Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun Phrases

..... Pronouns

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

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me	pà	us	yùa
		us	wìa
you	gì	you	jè
him, her	ò	them	nù
it	ʃì	them	ʃì

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Below are the pronouns for the A arguments.

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I	pás	we	yúas
		we	wías
you	gís	you	jés
he, she	ós	they	nús
it	ʃís	they	ʃís

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jè and jés are the second person plural forms.

yùa and yúas are first person exclusive forms. That is they exclude the person being talked to.

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.

There is a strong tendency for it to come after the A argument. For example ...

pás tí timparu = I have not hit myself

Note ... the A argument could be omitted in the above example as this argument is expressed by the a in the verb.

This particle can be joined to the infinitive. For example ...

titimpa = to hit yourself

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..... The 4 verb forms

... The infinitive verb form

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The infinitive is called the hipe

The most common multi-syllable verbs end in "a".

The less common multi-syllable verbs end in "e" or "o".

The least common multi-syllable verbs end in "au", "oi", "eu" or "ai".

To form a negative infinitive the word jù is placed immediately in front of the verb. For example ...

doika = to walk

jù doika = to not walk

The infinitive can be regarded as a noun.

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... The indicative verb form

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The indicative is called the hukəpe

Now we introduce the indicative form of the verb.

This form of the verb is built up from the infinitive.

But first we should introduce a new letter.

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This letter has not been mentioned so far because it doesn't occur in any words as such. It only occurs in the R-form of the verb.

So if you hear "r" or see the above symbol, you know you are hearing the main verb of a clause.

1) First the final vowel is deleted.

2) Then one of the 7 vowels below is added. These show person and number.

Notice that there are 2 entries that represent the 1st person plural subject (i.e. we). The top one represents first person inclusive and the bottom one represents first person exclusive.

Note that the ai form is used when you are talking about generalities ... the so called "impersonal form" ... English uses "you" or "one" for this function.

The above defines the "person" of the verb. Then follows an "r" which indicates the word is an verb in the indicative mood.

.. Tense

In béu tense is usually shown not on the verb but is indicated by an adverb of time. This adverb can come anywhere in a clause but it has a strong tendency to come clause initial.

The one exception to the above, is the present tense which is shown by adding an "a". For example ...

solbara = I am drinking

.. Aspect

The perfect aspect is shown by adding an "i". For example ...

solbari = I have drunk

The ending "u" can be considered the opposite of the above aspect. Lets call it the "not yet" aspect. For example ...

solbaru = I have not yet drunk / I have not drunk

.. Negativeness

The indicative mood is negativized by adding ju. For example ...

solbarju = I do not drink

The present tense is negativized as above but with addition of the word kyu.i ( meaning "now"). For example ...

solbarju kyu.i = I am not drinking

Note - the "u" aspect can be considered the negative of the "i" aspect and vice versa.

.. Probability

There are two adverbs màs and lói.

As with all adverbs they can be placed almost anywhere in a sentence. However these two have a strong preference to be sentence initial.

màs solbori = maybe he drank

lói solbori = probably he drank

You could say that the first one indicates about 50 % certainty while the second indicates around 90 % certainty.

... The subjunctive verb form

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The subjunctive is called the sudəpe ... mepe = form

The subjunctive verb form comprises the same person/number component as the indicative, followed by "s". That is all. For example ...

solbos = Go on, let him drink.

The usage of the béu subjunctive covers the same functions as the Swahili subjunctive.

The negative subjunctive is formed by adding ke. For example ...

solboske = Best not to let him drink.

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... The imperative verb form

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The imperative is called the yeməpe .... mepe = form

This is used for giving orders. When you utter an imperative you do not expect a discussion about the appropriateness of the action (although a discussion about the best way to perform the action is possible).

For non-monosyllabic verbs ...

1) First the final vowel of the infinitive is deleted.

2) Then either -iya or -eya is added. iya when commanding one person, eya when commanding more than one person. For example ...

doikiya = walk !

For monosyllabic verbs ...

1) -a is added. Note ... this makes it a two syllable word. For example ...

dó = to do

do.a = do it !

The negative imperative is formed by putting the particle kyà before the infinitive.

kyà doika = Don't walk !

There is no distinction for number in the negative imperative.

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..... The consecutive and simultaneous tenses

TO BE PLACED 2 CHAPTERS BEHIND THE ABOVE ARTICLE

Earlier we mentioned the present tense. There are 2 further tenses in béu. However they aren't relative to NOW but relative to the last ROGER form verb.

The consecutive tense, eu, shows that the action takes place after the time of occurrence of the previous ROGER form verb. For example ...

jana doikar moʒi solbeu = Yesterday I had a walk and then drank some water

The simultaneous tense, ai, shows that the action takes place at the same time as the previous ROGER form verb. For example ...

jana doikar moʒi solbeu = Yesterday I walked about a bit while drinking water

Note ... verbs with these endings, even tho', they are in indicative mood, actually have the mood of the initial verb ???

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..... Verb chains

TO BE PLACED 2 CHAPTERS BEHIND THE ABOVE ARTICLE

When 2 (or more) actions are considered inextricably tangled up in each other, béu forms a verb chain.

In a verb chain the non-final verbs are given the ending i ( ia if they are monosyllabic ) and only the final verb takes its normal ending. The final verb can have any form. That is it can be base form, ROGER form, SIERRA form or YANKIE form.

A verb chain can only have one subject. For example ...

1) YESTERDAY FISH CATCH-I COOK-I EAT-UR = Yesterday they caught some fish, cooked the fish and then ate the fish.

A verb chain must have all the verbs contiguous. However sometimes there can be 2 (or more) objects. When 2 objects are present the noun-incorporation must be used. This is done simply by sticking the object to the front of the verb to make one word.

2) ALL EVENING CHAMPAIGN.DRINK-I CAVIAR.EAT-AIR = All day we were drinking champaign and eating caviar.

3) ALL AFTERNOON REPORT.WRITE-I PHONE.ANSWER.AR = All afternoon I was writing reports and answering the telephone.

The internal time structure of the chain must be worked out from knowledge of the situation described. For example in 1) the actions were CATCH then COOK then EAT in that order (probably). In 2) the actions DRINK and EAT happened at the same time (probably). In 3) the 2 actions wouldn't be at the same time but interspersed sort of randomly through-out the afternoon (probably).

Now all the above were examples of "one off" verb chains. These are relatively rare. More often one comes across the common verb chains. For example ...

4) CLIMB-I DESCEND TREE = to climb down a tree

5) THROW-I DESCEND BOOK = to throw down a book

6) THROW-I DESCEND-I US.COME BOOK = to throw down a book at us (it didn't hit us)

7) THROW-I DESCEND-I US.ARRIVE BOOK = to throw down a book at us (it hit us)

Note ... Another place where noun-incorporation is used a lot is with the participles. For example ...

DEER.HUNT-ANA = deerhunting, deerhunter

..... How words change class

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... Adjectives => Nouns

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gèu = green : geunai = greenness

naike = sharp : naikeni = sharpness

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Note ... béu uses a different suffix depending on whether the adjective has one syllable or more than one.

Note ... gèu can also mean "the green one". You can tell from context whether it is an adjective or a noun. All adjectives behave likewise.

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... Adjectives (and nouns) => Verbs

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gèu = green : geudo = to greenify, to turn green, to become green.

naike = sharp : naikedo = to sharpen, to become sharp

keŋkia = salty : keŋkido = to salt, to add salt

Note ... when the adjective ends is a diphthong (and is non-monosylabic) the last vowel is dropped.

??? = bicycle : ???do = to bicycle

For example ...

(pà) geudari = I have turned green

(pás) geudari ʃì = I have turned it green

ós geudori ʃì = She turned it green

Note ... in the above example the A argument can't be omitted. If it was the meaning would be "it turned green".

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Note ... dó by itself is a verb meaning "to do". All other monosyllabic verbs beginning with a single consonant have diphthongs for their infinitive form.

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... Verbs => Adjectives

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.. The passive participle

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The passive participle is formed by affixing -wai to the infinitive. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludwai = written

solbe = to drink : solbwai = drunk (not in the sense of intoxicated)

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludwai = the one that is written => a note

solbwai = "that which has been drunk"

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.. The active participle

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Sometimes also called the habitual participle.

The active participle is formed by affixing -ana to the infinitive. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludana = "writing" or "fond of writing"

solbe = to drink : solbana = drinking

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludana = the one who is always writing => writer/author

solbana = "he who drinks" or "a drinker"

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.. The present participle

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The present participle is formed by affixing -la to the infinitive. HOWEVER in this case the final vowel of the infinitive is not deleted. Rather it is kept but if it is a diphthong it drops its second half. For example ...

kludau = to write : kludala = "writing just now"

solbe = to drink : solbela = "drinking at this moment"

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludala = "the one writing just now" or just "the writer"

solbela = "the one now drinking" or just "the drinker"

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.. The participle of obligation

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Actually the form solbe by itself can be a participle when it qualifies a noun. For example ...

moʒi solbe = the water that must be drunk

toili kludau = the book that must be written

and because of the strong tendency of adjectives to also serve as nouns ...

kludau = that which must be written => an (school) assignment

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... Verbs => Nouns

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Actually verbs in their infinitive form can be considered nouns also. For example ...

dó = to do, to make ... but it can also be translated as "deed" or "action".

If an action can result in (or be strongly connected to) some physical object. In that case the name of the physical object is derived from the verb by deleting the final vowel of the infinitive and adding "u". For example ...

dó = to make, to produce : dú = product

solbe = to drink : solbu = a drink

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... Nouns => Adjectives

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keŋko = salt : keŋkia = salty, having salt : keŋkua = not salty, lacking salt

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..... Word building

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In béu when 2 nouns are come together the second noun qualifies the first. (see Note at bottom). For example ...

toili nandau = "book words" ... the thing being talk about is a book. "words" is an attribute of "book".

Now the person who first thought of the idea of writing a dictionary would have called this idea toili nandau

However over the years as the concept toili nandau became more and more common toili nandau was changed to nandəli

Often when this happens the constructed word takes on a narrower meaning than the two words standing together.

The mechanism for this word building is ...

1) Swap positions : toili nandau => nandautoili

2) Delete syllable : nandautoili => nandauli ..... this of course can not happen if the original word is a monosyllable. In that case it just looses its tone.

3) Vowel becomes schwa : nandauli => nandəli ..... this does not happen for vowels from monosyllabic words.

Lets take another example ...

mepe hí = "form origin"

1) => himepe

2) => hipe .... there is no (3) ... by the way, this is the béu word for infinitive (a linguistic term)

And another one ...

wé deuta = "manner soldier"

1) deutawe ... there is no (2)

3) deutɘwe (in the manner of a soldier)

The only time you see the schwa is in the middle of constructed words.

NEED DIAGRAM

It is represented as a dot.

When spelling words out, this dot is pronounced as jí ... meaning "link".

Note ... this method of word building is only used for two nouns. Other classes of word can sometimes combine, but they don't use this method.

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Note ... If 2 or more nouns together have the same roll in a sentence they are separated by lé (and).

It is represented as a small cross.

If if is obvious to the listener that a string of nouns are going to be given then they can be annunciated with just a slight pause between them. However lé must always separate the last from the second last. (Pretty much the same system as English).

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..... Word order

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The components of a clause ( i.e. verb, subject and object) can occur in any order.

béu uses this freedom to show definiteness. Namely if a NP comes after the verb, then the speaker reckons the listener does not know WHICH NP he is talking about.

Furthermore, to indicate to the listener that he himself is not acquainted with the NP, he will slip in the particle é before the NP.

So ... the speaker places a NP before or after the verb depending on the listeners (the second person) acquaintance with the NP.

Also the speaker (the first person) can place the particle é before the NP to show he (the first person) also is unacquainted with it.

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..... The pilana

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There are 17 particles that together are called the pilana.

These can in certain situations be suffixed to nouns and they have the functions covered by “cases” in certain languages.

The word pilana is built up from ;-

pila (v) = to place, to position

pilana (a, n) = positioning, the positioner

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Below are the first 8 pilana … these are to do with “location”

1) pí = in

2) là = on

3) mái = above

4) gòi = below

5) cè = this side of’

6) dùa = beyond, at the far side of

7) bene = right, at the right hand side of

8) komo = left, on the left hand side of

Now these are used to give a location with respect to some object. When this object is only one word, the pilana is suffixed to that word. For example …

nambopi = in the house

nambomai = on the house, over the house

However, when this object is expressed as 2 or more words, the pilana is not suffixed but appears as a free standing word and comes before the object. For example …

dùa nambo yinkai hau?e = beyond the house of the pretty girl

There are two other words that are important for specifying location, tài and jáu, “in front of” and “behind”. Now we must be careful here. In English use “behind” to mean “at the far side of. The same with “in front of” but to a lesser extend. In béu, ‘ài and jáu can only be used with objects that have a well defined “front side” and “back side”. Prototypically these objects are humans but tài and jáu could also be used with … for example “a house”. They could not be used with “mountain” for example.

‘’’pilana’’’ 1, 3 - 8 plus tài and jáu never occur unless preceding a NP or suffixed to a noun. However they can become nouns in their own right, if the affix ?ai is attached. For example …

piʔai = interior

Occasionally you get them joined to -?au. For example …

piʔau = interior surface

là can also be joined to -?au. For example …

laʔau = on it

Note ... piʔai wò nambo means exactly the same as nambopi. Invariably the terser form is used.

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The above pilana define location. The next 2 specify motion.

9) yé = to

10 fì = from

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

11) tù = with, using

12) jì = for

13) wò = about, with respect to

14) -s = “the ergative case”

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The next is a “general locative”.

15) -n = at

The last 2 pilana have the form sá and nà when they must precede a NP. When (on the very rare occasion yo have a noun ending in a consonant) they have the forms -es and -en.

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The last 2 pilana define motion and position. They are sort of hybrids.

16) alya = onto

17) alfe = off

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.

WE NEED A LITTLE DIAGRAM HERE.

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OK two chapters later we introduce the relativizer and then show how the ‘’’pilana’’’ affixes to the relativizer.

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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