Muna Grammar

Introduction

8. Muna morphology

A full treatment of Muna morphology is found in Chapters 4 and 10 of A
grammar of the Muna language. Here only the most important points will
be mentioned. I will first discuss basic verbal morphology, then briefly list
the remaining affixes.

Verbs are split into three morphological classes, based on the different
subject markers. The following chart presents the subject prefixes in the
realis mood (used for past and present).

Abbreviations used in the chart: sg = singular; du = dual; pi = plural, pol =
pohte; inc = inclusive of hearer, ex = exclusive of hearer.

Table 1. Realis paradigm (present and past)

person

fl-class

fle-class

flo-class

kala 'go'

late 'live'

lodo *sleep'

sg 1

a-kala

ae-late

ao-lodo

2

o-kala

ome-late

omo-lodo

2pol

to-kala

te-late

tO'lodo

3

no-kala

ne-late

no-lodo

du line

do-kala

de-late

do-lodo

pi line

do-kala-amu

de'late-emu

do-lodo-omu

lex

t a-kala

tae-late

tao-lodo

2

o-kala-amu

ome-late-emu

omo-lodo-omu

2pol

to-kala-amu

te-late-emu

to-lodo-omu

3

do-kala

de-late

do-lodo

The information on the particular class a verb is in, is found in brackets after
the main entry or subentry. For instance, suli return' is listed as (vi,a-),
meaning that suli is an intransitive verb belonging to the fl-class. On the
basis of the above paradigm, the complete realis paradigm for suli can be
deduced. Similarly, other verbs will be listed as (vi,ae-) or (vt), where (vs)
stands for stative verbs and (vt) for transitive verbs. Muna stative verbs
often translate as adjectives in English, and consequently the English gloss
gives just the corresponding adjective without the copula to be, e.g. hhala
(vs,a-) 'big' rather than 'be big'. Since all transitive verbs are in class ae-
(with less than a dozen exceptions for the whole language), only the label
(vt) is given for these verbs. This assumes class ae-.

The irrealis mood is used for the future and after negators. For class ae-
and ao- partially different sets of subject prefixes are used. Class a- also has
different subject prefixes, but in addition uses the infix -um-.

Introduction

Table 2. Irrealis paradigm (future and after negators)

person

a-class

fle-class

flo-class

kala 'go'

late 'live'

lodo 'sleep'

sg 1

a-kumala

ae-late

ao-lodo

2

o-kumala

omeAate

omo-lodo

2pol

ta-kumala

tae-late

tao-lodo

3

na-kumala

nae-late

nao-lodo

du line

da-kumala

dae-late

dao-lodo

pi line

da-kuntala-amu

dae-late-emu

dao-lodo-omu

lex

ta-kumala

tae-late

tao-lodo

2

o-kwnala-amu

ome-late-emu

omo-lodo-omu

2pol

ia-kumala-amu

tae-late-emu

tao-lodo-omu

3

da-kumala

dae-late

dao-lodo

The infix -um- (used to form the irrealis of a-verbs) has different allomorphs
depending on the initial consonant of the root:

a. In the majority of cases -um- is infixed:

dadi - dumadi 'live'

gaa - gumaa 'marry'

suli - sumuli 'return'

b. With vowel initial roots, the prefix m- is fourxd:

ala - mala 'take'

ere - mere 'leave'

omha - momba 'appear'

c With root-inital p or/, this consonant is replaced by m:
punda - munda 'jump'

foni - moni 'climb, go up'

d. With root-initial h, hh, m, mb and mp, no change occurs. This is also
the case before several prefixes, e.g. ko-, po- and ti-.

e. With root-initial w there is no change, except for:

waa - maa give'

wora - mora 'see'

wanu ' manu 'wake up'

f. Irregular irrealis (with first person)

aworae - amorae I aorae 'I see it'

aforoghu - amoroghu / aoroghu 'I drink'
afumaa - aomaa 'I eat'

An irrealis verb form with inital m (e.g. namande) is in actual fact
ambiguous as to its origin. Since na- signals third person singular irrealis in
the fl-class, mande could theoretically be derived from ande, fande, mande

Introduction xx

or pande. The last one is correct (pande 'able'; the other roots do not exist).
In such cases it is best to start looking at the roots in the order p,f, vowel and
finally m. Some irrealis forms may go back to more than one root form:
amilie may come from pili 'choose' or Hi 'bring down*.

Basic verbal morphology also includes the participles. Active participles
are made differently according to verb class in the following way:

fl-class

ae-c\diss

flo-class

k[um]ala-no
'going'

me-late-no
'living'

mo-lodo-no
'sleeping'

The same allomorphy for -um- applies here.

Pronominal suffixes are presented in table 3 below, together with
possessive suffixes. The indirect object suffixes can usually be translated
with the prepositions 'with, to, for, because of followed by a personal
pronoun. Notice that the V in the second person plural possessive suffix
stands for a copy of the preceding vowel (e.g. lambu-umu 'your (pi) house'
and doi-imu 'your (pi) money').

Table 3, Pronominal suffixes

Direct object

Indirect

object

Possessive

person

sg

1

-kanati

'kanau

-ku

2
2pol

-ko
-kaeta

-angko
-kaeta

-mil
-nto

3

-e

-ane

-no

du

line

-

-

-nto

Pl

line

-

-

-nto-omu

lex

-kasami

-kasami

-mani

2

-ko-omu

-angko-omu

-Vmu

2pol
3

-kaeta-amu

-da

-kaeta-amu
-anda

-nto-omu
-ndo

Some verbs are marked with the abbreviation 'io', e.g. the verb asi (vi,ae-
/a-,io). This means that a patient is coded as an indirect object and that the
verb does not take direct object suffixes. Notice that derived verbs with the
prefix po- almost always take the indirect object set. This is therefore not
indicated for these verbs. Also, verbs suffixed with -Cao take indirect object
suffixes, in which case the -o of the suffix is often dropped.

XXI

Introduction

There is a class of experiential verbs in which the experiencer is marked
as a direct object, e.g. no-sodo-kanau 'I have a fever'; lit. 'it fevers me'. Such
experiential verbs are indicated as (vi,-kanau), v^^here the first person direct
object suffix -kanau 'me' stands for the whole paradigm.

Words in the semantic field of sounds often occur in two forms: one with
the prefix ko~ as an a-verb and the other as a reduplicated ae-verb. From the
root tou 'bark', for example, the regularly occurring forms are nokotou or
netou-tou 'it barks'. To avoid cumbersome repetition of information, this
has been collapsed for all such sound words into the part of speech
indication (n;vi,ae-).

Finally, for searching it is important to recognize prefixes (and
circumfixes). Table 4 below is a very rough outline of the derivational affixes
in alphabetical order, with just the most basic information about meaning,
plus one example. It should help in the process of stripping off affixes, but
for more information, consult Chapter 10 of the Muna grammar, and also
the entry for the affix itself in this dictionary. (In the list 'red' stands for
reduplication, which is not treated by itself here.)

Table 4. Prefixes and circumfixes

fe-

a. requestive
[irrealis remains /e-j

fe-gholi

'ask to buy'

b. locative

fe-panda

'be below'

[irrealis me-]

feka-

a. factitive

feka-xvare

'broaden'

b. adverbial

feka-ghosa

'loudly'

[irrealis meka-]

fo-,

causative
[irrealis mo~]

fo-kala

'make go*

fo-2

detransitivizer
[irrealis remains /o-j

fo-sia

'bite'

foko-

call, mention

foko-adede

'cry ouch'

ka-

a. nominalization

ka-bhala

'bigness, size'

b. unexpectedly

ne-ka-rato

'he arrived un-
expectedly'

ka'/'ha

location, time,
instrument, reason

(on fl-verbs)

ka-lente-ha

'birth place'

kae-/~ha

idem (on ae-verhs)

kae-huri-ha

'writing instrument'

kao-/'ha

idem (on flo-verbs)

kao-lodo-ha

'bed'

ka- + red

a. diminutive

ka-wale-wa\e

'small hut'

b. rather

ka~rombu-rombu

'rather fat'

c, simultaneous

ka-bisa-hi$ara

'while talking'

introduction

xxu

ki-/-ha

many, all together

ki-tou-ha

'all barked'

ko-

have, possess

ko-lamhu

'have house'

ko-/-ha

all of, the whole

ko-se-wua~ha-e

'all the fruit'

ko- + n^d

continue to be

ko-ivanU'Wanu-no

'remain awake'

mansi- + red

only a few

mansi'Wua-wua

'only a few'

manso-

habitual

manso-saki

'often sick'

m(b)a- + red

rather

ma-wanta-wanta

'rather long'

me-

a. imperative

b. clipped

me-ngkora

'sit down!'

participle

me-taa

'good'

c. class affix

without meaning

me-Z-no

active participle

on fle- verbs

me-late-no

's.o. living'

mo-

a. imperative

b. clipped

mo-lodo

'sleep!'

participle

mo-asi

'loving'

c. class affix

without meaning

mO'/-no

active participle

on flo- verbs

mo-meme-no

'what is wet'

mpo- + red

pretend

mpo-lodo-lodo

'pretend to
be asleep'

na-

future (with

numbers)

na-se-tonde

'one glass'

ne- (ni-)

passive participle

ne-owa

TDrought'

ngko-

habitual

ngko-saki

'often ill'

nsa- + red

increasingly

nsa-bhie-bhie

'more and more
heavy'

pa-

profession

pa-hulo

'hunter*

paka-

when first/just

paka-mate-no

'when he had
just died'

para-

habitual

para-ada

'always borrow'

pe-

approximately

na-pe-tolu

'about three'

piki-

early, soon

piki-rato

'come early'

po-

a. reciprocal

po-pongko

'kiUe.o.'

b. play

po-mbololo

'play the gong'

c. in parts

po-gunti

'cut in two'

poka- + red

pretend, for fun

pokaAinda- linda

'dance a little'

sa-

a. as soon as

sa-rato-no

'as soon as
he arrived'

b. only, always

sa-lowu

'always drimk'

sa-Z-ha

hardly, only just,
reasonably
(on fl-verbs)

sae-Z'ha

idem (on ae~verbs)

sae-taa-ha-no

'just good'

saO'Z-ha

idem (on ao-verbs)

se-

one

se-mie

'one person'

XXUl

Introduction

si'

be one, share

si-guru

'have the same
teacher'

si-/-ha

a. together

si-kala-ha

'go together'

b. suddenly

no-si-mai-ha

'he suddenly came'

ta-

a. caveat

ta-no-ndaxvu

'(take care)
lest he fair

b. only, just

ta-inodi

'only me'

c. until, another

ta-na-se-taghu

'another year'

d, suddenly

ta-no-mate

'he suddenly died'

ti-

agentless passive

nO'ti-buri

'written'

ti- (te-)

as much/many as

ti-tolU'piri

'as much as three
plates'

Table 5. Suffixes and infixes

-ana

dual adhortative

do-kala~ana

'let the two of us go'

-e
-ghoo

-ha

emphatic vocative

a. indirect object

b. purpose

a. location, time.

ina-el
gholi-ghoo
no-kala-ghoo
fumaa-ha

'mother!'
'buy with/for'
'for him to go'
'eating time'

manner

rabu-ha

'way to make'

b. partitive
(in combination

-hi

with participles)
a. plural

mo-dai-ha-no
bhai-hi

'part which is broken'
'friends'

ho

b. enumeration

c. rather
a. future

no-bhala-hi

ne-taa-hi
no-bhala-ho

'it is big (among other

things)'

'it is rather good'

'when he's big'

Cao

b. optative
vehement action

no-hende-ho
rambi-tao

'may it grow'
'fling down'

'Ci

allomorphs: -fao -hao

-lao

•pao

-rao

-sao

-tao

a. repetitive rambi-si

b. locative/applicative leni-fi

'hit repeatedly'
'swim towards'

allomorphs: -fi -ghi -hi -i -ki -U -mi
-ngi -ni -pi -ri -si -ti -zoi

mana

plural adhortative

do-kala-mana

'let's all go'

mo

a. perfective

a-mai-mo

'I have come'

b. emphatic

inodi-mo

'I am the one

Vmu

plural

a. second person

hintu-umu

'you (plural)'

b. first person

intaidi-imu

•we (all)'

plural inclusive

allomorphs: -amu

-emu

Introduction

XXIV

-um-/-no

irrealis for
class a-

active participle
for fl-verbs

na-h[um]oro

klumjala-no

'he will fly'

'those going'

In order to give some idea what is involved in stripping off affixes, here
is one (rather simple) example of the beginning of a Muna text, the first
animal story from Kadadihi ne witeno Wuna by Lukas Atakasi (Raha, 1991),
Under the texts lines I have put the roots, with the accompanying glosses,
followed by a free translation.

1 . Weivi ne witeno Wuna
wewi ne wite Wuna
pig loc land Muna
There are many pigs here on Muna.

2 . Taaka, sehae topono
taaka sehae topo
but how.many number
But nobody knows the exact number

3 . Kadadi aini nerimba
dadi aini rimba
live this quick
This animal breeds very fast.

ini

nohhari

sepaliha.

ini

bhari

sepaliha

this

many

very

miina

hhe

mandehaane.

miina

bhe

pandc

not

with

able

nolee,

lee

4. rampano sekoanaha ampa fato ghiilu.

rampa ana ampa fato g^ulu

because child until four body

because in one birth it can have up to four young.

In these four lines there are few problems; the main difficulties are with
mandehaane in line 2, an active participle from pande-hao 'know' with
indirect object inflection, and, in line 4, sekoanaha from ana 'child, young'
— > ko-ana 'have children; give birth' -» ko-ana-ha 'time of giving birth* — >
se-ko-ana-ha, literally 'one time giving birth', meaning 'one birth, one
litter'.

Below is a short list of where I expect difficulties to arise in searching for
roots and identifying morphemes.

a. Active participles, marked by circumfixes. Notice especially the -um-
allomorphy. Examples: bhalano 'the big one' from bhala; timotehino 'the
one that is feared' from tehi. It is also very important to distinguish the
possessive -no from the -no w^hich occurs as part of the active participle.

XXV Introduction

b. Confusion of inflectional ne- 'he, she' with ne- marking a past participle
(which follows a noun or functions as a noun). Examples: netumbu mafu
sail 'she is pounding cassava' versus mafu sau netumbu 'pounded cassava'.

c. Cliticization of ta- 'just; take care', pa 'will not', so 'for, in order to' with
the following verb. Examples: tomondawu = ta-omo-ndawu 'take care you
will not fall'; pakumala = pa akumala 'I will not go'; saegholighoo = so
aegholighoo 'for me to buy'.

d. Shortening of long vowels. Especially final long vowels and long vowels
in unstressed syllables tend not to be written. Examples: popa = popaa 'four';
bhabhaano - bhaa-bhaano 'first of all'; nandoo = naandoo 'there is';
nofaralu = nofaraluu 'it is necessary'. Vowel shortening also occurs in
poetry.

e. Series of affixes can present special problems. Because of the length of the
word, the root is not so easily discernible. Secondly identifying the affixes is
complicated because some are circumfixes, and some are simply sequences
of two or more separate affixes. Examples: tanofekatangkaemo = ta-no-feka-
tangka-e-mo 'he just made it strong' from tangka 'strong' with three
prefixes {ta- 'just'; no- 'he,feka- 'causative') and two suffixes, -e 'it'; -mo
'perfective'. Dosimoghaehamo ~ do-si-mo-ghae-ha-mo 'they cried together'
from ghae 'to cry' with circumfix si-/-ha 'together' (which triggers the
accompanying class affix mo-), another prefix do- 'they' and the perective
suffix -mo.

f. Nasal accretion in compounding and poetry. Nasal accretion occurs in
fossilized compounds and in poetry, thus obscuring root words. Most
prenasalized phonemes in compounds and in poetry are therefore suspect.
Table 6 shows the prenasalized consonants with the corresponding non-
prenasalized counterparts

Table 6. Prenasalized consonants and their counterparts

mb - bh, w, b

mp - p, f

nd - d

ngk - k, gh (rare)

"gg - g

ns - s

nt - t

Introduction xxvi

Examples:

Manu-manu ngkamokula

'an old bird'

(root kamokula 'old')

Katihu nangkoihimo
'the pool will fill up'
(root ihi 'fill', koihi 'full')

Damharaki haenono?

'what could they possibly dislike him for?'

(root bhara, bharaki 'dislike')

CIP-GEGEVENS KONINKLUKE BIBUOTHEEK, DEN HAAG
Berg, Rene van den

Muna-English dictionary / Rene van den Berg. - Leiden : KITLV Press. - 111.

Met index.

ISBN 90-6718-101-3

Trefv^.: Muna (taal) ; woordenboeken.

ISBN 90 6718 101 3

© 1996 Koninklijk Instituut voor TaaK Land- en Volkenkunde