Esmed chi. Positional verbs Ex. 4 –5

6.4 Grammar 61 Examples 1. Mol nai. ‗The clothes are hanging there.‘

2. Kachi nai.

‗The hammock is hanging there.‘

3. Kukualed nai.

‗The plane is suspended there.‘

4. Choul nai.

‗The boat is suspended there.‘ Another use of the positional verb nai is in the case of some items being left over out of a group. Examples

1. Nuzha ampa nai.

‗There are still some eggs left over.‘

2. Yannu ampa nai.

‗There are still some peccary left in the herd.‘ 4 Kwichi In general, the positional verb kwichi refers to objects which are standing upleaning against something. Nonrigid items cannot ―stand‖ and consequently never occur with the positional verb kwichi. 21 Examples 1. Eswal kwichi. ‗The spear is standing there.‘

2. Pagla kwichi.

‗The main house pole is standing there.‘ 5 Un Un is used to describe something which is viewed as being ―on all fours.‖ Examples 1. Koe wegin un. ‗The deer is on all fours there.‘

2. Achu wegin un.

‗The dog is on all fours there.‘ 6.4.1.2 Variation in choice of positional verbs Usually it is fairly easy to choose the correct positional verb as you view an object from a Kuna person ‘s point of view. Sometimes, however, the choice of position may vary according to the situation or to the viewpoint of the speaker at the moment. Examples 1. Mol nai. ‗The blouse is hanging there.‘

2. Mol mai.

‗The blouse is folded flat and lying there.‘

3. Mol chi.

‗The blouse is sitting there on a temporary basis.‘

4. Mol pukwa.

22 ‗The blouse is in a heap there.‘ 6.4.1.3 Positional verbs with reference to people Although any of the positional verbs may be used on occasions with reference to people, the verbs mai and chi are most commonly used. 1 Idiomatic use of maichi In the Paya Kuna dialect, 23 there is an idiomatic distinction made between the positional verb used to refer to the physical presence location of a man versus that of a woman. The positional verb mai is almost always used to refer to the location of a man or a boy, and the positional verb chi is almost always used to refer to the location of a woman or a girl. 21 kwichi is actually a compound verb derived from kwi ‗to stand‘ + -s ‗completive‘ + chi ‗to sit‘. Note that s + ch becomes ch. 22 The plural of positional verbs is discussed in 13.4.3.2. 23 The San Blas dialect uses mai for both male and female. 62 Positional Words Examples 1. Tad mai. ‗The grandfather is at homepresent.‘

2. Machi mai.

‗The boy is at homepresent.‘

3. Mu chi.

‗The grandmother is at homepresent.‘

4. Pun chi.

‗The girl is at homepresent.‘ According to tradition, this distinction stems from the ancient times when a man always received guests while lying in his hammock mai, while women were seated on benches chi to receive guests. 2 Position in focus with reference to people Although by far the most common use of positional verbs for men and women is mai and chi, respectively, occasionally the situation demands that another one be used. If, in the mind of the speaker, the position of the person is in focus, the construction parallels the SpanishEnglish construction lying, sitting, standingleaning, hangingsuspended, or ―on all fours.‖ It is helpful to be aware of some examples of situations in which a position is in focus and, consequently, a positional verb other than maichi is used. Situation 1 A man has been sick and lying in his hammock for days. A visitor comes to call. The sick man is feeling a little better and is even sitting up on a bench. The fact that the man is sitting is very important to the visitor because he had not expected that turn of events. The person responding to the visitor ‘s opening remarks might say: Tad chi. ‗The elder one is sitting.‘ Situation 2 A woman is very sick and lying in a hammock. The important information is that the woman is so sick she is lying down. Relatives may say to visitors: Nan mai. ‗Mother is lying down.‘ 3 Temporary presence If the presence of a man is temporary, the positional verb chi may be used. Examples

1. Machi chi.

‗The boy is here temporarily.‘

2. An machered neggin chi.

‗My husband is temporarily in the house.‘ 4 Positional verb mai referring to a person ‟s status Mai is used in speaking of a person ‘s status or position in the community. To form the status construction, the suffix -ga is added to the status position. Examples

1. Pedro saglaga mai.

‗Peter is the chief.‘

2. Alvaro tummadga mai.

‗Alvaro is the leader.‘ 5 Positional verb nai referring to allegiance Nai is used to show allegiance of one person to another. The suffix -bal is added to the name of the person to whom allegiance is shown. Examples 1. Pedro anbal nai. ‗Peter is for me.‘

2. Juan, Luisbal nai.

‗John is for Louis.‘