Culture LCDD 14 Paya Kuna. LCDD 14 Paya Kuna

7.4 Grammar 69

7.4 Grammar

7.4.1 Numbers Ex. 6 –19

In 5.4.1., basic number stems, the word order of the number phrase, and numeral prefixes from Group I Shape of object prefixes and Group II Complex number-building prefixes are discussed. Prefixes from Group III Measurement-related prefixes and Group IV Time-related prefixes are also in constant use in the Kuna counting system. Measurement-related prefixes and time-related prefixes are vital to your control of the numerical system in Kuna.

7.4.1.1 Group III. Measurement-related prefixes

Measurement-related prefixes are used to describe collective nouns or quantitative measurements such as pounds, bushels, herds. The measurement-related prefixes attach to any basic number stem as the shape of object prefixes. There are several measurement-related prefixes. 1 Karpa- Karpa - literally means ‗basket‘ and is used to describe the quantity of crops harvested in a day or the total crop harvested. It is used to describe crops collected in baskets such as oba ‗corn‘, chia ‗cocoa‘, aros ‗rice‘, aswe ‗avocado‘, and mam ‗manioc‘. Examples

1. Oba karpabo an chus.

‗I harvested fetched two baskets of corn.‘

2. Aros karpaambe an chus.

29 ‗I harvested fetched ten baskets of rice.‘ 2 Kuk-kuku- Kuk -kuku- is used to describe bundles of elongated objects such as leaves thatch for roof building. Bundles numbering from one to three use the short form kuk-, and bundles numbering four or more use the long form kuku-. Examples 1. tagar kukgwen ‗one bundle of wild banana leaves‘

2. tagar kukbo

‗two bundles of wild banana leaves‘

3. tagar kukukugle

‗seven bundles of wild banana leaves‘ 3 Tan-tana- Tan -tana- is used to describe fields or farms. If a person has fields of rice planted in two different locations, tan- is the prefix used to count the fields. Tan- is also used to describe a stand of reeds used in basket weaving. The short form tan- is used to count items numbering from one to three and the long form tana - is used to count four or more items. Examples 1. Negchaled tanbo. ‗There are two fields.‘

2. Kaie negchaled tanpá.

‗There are three cane fields.‘

3. Nagwal tananerkwa.

‗There are six stands of reeds.‘ 4 Tak- Tak - is used to describe a bunch of coconuts on a stalk, or a hand of bananas or plantains. 29 See Appendix E for an explanation of the word order in these two examples. 70 Buying and Selling Examples 1. Ogob takbo. ‗There are two stalks of coconuts.‘

2. Wawadun taknerkwa.

‗There are six hands of bananas.‘ 5 Il-ila- Il -ila- is used to describe the number of times an action is performed or an event occurs. It is also used to count rows of crops. The short form il- is used to count one to three items, and the long form ila- is used to count four or more items. Examples 1. Ilbo an takcha. ‗I saw it two times.‘

2. Ilanerkwa an takcha.

‗I saw it six times.‘ Exercise 6 . Measurement prefix il-ila- frame drill The teacher says Sentence 1 and the student repeats it; the student and the teacher say Sentences 1 –10 in unison. This exercise may be repeated several times. Example Teacher: Ilgwen arpi. Student: Ilgwen arpi. Teacher and Student in unison: Ilgwen arpi. 1. Ilgwen arpi. ‗He went once.‘ 2. Ilbo arpi. ‗He went twice.‘ 3. Ilpá arpi. ‗He went three times.‘ 4. Ilabake arpi. ‗He went four times.‘ 5. Ilaatal arpi. ‗He went five times.‘ 6. Ilanerkwa arpi. ‗He went six times.‘ 7. Ilakugle arpi. ‗He went seven times.‘ 8. Ilapabak arpi. ‗He went eight times.‘ 9. Ilabakebak arpi. ‗He went nine times.‘ 10. Ilaambe arpi. ‗He went ten times.‘ 6 Chog-choga- Chog -choga- is used to describe sets of things or groups of items. It can be used to describe the number of ways an idea may be correctly expressed or the number of expressions. Herds of animals or flocks of birds are counted by using this prefix. The short form chog- is used to count items groups of one to three and the long form is used to count items groups of four or more. Examples 1. Chog pá. ‗There are three ways of saying it.‘ 2. Immal chogabake. ‗There are four groups of different kinds of animals.‘ 3. Yannu chogbo. ‗There are two yannu herds.‘ 4. Padu chogpá. ‗There are three flocks of ducks.‘ 5. Sapat chogabake. ‗There are four groups piles of shoes of different kinds: sandals, sneakers, boots.‘ 7 Tar- Tar - is used to describe a basic measured unit of an item. Tar- is usually used in the selling of cloth. Examples 1. Mol tarpá. ‗There are three lengths of cloth.‘

2. Mol tarpabak.

‗There are eight lengths of cloth.‘