... Possession & Existence==


..
..


The verb '''yái''' means "to have on your person" or perhaps "to have easy access to" if we are talking about a larger object. For example ...
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.]


'''jonos yór ama''' = John has an apple
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 ...


As with all transitive verbs it has a passive form.
..


'''jono yawor''' = John is present .... short for '''jono yawor hí día'''
'''glás bàu timporI''' => The woman hit the man ............... (with "the man" being the O argument)


'''ama yawor hí jono''' = The apple is on John's person
'''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.]


The verb '''wàu''' means "to possess legally" to "own"
..


'''jenes wàr wèu''' = Jane owns a car
[[Image:SW_063.png]]


And the passive form ...
..


'''wéu wawor hí jene''' = The car is owned by Jane
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.


....
..


'''yái''' is also used to show location.
The '''pila?o''' are either realized as either affixes or as prepositions.  


'''ʔupais yór bode''' = "there are small birds in the tree"
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.


Note ... a copular expression can also be used to express the above ... '''
'''tiadua''' = beyond the house


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


"There is a God" => God is real
..
 
"There is no God" => God is imaginary


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


’’’yái’’’ = to be in possession of (on you) …….……. ability => sometimes
[[Image:SW_092.png]]


‘’’wàu’’’ = to possess (legally) ………………………. obligation/duty => inevitability
[[Image:SW_093.png]]


..
[[Image:SW_094.png]]


== ..... Punctuation and page layout==
[[Image:TW_568.png]]


..


The letters in a word are always contiguous, that is there is always a line running right through the word. Writing is firstly from top to bottom and secondly from left to right.


Between words there is a small break in the line. See the figure below ...
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.


..
..


[[Image:TW_204.jpg]]
Earlier we have seen that when 2 nouns come together the second one qualifies the first.
 
..


When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, this small break would be indicated by '''dù'''
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"


Between some words there is a gap. This represents a pause. A pauses in English is represented by a comma, a colon or a semicolon. Whenever an orator draws breath, this will be reflected in the writing by a gap. Also there are occasions where the grammar of '''béu''' demands a gap. When such a gap is required I will represent in in my transcription as an inter word dot. For example ... ‘’’suna . dunu . celai lé àu’’’ = orange, brown, pink and black
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 ...


Presumable in English, commas originally were always used for pauses in speech. However nowadays in English many pauses are not represented in any way (presumably in these cases when it is not necessary for reading comprehension). Also in English, in a surprising amount of text commas are found where they shouldn't be. In '''béu''' gaps in a textblock have a one-to-one correspondence to a pause in speech. 
'''jono lé jene maumur''' = "John and Jane sleep"


<sup>*</sup>When listing items, '''béu''' is similar to English ... there is pause between every item except the last two items. Between these items, '''béu''' has '''lé''', English has "and".
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".


..
..


[[Image:TW_282.png]]
.. As parts of speech


..
..


[[Image:TW_205.jpg]]
'''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.  


When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, the gap is indicated by saying ???
'''pila?o''' phrases defining sentence rolls (i.e. nouns with 9, 10, 11 or 12) can come anywhere. They are considered clause arguments.


----


Single gaps are very common. Occasionally you can have "double gaps" and even "treble gaps". These rare creatures represent "pregnant pauses" which are sometimes used for comic effect.
(Note to self : move the below to a different section)


When telling somebody how to spell a succession of words, a "double gap" is rendered by '''bauva''' ??? , a treble gap by '''baiba''' ???.
<sup>*</sup> [ Notice that in English, you can either say ... "a bird is in the tree" or "in the tree is a bird"


Note the single point used in the "double gap" and the pair of points used in the "treble gap".
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. ]


..
----


[[Image:TW_202.jpg]]
'''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.


There is also a punctuation mark called the "sunmark" ( '''kòi''' = sun ). This is basically a full-stop. The "sunmark" has double the diameter of '''omba''' ('''omba''' means "circle" and is used as a decimal point).
This word is that is never written out in full but has its own symbol. See below ...


..
..


[[Image:TW_201.jpg]]
== ..... Maŋga==


..
..


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".


There are also punctuation marks called "moonmark" ( '''dèu''' = moon ). These are basically brackets. The opening one is called "moonmark" '''damau''' and the closing one is called "moonmark" '''dagoi'''. Direct speech is enclosed in "moonmarks". These bits of direct speech are also highlighted. Usually the first speaker's words are highlighted in blue and the second speaker's words are highlighted in yellow. The highlighted area is lozenge shape. Every "textblock" the protagonists are reset ??. In a story,  after the scene is set ... that is the time of speaking and the identity of the speakers have been established, then their names are dropped from the text and the '''kloi''' "speak" is also dropped. However somebody reading the text out loud would give this information from their understanding of the situation.
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'''


[[Image:TW_278.png]]
(By the way ...  '''?algu''' = alive) ... the next Chapter is all about  '''maŋga ?algu'''.


..
..


In a normal narrative, everything is written in "textblocks".
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_270.png]]
 
(Please note ... the light lines surrounding the "textblocks" are not real. They are just there to assist me drawing)


..
..


This is the first page in a "chapter". Notice the symbol at the top left hand side of the first "textblock". This is called a "heavy tile".  
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.  


Textblocks fit in between "rails" about 4 inches apart. The width of a block should be between 60% and 90% <sup>*</sup> of the block height. Of course it is best to start a new block when the scene of the narrative changes or there is some discontinuity of the action, but this is not always possible. Then you just must arbitrarily split the text into two blocks. The standard practice is to stretch the text a bit so that the tops and bottoms of every column line up with their neighbours. XXXXXX
OK ... lets get started ...


There is no way to split a word between two lines (as we can do in the West by using two hyphens). A "sunmark" must be next to the last word in a sentence (it can not go to the start of a new column by itself) However if a "sunmark" fall next to the bottom rail, then the next column will begin with a "sunmark". This is purely due to a love of symmetry.
'''solbe''' = "to drink"


The first text block starts at the top left (as you would expect). The second textblock starts below where the first text block stops. In fact the vertical space between the stop and the start of the two textblocks is equal to the horizontal "interblockspace" (see the figure above).
Now the '''manga''' can amalgamate with other elements. For example ...


If the last "sunmark" of a "textblock" falls next to the bottom rail (as indeed happens with the very first "textblock" of the "chapter", then this "sunmark" is changed into a symbol called a "bottom tile". If a "textblock" ends in a "bottom tile", then what is called a "top tile" will appear before the first word of the next "textblock". This is purely due to a love of symmetry. Note that the "top tile" is exactly the same as the "bottom tile".
'''solbe saco''' = "to drink quickly" or "drinking quickly"
(Actually in modern printing techniques, the text in complete "textblocks" can be stretched to prevent the final "sunmark" falling on the bottom rail)


When you come to the end of the page (you will have some sort of margin of course and not go all the way to the edge), you simply continue the block on the LHS of the next rail (or page). Below is the second page of the chapter. This page continues on from the page above.
...and adding more elements ...


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


[[Image:TW_271.png]]
'''solbe moze sacois''' and  '''solbe saco''' are examples of '''maŋguma''' ('''maŋga''' plus the augmentive  -'''uma''')
 
..


In every textblock, one word or short noun phrase is highlighted in red. The shape of the highlighted area is rectangular with rounded edges. Usually a noun is chosen and the more iconic the better. Statistically these highlighted words tend to come towards the beginning of the "textblock".
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 ...


There are two sizes for books. For all hardback books the size is about 8 inches by about 11 inches. For all paperback books the size is about 5 inches by about 8 inches. They are stored as shown in the figure below.
'''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.  


[[Image:Books.png]]
Now the '''maŋguma''' is basically a noun ... as is '''kenʒi''' and '''olus'''. And as with '''kenʒi''' and '''olus''' more modifiers can be added.


..
..


Unlike books produced in the West, these books are held with the spine horizontal when being read. The hardback page has two "rails" per page (i.e. three dark lines).  
[[Image:SW_095.png]]I don't know the '''béu''' name for this. Actually I don't know the English name for this.


On the paperback book, the title is written on the spine and on the front of the book. On the hardback book the title is written on the front, also there is a flap that slides into the spine. However when the book is stored on a shelf, it is pulled out and hangs down. Hence the hardback books can be easily located, even when they are in the bookshelf.
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 ...


A book will be divided into chapters. A chapter will have a number and usually a title as well. Either at the end of the book or just after the chapter, there will be a page, in which all the highlighted words for a chapter are listed in order. Instead of referencing things by page number, things are reference by chapter and textblock (indictated by the highlighted word(s) ).
'''uya wì hí pà solbe moze''' = (the) three times I drank water


Any particular word in a book can be reference by 5 parameters ...
..


1) "title of book"
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 ?


2) number of the chapter
..


3) the highlighted word(s)
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.


4) the number of the sunmarks counted. Actually they are counted backwards ... from the final "sunmark" of the "textblock". Note ... all "sunmarks" are counted, even the ones next to the top rail.  
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 ...


5) the number of the word. This is also counted backwards (i.e. the final word of the sentence is word "1" ... and so on)
'''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'''.
 
<sup>*</sup> Occasionally very narrow blocks can not be avoided. And of course in mathematical/scientific tracts the tracts are all over the place ... interspersed with diagrams and what have you.


..
..


== ..... More on definiteness==
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.


..
..


In the section on word order we said that when <U>the person being spoken to</U> can identify X as one particular X ... then X will come before the verb, where X is any of the A O or S arguments.
We'll talk about and adverbial construction first ...


However ... the above leaves undefined, whether <U>the person speaking</U> can identify X. This can be made explicit in '''béu''' by adding either the particle '''é''' or the participle '''fawai'''. For example ...
'''tore doikatu''' = "he/she came on foot" or  "he/she came by walking"


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


'''doikora bàu''' = A man is walking .... unknown to <U>the person being spoken to</U> : known-ness to <U>the person speaking</U> is not defined.
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.


'''doikora é bàu''' = Some man is walking .... unknown to <U>the person being spoken to</U> : unknown to <U>the person speaking</U>.
..


'''doikora bàu fawai''' = A man is walking .... unknown to <U>the person being spoken to</U> : known to <U>the person speaking</U>.
And the adjectival constuction ...


..


This distinction is also made in certain natural languages. For example with nouns in Samoan ...
..


o sa fafine = a woman
{|
|-
! bàu || doika-la
|
| man || walk-{{small|1SG-IND-PRES}}
|}


o le fafine = a woman ……. unknown to you but known to me
{|
|-
! bàu || r  ||doika-la
|
| man || {{small|COPULA} ||walk-{{small|P2}}
|}


Or between these two indefinite pronouns in Latin ...
Also '''là''' appears often in conjunction with '''manga'''


aliquis = somebody
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 ...


quidam = somebody  ……. unknown to you but known to me
'''bàu doikala''' = a/the walking man


[ Note ... the argument qualified by '''é''' or '''fawai''' invariably come after the verb. Also, while it is possible to imagine some scenario where an argument is known to <U>the person being spoken to</U> but unknown to <U>the person speaking</U>, in reality this very very rarely happens and I know of no natural language that makes this distinction. ]
'''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 ...


One interesting point .....  
'''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.


Take the sentence ... "She wants to marry a Norwegian"
This '''là'''-constuction can be called the present participle. The present participle has the meaning "in the process of XXXing".For example ...  


How do we show the definiteness of the Norwegian in relation to the subject. That is ... does she have a certain Norwegian in mind or does she want to marry <u>any</u> Norwegian.
'''doika''' "to walk" =>  '''doikala''' "in the process of walking"


In English ... when you hear this sentence ... you will nearly always know from the context, which of the two meanings is meant.
'''kata''' "to cut" => '''katala''' "in the process of cutting".


"any" or "that she knows" could be added  to make the distinction explicit within the sentence itself.
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 ]


== ..... Correlatives==
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").


..
..


{| border=1
'''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.
  |align=center| '''juvan'''  
  |align=center| nothing
  |align=center| '''juda'''
  |align=center| nowhere
  |align=center| '''juku'''
  |align=center| never
  |align=center| '''jubu'''
  |align=center| nobody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''ivan'''
  |align=center| anything
  |align=center| '''ida'''
  |align=center| anywhere
  |align=center| '''iku'''
  |align=center| anytime
  |align=center| '''ibu'''
  |align=center| anybody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''evan'''
  |align=center| something
  |align=center| '''eda'''
  |align=center| somewhere
  |align=center| '''eku'''
  |align=center| sometime
  |align=center| '''ebu'''
  |align=center| somebody
  |- 
  |align=center| '''uvan'''
  |align=center| everything
  |align=center| '''uda'''
  |align=center| everywhere
  |align=center| '''uku'''
  |align=center| always
  |align=center| '''ubu'''
  |align=center| everybody
  |}


[[Image:TW_288.png]]  
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 ]


These correlatives are always written in their shorthand form. See the chart above.


The first column is a contraction of '''jù fanyo''', '''í fanyo''', '''é fanyo''' and '''ù fanyo''' ('''fanyo''' = thing)
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'''.


The second column is a contraction of '''jù dá''', '''í dá''', '''é dá''' and '''ù dá''' ('''dá''' = place)
So ...


The third column is a contraction of '''jù kyù''', '''í kyù''', '''é kyù''' and '''ù kyù''' ('''kyù''' = time/occasion)
Thomas forced John to hit Jane => '''tomos tumori timpa jene hí jono''' or '''tomos hí jono timpa jene'''


The last column is a contraction of '''jù glabu''', '''í glabu''', '''é glabu''' and '''ù glabu''' ('''glabu''' = person)
Thomas forced Jane to walk => '''tomos tumori doika jene'''


The non-contracted forms are still used, usually when emphasis is wanted.
[By the way ... as an example of '''tuma''' being a normal verb ... '''tomos jwuba komo jene tumori''' = Thomas squeazed Jane's left buttock ]


There is another row in the above table.  
..


[[Image:TW_289.png]]
Two other examples of '''maŋga''' with auxilliary verbs (why not) ...


This is the plural equivalent of the third row of the table above. The emphatic form of the above series would be ...
1) ... '''mbe''' = to hold ..... '''lelpa''' = to sing, singing ..... '''jenes mbor lelpa bòi''' = Jane can sing well. ['''lelpai''' = a song ?]


'''è fanyo''', '''è dá''', '''è kyù''' and '''è glabu''' .... if these elements were under<sup>*</sup> the main verb, it would be more normal to use ...
2) ... '''glù''' = to depart ... '''timpa''' = to hit, hitting ...  '''jonos glori timpa jene''' = John stopped hitting Jane


'''fanyoi''', '''nò dá''', '''nò kyù''' and '''glabua''' .... and actually, if any word from the third row of the main table came under the main verb, you could just use ...
..


'''fanyo''', '''dá''', '''kyù''' and '''glabu''' ... in this position you have probably a 50% chance of coming across '''evan''' and a similar chance to come across '''fanyo''' ... the same with '''eda''', '''eku''' and '''ebu'''.
One notable use of the '''maŋga''' is emphasis, where the '''manga''' is used right next to the same word in '''r'''-form. For example ...


One interesting point is ... well for example '''ubu''' can mean "each person" and "all the people". If '''ubu''' was the S or A argument there could be one of two verbs in a SVC. One would have the meaning "to do together"/"to cooperate" and the other would have the meaning "to work alone". If '''ubu''' was the O argument or has some other roll in the sentence there is a partical that can be put in above<sup>*</sup> '''ubu'''. This particle means something like "individual" or "independent" and would disambiguate the meaning of the '''béu''' sentence.
{|
 
|-
<sup>*</sup>I was going to say 'after" and "before", however as the '''béu''' writing system is vertical I thought I should get in the spirit of things and use "under" and "above".
! daw-o-r-u || dàu
|-
| die-{{small|3SG-IND-FUT}} || death
|} = He/she will die a death => He/she will die for sure


..
..


== ..... Ambitransitive verbs==
{|
|-
! lay-o-r-i || lái
|-
| live-{{small|3SG-IND-PAST}} || life
|} = He/she lived a life => He/she had a full life


..
..


In English there are some verbs that sometimes take one participant and sometimes involve two participants. For example "knit" or "turn". In English you know if the verb is appearing in its intransitive form if an extra argument turns up after the verb (that is ... an O argument has turned up) ... S and A appear the same in English.
{|
|-
! maum-a-r-i || mauma
|-
| sleep-{{small|1SG-IND-PAST}} || sleep
|} = I slept a sleep => I had a deep and satisfying sleep


Similarly in '''béu''' there are some verbs that sometimes take one participant and sometimes take two participants. For example '''mekeu''' "knit" or '''kwèu''' "turn". In '''béu''' you know if the verb is appearing in its intransitive form if an extra argument turns up with the ergative marker -'''s''' attached (that is ... an A argument has turned up) ... S and O appear the same in '''béu'''.


<U>Note on nomenclature</U>
Now '''maumori mauma''' and '''daw.oru dàu''' are strange. Normally both verbs are strictly intransitive. But here there are transitive. Seemingly sometimes '''béu''' allows


Dixon calls "knit"/'''mekeu''' an ambitransitive verb of type S=A or an [S=A ambitransitive verb].
a) intransitive => transitive
b) A argument => absolutive form
c) O argument = '''maŋga'''  


I call "knit"/'''mekeu''' an ambitransitibe verb of type "one unaffected argument" or an [unaffected ambitransitive verb].
'''pà maumari mauma''' is the answer to '''mìn maumari mauma'''  


For "knit" the preverb argument<sup>*</sup> is either S or A .... For '''mekeu''' the unaffected argument is either S or A.
..  
..


Dixon calls "turn"/'''kwèu''' is an ambitransitive verb of the type S=O or an [S=O ambitransitive verb].
'''*''' Another way to say this is '''solbe saco moze**'''


I call "turn"/'''kwèu''' an ambitransitibe verb of type "one affected argument" or an [affected ambitransitive verb].
'''**''' 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.


For "turn" the affected argument is either S or O .... For '''kwèu''' the naked argument<sup>**</sup> (i.e. no -s) is either S or O.
----
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'''


<sup>*</sup>It is also the unaffected argument.
----


<sup>**</sup>It is also the affected argument.
== ..... Feŋgi==


..
..


==..... Number symbols==
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.


..
..


Numbers are never written out in full. As if in English you never came across the word "seven" but also came across "7". Actually in '''béu''' there are two ways to write "7" depending on what environment you find yourself..
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'''**'''.


Within a textblock they are written vertically (to fit in with everything else) and are headed up by a symbol that looks like "Z". After that the number is written using the symbol for the consonant part of the basic numbers (i.e. 1 -> 11). The symbol for '''h''' is used for inserting zeroes in the textblock form (this '''h''' symbol would never be pronounced).<sup>*</sup>. Magnitude is dependent on position.
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.  


When not in textblocks ( i.e. when on part of a page or a blackboard given over to manipulating mathematic expressions) numbers are expressed by symbols that are based on the Western Mathematical Tradition. This is called the "free form" of the number.
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 ...
 
Below is how five numbers (given previously in NUMBERS) would appear in both forms.


..
..


[[Image:TW_284.png]]
{|
|-
! bàu || lé || glá || maum-u-r-i
|-
| man || and || woman||align=center| sleep-{{small|3PL-IND-PAST}}
|} ==> The man and the woman slept


..


It can be seen that the free form is written horizontally while the textblock form is written vertically.
{|
|-
! 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


If you have a number string more than three digits long you must have at least one "magnitude" word. The magnitude words and symbols are given below.


[[Image:TW_286.png]]
{|
|-
! 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


The circle is the '''béu''' decimal point. The other marks are equivalent to the comma's that we use to divide up large numbers into blocks of three digits. However instead of only having comma's and decimal points to divide up the number, we have 7 symbols.
..


Actually all the magnitude numbers are also common nouns as well. These are given on the right-hand-side.
Below are the '''béu''' pronouns for the S and O arguments. This form can be considered the "unmarked form".  


To demonstrate the use of the magnitude words I will introduce a long number. I haven't worked out how to express it in base ten, but in base twelve it is ...
..


1,206,8E3,051.58T,630,559,62 ... where T represents ten and E represents eleven
[[Image:SW_119.png]][[Image:SW_108.png]]


In '''béu''' it would be pronounced ... '''aja huŋgu uvaila nàin ezaitauba wúa idauja omba idaizaupa yanfa elaibau mulu idaidauka ʔiwetu elaivau dù''' ... notice that all the magnitude words are spoken out.
..


Below is how this number is written in textblock form.  
'''mpau''' includes the listener in the "we", '''pài''' excludes the listener from the "we" and '''jè''' indicates a plural "you".


[[Image:TW_273.png]]
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'''.


Amd below is how this number is written in free form.  
'''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.


[[Image:TW_275.png]]
..


The 7 magnitude words extend the range of numbers expressible. Remember that '''béu''' only actually has words for 1-> 1727. But even with the help of magnitude words, the number range expressible in '''béu''' restricted.
Below are the '''béu''' pronouns for the A argument  ... the "ergative form".


In textblock form a number is aways finished of with one of the three symbols given below ...


[[Image:TW_287.png]]
[[Image:SW_120.png]]


These are called exactness words. They are also spoken out when reciting a number.
..


The "trunkated" symbol means that some digits have been lopped off, rather being rounded up or down. For example, if you expressed "pie" as 3.1415 you would use the trunkated symbol (actually 3.1416 is closer to the actual number than 3.1415).  
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 ...


It should be quite obvious what "exact" means. "approximate" has a rather loose meaning ... basically anything not "exact". The "trunkated" and "approximate" symbols are both usually spoken as '''daula''', There is a more exact technical expression for trunkated (???) but you hardly ever come across it.
From now on I will call the ergative form the '''s'''-form, and the unmaked form the base form.
 
Below are some more symbols used in mathematics. Obviously these symbols would be used in a free form area (i.e. the free form part of a page)


..
..


[[Image:TW_279.png]]
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.


..
..


Note ... The symbol for four is not circular. It seems to "sag" ... it is bigger at the bottom than at the top ... not exactly egg-shaped either but ...
'''*''' 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).  


<sup>*</sup>If you had a leading zero you would use the word  '''jù'''. 007 would be '''jù jù oica''' (three words). To deal with a telephone number, you would lump the numbers in threes (any leading zero or zeroes by themselves though) and outspeak the numbers. If you were left with a single digit (say 4) it would be pronounced '''agai'''. If you were to pronounce it '''uga''', it would of course mean 004. Also you would probably add the particle '''dù''' at the end. This means "exactly" (or it can mean the speaker has finished outspeaking the number).
'''**''' By the way, there are 17 marked forms (cases) in '''béu''' ... the ergative being one of these.


..
..

Latest revision as of 21:00, 26 June 2020

TW 415.png

..... The 5 basic word types

..

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.

..

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.

..

2) kenʒi = an object

An example is bàu ... "a man"

..

3) olus = material, stuff

An example is moze ... "water"

..

4) saidau = adjective

An example is nelau ... "dark blue"

..

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).

..

SW 062.png

..

..... Kenʒi

..

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 ...

..

SW 070.png

..

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.

..

... 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

..

... Quantity

..

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.

..

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 ?" ???????????

..

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

..

* 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.

..

... 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.

..

... 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

..

lay-o-r-i lái
live-3SG-IND-PAST life

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

..

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

.. ..

* 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 ...

..

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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