236 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
39 bheta ka-waa-ghoo-mu ne robhine aitu
sarong NOM-give-IO-your loc woman that the sarong that was given to you by that woman
The following chart summarizes the different relative clause formations in relation to the function of the relativized noun X indicates the strategy
used:
act.part. pass.part.
nominal. subject
X -
- direct object
- X
X indirect object
- X-ghoo
-
9.1.4. Locative relative clauses
A final type of headed relative clause is formed by adjoining a locative nominalization, which is marked by the circumfix ka--ha 10.2.18 on verbal
bases, to the head noun. Structurally, this is similar to the nominalized relative clauses discussed above. The agent is again present in the form of the
possessive suffixes. Other arguments of the relative clause, such as direct and indirect objects, locatives and temporals, are simply carried along in the
nominalization. Objects cannot be marked on the verb by means of pronominal suffixes.
40 we wiwi-no tehi naando liwu kae-late-ha-ndo
loc side-POS sea be village NOM-live-LOC-their at the seashore was the village where they lived
41 naando fato-ghonu sikola ka-fo-fo-guru-ha-ku wamba
be four-CLAS school NOM-DETR-CAUS-learn-LOC-my language Inggirisi welo se-minggu
English in one-week there were four schools where I taught English in one week
42 pasi ka-ti-sore-ha-no nagha do-kona-e te Lagadi
coral NOM-ACC-run.aground-LOC-his that 3pR-call-it loc Lagadi the coral reef where he ran aground is called Lagadi
A quantifier may draw the locative noun to a pre-head position see also 5.7.6 and example 19 in 9.1.1, but a post-nominal position is more common:
43 a.
eano ka-rato-ha-no lambu every house where he came
every NOM-arrive-LOC-his house b.
eano lambu ka-rato-ha-no every house where he came
every house NOM-arrive-LOC-his
9.1.5. Free relatives
A relative clause may stand on its own without modifying a head noun. Such free or headless relatives are common when the understood head is people,
somebody or when it is fully retrievable from the context, as in 47:
9 THE SENTENCE 237
44 tamaka miina bhe [m]ondo-i-no
but there was nobody who could but not be able-TR-A.PART
do it 45
do-bhari pata l[um]ulusu-no there were many who did not pass
3pR-many NEG pass-A.PART the exam
46 dadihanomo do-asi-ane ko-toko-no
so 3pR-like-him HAVE-shop-A.PART so the shopkeepers liked him
47 no-bhasi buea bhai-hi-no ko-si-bhari-bhari-ha-ndo. Naando
3sR-call crocodile friend-PLUR-his KO-one-RED-all-HA-their be bhala-no, naando mo-rubu-no, naando me-wanta-no, naando
big-A.PART be -small-A.PART be -long-A.PART be mo-ngkubu-no
-short-A.PART he called all his fellow crocodiles. There were big ones and small
ones, there were long ones and short ones Free relatives are also found with passive participles without accompanying
head noun:
48 tapi-e ne-pogau-ghoo-ku
remember what I have said IMP-remember-it P.PART-say-IO-my
49 garaa ini naando ne-ghongko-no
but there was something she was SURPR this be P.PART-suck-her
sucking on 50
ka-bhari-no ne-fetingke-mu how much you hear
NOM-much-POS P.PART-hear-your idiom to ridicule somebody
who hears eerie sounds everywhere
Some of these passive participles occur so often in free relative constructions that they come to function as nouns, for example ne-angka leader lit. the
one who is appointed, ne-fumaa food lit. that which is eaten. The test whether they are in fact nouns in a given construction is to negate the clauses
and see which negator they take: pata with participles or suano with nouns. Another type of construction involving free relatives is the so-called
cleft construction following English-based terminology. The free relative clause functions as the subject of an equative clause, which consists of a
subject and a complement 7.6. Pragmatically, the free relative subject presents given information, whereas the complement often a question word, a
pronoun or a negated constituent is the new and salient point of information. In these cleft constructions, the complement normally precedes the free
relative subject. Compare the following two questions:
51 lahae so k[um]ala-no?
who is it that will go? who FUT go-A.PART
238 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
52 lahae na-k[um]ala?
who will go? who 3sI-go
The first question is more natural and more forceful, since the questioned constituent is a complement in itself. Other examples:
53 ampa-mo inodi mai-no
only I have come merely-PF I come-A.PART
54 anoa kaawu [m]omaa-no
he is the only one who has he only eat-A.PART
eaten 55
so bhose-no ta-se-mie only one was to row
FUT row-A.PART JUST-one-person 56
garaa bhasi-e maitu foko-ama-u-no anahi amaitu SURPR call-A.PART-her that FOKO-father-U-POS child that
the one who called her was the childs uncle Such cleft constructions also occur with passive participles:
57 keseno kaawu kuli-no ne-ghoro-ghoo-no
only only skin-its P.PART-throw-IO-his only the skins did he throw to him
58 suano o mbadha, suano o fewutoi so ne-ghondo
not ART body not ART stature FUT P.PART-look it is not the body, not the stature that we have to look at
59 ne-wora-no-mo kaawu ampa-mo kantawu-no kulitoto
P.PART-see-her-PF only merely-PF heap-POS dry.leaves what she saw was only a heap of dry leaves
60 ne-po-hala-hala-ti-ghoo-ndo ini...
P.PART-REC-RED-wrong-TR-IO-their this what they were quarrelling about was...
9.2. Juxtaposition
