The use of na ‘and’ at phrase level The use of na clause-initially

2. Kanji munu jojo aju S kila liduva mwashuukila kubali ashivabyaa dyomba dyake nnatu But person that this every day when.he.would. go to.sea he.used.to.kill.them fish his three. 1 ….and this man’s job it was to go fishing. 2 The fisherman went fishing every day, but all he would catch was three fish.

3.4 Na ‘and’

In Makonde ‘na’ has the two functions of associating elements within a clause, such as noun phrases, and acting as an additive between clauses. It is never used in sentence-initial position, and it also never occurs in a post-nominal position. Although translated into English as ‘and’, it does not have a co- ordinating function as it does in English.

3.4.1 The use of na ‘and’ at phrase level

There are many examples of this in the text corpus, including the conjoining of two nouns instrumentality, and the expression of manner. It is also used frequently with nouns in Makonde idioms. Examples of these uses are given below. 09 Ákalimanya 6e na used to conjoin two nouns 6e. momo --- kunshumila ndyagwe dinguvo na vinu vinji vyakwanga-ngola paingande also to.buy.for.her his.wife clothes and things other of.resolving in.house, ….and also for buying clothes for his wife and other household necessities…. In the example below, na has been modified to namu, meaning ‘together with’; namu is only used with proper nouns. Namu is found in the titles of several of the texts in this text corpus, including the one below. 03 Hyena and Pied Crow na modified to namu, used to conjoin two proper nouns 1a. Litunu namu Nashove vanu ava kudyavalananga Hyena and Pied Crow people these were.friends Hyena and Pied Crow were great friends… 05 Fisherman 35 na used with an instrument 35f. shanjaa ankutambisha kavili na indawana yake [ideophone ] he.is.fishing again with hook his. 05 Fisherman na used to express manner 17b. bai kamula sho shuka ashi ok hold that tail this, 17c. ukakamula na dimongo wako if.you.not.hold with strength your 17d. undyuka mubali you.have.fallen in.sea “Okay then, hold onto my tail; but if you do not hold on tight, you’ll fall into the sea….” 03 Hyena and Pied Crow idiomatic use of ‘na’ in expression ‘one of these days’ 25c. liduva na liduva wako S nangu O unangumamena. day and day You me you.will.eat.me.” …and one of these days you’ll end up by eating me.” 01 Horned Animals idiomatic use of ‘na’ in expression ‘in the middle of dancing’ 11a. Pawikile akulá navakodya vavagwe When.arrived there and.met.them his.associates 11b. vavele shingati na kuvina pashiwanja they.being middle and dance in.field. When Rabbit turned up at the party, he found everyone out in the clearing dancing away.

3.4.2 The use of na clause-initially

Since na does not have a simple co-ordinating function, as ‘and’ does in English, each time it is used, is significant. There are several distinct uses of ‘na’ in clause-initial position: these are described below, and examples are given of each use. 3.4.2.1 Na as the non-sequential connector of simultaneous events In the example from 07 Mother and child below, the two actions described—bombs falling from a plane overhead and footsoldiers passing below—are simultaneous, not sequential but also independent. 07 Mother and child 5b 5a. Bai ndege S kushanya kwomba So aeroplane above bombed 5b. na vamadodo vapita pai. and footsoldiers they.passing ground. So an aeroplane went overhead dropping bombs, and the infantry went over the ground below. 3.4.2.2 Na as part of a sequential progression, giving extra prominence to final constituent Since sequential progression without extra prominence is expressed by juxtaposition and not with a connective, the presence of na in a sequential progression gives extra prominence to the following often final constituent. Thus, it might be translated in English by ‘indeed, and even’. In the example below from 05 Fisherman, the fisherman is shown round a magic house in which there is everything he might want—he ‘even’ finds a wife there 05 Fisherman 21b na in sequential progression giving prominence to following constituent 21a. Kila sho O shashilambela nae S Everything that which.was.seeking he 21b. na kunkodya nkongwe and met.her woman. Everything he could possibly want was there—there was even a woman. In the example below from 09 Ákalimanya 18e, the villagers are planning to catch an elephant in a trap and divide up the meat between themselves, and ‘evenindeed’ they will be able to sell some of it to solve their problems. Note that this sentence has five subjunctives, of which only the one in 18e is highlighted with na. 09 Ákalimanya 18 na in sequential progression giving prominence to following constituent 18a. Bai --- tutwale So we.should.take 18b. --- tummyae we.should.kill.him 18c. --- tupate we.should receive 18d. kujavananga inyama to divide-up meat 18e. na inji yo O tushulushe and other that we.should.sell 18f. --- tulyangangalele mashida etu. we.should.resolve problems our. This was so we could catch one, kill it, get it out, divide up the meat, and then some of the meat we’d sell, so that we could deal with our various issues. 3.4.2.3 Na as an appending connective in parallel structures, giving prominence to the whole Where there is sequential progression, as seen above, na is used to give prominence to the following clause. Na is also frequently used where there is no sequential progression. 15 In Makonde this is usually expressed in some sort of parallel or paired construction. And in these constructions, the clause following na reinforces the clause or clauses preceding it, giving extra prominence to the whole. The parallel or paired na construction serves to slow down the tempo and add tension and impact to the narrative. In the example below from 05 Fisherman, the magic bird tells the fisherman that in the magic house to which he has brought him; he will want for nothing. The point is reinforced in the paired, parallel structure; that is, the two clauses are almost identical apart from the two semantically similar final verbs, kwangaikangila ‘to be concerned about’ and kwaukila ‘to lack’. The whole structure pivots around the use of na in 24c: Hashinapagwe shakulota kwangaikangila na hashinapagwe shakulota kwaukila. 05 Fisherman na in non-sequential parallel structure, reinforcing the previous clause 24a. Hashinapagwe There.will.not.exist 24b. - shakulota kwangaikangila what.you.need to.worry.about 24c. na hashinapagwe and there.will.not.exist 15 I am indebted to Sebastian Floor for highlighting the distinction between sequential and non-sequential clauses in ‘The connective “na,” an appending particle in KiMwani narrative’, although the exact functions of na in Kimwani and Makonde are not the same. 24d. - shakulota kwaukila what.you.need to.lack.for. “You will have nothing in the world to worry about, and no lack of anything you might need.” In 09 Ákalimanya 46b, the final clause again serves to augment and reinforce the clause preceding na, so that the whole structure is complementary, reinforcing how valuable and instructive the narrator found the event that he has just recounted. 09 Ákalimanya 46b na in non-sequential parallel structure, reinforcing the previous clause 46a. Napanelo nangu O shinu shosho sho shiningunagwele namene Now I thing that.very that, it.pleased.me very 46b. na ndilipundisha poe and I.learnt much Now all this was very good for me and I learnt a great deal from it… In the example from 04 Elephant and Nightjar below, Nightjar is making the point that there is nothing she can do about the eggs that Elephant has trodden on, as he is the boss of the bush. In addition, in the second clause following na, saying that he rules all the animals, acts as a reinforcement of what Nightjar has just said, giving her whole argument more weight. 04 Elephant and Nightjar 20e na in non-sequential parallel structure, reinforcing the previous clause 20c. kanji hapave shinu but there.is nothing 20d. kwoda wako ni unangolo wamwitu au uti since you it.is you.leader of.bush this all 20e. na vanyama uti O uvatawala wako S and animals all you.rule.them you, 20f. wena go. “….but what can I do? You’re the boss of the whole bush and you rule over all the animals; go your way.” 3.4.2.4 Na with a switch reference Where na is used between clauses, where there is a switch reference as well as where the verbs in question are not simultaneous see 6.1.2.1 above, the relationship between the clauses is one of contrast. Again, the whole utterance is given prominence by the linking of the clauses with the connective. In the example below from 04 Elephant and Nightjar, the paired participants in ni sentences are contrasted with na; and the sentence as a whole gives thematically significant material about both of the participants, in that the difference identified between their sizes is crucial to the development of the narrative. In English, an appropriate translation for na in this context might be ‘whereas’. 04 Elephant and Nightjar 3a. Nnembo aju ni nkoko nkumene namene katika mumwitu uti pakati pavanyama Elephant this it.is animal big very concerning in.bush all among the.animals 3b. na Nalubwabwa ni shuni and Nightjar it.is bird 3c. wakunyambikanga namene of.being.despised very. The Elephant is a huge animal, the biggest of all the animals of the bush—and Nightjar is a bird, of no significance at all. The example below from 08 Archbishop is slightly different: here the Archbishop, greeted by a welcome committee of church women laying out cloths for him to walk on, rejects this, saying: this is what you do for God, I’m just a person na ‘and’ who ordered you to do this? Here there are still two clauses placed in a contrastive relationship, but the meaning is better translated now; i.e., x is true, now who told you to do y? 08 Archbishop 9c 9a. Lyutu ali O apagwa Nnungu S Place this is.being God, 9b. nangu - nimunu vila I - I.person only 9c. na shinu ashi O alamulidilé nyani? and thing this he.ordered.you who?” “Only God should be treated like that; I’m just an ordinary person. Now who told you to do this?”

3.5 Mwiu ‘indeed, so’