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

Note ... the symbol for "r" is called huka. The word hukəpe actually means "R-form". "r"-form. By the way, mepe = form, shape

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. For example ...

doika = to walk

doikar = I walk

doikir = you walk

etc. etc. etc.

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.. Tense

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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.

YESTERDAY = yesterday I cleaned my car

THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY = the day before yesterday I cleaned my car

?? = I clean my car ... taken as a habitual in this case

TOMORROW = tomorrow I will clean my car

The words taiku meaning the past can be used instead of yesterday, the day before yesterday etc etc ??. This construction is equivalent to a past tense.

The words jauku meaning the future can simply be substituted for tomorrow ??. This construction is equivalent to a future tense.

To indicate the future, if the subject is human, often the word INTEND ??? is used. For example ... ??

There is one tense, it is the present tense which is shown by adding an "a". For example ...

doikara = I am walking

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.. Aspect

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

doikari = I have walked

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

doikaru = I have not yet walked / I have not walked

The -ra is only used for actions happening at the time of speaking. In English, the "to be - ing" construction is used for this. However the English "to be - ing" construction is also used to fit one action inside another. For example "she came in when I was shaving" ... usually set in the past but in the future is also possible. This is called the imperfect aspect (I think). In béu you use the copula plus the infinitive with the -n pilana affixed. For example ...

por kyu tar SHAVEn

Note ... SHAVEn is similar to an adjective in that it follows the copula. However it differs from an adjective in an important way ... it can never be an attribute of a noun. The form SHAVEana is the noun attribute.

...............XXX colour light green ................................

Note ... When you have the endings -ora, -ori and -oru they are always shortened to just -ra, -ri and -ru, provided the final consonant of the infinitive is not w y h or ʔ. For example ...

doikri = he has walked

...............XXX colour light green ................................

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.. Negativeness

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

doikarju = I do not walk

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

doikarju kyu.i = I am not walking

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

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.. Probability

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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 doikori = maybe he has walked

lói doikori = probably he has walked

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

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... The subjunctive verb form

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The subjunctive is called the sudəpe

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

doikos = go on, let him walk.

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

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

doikoske = best not to let him walk.

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... The imperative verb form

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The imperative is called the yeməpe

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) -ya is added. For example ...

dó = to do

doya = 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

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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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..... How words change class

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... Adjectives => Nouns

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gèu = green : geumai = greenness

naike = sharp : naikemi = sharpness

Note ... the affix changes depending on whether the word is a monosyllable or a non-monosyllable.

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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Many words in béu are constructed from amalgamating two basic words. The constructed word is non-basic semantically ... maybe one of the concepts needed for a particular field of study.

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In béu when 2 nouns are come together the second noun qualifies the first. For example ...

toili nandau (literally "book" "word") ... the thing being talk about is "book" and "word" is an attribute of "book".

Now the person who first thought of the idea of compiling a list of words along with their meaning would have called this idea toili nandau.

However over the years as the concept toili nandau became more and more common, toili nandau would have morphed into nandəli.

Often when this process happens the resulting construction has a narrower meaning than the original two word phrase.

There are 4 steps in this word building process ...

1) Swap positions : toili nandau => nandau toili

2) Delete syllable : *nandau toili => *nandau li

3) Vowel becomes schwa : *nandauli => *nandə li

4) Merge the components : *nandə li => nandəli

The above example is for 2 non-monosyllables words. In the vast majority of constructed words the contributing words are polysyllables.

The is slightly simplified when monosyllables are used. First we look at the case when the main word is a monosyllable ...

wé deuta (literally "manner soldier")

1) Swap positions : wé deuta' => *deuta wé ... there is no step 2

3) Vowel becomes schwa : *deuta wé' => *deutɘ wé

4) Merge the components : *deutə wé => deutɘwe

And the case when the attribute is a monosyllable ...

mepe hí (literally "form origin")

1) Swap positions : *hí mepe

2) Delete syllable : *hí pe ................................... there is no step 3

4) Merge the components : *hí pe => hipe

Note ...

1) the schwa is represented by a dot.

2) the consonant before the schwa takes its final form

3) the consonant after the schwa takes its medial form

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

Notice that when you hear nandəli or deutɘwe you know that it is a non-basic word (because they have a schwa).

Also when you see nandəli or deutɘwe you know that it is a non-basic word (because they have a dot).

However when you come across hipe it is not immediately obvious that it's a non-basic word.

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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..... And Or

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In the last chapter we said that when 2 nouns are come together the second noun qualifies the first.

However this is only true when the words are not suffixed with a pilana If you have two contiguous nouns suffixed by the same pilana then they are both considered to contribute equally to the sentence roll specified by the pilana. For example ...

jonos jenes solber moʒi = "John and Jane drink water"

Two contiguous nouns that are not suffixed by a pilana' and if one is not qualifying the other, you must have the the particle lè "and" between them. This particle is never written in full but always represented by a special symbol. For example ...

jonos jenes solber moʒi lè ʔazwo = "John and Jane drink water and milk"

contribute equally .... lù "or"

jonos jenes timpura lata = "John and Jane are hitting a cow"

jonos jenes kuri auva sadu lè aiba ʔusʔa faja dí = John and Jane have seen two elephants and three giraffes this morning.

In béu as in English If it 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 lè must always separate the last from the second last. But having lè between every member of a list is also permissible.

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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) máu = 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

nambomau = 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 hauʔe = 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 usage “behind” can mean “at the far side of" as well as "at the backside". The same with “in front of” but to a lesser extend. In béu, tài and jáu can only be used with objects that have a well defined “front” and “back”. Prototypically these objects are humans but tài and jáu can also be used with … for example “a house”. They can not be used with object which lack a front and a back. For example they can not be used with "mountain".

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 ʔai is attached. For example …

piʔai = interior

Occasionally you get them joined to -ʔau. For example …

piʔau = interior surface

là can also be joined to -ʔau. 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) -lya = onto

17) -lfe = off

They have the forms alya and alfe when they must precede a NP.

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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..... More about the pilana

This chapter should follow the pilana by about 2 chapters

1) -pi ... pí

in

2) -la ... là

on

3) -mau ... máu

above, over, on top of

4) -goi ... gòi

below, under, underneath, beneath

5) -ce ... cè

"this side of"

6) -dua ... dùa

"on the far side of", beyond

7) bene

right, "on the right hand side of"

8) komo

left, "on the left hand side of"

9) -ye ... yé ... The dative. Some usage example ...

He made the prisoner sing = He give sing prisonerye

I tell jane that ... i to jane tell that .... THIS IS SIMILAR TO "TO GIVE"

glá nòr flovan beggarsye = she gives food to the beggars

nauya toili oye = give a book to her

Note ... the béu way is similar to English. For example ... toili nauya ò = give the book to her

This is the pilana used for marking the receiver of a gift, or the receiver of some knowledge.

However the basic usage of the word is directional.

amboye = "to the house"

yé wazbo nambo = "as far as the house" ... (literally "to the distance of the house")

yé limit/border nambo = "up to the house" ... for objects

doikori yé face báu "he has walked up to the man" ... for people

10) -vi ... fì ... The ablative. Some usage example ...

mari laula guardfi = I was made to sing by the guard

I hear from Jane that .... Similar to English ... you can not miss out "from", even with Jane directly behind the verb

The beggars mor flovan glavi = the beggar get food from the woman

nambovi = "from the house"

fí "direction" nambo = "away from the house"

fí "limit/border" nambo = all the way from the house

fí nambomau = from the top of the house

Note ... two appended pilana are not allowed ... so *nambomauvi is not allowed

lori sàu yemevi yé prince handsome = he changed from a frog to a handsome prince

11) -tu ... tù ... The instrumental/comitative. Some usage example ...

kizutu = John opened the can with a knife

jenetu = John went to town with Jane

Also used when something is achieved through a certain action ...

banu = to learn

banutu = by learning

Two particles are related to this pilana

tuta = because ... when because is followed by a clause

tuwo = because ... when "because" is followed by a NP.

Note ... anda = hand, arm .... andatu = manually

12) -ji ... jì ... The benefactive. Usually it refers to a person. However it often also occurs with an infinitive. Some usage example ...

banu = to learn

banuji = in order to learn

jari tweji ò = I have gone (in order) to meet him ... in this case it is not stated whether the "meeting" was successful or not

jari twé ò = I have gone and met him ... this is a verb chain

13) -wo ... wò ... The respective. Some usage example ...

pà halfar = I laugh LAUGH ???

pà halfar jonowo = I laugh at John

Used for marking the "theme" as in such sentences as ...

gala catura jonowo = the women are talking about John

Also when fronted, it gives a topic of a topic/comment sentence. For example ...

jonowo ... = as for John ....

14) -n ... nà ... The locative

at

15) -s ... sá ... The ergative

sá tá ........ = that Stefen turned up drunk at the interview sank his chance of getting the job

16) -lya ... alya ... The allative. Some usage example ...

xxx yyy zzz = put the cushions on the sofa

17) -lfe ... alfe ... The delative

xxx yyy zzz = the frog jumps off the lily pad

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..... The copula

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There is one copula in beuba.

Its infinitive is sàu. Following the method of other verbs, its negative is jù sàu.

The indicative mood is derived from the infinitive in the usual method. So ...

sàr = I am

ʃìr = you are

sòr = he/she/it is

etc. etc.etc.

The negative is formed be suffixing -ke. For example ...

sorke = he/she/it is not

Actually the (present tense, positive) copula is usually dropped if there is no chance of a misunderstanding.

It is mostly used for emphasis; like when you are refuting a claim

Person A) ... ʃirke moltai = You aren't a doctor

Person b) ... sàr moltai = I AM a doctor

Another situation where the (present tense, positive) copula tends to be used is when either the subject or the copula complement are longish trains of words. For example ...

solbua alkyo ʔá dori sùr sawoi = Those alcoholic drinks that she has made are delicious.

Unlike the other verbs, the copula has a different form for the past tense and a different form for the future tense. These are ...

tàr = I was

jàr = I will be

jarke = I won't be

etc. etc.etc.

(You could say that taiku sàr => tàr and jauku sàr => jàr)

The forms ‘’’sor’’’ and ‘’’sur’’’ are invariably shortened to simply -‘’’r’’’ and stuck on to the end of the copula subject. ........................................XXX colour light green ................................

Similarly the forms ‘’’sorke’’’ and ‘’’surke’’’ are invariably shortened to simply -‘’’rke’’’ and stuck on to the end of the copula subject. ...............XXX colour light green ................................

Note ... In copular sentences there is not free word order. They must be "copula subject" followed by "copula" followed by "object". Copula subject does not take the ergative suffix -s.

The subjunctive forms are ...

sas and saske ... uses ???

There are only two imperative forms ... jiya and jeya

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In a later chapter ...

tari = I was already

taru = I was not yet

sari = I am already

saru = I am not yet

jari = I will be already

jaru = I will not yet be

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There are 2 more words that might be considered copulaa ...

1) twài = to be located, to be placed .... perhaps an eroded form of a participle of tèu "to place"

2) yór = to exist ... a third person indicative form of the verb yái "to have". The third person indicative meaning is completely bleached in this usage.

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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