series of self-contained episodes. These episodes often have parallel structures and subject matter and it is their cumulative effect which is important. Each event may contain tension or a climax, but it need
not, and some episodes—in particular towards the end of the narrative—may be more important than others.
2.1.1 Orientation
The orientation in fictional narratives is typically used to introduce at least one major participant and to foreshadow the story theme. Participants are typically introduced in post-verbal position, often modified
by a quantifier such as ‘one’, and there is a past or far past form of an existential verb or copula; see §4.2 for details of the main participant introduction strategies.
Additional information may be provided about a participant who has just been introduced, which foreshadows the theme of the story. In Makonde, the presentation of the key theme was a feature of all
the texts in the corpus, expressed using both independent and relative clauses. The following example is from the orientation of a story in which the elephant tramples the nightjar’s eggs because he is too big to
notice them and nightjar is too small to chase the elephant away: Makonde Leach 2015:5
1 Nnembo aju ni nkoko nkumene namene katika mu-mwitu uti
1.elephant 1.
DEM COP
1.animal 1.big very
concerning 18-bush all pa-kati
pa-vanyama na nalubwabwa ni shuni wa-ku-nyambikang-a namene.
16-among 16-animals and 1.nightjar
COP
1.bird 1.
ASS
-
INF
-be_despised-
FV
very ‘The elephant is a huge animal, the biggest of all the animals of the bush—and the nightjar is a bird
of no significance at all.’ Malila, Jita, Kabwa, Kwaya, Suba-Simbiti, Rangi, and occasionally Fuliiru, also use independent
clauses to present additional information concerning the story theme. In Bena, Digo, and usually in Fuliiru, such information is presented using a relative clause.
Bena Eaton 2015a:7 2 A-a-li
pw-a-li umuunu ye a-a-limile umugunda gwakwe ugwa madzebele
3
SG
-
P
2-be 16-
P
2-be 1.person 1.
REL
3
SG
-
P
2-farm 3.field 3.his
3.
ASS
6.maize ‘There was a person who farmed his maize field.’
The setting time and place of the story is often mentioned in the orientation, especially in factual narratives. Since the orientation occurs before the event-line begins, it contains background material and
so tenseless copulas such as ni below and general past tenses are used rather than narrative or consecutive tenses.
Digo Nicolle 2015:3–4
3 Chisa ambacho n’-nda-chi-semurir-a hivi sambi, ni chisa ambacho cha-ni-phah-a
7.story 7.which 1
SG
-
FUT
-relate-
FV
right now
COP
7.story 7.which it.
PST
-me-get-
FV
miaka minji yo-tsup-a na n’-chisa
ambacho n’-cha kpweli.
4.years 4.many 4.
REL
.
PST
-pass-
FV
and
COP
-7.story 7.which
COP
-7.
ASS
true
‘The story which I will tell you now is a story which happened to me many years ago and it is a story which is true.’
2.1.2 Inciting episode
