6 THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE 141
The difference between we and te in 35 can be said to correspond to a ref- erential difference, depending on the height of the crossroads in relation to
the point of orientation. The choice between we and ne, however, depends on the speakers perspective of the givenness or specificness of the noun or noun
phrase. In addition to these three local prepositions there is a dialectal form se,
which takes a marginal position in standard Muna. In other Muna dialects it is frequently found. When it is used in standard Muna, it functions as a local
preposition for places that are not far away from the point of orientation and that are on a level with that point. The most common occurrence is se Wolio
toin Buton, but also se Pure toin Pure and se lambu-do into their house. This se is comparable both in form and usage to the dialectal demon-
strative sotu 5.5.2.
6.2. Non-local prepositions
There are four non-local prepositions: bhe with, so for, ampa until and peda like. These prepositions can all be suffixed by -mo.
6.2.1. The preposition bhe
The basic meaning of bhe is with, but its use is extended to other areas beyond the traditional realm of prepositions. The following uses can be
distinguished:
a. Comitative, inclusion also negative comitative preceded by miina not; with, and, also:
36 o-mai bhe lahae? with whom did you come?
2sR-come with who 37 de-late-mo bhe ina wee-ndo
they lived with their step- 3pR-live-PF with mother step-their mother
38 do-kala-mo bhe polulu-ndo they went with their axes
3pR-go-PF with axe-their 39 a-kala miina bhe anoa
I went without him 1sR-go not with he
40 ka-mooru-ndo bhe Wai-Wai their including Wai-Wais
NOM-weave-their with Wai-Wai weaving
41 na-t[um]aburi bhe sau awatu it will also press down that
3sI-press with tree that tree
42 no-asi bhe bhai-no he has pity on his friends
3sR-pity with friend-his 43 welo ghoti no-tei-ane bhe kaedehano
in rice 3sR-put-it with faeces she also put faeces in the rice
142 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
This inclusive usage following such verbs as owa bring and ampe bring up can best be translated as along:
44 de-owa-mo bhe karada-ndo they took their spears along;
3pR-bring-PF with spear-their they also took their spears
45 ne-ampe bhe ifi he took fire up with him
3sR-bring.up with fire When the pronominal subject is repeated as a free pronoun in a prepo-
sitional phrase, the resulting meaning is also, too with reference to the subject:
46 a-mai bhe idi I too will come
1sI-come with I 47 o-k[um]ala bhe ihintu?
will you also go? 2sI-go with you
When the noun after bhe is reduplicated, this indicates that the inclusion of this noun is unexpected:
48 do-buna-e bhe para-paraka-no 3pR-pull.out-it with RED-root-its
they pulled it out, roots and all 49 no-wolo no-tondu bhe mie-mie-no
3sR-finish 3sR-sink with RED-person-its it had sunk with all hands
b. Coordination of NPs and verbs. This use of bhe is closely connected with bhe as a conjunction marking simultaneity 9.6:
50 ne-gholi pae bhe kambulu she bought rice and vegetables
3sR-buy rice with vegetables 51 ko-si-bhari-bhari-ha-e ne-taa bhe no-muda
KO-SI-RED-all-HA-it 3sR-good with 3sR-cheap they are all good and cheap
c. Comparison: 52 no-bhala anoa bhe inodi
he is bigger than I am 3sR-big he with I
53 ka-kodoho-no bhe tehi se-kilo it is one kilometre from the
NOM-far-POS with sea one-km sea
d. After po-derived verbs: 54 no-po-gau-mo bhe ina-ndo
he spoke with their mother 3sR-REC-speak-PF with mother-their
55 do-po-ghawa-mo bhe anahi amaitu they met with the child 3pR-REC-get-PF with child that
6 THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE 143
e. Resultative; bhe functions as a conjunction therefore, as a result: 56 do-limpu-ha-ane bhe dhunia bhaa-bhaano
3pR-forget-INT-it with world RED-first therefore they forgot all about the first world
57 rampahano no-tu-turu mata-ku, no-bhogha bhe tonde because 3sR-RED-sleepy eye-my 3sR-break with glass
because I was sleepy, the glass broke 58 no-bhari no-fekiri no-bungi bhe fotu-no
3sR-much 3sR-think 3sR-bald with head-his he thinks a lot, therefore he isbecame bald
59 a-laga-a-laga na-mate-ghoo ka-gharo, no-rubu-mo bhe aa-no RED-ART-ant 3sI-die-IO NOM-hunger 3sR-small-PF with waist-her
because Ant was about to die of hunger, her waist isbecame small
f. Existential; bhe functions as an existential preposition in existential clauses see 7.2.2; bhe is glossed as be:
60 bhe faraluu-ku sendai there is something I have to
be need-my little do; I have some business
61 miina bhe doi ka-rubu-a I do not have any change
not be money NOM-small-CL g. Emphatic in exclamatory clauses 7.7:
62 bhe ka-ghi-ghito how black he is
with NOM-RED-black 63 bhe ka-roko-no padhi
how dirty his scales are with NOM-dirty-POS scales
There remain a few cases where the function of bhe is not perfectly clear, for example in 64, where it is optional:
64 no-fo-rato bhe bhai-no he told his friends
3sR-CAUS-come with friend-his
6.2.2. The preposition so
