208 X IS BAD FOR YOU
X IS BAD FOR PEOPLE X IS BAD FOR SOMEONE
5.27 BIG 5.27.1 Primitive Syntax
BIG is primarily attributive: BIG PERSONPEOPLETHINGPLACEPART
However, W 1996:131 concedes the possibility of a predicative universal syntactic frame for BIG: IYOUPEOPLEd1PERSONd1THINGTHIS AMAREIS BIG
5.27.2 HCE Candidates
The HCE token big is the only plausible candidate in HCE.
5.27.3 Examples of big
5.27.3.1 big PERSON There are numerous near-canonical examples of big combining attributives with words transparently
definable through the primitive SOMEONE: AK:623 We had about five those kinds, demijohns. So he took he and I right in the police station.
We never know what was his idea, so he and I stayed on the car. So, you can smell liquor, you know. But everytime we look, one police come back and go inside the station. Then he and I tell, “Eh, we stay in
police station or what?” “What the hell he no come out?” Then when we get mad with him, we want to go for him, to give him licking over there. Then, afterward, here comes out one big Hawaiian
policeman. Coming right up to us. He said, “Eh, what you get over there?” “Nothing.”
AK:646 In those beginning, when we never did have the Waipio Community, I don’t think so. Of
course, maybe like Nelson Chun is about the big man down there. I think about he was a big man. He like to go out and cheer. But after we get together and form the Waipio Community then we get the elect
officers. Committees to go out and ask for certain stuff. Then, but I tell you, we work and we ask for something Then we get. Diverting water certain place and all that. Whatever damage come out, we go
out. Government council voices. Get a meeting with them.
FD:268 One year, we went to Waimea, my daughter’s place. Kaniho. We went over there. We wen spend New Year’s with them. I think he was shame because the sister said, “Oh, you eat man. Brother,
you better stop taking your mother’s chichi. You big boy already.” I think he felt shame. So, we left the bottle all with her and we came home. Of course, I used to feed him with cereal in the bottle. I used to
feed my children. Put-cereal in the bottle and make big the hole and let them take, eh? And then, after that, he didn’t take my breast. And that was the last. I had him and the sister, was so close. Every two
year, eh?
FD:280 Weed the grass inside the patch and clean the taro patch bank. That time, no more poison. We used to all do it with the sickle. It’s lot of job to do, but the patches are clean. We pull taro our own
self, we didn’t have to hire men. My brother is a big man too, strong. My sister-in-law work hard too.
209
KH:133 an na big lady n give you guys da ticket. KK:113 Afta kine say, Kekoa, “Big girl Kele.”
KK:113 An afta da kine say, Kekoa say, “Oh Kele you one big girl right now” KK:118 Ho, man. Afta she say, “Ke-koa An you da big fat girl, hah, Kekoa?”
MM:360 Oh, yeah, I get along with them. But usually, the manager, they don’t bother with the
workmen. They bother with the supervisors and all da kine big guys, eh? But with the workmen, no, they no bother.
MM:362 Yeah, yeah. You got to get your own saddle. You got to saddle your own horse. They no
saddle for you. Only the big guy, assistant like that, they saddle.
NK:945 Yeah. Took care of my father. So, that’s why, he had the land, so when he die, he said that’s his land. So, when he died, my father was–I don’t know how old he was–but he never.... He know,
he heard the tutu tell he own the land. But he don’t know. After that, he came big boy and he never think about land. So, Kalokuokamahele...
SU:1545 T-bone steak only dollar and a quarter. Really, take big man to eat big T-bone steak, you
know. Porterhouse steak is worse, bigger. Of course, get little bit more bone, but. Most of the time we used to sell sirloin steak and rib steak. Rib steak, it really tastes good because of the little bit fat in, eh?
SU:1550 They go outside. We chase ’em outside. Outside, the yard, really. At that time, you know the wrestling, eh? Wrestling was popular. I used to take care the Indian wrestler, Agi Singh. Big bugger,
over 300 pounds. Really big bugger, you know. That guy, when the guy eat, he eat about double of the– triple. And Al Karasick paid all the bill. He said, “Sam, give ’em all they want to eat.”
WK:704 The Club. Waipio Community Club, we used to have. Nelson Chun used to be the
president. Long time ago. Nelson Chun, he was the big man before, down here. But today, he’s old man, eh? You met him, Nelson Chun? He was the boss before. Today, well, he don’t come all to this kind
occasion what we having today, because he old already. Ready for retire.
WK:711 Oh, she was a short chunky lady with a big kind of chunky and big wahine, you know.
And all wrinkled.
YA:1022 Regular Indian. Big man, you know. Down the river side, they only catch fish, you know. Here we assume that polismaen, maen, boi, grl, baga, wahine, and ledi are decomposable in terms of
PERSON. 5.27.3.2 big PEOPLE
There is one canonical example of big combining attributively with PEOPLE: FD:274 Yeah, I follow up how my mom does. When get cold like that, I used to heat that popolo,
you know that purple, the seed. That is good, no matter what. Even for big people, like us grown up. You can chew ’em and swallow, it’s good, very good. And that cleans inside the tummy, all the mucous
come out. That’s what my mom said. Even if you have slight cold, she said, “Just chew and swallow.” It doesn’t matter.
5.27.3.3 big THING There is a single canonical example of big in combination with SOMETHING:
MM:323 Big things, that’s where.... They used to come from here, from Koloa. They used to get
fellas that come down there. There are multitudes of near-canonical examples illustrating this same syntactic combination. Here
are a few:
AH:152 An den da sma liddo girl walk ova da bwige, an ha’ one big monsta on side. AK:623 Twenty-five dollars one big five gallon. Twenty-five dollars.
BB:006 No, no he run away that guy. I know that. My mother, wha-tyou-call, the only lady; the
other guys no can go, eh. My mother take care us four. Your father had seven sitter I think. Big car...
210
BB:021 Yea, those days. But then later they used to have BIG box. They go with the picking
machine. They get the conveyor belt, eh. The pineapple go to the road side; the truck is over there. All the pineapple go inside the conveyor and go insi’ the BIG box. When the truck come the high lifter load
’em. ER:802 Road. That time they building road, too. We go work Saturday and make road. Manele
road going down. And they get the roller and you gotta go carry big stone, load the truck. ER:818 No, single boy house this side. Right here where the washhouse stay. Right in front that big
tree. That’s where the single boy house is. But get some over there, line like that, but get da kine old Japanese man that stay inside there. Da kine guys no more family. They stay inside there. They can stay,
and Korean. And so, his house... FD:244 Well, the poi shop they had was just a plain building. Not the kind fancy kind. Just like the
one Araki get down there. You know down there. It’s bigger. But that thing go with that big wheel.
FD:254 Yeah, with a post. And then, I have all the decorations for put on top. You know, everything, the ruffles and everything. My mom is too good for that. She used to crochet and everything.
And, you know, before, the big covers all thick like this. All thick. Cannot find those bedspreads nowdays. The whole trunk full. I don’t know what wen happen.
GF:305 Well, they have big pans. They put ’em in the basket with the lid. And the Chinese pack
’em on their backs, on their shoulders, with the stick. And then they serve you in the field. After you eat your fill, then they bring the rest back for the animals. Dogs or pigs or something.
GF:341 Yeah, for me and my wife. I have my own grinder, but if I go and cook the taro, I usually
put’em on electric stove nighttime, in one big pot. Then, morning time I peel it. I set up the machine, and I grind. Then, I get too much poi everytime. You see. One grinding, I make over 30-pound poi. Then,
if I going cook small amount of poi, it’s just waste. So, I might as well buy poi.
HE:143 Mudda Goose laid da big fat egg. JL:16 We get da beef free from Parker Ranch. You get da poi like dat big. The poi before, I tink you
remember, big bag poi from Waipio. Akiu, every Tuesday he bring up, den I have one poi – ah – dey send Makalahao when I was staying up dere. Stay up dere wid my whole family. And da wagon always
come up, eh? Bring our food. Bring hay.
KK:116 She say, “Oh looky at big cheya.” MM:342 Yeah. If big one, you got to chop ’em.
MT:1173 Well, I have a big 16-inch pipe right here. That’s all the water it takes. MY:1454 Everybody had their own kitchen. You know, kitchen and the bathroom. But only thing,
the community was the furo. Furo was the only one was separate one. We had a small building with that old-style furo where you burn with the fire underneath the –you know, taku the firewood. And that’s the
only one that was separate from the homes. So everybody used one big furo.
NK:936 Well, of course, in a way, was kind of hard for us. Because us no can get money for go buy any kind what we like. Like plenty candies and like that. Eat ice cream. You know what? When we like
eat ice cream, they order the ice and this kind big ice cream mixer. You have to grind, grind, grind. Put ice inside, salt inside. Of course, inside, get da kine can container inside. Put milk, eggs. My sister folks
put that sugar. And salt. Then, they start to grind, grind, grind, grind until the thing come hard. That’s what we used to eat ice cream before. Make our own.
OC:9 I know the newspaper and I know the value of that land they get there, the big building–the
Advertiser. When come to business, good–better; they sold that–I think their stock went up to seventeen, eighteen dollars and all my friends sold it to somebody else. They didn’t tell me, see, but I told them
before, “If you want to sell, tell me so I can get the money. I know how to go and borrow money from the bank.”
SU:1543 That’s why, when we–on the show window, big show window, put the face of the people
smiling. Yeah. Too bad I don’t have the picture of that. Yeah, I don’t know where all my pictures went to.
SU:1572 Saboten is big leaf like that with lot of thorns on.Yeah. I don’t know what they call in
English, though, that. Big difference.
211 WK:710 Yeah, make ’em just like tea. She dry ’em out. And then she dry all the leaves, you know.
All, dry ’em all up. When come dry, then she put ’em inside one gallon, da kine big gallon, eh? And then, every time she boil the hot water, she put the leaves in there. You drink it just like a tea.
YA:1039 Yeah, she had one coffee shop. So I wen go over there, help them serve coffee for the
Hawaiians, see. stevedore people go over there eat, ten cents one meal. Rice and stew. Big bowl or plate of rice and stew for ten cents, see? Then I go help ’em serve, eh? Then, I look at it, across the...
YA:1063 Once in a while. And, hoo, the frog legs they bring out, long, you know. Oh, big frog, you
know. Then, oh, they good. Ono, boy. I like frog legs. 5.27.3.4 big PLACE
There are a significant number of canonical examples illustrating the combination of big and PLACE: AK:610 That time we were using spring water. Right in the back there get the spring. Did Peter
show you? Right in the back, that’s the spring water; we used that as a water, and we bathe there same time. Of course, that spring is big and the spring near. Then we dip up a place, a big place to wash. You
bathe in there. After we build that house now, then we make where we build up a shower and all that inside, and a outside shower and all that.
FD:257 You know when had that tidal wave Waipio had, the April lst one. The one that took him up the hill, you know that sand hill. He was the one that way down. Way on the other side of the river.
When we come down from the other side, we stay with him. And you know what he got. He used to get a big place where he plant potatoes. And we used to help ourselves. And he plant peanuts too.
GF:313 The whole Waipio Valley. Down the beach. All along every place you see in the valley besides taro fields used to be for Mock Chew. Mock Chew used to lease the places. And then he used to
lease lot of lands from John T. Baker Estate. The reason why he lease them because, lot of Chinese people used to own taro fields. So many acres. Some of them made money. They go home China. They
sell out to Mock Chew. Mock Chew buy ’em out. And this guy, Akioka, get big place. Maybe about 60 or 70 acres. They made enough money, they go back China. Sell to Mock Chew. Mock Chew buy ’em out.
Up Kona....
MM:328 Well, in a way, I’m glad that my father moved. I don’t know what made him move because he never say us why he moved or anything. But he moved here. Why I say I’m glad he moved
because, you know, Koloa is a bigger place than where we was. Where we was is one small, little camp. Of course, Koloa is not so big town, too, but then compared with where we was, yeah. MM:329 And
not only that, it’s really lonely place over there. No more police or anything. So he can go shoot anything any day, anytime he like because nobody know. So, he see me all time kinda checking on him, too, eh?
Because I like see how they use their gun and all kind. So, I kinda made friends with him. And he tell me, “You like eat mynah bird?” No, I never eat mynah bird before. I don’t know how the damn thing
taste like. “Come, come, come. We go.” So, one weekend in the afternoon, we went. And he’d gone into the stable, where the horses and mules eating. He go grab one handful of barley. Then he came out in
the yard, you know. The pen is pretty big place, eh? And he go spread all the barley. And here, the mynah birds they look that, eh? They come, all the mynah birds, all come eat. So, the birds, too, they
don’t know what is gun, eh?
MY:1461 Oh, was held on ‘Ohua. Between ‘Ohua and Paoakalani, there used to be a big area there
with a banyan tree. Oh, it’s a huge banyan tree. Underneath the banyan tree, big place. NK:938 Equipment. So, today, they have the bulldozer. They figure it’s easier to clean one big
place, eh? So, they push. So, the place, that thing all cover up. Nobody tell them where this is.
212 5.27.3.5 big PART
It is very difficult to find evidence for the combination of big and PART OF. Perhaps the most convincing evidence are the near-canonical examples of big in combination with body parts, which are very likely to
contain the primitive PART OF: FD:265 No, no. Just regular. Just regular. Everything like every day. I didn’t care. Whatever stop
me from eating. I just eat. Yeah. Eat. And I was healthy. And even when I was in my first, second month, I didn’t have no sick or whatever. I work just as good as.... that’s what I think took my dad felt pity, too.
Even how big my stomach was, I was still going in the patch, pull taro and then helping in everything. KK:112 She neva can learn how she ga big nose like Pinocchio.
KK:115 An, “Kekoa You ga put your head behine your head before you die. Oooo Kekoa wat a big nose you got dere. Let me see your face, Kekoa. O dat isn’t he’. Not that crooked, ’keh. You n have to
take to hospital. I know where you n get– you n get plenny mo baby-sitters, Kekoa. So you got hol your cwook, den you get em.”
A less convincing piece of evidence are the examples containing big and pis, which is presumably decomposable into the primitive PART OF:
FD:258 Well, when we get too much, you know what they used to do? They used to cut ’em and dry ’em. Like how they used to make the opelu, you know the dry fish? They used to do that. Even that’s
how they used to do our meat. We used to take’em down the beach and dry ’em. My mom, she’s too clever for do ’em. You know, you just open, how barbeque way but the pieces are big. And then dry ’em
out. Salt ’em and dry ’em out. Soak ’em in salt water, eh? And then they dry ’em out. And get dry, they put ’em all in the bag and they used to hang ’em up. And I don’t know how the food doesn’t get spoiled
like today.
ER:779 That’s how I learn how to salt. I bring home, I give ’em to my uncle. My uncle salt. I go
over there, I watch how he make. He tell me, “Come, you go over here. You roll ’em.” They cut big piece like that, cut all like that, then throw the salt all in the middle, then roll ’em maybe with all the
salt all stuck inside. But sometime, the salt too dry, you no can roll ’em. Us guys go throw little bit water inside. And the salt, when you roll ’em, the salt all stuck underneath, then you put ’em in the barrel.
5.27.3.6 I AM big There are two clear canonical examples of big combining predicately with the primitive I:
FD:244 Peel. You know, I was big; I think about five years I think that time. I used to go along
with my mom. She peeled and I keep the taro peels, and give it to us we raise chicken and pigs, like that. We put ’em on the pack animal go home. YA:1021 Yeah. I was big already, like this, eh? Five years
old, I see the small, little Indians running around. They no big, you know. They black, eh? No more clothes, nothing on. And they crawling around just like da kine small baby, like, you know. That’s all I
know, see? If they never tell me that, I never know that was one–small baby Indian is menehune, see?
The following near-canonical examples involve, big combining predicatively with wi, which presumably contains the primitive I:
YA:1027 And on the back of the mountain is Central Intermediate School. Only one school over there. Everybody go to that school. But that’s the only school could go. And I go look, oh, there’s one
school over here. But we no can go school already, see? We too big already.
YA:1034 And about ten, twenty years, I think. He come back Honolulu, he meet me down the market. “Oh, yeah, I remember you. You Au, eh?” “Yeah.” “I am Pedro so-and-so,” like that, see? And he
shake hand. “Chee, we used to fight up with you in the district. Every time we fight for nothing. Now we big, we good friend, we no fight.”
213 5.27.3.7 SOMEONE IS big
The following near-canonical examples provide strong evidence for big combining predicatively with SOMEONE in HCE:
ER:750 Yeah, until he wake up. I no can carry him. Him too big. No can do nothing, so I gotta
sleep over there too, until he get up, then we go home. So my mother used to scold me every time I follow him. But him, every time like take me go. He like make me one cowboy, I think.
KO:110 And... she was big. KO:119 He was big.
NC:172 Then he get one fellow by the name of Tom Kua. He’s a big Hawaiian guy. He just swing ’em like that, he put ’em on top, without putting on top here. So those boys know I am strong, but they
don’t know if I get heart or not, so he kidded me, he “I like see the rice farmer do like what Tom Kua did.” I said, “Well, how did he do?” He said, “You know, he lift the taro, he just go like this. He put’em
on top here.” I said, “Don’t put on top here ?” He said, “No.” You know, most of them, they swing, they put them on top here, then from here they swing them on top. I said, “No, I cannot.” So when they went
back for lunch, I tried. But I get different art. I just swing like that, I go like that and thing came up right on my shoulder. So I tell them, “You think only Tom Kua can and we cannot. Tom Kua is big. That’s
why he can. Two hundred over pounds, he ought to be able to lift it up.” He said, “It’s no use talk because you cannot.” I said, “Just for that, I’m going to try.” So I looked for the bunch that doesn’t have
too many big taro. You know, the small taro not so heavy, although the bunch is big but it’s not so heavy as the big taro. The big taro, small bunch, but heavy.
YA:1026 Those days, when I moved Kahaluu, half of my brothers not living with us already. They all big already. They go find their own business already. They do anything, see?
Presumably, him, shi, hi, dey, and names of people are decomposible in terms of SOMEONE. 5.27.3.8 SOMETHING IS big
There is a single canonical example of predicative big combining with SOMETHING: FD:267 Yeah. And I told my mom, “The baby is out.” My mom said, “No. That’s one more thing.
Just like the baby big.” And I never know was the baby big. That thing is big too. Really, that thing is big too, afterbirth, you know. You should know. Big but you don’t see when even when you get your
baby in the hospital. That thing is big after the birth. Then after that we did everything. Well, that time we didn’t have bathroom upstairs. So my mom had to, you know she has all that lau hala mats in the
house. So she put me on the side of the bed.
There are numerous near-canonical examples of big combining predicatively with SOMETHING: ER:775 “Oh,” I tell, “that make sense.” Because with the fence over there, before they gotta buy
redwood post from the Mainland. And then they gotta pack ’em with the pack mule up there. So, bumbai this boss he like plant tree, so when the tree big, the post all rotten, and then he can nail ’em to the tree,
or he can cut the tree or put ’em back by the place where rotten. That’s his idea.
ER:776 Yeah. Us go weeding, go pull all the grass inside. The cane big, eh, big and get da kine
thorn inside. ER:813 I don’t know. He like for the cattle. But the koa no good because the time I young I see
plenty ranch, they no like. They like try hemo ’em. But he maybe like koa for the cow. But he no think the koa going come big. Bumbai, the stick about like this, you no can go through. Hard, you know. If
only the young one like that, all right, the cow can eat ’em, eh. But now, you look, all hana pa‘a. Hard for go through.
FD:289 Still I look, this patch we just pull, that taro is about one year. We just got through harvest.
And that taro is big like this, and not too much that kind, disease. The taro is solid. We give to our friends; they always tell, oh, they want so much and so we give them.
214
NC:133 Fourteen inches is only that iron plate. That stone is big you know. That stone is nearly 20
inches wide in diameter and it’s about a good 16, 18 inches deep. It’s thick about like this, you know the outside.
NC:144 And that’s why if you don’t know how to catch, you cannot catch. If you catch the head part then he going to slip right off; he go away. Lot of fun catching frogs. Takeo, he was catching
downside Umi. So after I come back I left the frogs in the frog house. The old man get not even two dozen, you know. I get 14 dozen. Then I tell, “Takeo, how many you catch?” He say, “Oh, little more,
one dozen.” I say, “What? You come over here first and we go after.” He say, “How many you catch?” I say, “Fourteen dozens.” He said, “What?” I say, “Oh, 14 dozen.” And he was catching over there I went
behind after that. I caught more than him. When he came back, we came back together. I say, “How many you get?” He say, “I think no more two dozen.” I say, “I get more than two dozen already.” And
only short while we went. And those days the frogs are big compare to nowdays. If 14 dozen, real heavy, you know.
NC:161 Yeah. Of course, three house, 2-bedrooms, and the other one is just small shack, individual fellows stay. Actually, is warehouse, but they get no place to stay, so they stay like a house. And only our
house is big, our house is five bedroom house. 5.27.4 Summary
Our survey found examples in our corpus for the following NSM syntactic frames: BIG PERSON
BIG PEOPLE BIG THING
BIG PLACE BIG PART
I AM BIG SOMEONE IS BIG
SOMETHING IS BIG
The following NSM syntactic frames were not found during our survey: YOU ARE BIG
PEOPLE ARE BIG THIS IS BIG
5.28 SMALL 5.28.1 Primitive Syntax
