Holding the floor Grammar

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. 136 Conversation Continuance

11.4.6.1 Yerba Yerba

‗good‘ is used to express approval of a formal speech, exhortation, etc., and is usually made by the person of highest status in the group and chorused by the rest of the listeners. 11.4.6.2 Other waiving-the-floor expressions All other waiving-the-floor expressions are based on the long Mmmm. 1 Mmmm The elongated Mmmm response by the listener is his waiver of the right to the floor. 2 Teobi, mmmm Teobi , mmmm ‗so that is how it was, oh‘ is used in response to a teob conclusion. The teobi is said echo fashion. 3 Ajáj, mmmm Ajáj , mmmm ‗agreement‘ is used with closures other than teob. 11.4.7 Farewell Ex. 5 –14 When all the topics of the conversation have been handled and it is time for people to take their leave, farewells are said. Generally speaking, the person leaving nods farewell or points a finger in farewell to all people present in order of decreasing social status.

11.4.7.1 General farewell Nade

‗goodbye‘ may be used on all occasions. It is used regardless of whether this is the last planned contact of the day or not.

11.4.7.2 Farewell with intended return the same day

1 Kujal Kujal ‗later‘ is used when the person expects to see the person he is leaving again that day. 2 Negwelo Negwelo ‗I‘m going for a little while‘ implies an immediate return.

11.4.7.3 Farewell with intended return the following day

1 Panmalopanmal Panmalo panmal ‗until tomorrow‘ is used as the last expected farewell of the day. 2 Panzhe Panzhe ‗that‘ll be all until tomorrow‘ is used as the last farewell of the day when something has been left incomplete because of time, weariness or some other reason. The intention is to continue the activity or conversation the following day. 11.4.7.4 Farewell until sometime in the future In the case of farewell until some future date, -che-je-zhe ‗until‘ is added to the time word which represents the time that is expected to elapse before the next meeting. Examples Ibabakeje. ‗Until four days‘ time‘ Yolzhe. ‗Until summer.‘