8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 207
clause and the unmarked non-singular is that in this case the action is viewed from one actant only, although it is clear that the action is reciprocal:
84 no-po-ghawa-ghoo bhai-no
he met his friend 3sR-REC-get-IO friend-his
85 no-po-semba bhe isa-no
he and his brother kicked each 3sR-REC-kick with older.sibling-his
other
8.5. Negation
In Muna the negative mode is formed by adding a negator negative adverb to a statement. Five different negators with minor variations can be distinguished
in Muna. They correlate with different aspects of the syntax of the language, such as verbal versus nominal negation, realis versus irrealis mood, finite
versus participle form and indicative versus imperative mode. The five negators are:
1. miina past, present
2. papaepaise future
3. pata tapa participles, ka--ha-derivations
4. suano nominal
5. kokoekoise imperative
These negators will be illustrated one by one in this section, with the exception of kokoekoise, which is discussed in 8.7.4. Other words involving a
negative meaning component are treated in 8.5.5.
8.5.1. The negator miina
When a verbal clause referring to the past or present is negated, the word miina is put before the verb. The effects on the verb are twofold:
1. The verb form changes from realis to irrealis see 4.5. It is impossible
for miina to be followed by a realis verb form. Note, however, that the irrealis in this case still refers to the past or present. Only the first
verb after the negator is affected by this irrealis shift. 2. The verb is often but not always suffixed with the clitic -a.
86 miina na-[m]ande-ha-ane lahae ama-no
not 3sI-know-INT-it who father-his he did not know who his father was
87 A Ntaapo-apo miina na-s[um]ampu
Ntaapo-apo did not come down Art Ntaapo-apo not 3sI-go.down
88 miina na-[m]ooli-a no-foni-si-e-a
he was not able to climb it not 3sI-able-CL 3sR-go.up-TR-it-CL
In less careful speech miina may be shortened to na, and occasionally it is even left out altogether, the irrealis then being the only indication for
208 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
the negation. This last usage is relatively rare, possibly because of its ambiguity does the irrealis point towards negation or the future?.
89 na nao-afa-a
it does not matter not 3sI-be.what-CL
90 dadihano-mo na-ko-katoo wa ambe bhe hintu-umu itu;
so-PF 3sI-HAVE-partner ART girl with you-PLUR that no-ko-katoo-ghoo ndoke
3sR-HAVE-partner-IO monkey so the girl does not have you pl as her marriage partner, her
marriage partner is a monkey A number of intensifying and focusing adverbs may modify the negator miina, in
which case they occupy a position between the negator and the verb:
91 miina sepaliha na-poka-lala-lala-mi-e ina-no
not very 3sI-POKA-RED-help-TR-her mother-his he never ever helped his mother
92 tula-tula-no miina siaghe nae-ntale-a
story-its not too 3sI-clear-CL the story is not too clear
93 miina tora bhe mo-bhalo-e
again there was nobody who not again be A.PART-answer-him
answered him When the negation is to be stressed, the negator is put in clause-final
position; the verb is still in the irrealis. In some cases miina is found both preceding the verb and in clause-final position:
94 maka a-[m]afa-ane? a-mbaraka-a miina
then 1sI-do.what-it 1sI-climb.well-CL not what can I do about it? I cannot climb well
95 na-[m]oni te lani, miina dua
he has not gone to the sky 3sI-go.up loc sky not also
either 96
miina bhe ka-lele-ha dua miina there was no place to cross
not be NOM-cross-LOC also not either
In existential clauses with bhe, miina is also the regular negator. The noun following bhe can be a regular noun 97 or a nominal derivation as in 96 and
98, a deverbal noun root form as in 99, a reduplicated noun as in 100 or a ka--ha-derivation marking emphasis as in 101:
97 miina bhe doi ka-rubu-ku-a
I do not have any change not be money NOM-small-my-CL
98 ta-no-po-mate-ghoo-mo miina sepaliha bhe ka-ghuri
TA-3sR-PO-die-IO-PF not very be NOM-heal the wound never healed as long as she lived lit. until she
died there was absolutely no healing
8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 209
99 miina bhe fetapa no-ala-mo wulu-no fotu se-tangke-no maitu
not be ask 3sR-take-PF hair-POS head one-CLAS-A.PART that without asking she took the hair
100 miina bhe hae-hae there is nothing
not be RED-what 101 miina bhe ka-parasaea-ha-no Raja Mpitiri
not be NOM-believe-HA-POS Raja Mpitiri Raja Mpitiri did not believe it at all
This bhe may also be found at the beginning of a verbal clause, while miina occurs in clause-final position. Such a construction denotes contra-expectation
and can be adequately translated with even:
102 sampe-sampe bhe ae-epe ka-wule miina so.that with 1sI-feel NOM-tired not
so that I did not even feel tired 103 bhe na-[m]ealai-da miina me-ngkora-ngkora-no
with 3sI-ask.permission-them not -RED-sit-A.PART he did not even ask those who were sitting for permission to leave
The suffixes -mo and -ho can be added to miina, resulting in miina-mo no more and miina-ho not yet:
104 o kadondo miina-mo na-[m]ooli-a no-horo ART woodpecker no.more 3sI-able-CL 3sR-fly
the woodpecker was no longer able to fly 105 no-suli te wale, miina-ho bhe ka-gau-a
3sR-return loc hut not.yet be NOM-cook-CL when she came home, the food was not ready yet
106 miina-ho siaghe na-ro-rondo it is not too dark yet
not.yet too 3sI-RED-dark Finally, like the existential verb naando, the negator miina can also receive
object-inflection, that is, it functions as a kind of verb of which the subject is expressed in direct object pronominal suffixes see 4.8.1.
107 garaa no-ghondo-hi ndoke, miina-e-mo SURPR 3sR-look-TR monkey not-him-PF
he looked for the monkey, but he was no longer there
8.5.2. The negators pa, pae, paise
