318 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
sa-soso smoke all the time, only
soso smoke
smoke sa-ghae
cry all the time, only ghae
cry cry
When the verbal base is reduplicated, the continuous aspect is even more emphasized, bordering on always:
sa-hunda-hunda always agree
hunda agree
sa-kii-kiido always refuse
kiido refuse
sa-tongka-tongka always vomit
tongka vomit
b. Base is a reduplicated simple or complex noun non-reduplicated nouns do not occur in this construction. Meaning: only Ns, full of Ns.
sa-kiri-kiri full of thorns
kiri thorn
sa-kato-katogha only crows, crows every-
katogha crow
where sa-robhi-robhine-hi
only women robhine
woman sa-ka-ta-ka-tamba
full of patches tamba
patch up ka-tamba patch
3. Variant of nsa- + reduplication 10.2.35 without subject inflection and
with obligatory suffix -no: sa-bhie-bhie-no
more and more heavy bhie
heavy = ne-nsa-bhie-bhie
sa-kodo-kodoho-no further and further
kodoho far
= ne-nsa-kodo-kodoho sa-lompo-lompona-no
gradually lompona
long = ne-nsa-lompo-lompona
4. Miscellaneous: sa-bhangka
friend bhangka
boat sa-lambu
husband, wife lambu
house sa-kawi
husband, wife kawi
marry sa-ina-ina-mu kolaki
k.o. charmincantation ina
mother introducing a prayer
kolaki lord
10.2.45. SA--HA
Nominal circumfix on verbal bases with possessive inflection. Allomorphs sae--ha on ae-verbs and sao--ha on ao-verbs. Meaning: to a minimal degree
hardly, only just, just enough. Verbal and clausal equivalents are most natural, but structurally the derivation is a noun. Productive.
sa-wanu-ha-no he can barely get up
wanu get up
sa-fumaa-ha-ku I can just about eat
fumaa eat
sae-ntalea-ha-no it is just light enough
ntalea light
sao-lowu-ha-ndo they are just drunk enoughlowu
drunk This construction can be followed by a dependent noun:
10 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY 319
sa-pada-ha-no ka-aha-ku my thirst was just
pada finish
barely quenched aha
thirsty sae-taa-ha-no ka-bhala-no its size was just
taa good
about good neither bhala big
too big nor too small
10.2.46. SI-
Verbal prefix on nominal bases; a-class, resistant to -um-, intransitive. Meaning: be one in respect to N; have the same N; be of the same N. Only with
plural inflection. Productive.
a. Base is a non-reduplicated noun simple or complex. Dual reference. ta-si-guru
we 2ex have the same guru
teacher teacher
ta-si-kakuta we 2ex are siblings
kakuta sibling
do-si-bhasitie they 2 are relatives
bhasitie relatives do-si-kae-late-ha
they 2 live in the same place kae-late-ha living place late live
b. Base is a reduplicated noun simple or complex. Non-dual reference. ta-si-guru-guru
we ex have the same guru
teacher teacher
do-si-bhasi-bhasitie they are relatives
bhasitie relatives do-si-kao-kao-lodo-ha they share a bed
kao-lodo-ha bed lodo sleep
10.2.47. SI--HA
1. Verbal circumfix on verbal bases. Dialectally se--ha; a-class, resistant
to -um-. Meaning: at the same time, all together. Productive. a. Base is a dynamic intransitive verb. Only plural inflection. With ae- and
ao-verbs, class affixes surface. Non-reduplicated bases have dual reference:
ta-si-suli-ha we 2ex return together
suli return
do-si-filei-ha they 2 ran away
filei run away
together do-si-me-tofa-ha
they 2 wash together tofa
wash do-si-mo-ndawu-ha
they 2 fall together ndawu
fall o-si-me-gau-ha-amu you 2 cook together
gau cook
Reduplicated bases have non-dual plural reference; the class affixes are treated as belonging to the verbal base and are taken along in the
reduplication:
ta-si-fuma-fumaa-ha we ex eat together
fumaa eat
do-se-me-ka-me-kadiu-ha they take a bath kadiu
bath together
320 A GRAMMAR OF THE MUNA LANGUAGE
o-se-mo-gha-mo-ghae-ha-amu you pl are crying ghae
cry together
b. Base is a transitive verb. The meaning of this derivation differs from the preceding one in that the togetherness is now oriented towards the
object. Class affixes do not occur. Both singular and plural subjects are allowed. Again, non-reduplicated bases indicate a dual object, whereas a
reduplicated base points to a non-dual plural object, in this case usually with the implied meaning all of it, the whole.
a-si-gholi-ha-e I buy both of them
gholi buy
no-si-lobhi-ha-e he hit both of them
lobhi hit
no-si-wora-ha-kasami he saw both of us ex
wora see
no-si-fo-lodo-ha-da she put both of them to sleep
fo-lodo put to sleep lodo sleep a-si-gholi-gholi-ha-e
I buy all of it gholi
buy no-si-wora-wora-ha-da
he saw them all wora
see no-si-tofa-tofa-ha-ko-omu she slapped you all
tofa slap
When these derivations on transitive bases also receive indirect object inflection, the affix -ha may precede or follow the IO suffix and can
optionally be left out altogether:
no-si-gholi-kanau-ha-e she bought both of
gholi buy
it for me also: no-si-gholi-ha-kanau-e; no-si-gholi-kanau-e
2. Verbal circumfix on intransitive bases; a-class, resistant to -um-.
Meaning: sudden, unexpected action. Class affixes occur. Productive. a. With singular subjects plural subjects of this form have the meaning
listed under 1: no-si-omba-ha
he suddenly appeared omba
appear no-si-mo-pula-ha
it suddenly fell down pula
fall down no-si-mai-ha
he suddenly came mai
come no-si-mo-lodo-ha
he suddenly fell asleep lodo
sleep Further derivations with ta- and -mo are common:
ta-a-si-sampu-ha all of a sudden I came
sampu come down
down ta-no-si-mo-dea-ha-mo all of a sudden he became
dea red
red ta-no-si-ko-olu-ha-mo all of a sudden it became
ko-olu cloudy
cloudy olu
cloud b. The circumfix si--ha is found in combination with the affix ka, affixed
immediately after si-. Possibly this is an independent affix combination. Meaning: sudden, unexpected and frightening action. Productive.
no-si-ka-mo-ndawu-ha suddenly he fell
ndawu fall
no-si-ka-punda-ha suddenly he jumped
punda jump
no-si-ka-wora-ha-e suddenly he saw her
wora see
10 DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY 321
With plural subjects, the derivation is ambiguous between a si-derivation on a complex ka--ha-derived nominal base or a si-ka--ha derivation on a
verbal base:
do-si-ka-tudo-ha suddenly they arrived
tudo arrive
they arrived at the same place do-si-ka-mo-ndawu-ha
suddenly they fell ndawu fall
they fell in the same place do-si-ka-mo-lodo-ha
suddenly they fell asleep lodo
sleep they slept in the same place
In the last two examples the second meaning is more usually expressed as do-si-kao-ndawu-ha and do-si-kao-lodo-ha.
Further derivations on this base with ta- and -mo are common; the meaning is still more intensified more sudden, more surprising and more
frightening. The ambiguity for plural subjects is retained.
ta-no-si-ka-bisara-ha-mo all of a sudden he
bisara speak spoke
ta-no-si-ka-mo-rondo-ha-mo all of a sudden it rondo dark
became dark ta-do-si-ka-omba-ha-mo
all of a sudden they omba
appear appeared
ta-do-si-ka-mo-ndawu-ha-mo all of a sudden they ndawu fall
fell suddenly they fell in the same place
10.2.48. TA-
