b. nimpe ili
oru tree
big.m head
c. nimpe
oru ili
tree head
big.m the big top branches of a tree
the big tree top
2.3.4 Adjective phrase
The adjective phrase in Olo is a simple construction. It consists of a single head and a modifier. The modifier can be an embedded adjective phrase. There are two superlatives that can occur in the second position, oli ‘bad’
and -tei
SUPERLATIVE
. The word oli is an adjective which has as part of its meaning ‘extreme’. It is with this latter meaning that oli is used as a superlative. Example 62 shows the forms with increasing size.
83 a. ili-tei
b. ili oli
c. ili
oli-tei big.m-very
big.m extreme
big.m extreme-very
very big really big
extremely big
2.3.5 Time, aspect, and mood
Olo has a fairly simple system morphosyntactically to mark time, aspect, and mood in comparison to many other languages in Papua New Guinea e.g., Nankina Spaulding and Spaulding 1994 and
Menya Whitehead 1991. All but one of the distinctions in Olo are marked by free words, while the other is a reduplication of part of the verb root.
2.3.5.1 Locating events in time
Olo has no tense. If the speaker feels the need to locate an event temporally he will use an initial temporal marker. Clauses without a temporal marker can have either taken place prior to the speech event reporting
them, “during” the speech event, or even refer to something that is yet to occur in relation to the time of the speech act. If an event is temporally located “today” it can still be unclear just from the utterance if the event
has occurred or not. Three translations are given and all accurately reflect both the lexical items and the syntax of Olo. The question of which is the “right one” can only be answered from the pragmatics of the speech event.
There are enough cues in the real world for Olo speakers to know if the event has occurred, is occurring, or is yet to occur. If other time words are used, this ambiguity does not result as they are clearly past or future.
84 fei
ki k-e
Lumi kapi
oweli today
I 1s-go
Lumi get.3p food
Today I went to Lumi and got food. Today I am going to Lumi and getting food.
Today I will go to Lumi and get food.
2.3.5.2 Continuous aspect
Olo has only one fully grammaticalized aspect, the continuative. This aspect is marked by reduplica- tion in the verb. Normally this is the reduplication of the last consonant of the root and the immedi-
ately following vowel, 85.
2.3 Grammatical Characterization 29
85 a. Ø
-ailo b. ye
Ø -ailolo
men 2s-call
you 2s-call.
CNT
what Call out.
What are you yelling about? c.
k-alpopo omkele
1s-pierce.3m.
CNT
armband I weave an armband.
For a technical treatment of the reduplication process, see Staley 1994c, 1994d . Some of the verbs reduplicate in other ways, as shown in 86 and 87. Example 87 is highly unusual in that the prefix
is included in the reduplicated form. 86 a.
l-itipi Wol
tisi b. w-ititipi
wof 3m-go.down Wol
path 1d-go.down.
CNT
river He went down the Wol path.
We two were going down the river. 87 a.
p-ratei b. p-ra-pratei
3p-liveremain 3p-liveremain.
CNT
They live. They are living.
2.3.5.3 Realisirrealis