298
APPENDIX G: IRREGULAR VERBS WITH LONG FORM -KE
The long form of most verb stems is achieved by the addition of -e to the shortened verb stem, for example, pake ‗to buy‘ and noe ‗to rise‘. Short verb stems which end in -ma or -ta
133
are lengthened by the addition of -ke. Examples
1. abarmake ‗to run‘
2. nermake ‗to write‘
3. imake ‗to do‘
4. aptake ‗to wait‘
5. pentake ‗to help‘
When other suffixes are added, -k is retained in some cases and dropped along with e in other cases. Examples
1. imako
‗will do‘
2. aptako
‗will wait‘
3. nermakal
‗begin to write‘
4. abarmakal
‗begin to run‘
5. aptakal
‗begin to wait‘ 6. nermas
‗wrote‘ 7. pentas
‗helped‘ 8. ¡Nerma
‗Write‘ With the present progressive, there is a difference in meaning between the long form, which seems to indicate
―on a continuing basis,‖ and the short form, which simply means the action is in progress.
Example 1. An pe pentanai.
‗I am helping you.‘
2. ¿Pe Pedro pentaknai?
‗Are you helping Peter from day to day?‘ Following is a comparison of regular and irregular verb forms:
Form Regular verb
-ke verb
gerundial pake
nermake
habitual pak
nerma desiderative
pakpi nermabi
completed pakcha
nermas
immediate future pakne
nermane
future pako
nermako
present progressive paknai
nermanai
past progressive pakap
nermakap
inceptive aspect pakal
nermakal
preparatory aspect pakchogal
nermajogal
133
Note that the -k is part of the short form in some verbs; compare, for example, take and tae:
take ‗to see‘
make ‗to piercesewshoot‘
tae ‗to behave‘
mae ‗to peck for food‘
tage ‗to come‘
mage ‗to paint‘
Appenxix G 299
prior condition pakel
nermakel
conditional pakele
nermakele
passive pakle
nermale
300
APPENDIX H: IRREGULAR VERBS WHICH END IN -KWE
Verbs that end in -kwe are not completely regular. Examples
1. nakwe
‗to go upovercome‘
2. onakwe
‗to lift up‘
3. purkwe
‗to die‘
4. akwe
‗to provide for‘
In the future polite command, the -kwe becomes -k and -o is added. Examples
1. nako
‗will go up‘
2. purko
‗will die‘
In the inceptive aspect, past progressive, completive and passive forms -kwe becomes -kwi. A general rule is that if the action is viewed as at least partially realized, the -kwi form is used, except in the case of the present
progressive where the -kwe form is kept.
Examples 1. nakwial
‗begin to climbgo up‘
2. akwiap
‗was providing for‘
3. purkwis
‗dieddead‘
4. onakwiles
‗lifted up‘ but
5. nakwemai
‗going up river, by canoe‘ Following is a comparison of regular and irregular verb forms:
Form Regular verb
-kwe verb
gerundial pake
nakwe
habitual pak
nakwe
desiderative pakpi
nakwebi
completive pakcha
nakwis
134
immediate future pakne
nakwene
future pako
nako
present progressive paknai
nakwenai
past progressive pakap
nakwiap
inceptive aspect pakal
nakwial
preparatory aspect pakchogal
nakwejogal
prior condition pakel
nakwel
conditional pakele
nakwele
future passive paklego
nakwilego
past passive pakles
nakwiles
134
irregular form, other irregular forms.
301
APPENDIX I: SOLUTION TO EXERCISE 14 see 10.4.5
1. Sae sagla koe mecha. ‗Yesterday the chief killed a deer.‘
2. Machidin koe mechamo. ‗As for the boy, he also killed a deer.‘
3. Kujal machi koe mechabal. ‗Later, the boy killed a deer again.‘
4. Sagla koe mechabalmo. ‗The chief killed a deer again too.‘
5. Omedin mol makcha. ‗The woman on the other hand sewed a mola.‘
6. Pundin mol makchamo. ‗As for the girl, she also sewed a mola.‘
7. Machi totodin ye. ‗The little boy, on the other hand, is sick.‘
8. Mimmidin yemo. ‗As for the little girl, she is sick too.‘
9. Immisdin, mimmi yebal. ‗Today, the little girl is sick again.‘
302
APPENDIX J: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 6 in section 16.4.1.2
1b. Ajáj an natab. 2b. An mol paktani.
3b. An saglaje natabne 4b. Pan an taniko.
5b. Eye, pe wis an taknao.
303
APPENDIX K: ORDERING OF STORY INTRODUCTIONS
In Kuna, the introduction to a story or the relating of an event is presented in a set order: topical information, identificational information, descriptive information, evaluatory information and summary information. The
story introduction must be presented in the pre-determined order in order, to ensure that the listener will understand the nature of the story.
1. Topical information
The first item of information given in the introduction to a story is the topic in which the bare topic personthingaction is introduced.
2. Identificational information
The second item of information given in the introduction to the story is information which will identify the specific personthingaction mentioned as the topic.
3. Descriptive information
Any elaboration or description of the topic personthingaction is given next.
4. Evaluatory information
Any evaluation of the topic personthingaction is given as the fourth item.
5. Summary information
A summary statement of some sort is then needed to summarize and warn the listener that the introduction is finished and that the story proper is about to begin.
Example
Immal noni. Chule noni; taikcha. Chule, yer tunku. Chule nabir kunned. Ad noni. Topical information
1. Immal noni. ‗An animal arrived.‘
Identificational information 2. Chule noni, takcha.
‗It was a capybara, you see.‘ Descriptive information
3. Chule, yer tunku. ‗The capybara was very big.‘
Evaluatory information 4. Chule nabir kunned.
‗It would be good to eat.‘ Summary information
5. Ad noni. ‗That is what arrived.‘
304
APPENDIX L: A PROGRESSION OF CONTRARY-TO-FACT EXAMPLES
135
1. An ua chwanen. ‗I was going to go fishing but never went.‘
2. An ua chwanejogalin. ‗I was about to go fishing but I did not leave.‘
3. An ua chwanaden. ‗I went to go fishing but never got there.‘
4. An ua chwajogalin. ‗I was about to fish but did not.‘
5. An ua chwaapin. ‗I went fishing but I did not catch anything.‘
6. An ua chwajan. ‗I almost caught a fish.‘
135
Adapted from and used by permission of Professor Lino Smith Arango.
305
APPENDIX M: LONG AND SHORT FORMS OF SUFFIXES
Long form Short form
Meaningfunction
-a -
‗explanatory‘ -ali
-al ‗inceptive‘
-api -ap
‗past progressive‘ -baka-paka
-bak-pak ‗accompaniment‘
-bali-pali -bal-pal
‗general settingmeans‘ -bie-pie
-bi-pi ‗desiderative‘
-bi-pi -
‗exclusive‘ -bukwa-pukwa
-buk-puk plural of stative verbs chi
‗sit‘ and kwichi ‗stand‘
-cha-zha -s
‗completive‘ -che-zhe-je
- ‗goal‘
-chii-zhii-jii -chi-zhi-ji
‗sittingpassively‘ -chiki-zhiki
-chik-zhik ‗via‘
-chog-zhog-jog -
‗about to ...‘ -chuli-zhuli-juli
-chul-zhul-jul ‗negative‘
-chunna-zhunna-junna -chun-zhun-jun
‗resultative‘ -dae-tae
-da-ta ‗habitual behavior‘
-dagoe-tagoe -dago-tago
‗will come to‘ -dani-tani
- ‗about to state‘
-de-te -
‗topic establishing‘ -dewa-tewa
- ‗probability‘
-di -d
‗nominalizer‘ -di-ti
- ‗stative involving motion‘
-diki-tiki -dik-tik
‗on the side ofleans towards‘ -dina-tina
-din-tin ‗contrasttopic change‘
-dibe-tibe -
‗hypothetical form of -dewa-tewa‘
-do-to -
‗assertion‘ -dowa-towa
- ‗possibly‘
-du-tu -
‗before‘ -e
- ‗gerundive‘
-ga-ka -
‗indirect object‘ -gadi-kadi
-gad-kad ‗possessivemade of‘
-gala-kala - -gal-kal
‗purpose‘ -gana-kana
-gan-kan ‗status class marker‘
-ge-ke -
‗quality on passive‘ -gidi-kidi
-gid-kid ‗similar colorappearance‘
-gine-kine -gin-kin
‗specific settinginstrument‘ -gua-kua
-gu-ku ‗past dependent prior condition‘
-gwa-kwa -
‗quality things‘ -gwichi-kwichi
-gwis-kwis ‗standing‘
306 Long and Short Form of Suffiixes
Long form Short form
Meaningfunction
-l -
‗future dependent prior condition‘ -le
- ‗conditional‘
-le -
‗passive‘ -ma
- ‗verb intensifier‘
-maii -mai
‗be lyingpermanent‘ -mala
-mal ‗group marker‘
-mami -
‗plural of -mai‘
-moga -mo
‗too realized‘ -mogo
-mo ‗too unrealized‘
-na -n
‗contrary to fact‘ -na
-n ‗past perfect aspect‘
-nabi -nab
‗obligation‘ -nade
-nad ‗went to‘
-naii -nai
‗hangingactively‘ -nani
-
‗plural of -nai‘
-nee -ne
‗going to‘ -noni
- ‗arrived to‘
-oe -o
‗futurepolite command‘ -ra
- ‗respectful strong command‘
-rba -
‗excessive‘ -uni
-un ‗on all fours‘
-uni -un
‗same sizetime‘
307
APPENDIX N: LANGUAGE LEARNING
A. Learning Outside the Classroom
The lessons in this grammar were designed mainly for classroom use. For the student who is learning the language living among the people, or for those who wish extra or further study of the language, the questions
arise: 1.
―How do I learn outside of the classroom?‖ 2.
―How do I go beyond the information in these lessons?‖ The learner will inevitably find that he wants to know much more on some topics.
This appendix is an attempt to answer these questions.
1. Goal of language learning
The ultimate goal of language learning is to be completely bilingual; to be able to say anything you want to express with all the nuances of meaning and shades of emotion with as much facility as you can in your first
language mother tongue. Although few people really achieve this goal, it is something for which we should all aim. However, for our encouragement along the way, there are various stages levels of achievement. The
following is one scheme:
Stage 1: When you are able to greet people and say goodbye. Stage 2: When you are also able to exchange pleasantries.
Stage 3: When you are able to parrot fixed phrases, dealing with essential needs such as food, shelter, a guide, directions, basic buying and selling.
Stage 4: When you are able to communicate effectively in the specialized areas where you have most contact such as medical, trade, teaching or work projects.
Stage 5: When you are able to communicate, generally, in all common aspects of everyday life with a limited number of verb aspects tenses.
Stage 6: When you are able to control reasonably well most normal grammatical relationships such as cause-effect, time, location, condition, purpose, ability, possibility and motion verbs.
Stage 7: When you are fluent in any non-abstract area up through Stage 6 and reasonably control focus and emphasis.
Stage 8: When you are able to talk about the abstract, present an argument, use figures of speech, etc. Stage 9: When you are able to discuss emotions, values ,and able to discuss life from the Kuna philosophical
viewpoint. Goal:
Absolute bilingualism.
2. Problem of adult language learning
A child will learn three or four languages without difficulty. Any new sound, word or grammatical construction gets added to his repertoire. It will take him a while to separate out the systems of each language entirely. This
he will do provided he is exposed to environments where only one system is present. Otherwise, he fails and this leads to the formation of a Creole.
By adulthood, however, the limited repertoire of sounds, words and grammatical systems of the mother tongue has become so habitual automatic that they have formed almost a closed system. It takes will power,
determination and effort to learn new distinctions, new patterns, and new words. Adults do not enjoy repeating, repeating and repeating things. But this is what it takes for the new sounds, words, and grammatical patterns to
become automatic. This is the only way to become fluent.
Now, there are ways of making the repetition more palatable, e.g., It is much better to ―become fluent‖ in a
prepared conversation by visiting a dozen homes and saying it in each home, than saying it to yourself twelve times at your desk. Besides, hopefully, the people you visit will correct you.
308 Language Learning
3. Speaking a language
In order to speak a language, you have to ―think‖ that language. You need to ―see‖ in that language and you
need to
―visualize‖ in that language. You should never translate into that language from the mother tongue or
bridge language. To illustrate this, when you see:
Figure 9.
you think ulu, not
―canoe‖. When you visualize:
Figure 10.
you think An immal amine, not
―I‘m going to hunt.‖ You should never translate
―I‖ as ani, ―am going to‖ as -ne, or ―hunt‖ as ami, because often you will end up with a mismatch, such as An omitted amine in which immal
‗thing, animal‘ has been omitted. It is also very difficult to translate quickly enough.
4. Translation
Where you have to translateinterpret for someone else, then you proceed:
Figure 11.
An immal amine.
→ →
‗I‘m going hunting.‘
And, thus, we have: words
→
visualize
→
words, but not: An
immal amine
→
I thing going to look for
i.e., not: words
→
words.
Appenxix N 309
B. Steps in Learning
136
In order to really learn something in Kuna, you have to go through five steps in the learning process.
1. Awareness
First, you need to be made aware of the existence of a particular sound, word, grammatical construction or intonation pattern and its meaning. Yon have to learn to
―hear‖ recognize it in a particular context. For
example, you find out become aware that toa means
―who‖ and start to ―hear‖ recognize it when it is used in an amplificatory question see Section 4.4.3.1.
Example ¿Toa nade?
‗Who went?‘ 2. Reproduction
Then, you have to learn to reproduce say automatically the same particular sound, word, grammatical construction, or intonation pattern in that particular context. For example, you practice using toa
‗who‘ in amplificatory questions until you can do so without even thinking about it.
3. Variation
Next, you learn to modify vary what you have just learned in section 2 above, in the same context. For example, you discover that by adding -ga to toa
‗who‘ modifying it, you get toaga ‗to, for whom‘. Also, you discover that by adding -bak to toa
‗who‘ another modification, you get toabak ‗with whom‘ which you can
now use in the same context amplificatory questions.
Examples 1. ¿Toa ob chus?
‗Who fetched the corn?‘ 2. ¿Toaga ob chus?
‗For whom did he fetch the corn?‘ 3. ¿Toabak ob chus?
‗With whom did he fetch the corn?‘ 4. Limited Control
Then you learn to control what you have learned in other limited contexts. For example, you move from controlling toa
‗who‘ only in amplificatory questions, to controlling toa ‗who‘ in topic questions and
confirmation questions though all in the limited context of questions.
Examples 1. ¿Toa koe makcha?
‗Who killed the deer?‘
2. ¿Koede, toa tar makcha?
‗Who killed the deer?‘
3. ¿Toa makcha?
‗Who did you say killed the deer?‘
5. Complete control Finally, you learn to control what you are learning in any context and use it automatically whenever you need it
to communicate what you want to say. For example, you learn to use toa elsewhere in the language. Example
Meke toa tule tani.
‗Let anybody come.‘
C. What You Have To Do To Succeed
Robert Gunn personal communication suggests there are three essential requirements for success: 1 speak the language, 2 keep others talking, and 3 plan your contacts.
1. Speak the language
Speak Kuna, only Kuna, all the time in the presence of Kunas.
136
Larson, Donald N. and Smalley, William A. 1972. Becoming Bilingual, A Guide To Language Learning. New Canaan, Connecticut. Practical Anthropology, pp. 147
–150.
