Table 5. Description of sections in “Lion”
Section Sentences
Description Orientation
section 1–2
A certain village was very far away from a hospital.
Inciting episode
3 One day a person becomes very ill.
Developmental episodes
4–5 The sick person is examined and his companions realize it is
necessary to take him to hospital. 6–9
Background information about the location of the hospital and the difficulty of the route to it, which crosses through an area
where there are lions. 10–12
The sick person’s companions tie him to a stretcher and start out on their journey.
13–14 They reach the area where the lions are and have to think hard
about how to cross through it. 15
Background information about how the lion was the animal which scared them most.
Peak episodes 16–18
They hear a lion roaring, drop the sick person and run away very fast
19–20 The sick person unties himself and runs away too
Denouement 21
The companions think maybe the lion has eaten the sick person, but then they find him and realize he had run away
even faster than they had and reached safety before them.
Conclusion 22
Everyone is surprised.
1.3 Linguistic features in Malila narrative texts
1.3.1 Orientation section
Orientation sections typically begin with the introduction of major participants using a presentation formula which consists of a locative verb and a postposed subject followed by the modifier –mo ‘certain,
one’.
1 Wedding 1a–b
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
1a Ál
ɨɨpo P2
umuntu ʉmo
he.was.there person certain
1b ---
áam ɨlɨ
P2 nu weeji
he.was with wedding
There was a certain person, he had a wedding. In longer orientation sections, the major participants are usually referred to after their introduction by
means of verbal affixes, but a referential demonstrative may also be used see, for example, Mbiida 3. It is also common for information which is particularly relevant to the story as a whole to be
introduced in the orientation section, as can be seen here in clause 1b. The example above is from an oral text. The same formula can be seen in the written texts, such as in the following example:
2 Nshoolanyo 1a–b
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
1a Ál
ɨɨpo P2
umuntu ʉmo
he.was.there person certain
1b ---
áam ɨlɨ
P2 n
ɨ baado ɨpɨtɨ nɨmfwa he.was
with pride big very There was a certain person, he was very proud.
In some Bantu languages, it is common for the story theme to be presented in a relative clause, but in Malila both in oral and written texts, the theme is typically presented in an independent clause, as
shown in the two examples above. Orientation sections usually use the far past perfective P2 for main clauses, but may also use the
present progressive to frame the narrative with reference to the present, as in the next example. 3 Lion 1a–2
Pre-NO Pre-NI
S V
OC Post-NI
Post-NO
1a [Ɨmandɨ kʉlʉsalo ʉkwo she
D:Ref ---
ɨnkwɨmvwa] PRG
long.ago back there as I.hear
1b [1a]
--- bhak
ʉtɨ PRG
[1c] they.say
1c [ishijiiji shimo sháal
ɨ P2
apatali n ɨmfwa nɨ sɨpɨtaale]
village certain it.was
far very from hospital 2
Ihuduma inyinji n ɨmfwa
zyál ɨ
P2 ukutali ni vijiiji
services many very they.were
far from villages I hear long ago they say a certain village was very far from the hospital. Very many services were far from
villages.
1.3.2 Inciting episode
