8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 215
Answers to yes-no questions of both types can be single-word clauses such as uumbe yes, miina no, paise no will not, bhahi possibly and beane or
bhaiane who knows. It is also possible to repeat the verb in a positive answer:
155 A: Garaa no-rato-mo? B: no-rato-mo
SURPR 3sR-arrive-PF 3sR-arrive-PF
has he arrived already then? yes, he has arrived
The answer to a negative question is a combination of uumbe and a negator when agreeing with the negation; the verb is repeated when the speaker wishes to
deny the negation:
156 A: p-o-k[um]ala we daoa? you wont go to the market,
FUT.not-2sI-go loc market will you?
B: uumbe, paise you are right, I wont go
yes FUT.not B: a-k[um]ala
no, I will go 1sI-go
The question tag ela variant elae may be added to a yes-no question when the speaker is fairly certain that the answer will be positive. It is a feature of
informal spoken Muna:
157 A: we Walanda no-rindi ela? B: uumbe
loc Holland 3sR-cold tag yes
in Holland it is cold, isnt it? yes, it is
158 A: miina nao-hali elae? B: uumbe, miina
not 3sR-difficult tag yes no
it is not difficult, is it? no, it isnt
Alternative questions are formed with the conjunction maka: 159 o-k[um]ala we sikola maka paise?
are you going to school or not? 2sI-go loc school then FUT.not
160 o-ghawa-e-mo itu maka miina-ho? have you got it or not yet?
2sR-get-it-PF that then not.yet
8.6.2. Content questions
Content questions differ from yes-no questions in that specific question words are used that ask for information. In this section I will treat the Muna
question words one by one, giving illustrations of regular and aberrant usages. As for the intonation, the stressed syllable of the question word is normally
spoken on a high tone. Notice that in the majority of cases the question word occupies the same position as the corresponding non-questioned constituent in a
statement. The following question words can be distinguished:
1. hae what, which
216 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
Hae may fill the position of any noun phrase: subject, direct and indirect object, an NP within a prepositional phrase and a dependent NP within another
NP. In addition it may be used attributively, in which case it means which. When hae functions as the subject of the clause, it is preceded by the article
o:
161 o-fumaa hae itu ghane? what are you eating, boy?
2sR-eat what that boy 162 a-t[um]ulumi-angko hae inodi?
what can I help you with? 1sI-help-IOyou what I
163 do-sawi ne hae do-kala? how will we go?
1pR-go.by loc what 1pR-go 164 omo-ghae-fi hae itu bhela?
what are you crying for, 2sR-cry-TR what that friend
friend? 165 bhara kadadi hae ne-tolo-no?
maybe animal what P.PART-swallow-his who knows what animal he had swallowed
166 o hae wamba-no ina-mu? what did your mother say?
ART what word-POS mother-your 167 o-[m]esua ne sikola hae itu?
which school did you go to? 2sI-enter loc school what that
When a questioned direct object is put in clause-initial position, usually the passive participle is employed, which can best be translated by a cleft clause.
Very rarely the finite verb form is retained.
168 o hae ne-gholi-mu? what is it that you bought?
ART what P.PART-buy-your 169 o hae ome-gholi?
what did you buy? ART what 2sR-buy
When hae follows the suffix -ghoo it often refers to purpose, hence its translation as a why-question. In these examples -ghoo can be analysed both as
a purpose suffix and as an indirect object suffix see 7.9, 9.17, and 10.2.10:
170 o-mai-ghoo hae? why have you come?
2sR-come-IOPURP what 171 o-tola-ghoo hae?
why are you calling? 2sR-call-IOPURP what
The possessive suffix -no can be added to hae with the resulting meaning of what part? It is usually suffixed by another possessive suffix indicating the
object of which the questioned constituent is part:
172 o-[m]ala hae-no-no itu hintu? which part will you take?
2sI-take what-its-its that you
8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 217
173 hae-no-no pata-ho t[um]oka-ha-no? which part is not ready yet? what-its-its NEG-yet ready-HA-A.PART
174 to-wora hae-no-ku? which part of me do you see?
2shR-see what-its-my 175 hae-no-mu robhine aitu?
what relation is that woman what-its-your woman that
to you your wife, sister or daughter?
But o hae-no is also found in simple questions asking for the identity of a specific entity:
176 o hae-no ini-a? what is this?
ART what-its this-CL 177 o hae-no ne-patudhu-ghi-mu?
what do you mean? ART what-its P.PART-mean-TR-your
Hae-no followed by a possessive suffix may also occur with the preposition so for, in which case it means to what purpose?, what use is that for X? It
often functions as a rhetorical question:
178 ee, so hae-no-mu ome-ala ndoke itu-a? hey for what-its-your 2sR-take monkey that-CL
what is the use of you taking a monkey? 179 na-[m]orai-kanau-ghoo A Titibholo so hae-no-ku itu?
3sI-propose-me-PURP ART Titibholo for what-its-my that to what purpose should Titibholo propose to me?
When hae-no is suffixed with -mo, it may indicate a causal relationship. Possibly it is a fossilized one-word question that is asked and answered by the
speaker himself:
180 no-mamara-ki-e-mo ama-no hae-no-mo ne-sia mie ndoke 3sR-angry-TR-him-PF father-his what-its-PF 3sR-bite people monkey
his father was angry with him because the monkey had bitten people 181 ina wee-ndo ka-ghosa-no lalo-no hae-no-mo do-suli tora
mother step-their NOM-hard-POS heart-her what-its-PF 3pR-return again how hard-hearted their stepmother was because they had returned
again The reduplicated hae-hae means everything, or, in combination with a negator,
nothing see 5.7.7. Finally, the question word hae may be added to clauses partly repeating
somebody elses statement to signal irritation:
182 A: o bupati naando no-saki the bupati is still ill
ART bupati still 3sR-ill B: no-saki hae? no-mpona-mo no-ghosa
3sR-ill what 3sR-long-PF 3sR-strong what do you mean ill? He has been well for a long time
218 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
2. lahae who, whose Lahae or the shortened form ahae is made up of the question word hae and the
article la. It may fill the position of a questioned human NP and in addition it can also be used attributively. Although la is the masculine article, lahae
can be used for both sexes; the word wahae does not exist.
183 lahae ihintu-umu ini? who are you pl?
who you-PLUR this 184 o-waa-ane lahae boku amaitu?
to whom did you give that book? 2sR-give-him who book that
185 o-mai bhe lahae? with whom have you come?
2sR-come with who 186 ome-late we lambu lahae?
in whose house do you live? 2sR-live loc house who
When lahae is the subject of a verbal clause, the verb form is very frequently an active participle. Again, this corresponds to a cleft construction:
187 lahae [m]ala-e? who took it? who was it that
who A.PART-take-it took it?
188 lahae so [m]ondo-i-no? who will be able?
who FUT able-TR-A.PART Lahae may be preceded by the plural marker ndo see 5.6.5:
189 o-butu te ndo lahae? with whom pl are you staying?
2sR-stay loc PLUR who 190 ndo lahae r[um]ato-no itu?
who pl have arrived? PLUR who arrive-A.PART that
Like o hae-no, lahae-no asks for the identity of a more specific entity than lahae:
191 soo-ku lahae-no mai-no rambi tolu-mata itu? thought-my who-its come-A.PART blow three-eye that
I thought: who is coming at three oclock? The reduplicated laha-lahae means everybody, anybody:
192 laha-lahae kaawu so me-ware-hi-no roo RED-who only FUT -broad-PLUR-A.PART leaf
anybody who has got broad leaves 3. sehae how much, how many
Sehae can possibly be analysed as consisting of the question word hae and the prefixed numeral se- one, although the meaning of the combination is
not predictable from the meaning of the parts. It is the question word
8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 219
asking for amounts, numbers, extents and so on. When the referent is human, sehae is inflected as a verb from the a-class. When the reference is to a
future state or action, the prefix na- is attached to sehae, as it is to numerals.
193 sehae taghu umuru-nto? how old are you polite?
how.many year age-yourpol 194 sehae ka-ompona-no ome-late ne Raha ini?
how.much NOM-long-its 2sR-live loc Raha this how long have you lived here in Raha?
195 sehae litere pae ka-gholi-mu? how much rice have you bought?
how.much liter rice NOM-buy-your 196 do-sehae r[um]ato-no?
how many have arrived? 3pR-how.many arrive-A.PART
197 na-sehae ome-ada? how much do you want to borrow?
FUT-how.much 2sI-borrow Used in rhetorical questions, sehae may also mean not much see 5.7.7.
4. hamai where; which Hamai is the question word asking for location or direction in equative
clauses. In verbal clauses it most commonly follows the preposition ne which in combination with hamai has the variant na. A variant of ne hamai is ne
hamadi. Like the negator miina, hamai can also receive object inflection see 4.8.1.
198 hamai o kenta dahu? where is the fish, dog?
where ART fish dog 199 o-k[um]ala ne hamai?
where are you going? 2sI-go loc where
usual greeting on the street 200 da-s[um]ikola ne hamai andoa?
where will they go to school? 3pI-school loc where they
201 o-ala-e-emu ne hamadi kenta-amu itu? 2pR-take-it-PLUR loc where fish-yourpl that
where did you pl get those fishes of yours? 202 hamai-ko-mo?
where are you? where-you-PF
203 hamai-e itu? where is it?
where-it that When hamai is used attributively, it means which, indicating a choice between
alternatives:
204 o-basa boku hamai? which book are you reading?
2sR-read book which
220 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
205 ana-ku hamai? which child of mine?
child-my which In addition hamai can be used as a quantifier meaning every see 5.7.7 and
as an adverb meaning moreover:
206 hamai mai-no ne ini no-fo-guru-kasami which come-A.PART loc this 3sR-CAUS-learn-usex
whoever comes here teaches us ex 207 miina na-t[um]anggo ama-ku, hamai no-maho-mo na-[m]ansio
not 3sI-support father-my moreover 3sR-near-PF 3sI-pension my father does not support us financially; moreover he is about to
retire 5. peda hae peda hamai how
These complex question words, consisting of the preposition peda like and the question words hae and hamai, are used for questioning means, manner, state and
quality. An alternative form, peda hamadi, is occasionally found. Especially in combination with hae and hamai, peda is often inflected like a verb see
6.2.4. The irrealis form na-meda is frequently shortened to nada.
208 peda hamai hintu kalei-mu? how is your banana tree?
like which you banana-your 209 na-meda hamai?
how is it going to be? 3sI-like which
210 peda hae ka-bhala-no? what size is it?
like what NOM-big-its 211 peda hae o-wamba-wuna-ane?
how can you translate it into like what 2sR-language-Muna-it
Muna? 212 no-fekiri nada hamadi so na-gh[um]awa-e-ghoo
3sR-think like.IRR which FUT 3sI-get-it-PURP he thought about how he might get it
The active participle [m]eda-no hae can be used attributively or as the head of an NP and means which; what kind of, either referring to a choice between
alternatives or to the quality of the questioned noun:
213 mindalo-kanau [m]eda-no hae? which one is it that wants me?
wish-me-A.PART like-A.PART what 214 boku medano-hae ne-basa-mu?
what kind of bookwhich book book how-A.PART P.PART-read-your
have you read? Peda hae can also take the function of a rhetorical question which is closely
connected to a following statement. It is the speakers comment on his previous utterance, which is natural and understandable:
8 CLAUSAL MODIFICATIONS 221
215 ne-fe-ghondo-ghoo-mo. Peda hae pada, do-gaa bughou itu 3sR-L.CAUS-look-IO-PF like what already 3pR-marry new that
he asked her to look for lice on his head. That is quite normal, isnt it? They were newly married
216 no-pupu ka-mente-no ana-no raja ini. Peda hae, miina-mo 3sR-finish NOM-surprised-POS child-POS king this like what no.more
na-[m]ora-e kamokula amaitu 3sI-see-him old that
he was flabbergasted. And that is understandable, since he did not see the old man any more
6. nefiemo naefie indefie when These three question words all mean when, but nefiemo and indefie can only
refer to a point in the past, whereas naefie refers to a future state or action:
217 naefie o-mai? when will you come?
when.FUT 2sI-come 218 nefiemo o-mai?
when did you come? when 2sR-come
219 indefie o-rato garaa? when did you arrive?
when 2sR-arrive SURPR The reduplicated naefie-naefie points to a possible but unspecific point in the
future: when at any time:
220 naefie-naefie na-r[um]ato hadhi ne liwu ini RED-when.FUT 3sI-arrive haji loc village this
when a haji should arrive in this village Indefiemo ini is an adverb meaning some time ago, in the past:
221 indefie-mo ini naando ka-rame welo liwu ini when-PF this be NOM-celebrate in village this
some time ago there was a festival in this village
8.6.3. The question verb afa
