Sustaining the topic Grammar

11.4 Grammar 133 In early stages of language learning, Mmmm is a most useful conversation sustainer. When you don ‘t really know what is being said, the neutral form of Mmmm should be used at the place you think is the end of the information unit, for example: ―The man went to town.‖ Mmmm. ―He bought a gun.‖ 2 Aaaa Aaaa means ‗I‘m assimilating the information you are telling me.‘ It may be used when you are being told something, such as the symptoms of a sickness or the news that someone has arrived in town. 3 Ajáj Ajáj may be used to indicate ‗I‘ve grasped the information and am basically acceptingagreeing with it.‘ 4 Napíra Napíra ‗very well‘, is stronger agreement and is often used at each stage of unfolding plans, proposals, etc.

11.4.3.2 Conversation sustainers which convey strong emotional overtones

Conversational sustainers which convey strong emotional overtones are not neutral and show fairly strong sentiment on the part of the listener. 1 Aaiii Aaiii denotes sympathy towards the person in distress about whom the speaker is talking. The distress is usually that of physical pain or heartbreak. 2 Aajo Aajo also denotes sympathy, but the distress here is usually loss or damage to physical property or a setback or frustration in plans.

11.4.3.3 Conversation sustainers that convey surprise

Astonishment or amazement at what has been said is conveyed by these conversation sustainers. 1 Maa-chi Maa-chi ‗Wow‘ lit.: ―Boy‖ is a drawn-out expression of the word machi ‗boy‘. It is used to respond to the description of any event or thing of unusual nature, for example, a huge fish, a narrow escape. 2 Chunna Chunna ‗Really‘ parallels the English usage fairly closely.

11.4.3.4 Negative conversation sustainer responses

Sometimes a conversation sustainer is a negative response. 1 Chuli Chuli ‗no‘ is used in disagreement andor denial. 2 Jáj Jáj is made by a quick contraction of the diaphragm and expresses displeasure or disgust. It is used to show strong disagreement with what is being said.

11.4.3.5 Question words used as conversation sustainers Question words, such as toa

‗Who?‘, ibi ‗What?‘, inkwa ‗When?‘, igi ‗How?‘ , and pia ‗Where?‘ are interjected at various points in the speaker ‘s conversation to show interest and to encourage the speaker to go into more detail. 134 Conversation Continuance

11.4.3.6 Confirmation questions used as conversation sustainers

Often a listener will echo a confirmation question back at the speaker. Confirmation questions are a useful sustainer when the speaker is indulging in graphic descriptions. These are discussed in Section 4.4.3.3.

11.4.3.7 Echoing repeating used as conversation sustainers

Echoing or repeating the last phrase or an emphasized word or phrase is very common and is used extensively. The listener repeats the emphasized phrase verbatim with a questioning intonation. Observe and copy the intonation of this echo.

11.4.4 Holding the floor

There are times when a speaker has to stop speaking and pause to think, remember, or recollect, but he still wants to continue to speak. As in other languages, Kuna has several words that signal this ―I want to hold the floor ‖ expression.

11.4.4.1 General holding-the-floor expressions

1 Iwen ¿Iwen? ‗WhoWhat was it?‘ is used during a pause in conversation when you need to remember something, but you plan to continue speaking. When you cannot remember who, what, where iwengin or iwenbal, etc., you just say iwen and that indicates that you plan to continue speaking. If you say, ―Iwen ... iwen ... iwen ...‖, the listener is usually prompted to help you and give you the word or idea you have forgotten. 2 Te Te ‗thenand‘ is used when you hesitate or get stuck between sentences. A long drawn-out Teee can give you quite a bit of time to collect your thoughts.

11.4.4.2 Limited holding-the-floor expressions

1 Tegine Tegine ‗and‘ is used to list things or people see 5.4.2. The use of tegine ‗and‘ indicates that your list is still not complete. 2 Eg Eg ‗andin addition to‘ is used in hesitating as you count money see 7.4.1.3. It can also be used to hold-the-floor, for example, when you say, ―In addition eg ...‖ 11.4.5 Yielding-the-floor There are times in the conversation when a change of speaker is permitted. By using a yielding-the-floor expression, the speaker indicates it is now polite for someone else to speak. At other times, an interjection by another speaker is an interruption. As in any other language, Kuna has ways of signalling the accepted times to change speakers.

11.4.5.1 Yielding-the-floor questions

One of the most common signals and one which clearly signals that the floor is now free for another speaker, is the use of a question. One situation, however, in which a question does not indicate a yielding of the floor is the case of rhetorical questions used for rebuke. The speaker does not want the listener to answer a rhetorical question. This type of question is clearly marked by jaj which is added to the end of the question. Example Angry father to his son: ¿Pe es chapurbal ebes? ¿Jaj? ‗You left the machete in the jungle, didn‘t you‘ 11.4 Grammar 135

11.4.5.2 Yielding-the-floor expressions

a Mmmm Mmmm is said with a long drawn-out sound and a final low pitch which signals that the speaker has now finished what he wants to say and the floor is open. b Teobi Teobi ‗that‘s all thus only‘ is used by the speaker at the end of an account of a trip or incident that has happened. The expected response to teobi is Ajáj, Aaaa, or Mmmm. c Teob ito Teob ito ‗thus it was, you understand‘ is a variation of teobi ‗that‘s all‘. The speaker says, ―This is the way it was ‖ to make sure the listener heard and understood his comments. The expected response to teob ito is Ajáj andor another yielding-the-floor expression. d Teje If the speaker views what he has told you as being selected from a larger corpus body of information, he will often close with teje ‗thus far to there‘. The expected response would be ajáj, or another yielding-the-floor expression. e Ajáj Ajáj ‗agreement‘ is often used to terminate an answer to a question, as though the speaker was saying, ―That‘s my answer and I agree with it. ‖ The expected response is ajáj or another yielding-the-floor expression. f Pitogwa Pitogwa ‗ListenHeed‘ is used at the end of a speech or exhortation. The expected response would be yerba ‗good‘ with a final quickly raised pitch which leaves the floor open. g Pitomalgo Pitomalgo ‗let‘s all listen toheed this‘ is also used at the end of a speech, or exhortation. The expected response to this is yerba ‗good‘ with a final quickly raised pitch which leaves the floor open. h Pela Pela ‗finished‘ is used to terminate a meeting, discussion, work party, etc. The expected response is ajáj or napíra. Although there are other more complex endings, they usually contain at least one of the above. Examples Speaker: 1. Teje unila an chogdo. ‗To here, is all I say.‘ 2. Egdin bal chummakedbal nikchul. ‗I have nothing further to say.‘ 3. Teob ito. ‗That‘s itthus it was, you hearunderstand.‘ Listener: 4. Ajáj. Mmmm. ‗Oh Mmmm. floor is open for anyone to speak.‘

11.4.6 Waiving the floor

Often a speaker is speaking to a group of people, but one of the people is the real object of his comments or the listeners have a known order of rank which dictates who may take the floor first. If on the speaker ‘s yielding-the-floor, the main person spoken to or the status person wishes to leave the floor ―free,‖ he may do so by using the the waiving-the-floor expression.