294 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
ne-tumbu-li hit repeatedly
tumbu hit, pound
ne-tumbu-lao plant firmly in the
ground, hit firmly ne-puru-si
take off leaves puru
take off repeatedly
leaves ne-puru-sao
take off leaves randomly
ne-longko-fi stoop down to get
longko stoop
ne-longko-fao falllie face downward
ne-rambi-si hit repeatedly
rambi hit
ne-rambi-tao fling down
10.2.17. KA-
1. Nominal prefix on verbal bases. The meaning of the resulting deverbal
noun is partly dependent on the meaning of the verbal base, partly on the direct context. The following categories can be distinguished:
a. Deverbal noun denoting the abstraction of the verbal quality: ka-ghosa
strength ghosa
strong ka-gharo
hunger gharo
hungry ka-tehi
fear tehi
afraid ka-nea
custom nea
usual ka-buri
writing, script buri
write ka-ntoo
certainty ntoo
certain ka-naando
existence naando
be, exist b. The result or product of the action or process denoted by the verb:
ka-tofa washing, laundry
tofa wash
clothes ka-bhenta
hole bhenta
make hole ka-mbulu
uncooked vegetables mbulu
pick ve- getables
ka-ntalea light, lamp
ntalea light
ka-weo swelling, bump
weo swell
c. The instrument with which the action is carried out: ka-haro
broom haro
sweep ka-koo
rope koo
tie ka-pusuli
handkerchief pusuli
wipe ones face
ka-ransa sieve
ransa sieve
d. A final category with idiosyncratic meanings, in many of which animacy seems to be important:
ka-pongke deaf person
pongke deaf
ka-nubho toothless person
nubho toothless
10 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY 295
ka-sibu thief
sibu be a
thief ka-mate
corpse mate
die, dead ka-dadi
animal dadi
live These categories are not watertight divisions; often more than one meaning
is possible on a certain base, in which case the immediate context must provide indications as to which interpretation is correct. Consider:
ka-insu 1. grated coconut meat
insu grate
2. coconut rasp coconut
ka-mate 1. death
mate die, dead
2. corpse Apart from their use as normal heads of NPs, ka-derivations occur in some
other construction types. Since these topics are all dealt with in other parts of this grammar, they are only briefly discussed and illustrated here.
a. A ka-derived noun functions as the head of an exclamatory clause, in which case the noun is obligatorily possessed see 7.7:
ka-mbaka-no how nice it is
mbaka nice
ka-baru-ku how happy I am
baru happy
b. The noun functions in a nominalized relative clause see 9.1.3: manu ka-hole-ku
the chicken that I fried hole
fry kalei ka-gholi-no the banana that he bought
gholi buy
c. The noun functions as a descriptive attribute to a head noun see 5.9.2; nasal accretion is found in certain fixed expressions:
oe ka-tembe fresh water
tembe fresh
dahu ka-kempa a cripple dog
kempa cripple
pae ngka-dea red rice
dea red
The order of the constituents in b and c may even be reversed, in which case the possessive linker -no is present see 5.9.2:
ka-taha-no kalei a ripe banana taha
ripe ka-pinda-no kenta a roasted fish
pinda roast
Some ka-derivations on complex bases: ka-ghoro-fi-no
what he had thrown away ghoro-fi throw away repeatedly ghoro
throw away ka-fo-late
foster child fo-late cause to live; take into ones home
late live ka-ghi-ghito
blackness ghito black
ka-ka-bhore-bhore-mu what an idiot you are
ka-bhore-bhore be an idiot bhore stupid
296 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
The following aberrant formations are to be noted: a. Some verbal roots take a class affix:
ka-me-salo request
salo request
ka-mo-tugha forest also: ka-tugha
tugha hard
ka-mo-taha cooked food
taha ripe
ka-mo-ghuri greenfresh crop
ghuri green,
living b. Some bases occur with the otherwise non-existent affix -ma-:
ka-ma-dondo dawn
dondo very
early ka-ma-ghuleo
afternoon ? gholeo day, sun
c. Rarely, a verbal base takes a prefix kae- or kao-: kae-mbali
event, happening mbali
happen kao-bhalo
answer also ka-bhalo bhalo
answer kao-mpona
duration also ka-mpona mpona
long d. With nasal accretion ka- occurs in the following derivations:
ka-ntisa plants, crop
tisa plant
ka-ngkorawu mixture
korawu mix
ka-mpooli result
pooli obtain
e. ka- occurs in combination with the suffix -a does not occur on its own: ka-dhadhi-a
event dhadhi
finished, ready
ka-ghoti-a dry beach during low tide
ghoti low tide
ka-ka-pudhi-a request for praise
pudhi praise
2. Verbal prefix ae-class, amenable to -um-. a. Base is a simple verb; meaning: unexpectedly; productive:
ne-ka-rato arrive unexpectedly
rato arrive
ne-ka-mate die unexpectedly; swoon
mate die
ne-ka-rako catch unexpectedly
rako catch
b. Base is a transitive verb; there is little or no difference in meaning between the basic and the derived verb; unproductive:
ne-ka-kolo pickle
kolo pickle
ne-ka-bhogha chop, cut people
bhogha chop
ne-ka-logha stab
logha stab
ne-ka-ntai hang tr + intr
ntai hang intr
ne-ka-dunsa slaughter, cut up
dunsa slaughter,
cut up Formally aberrant nasal accretion, other affixes:
ne-ka-ntunu burn, roast
tunu burn
10 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY 297
ne-ka-ntafe receive, catch in hand
tafe take hold
of no-ka-rondo-a
be overtaken by the rondo
dark night
no-ka-ngko-ghae speak while crying
ghae cry
in a rain-making ceremony
10.2.18. KA--HA