Conversational intonation Ex. 1 –2 Disclaimer nothing-special-is-happening response Ex. 3

58 Positional Words Examples Teacher: Chuli. An pinche chi. Student: Chuli. An pinche chi. Teacher: Chuli. An pe aptaji. Student: Chuli. An pe aptaji. 1. Chuli. An pinche chi. ‗Nothing. I‘m just sitting.‘ 2. Chuli. An pe aptaji. ‗Nothing. I‘m just waiting for you.‘ 3. Chuli. An pe taktani. ‗Nothing. I‘m just coming to visit you.‘ 4. Chuli. An ul obirne. ‗Nowhere. I‘m just going to take the canoe around to the other side of the peninsula. ‘ 5. Chuli. An kamne. ‗Nothing. I‘m just going to go to sleep.‘

6.3 Culture

Gestures and habits vary from culture to culture. It is important to identify with the culture you are studying by learning common gestures, such as the way the people point at things and the way they count on their fingers.

6.3.1 Pointing

Kuna people point at objects or people by facing the objectperson, giving a quick uplift of the chin in that direction, and raising the lower lip slightly.

6.3.2 Counting with fingers

The numbers 1 –5 are counted by holding the left hand, palm up. The right index finger is laid across the successive fingers one at a time, starting with the little finger. The numbers 6 –10 are counted by holding the right hand palm down. The left thumb is laid across the successive fingers, starting with the thumb. 6.4 Grammar 59 Example Figure 1. Finger Counting Count ―one‖ Count ―two‖ Count ―six‖ Count ―eight‖

6.4 Grammar

6.4.1 Positional verbs Ex. 4 –5

In EnglishSpanish it is relatively easy to talk about the general location or presence of a person or object by using the verb ‗to be‘ or estar. Examples English Spanish 1. The spear is on the floor. El chuzo está en el piso. 2. The spear is against the wall. El chuzo está recostado a la pared. 3. The basket is on the floor. La canasta está en el piso. You will note in the above examples that the same verb, is, is used throughout the English examples to refer to general location of the object. The verb está is used throughout the Spanish examples. A Kuna speaker, however, must choose one from several positional verbs to refer to the general location and position of a person or object. The above EnglishSpanish examples require three different positional verbs to be said in Kuna. Examples 1. Eswal napkin mai . spear on-the-ground is-lying ‗The spear is lying on the ground.‘