92 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
85 a.
no-pada aitu after that
3sR-finished that b.
pasino aitu after that
after that c.
sa-lapasino aitu after that
WHEN-after that d.
wakutuu aitu at that time
time that Notice also the difference between peda aini like this future and peda aitu
like thisthat past in the following sentences:
86 amba-no peda aini: ...
he said: .... word-his like this
87 sa-no-bisara peda aitu
when she had spoken thus WHEN-3sR-speak like that
5.5.5. The referential demonstratives
In 5.5.1 two different sets of demonstrative pronouns were introduced. So far all the examples have been from the first set, with initial a-. In this section
the difference between these two sets of demonstratives will be discussed. The first set I will call identifying demonstratives. An identifying demon-
strative picks out one unique referent among many possibilities; it is a way of signalling out one among many, and the use of this form at least in its
spatial usage is generally accompanied by pointing towards the object or turning ones head or nodding in the direction of the object.
The forms of the second set, without initial a-, I will call referential demonstratives. A referential demonstrative refers to an entity that has
already been introduced in the discourse. Objects for which there is only one referent for example the world can only be modified by a referential demon-
strative, which is also the case with names and pronouns. They can be said to have known reference from the extra-linguistic context.
In other words, the identifying demonstratives carry the meaning composite known to speaker and not known to hearer, while for the referential demon-
strative the following statement is true: known to speaker and known to hearer. The referential demonstratives can have a spatial usage but they are
especially common as anaphoric demonstratives. The difference between identifying and referential demonstratives can be
illustrated by means of the following pairs of examples glossed identically:
88 a.
bhai-ku aini this friend of mine but not
friend-my this the others herethere
b. bhai-ku ini
my friend here this friend friend-my this
of mine already mentioned 88a identifies one among many of my friends, while 88b refers to my
friend who has already been introduced and is now the topic in the discourse, or he is close to the speaker at the moment of speaking.
5 THE NOMINAL PHRASE 93
89 a.
ne Raha aini in this Raha capital of Muna
loc Raha this b.
ne Raha ini here in Raha
loc Raha this 89a implies that there are other places called Raha, while 89b implies that
the phrase is uttered by someone who is in Raha. The referential set is therefore used when there is no need to identify or
re-identify the noun or noun phrase under consideration. This is especially the case when:
1. the noun is already modified by other attributes such as:
- a possessive suffix - another noun or noun phrase
- a relative phrase or clause 2. the NP is a name or a pronoun
3. the noun or noun phrase is a known entity in the context. In addition the referential demonstratives are used in the following con-
structions: 1. when the noun is modified by the article o see 5.6. Since the meaning of
o has no relation with definiteness or givenness, this restriction on the co-occurrence of o and the identifying demonstratives cannot easily be
accounted for. 2. when the NP is found in a prepositional phrase. In those cases the
referential demonstratives are usually found, even when there is a new, unmodified head noun. When the demonstrative follows the preposition
directly, the referential demonstrative must be used:
ne ini here
ne watu over there
The referential demonstratives will now be illustrated one by one. Since in most cases the head noun is a known entity in the discourse, the examples
should ideally include that part of the preceding discourse in which the entity is made known. For practical reasons, however, this is only done in a few
cases. a. ini
90 a-[m]ala-mo ghole-no ini
I will take its top 1sI-take-PF top-its this
91 ihintu ini o-mai-ghoo ne hamai?
where do YOU come from? you this 2sR-come-IO loc where
92 ko-to-tolu-ha-ndo ini do-po-sabhangka
KO-RED-three-HA-their this 3pR-REC-friend the three of them were friends
93 miina dao-limpu dua de-owa bhaku, tamaka
not 3pI-forget too 3pR-bring provisions, but
94 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
bhaku-ndo ini se-kasopa kaawu provisions-their this one-plate only
they did not forget to take provisions with them, but their pro- visions were only one kasopa = traditional bowl-like container
94 de-basa-ghoo tora dhoa mate-no ini
3pR-read-IO again prayer die-A.PART this again they recite a prayer for the dead man
95 a-fo-fo-guru wamba Inggirisi, tamaka wamba Inggirisi
1sR-DETR-CAUS-learn language English, but language English ini miina da-[m]asi-ane
this not 3pI-like-it I taught English, but they did not like English
96 te dhunia ini
in this world loc world this
97 no-siki-e-mo kambuse ini
3sR-spoon.up-it-PF cooked.maize this he served out the maize with a spoon
Ini is found in these examples, modifying a noun that is already modified by a possessive suffix in 90 and 93, by another noun in 95. In 92 and
97 the noun and in 94 the participle heading the noun phrase is not modified, but in each case it has already been introduced and is therefore
given information. In 91 ini is found modifying a pronoun see 5.3.5 and in 96 it occurs in a prepositional phrase where it modifies a noun of
which there is only one referent: dhunia world.
b. itu Itu is not commonly used as an anaphoric demonstrative; only a few examples
occur. As a locative demonstrative in prepositional phrases it is more common:
98 ne ghubhe itu
on the rafter loc rafter that
99 no-wanu kaawu anahi itu
when the child got up 3sR-get.up after child that
100 inodi itu-a, ane a-[m]angkafi ka-pindalo-ku I that-CL if 1sI-follow NOM-desire-my
as for me, when I follow my desire The difference between inodi ini I this and inodi itu I that is that
the former is used when the speaker gives objective information about himself, whereas he uses the latter when he gives his opinion about something else.
There is a subjective element in inodi itu which is lacking in inodi ini.
5 THE NOMINAL PHRASE 95
101 inodi ini, no-mpona-mo ao-saki I have been ill for a long time
I this 3sR-long-PF 1sR-ill 102 inodi itu, a-asi-ane anagha
as for me, I like that I that 1sR-like-it that
c. maitu 103 ina-no no-saki-mo. Welo ka-saki-no maitu...
mother-her 3sR-ill-PF in NOM-ill-her that her mother fell ill. During her illness...
104 do-wora kaawu kontu ko-wuna-no maitu 3pR-see after stone HAVE-flower-A.PART that
when they saw the stone with the flowers 105 te wawo-no wata maitu bhe kadondo
loc top-POS log that be woodpecker on top of the log there was the woodpecker
106 ne hamai katogha maitu? where is that crow?
loc where crow that d. nagha
107 no-horo-mo ana-ku nagha my child flew
3sR-fly-PF child-my that 108 no-bisara-mo manu-manu nagha
the bird said 3sR-speak-PF bird that
109 robhine nagha no-suli-mo the woman went home
woman that 3sR-go.home-PF e. watu
110 ne-ngkora we simbali watu she is sitting in the inner
3sR-sit in inner.room that room over there
f. tatu 111 o liwu te mata-gholeo tatu
the village is there far away ART village loc eye-sun that
in the east Referential demonstratives that function as the head of an NP seem to be
limited to nagha:
112 o-hunda nagha? do you want that?
2sR-agree that There is some variation between the identifying and the referential set.
Especially with unmodified given nouns there is freedom as to which of the two sets is used. When a narrator uses the identifying demonstratives in
such a case, he wishes to re-identify his main character; but when he uses the referential demonstratives, he assumes the entity is still known. The
96 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
following example, taken from a story, is about a man whose wife goes to spy on him and then returns home. Both demonstratives can be used in this example,
since the woman constitutes given information, which is not modified by another element:
113 robhine anagha no-suli-mo the woman went home
woman that 3sR-return-PF 114 robhine nagha no-suli-mo
the woman went home woman that 3sR-return-PF
5.5.6. Other usages of the referential demonstratives
