In 9, after the background of the narrative has been established, the temporal adverbial lusiku luguma ‘one day’ provides a PoD for the event line. This is a very common way to begin the event line of
a story. 9
Lusiku luguma, Wakere na Wamushalabira bakagwanana mwidako lye kiti,
Day one,
frog and lizard
met under
of tree
banayigamba.
and they gossiped.
‘One day frog and lizard met under a tree and gossiped.’ In 10, after the story background has been established in the first line, the event line again begins
Iri hakaba lusiku luguma ‘When it was one day’. This is an expanded version of lusiku luguma in 9 and is also a very common way to begin the event line.
10 Uyo munyere,
abatabana ba ngiisi mulala, banakizi yiji mútiza,
anabalahire.
That girl young men of every tribe
habitually came to court her and she refused them.
Iri hakaba lusiku luguma,
ayiji bona umushosi wo’Mubembe ayiji
mútiza.
When it was day one,
she came to see a man of leprosy
is coming to court her.
‘That girl was being courted by young men of every tribe, and she refused them. When it was one day, she saw a man with leprosy coming to court her.’
In 11 the dependent time clause Iri hakatama ‘After all that’ provides a PoD for events near the peak of the story.
11 Iri
hakatama, Wandare anayibuuza mu mutima gwage:
“Ka ngatuula muno
When that all happened Lion asked
in heart
of him Q I will live in there
nienyene?”
by himself?
‘After all that, lion asked himself, “Will I live in here by myself?” ’ In 12 the adverb Lyeryo ‘Right then’ functions as a PoD for the first clause.
12 Lyeryo, uyo
muluzi nyere
anahinga na nyina.
Right then that king’s daughter farmed with her mother.
‘Right then that princess was farming with her mother.’
2.3.5 Dependent clauses in tail-head structures in non-quoted material
In 13 the PoD is an entire clause with tail-head linkage. In line 5 the tail clause Uyo mwira wage anayija bo na mukaage ‘That friend of his came together with his wife’ provides new information. The dependent
clause that follows in line 6a, Iri bakahika ha mwe’mbulu ‘When they arrived at home of lizard’, basically repeats that information. What this repetition does is to link the previous paragraph with the
following one, thereby providing coherence and indicating the start of a new paragraph.
13
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
5 Uyo mwira wage
anayija bo na mukaage
That friend of his and he came together with his wife
6a [Iri
--- bakahika
ha mwembulu]
When they arrived
at home of lizard
6b ---
yanabwira umukukuzo
kwokuno
and it told guinea fowl
like this
6c [E mwira wani
Bwo --- namu gira
ulusiku lukulu
O friend of mine In that I am about to have feast
6d ---
undabule ishala lyawe]
give to me feather of yours
‘His friend came with his wife. When they arrived at the home of lizard, he told the guinea fowl like this, “O my friend Since I’m going to have a feast, give me one of your feathers.’’ ’ T4
There are times when the conjunction mbu or ngu ‘when’ is employed, followed by a verb in the subjunctive. The effect is to communicate immediacy.
In 14 there are actually two temporal PoDs, the second in line 5b of which is immediate,
marked by the conjunction ngu ‘as soon as’ and the subjunctive verb form ajabukage ‘he would cross’. This conveys the PoD in a more informal and more vivid way than the default form represented in
example 13. See also section 2.6.2. 14
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
5a [Iri
hakaba lusiku luguma
]
When it was
day one
5b [5a]
[ngu ---
ajabukage ulwiji]
as soon as he crossed
river
5c [5b]
--- ahumaana
[5d]
a sees
5d [umunyere abwatiiri
mwidako lyekiti]
a girl she is sitting
under of tree
‘When it was one day, as soon as he crossed the river, he sees a girl sitting under a tree.’ T9
2.3.6 Referential PoDs in non-quoted material
Referential PoDs are simply already mentioned referents, in the form of noun phrases, positioned at the beginning of the clause. In 15 lines 13a–c the wife of the lizard advices it to help the guinea fowl by
giving it a piece of its body, just as the guinea fowl had already done. The beginning of the next paragraph line 14a begins with the point of departure Iyo mbulu ‘That lizard’ and his response to his
wife’s advice. The fact that the speech verb yanayemeera ‘and it agreed’ is spelled out also suggests the beginning of a new paragraph.
15
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
13a Muka mbulu anabwira
yiba kwokuno
Wife of lizard and she told her husband
like this
13b [E yaga
Si wehe
mwira wawe akakuheereza ishala lyage
O comrade It’s obvious YOU friend of yours he gave you feather of his
13c ---
wanagira mwo lulya lusiku lukulu]
and you made from it that feast
14a Iyo mbulu
yanayemeera yiryo ihano lya mukaage
That lizard and he agreed to that advice of his wife
14b ---
yanayikera ku magala gaayo
and he cut himself from body of his
14c ---
yanaheereza uyo mwira wage
and he gave that friend of his
‘The wife of lizard told her husband, “O Comrade It’s obvious that your friend gave you his feather, and that you made a feast from it.” That lizard agreed to that advice of his wife, and he
cut a piece of his body and gave it to that friend of his.’ T4
2.3.7 Conjunctions in non-quoted material