64 IDUNA GRAMMAR
STEMS
1.1. Derived ffbems
The Iduna language has a large mimber of derived stems which fall
under 3 types.
A. Root / Stem + affix(ea)
1. Class changing
a) Verb to Noun
(i) affix + root
aba - 'locative' + - vaga 'to step' abavaga 'steps'
aba - 'instrument' + - yava 'to protect' abayava 'shield
aba - 'nominaliser' + - yabwanina 'to loot, plunder'
abayabwana 'loot, booty'
to - 'agent' + - faisewa 'to work' tofaisew a 'worker'
(ii) 2 affixes + root
aba - 'instr.' + -ai- -a- 'plural/repeated action'
+verb root -tutu 'to hammer' aba'aitutu 'a hammer'
-tafi 'to sharpen' aba'aitafi 'sharpener
to- 'agent* + -ai- 'plto'al action' + verb root
- onan a 'to spear' to'ai'onaga 'spearman'
(iii) affix + stem
aba - 'nom., instr., loc' + verb stem
- hegeve ' abl 'to give a handful' abahegeve'abi
'gift which is a handful' (of food)
-sivekuku 'to hang up' abasivekuke 'hanger, hook'
to - 'agent' + verb stem
- hawavetavetala 'to guide* tohawavetavetala 'a guide
- Ixigaviya 'to make war' totugaviya 'soldier'
IDUNA GRAMMAR ^5
b) Verb to Adjective
verb root + suffix inflecting for number and person
-buta 'become wet* + -na '5rd sg.' butana 'wet'
- koyo 'go/do bad' + -di 'Jrd pi,' koyodi 'bad'
c) Noun to idjfective
noun root + suffix inflecting for number and person
tunuga 'length' + - na '3rd sg.' tunugina 'long'
boyala 'ripe fruit' + -na '3rd sg.' boyalina 'ripe'
d) Noun to Verb
noun root/stem preceded by causative prefix
-lu- 'causative' + giligili 'broom' - lugiligili 'to sweep*
-ve- ' caus . ' + natuna • child ' - venatuna ' to bear a child •
-ve- 'caus.' + awaboge 'mouth-night, i.e. breakfast'
- ve ' awaboge 'to eat breakfast'
e) Adjective to Verb
affix + root
-lu- 'caus.' + bwaitu'ana 'blunt' - lubwaitu'a 'become blunt'
- eto - 'poijted' + balebalena 'horizontal'
- etobalebalena 'to sew across'
2 affixes + root (causative prefixes)
- luve - + knkwauhina 'black' - luvekukwauhina 'be blackened*
- kive- + bntana 'wet' - kivebutana 'baptise'
2, Bound root + affixes
a) Pronouns
ba- '3rd sg.' + -di- 'their' + - i»ao 'pi.' badi'iyao 'them*
b) Verbs
affix + root
66 IDDNA GRAMMAR
affix + root
-ye- 'caua' + - llfl 'cover* - vellfi 'clothe'
-li;l- 'sans with fingers' -^aJjaaa ' break'
-kldobona 'break with fingers'
2 affixes + root
-eno- 'lying dbwn' + -▼£" 'caua.' + - fota 'to stick'
- enovefota 'lean back against'
-lu- 'caus' + -ve- 'caus' + - ta'alina 'explode'
- luveta'alina 'strike a match'
B. Reduplicated Stem
1. Partial
kalwabu 'chief kikaiwabu 'treasure, important things'
2. Complete
- ita 'to see' ita'ita 'appearance'
nuwa 'insides, mind' - nuwanuwa 'to think'
C. Reduplicated Stem and Affix
1. Reduplicated root
a) Partial
- kimone 'to buy' abakimokimone 'market'
b) Complete
- kola 'to wash' aba'ikolakola 'basin, thing for washing ir
- hobu 'to go down' - kihobuhobu 'move hand down object held'
2. Reduplicated affix
-lautaina 'cause to be pulled' abalulantaina 'trailer, wagon'
3» Reduplicated root (partial) and affix
-vetagova 'to cook' abavetavetagova 'kitchen'
IDUNA GRAMMAR 67
1.2. Compotind Stems
Combinations of various classes of word roots occur frequently
and are probably newly coined when the occasion arises.
A. Compounds of complete roots
1. Nouns
a) noun + noun
eda 'path' + natuna 'child' edanatune. 'bastard'
tug a 'knee' + lulu 'bone' tugalul u 'shin'
b) noun + verb
Puwa 'insides' -f- koyo 'go bad' nuwakoyo 'anf:er'
2, Verbs
a) verb + verb
-bala 'oros8 over' + - ela 'come' - bala'ela 'come across'
-madu 'run' + - gahe 'speak' - madugahe 'speak fast'
b) verb + verb + verb
- jm 'move' + - tutu 'hammer' + - fosena 'fix'
- nututufosena ' nail '
c) noun + verb
bofii 'night' + - lolona 'to lie' - bogilolona 'be eclipsed'
PUwa 'insides' + -lilsiia '*o turn' - nuwavilana 'repent'
d) verb + adjective
- hiwa 'fill' + lakahina 'big' - hiwalakahina 'fill to brim'
-madu 'run' + kowakowa 'weeik' - madukowakowa 'run slowly'
B. Compounds of partial root + complete root
1 . Noims
a) noun + noxm
■anoKa 'bird' + bogi 'night' manubogi 'flyir^ fox'
ase ' ase 'liver' + meya 'tongue* asemeya 'pancreas'
gS IDUNA GRAMMAR
b) noun + verb
aae'aaa ^liver' + - bou 'get dry' aaebou •courage*
nuwa 'insidea' + -hobu 'go down' nuwahobu 'humility'
c) verb + adjective
- nagl '«arry' + ivagtma 'new' naglvagu 'a newly wed*
- tubuga 'grow up' + InTrahlna 'big' tubulakahina 'yo\ing man*
C. Conpounda of root -i- reduplicated root
1. noun ■*- noun
nata 'eye' + olo 'beard' mata'olo'olo 'eyelashes'
2. noun + verb
ago 'voice' + - nogala 'hear' agonoganogaleta 'echo'
1,5, Coabination of Compound and Derived Sterna
Tbese only occur in verbs where they are very common. The
followlofs combinations have been fo\ind.
1. cauaative prefix + verb + verb
-Te- + -tala 'cut' + - yakahi 'reveal' - vetalayakahina 'open'
2» causative prefix + verb + adjective
-ve- + - hawa 'speak' + tabutabuna 'forbidden'
- vehawatabutabnyena 'put a taboo on*
3. causative pi^efte + noun + verb
-lo- + bai ' cross-sticka ' + -bodana 'cloae off
- lubaibodana 'terrace'
4. causative prefix + noun + reduplicated verb
-ve- + gufa 'river' + -aluga 'carry away'
- veguf a ' alu ' aluga 'be ca2*rled away by current'
5. verb + causative prefix + verb
- miya 'stay' + -ve- + - haila 'take apart'
- mivavehalla 'live separately'
IDUMA GRAMMAR
69
6. verb + 2 causative affixes + verb
- hawa 'speak' + -lu- + -ve- + tonova •
- hawaluvetonovena ' taunt '
?. verb + causative affix + noiin
-hawa 'speak' + -ve- + kaliva 'man'
- hawavekalivayena • admire '
8. verb + causative affix + noun + verb
- hawa 'speak' +-lu- + masigj 'face' + - bou 'get dry'
- hawaliomagibou 'speak surlily'
9. noun + caiisati^e affix + verb
bawe 'pig' + -ve- + -a 'eat' - baweve ' a 'rear pigs'
10. 2 causative prefixes + noun + verb
-atu- + -ve- + wowo 'skin' + - tuna 'stretch'
- atuvewowotuna 'massage'
11. verb + reduplicated verb
- gahe 'speak' + - laka - gahelakalaka 'be jealous of
12. verb + verb + reduplicated verb
- gahe 'speak' + - tala 'cut' +-hobu
- gahetalahobuhobu 'speak hidden talk'
1.4. Derived and compound stems in the two mador word classes,
noun and verb, occur very commonly both in general conversation
and text, and are coined freely as occasion arises, including
for the purpose of describing actions and objects unfamiliar to
them. The majority of adjectives are derived from verb or noun
roots by the addition of a possessive suffix, and frequently by
reduplication of the root. It is probable that many of those
which have not yet been heard in a verbal or nominal form will
later be proved to derive from these sources.
„Q IDUNA GRAI-DUR
WORDS
2.1. Problama of Claaa aeneratlon
There is considerable flexibility in the exchange of words from
one class to another so that it is often hard to determine to
which class a given word should be assigned. This is particularly
tma of roots which are used as both nouns and verbs, their part-
icular usage in a given instance being shown by the slots they
fill and the affixes they take. The majority of adjectives are
derived from either nominal or verbal forms. Nouns can be derived
from verbs in the form of:
a) derived nouns by the prefixation of aba - or to- Cseel.l.A.l.]
b) verbal substantives
e.g. - yala 'dig' kuvi ana aiyala 'yams their digging'
Verbalising, however, is the most common method of class changing,
anA all words can be divided into two broad classes of those that
can be verbalised and those that cannot. The former includes all
the big relatively open classes of words, lAlle the latter includes
mainly only the small closed classes.
2.2 Word Classes that can be Verbalised
1. Houns
Nouns occur as fillers of the head slot of the basic noun phrase
and its subtypes and of the co-ordinate notin phrase. In so far
as noun phrases fill slots in other phrases, nouns may also
occxir as fillers of the referent and item slots of possessive
phrases, the axis slot of relator-axis phrases, and the item
and apposition slots of appositional phrases. A few notuis also
fill the modifier 2 slot of the basic norm phrase.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 71
Nouns are divided into two major types by their possession.
Possession Markers
Inalienable Se
Ist 8g
-mi
2nd sg
3rd sg
-na
1st pi excl
-ma
incl
-da
2nd pi
-mi
5rd pi
-di
alienab]
.e Fully alif^nable
akn
yaku
a
ya
ana
yana
ama
yama
ada
yada
nmi
yami
adi
.7adi
Type 1 Inalienable Possessions These take obligatory possessive
suffixes. This type is subdivided into the following sub- types:
(i) Those which take only the possession suffix.
This group includes body parts and a few special words
like 'language' e.g. nima-kn 'hand-my' bona 'talk-(your) '
(ii) Those which take a second order suffix indicating plural.
This group consists of kinship terms which are the only
noTins (with a few exceptions dealt with under i^.) with a
plural form. All persons take the suffix - yao except
2nd person singular which takes the suffix - momo .
e.g. natufrdi 'child-their' natu-di-yao 'their children'
natu 'yotr sg. child' natu-momo 'yoxir children'
(iii) Those which take only the 3rd person singular possessive
suffix. This is a limited group of nouns expressing
cultttral relationships.
e.g. gijo kalivana 'spear man-its' i.e. man of spear moiety
kwamayoku kevakeva-na 'bride meat-her'
Y2 IDUNA GRAMMAR
Type 2 Alienable Possessions These are possessed by means of
free possessive pronouns and fall into two subdivisions according
to the form of the possessive pronoun with which they occur.
1, Semi-alienable This group includes all foods and certain
persons and things closely related to the owner.
It takes the a- forms. e.g. aku ivi 'my mat'
This group can be further subdivided as follows:
(1) always occur with the a- form of possessive pronoun
(11) may occtjt with either the a- form or possessive suffixes
e.g. ama unuma / unumima 'our (excl) family'
ana lagana / laganina (tree) 'its branch'
2. yully alienable This is a semantically diverse group which
Includes dwellings, implements, all inedible plants and
animals ai^ edible ones before used as food, physiological
states. It takes the ya - forms.
e.g. yaaa manuwa 'our (excl) house'
B'. Verbs
Verbs fill the predicate slot on the clause level ar.d the
head slot in the verbal phrase. Verbal prefixes differ from
the affixes of all other classes and are dealt with under 3.5.
Verbs are subdivided into transitive, intransitive, ditransltive
and reflexive. Transitive verbs are discussed under 5.6.
Intransitive verbs never occur with an object suffix or a free
object. Ditransltive verbs obligatorily occur with an object
suffix and fill the predicate slot in the ditransltive clause.
Reflexive verbs always occur with a reflexive suffix which
must agree with the person prefix.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 73
C. Ad.1 active 8
Most adjectives are derived from either nouns or verbs often
by reduplication of the root and the addition of the possessive
suffixes, most commonly - na '3rd pers sg'. They occur in the
modifying slots of noun and verb pbrases. Adjectives are
divided into 3 subclasses according to the slots they fill on
the phrase level.
Subclass 1 fills the modifier slot of noun phrases and is
inflected for number and person in agreement with the noun it
modifies.
Subclass 2 fills the modifier slot of verb phrases and always
takes the s\iffix - na with one exception ma'inuwa- 'slowly'
which is inflected for person and number in agreement with
the verbal prefix.
Subclass 3 is the numbers which fill the quantifier slot of
noun phrases. Only the numeral 'one' inflects for number.
Adjectives are inflected for three degrees - ordinary,
comparative and superlative. (This does not apply to Subclass 3)
e.g. lakghT"" 'big' mata-lakahina 'less big'
lakahi-mo'ena 'very big'
The following formxzla represents the slots and their fillers
of which an adjective is composed;
Ado - + dimtaftife- + nuciadj.s + int;- mo'e - + agr:per + num^.-jao
i.e. an adjective consists of an optional diminutive slot
filled by mat a - 'less', an obligatory nucleus filled by an
adjective stem, an optional intensifler slot filled by - mo ' e -
•very' , an obligatory agreement slot filled by a person suffix
74
IDUNA GRAMMAR
and an optional number slot filled by -jao 'plural' . Note that
either the diminutive or intensifier slot occurs but not both at one*.
D. Reanonaea
This is a closed class of particles having only two members
both of which can be verbalised.
ehe 'yes' keke 'no'
2.5. Word Classes that cannot be Verbalised
A. Pronoxms
Pronouns can occur in the same structural position as noiina,
i.e. filling the head slot in noun phrases, the referent slot
of possessive phrases or the axis slot in relator-axis phrases,
but they are distinguished from nouns on the following bases:
1) They co-occur with noxins and fill the referent or
emphatic slot of noun phrases.
2) Th»j cannot be possessed.
3) Relator pronouns fill the relator slot of relator-axis
phrases and nouns do not.
Attempts to break down the various types of pronouns to one
basic root with affixes proved confusing so each paradigm is
listed separately. There are 4 types:
1. Basic (freap) Type
Sing
Plur
Mater
1
iya'eka
excl.
ime ' eyao
ima'e
incl.
ide ' eyao
2
o'eni
omi • iyao
omi'e
3
ba&a'e
badi'iyao
badi'e
IDUNA aRAKMAR
75
N.B. (i) A shortened form indicated by underlining is often iised.
(ii) In this language a woman who is a mother is addressed,
responds and is referred to in the plural. The
maternal forms are used for this purpose.
2. Emphatic or Volitional Type
Sing
Plur
Mater
1
tauku
excl.
taumeyao
tauma
incl.
taudeyao
2
tauni
taumiyao
taumi
5
tauna
taudiyao
taudi
e.g. Kaliva tauna gi'ela 'The man himself came'
5. Bnumerative Type
Sing
Pltir
Dual
Triple
1
akukaibe
excl.
amakaibe
ama'iselu
ama'itoto
incl.
adakaibe
ada'iselu
ada'itoto
2
akaibe
amikaibe
ami' iselu
ami'itoto
3
anakaibe
adikaibe
adi'iselu
adi'itoto
e.g. nkukaibe gana 'I alone went'
ama'iselu ana 'We two went'
adi'itoto hina 'They three went'
'»•• Abilitatiye Type
akufaiweya
e.g. akufaiweya ganatalana 'I can cut it'
in my pwwer I will cut it
This type is structured like the enTimerative type, so the
full paradigm is not given.
76
lOUNA QRAMHAR
5, H^la'tor Type - Pronominal Relators
ProR = + Rel:<^al^ + Pers: possS + LocM: -ya
i.e. pronoBinal relators consist of an obligatory relational
slot filled by agai - or other relator roots, an obligatory
parson slot filled by a possessive suffix and an obligatory
looatiT* Barker slot filled by -ja.
-ya is termed a locative marker but is used in a wider sense
than aertly location. The 3rd person singular form (which is
1^* oat most frequently used) manifests reduction.
e.g. na + 2a — ? B2 againe 'to him' [see under 3^ for
morphophonemic
Pronominal relators include: change!
fa'lne 'purpose / benef active / cause / referential'
e.g. natu-na fa'i-ne gi-'ela 'He came on behalf of his
chlldHhis b«n-3s/lB na-came child . '
y^iTift 'manner / direction / resemblance '
e.g. Bwaidoga amine gi'ala 'He came from the direction of
Bwaidoga . '
ggaine 'location / temporal / agent / instrument / dative
e.g. aanuwa againe gina 'He went to the house'
Other locational pronominal relators include positionals
e.g. mine 'near it' muline 'behind it' getane 'above it'
Jot full paradigms and description of pronominal relatolra
see under 6.3*
H.B. When the 2nd person singular form of a pronoun is
indicated by a stiff ix it is -ni. When It occurs with the
a> pesMsslve fozm it !• expressed by 0.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 77
B. Adverbs
Adverbs occur in the post-verbal slot of v^rb phrases and in
the modifier slot of noun phrases. They are subdivided into:
1. Verbal adverbs These occur only in verb phrases.
e.g. hiyage havagi 'They embarked again'
2. Unlimited adverbs These occur in either verb or noun phrases.
e.g. gi'a kawowo 'He ate freely'
kaliva kawowo 'A man any one, i.e. some man or other'
C. Descriptives
Descriptives occur in the descriptive slot of noun phrases,
e.g tamo kuvi 'some yam'
D. Particles
TheiE are 8 subclasses of particles.
Particle 1 - Conjunctions
These occur between nouns in co-ordinate noun phrases but not
obligatorily, between adjectives in contrast in adjective
phrases, and between clauses but again not obligatorily.
be phrase and clause level conjunction. On the clause level
it is used to signal an action immediately following or
consequential to a preceding action. It also signals purpose.
au clause level conjunction used very freely with a variety
of meanings including 'so', 'then, 'but'.
ada clause level conjunction - a weak connective of clauses
which are not closely linked in time or purpose/result etc.
tu clause level conjunction signalling later action or event,
and also signalling contrast.
kadu phrase and clause level conjunction signalling more
than one action or event in a series,
-ma appears to be a conjunction equivalent to 'however' and
is a clitic.
78 IDUNA GRAMMAR
o and kal are phrase level conjunctions optionally occurring
in co-ordinate noun phrases and signalling alternatives. They
occur both separately and co-occurrently.
Particle 2 - Interrogative s
Interrogatives fill the appropriate slot in the clause -
e.g. interrogative, subject, object, location, manner - and
can also function as the head or fill the modifying slot in
a noun phrase.
Particle 3 - Tanporals
Temporals fill the temporal slot in the clause. These include
days of the week, words such as 'today' and three definitive
teaporals. The latter occur to the fore of the clause,
frequently clause initial or iaoediately pi*«tt«ding the v«rb.
ahe 'near past' boi 'far past' aimo 'future' / 'still, yet'
Particle » - Oonditionala
Oandltlonala fill the condition slot in clauaaa. There are 2
members in this subclass, the particle ka'i which occurs clause
initial, and the particle digo which occurs clause final. Both
optionally co-occur within the sane clause. When used with
question intonation tea'i is a question marker.
Particle 5 - Hegative
Negative fills the negative slot in the clause. There is only
one meaber to this subclass, the negative particle keke .
Particle 6 - Accompaniment
There is only one member to this subclass, the particle buye
which fills the accompaniment slot in clauses, usually but not
always preceding the verb.
IDUNA. aRAMMAR 79
Particle 7 - Emphatic
There is only one member to this subclass, the particle
matewa which fills the emphatic slot in clauses.
Particle 8 - Alternative
There is only one member to this subclass, the particle mali
which always occurs before the noun in a noiin phrase.
E. Directionals
Directionals are divided into locatives, demonstratives and
directives.
1. Locatives fill the location slot in the clause and the axis
slot of relator-axis phrases. There are 6 locatives each of
which has short and long forms. The long forms can optionally
take the locative marker - ya which has the effect of emphasis
or superlative degree.
e.g. hide hidede 'here' hidedeya 'right here'
cava gavadede 'down there' gavadedeya 'right down there'
= « " 'furthest down'
2. T^emonatratlTee fill the deictic slot in the noun phrase and
may also function as the head when the noun is absent. They
can be subdivided into:
a. Those which distinguish single objects. There are short
and long forma of each of the -t)- demonstratives in this
subclass, e.g. hida hidema hidedema 'this'
b. Those which distinguish groups of objects. There is only
one form of each of the 4 demonstratives in this subclass.
e.g. hida'ita'ama 'these / this group'
IDUNA GRAI'IMAR
80
c. Directives fill the manner / direction slot in the clause.
There are 4 directives each having a single form.
e.g. hida ' ita ' ami 'this / this direction'
5. The Verb
3.1. Tenses There are basically 3 tenses in the langiiage which
indicate a state of action rather than time. The time dimension
is expressed by the addition of temporals. The tenses are termed
non-fut-ure which includes past and present; future; potential which
includes such meanings as subjunctive, desiderative, questionable
future. e.g. Ki-'ela 'he comes' or "he came'
he-come
gi-na-iela 'he will come'
he-f .-come
gi-da-'ela ' he would come ' , ' he might come '
he-p.-come
InuBwilate past action is expressed by the temporal ahe or more
coamonly by the shortened form a
e.g. a gi'ela 'He has just come' , 'He has already come'
Remote past action is expressed by the temporal boi
e.g. boi gi'ela 'he came some time ago' (from a day to a year or so)
Very remote past is expressed by the addition of or replacement by
the adjective tuwaina 'old' (also sometimes by intonation)
e.g. hoi tuwaina gi'ela / tuwaina gi'ela 'he came a long time ago'
3.2. Aspect There are two verb aspects, continuoiis and reciprocal/
siaultaneous .
Continuous, repeated or habitual aspect is expressed by reduplication
which can occur with all three tenses. Both roots and afftaes
reduplicate, sometiaea only parts of roots and certain affixes
being involved. Some rules based on the number of syllables in
IBUNA aRAMMAR 81
verb roots and the occurrence if vowel clusters, have been worked
out and it is hoped that a full treatment of this feature will be
submitted later.
Reciprocal simultaneous aspect is expressed by the first order
verbal prefix - ve ' a - followed by reduplication of the root.
3.3 Tmnerativy and Interrogative . The imperative Is expressed
by the use of the 2nd person and Ist person plural inclusive
forms of either non-future or future tenses with the appropriate
intonation. I.e. level pitch. With transitive verbs the object
suffix -na changes to -ql in the non-future tense. Vfhen Im-
mediately following another verb the suffix may be omitted,
e.g. u-vai-na 'you got it' uvaini 'Get itl'
you-ge -1 u-na u-vai 'Go and get it!' ka-na 'Let us go'
you -go you-get we-go
Hortatory imperative is expressed in all persons by the use of the
potential tense, e.g. pi-da-yemu 'let-it-come'
The interrogative is expressed by a question word and/or question
intonation, i.e. high pitch utterance initial and falling sharply.
In question utterances the object suffix on transitive verbs also
changes from -nn to -ni.
e.g. Rivaina 'he got it' hakwadi givaini? 'Who got it?'
5. if. Negative
Negative is expressed by the use of the free form keke which usually,
but not always, occurs immediately preceding the verb, along with
the use of the potential prefix -da- when non-future is involved.
Also with transitive verbs the object suffix -na is changed to -nl.
e.g. givaina 'he got it' keke gidavalni 'he did not get it'
ginavaipa 'he will get it' keke a^inavaini 'he will not get it"
82 IDUNA GRAMMAR
3.5. Person and Humber
person and nvmber of the subject are marked by a verbal prefix,
ga'ela 'I caae' a'ela ' We excl . came'
u'ela ' You ag . came' ka'ela ' We incl . came'
gi'ela ' He/she/it came' wa'ela ' You pi . came'
hi'ela ' They came'
The plural prefixes are used >rtien a woman who is a mother is involved.
3.6. Objects
Transitive verbs occur both with and without objects. Objects are
expressed by separate words and/or verbal suffixes. The object
suffixes are the same as the bo\ind possessive suffixes occurring
with type 1 notins. It is not yet clear whether the presence or
absence of an object suffix on transitive verbs is arbitrary or
diBteminable with the exceptions dealt with under 3.3. and H'.&.X-
4. Other Inflectional Affixes
A. Hottna
1. The prefix wa - occurs with some nouns in a possessive
construction, i.e. following a possessive pronoun. It has the
meaning of ' collective ' or ' numerous ' .
e.g. ids kaliva yada wakoyona 'The many/collective sins of \i8
we men our sins men'
yana wakwelikweli 'His many charms'
2. The suffixes - momo and - yao indicating plurality as well as
b«ii« used with relationship terms (see under 2. 2. A.) also occur
on certain person and animal nouns in a possessive construction.
e.g. taubada yana kaliva momo 'the white man and his many men'
white man his men (i.e. those with him on patrol)
kaliva yana galu'etaaomo 'the man and his many dogs'
IDUHA (JRAMMAR
83
Sing
Plur
1
-kuna
1
excl. 1 -mana
incl.
-dana
2
-nina
-mina
3
-nadi
-dina
3. The suffix - ga following reduplication of one noun is used to
indicate plurality.
e.g. walogi-na 'vein-his' walowaloga 'veins'
(Fbe same siiffix is used on nominalised verbs
e.g. gilufolefolena 'he drills a hole'
abal\ifolefolega 'drill' (i.e. tMng for making holes)
H. The identifier suffix 'that in particular' 'the aforeskld'
inflects for person ani number as follows:
Nouns ending in the vowel -a
frequently add the vowel -i
before the identifier sxiffix.
e.g. kaliva 'man'
kalivai- nadi 'the aforesaid
~ man'
e.g. kal imuhu- nad i 'that particular betel nut'
B. Verbs
1. The STiffix -ga replaces the singtilar object suffix - na on
transitive verbs to indicate plurality of object.
e.g. ai gividaaa 'he cut wood' ai gi ' ividaga 'he cut much wood'
With some verbs as in the example above the prefix -i- co-occurs
with the siiffix - ga probably indicating plurality of action.
e.g. kalimiihu gi'atuna 'he plucked a betel nut'
kalimuhu gi'i'atuga 'he plucked many sprigs of betel nut'
With other verbs the prefix -a- co-occurs with the suffix -ga.
e.g. hibuyona 'she cooked a small quantity with coconut'
hi ' abuyoga 'she cooked large quantities with coconut'
2. The prefixes -ai- and -au- occur with transitive verbs to
indlaate plvirality or repetition of action and the object suffix
is dropped.
g_^ IDUNA GRA:-3iAR
e.g. gihalina 'he diig a hole' gi'auhali 'he dtig and dug holes
gidakana 'he broke off one' gi'aidaka 'he broke off many"
3. The stiffix - ta replaces the singular object siiffix - na on
certain transitive verbs and co-occurs with the prefix -i-.
e.g. galo giguwehina 'it uprooted the banana palm'
galo gi'iguweta 'it uprooted many banana palms'
4. The 1st order suffix -ye- meaning 'with' or 'about' followed
by an object stLffix occurs on some intransitive verbs with the
effect of making them grammatically transitive.
e.g. gihiyoto 'he sat down' gihiyoto yena 'he sat down with if
gigahe 'he spoke' gigahe yena 'he spoke about it'
PHSASSS
5. Verb Phrases
Verbs, adverbs, verbal pronouns and certain nouns combine with verba
to give a verb phrase. Two verbs may combine to form a derivative
verb phrase in which both verbs are inflected but in which one or
other of the slots is very restricted as to its fillers. Other
sequences of verbs are dealt with under 11.
Negative, accompaniment and temporals, all of which modify the verb
In some way are treated as clause level slots on the basis that:
1) Some of them - negative and most temporals - are frequently
separated from the verb by other clause level slots.
2) All of them occur as a slot shared by two or more verbs which
are regarded as merged clauses - see under 11.
There are 5 major categories of verb phrases: Descriptive,
Derivative, Idiomatic, Order and Qnalitatlr*.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 85
5.1. Descriptive Verb Phrase
There is only one tjrpe of descriptive verb phrase and it is defined
in terms of:
1) being only one stress group with the stress occurring on the
penultimate syllable
2) having a single closing siiffix on transitive and ditransitive
verbs which obligatorily occurs on the final word of the phrase.
It differs from the word in that its constituent elements are
separable by expansion.
Formula DVX: + V:v + M:adv + Ost <^na^
i.e. the descriptive verb phrase consists of am obligatory verbal
slot filled by any verb, an optional modifier slot filled by an adverb,
and an obligatory object suffix slot filled by any object suffix.
e.g. yana lokoloko gihawahege-kawokawowo-na 'he gave away hie
his property ne gave - for no purpose - it property for no
purpose •
hilakayemu-havagi 'he appeared again'
he appeared-again
5.2. Derivative Verb Phrase
In derivative verb phrases both verbs are inflected. They are
divided into two types: sequential and process.
5.2.1. Sequential Verb Phrases
The general formula for the sequential verb phrase is + V^ + V2«
The preposition verb slot may be filled by any verb or a descriptive
verb phrase, while the filler of the postposition verb slot is
restricted to a single verb. The three types of sequential verb
phrase are completive, quotative and repetitive.
gg IDUNA GRAMMAR
(a) Completive Verb Phrase
CVX: + V.j_: v/dvx + Vg: 3^1
i.e., the completive verb phrase consists of an obligatory
preposition verb slot filled by any verb or a descriptive verb
phrase, and an obligatory postposition verb slot filled by the
verb -havaina 'finish' which must have the 3rd singular pronoun
prefix and be inflected for the same tense as the verb filling
the preposition verb slot.
e.g. a- ' a gi-havai-na 'we finished eating'
we-ate it-finish-it
gi-na- ' a gi-na-havai-na 'he will finish eating'
he-wlll-eat it-will-finish-it
(b) Ouotative Verb Phrase
QVX: + V^: Vg/dvxg + Vg: V^
i.e., the quotative verb phrase consists of an obligatory pre-
poiition verb slot filled by a speaking verb or a descriptive
verb phrase with a speaking verb as its head, and an obligatory
postposition verb slot filled by the quote verb - gayo which must
have the sane pronoun and tens© prefixes as the verb filling the
preposition verb slot. The quotative verb phrase always signals
direct speech. In fast spoken speech the V^^ slot is sometimes
omitted .
e.g. Adiguma gi-da-gahe gi-da-gayo 'Adigioma would speak
Adiguma he-pot-spoak he-pot-say **^ °®
(c) Repetitive Verb Phrase
RVI: +V-j^:v + (V)°:Vj.
i.e., the repetitive verb phraae consists of «n obligatory pre-
position verb slot filled by any verb, and a postposition verb
IDUNA GRAMMAR 87
slot which may be repeated an indefinite number of times filled by
a repeat of the verb (with all its inflections) filling the pre-
position verb slot. The repetitive verb phrase signals prolong-
ation or repetition of the action. Sometimes the vowel of the
penultimate (stressed) syllable of the last verb in the phrase is
lengthened with rapidly falling intonation on the final syllable.
e.g. hi-fwaiki hi-fwaiki hi-fwaiki 'they kept on hitting'
they-hit i.e. fighting
5.2.2. Process Verb Phrase
The general formula for the process verb phrase is ♦ V, + Vo •
The preposition verb slot is restricted as to its fillers, while
the postposition verb slot may be filled by any verb. The two types
of process verb phrase are initiatory and motion,
(a) Initiatory Verb Phrase
IVX: + V-j^: v^^ + Vgrv
i.e., the initiatory verb phrase consists of an obligatory pre-
position verb slot filled by the initiatory verb -vebutu, and an
obligatory postposition verb slot filled by any verb which must
have the same pronoun and tense prefixes as the initiatory verb.
When a transitive verb fills the postposition verb slot and a free
object is present, the object occurs between the two verbs thus
giving the verb phrase a discontinuous manifestation. Only the
object slot in the clause has been found to occur between the verbs.
e.g. p;i-vebutu gi- ' a 'he began to eat'
he-began he-ate
Ki-da-vebutu ana -ga gi-da-yaudi 'he would begin to
^ — — * — TT r — 7Z gather his food"
he-pot-began his-food he-pot-gather °
gg IDUNA GRAI'IMAR
(b) notion Verb Phrase
MVX: + Vj^: v^ + Vg: v
i.e., the motion verb phrase consists of an obligatory preposition
verb slot filled by a motion verb and an obligatory postposition
verb slot filled by any verb which must have the same pronoun and
tense prefixes as the motion verb, but has been found occasion-
ally to have a different aspect. When a transitive verb fills
the postposition verb slot and the object is only expressed by
a verbal suffix, the two verbs are regarded as acting as a phrase
When the two verbs of the motion verb phrase are separated by
one or more clause level slots (object, location), the two verbs
are treated as merged clauses, (see under 11)
e.g. a-na a-towa 'we went and washed'
we-went we-wa^hed
gi-da-ela gi-da-tagitagi 'he would come and wail
he-pot-come he-pot-wail(cont) continuously'
5.3. Idiomatic Verb Phrase
Idiomatic verb phrases are divided into 2 types: meteorological
and metaphorical. The general formula for the idiomatic verb
phrase is + Sub + 7. Both slots are restricted as to their fillers
and the co-occurrence potential of these fillers. The constituent
elements of the phrase are inseparable and form a single stress
group .
5.5.1. Meteorological Verb Phrase
MrVX: + Sub: mala + Tern: a + V: Jam
i.e., the meteorological verb phrase consists of an obligatory
substantive slot filled by mala , an optional tempoiaal slot filled
by a, and an obligatory verbal slot filled by a meteorological
IDUNA GRAMMAR ^9
verb which always occurs with the 5rd singular pronominal prefix.
e.g. mala gi-bogi 'it became dark'
light it-night
5.5.2. Metaphorical Verb Phrase
KpVX: + Sub: mafu + V; gilau-/P
i.e., the metaphorical verb phrase consists of an obligatory
substantive slot filled by mafu and an obligatory verbal slot
filled by the verb gilau- inflected with the appropriate pronominal
suffix. The literal meaning of the different elements of the
phrase is difficiilt to distinguish.
e.g. mafu gi-lau-ku •! am hungry'
? it-hit-me
^.li-. Order Verb Phrase
OVX: + Par: wai + V: v^
i.e., the ordier verb phrase consists of an obligatory particle
slot filled by wai , and an obligatory verbal slot filled by an
order verb of which there are three. The meanings of the verbs are
determined by context.
e.g. wai hi-nagona 'they went ahead (on the trail)'
? they-first
wai gl-mulina 'she came last (in order of birth)'
she-behlnd
wai a-hinafane 'w* went in the middle (on the trail)'
we-middle
5.5. Qualitative Verb Phrase
OVX: + K: adj + V: v + M: adj
i.e., the qualitative verb phrase consists of an obligatory verbal
slot filled by any verb which may be either preceded or followed
90
I DUN A GRA^AR
(but not both) by a modifying slot filled with a subclass 2
ad;Jective. The modifying slot occurs most frequently in the post-
verbal position. Occasionally the phrase has a discontinuous
manifestation.
e.g. a-da- ' a yamumuna 'we would eat well'
we-pot-eat good
6. Non-verbal Phrases
6.1. The Basic Noun Phrase aol its Subtypes
6.1.1. The Noun Phrase
The noun phrase fills the subject, object, indirect object, topic
and comment slots in the clause, and a variety of slots in other
non-verbal phrases. The general formula is as follows:
BHIt+C+Hef :Bpr ;^D«;dem HhS:des +l[:n/po88X +D:de3 +Mj^:addx/adv/sub/inc
♦(Mgtadi/coadjx) +Q:no/conox/adj /Enpr +Li«!g/m +l!mzBpr +R«f :Bpr/d«B)
i.e. the basic notm phrase construction consists of an obligatory
slot filled by an optional referent slot filled by a basic pronoun;
an optional deictic slot filled by a demonstrative; an optional
descriptive slot filled by a descriptive which may alternatively
oeeur following the head slot; an optional head slot filled by a
noun or possessive phrase; an optional modifier one slot filled by
an adjective phrase, an adverb, a substantive modifier or an included
elKose; an optional modifier two slot which may be repeated filled
by an adjective or a co-ordinate adjective phrase; an optional
qtuuitifler slot filled by a mineral, a co-ordinate numeral phrase,
or a qtiantlty adjeotlve or an enumeratlve pronoun; an optional
lifflitsr slot filled by one of two particles -sassaA os bq'» 'only*;
aa optional emphatic slot filled by an emphatic pronotin; and an
IDUNA GRAMMAR 91
optional referent slot filled by a baelc pronO\ffi OF a dttoonstratlve.
The latter alot occurs alternatively with the phrase Initial refer-
ent slot. The preferred order for all the slotB Is as given In the
formula but different orderlngs do occur. The head alot la usually
to the fore of the phrase. Normally the phrase Is manifested by
only two or three slots and long phrases are rare. Discontinuous
manifestation has been noted with the quantifier slot filled by a
numeral being separated from the head.
e.g. hida vevine adiselu 'these two women'
these women they two
ime kaliva moya'aima 'all we men'
we men all
feyawa kabi'ona 'a small basket'
basket small
malamala hafuna o kai naluyabuna 'half a year or a
year half or pot. will finish it complete one'
6.1.2. Place Phrase
There are. two subtypes of place phrase: association and birth.
1) Place phrase of association
PIX-^: + PI: PIN + H: n + H: inc
i.e. the place phrase of association consists of an obligatory
place slot filled by a place name, an obligatory head slot
filled by a noun and an optional modifier slot filled by an
included clause. Occasionally the place and head slots are
reversed.
e.g. Kiliya kallva ana egana Lobehina 'A Filiya man named
Kiliya man his name Lobehina Lobehina'
92 IDUNA GRAMMAR
2) Place phrase of birth
PlXg: + ( ± H: n^ + G-en: mi ) + Pi: PIN
i.e. the place phrase of birth consists of an obligatory slot
filled by an optional head slot filled by a person noun, and/or
an optional genitive slot filled by mi; and an obligatory place
slot filled by a place name.
e.g. kwana Afufuya 'an Afufuya man'
vine mi Wakonai 'a Wakonai woman'
6.1.3. Personal Phrase
PeX: + Ref: 3pr/n, + H: PN + Ref :n, + Acc: wa-n. + M: Enpr
i.e. the personal phrase consists of an optional referent slot
filled by a basic pronoun or a kinship noirn; an obligatory head
slot filled by a personal name; an optional referent slot filled
by a kinship noun which is alternative to the referent slot oeour-
rlng before the head; an optional aocompanlat slot filled by a
kinship noun prefixed by wa-; and an optional modifier slot filled
by an enumerative pronoun.
e.g. bana Fida anakaibe 'He Pida he alone'
Adilo ' a wataina 'Adilo'a with her younger sister'
6.1.4. Pronominal Phrase
PrX: + H: Bpr + M: adj/inc + Q: Bpr/Bnpr
i.e. the pronomiral phrase consists of an obligatory head slot
filled by a basic pronoun; an optional modifier slot filled by an
adjective or included clause; and an optional qualifier slot filled
by an emphatic prono\in or an enumerative pronotm.
omI t jyao lofayakwayaBilyao" 'yon wblte ones (people)'
jj p »fW* '^ myself
fj.5. tlternatlve Phrase
AlX: + Alt: mail + H: n
^ ^j,^ alternative phrase consists of an obligatory alternative
■v»t filled by nali and an obligatory head slot filled by a noim.
e.g. mali aelala 'another village'
J.2. pie Possessive Phrase
fbe possessive phrase fills the subject, object, indirect object,
topic and comment slot of clauses.
POSSX: +Ref: roc/possx/conx/tem/int/ +(+Poss:possP/possS+It:iac/possx)'
i.e. the possessive phrase construction consists of an optional
referent slot filled by a noun phrase, a possessive phrase, a
co-ordinate noun phrase a temporal or an interrogative; and an
obligatory slot which may be repeated filled by an obligatory
possessor slot filled by a possessive pronoun or a possessive suffix,
and an obligatory item slot filled by a noun phrase or a possessive
phrase. When the possessor slot is filled by a possessive pronoun
the item slot occurs following possessor. When the possessor slot
is filled by a possessive suffix the suffix is on the item.
The possessive phrase occurs more commonly with the referent than
without it. The referent is sometimes separated from the item and
possessor by other words or phrases in the clause. When it is thus
separated it sometimes occurs phrase final, i.e. following the
possessor and item slots. Embedding of one possessive phrase in
another is a common feature, mostly of only two phrases.
e.g. Wa'ilaka yana bawe lakahina 'Wa'ilaka's big pig'
" his pig big
94 IDUNA GRAMMAR
e.g. ld« ' eyao bona-da 'us our talk'
us talk-our
hina-na adi kevakeva adi-ga 'his mother's meat and foo4
nother-hia her meat her-food
6.3. Co-ordinate Phrases
COX: + HEAD + ( + CONJ + HEAD ....)°
i.e. a co-ordonate phrase construction consists of two or more
obligatory heads with a conjiinction optionally occ\irring between
those heads. The conjunction does not necessarily occtir between
each head. The heads of the co-ordinate phrase are more commonly
filled with the nuclear items of the filler phrases than extremely
expanded phrases. The coastruction also has discontinuous manifest-
ations .
6.3.1. The Co-ordinate NoTxn Phrase
com; + H: nx/possx/PN + (+ Conj: <!be]> + H: nx/posax/PH)^
i.e. a co-ordinate noun phrase consists of two or more obligatory
beads each of which may be filled by a noun phrase, a possessive
phrase or a personal name; and an optional conjunction slot filled
by any of the following conjunctions:
i. 'or' iv. be
ii. kai 'perhaps/or' v. adae. . ,
— — '^ \ I rarely occur on
iii. e 'and/yes' vi. tu y \ phrase level
The first 4 conjunctions are the ones most frequently used in this
construction, o and kai have been found to occur together within
the same co-ordinate noun phrase, and may be repeated between more
than one head. Occasionally they co-occur within the same conjunc-
tion slot. The others do not occxir with another conjunction within
IDUNA SRAMMAR 95
the same phrase, and they have only been found to occur once
between two heads in text.
e.g. kalimuhu aku ttihl aku fose 'betel nut, my lime, my bag'
kweyo kai galo o kuvi o gamiha 'taro or bananas or yam or
bananas *
kiJ.iva be vevine 'men and women'
6.3.2. Modified Co-ordinate Phrase
There are two types of modified co-ordinate phrase: enumerative and
qualitative.
1) Enumerative
Mconx™: + Ref : Bpr + H: conx + Ref: BprAfem/Enpr
i.e. a modified co-ordinate phrase of the enumerative type
consists of an obligatory head slot filled by a co-ordinate
noun phrsise, and an obligatory referent slot which occ\jrs
alternatively before or after the head slot. When the referent
slot occurs before the head it is filled by a basic pronoun.
When it occurs after the head it is filled by either a basic
pronotm or a demonstrative or an enumerative pronovm.
e.g. Waliyake be Navivileya adiselu 'Waliyake and Navivileya
they two'
2) Qualitative
Mcomc-: + 5-: conx + ( + M; adj + Q: conox)
X — —
i.e. a modified co-ordinate phrase of the qualitative type
consists of an obligatory head slot filled by a co-ordinate
noun phrase, and an obligatory slot filled by an optional
modifier slot filled by an adjective, or a quantifier slot
filled by a co-ordinate numeral phrase.
e.g. vagita walagive kai luhei o tohiye 'two or three-
^ -=° ^'^""^ 7 77 ^wallabies and possums'
wallaby possum or two or three
96 IDUNA GRAI.iMAR
6.3.5. Co-ordinate Numeral Phrase
The co-ordinate ntmeral phrase fills the quantifier slot of the
basic noun phrase or the modified co-ordinate phrase.
COKOX: + Pot„: kai + H: no + Conj: o/kai + H: no/inc
i.e. the co-ordinate niimeral phrase consists of an optional potential
conjunction slot filled by kai ; an obligatory head slot filled by a
number; an optional conjunction slot filled by o or kai ; and an
obligatory head slot filled by a n\imber or an included clause,
e.g. luhei o sa'eyana 'two or one'
6 . 5 • 'f- . Co-ordinate Adjective Phrase
The co-ordinate adjective phrase fills the modifier slot of the basic
no Tin phrase*
C0ADJ2 + H: adj + Conj: be/tu/o + H: adj/possx
i.e. the co-ordinate adjective phrase consists of an obligatory
head slot filled by an adjective; an obligatory conjunction slot
filled by be, tu or o; and an obligatory head slot filled by an
adjective, or a possessive phrase.
e.g.(kuga) kwayakwayana be kukwauhina 'white and black( stones)'
5.3.5. Co-ordinate Temporal Phrase
The co-ordinate temporal phrase fills the temporal slot of clauses.
COTX: + H: tx + H: tx
i.e. the co-ordinate temporal phrase consiats of two obligatory
head slots filled by time phrases with bo conjunction permitted.
e.g. Manide Tuside (afaisewa) '(we worked) Monday and Tuesday'
6.3.6. Co-ordinate Location Phrase
The co-ordinate location phrase fills the locai;ion slot of clauses.
COLX: + H: PlN/lrax + li: PlH/lrax
IDUNA ORAMMAR 97
e.g. BoluBolu Huatuttt ( trading mlalyami ) '(tll«3?e are tradestores)
—————^—— at Bolubolu and Nuatutu'
6.^. Appositional Phrases
An appositional phrase consists of an obligatory item slot followed
by an obligatory appositional slot. The latter may have a discon-
tinuous manifestation.
APX: + IT + AP
The composite formula for the appositional phrase is as follows:
APX: + It: nx/pr/poBSX + Ap: nx/PN/poBsx/comc
tx *x
Irax/loo Irax/loc/pos/PlN
i.e. an appositional phrase consists of an obligatory item slot
filled by a noun phrase, a pronoun or a possessive phrase; a time
phrase; a location relator-axis phrase or a locative; followed by
an obligatory apposition slot filled by a noun phrase, a proper name,
a possessive phrase or a co-ordinate noun phrase; a time phrase;
a location relator-axis phrase, a locative, a positional or a place
name. In the formula items horizontally parallel only occur in
apposition.
As may be seen from the composite formula there are three subtypes
of appositional phrases: noun, temporal and locational. Rather than
repeating individual formulas two examples will be given of each.
S.ii-.l. Appositional Noun Phrase
e.g. i^ Y^^mavoteu sa'evana Vlnetauna 'a certain woman, Vinetauna'
woman one Vinetauna
a' a kubuku anaga 'the food, my grandfather's food'
food my g. father his food
98 IDUNA GRAMMAR
6.4.2. Temporal Appositionaa Phrase
e.g. buKiyadl Manide 'tomorrow Monday'
tttwalna tova uyuyuvana 'long ago in the dark times'
old time dark
6.4.3. Locational Appositional Phrase
e.g. weBe gufe-ya 'up at the river'
up river-at
yuwava ' ama ( gimiaiyami ) Afuftiya *{he is llTlng) over there
over there (he: is living) Afufuya at Aftifuya'
6.5 Belator-AxlB gtoaiafla
Belator-Azis phrases are those phrases which have an axis related
to the clause in which they occur by post-position relators, except
in one type lAere the relator is pre-positional . There are f oiir
subtypes of relator-axis phrases: location- againe , purpose- famine,
■anner- aaine and resemblance.
6.5.1' Location- againe Phrases
These phrases fill the location, temporal, agent/instrument and
indirect object slots of clauses. They may also fill the item and
apposition slots of the locational Appositional Phrase.
ISAl: + (+ AXIS:nx/po8sx/loc/conx/apx/tx/inc/PlN + HEL: Ir)
i.e. the location- againe relator-axis phrase consists of an oblig-
atory slot filled by an optional axis slot filled by a noun phrase,
a possessive phrase, a locative, a co-ordinate noun phrase, an
appositional noun phrase, a time phrase, an incltided clause or a
place name; and an optional relator slot filled by a location
relator. The location relator may be expressed by the pronominal
relator agai- inflected for person and number and stiff ixed with
IDUNA GRAIDIAR
99
the locative marker -ja, or by the locative marker svtf fixed to a
noun, or by a positional. Both the pronominal relator and the
positionals occur most frequently in the third person singular.
A locative may occur on its own but it also may occur with the
locative marker or with the pronominal relator.
When the axis slot does not occur the relator slot is oblig-
atory and vice versa. The relator slot is only omitted occasionally
from a phrase in a non-ambiguous context, and is almost always
omitted when the axis slot is filled by a place name.
The locative pronominal relator is inflected as follows:
1
Sing
Plur
>igaikuya
excl
agaimeya
incl
agaideya
2
againiya
agaimiya
5
againe
agaidiya
e.g. Manuwa agai-ne / manuw«-ya 'at the hpuse'
house at -it house -at
Yaubada anakaibe yana nuwakabubu againe 'by God's goodness
God he alone his goodness by it alone'
lubu geta-ne 'on top of the lid'
lid on -it
6.5.2. Purpose- fa' ine Phrases
These phrases fill the purpose, cause, benef active and referential
slots of clauses.
PRAX: + (♦ AXIS: nx/possx/conx + REL: pr)
i.e. the ptirpose- fa'ine relator-axis phrase consists of an oblig-
atory slot filled by an optional axis slot filled by a noun phrase,
100
IDUNA GRAMMAR
a possessive phrase or a co-ordinate noun phrase; and an obligatory
relator slot filled by a purpose relator. The purpose relator may
be expressed by the pronominal relator fa'l - optionally siiffixed
with the locative marker - ya in 3rd person singular but obligatorily
suffixed in other persons, or by the locative marker suffixed to a
noun. The latter construction is more rarely used.
The purpose pronominal relator is inflected as follows:
1
Sing
Plur
fa ' ikuya
excl
fa' imeya
incl
fa' ideya
2
fa'iniya
fa' imiya
3
fa'ine / -na
fa'idiya
e.g. fa' ideya ( hi' ela ) '(they came) for us/ our benefit'
yama dewa fa'ina ( F;anal\ihif uf u ) '(I will talk) about our
our custom about it I will talk custom'
(hina) adi kevakeva bayaume-ya '(they went) to catch fish'
their fish catching-at
6.5.3. Manner- amine Phrases
These phrases fill the manner and direction slots of clauses.
MRAX: + AXIS: nx/possx/dir/PlN + REL: mr
i.e. the manner- amine relator-axis phrase consists of an obligatory
axis slot filled by a noun phrase, a possessive phrase, a directional
or a place name ; and an obligatory relator slot filled by the manner
pronominal relator obligatorily suffixed with the locative marker
-ya. Only the 5rd person singular form has been found in text but
the other forms have been obtained by elicitation.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 101
The manner prononlnal relator is iiifleeted as follows:
1
Sing
Plijr
amLkvja.
excl
amlmeya
incl
amideya
2
andniya
amimiya
3
amine
amidiya
e.g. hidede amine 'like this'
badi bonadi amine
' like/ according to their talk'
they talk their like it
Bwaidoga amine 'in the direction of Bwaidoga'
6.5.^. Besemblance Relator-Axis Phrase
This phrase fills the resemblance slot of clauses.
RRAX: + RKL; anafaiweya + AXIS: nx
i.e. the resemblance relator-axis phrase consists of an obligatory
pre-positional relator slot filled by anafaiweya ; and an obligatory
axis slot filled by a noun phrase. This is not a very common phrase.
e.g. anafaiweya kuga 'like a stone'
anafaiweya Yaubada 'like God'
6.6. Ad.iective Phras es
Adjective phrases fill the modifier slot of noun and verb phrases.
ADJX: + Mod: int/neg/tem + H: adj
i.e. an adjective phrase consists of an optional modifier slot filled
by an interrogative, a negative or a temporal, and an obligatory
head slot filled by an adjective.
e.g. f wehi bolimana ) keke kabi'ona 'not a small (rain and wind)'
rain wind not small
102 IDUNA GRAMMAR
7. Possession has been described iinder 2. 2. A. and 6.2.
8. Adjectives, descriptives, mimerals and demonstratives have been
found fiinctioning as head of notui phrases. Numerals may fill the
item slot of apposition phrases.
1) adjective manifesting noun phrase
moya'aidi (hidafwaiki) 'many (wo\ild have fought)'
2) descriptive manifesting noun phrase
tamo ( ananauwenaa ) '(we will take away) some'
3) nomeral manifesting noun phrase
(gisedi) iTihei '(he placed) two'
4) numeral manifesting item of apposition phrase
( acfauHO ' uya ) aa'ayana Awadakedake '(now) one, Awadakedake '
5) demonstrative manifesting noun phrase
hidedeaa ( hinaf ahana ) 'these (they will plant)'
9. Qiis qnestion has largely been dealt with in preceding sections,
or will be dealt with \inder 12.
Accompaniment is expressed in two ways:
1) by the accompaniment particle buye which links one subject
to another and makes the pronominal prefix on the verb in
the clause obligatorily plural. The subjects need not be
•zpllolt.
e.g. buye kanana 'let us go together' or 'you with me let u«
kaliva kwamayoku buye hihobu 'the men with the women want
men women ace they go down down'
2) by the accompaniment prefix wa- prefixed to a noun with a
possessive suffix. This construction functions as an
adjective filling the modifier slot of noun phrases and the.
accompaniment slot of the personal phrase.
IDUNA GRAl-n-IAR 103
e.g. kwaisalu wa-mogane-di gisehobuyena 'he put down the
mouse acc-husband-her he put down mouse with her mate*
kallva wa-wehi-na gi ' ela 'the man came in the rain'
man acc-rain-his he came
kuvi wa- nau ' a-na 'a dish of yams' i.e. the yams
yam acc-dish -its accompanied with the dish
10. Long Phrases
The preferred number of slots in noun phrases observed in text is
either two or three, though longer phrases have been obtained by
elicitation. Embedding of possessive phrases which is fairly
common, can often produce up to five or six slots in the total
phrase. Co-ordinate and appositlonal noun phrases by their very
nature are capable of being and quite often are long phrases, thotigh
as stated above the heads are more commonly filled with the nuclear
items of the filler phrases than expanded phrases. It is not
uncommon to find these filling the axis slot of relatpr-axis phrases.
Phrases with included clauses occvtr quite frequently without
shifting the position of the phrase in the clause, with the except-
ion of merged clauses marked by the clitic -ma, (see under 11),
where there is a tendency for the included merged clauses to be
separated from the noun they modify and to shift to the fore of
the clause.
GLAUSES
11. Sequence of Verbs
Sequences of verbs are a common feature of the Iduna language.
Sequences of up to seven in one string have been found in text.
Sequences of two verbs in which one of the verb slots is restricted
3^q4 iduna grammar
as to its fillers are regarded as verto phrases and have been
described under 5- Other sequences of verbs have been analysed
either as merged clauses or as a sequence of independent clauses.
Included clauses are dealt with under 12.
Merged Clauses There are two types of merged clauses.
A. Sequences of verbs which are distinguished as merged clauses by
the following criteria:
1) They share one or more slots on the clause level. Up to three
shared slots at a time have been found in text material.
Shared slots include object, time, accompaniment, negative and
location. All but the location slot govern the affixation of
all verbs in the merged clause.
2) The shared slot must occur preceding the sequence of verbs.
When a location slot applicable to both verbs separates a
sequence of verbs they are considered to be two clauses. An
ellipsis of the location slot occtirs in one of the clauses.
5) They contain an optional conjunction slot filled only by the
conjunction be which functions both as a phrase level and
clause level conjunction. (Any other conjunction signals a
sequence of clauses.)
V Conj V
e.g. ai u-na-dobo-na be u-na-aliye-na 'Break and bring
stick you-will-break and you-will-bring-it a stick'
Tern Neg Ace V V
aimo keke buye ka-na-'a ka-na-miya 'Later we will
later not top. we-will-eat we-will-stay "°* ?** ^^^ 1^^®
together
B. Sequences of clauses which are linked together and marked by the
relative clitic - ma occurring on the verb of the final clause in the
series. This type has two subtjnpes:
IDUHA aRAMMAR 105
1) Sequsnces of clauBes merged on the basis of shared slots and
being marked by the clitic -ma.
Merged Clause
Ref
r 1
It POBS
V Qonj V
e.g. kevakeTa gJL--bay«a»a/ be ga-'a-na-^pa/ fata-na
fish he-cauglit and I-ate-it rel. paybaok-ita
' It is the payback of the fish which he caught and I ate . '
Merged Clause (O)
I 1
Tem S V Conj V V
boi Yamoliliwa gi-'alika/ be wa-'ela/ ga-yogo-na-ma /
previously Yamoliliwa he-died and you-came I -kill-it-rel .
V Tem App 'You pay back today
wa-na-fata-na adamoya aku bawe . (that) which (when)
~ .^^, . Yamoliliwa died and
you-f.-pay -it today my pig ^^^ ^^^^^^ j killed,
my pig.'
The slashes mark the end of clauses within the merged clause. In
the first example the merged clause is the referent of a possessive
phrase. In the second example the merged clause is the object of
the verb wanafatana and aku bawe is in apposition to it. (The form
of the possessive pronoun used indicates that the pig said to be
in apposition is not the obdect, i.e. not the one previously killed.)
2) Sequences of clauses which are merged only by the occurrence
of - ma on the final verb in the series.
Merged Clause (?App)
' S V Conj S V OS Ace
e.g. yaku faha gi-ela' ela/be Yamoliliwa gi-'au'a-na/ meda omi buye
my garden it-coming and Yamoliliwa he-eating-it that you +him
M C Tem (It) V App
wa-au ' a-na-ma / ad^ mo'uya aku luwana wa-na-vogo-na bawp..
you-eatinK-it-rel todav my return vou-f-kill-it t,±p-
106 IDUNA grai-:jiar
•You kill today my death return, a pig, my garden produce which
kept coming and Yamoliliwa kept eating, that you with him kept
eating'
It iB difficult to know to what slot to assign the merged clau8«
which describes the items for which the death return has to be
made. Both the merged clause and 'pig' would seem to be in
apposition to 'death return' .
12. Dependent Clauses
Iduna clauses are frequently juxtaposed to each other without any
apparent subordinating link, and it would seem that actions or
events are conceived of in a consecutive dimension rather than
subordinate. Where subordination is clearly present, there is no
difference in internal structure including verb morphology between
dependent and independent clauses, apart from certain subordinating-
partioles, relators and suffixes. A dependent clause usually occurs
preceding the clause on which it is dependent with the exception of
eatisative and contrary result clauses, which more frequently but not
always follow the independent clause.
Dependent clauses may be subdivided into three classes according
to their distribution on different levels.
12.1. Phrase Level Dependent Clause
This class of clause fills the modifier slot of noun phrases and is
marked by the relative clitic -ma.
Neg V
's V^ 'he did not
e.g. tawa-ku hi-'alika-ma keke gi-da-ve ' o ' owane-di mourn for «y
— sister who
siater-my she-died- who not he-pot-motirn for-her died'
IDUNA GRAMMAR 107
12.2. Clause Level Dependent Clause
This class of clause fills the axis slot of relator-axis phrases
filling the location and time slots in the clause.
Axis Rel V
V
e.B- Location ai hi-kuli-na agai-ne gi-hiyoto 'he sat where
fire they-lit-it at -it he-sat down a^|^j,e*^ ^^^
Axis Rel V
V
Time mafa gi-lau-na asai-ne hi-yo'o 'they gathered
bell he-hit-it at -it they-gathered thl\ell^^"^
12.3. Sentence Level Dependent Clause
This class of clause fills the dependent clause slot of the sentence.
It is divided into three types according to the occurrence of the
subordinator. 1) Subordinator clause initial
a. Conditional ka'i
e.g. ka'i Kinedi gi-da-'alika ( ime a-da-lakayemu ) 'If Kinedi died,
^ ^ ^u = ■ ^ J.J- /■ J. ^ (we would comev '
if Kinedi he-pot-die (we we-pot-come; ^ '
b. Temporal tova ,^^^ „e go to
e.g. itova Ukalamfa ka-na-na ( ka-na-lele-na ) will^ok for it)'
when Ukartunpa we-will-go (we-will-look for-it)
c. Purpose be
e.g. f u-kova') be gi-na-'ela '(Call)him to come'
you-call and he-will-come
2) Subordinator clause final
a. Cause and Purpose fa' ina
e.g. ( ime a-'ela ) kaliva gi-'alika fa' ina '(we came) because
(we we-came) man he-died because the man died'
108 IDUNA GRAMMAR
b. Conditional digo
e.g. p:i-na-aliye-na Tomogada digo ( aimo mani hi-na-f ata-na )
he-f . -bring-her " if (later money they-f .-pay-it
'If he brings Tomogada, (they will pay back the money later)'
c. Manner and Time amine
e.g. ana bawe boi gavayehi Ri-vele-ma amine ( kadu a-da-ve ' a-di )
his pigs pst how many he-gave-us like it (also we— pot-rear)
'According to how many of his pigs he gave us previously,
(we would rear likewise)
nuwa-na aimo gi-na-folena amine ( au ga-na-gahe )
mind-his later it-f .-pierced when (then I-f .-tell yon)
'When later his mind will be pierced [remember], (then I
will tell you. '
d. Time ana toveya
e.g. gi-miyami ana tove-ya ( misinale gi-lakayemu )
he-living its time-at (mission it-came)
'(The mission came) when he was living'
e. Sequence/Result - yo
e.g. aimo ga-na-towa-yo ( ,°:a-na-' ela ) '(i will come) after I
later I -f .-wash-after (I-f .-come) ^"^^ washed'
3) Ho overt subordinator apeirt from intonation and distribution
a. Conditional
e.g. o u-na-dibutoyoga ( aimo balauma hi-na-'a-ni )
you you-f .-refuse Cif] (later spirits they-f .-ea-t-you)
'If you refuse, (later spirits will eat you)'
b. Time
e.g. waka agai-ne ka-na-naun a ( waka hi-na-' utuvi-na )
boat on -it we-f .-going (boat they-f .-sink-it)
'When we are going on the boat, (they will sink the boat)'
N.B. The difference between a. and b. is often only known by context.
UnSU dRAMHAR 109
13. Independent Cla— ^b
There are se7«n basic types of Independent clause in Idxma;
transitive, intransitive, ditransitive, stative, desiderative ,
idiomatic and quota.
The transitive clause contrasts with the intransitive in that
an optional object slot aay occttr in the transitive clause, and only
transitive verbs with objects suffixes inflected for person and
number occur in the predicate slot.
The ditransitive clause contrasts with the other clause typeb
by the occurrence of an optional indirect object slot, and the
ditransitive verbs with indirect ob^et suffixes inflectedL for
person and number fill the predicate slot.
The stative clause is separated from the predicate clauses by
the absence of a predicate slot, the occurrence of an optional topic
slot ai^ obligatory comment slot, and the limitation of lateral
slots to one.
The desiderative clause is separated from the other clauses by
the occurrence of an obligatory desiderative slot filled by a single
filler which is structured like a noun but acts as a predicate, and
an optional requisite slot filled by clauses or noun phrases.
The idiomatic clause differs from other clauses by the occur-
rence of an obligatory subject slot and an obligatory predicate slot
both of which are restricted as to their fillers, and the co-occur-
rence potential of these fillers. The verb filling the predicate
slot of the idiomatic clause is only inflected in the third person
singular.
110 IDUNA GRAMMAR
The quote clause dirfers from other clauses in that only
quotative verb phrases fill the predicate slot and the possible
presence of an addressee slot in the form of an againe relator-axis
phrase by a transform of the 'saying' verb.
1) Transitive Clause Type
3 C P
e.g. tauna ana kevakeva Ki-ba7/auma 'he himself caught his fish'
himself his fish he-caught
SO P
o'eni iya u-lele-ku 'you looked for me'
you me you-look for-me
P
gi-itave ' avi-da 'he looks after us'
2) Intransitive Clause Type
S P
e.g. kaliva sa'eyana gi-na-ela 'a certain man will come'
man one he-will-coae
P
gi-hiyoto 'he sat down'
he-sat down
3^ Bttransitive Clause Type
SOP 10
e.g. Sidowai a* a gl-vele-na Malawidiya 'Sidowai gave food to
Sldo»al food he-gave-him Malawidiya Malawidiya'
S OP
bana Yaubada anakaibe a' a gi-velevele-da 'God alone keeps
he God he alone food he-giving - us giving us food'
4) Stative Clause Type
T C
e.g. bana kaliva yamumuna 'he is a good man'
he man good
T C
nima-ku dubadubana 'my hands are wet'
hand-my wet
IDUNA GRAMMAR 111
L C
wade kwamayoku mo ' ena 'there is the woman herself
there woman herself
5) DeBlderatlve Clause Trpe
Neg Des Req(nx)
e.g. keke nuwanuwa-ku hifiifu moya'aina 'I do not want many words*
not insides-my words many
Des Req(cl)
nuwanuwa-na Wakal xi ma gi-na-munu-na 'he wanted to hit wakaluma'
insides-his Wakaluma he-f .-hit-him
Des
au nuwanuwa-ma 'yes, we want it'
yes insides-OTir
6) Idiomatic Clause Type
S P
e.g. nuwa-di gi-koyo 'they are angry'
insides-their it-bad
mey>-na gi-bou 'he was speechless'
tongue-his it-dry
7) ;)uote Clause Type
P
e.g. Wahileta ga-gahe-di ga-gayo 'I said to Wahileta," . . . '
Wahileta I -told-her I -said
Add P
Wahileta agai-diya ga-gahe ga-gayo 'I said to Wahileta,"..'
Wahileta to -her I -told I -said
1H-. Obligatory Components of Independent Clause Types
The obligatory component of the transitive clause is the
predicate slot which must be filled by a transitive verb.
The obligatory component of the intransitive clause is the
predicate slot which must be filled with an intransitive verb.
The obligatory component of the ditransitive clause is the
j_j^2 IDUNA GRAMMAR
predicate slot which must be filled by a ditranaitiTe verb.
The obligatory component of the stative clause is the comment
alot which is filled by a comment filler.
The obligatory component of the desiderative clause is the
desiderative predicate slot which is always filled by the redupli-
cated nominal form nuwanuwa - 'inaides' suffixed for person and number.
The obligatory components of the idiomatic clause are the
subject slot filled by an emotive focus (body part) and the predicate
slot filled by a limited number of verbs inflected in the third
person singular.
The obligatory component of the quote clause is the predicate
slot which is always filled by a quotative verb phrase.
1 5 . Optional Slots in the Independent Clause
1) Subject and Object: filled by noun phrases and included clauses.
2) IndtPBCt Object: filled by noun phrases and againe relator-axis
phrases.
3) Location: filled by locatives, location relator-axia phrases,
co-ordinate location phrases, positionals and place names.
4) Time: filled by temporals, time phrases and location-time
relator-axis phrases.
5) Manner: filled by manner relator-axis phrases.
6) Purpose: filled by pxorpose relator-axis phrases.
7) Cause/benef active/referential: filled by fa ' ina relator-axis
phrases.
8) Agent/instrument: filled by againe relator-axis phrases.
9) Negative: filled by negative.
10) Accompaniment: filled by buye .
IDUNA &RAMKAR 113
16. Ordering and Co-ocotarrence of Tagaemes
The msGcimtmi nxunber of additional slots found to occur with the
predicate is 4, though conceivably 6 coTild occxir simuLLtaneouBly
without overloading the clause. Fifteen different tagmemes may occur
potentially in an independent clause, [see under 15. for list of slots]
(Condunction is treated as a sentence level slot)
The order of some of the slots is quite flexible apart from a
difference in order which would seem to be attributable to focus.
The preferred position for the predicate is clause final. Subject-
object-predicate is the preferred order, but object-subject-predicate
is found fairly often when the context would indicate which is s^tbject
and object. The focus position for subject and object is claiise final.
Acconpaniment usually occurs immediately preceding the predicate.
The negative is frequently separated from the predicate by the object
and often occ\irs clause initial. When subject slot is present it
often precede* the negative.
The location slot occurs frequently both before and after the
predicate, with the preference for the pre-predicate position. Time
slot occurs preferably clause initial, but it may also occur immed-
iately preceding or following the predicate. Instrument always
occurs before the predicate. The slots filled by fa'ina phrases
may occur before or after the predicate.
Short clauses occvoc more often than long ones in text.
17. Clauses within Phrases
A clause which fills a modifying slot in a phrase has the same
internal structure as any other clause, but is marked by the relative
clitic -ma. (see vmder 12)
18. Compound Subjects and Objects
Compound subjects or objects are expressed as a co-ordinate noun
phrase with or without connectives. (See under 6,)
A series of objects is merely listed usually without connectives
except in a hypothetical situation where the connectives kai or o
IDUNA QRAJ1MAR
llA
'perhaps/either', 'or' may occur, usually but not always towards
the end of the list. Sometimes there is a slight pause between
each item marked by a non-phonemic glottal stop and x^ising inton-
ation on each item except the last. If the list is very long it
may follow the verb of which it is the object, and the verb may be
repeated after the final item in the list. No connectives are used
in a very long list. Examples have also been found in text of the
repetition of the verb between each item in the series, and the
repetition of the same modifier of the nouns in the series.
SENTENCES
19. Features Distineuishing the End of a Sentence
A. Intonational Features
Palling intonation clause final generally signals the end of a
sentence followed by pause. Sometimes a speaker will appear to have
finished a sentence with falling intonation, and then add another
phrase to the clause also with falling intonation. In multi-clause
sentences all but the final clause are marked by rising intonation.
me 'yes-no' interrogative sentence has a rising intonation sentence
initial followed by a rapid fall indicating the end of the sentence.
In the imperative the intonation does not fall as sharply.
B. Grammatical Peattires
In narrative text the beginning of a new sentence is quite
often marked by the repetition of the final verb of the previous
sentence, or a completive verb phrase in which the preposition verb
slot is filled by the final verb of the previous sentence. The
connective e meaning 'yes' in conversation and narrative texts
frequently signals a new sentence. Conditional and temporal
IDUNA GRAMMAR 115
clause-initial subordinators of dependent clauses also signal the
beginning of a new sentence.
The predicate is preferred clause and sentence final but
location and p\irpose may occ\ir sentence final . A non-phonemic
glottal stop may occur claxise final between clauses , but not
sentence final. A sentence with a negative construction sometimes
has a repetition of the negative word sentence final.
20. Clauses are joined to form sentences in the following ways:
1) by simple juxtaposition. This is the most common means,
especially when the clause is only manifested by the predicate
slot or by a minimal number of slots.
2) by free conjunctions. For a list of these see under 2. These
are also fairly commonly used but not as often as juxtaposition.
3) by free subordinators. See under 12.
i^) by the suffix - yo affixed to the verb of a dependent clause.
See under 12. This is the least frequent way of joining clauses.
There is no medial verb construction in Iduna.
21. Conditional Sentences only occur in the future and potential
tenses. The condition clause always precedes the result. The
predicate in both clauses occurs with the same tense.
A. Future Conditionals
e.g. ka'i wehi na-'alovena, ka-na-na 'If the rain stops,
— — we will go . '
if rain f.-stop we-f.-go
lakahina gi-na- ' ona-na digo, au gi-na-vele «if ^e speara a big
— — one he will give
big one he-f .-spear-it if, then he-f.-give you you (flome)'
B. Contrary-to fact Conditionals
e.g. ka'i wehi gi-da-luKaga. keke ka-d a-na 'If it had rained, we
■i ^ -no-i^ •;+- -SSV ,«»^ 4- .— -p^-i- „« would not have gone.'
xr raj.n it-pox-poured not we-pot-go °
2_2_6 IDUNA GRAMMAR
22. Almost any number of clauses can occur together in a single
sentence, especially if the clauses are short and describing a series
of actions and events. Conjunctions occur more often in a sentence
composed of many clauses, but they do also occ»ir between two clauses
especially the conjunction be. Strings of clauses are very common
and the majority are joined by juxtaposition with one or two conj-
unctions only in the string.
Different speakers favour different conjunctions and some use
them more freely than others. A more detailed study of the distrib-
ution of conjunctions within sentences will be done later.
There are fewer clauses per sentence in conversation than in
narrative, though more frequent use of conjunctions in live convers-
ation has been noticed. It is not always easy to determine if
conjunctions signal the continuation of a sentence or the start of
a new one. In text material new sentences can start with conjunctions.
25. '/toen several clauses are joined into a single sentence the
relationship is most often co-ordinate, but subordinate relation-
shios are not uncommon.
-^ -^ "^
e.g. Afufuya hi-tagi/ hi-tagi gi-havaina/ kaliva hi-tau'-na
Afufuya t-.ey-cry they-cry it-finish man they-bury-him
'They cried at Afufuya, they finished crying, they buried the man.
ga-miyami/ ada wiki gi-havaina/ tafalolo/ kamiya ka-miya/ kadu
I-stayiA's and week it-finish Sunday we-stay we-stay and
ka-luyabu-na wiki/ tafalolo ka-tafalolo/ a wa-'ela hidei .
we-end -it v/eek Sunday we-go church just you-come her-
'I v/as staying and the week finished, it was Sunday, we stayed
y°on just^clie'''here"?^^*^'^ ^""^ "^^^' °" ^''''^^ "^ ^'^^* ^° '^^^^^'
IDUNA ORAMMAR U7
Ada badi yadl bave hi-nuwalolone-na farina / Ga\iliva yadi bawe
Anfi she her pig she-witheld -it because Gauliva her pig
gi-yogo-na / gi-na'a na-havaina / gi-na-yage .
he-kill-it he-f.-eat f. -finish he-f. -embark. (go away to work)
'And because she witheld her pig, he killed Gauliva' s pig, (and)
when he will have finished eating it he will embark for work. '
2't-. Interrogatives
There are no interrogative words which expect a certain answer.
'Yes-no' interrogatives are signalled by intonation (sharp rise
clause initial and rapid fall clause final), and only one of these
has been foxind to expect a 'no' answer. This is effected by the
repetition of the negative clause final.
e.g. bana keke gi-da-gahe, keke? 'He hasn't told you has he?' 'No.
he not he-pot-tell, not
25. Quotations
Quotations are more frequently direct than indirect. They are intro-
duced by the quote verb - gay o following a 'saying' verb, though when
reporting a long conversational exchange only the quote verb will be
repeated appropriately inflected for person and number. There is no
marker to denote change of speaker when third person is involved so
that the speaker has to be discovered from context, or the name of
the speaker has to be repeated.
The close of the quotation is frequently unmarked and only
understood from context, but two constructions are occasionally
used that denote the end of a quotation*
1) A short clause meaning '(I) spoke like this'.
2) Repetition of the 'saying' verb preceding the quote verb,
followed by the conjunction tu and the next action or event.
13.8 IDUNA GRAMMAR
26. The seauence of clauses is predominantlv in the chronological
order of the events narrated.
SBQUBNCBS OF SENTENCES
27. Actors are generally not identified as same or different from
the actors of previous clauses or sentences, i.e. there is no marker
which signals change of subject or object. This means that often
the actor has to be identified by the contex"; which is usually
obvious to the speaker or people involved in the situation or
customs being discussed or narrated.
For emphasis or clarification the identifier suffix on a noun
giving the meaning of 'the aforesaid ...' is sometimes used. A
pronoun is often used to refer back to a noun in a preceding sent-
ence, or merely a pronominal subject or object prefix on a verb.
In references to God, the full form of the third person singular
basic pronoun Bana ' e is used rather than the usual shortened form
of b«na .
One device for distinguishing between two separate single
actors is to use an againe relator-axla phrase to refer to one of
them, especially when the free ordering of clause slots does not
make it clear which is subject and object.
e.g. Nimakau gi-fwaiki-na Nimakau could be either the one hit or
Nimakau he-hit -him the one who did the hitting.
Nimakau agai-ne gi-fwaiki This distinguishes Nimakau as the
Nimakau at-him he-hit one who was hit.
IDUNA GRAMMAR 119
28. Relations between Sentences
Logical connections such as result and cause are indicated by-
dependent clauses as illustrated under 12. Contrast is indicated
by the conjunction tu which can be translated as 'but'.
e.g. RJ-yemu vaita hama af;ai-ne da-lau-na tu hama hi-lema-na
he-came as if hammer with-it pot . -hit-hinr but hammer they-grab-it
'he came on as if to hit him with a hammer, but they grabbed it.'
The particle au may also be used to indicate contrast.
e.g. kaliva moya'ai-ma a-'a-na . bana Sidowai anakaibe au gi-miya .
men all -us we-ate-it he Sidowai he alone but he-stay
'All of us men ate it but Sidowai only stayed' (did not eat any)
One example has been noted of a 'not only ... but also' type of
construction.
e.g. keke to'iwakana adi loi u-nuwakabubuye-di , tokoyona buye
not good ones their group you do good uo-them bad ones with them
u-nuwakabubuye-di. ,^^^ ^^y. ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^j^og^ ^j^^ ^^^
you-do good to-them good, but you do good to the bad ones also'
A possible 'although ..." type of construction has been found.
e.g. gaitoma kabiso-di tu u-nuwakabub\iye-di
things small-they but you-do good to-them
'Although things/people are small (unimportant) you do good to thenf
Relation to previous sentences is indicated in the following ways:
1) Use of the particle au in the sense of 'so' or 'then'. This is
also used between clauses.
e.g. ... leta gi-sawa-'owo-na . Au Kwakwava a-gahe-di ....
letter he-read-all -it then Kwakwava I-said to-her
'... he read all of the letter. Then I said to Kwakwava ..."
220 IDUNA GRAMMAR
ka' i keke nuwanuwa-na au na-yewana yana manuwe-ya
if not insides-his then f.-go back her house -to
'If he does not want her, then let her go hack to her house."
2) Use of a completive verb phrase with the final verb of the
previous sentence filling the preposition verb slot.
e.g. ... kuvi a-na-faha-na. A-na-faha-na gi-na-havaina a-na-miyan
yam we-f .-plant-it We-f .-plant-it it-f .-finish we-f-stay
"... we will plant the yam. After planting the yam, we will stay.,
3) Repetition of the final clause or just the verb with rising
intonation followed by another clause which can be either
juxtaposed or introduced by the conjionction tu .
e.g. ... gi-hiyoto ai hi-kuli-na agai-ne. Ai hi-kuli-na agai-ne
he-sat fire they-lit-it at -it Fire they-lit-it at -it
gi-hiyoto gi-miya, gi-miya gi-miya ...
he-sat he-stay he-stay he-stay
'He sat down where they had lit a fire. Having sa6 down where ...
fire, he continued to stay there for some time ....'
badi hi-yewadi hi-laka' ela. Hi-laka'ela tu a-gayo ...
they they-return they-came up They came up and I-said
'They returned and came up (here). /They came up , and I said ...'
Ijlaving come up , I said . . . '
29. Paragraph Markers
The following paragraph introduction markers have been noted:
1) The conjunction tu which signals a later action or event or
series of the same.
2) The words ada auwe which follow the relation of a series of
events and have the meaning 'and so' or 'and thus' or 'so much
for that ' .
IDUNA GRAIiMAIl 121
The word awe or the shortened fora ^ is sometimes used to
signal the end of a paragraph, particularly in conversation.
30. Narrative Closure
The end of a narrative is marked in one of the following ways
or a Tariation of the same:
1) an hUede aai-ne 'so it was like this'
so/that's all this like it
2) attwe hidemi yaku hifufu 'that's all I have to say'
that's all like this ay talk
3) auwe anafaiweya yalca kahihi ana tubuga 'that's all I have to
all like this my talk its size ^^^
'the development of my
speech is complete'
H.) anafaiweya '(The topic under discussion is) like this'
31. Unresolved Issues
1) Reasons why transitive verbs sometimes occur without an object
suffix when a free object is present in the clause.
2) There may be different classes of transitive verbs based on the
form of reduplication used for repetitive action and plurality
of object. I haven't had time to pursue this exhaustively.
3) Use of the clitic -^o is handled partly by 'feel'.
H-) The suffix -na, possibly clitic, appears on some intransitive
verbs and the descriptive ma'it a for no reason apparent to me yet.
5) 'Co-ordinate clauses' filling phrase level slots have been fo\ind
which have not been incorporated into this analysis.
6) Free ordering of slots on the clause level is almost certainly
due in part to focus which I haven't had time to handle yet.
7) More systematic study is needed of conjunctions and differences
between different styles of discourse.
3_22 IDUNA GRAI-iMAR
32. Various Concepts
32.1. Cause f a'ina clause final
a. Kinedi hi-da-vele-na Ri-'ela gi-taRJ fa'ina
Kinedi they-pot-give-him he-came he-cried because
'They wovild give it to Kinedi bacan— he oaare and cried'
b. hi-kilowe-na kabio-na fa'ina 'they rejected it because it was
they-reject-it small-it because
c. yana velaiga fa'ina ' because of his laughter'
his latighter because
32.2. Result fa' ina and au usiially clause initial
a. trabul gi-fifaisewanauwe-na, fa'ina ime a-kilowe-na
trouble she-makes everywhere- it, so we we-reject-her
'she makes trouble everywhere, so/therefore we rejected her'
b. ma'ita kamo-ma gi-'alovena, au a-na a-towa
little stomach-my it-ceased, so I-go I-bathe
'my stomach was a bit better, so I went and bathed'
c. fa'ina kwamayoku au ka-na-kilowe-na 'So therefore let us
.. _ ^ • A. ^ reject the woman'
therefore woman so we-f .-reject-her "0'=^"
32.3 Contrary Result
a. au gi-na-miya keke aimo na-be'u fa'ina
enough it-f.-stay not later f.-fall so that
'Leave it alone so that it will not fall.'
b. keke ubula ga-na-tu-ni keke deli-ya ga-na-luku fa'ina
not grass I -f .-fire-it not jail-in I -f .-enter beca.use
•I TfUl not set fire to the grass leet I will go to Jail,'
32.4-. Imperative [see under 5.3.]
a. Unal 'Gol'(ag) b. Au gl-da l 'Stop iti' c. Ka-naJ 'Let's gol'
you-go enough it-stop we-go
d. wa-'ela be ka-na l 'Come, let's gol' [This is very common]
you-come and we-go
IDUNA GRAMMAR 123
32.5. Yes-no BiterroKative [see under J.J.J
a. wa-na-na ? 'Will you go?' b. a gi-'ela 'Has he come?'
you-f.-go has he-come
32.6. Eliciting Interrogative [see under 3.3.!l
a. gava tova wa-na-na ? 'When will you go?' b. hai u-se-nl ?
which time you-f.-go where you-put-it
c. kaliva hami gi-na ? 'Where did the man go?'
man whither he-go
32.7. Didactic Interrogative
a. ha'ai lehaga mo'ena? mema oya. gavaimi ka-na-holi-ni-yo
where sea actual that mount how we-f .-pull-it-so that
ka-na-hobuye ? 'Where is the sea itself? (i.e. there 'a no sea
*• -1- ir /^/^wT, here) That there is a mountain. How are we
we-i.-tajce aown going to pull it so as to get it down?'
This is an extract from a local story of the Flood.
b. aimo ka-na-ive'ayoye-na. gava tova ka-na-'ive'ayoye-na ?
later we-f .-give gift-her which time we-f .-give gifts-her
auwe gi-nagi . 'Later we will give bridal gifts to her.
O.K. sho-married ^^®^ ^^^^'^ *'® ^ive gifts? O.K. she's married,'
32.8. Negative [see under 3.'»-.l
There is only one negative particle - keke
a. simple negative e.g. keke gi-da-ita-ni 'he did not see it'
not he- pot -see-it
b. negative phrase e.g. keke vaita afo'a agai-ne gi-da-lakayemu
not as if magic by - it it-pot-appeared
'It was not as if it appeared by means of magic' or 'Not indeed
did it come up by means of magic'
32.9. Resemblance vaita and anafaiweya
a. vaita kaliva f^i-vaigau 'she dressed like a man'
like man she-dressed
b. keke tamo kaliva anafaiweya Yaubada 'no man is like God'
not any man like God
124
32.10. Verbal Simile amine
IDUNA aRAMMAR
a. si-madu galu'eta aml-ne 'he runs like a dog'
he-runs dog like-it
b. Galabowa natu-na ana tubuga ami-ne gi-'enoyemu 'she grew like
Galabowa child-his its size like-it she-grew (jalabowa's child*
32.11. Comparative Degree
a. bana mata-tTinugi-na kadu bana mata-kali'uho-n* 'he is taller
he little-tall-him and he little-short -him *^^ him.'
b. kuKa nata-vitavita-na ai mata- ' ihaya-na 'stone is heavier
stone little-heavy -it wood little-light-it *^^ wood'
c . Sikabu lakahi-na Lave ma'ita ' Sikabu is bigger than Lave '
Sikabu bi?s -he Lave little
52.12 Benefaction f a'i - inflected for person
a. fa'i-deya hi-'ela 'they came for us/on our behalf
for - us they-came
b. Awadoudo gi-laufata Abatadi agai-ne nou-na fa'i-diya
Awadoudo he-pay back Abatadi to -him sister-his for-her
'Awadoudo made a payback to Abatadi for his sister'
32.15. Causative [see under 1.1. and 1.3. for more examples!
This concept is often expressed by the use of one or more
causative prefixes on the verb stem or root, and is a prominent
feature of the language. The resultant construction is not always
causative in meaning. Some causative prefixes are very general in
meaning while others are more specific. Among the latter could be
included a number of derivative affixes listed by their specific
meaning rather than as causatlves under Section 1.
General Gausatives -ve-, -lu-, -ki-, -kive-, -luve-
a. gi-be ' u 'it fell' gi-ve-be ' u-na 'he caused it to fall'
— i.e. he dropped it
I
IDUHA &RAMMAR ^25
b. ei-'a-na 'he ate it' gi-ve- ' a-na 'he caused him to eat'
° — "" i.e. he fed him
c. gi-fifi-na 'he ctirls it around' gi-lu-fifi-na 'he makes it rotuod'
B — (by cutting)
d. gi-hege-na 'he threw it away' gi-lu-hege-na 'h* made it to be
— thrown away'
I.e. he lent It away
e. nuwa-ku gi-yamumu 'my insides are good' i.e. I am happy
insides-my it-good
nuwa-ku gi-]cive-ya»qmu-na 'he caused my insides to be good'
, " ' — . . . i.e. he made me happy
insideB-my he-caue-good -it
J, gi-' alike 'he died' hi-lave-' alika-na 'they caused him to
they-Sftlfe- die -him become dead'
i.e. they killed him
Specific Causatives [not an exhaustive list]
As well as having a genocal causative meaning, -ki- is also
used with the specific meaning of 'cause with the hand'.
a. frj-ve-be'u-na 'he dropped it' (cf. e.g. a. above)
p;i-ki-ve-be ' u-na 'he dropped from his hand' / 'he caused ±t to
— == ' drop by his hand e.g. by knocking it down'
b. ai gi-dobo-na 'the stick brok&'
ai gi-ki-dobo-na 'he caused the stick to break (broke it)
TT~r r- . . T n. with his hands'
stick he-hand-break-it
c gi-ladi-na 'he marked it' gi-'eto-ladi 'he marks with something
B_ ^^^-1^ pointed' i.e. he writes
d. gi -fuwa-na 'he broke it' gi-bi-fuwa-na 'he caused it to break
— by dropping it'
52.14. Verbal Comparison
1) Easier of the difficult
a. tamuyoko agai-ne ai adi-faiweya hi-na-madu-tala-na tu
Bteelaxe with-it tree their-ability they-f. -run-chop- it but
kiliwauma agai-ne keke adi-faiweya hi-na-madu-tala-ni
stone axe with it not their-ability they-f .-run-chop-it
'With steel axes they are able to chop the tree down quickly,
but they are unable to chop it down auickly with stone axes.'
3^26 IDUNA GRAMMAR
b . ai ana aitalaga tamuyoko agaj-ne ma'i ihaya-na tu
tree its chopping steelaxe with-it bit easy -it but
kiliwaiana agai-ne ma' i vita-n a 'chopping trees is a bit easy
stone axe with-it bit hard-it !'^*^ ^^1?^ f"^^ ^^* f ^i*
hard with stone axes'
2) Lesser of two evils - 1 have not been able to find this out.
32.15. Alternatives
a. kai k:up;e-ya o kai babi-ya gi-na-vetoga 'he will sit either
perhaps stone-on or p^s ground-on he-f .-sit the^grou^d"^ °^ °^
b. kuge-ya gi-na-vetoga, keke babi-ya 'he will sit on the stone,
stone-on he-f. -sit not ground-on "°* °^ *^® ground'
c. kai kuRe-ya gi-na-vetoga o kai babi-ya ? 'will he sit on the
perhaps stone-on he-f. -sit or praps ground-on ™ound^^ °^ ^
(question intonation)
d. gi-na- ' a o kai gi-na-da 'he will either eat or sleep'
he-f .-eat or praps he-f .-sleep
e. The same as d. with question intonation.
32.16. Passive
Thave is no passive as such in Iduna. The causative prefixes
on verbs sometimes suggest a passive meaning, or at least put the
focus on the receiver of the action. Some verbs can only be trans-
lated by an Bngliah passive but they are no different in form from
the active type verbs.
a. tafaaana gi-ho'e 'the child was weaned'
kwamana hi-ve-ho ' e-na 'she weaned the child' (caused him to be
, ^, 3 ^ . . weaned)
child she-catxs-wean-him
b. waka hi-dodo-na 'they put it on the boat'
boat they-put on-it
waka hi-ve-dodo-na 'they caused it to be put on the boat'
r ITTZ Z'i*. or 'it was loaded on the boat'
boat they-caus-put-it
c. ga-lifi-^na "i covered it' ga-ve-lifi-na 'I caused it to be
I-cover-it I-— over-it^°;:^/J* mt?
IDUIIA GRAMMAR 127
Occasionally the object occurs after the predicate instead of
before it, thus putting focus on the receiver of the action.
d. mala na-la\ma hi-na- ' abuyobuyo-ga kevakeva
light will-hit they-f-cook coconut-much meat
'At dawn they will cook with coconut large quantities of meat'
Often the subject or actor is not explicitly stated but is
represented by the person prefix on the verb. When this is not
obvious from context, inquiry scmetines produces an indefinite
response, e.g. 'Who hit him?' 'Some man'
32.17. Abstract Terms
Words for a lai>ge number of abstract terms have been found.
a. alika 'death' d. faiwala 'strength'
b. yawai-na 'breath/life-his' e. abavehimeya 'responsibility'
c. matauta 'fear' f. hawalxmagibou 'surliness'
Where emotions are concerned the term used is usually a compoimd
including the seat of the emotion.
g. nuwakoyo 'insides bad, i.e. anger'
h. nuwanuwa 'thought' i. asebou 'liver dry, i.e. cotirage'
32. 18. Implied Speech
This language seems to be fairly rich in abstract terms and
practically all the examples in the questionnaire have terms in Idnn*.
a. gj-hswata-na 'he forbad him'
b. gi-vehimeye-na 'he commanded him'
c. gi-hawavekeme-na 'he denied it'
d. gi-dakeye-na 'he rebuked him*
e. p;i-hawadaYadava 'he praised'
f. gl-kivemahali-na 'he enlightened him'
128 IDUNA GRAMMAR
When an abstract term does not exist or is hard to find, it
v/ould be easy to express it with direct quotation which is freely
used in narrative text.
52.19. Figures of Speech
A. Simile [very common]
a. nuwa-da keke . . . anaf aiweya kuga au ka-da-miya-kawokawowo
mind-our not like stones so we-pot-stay-to no purpose
' If we had no minds we would exist aimlessly like stones . '
b. moRiye ami-ne 'like a possum' (said of a koala bear)
possum like-it
B. Metaphor [not common]
It is not possible to liken a man to an animal or say he is one,
but one of his attributes can be likened to that of an animal .
a. bana yana faiwala bawe aitoga ami-ne 'his strength is like
he his strength pig wild like-it ^ ^^^*^ pig's'
b. kaliva-nadi yana madu vagita ami-ne 'that man's running is
^^ ^ , . TT , T ., .. like that of a wallaby'
man -that one his run wallaby like-it
OR 'he is like a wallaby for swiftness'
C. Euphemism
a. bu.ye hi-dauda 'they slept together, i.e. had sexual intercourse'
b. kaliva gji-lusi 'The man loosed (?from English 'loose') i.e. died'
c. kaliva g:i-faisewa-na the man made/worked him} i.e. sorcery'
D. Hyperbole
This has not been discovered yet apart from what is more likely
to be a difference in point of view. e.g. the Iduna concept of
distance and quantity is often diffferent from a European's.
3. Metonymy [common]'
a. yaku faha gi-'ela'ela be Yamoliliwa gi-'au'a-na
my garden xt-coming and Yamoliliwa ne-eating
'my a;arden, i.e. food from it, continually came and Y. ate it'
ZOUNA aRAMHAR
129
b. Kallmutabatabo hl-yenm 'Ealimutabutabu, i.e. the people of K.
came'
P. Apostrophe [very common]
a. / Ho . . Yaubada l '0 God I' when God has done something great
e.g. restored the life of a child
b. . . Dimudimu ! '0 BuropeansI' - when shown some new gadget
c. P.. manuwa l '0 house I' - of some outstanding building
Frequently when some absent person or important object is
referred to or a picture of them seen, the exclamation will
include the term used for ' goodbye ' .
d. kafoi Devidfe '0 goodbye David'
e. kafoi Moeibi '0 goodbye Moresby'
G. Perec nification Ccoamon]
This is a feature of both legendary accounts and factual reports,
a. Oya Tabu gi-lowoga 'Mt. Tabu set off
b. tarri bl-nuwakoyo 'the yams are angry'
c. bolimana lakahini gi-madu 'a big wind ran'
H. Irony
This is q\aite often used when scolding someone for a misdeed or
in anger, but only one example has been noted in recorded text.
e.g. iya vaita tuli-ku tobohiya nonogana 'as if I was someone
.^=-^^ ^ V i.1. - other than I am - yotir
I as If different your brother own ^^^ brotherl'
I. Synecdoche [common]
a. ase'ase-ku gi-tagitagi 'my liver is crying' i.e. I am very
unhappy inside'
b. V/akonai meya-da 'Wakonai our tongue' i.e. the V/akonai language
c. nuwa-ku gi-yamumu 'ray insides are good' i.e. I am happy
■^■^Q IDUNA GRAMMAR
52.20. Poreign Articles and Concepts
These are handled in several ways:
1) Transliteration
tax takisi knife naifi lamp lamufa
key Tr1>i-i recorder lekodi flour falawa
paper fefe bullet bulutu week wiki
Verbal forms are also derived by transliteration:
hi-kotu 'they-went to cotirt' gi-saina 'he-signed on (contract
Ka-nokofu •I-knocked off (work)' a-bolu 'we played football'
This method has been usecl by the local mission for a nu'-iber of
Biblical terms.
prophet falofita cross kelose
apostle afosetolo baptise bafitaiso
2) Descriptive notin derived from verb
aba- ' ataf i 'instr.' + 'whittle' 'thing for sharpening - pencil
sharpener'
aba-vetoga 'instr.' + 'sit' 'thing for sitting - chair'
aba-kimokimo ne 'loc' + 'buy' 'place for buying - market'
3) Descriptive phrase
leta ana fose 'letter its bag - envelope'
manuwa awa-na ' house mouth- its - window '
kaaokuku ana aba-kaitana 'lemon its thing for-squeezing - lemon
squeezer'
32.21. KLlipflis
a. keke nuwanuwa-ku hifufu moya'aina kadu keke kotu
not inaides -my words many and not court
•I do not want many words nor / do I want / a court case'
*• ka'i gi-matapta agai-kuya gi-wowomvunu 'Perhaps he is afraid
praps he-afraid of - me or he-embarrased o^ ^^ or embarrassed
/towards me/'
IDUNA GRAMMAR 131
32.22, Cause and Effect Clauses
These may occur in several orders. The presence of a cause and
effect clause is indicated by the causative fa'ina , which may signal
either a causative clause or an effect clause depending on its pos-
ition in the clause.
When fa'ina occ\irs clause initial following a statement clause,
it normally has the meaning of 'therefore' and signals the effect
clause.
Cigi age-ku gi-da-tutuma / fa'ina pa-tune-na 'my leg would have gone
leg-my it-pot-cold therefore I-stretch-it i°sSetched^it^^°^^
luwana a-vai-na / fa'ina keke tamo kadu kevakeva fai-na-munu-ni
payment we-got-it therefore not any more animals they-f .-kill-it
'we got our death payment, therefore they will not kill another
animal . '
In a few instances in texts given by two informants fa' ina
occTirring clause initial introduces a causative clause rather than
an effect clause.
e.g. Yaubada kama-ku nuwanuwa-ma natu-ku u-na-leme-na / fa' ina
God father-my insides -my child -my you-f .-help-him because
bukitabu p;i-gayo . . . 'My father, God, I want you to help my
"TT^-, .. child, because the Bible says ...'
Bible it-says
gaitoma dawani-di gi-vehimeye-di / fa'ina bana gi-bubu-di
things all of -them he-rule s-them because he he-made-them
'He rules over all things beoauBe He made them'
When fa'ina occurs clause final it has the meaning of'because'.
The most common order is for the oausative clause to occur preceding
the effect clause.
e.g. keke ga-da-da fa'ina / e gl-da-laufata iya agai-kuya
not I-pot-sleep because yes he-pot-pay me to - me
•Because I would not sleep, he would make a payback to me.'
^52 IDUNA GRAMMAH
badi yadi bawe hl-nuwalolone-na fa' iaa / Qiiuliva yadl baw»
she her pig she-witheld -it because Gaiiliva her pig
gi-yogo-na 'Because she witheld her pig, he killed Gauliva's pig'
he-kill-it
However, a fair number of instances of the causative clause
following the effect clause have been found, including all causative
clauses where fa' ina occurs clause initial.
e.g. ime a-'ela / kaliva gi-'alika fa' ina 'we came because the man
we we-came man he-died because
keke a-da-'ita-ni / ime a-na fa' ina 'we did not see him
~ , . T because we had gone'
not we-pot-see-Qim we we-go because °
keke ga-na-'a / fa' ina kawa-ku gi-'alika 'I will not eat
~~~ ~ T T 77 T| J . , because my brothet
not I-f .-eat because brother-my he-died ^ied'
32.23. Numbers
Small numbers are usually referred to by the vernacular system,
but not always. Ntimbers from five upwards can be expressed by
descriptive phrases centering aroimd the- hands and feet, but I
have never heard them used. Counting Is done more easily In.
English in a transliterated form.
33. Idioms
a. ago-ku gi-taina 'I am thirsty' e. mata-na adobona 'feeble,
throat-my it-pulls eye-hls broken
b. nuwa-ku gi-'afolena 'I remember' f. gi- ' ibawebawe 'he crawls'
mind-my it-pier'^ed he-pig pig
c. eda natu-na 'bastard' g. mata-na mahamahalina 'knowledgable
path child-its eye-his light
d. nima-' onana 'gift brought in the
hand-st)eared hand by a visitor'
IDUNA GRAl-MAR 133
34. MoTOhophonamlea
1) V/hen ?. siiffix with initial consonant 'y' is suffixed to a noun
ending in the vowel -a, tne vowel changes to -e- .
e.g. gufa 'river' gufeya 'at the river'
nouma 'our brother' noximeyao 'our brothers'
2) V/hen the pliiraliser morpheme - yao is suffixed to kinship terms
with first person singular possessive -u.fiix, -ku bacomes - kwe-
e.g. kubu-ku 'my grandchild' kubu-kwe-'/ao 'my grandchildren'
3) The vowel -a changes to -i- when the bound possession suffixes
are suffixed to:
a. nouns of type 2.1.(ii) ending in the vowel -a.
e.g. guvega 'seedling' kweyo guvegi-na 'taro its seedling'
b. a nominal root ending in -a to form an adjective,
e.g. tunuga 'length' tunugi-na 'long'
c. a reduplicated 3 syllable verbal root ending in -a to form
an adjective.
e.g. -yabela 'become red' yabeyabeli-na 'red'
d. an obligatorily possessed notin which is reduplicated to form
an adjective.
e.g. nigo-na 'its teeth' nigonigoni-na 'sharp'
4) When intransitive verbs ending in -a are used transitively by
the addition of object suffixes, some verb roots have the final
-a changed to -e- while others change to -i-. No rules to
determine the choice have so far been discovered.
e.g. f^ivelaiga 'he laughed' givelaige-n a 'he laughed at him'
ginogala 'he heard' ginogali-na 'he heard him'
Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages
Volume 3
THREE STUDIES IN LANGUAGES
OF EASTERN PAPUA
Summer Institute of Linguistics
Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea
The workpapers in this volume express the authors'
knowledge at the time of writing. They do not
necessarily provide a complete treatment of their
topic, nor have they been particularly edited for
publication. However, it is felt that linguists
interested in the island of New Guinea will
appreciate having these data papers available in
this form.
Alan Healey,
editor
The publication of this book was facilitated by
a grant from the New Guinea Research Fund of the
Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Copyright © 1974 by the
Summer Institute of Linguistics
Ukarumpa, E.H.D., Papua New Guinea
Published 1974
Printed by the S.I.L. printing department
Ukarumpa, E.H.D., Papua New Guinea
National Library of Australia
Card Number and ISBN 7263 0220 1
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