5 THE NOMINAL PHRASE 85
This type of modification seems to be limited to first and second persons. Finally, pronouns can be modified by a numeral verb, with the exception of
inodi I, in which case the measure phrase se-mie is used:
29 intaidi do-ru-dua
we two we 1pR-RED-two
30 andoa do-pe-fato-fulu
the forty of them they 3pR-ABOUT-four-ten
31 inodi-mo se-mie, a-asi-ane-mo
as for me, I like it I-PF one-man 1sR-like-it-PF
5.4. Possession
5.4.1. The possessive suffixes
The paradigm of possessive suffixes, which was presented in 5.3, is used for nominal inflection. This inflection is found with nouns, passive participles
and certain other derivations see 4.9. Examples:
32 kamokula-ku
my parents parent-my
33 ina-mu
your mother mother-your
34 ne-mbolaku-no
what hesheit has stolen P.PART-steal-his
35 lambu-nto
1. your polite house house-our
2. our 2 house 36
wale-nto-omu 1. your polite plural hut
hut-our-PLUR 2. our 2 hut
37 wite-mani
our ex landcountry land-ourex
38 doi-imu
your plural money money-your.PLUR
39 sa-kundo-do
when they had left WHEN-leave-their
As mentioned in 2.8.3, the third person plural suffix -ndo alternates with -do when suffixed to bases that contain a prenasalized consonant.
To emphasize the possessive pronouns, the following two possibilities exist: 1. free pronouns are added, usually after the head noun see 5.3.1:
40 guru-ku inodi
MY teacher not yours teacher-my I
86 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
41 galu-ndo andoa
THEIR field not ours field-their they
2. the emphaticreflexive noun wuto self is added. This noun wuto itself is also obligatorily suffixed with a possessive:
42 lambu-ku wuto-ku
my own house house-my self-my
43 suano ka-ghosa-no wuto-no
it was not his own strength not NOM-strong-his self-his
Both possessive suffixes have to be present; the following forms are therefore ungrammatical:
44 a.
lambu-ku wuto house-my self
b. lambu wuto-ku
house self-my The third person singular possessive suffix -no is also found in a number of
adverbs and conjunctions. This is probably a special lexicalized use of -no:
hadae-no probably
hadae maybe
tabea-no unless
tabea unless
maka-ha-no then, but
maka then
pasi-no then
5.4.2. Possessive constructions with and without linker
When a head noun is modified by another noun or a noun phrase, the possessive linker -no is suffixed to the first noun. This linker -no is a special use of
the third person possessive suffix -no. As in most languages, the relation between the two nouns is typically one of possession, but there is a wide array
of meaning relations such as partitive, provenance, characteristic of, located in and so on. Some examples:
45 roo-no sau
leaf of a tree; vegetable leaf-POS tree
46 mie-no Wuna
somebody from Muna person-POS Muna
47 galu-no pae
rice field field-POS rice
48 daoa-no Raha
the market of Raha market-POS Raha
49 guru-no wamba Malau
teacher of Indonesian teacher-POS language Malay
50 lambu-no ani
beehive lit. house of bees house-POS bee
5 THE NOMINAL PHRASE 87
When this combination of nouns is again suffixed by a possessive, the pos- sessive suffix is added to the last noun:
51 lambu-no ama-ku
my fathers house house-POS father-my
52 pughu-no kalei-mu
your banana tree tree-POS banana-your
It is not possible to replace the possessive linker by one of the other possessive suffixes, or to add one at that place:
53 a.
pughu-ku kalei b.
pughu-no-ku kalei c.
pughu-ku-no kalei Notice that constructions like 51 and 52 are structurally ambiguous. The
final possessive suffix can theoretically modify the whole phrase or just the last noun. In 51 -ku only modifies ama father, whereas in 52 -mu modifies
the whole phrase pughu-no kalei. When the noun phrase has plural reference, the plural possessive linker -ndo
can be used. The plurality may either be determined by the head noun or by the modifying noun. The use of -ndo is not obligatory; -ndo stresses the plurality
of the head noun and therefore of the whole phrase:
54 a.
boku-no muri-hi the books of the pupils
book-POS pupil-PLUR b.
boku-ndo muri-hi the books of the pupils
book-POS pupil-PLUR c.
boku-hi-no muri-hi the books of the pupils
d. boku-hi-ndo muri-hi
the books of the pupils The use of either -ndo or the plural suffix -hi marks the whole phrase as
plural. The occurrence of -hi in both the head noun and in the modifying noun is avoided.
55 wamba-do kamokula-hi
the words of the old people word-POS old-PLUR
56 motoro-ndo bhai-ku
the motorbikes of my friends motorbike-POS friend-my
57 a.
mie-ndo Wuna people from Muna
person-POS Muna b.
mie-no Wuna somebodypeople from Muna
person-POS Muna In 57a the reference is clearly plural; in 57b it may be singular or
plural.
88 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
When the modifying noun is animate, the possessive linker can be omitted without any change in meaning:
58 a.
kalei-no a-ndo-a-ndoke the monkeys banana tree
banana-POS RED-ART-monkey b.
kalei a-ndo-a-ndoke the monkeys banana tree
banana RED-ART-monkey 59
bhai-hi karambau Kainsedodo buffalo Kainsedodos friends
friend-PLUR buffalo Kainsedodo In a number of constructions we find modifying nouns without a possessive
linker. In the following cases the absence of this linker is obligatory: a. when the second noun is the name of the material from which the first noun
is made: 60 a. lambu kontu
stone house b. lambu dopi
board house c. nuhua wite
earthen pitcher d. singkaru bulawa
golden ring b. when the second noun pertains to a family relationship:
61 a. ina wee stepmother
b. ama ghampo father-in-law
c. anahi titiisa first-born child
c. when there is a relationship of identity between the two nouns: 62 a. ana muri-hi
pupils lit. pupil children b. karambau bhai-no
his fellow buffaloes d. when the second noun is a name, even when this name is derived from a common
noun: 63 a. karambau Kainsedodo
buffalo Kainsedodo b. Wa Ode Kambea Mpatani
Mrs. Mpatani flower Compare:
c. kambea-no mpatani mpatani flower
e. when the second noun is a derivation with ka- or ka--ha that functions as a descriptive phrase, a relative clause or an apposition to the head noun:
64 laa ka-rubu small river
river NOM-small 65 bheta ka-mooru-ku
the sarong that I wove sarong NOM-weave-my
66 liwu ka-lente-ha-no the land where he was born
land NOM-born-LOC-his
5 THE NOMINAL PHRASE 89
67 ka-tomba-tomba kaen-tei-ha ghoti
a small rice basket a small DIM-RED-basket NOM-put-LOC rice
basket in which rice is kept f. in many other fixed phrases which can be analysed as a kind of compound,
although there is no formal marking see 10.4: 68
a. gola ghai
mixture of brown sugar and sugar coconut
grated coconut b.
mina gasi kerosene
oil gas 69
a. dhambu sera
k.o. cashew nut b.
adhara bholo black horse
c. manu kariri
hen with white and red feathers d.
kalei susu k.o. small banana
5.5. Demonstrative pronoun
