A Comparative Study of the Melanesian Island Languages

GRAMMAR OF THE BAKI LANGUAGE
I. Alphabet

I. Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ii.
Diphthongs: ai, au, ou, ei.

Consonants: w (written u), y; r, dr, 1; k, g; j; t, d, n; b,
m, m; v; s.

Compound Consonant: p.

246 The Central New Hebrides [pt

2. Sounds: ti as o in 'money'; ou as eau in *beau'; g as
ng in 'sing'; j as ch in 'church'; d as nd in 'under'; m is
sometimes mb as in ' amber ' : in the earlier books p = bw was
written bu; and the nasal m as mu.

Mr Fraser remarks that there are no aspirates or gutturals
in Baki, But k and g = ng are common sounds.

2. Article

3. The demonstrative article is na. This is seldom used
except before verbal or abstract nouns: na mariatiy death; na
meouliany life,

Na is also used as a ligative between a noun and an adjective :
test na mboy tree the good, a good tree; toro na mboba^ a bad
man.

Na may be used alone with the adjective to indicate a noun:
na mboy the good.

4. A personal article ka is used with relationship and per-
sonal names : karamay father ; kainCy mother. The vowel changes
with some words to /, or u: kinerinOy son, komaney woman's
brother; kumbuOy grandfather.

5. The numeral tat serves as an indefinite article: toro taiy
a man.

3. Nouns

6. There are two classes of nouns. The first comprises
names of relationships, parts of a whole, and a few other words.
These indicate possession by a suffixed pronoun. Nouns of
the second class indicate possession by a separate word.

7. Form. A noun is formed from other words by the suffix
an or ana. Verbs ending in a, suffix n or no only, Intransitives
in o change to i before the suffix; ian is also found. ///, say,
iliany speech, word; moneay believe, ntoneaUy faith; marOy die,
na mariany death; tumboy chief, tumboiany authority.

Personal nouns are formed by the words toro (properly only
masculine gender), and tomUy person (common gender), with
the preposition na and the verbal noun: toro na visivisiany man
of sowing, sower; tomu na vagadriany fishermen. Kulo is also
used in the plural: kulo na kariany sinners. Toro and kulo are
used for the people of a place: toro Kaliky a Galilean; kulo
Sameriay Samaritans.

ii] The Central New Hebrides 247

Similar compounds are: ue na mieianOy medicine, water of
sickness; test najqjoay wood of sitting, seat.

Size may be shown by the prefixes iwr, burUy large, big,
kiriy kirikiy little : buruverUy a rock, verUy stone ; btirusukuy moun-
tain, sukuy hill; kiritetey baby; kirikiuakoy a little ship.

8. Number. The plural is shown by the pronoun naloy they,
used with all kinds of nouns: veru nalOy stones; ilian nalOy
sayings; kaltsa nalOy boys; tnaramho nalOy roads; bue nalOy pigs.

9. Gender. A few personal nouns are common gender:
tomUy person; koUy spouse, husband, wife. Kuruay a man's
brother, is probably the same as kuluey a woman's sister.

Sex when required is indicated by the words sumanOy male,
tiray female, used as adjectives, bUvinOy female, of young per-
sons. The sexes of animals may have different names: huruolOy
boar; buey sow; tUy fowl; tu rumanOy cock; sombarUy hen.

10. Vocative. The words for * father,' karamay and * mother,'
kainey are changed when used of one's own parents: teta o!
O my father ! koinio kuy my mother.

4. Pronouns

11. Personal. Full forms:

Sing. I. kiniu, Plur. i inch kito.

2. jau, I excl. kumemi.

3. natyTiaiu. 2. kamiu.

3. nolo.

These are used both as subject or object of the verb. Naiu
is more emphatic than naiy and is nearly = ^himself.' A dual
may be formed by adding the numeral /mo: kumemi juOy we two.

12. Short forms used as subject:

Sing. I. na, Plur. i incl. rUy rOy re.

2. koy ka, I excL ni.

3. — 2. ku,

3. a.

No short form of pronoun is used in the third singular of
past and present tenses, but the verbal particle ri takes its place
in the future.

13. Short forms used as object. These are found only in the
second singular y^M, ^0, third singular o, third plural lo: a miali
0, they saw it ; na miali /o, I see them ; na mjikiajaUy I know thee.

248 The Central New Hebrides [PT

14. Short forms used as possessives:

Sing. I. ku. Plur. i incl. dro^ do,

2, mo, I excl. memi,

3, noy nay ne, 2. miu,

3. lo,

15. Interrogative, Kei? who? keikei? (plural). Ket ne?
who (is) this? kei jokolu kiniu? who touches me? siamo kei?
thy name (is) who ?

Vai? what? vai ne? what (is) this? vai na? what is that?
(sometimes pronounced vainey vaina),

16. Demonstrative. Ney this, na^ that. Compounded with
tey thing: tene^ this, this one; tenuy that, that one; teteney this
person; tenaloy these things; bogo nalo nay those days; bogo
neney that time.

17. Indefinite. Tetaiy something, anything; tiy one of two;
taiy some; nroluy another; telambOy many; maka ve telambOy few
(not are many); nonovioy mbiniuy all; momoUy the whole; a
mbiniuy all of them (they all); kulo nonovio, all people.

5. The Genitive

18. When two nouns are in juxtaposition the second is in
the genitive : iki maramboy side (of) path ; burumbati iesiy root
(of) tree.

When the two nouns form a compound, one being a part
of the other, the noun denoting the whole comes first: yimo
levileviy house-top.

19. Suffixed pronouns are used with nouns of the first class
to indicate possession (§14): karamakUy my father (cf. § 10);
jumamOy thy hznd\janOy his foot; karamadrOy our (incl.) father;
mirememiy our (excl.) eyes; tiUnemiUy your ears; kunualOy their
dwelHng-houses.

20. A noun of the first class governing another noun in the
genitive requires the possessive suffix: Jentes kuruanOy brother
of James (James his brother) ; kurtiano Vilipo koanOy his brother
Philip*s wife; kulerino jumaloy men's hands (men their hands);
toro kouo kunualOy strong man's house; tomu tinielOy men's
hearts (bowels).

21. Nouns of the second class indicate possession by a pre-
ceding possessive word. There are four of these: kia for relative

saku

tnaku

samo

mamo

sano

mano

sadro

(samemt
Xsememi

samiu

salo

ii] The Central New Hebrides 249

possession, kana for close possession, sa of things to eat, and
ma for household possessions. They take the pronominal

suffixes thus :

Sing. I. kiak^ kiaku kanaka

2. kiam^ kiamo kanamo

3. kiaUj kiano kanano
Plur. I inch kiadro kqjiadro

I excl. kiememi kinimemi

2. kieri%iu kanamiu

3- Malo kanalo

Kiak attvty my servant: kiaku ilian naloy my words; kiamo
meoulian^ thy life; kian jevileviy his fan; kinimemi vitCy our
things; kiemiu mauOy your reward; kialo mariesiy their fruit.

Saku senaniatiy my food; sano senaniany his food; setnemi
senaniany our food ; makujogiy my bed ; mamojogiy thy bed ; etc.

Kanamo jidromiany thy offering, but kiaku jidromiany my
thought.

KanakUy kanamOy etc. are used alone as nouns: kanakUy
mine, my own ; kuluniodro a mhe kanadrOy our lips are our own ;
tei mbe kanano y the sea is his.

These possessives are used preceding a noun of the second
class governing a genitive : Yiova kian tliany word of the Lord ;
kulo Katala kialo vioy country of the Gadarenes; kinerino nalo
salojokoy bread of the children.

22. A genitive is also shown by the preposition na : marambo
na meouliany path of life; hogo na yuOy season of rain; yimo na
ubiy house for yams.

Instead of nay ri is sometimes used before names of places
and a few other words: tira ri LamenUy woman of Lamenu;
tumbo ri Burumbay chief of Burumba,

6. Adjectives

23. There appear few simple adjective WB's.

24. The attributive adjective follows the noun: tira nroluy
woman other; veru torUy stone big.

The ligative na is also used : toru na mboy man (that is) good ;
tomu na torutoru nalOy great persons.

The predicative adjective may be in the same form as the
attributive, but usually requires the copula mbey future ve\

350 The Central New Hebrides [pt

kian joruan torUj its fall (was) great; kian kulumaraua mbe
miubuj his clothes were white ; tena ve limpilimpiany that (will
be) kind.

25. Comparison. Comparisons are made by two positive
statements or by the addition of adverbs : nai ne telikiy nai na
torUy this (is) small, that (is) great; test tembiehiy stick long;
iesi tembiebi kijUy stick longer (long a little); iesi tembiebi lakuy
stick longest (long more).

An intensive prefix kiri appears in kiritelikiy very little.

The suffix ^fl gives an exclusive sense: io, good., bogUy good
only, very good.

No is found as an adjective prefix in nobo^ splendid.

The preposition ka^ to (perhaps in the sense of 'with refer-
ence to'), is used for 'than' in comparison: katntUy maka ku
vo laka ka naloy bo? are you not much better than they? (you
not you (are) good more towards them, eh?).

26. Reduplication. Reduplication implies a repetition of
the state or quality expressed by the adjective : madruluy pierced,
madruludrulUy pierced in many places; korovio^ to break, 6uro-
kokorovtOy broken into several pieces.

7. Verbs

27. Form. A few nominal WB's are used as verbs: e.g.
low, a song, mioUy he sings or sang.

The verbal WB begins with a vowel or consonant {m, Vy
t or s)y and without formatives expresses the imperative.

An older formation by means of a prefix m- is found in a
few words. In these the accent falls on the first syllable and the
m is retained throughout the conjugation. Examples are:
meouliy to live; meroUy to be afraid; marOy to die; memagay to
gape ; tnuniy to drink ; tnieiy to be sick ; minunuy to sweat ; miubiy
to blow^,

28. Transitive and Intransitive. Intransitive verbs end
in o, a few in u.

Transitive verbs end in i. Before the noun suffix only i
appears. Before the locative preposition ea, the t is dropped.

29. Causative. There is no causative prefix, but the verb
lay do, or make, is often prefixed: tnlaialiy he finds {ialiy see);
lambiniy kill, destroy.

^ It is noteworthy that all these are IN words. Cf. p. 234.

Ii] The Central New Hebrides 251

30. Passive. There is no passive. A few verbal adjectives
with a passive signification as e.g. buluy bought, mbuluku^
counted, appear to be formed from verbs mbuliy he buys,
mbulukiy he counts.

31. Conjugation. The Baki verb is conjugated by means of
the short subjective pronouns. These may be used with or
without the longer forms. Mr Fraser distinguished four tenses,
but the verb undergoes change only in the indefinite and future.

Tenses. The future tense is formed by the WB without a
formative. Person and number are indicated by the short
pronoun except in the third person singular, which has the
particle ri.

Sing, I. na ialiy I shall see. Plur. i incl, ra tali.

2. katali{k*ialt),tho\x 1 excl, rCiali {ni iali),
wilt see. 2. kubiali,

3. r'iali (for ri tali). 3. a tali.

The second person plural affixes b or bi to the pronoun before
a vowel.

The future of vanOy go.

Sing. I. navano. Plur. i incl. ravano.

2. kavano, i excl. nivano,

3. rivano^, 2. kuvano,

3. avano.

An indefinite past or present tense is formed in a majority of
verbs by prefixing mi or its abbreviation m to the simple WB as
used in the future. No change is made in the short pronouns,
and there is no short pronoun in the third person singular:
WB /fl, (will) make, indef. mila or w/a, he made or he makes.

Sing. I. na tniali, I see or Plur. i incl. ramiali,

saw. I excl. ni tniali,

2. ko tniali, 2. ku tniaU.

3 , tniali, 3 . a tniali.

Verbs with the simple (future) WB beginning with v change
the initial to mb in the indefinite. Similarly w (written u) be-
comes m. WB^s beginning with ^ or ^ in the future have^ in
the indefinite.

Sing. I. na mbanOy I go or Plur. i incl. ra tnbano,

went. I excl. ni tnbano.

2. ko mbano, 2. ku tnbano,

3. tnbano. 3. a mbano,

^ In SSL, p. 91, this is wrongly given as ni vano.

252 The Central Ncta HchriJps [pt

A definite past is indicated by the adverb rue following the
verb: na miali rue^ I have already seen.

Completion is shown by the verb Hsi^ to finish : na miali bid
ruCy I have finished seeing; milt ilian nolo ne mbisi^ he finished
saying these words (said words these finish).

A progressive present is formed by the word kian (ap-
parently the possessive noun of the third person singular),
following the indefinite verb: na miali kian^ I am seeing, or, I
see now; ko miali kian^ etc.

32. Continuance of the action is shown by the adverb bo^
yet, still. With kian^ this is used for * while ^ikome bOy come still,
I.e. keep coming (nearer); bogi nai meouli kianabo^ while he
was still alive.

33. Negative. The word maka introduces a negative in past
or present time. In the future re comes after the verb or at the
end of the phrase.

Maka na iali, I do or did not see, maka ka ialiy etc.
Maka na vano^ I do or did not go, maka ka vano^ etc.
Na iali re^ I shall not see, ka iali re^ etc.
Na vano re^ na va re^ I shall not go, ka vano re^ etc,

34. Interrogative. The interrogative is shown by the tone
of voice, or by the conjunction io, or, at the end of the phrase :
ka va beniy bo? will you go to-morrow.? ko miali tetai? do you
see anything? maka ajikia tetai^ bo? don't they know anything?
tomu a maro rue a tumolu a Hi vu vani so^ bo? will the dead rise
up and praise thee ? (men they dead already they rise they speak
good to thee?).

35. Mood. Imperative. This is expressed by the simple
WB with the short pronouns of the second person singular or
plural : ka vano! go thou ! ko me! come thou ! ku vano! go ye !

The negative imperative is similarly shown with the negative
re. The particle mbi (present or past), bi (future) is also found^:
ko veriali re ka toro tai! do not inform (tell-see) any one (to
man one) ! kubi merou re! do not (ye) fear ! ko mbi van ea re
komeli! do not go into the town ! ku monea re! do not believe
him!

36. Conditional. There is no change in the verb. The clause

^ SSL. p. 88. '*Mhi is also used as a dehortative instead of the negative re
ko mbi t€gi~don't cry (for ko tegi re); ko mbi /a— don't do it."

ii] The Central New Hebrides 253

is introduced by the conjunction avena^ if: avena ni veriy if we
say.

37. Subjunctive, A dependent sentence is introduced by
the word ka^ that: ni mijikia kajau ko mbe rian^ we know that
thou art free.

Sometimes no connective appears : ko jidromi ni va mhe ni
lavatigi kani sOy you wish we will go where, we make-ready your
meal.

38. Infinitive, Ka is used as with the subjunctive : A merou
ka a vikadeni 0, they feared to ask him (they fear that they ask
him); tomu telambo a mioltia ka nai tomburUy many ordered, him
to be quiet (men many they ordered him that he (be) quiet).

39. Potential. Ability to do an action is shown by the
verbal phrase: mje merouany have power. Inability by the
adverb det or dedei at the end of the phrase: avena ko mje
merotmn ka ka la tetaiy if thou canst (have power to) do any-
thing; ni mje merouaUy we can; a mla dedeiOy they could not
do it; n ve re tetai kubi la dedeioy there is not anything you shall
be unable to do.

40. Copula. The word used as copula is ve (future), mbe
(present and past): mbe bogiany it is night; ku mbe kineriloy you
are their children; ko mbe toro KaliUy you are a Galilean; bogo
nene ve bogo najalelean torUy that time shall be a time of great
trouble.

8. Adverbs

41. Adverbs of manner and direction agree with the tense
of the verb qualified: nai mbio lo barakuranoy he called them
immediately; varakurano nai sumbani o ri me^ immediately he
will let him come (allow him he will come).

42. Directive. Some directive adverbs are compounded
with the verb mba: vaviny mbabiny go up; vatobiy mbatobiy go
down.

43. Interrogative. Nagi? when? bogo vai? when? mbe?
where? kavai? why? for what? tuman&e? jumambe? how?
Ko veri ka kumeni nagi tenalo ne a malubo? tell us, when these
things they happen ? bogo vai ni miali so ? when did we see thee ?
kialo Atua jo mbe? their God is (stays) where? kavai ko mbio
kiniu mbo? why do you call me good? ko jidromi ka na la

254 ^^^ Central New Hebrides [pt

tumambe kani so? thou wishest that I shall do how to thee?
kumhi jidromi jumatnbe? you think how?

44. Time. Vonigani^ nanUy now; bogo neney telikiti nene^ this
time ; banty to-day ; beniy to-morrow ; veruiy day after to-morrow ;
bogoti toluy third day; niobOy yesterday; nwa, day before yester-
day ; bogo nUy telikiti na, that time, then ; karinay thereupon ; ruey
already; bercy bereiy again; naruey at once; dramarigay tnamarigay
always; titilirty sometimes; mokiy often; naboy by and bye;
kijuy soon; limbolimboy in a short time; bogombey long ago;yo
jombojoy to mbo tOy for ever.

KabijOy morning; lierey noon; kijeviy evening; sebisaroy mid-
night.

45. Place. 7Ve,az;/on^, here, at this place; «a, az^/omz, there,
at that place; takoy yonder, at a distance; vatarOy near; vata-
rambey far; koalamboy distant; urOy shoreward, inland; koioUy
seaward; kamuy first; iorouy last.

46. Manner, etc. Adjectives are used as adverbs of manner :
ka takio sikiliy strike it hard ; nai tnieli kekiy he walks slowly ;
ka Hi melumUy speak softly.

Other adverbs of manner: kavekey sideways; mbo (indef.),
rivu (fut.), well.

The particle ga is added to any words to give the meaning
of 'only': kikigUy slowly only; nalogUy they only; ko bokarigUy
you hold it only, merely hold it; buegUy pigs only; karamaku
ga mjikiay only my father knows.

KijUy 2i little ; tambuluy more.

47. Affirmation, etc. Anuy yes; tnarikanioy no; naOy just
so; anamboy perhaps.

9. Prepositions

48. Simple. Locative. Euy in, into, at: ea teiy at, on or in
the sea; ea marataboy at the door.

When following a verb ending in ^, o or w, this preposition
becomes a: nai jo a tanoy sits on the ground; naiju a maramboy
he stands at the door; a mbinime a komeliy they came to the
city.

Verbs ending in z, and a few in o, lose their final vowel before
ea: ku van ea komeliy go into the city.

Motion to a person. Ka : mberi ka kitOy he said to us ; a mbari

iij ine uentral New Hebrides 255

niolo ka tiray they murmured (lifted their mouths) at the
woman; a merou ka tomu nalo^ they feared the people.

Before pronouns this often becomes kani: kani loy to them;
kani Oy to him.

Ka also has a more general relation : ka sekono ka we, wash
it with water; mtla ka verUy made with stone; kaje vani lo ka
kumemt juOy give to them for (ka) us two; maka tetai jo luku
ka kian ninio torUy not anything stays hidden from {ka) its heat
great.

Dative. Kariy for. Mr Fraser has the example : nai tnaro kari
kitOy he died for us. I find no examples in the translations. Ka
is used for 'for' as in ka kumemi in preceding examples.

Motion from. Deniy out of: deni kiniu, from me; dent /o,
from them ; denijaUy from thee ; nai mlatitigi niadru aluo deni 0,
he cast out devils seven from her; den teiy from the sea.

Genitive. Nay of: yimo na ilitnolukouany house of prayer;
semi na maro taiy poison of a snake ; bogo nalo na bogombey times
of old ; vio na ioruriany place of safety.

Riy of a place, or time: toro ri mBurumbay man of Burumba;
tira ri YuhonOy woman of Yubono {toro Kaliley man of Galilee,
Mk 14. 70); terimoruOy old thing (thing of old); teribogombey
ancient thing (thing of long ago),

Bureiy mbureiy among: tumbo jo mburei /o, the chief dwells
among them; Atua ri to bureilOy God will dwell among them.

49. Nominal Prepositions. Some words used as preposi-
tions and adverbs are probably nouns. Kamu, before, first,
front: kamu ka kamiUy before you; kamu kani so, before thee.
Miray face, front, is used with, or without kamu: ka miramOy
before thee; kamu ka miramOy before thy face. loroUy after,
behind: ko tu iorou ka kiniUy stand behind me; mbinime iorou
kani Oy he came behind him.

50. Verbal Prepositions. These are used in the future and
indefinite tenses.

Vay vani (future), bUy bant (indef.), to, towards: mudri bani
sOy he gave thee; na mudri kineruku bani sOy I have brought my
son to thee; kodri o vani kiniUy bring him to me.

lali (future), miali (indef.) (lit. see), is also used as the pre-
position ' to ' : toro tai mbinime miali 0, a man came to him ; mbio
lo a miali 0, he called them to him; hog tumambe ko me ka iali
Mniu? when wilt thou come to me?

Jeliy seli (fut.) along by : seli kiam iliany according to thy word.

256 The Central New Hebrides [pT

51. Pronominal. These are the personal pronouns com-
bined with liko or iko.

Kiteliko, I St plural inch : ko me kitelikOy come (thou) with us,
i.e. in a party of three or more.

KutnemikOy ist plural excl. : toro na maka ri lambiji kumemikoy
the man that will not gather with me; ni to kumemiko^ they
dwell with me, i.e. we dwell together. Kumemi is generally
used in speaking of one's self instead of kiniu.

KamikOj 2nd person plural: a to kamiko dramarigay they stay
with you always; ko vuri tomu tai pelijuo kamiko ^ take one or
two persons with thee ; ko vano! kamikoy you go ! (= good bye !),
you together.

NalikOy 3rd person plural: a mbano naliko kalisa naloy they
went with the boys, they together; tumbo mimau naliko^ the
chief worked with them.

The foregoing imply the plural number. The following only
refer to two persons :

Kiteaku: ko me kiteaku^ come with me, we two together; na
maro kiteakUy I will die with thee ; bog na jebijo to jo kiteaku
kian naboy when I wake we are still together.

Kumemijuo, we two.

Kamjuo: telikiti kamjuo kubi taki marambo, when you two
together pass along the road ; jau kamjuo Sarikiriy you and
Sarikiri.

Naljuo: Pogiteri naljuo TilenOj Pogiteri and (with him)Tileno.

10. Conjunctions

52. Copulative. There is no conjunction: ligian bogiany day
(and) night. The pronoun nai is used between proper nouns:
PiteTy Yakobo nai Yoaney Peter, James and John.

Bunu or mbunUy also, is used at the end of a series enumerated :
yembiy yubiy kulumarauo bunu, mats, yams, calico also.
The conjunctive pronouns have been given in § 51.
Mba is used for *and,' with numerals.

53. Adversative. ' But"* is often translated by mm meaning
*then' in a sequence: a mbe nioloy mia maka a iliy they have
mouths, but they speak not.

54. Disjunctive. Boy oVy peliy or: tomu juo peli tolu niolOy
mouths of two or three persons; ni vudri bo ni vudri re? shall
we give, or shall we not give?

Vedre, or else, perhaps, is also used as a disjunctive.

ii] The Central New Hebrides 257

55. Conditional. Avena^ if: avena ri vikadeni o ka niadro
taif rije maro tat vani 0, bo? if he shall ask him for a fish, will
he give him a serpent ?

Avena with the negative = * unless': avena Atua maka ri la
bogo nalo na bilati Mja^ if God will not make those days shorter.

Timbemay lest: timbema nai ri me sompeli^ lest he shall come
quickly.

56. Illative. Ka is used for *that, so that/ introducing
a dependent sentence: ni mjikia ka jau ko mbe riaUy we know
that thou art true.

57. Other conjunctions: kaniOy for, hecanse; jimbey as, so;
naruCy therefore; ooa, until.

II. Numerals

58. Cardinal. Taiy one]juOy two; toluy three; z-eri. i ar;
jtmOy five; ari, six; aluOy seven; arolUy eight; koveri, nine;
duUlimo (dualimo)y ten.

Takurano is used for *one only.* Numbers above ten are
added by the conjunction mba : duUlimo mba taiy eleven ; du&limo
mbajuOy twelve, etc.

The tens are enumerated by the multiplicatives : du&limo
vajuOy or duUlimo valuoy twenty (lit, ten twice) ; duUlimo vatolu
(or varolu)y thirty; duUlimo vaveriy forty; duUlimo vajimo (or
valimo)y fifty, etc. The alternative use of tolu and roluy jimo
and limo seems to imply borrowing.

* A hundred' is: duUlimo toro momoUy ten (on) the whole man
(i.e. on all his fingers), or duUlimo va duUlimOy ten ten times.

Mr Fraser also gave : duUlimo toromomou duUlimOy a thousand ;
duUlimo toromomou duUlimo va duUlimo y ten thousand.

These are evidently loans probably from Nguna via Tasiko.
Momou is certainly the Nguna mamauy whole, the Baki word
being nonovio,

59. Ordinal. These can only be expressed by the cardinals.
Place in a series may be indicated by: beamuy kamuy first; tu
ebisOy standing in the middle; Hey the next; iorouy the last.

60. Multiplicative. These are formed by the prefix vay
which is the causative in many languages though not in Baki:
varakuranOy once; valuoy twice; vatolu or varolUy three times.

Distributive. These are formed by the word vey which is
apparently the same as the copula: ve tarakuranOy singly (lit. it
will be one only); ve juo ve juOy in twos; ve tolu ve tolu, in

258 The Central New Hebrides [PT

threes. Ve takurano, ve juOy ve tolu^ are also used for single,
double, triple, and in answer to the question, *How many?'

61. Interrogative. This is vio^ how much? how many?
used with ve\ kumbi jevi joko ve via? you have bread it will be
how much? ve va vio? how many times?

12. Exclamations and Expletives

62. Surprise; /o.^ Sorrow : a«;a/ alas ! Wonder: ajirei! Ap-
probation: sibaf good! first rate! burtele! bravo! tiao! just so!
all right! Disgust: aiau! Interrogation and doubt: O! (in
answer to a call), well, what ? kavai! why not ! of course ! ierino!
really ! inau! indeed ! riatio! truly ! ii! who knows ! Invitation :
Mto! come on! let us! banalo! you people, hear! Imperative:
kuburo! clear out ! kobitari! look out !

The vocative after a noun is o : tira 0! O woman ! tela 0! O
my father.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Ray, Sidney Herbert, 1858-1939.

A comparative study of the Melanesian Island
languages.

Reprint of the 1926 ed. published by the Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, Eng.

Bibliography: p.

1. Melanesian languages. L Title.
i PL6201.R3 1978 499'.5 75-35151
ISBN 0-404-14166-8