Pude chi. Positional verbs Ex. 4 –5

6.4 Grammar 61 Examples 1. Mol nai. ‗The clothes are hanging there.‘

2. Kachi nai.

‗The hammock is hanging there.‘

3. Kukualed nai.

‗The plane is suspended there.‘

4. Choul nai.

‗The boat is suspended there.‘ Another use of the positional verb nai is in the case of some items being left over out of a group. Examples

1. Nuzha ampa nai.

‗There are still some eggs left over.‘

2. Yannu ampa nai.

‗There are still some peccary left in the herd.‘ 4 Kwichi In general, the positional verb kwichi refers to objects which are standing upleaning against something. Nonrigid items cannot ―stand‖ and consequently never occur with the positional verb kwichi. 21 Examples 1. Eswal kwichi. ‗The spear is standing there.‘

2. Pagla kwichi.

‗The main house pole is standing there.‘ 5 Un Un is used to describe something which is viewed as being ―on all fours.‖ Examples 1. Koe wegin un. ‗The deer is on all fours there.‘

2. Achu wegin un.

‗The dog is on all fours there.‘ 6.4.1.2 Variation in choice of positional verbs Usually it is fairly easy to choose the correct positional verb as you view an object from a Kuna person ‘s point of view. Sometimes, however, the choice of position may vary according to the situation or to the viewpoint of the speaker at the moment. Examples 1. Mol nai. ‗The blouse is hanging there.‘

2. Mol mai.

‗The blouse is folded flat and lying there.‘

3. Mol chi.

‗The blouse is sitting there on a temporary basis.‘

4. Mol pukwa.

22 ‗The blouse is in a heap there.‘ 6.4.1.3 Positional verbs with reference to people Although any of the positional verbs may be used on occasions with reference to people, the verbs mai and chi are most commonly used. 1 Idiomatic use of maichi In the Paya Kuna dialect, 23 there is an idiomatic distinction made between the positional verb used to refer to the physical presence location of a man versus that of a woman. The positional verb mai is almost always used to refer to the location of a man or a boy, and the positional verb chi is almost always used to refer to the location of a woman or a girl. 21 kwichi is actually a compound verb derived from kwi ‗to stand‘ + -s ‗completive‘ + chi ‗to sit‘. Note that s + ch becomes ch. 22 The plural of positional verbs is discussed in 13.4.3.2. 23 The San Blas dialect uses mai for both male and female.