,

SERIES B - No. 20

AR 0 S I G RAM MAR

by

A. Capell

PACIFIC LINGUISTICS

The Australian National University

Capell, A. Arosi grammar.

B-20, iv + 94 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1971. DOI:10.15144/PL-B20.cover
©1971 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
 PACIFIC LINGUISTICS i s pub l i s h e d by the L i n g ui�tic Ci�cle 0 6 Ca n b e��a
and c on s i s t s of four s e ri e s:

S E RI E S A - OCCASIONA L P A P E R S
S E RI E S B - MONOG R A PHS
S E RI E S C - BOOKS
S E RIES V - S PECIA L P U B L ICATIONS.

EDITOR: S . A. Wurrn. ASSOCIATE EDITORS : D . C. Laycock, C. L. Voorhoeve.

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and s ub s cr i p t i on s , should b e addre s s e d t o :

The Secretary,
PACIFIC LINGUISTICS,
Department of Linguis t i c s ,
School o f Pacific S tudies,
The Au s tralian Nati onal University,

Canbe rra, A . C.T . 2 600.

Australia.

Copyright � A . Cape l l .
F i r s t pub l i shed 1 9 7 1 .

The e d i t o r s are inde b t e d t o the Austral ian Nat i onal Unive r s i t y for
help in the produc t i on o f t h i s s e r i e s .

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N a t ional Library o f Au s t ralia Card number and ISBN 0 85883 052 3

 TA B LE OF CONTENTS

Page

M A P : L i n g u i s t i c D i v i s i o n s o f San Cr i s to v a1 1
P RELI M I N A RIES 2
PART I: A R O SI P H O N OLOGY 5
A . A ro s i P h o n emes 5
B. Aro s i St re s s 7
C . A r o s i In t o n a t i o n 9

PART 2: G R AMM ATI C AL ST RU CTU RE OF A RO S I 12

A . M i n o r Se n t e n c e s 13
B. M a j o r Se n t e n c e Type s 16
C . S u b-Se n t e n c e Un i t s 20
C.O. In t r o d u c t o ry : P a rt s o f Sp e e c h 20
C . l . Th e V e r b P h r a s e 21
C. l . i . Ve� b R o o �� a n d V e�iva�ive� 21
C . l . i i . ha n� i�ive S u 6 6 ixe� 28
C . 1 . i i i . Vo i c e i n � h e A� o � i Ve�b 31
C . 1 . i v . Co m p o u ndi ng 0 6 Ve� bal Ro o �� 33
C . 2 . Th e N o u n P h r a s e 34
C . 2 . 1 . The Noun 35
C . 2 . 1 . i ( a ) S imple N o u n� 36
C . 2 . 1 . i ( b ) Ph�a� a i No u n� 36
C.2 . 1 . i ( c ) V e�ived N o u n� 38
C . 2 . 1 . i i . Nomi naii� a �i o n� 39
C . 2 . 1 . i i i . No u n-Ph�a� e Ma�ke�� 40
C . 2 . 1 . i v . Ma�ke�� 0 6 �he Plu�al 44
C . 2 . 2 . Ad j u n c t s o f the N o u n 45
C . 2 . 2 . i . T h e V e� c�i p�ive 45
C . 2 . 2 . i i . N o u n-Adju n c�� : V ei c�ic� 48
C . 2 . 2 . i i i . Nume�a�ive� 50

iii
 lv

Page
C.2 . 2.iv . Pocc ecc-i.o n 56
C . 2 . 2 . v . S y ntax 0 6 the Adjunct: A S umma�y 62
C . 2 . 3. No u n Su b s ti t u t e s 64
C.2.3.i. P�o n o u nc 64
C . 2 . 3 . ii . V e-i.ct-i.cc 68
C . 2 . 3 . iii . Inte��o g at-i.vec 68
C . 2 . 3 . iv . l n d e 6 -i.n-i.tec 69
C.2.4. R e l a t or s 74
C . 3 . A r o s i S t ory a n d D i s c o u r s e A n a l y s i s 83

Capell, A. Arosi grammar.

B-20, iv + 94 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1971. DOI:10.15144/PL-B20.cover
©1971 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
 SAURO

o Pvvepisu

KAHUA

a SANTA
Finualogo ANA

'SKETCH MAP
t::::l
SANTA
CATALINA

LINGUISTIC DIVISION OF SAN CRISTOVAL: Adapted from C.E. Fox,

"Social Organization in San Cristoval", JRAI, 49:95, 1919.

Capell, A. Arosi grammar.

B-20, iv + 94 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1971. DOI:10.15144/PL-B20.1
©1971 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
 PRELIMINARIES

The Aros i language o c cup i e s the w e s t ern s e ct i on of the i s land o f San

C r i s t oval , in the e a s t e rn part o f the S o l omon I s l ands . Its location i s
s hown o n the map . The language is M e l ane s i an , and as such i s a memb e r
o f the Aus t ro ne s i an language s w h i c h s t re t ch from South-eas t A s i a a c r o s s
the Pa c i fi c a s f a r a s Eas t e r I s land .
The i s land of S an C r i s t oval was d i s c overed by Mendana in 1 5 8 8 and
from him r e c e i ve d i t s Span i s h name . The Spani ards a l s o were the f i r s t
t o r e c o rd any v o c ab u l ary , b ut the i r l i s t contained o n l y s ix words . A
b r i e f a c c o un t o f the e ar l i e r lingu i s t i c work done on San C ri s t oval may
b e found in S . H . Ray ' s M elan e4�an 14land Lang uag e4 ( C . U . P . 1 9 2 6 ) , p . 4 7 0 f .
The map , p r ovided b y D r F o x , shows the l ingui s t i c divis i on s o f the
i s land . The three groups of l anguage s marked on the map are i n t e rre lated ;
Aro s i shows a gre a t e r d i verge n c e , e sp e c i al ly in phonology , than the
rema i nder do from e ach othe r . As yet no ac c ount s have been p ub l i shed
o f the other l anguage s o f the i s land .
The A r o s i di s t ri c t has b e e n the s cene o f Angli c an Mi s s ions for a
l engthy p e r i od . R . H . C odrington ' s Melane4�an Lang uag e4 ( Oxford , 1 8 8 5 )
c on t a i n s a s h ort grammar s ke t c h and other informat i on ab out the Wango
di ale c t , w i t h i n the A r i s o di s t r i c t , and as far b ac k as 1 8 6 6 Bishop
Pat t e s on had done work i n the area as we l l . For all t hi s , i t c annot
b e s ai d that the language has been we l l known to the l ingui s t . An
a c c o unt given i n H . C . von der G ab e le n t z ' V�e M elan e4�4 c h e n S p�ach en,
P art I I , ( Le i p z i g 1 8 7 3 ) is b as ed on Bishop Pat t e s on ' s mat e r i al s , gives
a fai r p i c t ure o f its v o c ab ulary and the mai n fe atures o f its grammat i ca l
s t r u c t ure , b u t the phono l ogy i s ext reme ly inac curat e , t h e glot t a l s t op
b e ing mi s s e d out a l t o ge t he r .
The M e lane s i an M i s s i on workers c on c entrated on the Wango d i s t r i c t ,
and the e ar l i e r p ub l i shed t rans lations are a l l in that diale c t , wh i ch
i s v e ry c lo s e t o Aro s i , but n o t i dent i c a l w i t h it . In hi s aut o b i o graphy ,

2
 3

c a l l e d Kakamo �a ( London , Hodder & S t ought on , 1962 , p . 4 7 ) Dr F o x gives

the fo l l owing note :
" A ros i ( the a c c ent i s on the firs t s y l l ab le , not the s e cond ) i s
the name g i ve n t o the we s te rn part o f S an Cri s t o va l . The s e l o c a l
name s are o r i g i n a l l y given t o very small areas , and t h e n c orne t o
b e e x t e n de d . Bi shop Pat t e s on knew the we s t end as Bauro from a
s ma l l are a there where he got b o y s for h i s s ch o o l ; i n the M i s s i on
the name carne t o b e g i ve n t o the whole i s l and . I t has noth i ng
t o do w i t h the modern Bauro , us e d for the c e n t ra l p art of the
i s land . S o w i t h A r o s i , wh i ch was o r i g i n a l l y a s ma l l area near
the vi l lage Tawat ana, b ut gradua l l y b e c ame u s e d for the whole
area from Wango vi l l age i n the east round to B i a v i l lage on the
we s t , the are a whe re only one language i s s p oken . "

THE COM PI L E R OF THE VI CTIONA RY

The d i c t i onary to whi ch t h i s grammar is an i n t ro du c t i on is the work

of R e v . D r Ch ar l e s E . Fox . Dr Fox has spent the gre a t e r p art o f a l ong
l i fe ( at t i me of wri t i ng he is i n his 9 1 s t year ) i n the s ervi ce o f the
Me lane s i an M i s s i o n . Dur i n g the course o f h i s work he has not only b e e n
a mi s s i onary , b ut a n anthropo logi s t , a l i ngui s t and a tran s l a t or . His
b ook , T h e Th�echotd 0 6 t h e Paci 6 i c, was t h e out c ome o f anthrop o logi c a l
work c arri e d o u t over a p e r i od o f y e a r s b e fore i t s p ub l i c at i o n i n 1 9 2 4 ,
and i t gai n e d h i m hi s d o c t orate . The main p art of the b ook i s made up
o f two art i c le s pre v i ous ly pub l i shed in the Jo u�nat 0 6 t h e R o yal
A n t h� o p o to g i cat Inctitute i n London : (1) ' Be l i e fs and Tales of S an
C r i s t ova l ( S o l omon I s lands ) ' , V o 1 . 4 5 ( 19 1 5 ) , pp . 1 3 1-2 2 8 ; (2) ' Social
Organ i z at i on i n San C ri s t o va l , So l omon I s l ands ' , V o l . 4 9 ( 19 1 9 ) , pp . 9 4-
179 . In b o th o f the s e he c o l l ab orat e d w i t h t he Re v . F . H . Drew . During
h i s ye ars o f l i ving and work i n g i n San C r i s t ova l , Fox was adop t e d i n t o
the A ro s i p e o p l e and b e c ame a mas t e r of the language . He trans l at e d
the Four G o s p e l s and A c t s i n t o Aros i , wh i ch was pub l i shed b y the Bri t i s h
and Fore i gn B i b l e S o c i e t y in 19 2 1 . A t pre s ent ( 1970 ) he re s i de s at
Taroan i ara , G e la , in the S o l omon I s l ands .
The Aro s i D i c t i on ary was c omp i le d by Dr F o x many y e ars ago , along
with a fu l l grammar and a c o l le c t i on of a hundred o r so f o lk t a le s . The
l a s t two w e re l o s t during the S e c ond Wor l d War , and for a p e r i o d i t
s e emed that the D i c t i on ary a l s o had b e e n de s t roye d . U lt imat e ly i t c arne
carne t o l i gh t , and has wai t e d unt i l the p re s e n t t ime for p ub li c at i on .
A s i t i s t he work of one who re a l ly knows b ot h language and p e o p l e we l l ,
i t i s o f gre at i mp or t an c e t o the l ingui s t i c wor l d , as we l l as a we l l­
d e s e rved t r i b u t e t o the auth or , t hat i t should be p ub l i s he d . Th e
4

grammar has b e e n adde d by the pre s e n t wri t e r , p art ly t o s upp ly a gap

wh i ch Dr F ox unfortun at e ly cannot now s up p l y , and p art ly as a tribute
to h i m from one who has enj oyed and valued h i s fri endship over a very
l ong p eri od of y e ars . The grammar make s no c laim to b e ' fu l l ' , b u t
o n l y t o s how s ome t h ing o f the s truc t ure o f t h i s p art i cu l ar Aus trone s i an
l anguage . Th e i d e a l would be a comparat i ve grammar o f a l l the S an
Cri s t oval d i a l e c t s , b ut t h i s i s not p o s s i b le at the pre s ent t ime .
Pri n t e d mat t er that exi s t s in Aro s i at the t i me of wri t ing i s ent ire ly
Mi s s i on L i t erat ure . The ch i e f p i e ce of c o n s e c u t i ve wri t ing is F ox ' s
tran s l a t i o n o f the Faun G o � p el� a n d A ct� , and examp les have b e en c u l le d
from t h i s i n the grammar b e c aus e it s e ems t o b e a re l i ab le trans lat i on
whi ch has c aught the i diom of the nat i ve spe akers among whom Dr F o x
l i v e d a l i fe very c l o s e ly i n t o u ch with the irs f o r a lengthy p eri od -
hi s a u t ob i ography , Kakamona, gives d e t a i l s of h i s experi e n c e s during
that t ime . E ar l i e r tran s l a t i ons are ne arly a l l i n Wango di ale c t . There
is a t rans l at i on of mos t of the B o o k 0 6 Co mmo n Pnayen of the Ang l i c an
Church a ls o , and whi le t h i s pre s e n t s a s imi lar s t andard of trans l at i on ,
i t has the d i s advant age that i t f o l lows a cu s t om adopt e d b y t he
Me l ane s i an M i s s ion - along w i t h ot hers - that gl o t t al s t ops may b e
omi t t e d for n a t i ve re aders - who know where t o put them! A coup l e o f
l engthy f o l k t ale s i n four S an Cri s t oval diale c t s w i t h int erlinear
trans l a t i o n s , repre s e nt the only other nat i ve l i t erat ure avai l ab le , and
t he s e form an appendix to the art i c le on B e l i e f s and Tales alre ady
l i s te d .
I t i s t o b e c l e arly under s t ood that the pre s ent wri t e r i s re spons ib le
for the s e t t ing out of the Grammar , whi ch is not as Fox pro b ab ly w o u l d
h a v e d one i t , and - s t i l l more important ly - f o r errors i n i t . With
the permi s s i on o f the Po lyne s i an S o c i e t y , F ox ' s art i c le on Aros i
numerat i on has b e e n repri n t e d from the Jounnal 0 6 t h e P o l yn e� �an
Soc�ety, V o l . 4 0 ( 19 3 1 ) , pp . 2 3 6 - 4 3 , as the s e c t i on on that s ub j e ct , and
t h i s has b e e n done wi th the original author ' s agreement .
 PART I

A R O S I P H O N OLOGY

A . Aro s ; P h o n eme s

The phoneme s o f Aro s i are repre s en t e d in the f o l l owing t ab le :

t k ?
P
b d 9
m n �
5
r
w (y)
u

e 0

The phone t i c s ounds repre s en t e d b y the ab ove phoneme s are :

1) A ser i e s o f s t ops , voi c e d and voi c e le s s , and t he o c currence of the
two d i s t i n c t series i s c ommon t o the Aus trone s i an languages of the
S o l omon I s lands , but i t i s not always found i n thos e o f the New Heb ri de s .
The v o i c e d s e r i e s o c curs in t h e Banks and Torres I s lands , b u t in the
main are a of the New Hebride s , the d i s t i n c t i on is fre q uent ly not made ,
and the s t op cons onant s are devoi c e d ( or voi ced lene s ) o f one s er i e s
only . I t i s noteworthy t h a t the New Hebri des languages wh i c h make the
dual d i s t in c t ion are in general more c l o s e l y re l a t e d to the S o l omon
I s land l anguages than the others are .
I t i s a l s o t o b e not e d that fbi, /d/ and /9/ are n o t pre c e d e d by a
nas a l as i n many other p art s o f the O c e an i c Austron e s i an are a . The
/ t /, /d/ ph oneme s are p o s t -dental . / r / is a d e fini t e flap . The /y/
phoneme bracke t e d in the t ab le i s n ot re c ogni s e d in c urrent Aro s i
s p e l l i n g , b e ing marked o n ly b y the l e t t e r i , a s i n i ia, he . H ow e ve r ,

5
6

i t forms a b al an c e d pair of s emi- cont o i d s w i t h /w/, and there s e ems t o

b e n o re as ons why b oth should not have b e en provided for i n t he s p e l l i n g
o f the language .
In the l i t erat ure t he ve lar nasal /Q/ is repre s ent e d by the d i graph
n g and the g l o t t a l s t op by the inverted c omma ( ' ) , and t h e s e u s age s are
mai nt ai ne d in the pre s ent grammar for the s ake of harmoni s i ng i t with
the D i c t i onary . The spe l ling otherw i s e i s pra c t i c a l ly phonemi c .
C er t a i n c on s onant c lus t ers appear a ls o : / p w/, /b w/, /kw/ and /gw/ .
The s y l lab i c p a t t ern o f Aros i doe s not al low cons onant c lu s t ers at al l ;
hence t h e s e are t o b e int erpre t e d as l ab i al i s e d forms o f the re s p e c t ive
plos ive s . In the nasal s er i e s /mw/ i s a l s o c ommon and i s t o be inter­
pre t e d i n the s ame way .
L i t t le c omment i s c a l l e d for regarding the s imp le five-vow e l s y s t e m
o f t he v o c o i d s . The mid vowe l s repre s ent /E/ and /0/ respe c t i ve ly .
The l at t er has l i p -rounding t hat i s not pre sent in the vowe l of Eng l i s h
not. The / a / i s de fini t e ly m i d l ow .
A ph oneme o f vowe l lengt h is a l s o t o b e re c ognis e d . In the current
s p e l l i n g , re fle c t e d in the D i c t i onary , length is indi cated by a doub l i n g
o f the vow e l - w i t h out , pre s umab ly , any the ore t i cal reas on f o r i t s u s e ,
b ut only the prac t i ca l re ason o f orthographi c c onveni e n c e . Certain
comp li cat i ons c an ari s e , e . g . h a ' a a a, dis turb , wh i ch i s the c ausat ive
of a a , run h i t h e r and th i ther ( e . g . of ant s d i s t urbed ) , and thi s repre­
s e n t s /ha ? a a :/, w i t h s tre s s on the root s y l lab le of the compound. The
firs t vowe l of a d ipht hong may a l s o be lengthened : t a n ar a u u (/ t a n a r a : u /,
to t h e m .
The one seri ous de fe c t of much of the Mi s s i on l i t erature i s the
omi s s i on o f the glottal s t op , f o l l owing a perni c i ous prac t i ce o f
e ar l i e r mi s s i onarie s in P o lyne s i a , s o t h a t i t i s impos s ib le f o r the
newcomer to the l anguage t o pronoun c e i t a c ce p t ab ly from t he s e t e xt s .
In the D i c t i o n ary , o f c ourse the glot t a l s t o p s are insert e d , and they
are u s e d wherever ne c e s s ary in t h i s grammar as w e l l .

2) The s y l l ab l e s truc t ure o f Aro s i i s s imp le : n o s y l lab le can end i n

a c o n s onant . The o n ly two types p o s s ib le there fore are /V/ and /e v / ,
where V repre s e n t s any vowe l and e any c ons onant ·
the s y l l ab l e may b e e i ther l ong o r short , e . g .

V: o/a/n i , thus ( quot at i on )

ev: t a/ r o / h a , news
VV: a a /m i /a, di s turb e d ; a/d a a u , the i r ( s ) .
 7

The las t examp l e rai s e s the t h e o re t i cal que s t i on of the oc currence o f

diphth ongs in Aro s i , and t h i s canno t b e inve s t igated i n a s h ort grammar
o f the p re s ent type . The c orre c t ne s s of a c ce p t ing s uch as pre s umed here ,
w i t h the add i t i on t hat the firs t e lement may b e l ong as in a d a a u ab ove
(/a ' d a :u / ) .

B. Arosi S t r ess

A s at i s f a c t ory t re atment of the phe nomena o f s tre s s and int onat ion
i n A ro s i awai t s furth e r s tudy . In the p r e s ent a c c ount only cert ain
obvi ous p oint s c an b e d i s cu s s e d , i n the ab s e n c e of the ne c e s s ary acous t i c
and other de t ai led analy s e s .
Two t y p e s of s t re s s would s ee m t o require s e p arate t re atment - word
s t re s s and s en t e n ce s t re s s . The lat t e r invo lve s analy s i s o f the s y s t e m
o f b re ath group s e t c . whi ch h a s n o t y e t b e e n done .

1. Stre s s
( a) Word-s tre s s
-
I n A r o s i word s t res s c an b e fairly s t rong . S t re s s on a word o f one
s y l lab l e depends on whe ther it is a parti c le , c arry ing only grammat i ca l
mean i n g , o r a w ord o f another cate gory , s uch as noun o r v e rb , whi c h
c arri e s a lexi c a l me aning . D e t a i l e d an aly s i s o f v o c ab u l ary i s not under­
t aken h e re ; in the c a s e of s u ch a word as b o i , come - pre s uming t h i s c an
b e s at i s fa c t or i l y analy s e d as a monos y l lab le w i t h a diphthongal c r e s t -
' '
i t w i l l norma l ly c arry a s t re s s : i ia a bo i , he came . Such words are
rare . Whi l e no s t at i s t i c al an al y s i s o f the v o c ab u lary has b e e n c arri e d
out , i t would s e em that lex i c a l i tems o f the kind n o w b e ing d i s cu s s e d
are a rarit y . Mos t o f t h e s e c la s s e s o f words are a t l e a s t d i s y l lab i c
o r l onger . Th i s means that at l e a s t two grades o f s t re s s n e e d t o b e
thought o f : s trong s t re s s , marked b y an upright s t roke b e 6 0 Ae the
s t re s s e d s y l l ab l e ( e . g .
'
o rn e , s e e ) and weak s t re s s , marked by a s imi l ar
upr i gh t s t roke b u t s l i ght ly lower than the line of type: (e .g.
, r o n g o i 's u r i , l. e a r n e r , di s c i p l. e ) .
In a word of two s y l l ab le s , the s t re s s i s u s u a l l y on the f i r s t :
' '
dan g i , a day ; i n a , m o t he r .
In w ords o f thre e s y l l ab le s , s t re s s is not f u l ly pre d i c t ab le . E.g.
'm w a e r a ha, a c h i ef c arr i e s a firs t - s y l lab le s t re s s . I t i s prob ab ly
that the word i s a latent comp ound o f a root mw a e , whi ch o c curs fre e
in Malai t a l anguages as man , p e rs on , and r a h a , in Aros i g r ea t . The word
'a r o s i i t s e l f provides another examp le of a f i r s t s y l lab l e s t re s s .
8

Redup l i c a t e d words carry two ac cent s , one weak and the other s trong :
, m a e I m a e, di s e as e ; , k o n o Ik o n o, throa t ; , h i n i Ih i n i , b e l i e v e . I f a s uffix
1s added to s uch a word , e . g . , h i n i Ih i n i -a, be lieve ( s ome t h i ng ) , this
may leave the s tre s s unchange d : the s ub j e c t o f enc l i t i c s o f thi s s ort
is t r e a t e d be low .
Encli t i c s are words - u s u a l l y w i t h lex i c a l me anings - that c arry no
a c c e n t o f t h e i r own b u t ' le an b a ck ' on the word pre ceding the m , t o whi ch
they refer . The final - a in the examp le p re ceding i s one of t h e s e ,
though t hi s , as a t ran s i t i ve s u ffi x , c arri e s gramma t i c a l rather than
lexi c a l meaning . One that c arri e s a lexi c a l me aning i s the de i c t i c n l,
t hi s : na In o n i , t h e man > n a n o l n i - n a , t h i s man ; n a h e l r e h o, t h i ng >
na h e re Ih o s i , t h a t t h i ng . Here the c omp le t e l y uns tre s se d n a might b e
t reat e d perhap s as a ' le aning forward ' or ' proc l i t i c ' e lement , b ut t h i s
i s not n e c e s s ary . The f o l lowing dei c t i c , h owever , draws the s t re s s o f
t h e n oun s y l lab le forward . N o t a l l s u ch added e leme n t s do t h i s :
p o s s e s s ive s uf f i x e s as a rule do not . A s eparat e p o s s e s s i ve may do s o :
tah i, l ife , i s s tre s s ed as I t a h i , but n a tah i a n a , his l i fe , b e c ome s
a s tre s s group as n a , t a h i la n a . Thi s i s one of the p o ints whi ch c a l l
f o r further s tudy . A s imi lar s tre s s group grows o u t of n a rum a n a s i ,
t h a t h o u s e o f h i s , s tre s s ed as n a , rum a ln a s ( i ) . Very o f t en a vowe l i n
the f i n a l p o s i t i on b e c ome s unvo i ced o r whispere d: hence t h e brac ket i ng
i n the ab ove examp l e . Further , an adverb i a l link may produce a s tre s s
group · s u c h a s n a h u t a a h o i a , was b o rn agai n , b e c oming n a , h u t a a l h oy a .
The s ta t u s o f doub led vow e ls needs further inve s t i gat i on from the
phone t i c viewp oint , as does their ori gin from the h i s t ori c a l v i ewpoin t .

(b) Phras e and Sen t ence Str es s

The examp l e s i mme d i a t e ly pre ced ing lead on t o c ons i derat ion of s t re s s
p at t ern s that g o b e y ond the s i ngle word o r grammat i c a l ly l inked group .
Here again further s tudy i s needed , and in any c a s e an ade quate tre atment
would go b e y ond the limi t s o f the pre sent gramma t i c al s k e t ch . A
d i m i n i s h e d word s tre s s i s often n o t i c e ab l e on the c laus e l e ve l , ful l
s t re s s b e i n g retained for a s eman t i c a l ly import ant word or phras e , e . g .
na non i ni mw a era h a , t h e c h i e f ' s man w i l l b e s tre s s ed as n a , n o n i n i 1-

mwaera h a . S t re s s on t he firs t noun i s dimini shed , b e c au s e what i s real ly

i mp or t an t is not that he is a man , b ut that h e is a chei f ' s ret ainer .
 9

C. Aro s i I n ton a t i o n

Like s t re s s , int onat i on require s further re s e arch , and only gui de

out l in e s c an be gi ven here . Tone as s u c h i s not phonemi c , i . e . i t i s n o t
inherent i n a word a n d d o e s not affe c t meaning . A s i n Eng l i s h and the
maj orit y o f Europe an language s , t one is a fun c t ion o f the c laus e or
s en t e n c e and its value i s emot i onal rather than s e mant i c .
Three b as i c t one leve l s c an b e re c ogni s e d , numbered 1 t o 3 from low
t o h i gher .
Tone 1 is a s t ar t i ng and fini shing t one; t one 2 i s a fairly l e ve l ,
c ont inuous t one i n wh i ch m o s t o f a normal de c l arat ory u t t erance i s
p roduce d . Tone 3 o c curs c h i e f l y j us t b e fore the ending o f an u t terance
o f a de c l arat ory k i nd , or on the final s y l lab l e of a que s t i on . More
rare ly a fourth t one may be heard , higher than t one 3 , and c onfined t o
a n exc l amat i on o f s urpri s e o r indignat i on .
In the diagrams fo l l ow i ng , c o n t i nu ous l i n e s wi l l be u s e d t o s h ow the
general d i re c t i on o f spee ch . C orre c t apport i onment of individu a l t ones
b e tween 1 and 4 in e ach part o f the u t t erance would need further s tudy ,
and more over t h i s would vary s omewhat from s p e aker t o spe�ker .
There are three chie f i n t on a t i o n p a t t erns whi ch s t and out in t he
l anguage .

Pattern 1. A gradual ri s e from t one 1 t o t one 2 at the b e gi nn i ng

o f t he ut teran c e , f o l l owed by a r i s e t o 3 on the final ac c e n t e d s y l l ab l e
b e fore the end o f the u t t eran ce , and t h e n dropp ing b a c k t o 1 at the
c lo s e o f t h e u t t erance . Examp le s :

e n on i a bo i , a man has come

i a ama g u a r e i a u, my fa t h er 8aw me

Pattern 2 . S i mi l ar t o p a t t ern 1 , b ut not re t urning t o t one 3 . Thi s

i s a non-final p a t tern , and b e l ongs t o a c l au s e whi ch i s not a c omp l e t e
s e n t e nc e ; i t m u s t b e f o l l owed b y another c l ause o f t y p e 1 o r 3 . There
may be a s e quence of p a t t ern 2 c l aus e s i n a s en t e n c e c on t ai n i ng a s e r i e s
o f dependent c l aus e s . A s imp le e x amp le i s s e en i n t he fo l l owing .
10

3
----
"
2 ",'"
1 '-..
1 I -_/'"
oha ia amagu na bo i , / i i a na re i au, when my fa t h e r aam e , h e s aw me .

Or a s en t e n c e t aken from a re c orded s ermon by a native s p e aker .

� r------- � ------
n a t ah i a n a m a r e w a l n a n i ' a i ' a t a i s a d a / ' i n i a i a G o d a m a e a
A life o f t his w o r l d i s n o t e n o u g h , b e aa u s e God i s h o l y .

Pattern 3 ends on tone 3 , b ut i s otherw i s e the s ame as patt ern 1 .

I t i s the t one norma l l y us e d for asking que s t ions , and i t s imp or t an ce
l i e s in t h e synt a c t i c f a c t that Aro s i h as no formal d i s t in c t i on b e tween
a s t at emen t and a que s t i on : i n t on at i on mus t b e re l i e d on . Thus :

e non i a bo i ? has a man aome ?

as c ontra s t e d w i t h the firs t given ab o ve for patt ern 1 .

I f the q ue s t i on asked involves a q ue s t i on word s uch as w h o ? or w ha t ?
there are mod i fi c at i ons o f p at tern 3 . I n Eng l i s h t h e s e que s t ion words
t ake the head pos i t i o n in the s e n t e n ce whether they are s ub j e c t s or
obj e ct s . In A r o s i they t ake it only i f they are s ubj e c t s , but i f they
are ob j e c t s they do not change from the normal ob j e c t p o s i t i on at the
e n d of the u t teran c e . In Eng l i sh the que s t ion form is w h a t did y o u
s e e ? w i t h a ch ange o f c onstru c t i on and t h e ob j e c t a t t h e head o f the
q ue s t i on . In Aro s i the order i s s t i l l that of the s t at emen t : y o u s aw
w ha t ? , and c on s eque n t l y unders t anding wi l l depend on the pre s e n c e o f
t h e que s t i on p a t t ern i n t onat ion . A c ontras t may t here fore b e e xhib i t e d
thus :

E nglish Arosi

3
('
2 ----../
1
w h o has aome ? i ate i a boi n ol a ?

r----- /---
w h om did y o u s e e ? 10 o m e s i a i a te i ?
 11

Eng lish Arosi

3
2
1
"---- -""'\ �
wha t did you s e e ? 10 omesls I taha7

A lt hough far from c omp le t e , the s e b r i e f s e c t i ons w i l l p rovid e a guide

to the i nt onat i on pat t e rns o f the l anguage.
 PART 2

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF AROSI

2.1.0 P RE L IMINARY

Human s p e e ch re s t s on u t t e ranc e s as a unit rather t h an on indivi dual

" w ords " . Th i s fact sugge s t s t h at the c le ar e s t t re at ment o f a language
should b e gi n w i t h conne c t e d u t t e ranc e s r athe r than w i t h formal or
p arad i gmat i c grammar , once the s ound s y s t e m has b ee n analy s e d . I n many
c as e s the more s tri c t ly gramma t i c al element s may be s t u d i e d pa�� pa��u
w i t h the var i o u s t y p e s o f u t t erance . Thi s cours e is p ursued in the
pre s e nt . brief analy s i s o f the A r o s i language.
C e r t ain t e rms must fi r s t be define d :

1. An utt erance i s any s t re t ch of s p e e ch , long or short - from a s ingle

word t o a c omple t e le c t ure .

2. A sen t ence i s an u t t e ran c e having int ernal but no external gramma­

t i c al.relat ionship s .

3. A di scourse i s an u t t e rance o f gre a t e r length than the s i ngle

s e nt e nc e , u t t e r e d by a s i ngle s p e aker , u s u ally c on c e rning a s i ngle
s ub j e ct . A d i s c o ur s e may b e s ub di v i de d int o s e c t i ons c ommonly r e fe rre d
t o as p aragraphs or s e c t i ons. In many language s there i s a syntax o f
the d i s c ou r s e as w e ll as , and s ome t ime s di ffering from , the synt ax o f
t h e s e nt e nc e .

The s entence as de fine d ab o ve , may b e divi de d int o two types - maj or

and - minor s entence s . A maj or sentence c ont ains a p redi c at e , c ons i s t ing
of at le a s t a s ingle verb al form . A minor s entence does not cont ain
a p re d i c at e . It i s c onveni ent to di s cus s the minor s entence f i r s t .

2.1.1 THE AROSI SENTENCE STRUCTURE

The two t y p e s o f sentence s as they o ccur i n A r o s i repeat the general

p a t t e r n jus t re ferred t o. Minor s ente n c e s include what K.L. P ike

12
 13

re fe rred t o a s n on-s e n t e n c e - forming uni t s . The s e may b e s ingle words ,

s uch as the e q u i v a le n t s o f y e s and n o , or of i nt e rj e c t i ons , or short
re p l i e s to que s t i on s that pre s up p o s e a fuller form p re c e d i n g , e . g . i n
Engli s h , i f t h e q ue s t i on t h a t has b e e n asked w a s Has he aome ? , t h e
reply m a y b e Y e s , o r lengthened t o Ye s , h e has . T h e l a t t e r i s a two­
part minor s en t e n c e , s i n c e h e h a s i s only p art o f a fu l l rep l y , he has
a om e , and quite different from he has i n the s e n s e o f h e p o s s e s s e s .
Maj o r s e n t e n c e s e xhib i t three t y p e s , e a c h s haring w i t h the others a
pre di c a t e whi ch contains a verb phrase of s ome s ort . In Aros i i a re i a
na ( w i t h s t re s s on re - ) , he has s e e n i t , c on s i s t s o f i a , h e ( or s h e )
a s ub s t i t u t e for s ome noun or noun phra s e; re i a , s e e ( i t ) , a verb al
phras e , and n a , a s i gn of comp le t e d ac t i on . Such an u t t erance is t h e r e ­
f o r e di agrammat i c al ly

NP + VP
ia re i - a - n a
he s ee - i t + comp l e t i on

S e nt e n c e s c on t ai n i n g one s uch ( NP + VP ) c on s t ru c t i o n are re ferred t o

as ' s i mp l e ' s e n t e n c e s . I f t w o o r more s u ch c on s t run c t ions o c c ur i n
imme d i ate s e que n c e , l i nk e d b y t h e equi valent s o f a n d , b u t or o r , they
form a ' c omp oun d ' s e n t e nc e . I f a s e c ond or further s t at e ment i s made ,
s ub ord inated t o the main s t a t ement , as i n I s aw h i m WHEN HE HAD COME,
the c on s t ru c t i on i s c al le d a ' co mp l e x' s en t e n c e .
The s ub t yp e s o f s en t e n ce s t o b e t re at e d here are thus :

A. Minor s e n t e n c e s
B. Maj or s e n t e n c e s : i. s i mp le
ii . c ompound
iii . c omplex

In B , a fur t h e r s ub group is found i n Engl i s h i n the shap e of emb e dded

e lement s s u ch as w h o i n t h e man WHO CAME YESTERDA Y is s i ak t o - day .
The s e form a s p e c i al t y p e of c omp l e x s en t e n c e whi ch has a q u i t e d i fferent
form i n A ro s i from that o f Engli s h .
Each of t he s e t ypes w i l l n ow b e t re at e d in s eq ue n c e .

A. M i nor Se n t e n c es

Aros i h as more t y p e s of minor s e n t e n c e s than Engl i sh , owing t o the

ab s e n c e o f an equi valent i n A r o s i t o the Engl i sh verb t o b e . In Aro s i
there fore minor s e n t e n c e s are d i v i s ib l e int o three s u b - t y p e s :
i. I n t e rj e c t i on s ; i i . Ye s - n o s en t e n c e s ; i i i . Equat i onal and de s cri p t i ve
s en t e n ce s .
14

i. Interj ect i o ns

S ome t ime s t he s e interj e ct ions can be u s e d in othe r cate gorie s , b e c au s e

they are h i s t ori c a l ly verb s or noun s : as a verb , are i s t o b e astoni s he d ,
from whi ch regular deri vat i on s produce areha, astonis hment ; aresl,

b e a s t o ni s h e d at.
As an appe l l at i ve , the 2nd person pronoun i s us e d , w i t h or w i thout
the addi t i on of -na: 'oe! You t h e re ! ; 'oena You t h e r e ! Friend . See
di c t i o n ary under 'ae and 'oe.

A Wango t ext exemp l i fi e s o thers , e . g. ai 1 kakarewa, kokone mwatage,

wauramoru! H i, t a k e oa re , j ust Z o o k , b roth e r s !

ii. Yes-no sentences

The equ i valent s in Aro s i are 10, y e s , and 'ai 'a, no , as in '0 tauaro?

101 A re y o u wo rking ? Yes ! The s e two w ords are used as c omp le t e

u t t erance s , as i n Engl i s h , o r t h e fu l l s e nt e n ce may b e rep e a t e d:

la amamu a hano? 'AI'a, ia 'al'a hano

he fat h e r -y o u went , N o , he not go

"Di d your fat h e r go ? No he didn 't g o . "

Perhap s a l s o the int erj e c t i ons kaia, I don ' t know , and bwaia, I don 't
understand may be ment i oned here as we l l.

iii. Equatio nal and Desc ri p t i ve sentences

The ab s e n ce o f any equ i valent t o a verb to b e from Aro s i creat e s a

part i cu l ar type o f minor s e ntence whi ch has no para l le l in mos t Europe an
language s . Thus :

Inau nl, I (am) here .

iia naihei? Kaia! W h e r e is he? I don ' t know .

naanI I mwaeraha adauu, This is t h e ir o h i e f.

e taha naani? bwaa, What is this ? A taro.

latei a inamu, Who i s your moth er ?

The ab o ve are equat i ve sentence s , as t h ough a mode l A = B were b e in g

f o l lowe d : e . g . he is my fath e r c onsis t s o f two p art s , h e and my fat h e r ,
whi ch are equ i v a lent t o e a ch other : he = my fat h e r . In such c as e s
A ro s i h a s n o verb al phrase , and t he A = B utt erance i s a type o f minor
s en t e n c e known as equ at i ve :
Ila = amagu, he = fat h e r-my .
 15

In some languages i n wh i c h this type o f equa t i ve sentence i s found ,

the descrip t i ve se n t e n ce as in he is o Z d , t h e h o u s e is Z a rg e , may c ontain
a verb a l c omponent and so b e dist i n c t from equat i ve sentences.
In Arosi a de scrip t i ve sent e n c e varies from the equative in one p oint
o n ly : a l ink rep laces the gap indi cated b y the " equals" si gn above , and
that l ink c onsists of a " sub j e ct marker" which o c curs in t he same p lace
i n a maj or sentence. This marker has b e e n tradi t i onally re ferred to i n
O ce an i c l inguist i cs as a " ve rbal pronoun " , b u t the t i t le used here seems
pre ferab l e . Whi le it i s perhaps p ossi b l e to say t hat i n such a sentence
as i' o e '0 gere mwane, y o u are a young man , or rarua raru wari no'a,

th ey-two w e re now o Z d , the adj e c t i val e lements young and o Z d are verba1-
i se d , and that there fore the sent ences a�e maj or sentences , it seems
pre ferab le t o maintain a di fferen ce be tween the two t ypes , b e cause i n
a n examp le s u c h a s ii a e noni n l Heuru, h e is a man o f Heuru , i t would
b e n e c e ssary to re gard noni, man as b e ing verba1ise d , thus adding a
quit e unne cessary comp l i cat ion t o the grammar. The sub j e c t marker
pre c e des all verbal forms , it i s true , but to verba1ise an expressi on
as i'ameu e noni tauaro, w e are workmen 1s not j ust i fi e d i n a language
in whi ch the dist i n c t i on b e tween n oun and verb as spe e c h cate gories
rests on the part i c les that can b e used b e fore each .
The fu l l forms o f the sub j e c t markers ( wh i ch vary for t ense ) are
g i ve n b e l ow (§C.l.i(b)); for the present the f o l l owing examp les w i l l
i l lustrate t h e descri p t i ve sentence i n this language :

Inau au wari, I am o Z d

i'oe '0 gere mwane, (yo u are ) a young man

iia a warl, he (or she ) is o Z d

ia urao a amara, t h e woman i s b arren

i a a l mwaeraha, h e w i Z Z b e g r e at

na atana na maea, h i s name is ho Zy

na 'aungagu a totou, my mind i s trou b Z e d

na hasi 'ona na maemae 'a, h i s b o dy i s w e a k

i bara n a raha, t h e g ateway i s wide

'
The sub j e c t markers ( abbreviated as 8M ) are a, na, 0 ( 2nd p erson ) , au

( 1st p e rson ) , e ( noun-marker (NM)), and al ( 3rd p erson sing. , fut ure )
in the ab ove examp les .
P ossessive sentences may some t imes be expressed in Arosi by means o f
16

a d e s c r i p t i ve minor s en t e n c e , e . g . tane i e rua gere ana , a - ce r ta i n -man

8M two s o n h i s , i . e . a c e r t a i n man had two s o n s . There are s e veral
other ways o f e xp re s s ing p os s e s s i on , wh i ch are treated b e l ow in
§C . 2 . 2. ( ; i ) .

B. M a jo r Se n t e n c e T y p es

The maj or s en t e n c e t y p e s in Aro s i are n e i t he r nume rous nor c omp l i c at e d .

The y are the fo l l ow i ng , e ach c on s i s t ing o f a noun-phras e ( NP ) and a
ve rb a l phras e (VP ) j o i ned ( + ) , b u t the phra s e s are de ve loped d i ffere n t ly
i n each type . The symb o l u s e d t o i nd i c at e the s e nt e n c e i s 8 --> NP + VP ,
wh i ch i s t o be re ad as " rewri t e s e n t e n c e as noun phrase p lus verb phras e " .
The ways i n whi ch t h i s may b e done in Aro s i are :

1. 8 --> NP + VP : e n on i a boi , a man came

W i t h e xp an s i on s of NP : e n on i t ewa ni Heu ru a boi , a ta t t He uru man c am e ,

or e xpans i on s of VP : i ia ni a bo i be i a u no ' a i rodo he came to me by
n i g h t , and w i t h b oth e xp an s i ons c omb ined : e n o n i t e \�a n i H e u ru a bol
be i au no ' a i rodo , a ta t t Heuru man came to m e by n i g h t . In the last
c a s e t h e order o f e le me n t s i s :

+8 + V ± L ± T ,

the add i t i onal e leme n t s b e i n g L = t o c a t i o n and T = t ime .

2. S --> NP + VP + NP : e non i a rongoa i aoha na mawa , a man

l 2
h e a rd the s o und of the w i n d

H e r e two NP ' s o c c ur , o n e as s ub j e c t a n d t h e other as ob j e c t i n a tra n s ­

i t i ve s e n t e n c e . Expans i ons o f v a r i o u s k i nds a r e p o s s ib le; o n e s u c h i s
mw a n i non i nai rongoa i a o h a n a ma ra 'ai 'a ' i ra ra i dora na uh i ma i i 'ei ,
t h e m e n wi t t h e a r i t s s o und and n o t know w h e r e i t c ame from . In t h i s
c a s e a l s o a n e xt r a c laus e h a s b e e n adde d . The order o f e le me n t s in an
e xp ande d s en t e n c e o f t h i s k i n d i s

+8 + V + 0 ± L ± T ± R

i.e. ob l i ga t ory s ub j e c t , verb and obj e c t , opt i onal l o c a t i on , t ime and

reas on: others a l s o c o u l d have b e en added , and the s e w i l l be d i s cus s e d
l a t e r ( §C . 2 . 4 . ) under t h e general heading o f ' mo d i f i e rs o f VP ' .
A u s e ful me thod of analy s i ng the s e s e nt e n c e t y p e s i s found in
' c ons t i t ue nt s t ru c t ure ' gramma r . In an Engli sh s e nt e n c e such as the
man wi t t see t he h o u s e , there are present a numb e r o f c on s t i t ue n t
phras e s . The s e are a NP ( t h e man ) and a VP ( wi t t s e e t h e h o u s e ) the
l a t t e r b r e ak i ng down i n t o a V ( w i t t s e e ) and a N ( t h e h o u s e ) . The NP
 17

in e a ch c as e c ons i s t s of two e l ement s , an 'art i c le' ( t h e ) and a noun :

the former i s s ymb o l i s e d by T ( fo r t - h e ) . The verb c o ns i s t s o f a verb
(see ) and an auxi l i ary ( Aux : wil l ) . Each b ranching p o int i n the re­
writ in g o f S i s c a l le d a ' node ' , from wh i ch othe r e leme n t s may i n t urn
be s e p arated out . Thus:

VP NP
�V
A ux �NT

w nl l
8 e the
I I
hou8e

� n A r o s i the p i c t ure i s :

( 1) S
------
NP VP NP

T
�
N Aux
�V T
�
N
I I I I I I
e nonl al omesla ruma

The re are in t h i s di f fe renc e s from the Engl i s h that wi l l b e shown late r ,

e. g . vari ation b e tween e and I a s art i c le s . A t t h i s s t age the verb
omesla i s not fully anal y s e d : the root i s ome-, -51 indi c at e s that i t
1 s t rans i t i ve , and -a i s an ' an t i c ipat ory ob j e c t ' whi ch var i e s a c c ordin g
t o c i r c ums t an ce s . A t the moment the c ompound may b e t reated as a unit .
A few furthe r examp l e s of the vari ous s ub ty p e s of the A r o s i s i mp le
sente n ce w i l l c lari fy the me thod o f analy s i s b y c on s t i t uent s t ru c t ure s .

(2 ) Inau nau omesia, I 8 e e hi.m

S
------
NP VP NP
I
�V I
N Aux N
I
Inau
I I I
nau omesi--- a

(3) Expans i on of NP : na mwaeraha al araml raau, t h e chief wil l

a n s w e r the m .

NP VP NP

T
�
N
�V
Aux N
I

I I I I I
na mwaeraha al araml--- raau
18

(4 ) Expan s i on of t he NP2 ( ob j e ct noun phrase ) :

'0 o m e s l' I I r u ma na r a ha 51, you see those big house s .

s
----------
NP VP_-- -------- ------
I AU � ;---- 0 --
N
--A---- D
I I
T A
I , I I I
fJ '0 ome s l ' - I r um a n a - r a ha 51
you s e e - them the house big that

Here t here i s n o i n i t i a l NP, s o the symb o l zero (0) appears in i t s p lace .

The p lura l i t y of h o u s e i s marked by the s u ffix - ' I whi ch therefore i s an
ant i c i p at ory ob j e c t ( marked 0 in the VP) p i cked up by NP 2, wh i ch i s t h e
t rue ob j e c t . T h e symb o l s A and D s t and f o r adj e c t i ve and demon s trat i ve
re s p e c t i ve ly .

(5) Expans i on of the s ub j e c t NP i s s e e n in t he next examp le:

mw a n e nonl a na ' i 51 ra ome s l' I I r u ma na raha 51 ,

t h o s e t h r e e men of h i s s e e t h a t b i g h o u s e .

mw a n e non I ana ' i 5I ra ome sl ' - I r u ma na raha sl

Complex sentences h ave alre ady b e e n de fined as those c ontaining more

than one verb al form, the f i r s t in the main c l au s e, the other or others
i n dependent c laus e s at t ached t o i t . In Engl i sh , s uch a sente nce as
we saw t h e h o u s e w h i c h t h e y had carefu l l y l o ck e d up contains two c laus e s ,
and may b e t ra c e d b ac k t o the comb inat ion o f two s e p arate underlying
s t atement s , e ach a s e p arate s i mp le s entence : ( a ) we s aw t h e h o u s e and
(b ) t h e y had carefu l l y l o c k e d t h e h o u s e up . The s e are then conj oined
b y de l e t ing the s e c ond o c c urrence o f t h e house and rep l a c i ng i t by w h i ch ,
one of a numb er o f ' WH-word s ' u s e d for such purp o s e s . The proce s s o f
d o i ng t h i s i s c a l led ' embedding ' . The Eng l i s h form of i t might b e
repre s e n t e d b y a c on s t i t uent s truc t ure di agram o f t h e f o l l ow i ng nat ure :
 19

(6) 31
_____ ______
NP VP _____
I
I X---+32
V T N )
we �
S w t e h �
ho s e .___ /
-------
NP
�- --
VP--
I
__________

/"-... --NP
� 2__ _____
/ "-...
Aux V T N M
I I I I I
they had s h u t-up the house carefu Z Z y

where the s ymb o l M repre sent s ' modi fier o f the VP', o f whi ch t here are
s e veral k i nd " s ). The NP2 o f t h e s e c ond c l ause (+32) is
rep la c e d b y w h i c h and w h i c h i s by a further rule trans ferred t o t h e h e ad
o f the c lause, giving the final Eng l i sh form o f the s entence. *
The Aro s i equivalent t o t h e s e c omp l e x s e n t e n c e s fa l l s s im i l arly int o
t w o p art s , but in t h i s l anguage the p ar t s frequen t ly have no grammat i c al
l ink w i t h e ach other . The ab ove e xamp le i s :

(7) i 'ameu meu omesia i ruma ra honosia ha'agorohla

3
------
NP VP=-----

A ux
� V 0 A
�
N +3 2
I ' ameu m u l �
om si ___ !
�---
I ._��
NP VP

�M
A
y I � I
o ra honosl-a ha 'agorohia

A ro s i s truc t ure i s more c l o s e ly ak i n t o t hat form o f the Eng l i s h

re l at i ve s en t e n c e whi ch omi t s w h i c h, b ut there i s a re l a t i ve i n Aro s i
(§C.2.2.ii). O t her e x amp le s wi l l b e given in the re levan t s e ct i on.

* abb revi ated ,

F or det a i l s o f t he s e p r o ce s s e s i n E n gl i s h , here s omewhat
see Owen Tho ma s , T�an� 6 0�ma�io nat G�amma� and � h e T e a c h e� 0 6 E n g ti� h,
H o l t , R i neha r t & W i n s t o n , I n c . 1 9 67, p p . 9 2 f f . or the more e l ab o r a t e
Emm o n B a c h , A n In��o d u c�i o n to T�an� 6 0 �mati o n at G�amma�� , s ame p ub l i s her s ,
1 96 4 .
20

S u c h emb ed d i ngs are s i gna l l e d a l s o by a s e t o f c laus e l inks s u ch as

o h a, tim e , p eriod , u s e d as a re lat ive w he n : oh a au r ela, when I B aw i t
and t a o h a, B ome tim e , when , as in t a o h a '0' I ' arl '0 d aua, w h e n you g o ,

get i t . In final p o s i t i on in a s entence , howeve r , t h i s word t a o h a

re t ains its i nde fini t e meaning: wa ' I ' a r l t a oh a, B ometime I win g o .
A further examp le i s :

• • • ma n a o h a n a ' a doma ' i s i b as i b a mau ' I nl h e r e h o nl ,

and t h e time he t h o ug h t l o ok y e t abo u t t hing t hiB
'w hi l e he waB s ti l l m e di t a ting abo u t t hiB m a t t e r ' .

C. SU8-SENTE NCE UN I TS

C.O Int roducto ry: P a r ts of Sp e ec h

Some t hing ne eds t o b e s a i d ab out ' p art s o f s p e e ch ' i n Aro s i b e c au s e

t h e group i ngs o f words in a language has b e e n s uch a normal proc e ed ing
t h at it c annot be avo i de d , even though in a given case it may be l e s s
app ropriate - and Eng l i s h i s one o f t h e given c as e s , in which the
trad i t i onal group ing o f words into a ce rtain numb e r of p ar t s o f s p e e ch
i s now r e al i s e d t o be uns at i s fact ory from many points of view .
Like the b u lk of l anguage s c l as s i fied al ong w i t h it as "Me l ane s i an " ,
Aro s i d o e s not lend i t s e l f t o s t r i c t c l as s i fi c ation of words int o t he
t rad i t i onal ' p art s of s p e e ch ' , s u ch as noun , verb , adj e c t ive e t c . One
and the s ame word may func t i on in any or a l l the c l as s e s a c c ording t o
i t s s y n t a ct i c p o s i t ion , and t h i s w i l l have appeared i n s ome o f the
examp l e s given i n p art B . I n that part i t was o ften c onvenient to divide
an ut t e rance int o NP and VP , s ubj e c t , obj e c t , mod i fi e r and s o on b e c au s e
s uch group ings p lay a re al part in t h e s y nt a c t i c s t ruc t ure o f t h e
language . Ye t such groupi ngs are n o t t o b e re garded as final , and when
i n the s t udy of s ub - s e ntence uni t s i n p art C it b e c ome s de s irab le to
c l as s i fy a word as a memb e r o f one c at e gory or anothe r , there t urns out
to b e a c ons i de rab le amount of ove r l ap. Thu s , susu may funct i on as a
noun in the envi ronment na .. . -na, as in n a sus u n a, her bre a B t b ut as a
verb in t h e e nvironment a • . . ( 3rd person s ingu l ar marker ) , in e g a r e a
susu, t h e ahi l d B u ck e d the bre a s t. Simi l arly , a ru may be e i ther a l an d
bre eze or t o b l ow co l d ac c ording t o i t s environment . S t i l l more out­
s t anding i s the examp le ang a, bag , i n e . g . n a a n g a ana, hiB bag, b u t as
a verb in l a a a n g a I h ua, he haB bete lnu t in hi8 b ag: here there i s no
dire c t Eng l i s h e quivalent , for the c o l l oquial Engl i s h h e bagged i t is
di fferent again ; redup l i c ate d , an gaan g a i s to have a bag and so t o b e
ri c h ( b e c a u s e having enough p o s s e s s i ons t o b e worth having a bag for ) ,
 21

and sae a n g aa n g a i h a ' a i s a rich man , and by an ext e ns i on not obvious

t o We s t e rn minds , a marr i e d man . I t i s t h e re fore ne c e s s ary to d i s c ar d
We s t e rn p a t t e rns i n c las s i fy ing Aro s i w o r d s i n t o grammat i c al c la s s e s .
A r o s i words are thus rat her s imi lar t o t h o s e o f Eng l i s h in regard
to i s o lab i l i t y and c las s i fi c at i on . In Engl i s fl , for examp le l o ve may
funct i on as e i th e r a noun or a verb , appear i ng in the e nv i ronment h i s . . .
or he . . . -s ( in he l o v e s ) . In a maj o r i t y o f i n s t ance s , p e rhap s , s u c h
amb ivalence d o e s not oc cur in Engl i s h ; but i t s o c c urrence in a l anguage
l i k e Aro s i is much gre ate r , as t he ab ove examp l e s have s h own . In
Englis h , s u ch a word as t h o u s and c a n ne ver appear i n a verb a l frame ; i n
Aros i , howeve r , very many w ords c an appe ar i n frames whi ch are e i ther
nominal o r ve rb a l . The l i mi t s are u l t imat e ly s e mant i c , not grammat i c al .
I t i s advi s ab le , there fore , t o avo i d c l a s s ing A r o s i i s o la t e s into ri gid
c la s s e s t o b e l ab e l l e d ' p ar t s o f s p e e c h ' . The unit for grammat i c al
analy s i s in t h i s l anguage i s there fore the phrase rather than the
i s o l at e , b e c a u s e the phrase s upp l i e s the ne c e s s ary e nvi ronmental frame
of r e ference . C ons eque ntly p art C has b e e n headed " s ub - s entence uni t s "
i . e . phras e s tr u c t ure s , rather than ' morpho l ogy ' . A ct u a l infle c t i ona�
forms do o c c ur , b ut they are very l im i t e d in numb er , even more so t h an
in s ome other ' Me lane s i an ' l anguage s .
I n the tre atme nt o f the s e s ub - s entence uni t s , i t has p rove d b e s t t o
t re at the verb phrase b e fore the noun phras e , b e cause the verb c an give
ri s e t o nomina l i s at ions , wh i le the noun d o e s not produce verb al i s at i on s .
The f o l l ow ing s e c t i on t h e re fore introd u c e s the d e t ai l s of the verb
phras e .

C. l . The Verb Phrase

(1) Verb Roots and Derivati ves

The verb r o o t in i t s s imp l e form i s ne i t her t r ans i t ive nor i nt rans ­

i t i ve , b u t ne utral . Any a f fi x added t o the root form change s i t s b as i c
me aning i n s ome way . Words s uch as h a ' a t e , spe a k , 'a r i , g o , w e t e run
q ui c k l y e xe mp l i fy t h i s s imp le or root form , and s uch forms o c cur free ly
in s e n t e n c e s : '0 b wa' i ha' ate t an aa, you are n o t t o s p e a k t o h im; '0'1

w e t e s u r la, run - q u i c k l y aft e r him . Vari ous suffi x e s as we l l as pre f i x e s

may b e adde d t o t h e r o o t form , e . g . w e t e h l - , g o q u i ck l y t o ( a p l a c e ) ;
the p r e f i x o f c au s at i on h a ' a - produ c e s h a ' aw e t e , cau s e t o run q u i c k l y ,
and in c omb inat i o n w i t h the s u f fi x , h a ' a - w e t e - h l - , cau s e t o run q ui c k l y
to . .. From ' a r l, go , may b e formed ' a r i n g a ' l, wa l k w i t h . . . , ' arlta ' i ,
g o away fro m , h a ' a'a r l , s e n d for , h a ' a ' a r lh i - , s e nd off, b i d farewe l l t o .
22

The s e e xamp l e s show that a verb u s e d other than int rans i t ive ly carr i e s
a marker t o indicate that i t has a n ob j e c t , i . e . that i t i s t rans i t ive:
e . g . ome- , l o o k, see > ome - si- , l o o k at, s ee ( s omeone o r somet hing) .
The a c t ua l form o f the suffix has t o be learned emp i ri cally , i t cannot
be predi cted . F or the forms o f the t rans i t iv; s uffix see b e low
(§C.l.iii). To the t ran s it i ve s u f fix mus t b e added an ant ipi cat ory
obj e c t , as though one s aJd in Engl i sh I SEE him t he man : A ro s i au omesi - a
i n on i . H e re - a i s the ant i c ipat ory ob j e c t o f t h e 3rd p e r s on s i n gu lar ,
as s e e n in ear l i e r examp l e s . I f the ob j e ct is a p ronoun i t i s added
immediate ly to the verb and n o o ther is neede d , e . g . au omesi- ' o, I see
you .
In add i t i on t o verbal forms as s u ch , des cript i ve s or adj e c t i ve s i n
Ar o s i are bas i c a l l y verbal in nature , as app eared in a n ear li e r s e c t i o n
i n the d i s cu s s i on o f M i n o r Sent e n ce s ( Part 2 §1(i1i)). Such words there­
fore form i n thi s language a s ub - c la s s o f the verb s , and they can be
t urned i n t o q ua l i fying adj e ct ive s by a s imp le t rans format i on lab e lled
T (§C.2.2.(i)). In Eng l i s h adj e ct i v e s are often t reated as a s u b ­
adj
c las s o f the noun , b ut i n Aro s i t h e y fi t b e t t er i n t o the verbal c la s s .
Further , n o t al l verb s can b e fol l owed b y any given prepos i t ion o r
re lator - a s in Eng l i s h one may s ay l o o k for , w i t h a different meaning
from the s imp le l o o k or the c ompound l o o k a t; o r he heard a noise b ut
not he lis tened a noise. Tran s i t ive verb s are there fore div i s i b le i n t o
a c o n s i derab l e numb e r o f sub-c las s e s , b o th in E n g l i s h and in Aro s i .
The fu l l range o f t h e s e s ub - c las s e s canno t b e s e t out in d e t ai l i n a
c onde n s e d g ramma t i cal introdu c t ion s u ch as the pre s ent .
The s u b - group s of Aro s i verb s that need t o be d i s t inguis hed in the
p re s ent c onne c t i on are expre s s ed i n a " re -wri t e " form as fo l lows:

V ( ve rb i n t rans i t ive , e . g . ' a r i, go)

i
V ( verb with t ran s i t ive s uffix , e . g . ome-si, see)
t
V ( ve rb s w i t h s pe cial c ons t ruc t i ons of vari ous kinds ) .
t

I
2 • . . n

V+

V ( verb that can b e tran s formed t o a c t a s a de s c ript ive )

adj
V ( caus at ive verb , p r e fixing h a ' a - )

1
cs
V ( re c ipro cal verb , e . g . h ei - n g ah u- i, s trike each o ther)
r
V ( s t at i ve verb , showing c ondit i o n , e . g . ma - k a ri, t o rn)
st
V ( ve rb t rans formed into a noun , e . g . t a r o, te l l news >
n om
t a r o - h a, news)
 23

Each o f t h e s e group s w i l l b e d i s c us s e d i n s u c ce s s i o n ; b ut b e fore t h i s

i s done , i t i s c o nveni ent t o s e t out the e l eme n t s o f VP that o c cur
re gu larly i n all c on s t ru c t i on s involving a verb a l phra s e o f any kind at
a l l , s u ch as the marke r s of t e ns e . The fundamental fac t to rememb e r in
Aro s i as i n mos t M e l ane s ian language s i s t hat a verb cannot o c cur
i s o lat e d or unsuppor t e d in an ut t e ranc e . I f inau = I and 'arl = go , i t
i s n o t p o s s ib le t o s ay i n a u 'a r i = I go . The re mus t b e an indi cator o f
p e r s on , numb e r and t i me t hat l i nks t h e a c t o r l n a u t o t h e act i on 'a r i:
i n t h i s case n a u , s o that the u t t e rance b e c ome s i n a u n a u 'a r i, I go .
The part that c an b e omi t t e d i s the a c t or , l n au, un l e s s the u t t e ranc e
i s emphat i c , £ a m g o i n g , ( n o ma t t e r w h a t y o u do) . F ormally , the b ulk
o f t h e s e ' l i nk s ' are short forms of the p ronoun s , and t h e s e have
genera l l y b e e n re ferred to as ' ve rb a l pronoun s ' in t radi t i onal Me lane s ian
grammars . Not alway s , howe ve r , are they short forms of a p ro noun , and
the t erm ' s ub j e ct marker ' ( ab b r e vi a t e d to sm) is u s e d here for them .
I n the normal dai ly s p e e c h no verb appears w i th o u t a s ub j e c t marke r .
A t h i rd p e r s on form s uch as h e o r s h e g o e s would b e expre s s e d as iia a
' ar i , and i n thi s case the pronoun iia ( 3rd p e r s o n s i ngular ) may n o t b e
omi t t e d . I f t h e s ub j e c t i s a noun t h e sm mus t s t i l l appear : e i n o n i a
'a r i, t h e man g o e s ; e g a r i a 'a ri, t h e c h i l d g o e s . The New Guinea
P i dgin us age of man go , p i k i n i n i i go, re f le c t s t h i s rule . In s ome
M e lane s i an languages the sm may b e omit t e d i f an order i s b e ing gi ve n
t o one p e rs on , b ut n o t s o i n Aros i : '0' i ' a ri, go!, Y o u mus t go . No
p r e d i cate can there fore s t and w i t h o ut a pre ce ding sm, and it is doub t fu l
whe t h e r i n analy s i s the sm should b e re ckoned a s part o f t h e subje c t or
of the pre d i cat e .
The A r o s i verbal phra s e thus i nvolve s three feature s :

1. I t mus t b e g i n w i t h a s ub j e c t marke r ( s m )

2. The sm c on s i s t s o f a morpheme f o r wh i ch i t i s c onve n i e nt t o

retain the name ' s hort pronoun' , and o f t h e s e there are two k inds :
( a ) sm , marking the ac t i on as non-future ( NF )
l
( b ) sm , marking the a c t i on as fut ure .
2
3. A ft e r the verb may fo l l ow an aspe c t marker .

Examp l e s of ( 1 ) have appeared in a l l maj or s ente n c e s u s e d h i thert o ,

and are s e e n i n others s uch a s

iam e u me u ' a ri
actor sm" a c t i on
we (we ) went (or go)
24

Examp l e s of ( 2 ) are s h own as f o l l ow s :

a. s h ort pronoun ( a ) as i n the p r e c e d i ng examp l e , where m e u repre­

s e nd s , is s m form f or , l a m e u, w e .

b. short p ronoun ( b ) nau na'i 'ar I

I I - s ha Z Z go
'I s h a Z Z g o ' .

Examp l e s o f ( 3 ) :

1. i a me u m e u omesla n o' a
we (we) s e e - him a 'lr e a dy
'we h a v e s e e n him a 'lr e a dy , .

i1 . i a me u m e u o m e s I a mau
we (we) s e e - him s ti Z Z
' w e can s ti 'l 'l s e e him ' .

i a me u me u ' a i 'a o me s la ma u
we (we) n o t s e e - him s ti Z Z
' w e ha v e n o t s e e n him y e t ' .

D e t a i l s o f e ach o f the s e forms fo l l ow b e low .

a. Short P ro nouns

The s e c ons i s t of an abb revi a t e d form of the c ardinal pronouns l i s t e d

b e l ow (§ C . 2 . 3(i ) . They mark t h e p e r s on o f t h e ac t or i n t h e th�ee
numb e rs wh i ch the language re c ogni s e s - s ingu lar , dual and p lura l , for
Aro s i marks two peop le as a c t ors o r goal s eparat e ly from the general
p l ur a l of Engl i s h . In the non- s i ngular 1st pers on t h e re is a furth e r
d i s t in c t i o n b e tween a form wh i ch inc lud e s the p e r s on addre s s e d and one
whi ch e x c l ud e s him . Thus , igia ga ' i ' a rt , we (a 'l 'l) wi 'l 'l g o , b ut l a me u
me ' t ' a ri we ( b u t n o t y o u) wi 'l 'l g o .
The formula for the p e r s on ind i cat ing aux i l i ar i e s i & thus :
Aux .... p + t

p
{ } Sing .
dual
p lur .

where p = p e r s on , t = tens e ; NF = non- future ( i . e . p r e s ent or p a s t ) ;

F = future . Square bracke t s i nd i c at e that one alternat ive only may b e
u s e d at a t ime , i . e . N F o r F b ut natura l ly n o t b o t h ; b ra c e s i nd i c at e
t h a t o n e o f e ach s e t comb i ne s w it h one o f t h e o t h e r at a t ime , e . g . 1st
s ingu l ar , 2nd s ingul ar e t c .
 25

b. Tense System o f Arosi

M e l ane s i an l anguag e s do not s p e c i fy the t ime of ac t i on exac t ly as do

Europe an language s . In Aro s i the p r i n c i p l e on whi ch the verb al s y s tem
w o rd s d i f fe r s from that o f Engl i sh . It d i s t ingui s h e s b e tween t i me o f
a c t i on ( tense ) and s t at e o f a c t i on ( as p e c t ) , and provi des a l s o for
s e q uence o f more than one a c t i on . The f o l l owing di agram shows the
system:

Inde fini t e Pas t Fut ure

Time + + +

Aspect + + -
Se quence + - +

P l u s s i gns indi c a t e the p risenc e , minus s i gns the ab s ence o f a given

form .
Time may be c ons i de re d f i rs t . The t e n s e marked ' inde fini t e ' i s
re l at i ve ly free o f t ime ; i t c ontrast only w i t h fut ure act i on . I t may
re fer to an a c t i on ( or a s t at e ) whi ch is pre s ent or was pre s e nt . It
me re ly as s e r t s t h e event o r cond i t i o n , and may answe r t o e i t her pre s e nt
o r pas t forms in Eng l i s h , e . g . na g e re ga re a ang i, t h e Zit t Z e b o y is
crying or t h e Zit t Z e b o y crie d , depending on the c ontext of s i t u at i on .
I f a d e f i ni t e ly p a s t event has t o be marke d as s uc h , t h i s can b e done
only in the 3 rd p e r s on s i ngular and p lura l , by prep o s i ng n a b e fore the
gener a l part i c l e . The f i r s t p e rs on a u may b e c ome n a u, but th i s may
o c cur a l s o in the i nde fini t e t en s e . The t h i rd p e r s on p lural b e c ome s
n ar a ( for n a ra < n a ra u ) . C odring t on gave a s e c ond p e r s on s ingul ar
n a 'o for Wango , b u t that d o e s not s e em t o o c cur in Aros i .
Once the t ime of the a c t i on i s made c le ar , the i nde fini t e marke r i s
s uf fi c i ent ( un l e s s t h e s equence marke r g u i s u s ed ) : t t a n a o m e s i a t dao
a n a mw a n e m a ( = ma+a ) ' i ra r a a bwa n i oas i n o'a , ma gu h a'a t e tanaa oant,

h e s aw t h e man ' s sickne s s and knew tha t h e had b e e n Z ong s o and s aid t o
him... Here n a f i xe s the a c t ion in the p as t ; the next c l au s e there fore
may have a i ns te ad o f n a , wh i le the t h i rd shows a s equence of a c t i on ,
and us e s g u t o i nd i c a t e t he fact that t h i s a c t ion f o l l owed on as a
re s u l t o f the other two .
F u t ure t i me may b e expre s s e d in two way s : ( i ) b y means o f a s p e c i a l
s e t o f marke r s , t e rminat i ng in - i . The f i r s t p e rs on s i ngular w a i is
i rregular and l oo k s l i k e a me t athe s i s f o r a u - i , a s C o dringt on e ar l i e r
s ugge s t ed . In all other cases the - i i s added t o t h e i nde fini t e forms :
'o - i , a- i , m u r u- i , etc . ( i i ) by the u s e of the verb ' ar i , wi th
26

i nd e fi n i t e part i c le s , very much like the Eng l i s h use of I ' m g o i ng t o . . .

There i s a doub le u s e of ' a r i , howeve r , in t hat i t c an a l s o me an go o n ,

c o n t i n ue . C odrington ' s Wango examp l e , corre c t e d s li gh t ly , c an be u s e d :
n a wa i a 'a r i b u bu, t h e w a t e r g o e s on t r i o k Z i n g . Howeve r , i t is qui t e
good A r o s i t o s ay i n a u a u ' a rl ome s i a, I a m g o i ng t o s e e h i m , i n al l i t s
Eng l i s h s en s e s . In s u ch c a s e s 'a r l b e c ome s an auxi l i ary verb and
part i c le s are not always u s e d with it b e fore the s e c ond verb: w a l ' a r l
h a ' a t a - h i a, I s ha Z Z go and h e a Z h i m . Fut ure markers are a l s o u s e d t o
expre s s a w i s h : i n t h e Book o f C ommon Pray e r , T h e Lord b e w i t h y o u i s
t ran s l a t e d :

i a A ra h a al

t h e Lord 3 s g . F . s tay w i t h - y o u

The s e cond fe ature t o c o n s i der i s a s p e c t . The t e rm ' aspec t ' refers

to t h e s t ate o f the a c t ion - i s i t c omp l e t e or not : + m a u indi cate s
i n c omp l e t e ne s s , s t i Z Z ; n o'a ind i c a t e s c omp le t ion , a Z re ady : i la a ang i
m a u, he i s ( s ti Z Z ) ory i ng ; i ia na a n g l n o'a, he ori e d but i t i s now a l l
ove r ; a t a h a n o ' a , h e has arr i v e d a n d i s pre s e n t ; n a r a a i d a n g l n o' a ,
they h a v e Z e arn t and now know .
The t h i rd feature i s s equence , The s e quence part i c le s answer more
or l e s s to Eng l i s h and or and t h e n , and s ig n i f i e s that the s e c ond a c t ion
fo l low s imme d i at e ly o r as a result of the other . Thus n a u o m e s la m a g u

h a ' a te t a n a a, I saw him and s p o k e t o him ; ila na bo l ma na g u wa teau

h e r e h o, h e came and g a v e m e t h e t h i n g . The s eque n c e s mark e r may t ak e

the - i o f future t ime : g u l : r a i o m e s i a m a r a g u i w a 'e w a 'e, t h e y w i l l

s e e h i m and r e jo i ce . It may a l s o an swer t o l i k e Z y t o , was to happe n:
I ia a ' i ra ra'i mw a n l h e r e h o rau g u t o'o ' i a, he knew t h e t hi n g s t h a t
w e re t o oome u p o n h i m ( John 1 8 : 4 ) . In t h e 1 s t s ingular , w a i , I s h a l Z
l o s e s i t s e n ding , wh i ch i s t rans ferre d t o g u : w a g u i 'a d om a 'l, I s ha Z Z
t h e n t h i n k ( Mt . 1 8 : 21 ) . In the 3rd s i ngu l ar howeve r there i s doub l e
indi c a t i on o f futuri ty : a i gu i, a n d he w i Z Z . The t ime phrase a l g u l
t a rl, un t i Z i l lu s trate s t hi s .
The t ab le b e l ow summar i s e s the t e n s e - a s p e c t p art i c le s in Arosi.
 27

No . and Pers . Time Aspect Sequence

I nde f . Past Fut ure Inde f . Past I nde f . F u t ure

S i ng . 1 (n) au nau wa i
2 '0 '0 'oi
3 a na (n)a i

Dual 1 ( inc l ) gar i ga r i i

1 (excl ) mi ri mi ri i
2 mu r u muru i

3 ra ru raru i ma u , no' a , gu gu i
gau nau
P lur . 1 ( i nc l ) gaa u , gau ga i
1 ( e xc l ) m i , me u me i
I
2 mou mo i I
i

3 rau , ra na ra ra i

c. Negation

The ne gat i ve p art i c l e s i n A r o s i are 'ai 'a, abu , a bw a ' i , and b w a ' i .
The f i rs t , ' ai ' a, i s a general ne gat ive and may b e u s e d w i t h a minor
s entence as we l l as with maj o r sentence s . I t i s non - fu t ure , i . e .
p r e s ent or p as t .
Examp l e s :
' oi 'ai 'a I i ra r a , y o u don ' t know .

' a mo u m o u ' a i ' a a i dang i s i a , y o u ( p l . ) don ' t know ( t he fa c t ) .

t a ne i ' a i ' a o me s i a , n o b o dy has s e e n h i m ( li t . s om e b o dy has n o t

seen him)

ona 'oi 'ai ' a g a re n a , i ' oe gas i do ' o r a n a 7 If you are not his son,
p e rhaps y o u a r e h i s bro t h e r ?

i nau 'ai ' a i ia, I a m no t he .

I t i s a l s o the negat i ve adverb no : i a a ram i raa u , 'Ai 'a, he a n s w e r e d

t hem, No .
The re is a rarer form, ae: in the G os p e l t rans lat i on it is u s e d , e . g .
i n J ohn 1 : 1 1 : mana n on i rago ana ' i r a a e h a ' a ma o t oa , b u t a l l hi s p e op l e
d i d n o t re c e i v e h i m ; and J ohn 1 : 3 1 : au ae I i ra r a mau I inla, I didn ' t y e t
know h i m . Th i s form w a s u s e d in the t rans lat i on o f p art s o f t h e Book
o f C ommon Prayer pub li s h e d in Wango di�le c t i n 1 9 0 1 , where it i s s p e l l e d
28

a l : ' ame u me u al t a l s a d a , we are n o t wo r t h y . The s e e xamp l e s are a l l

r e p l a c e d b y ' a l ' a in t h e l a t e r Aro s i t rans lat ions o f the s ame pa s s age s ,
and Codrington i n h i s Wango grammar doe s not ment i on a l .
C omb ined w i th m a ' u a , o r , m a ' u a ' a l ' a i s o r no t : a l t a l s a da gas l be l a
no ' a ' In l t o ra ' l a hako , ma ' u a ' a l ' a , w h e t h e r i t wi l l be e n o ug h w i t h him

that h e may comp l e te a l l o r no t ( Luke 1 4 : 2 8 ) . Codringt on also remarks

that ' a l ' a as answer may be equivalent to n o t h i ng , and give s the e xamp le
taha nal a n ga s l ? 'AI 'a, Wha t is in t h a t bag ? No t h i n g .
The remaining part i c le s l i s t e d a l l c arry a s p e c tual or modal ove r t one s .
' A b u i s dehortative or forb i dding : abu 'arl , don ' t go . It may b e
fo l low e d b y the fut ure marke r ' I , and t h e n s e rve s as a negative order o r
s ugge s t i o n , l i k e Eng l i s h , y o u m u s t no t : '01 abu ' l he l ngahu , You mus t
n o t commi t murde r ; ' 01 abu ' l h e l be r l , do n ' t s te a l .
A bwa ' I , b wa ' i corre s p ond more c l o s e ly t o the op t at ive or future
ne gat ive : a bwa ' I , I don ' t w a n t to , i t is impo s s i b le for me, I wi l l n o t :
la a bw a ' i ' arl , h e i s n o t t o go ; ' 01 ' ar l ? A bwa ' I , Wi l l y o u go ? I
can ' t . Abwa ' i mwa d a u , i t can ' t b e done . Some t ime s the ini t i a l a - i s
omi t t e d .

C . l . ii . T r a n si ti v e S u f f i x e s

One o f the ch ara c t e r i s t i c s o f M e l ane s i an language s i s the emp l oyment

of a s uf f i x wh i ch s e rve s to link a verb w i t h i t s obj e c t , e . g . a u o m e ,
I s e e , but a u ome - s l - ' o , I s e e you ; a u ome - s l - a , I s e e him (01' h e r ) .
The - a o f the t h i rd person s i ngular ob j e ct i s re t aine d even i f a noun
ob j e c t f o l l ow s : a u o me - s i - a I non l , I s e e the man , l i t . I s e e him t h e
man ; the - a h e r e i s an " ant i c ip at ory " ob j e c t . A verb cannot b e u s e d
w i thout t h i s s u ffi x i a l li nk i f it h a s an ob j e c t - e x c e p t f o r a s ub - c las s
o f verb s whi ch do no t t ake i t , th ough they may be re garde d as t ak ing a
zero form o f i t . The phone t i c shape of the link mus t b e le arne d
emp i ri c a l ly . The s u ffix or link i s re ferred t o as a " t rans i t ive s uffi x " .
Trans i t i ve s uf fi x e s are of two k inds , cons i s t ing e i ther o f one
s y l l ab l e or of two . The monos y l l ab i c form points to a d i r e c t obj e c t ,
e . g. ome - s l - , s e e ( s ome t h i ng ) . The d i s y l lab i c form p oint s t o a remote
ob j e c t , e . g . an ins trument , s u ch as THROWIN G ( a t s ome t h i n g ) WITH ( a
w e ap o n ) , o r c l imb ing ( s om e w h e r e ) w i t h ( s om e t hi n g i n o n e ' s hand) . The
remo t e r ob j e c t c arri e s a s u ffi x o f two s y l lab le s .
The two s e t s of s u f f i x e s are re lat e d formal ly : b a b a - n g f - , t hrow a t ,
baba-ng a ' I , t h row w i th ( i n s t rumen t ) . The d i re c t ob j e ct t e rmina t e s i n
f pre c e d e d by a c ons onant , b u t the c ons onant requi s i t e i n any given
case c annot be predi c t e d but mus t b e le arned b y ob s ervat i o n . The
 29

remot e r tran s i t i ve s uf f i x may or may not u s e the s ame c ons onant b ut

change s the vow e l t o - a - and adds a furthe r - ' ini- t o it : h u ro- , t u rn
( o n e s e lf) ; h u r o - s i , t u r n ( s ome t h i ng round) ; h u r o - h a ' i n i - , turn ( s ome ­
t h i n g ) w i th an i n s trume n t .
Any c ons onant e x ce p t the lab i a l i s e d s e r i e s may pre c e de t he - i o f the
tran s i t ive s u f fi x . A few e xamp le s here wi l l s u f f i c e ; in the di c t i onary
the t rans i t ive forms of e ach verb are give n as p art of the entry .

-h- : o ro , swim : o r oh i - , swim to (a p l a a e )

-m- : anu, bury : a n u m i - , b u r y s ome t h i ng

-n- : b u b u , p a in t : b u b u - n i - , p a i n t some t h i ng

- r- : s i na , sun ( noun ) : h a ' as i n a - r i - , p u t i n the s un to dry ( caus ati ve

verb , to s u n )

-5- : o me - , see, l o o k : o m e - s i - , s e e some t h i n g .

The ab s e n c e o f - t - i s due t o the fact that t h i s consonant c annot b e

f o l lowed b y - i - ; the - s i - form would r e s u l t .
The p ronoun ob j e c t i s w ri t ten as a s uffix rather than as a s e p arate
f o rm : a u ome s i a , a u o me s i ' 0 , etc . Thi s us age i s based on the phras a l
s tr e s s , as no change o f s t re s s re s u l t s from adding t he pronoun obj e c t
t o the verb phras e .
R.H. Codrington ( M etane4�an Lang u ag e4, p . 5 0 S ) give s the fo l lowing
s e ri e s amo ng his e xamp le s :

1. g aw a , aome l o o s e : ' a r o a g aw a , t h e l i n e has aome l o o s e > g a w a s i - ,

loos e n : i a te i na g aw a s i a , who undid i t ?

2. mae , d i e : e g a r e a m a e n a , t h e a h i l d has d i e d > m a e s i - , d i e o f :

a maes i a e taha7 Wha t did he die o f ?

I n some c as e s more than o n e s u f f i x c an b e us e d w i t h the o n e verb ,

e . g. awan g a - , o p e n up give s e i ther a w a n g a - h i - a , a w a n g a - r i - a or a w a n g a ­
si-a. The las t part i c ip l e ope n e d , b u t u s u a l l y in the t ran s i t i ve form
aw a n g a - h i - , o p e n b ut a w a n g a - r i - in the s e n s e of u n a o v e r . In other c a s e a
the t ran s i t ive form changes t h e me aning o f t h e roo t : ah i - s i , p i l e up
b ut a h u - n i - , lose sight of. In the s e c a s e s i t i s t o b e pre s ume d that
ori ginal ly phone t i c a l l y di ffe rent roo t s have coale s ce d by p r o c e s s e s o f
s o und change , and the c ons onant added t o the now homonym i c roo t s re s t ore a
an original di fference . C as e s in wh i ch the original but n ow l o s t
cons onan t o f a r o o t i s re s t o re d i n the p ro c e s s o f t rans i t i vi s at i on are
known as ' themat i c ' and the cons onant re s t ored is a ' themat i c ' consonan t -
it b e l onge d t o the original theme .
30

In c e r t a i n cas e s the trans i t ive s u f f i x i s removed from the verb s t em

and added to a f o l l ow i ng s e c ond verb or an adverb :

1. I f t w o verb s are c lo s e ly c onne c t e d , forming a phras a l verb , the

s uf fi x is adde d only to the s e cond verb : ' a d o rn a ' i - a , think of i t +
nuga- s i - a , l e t i t go > ' a d o rn a ' i nugas i a , d i s m i s s i t from t h e m i n d , and
in Chri s t i an us age t h i s is fo rg i v e : as in the a c c e p t e d trans l a t i on o f
the Lord ' s Pray e r :

' oi ' a d o rn a ' i n ugas i a ni ' i n o - rn a rn i ona i a rn i rn i ' a d o rn a ' i n ug as l ' i

you think loose the evi l -our as we we think- loose
nO ' a ni ' i n o- d a . . .
a l re a dy the e v i l - t h e i r . . .

2. I f an adve rb i s c l o s e ly c onne c t e d in s e n s e with a trans i t i ve

ve rb , then the trans i t i ve s u f fi x i s t rans ferred t o the adverb fo l l ow i ng :
kukuha , co v e l' up + h a ' a g o r o , we l l > 'oi kuku-ha h a ' agoro-h i -a i a b e - rn u ,
c o v e l' up y o u r - b o dy we l l ; na so i -g i ru- raau , he ca l l e d them s e cr e t l y >
g i ru- a , to h i de , s o i - , ca l L
The s ame t ype of trans fer app l i e s t o the s uf f i x of remo t e r trans i t i v i t y
t re ated i n the fol lowing p aragraph , e . g . ab u ' i ' a d o rn a ' i - a h o i - ' i n i

' i no-gu, don ' t t h i n k a g a i n ( a h o i ) abou t my s i n s .

The remo t e r t rans i t ive s uf f i X c ons i s t s of an add i t i onal s y l lab le
' ini-. The gene ral s ense can b e given in Eng l i s h b y a p repos i t i on s u c h
as w i t h , from :

a h a r u t a- n ga ' i - n i rarau
h e padd l e s - away - w i t h t h e m - two .

A l arge numb e r o f forms are found : - h a ' i - , - rn a ' i - , - r a ' i - e t c . Thus :

nau au taha-nga ' i - n i - a ' i no- g u , I confe s s my wro n g - d o i ngs ; '0 ' ai ' a
rnw a g i - t a ' i - n i - a rn i , y o u do no t de s p i s e u s . The s u f f i x e s are added t o a
s imp le root , and again the i n i t i a l c ons onant c annot be predi c t e d : b o l ,
come > b o i ' i n i - , come fo r s ome t h i n g ; t a h o , pu l l > taho- ra ' i n i - , pu l l
o u t ( a p l an t ) .
The re are iMp ort ant fun c t i onal di ffe re n c e s b e tween the two s e t s of
s u f f i xe s .

1. The remot e r trans i t ive s u f f i x e s may be adde d t o intran s it i ve

verb r o o t s s uch as b o i , come ( s e e ab ove ) , ' ari , go , giving such forms
as ' ar i - ta ' i n i -a, go aw ay from i t ; t a ro , s p e a k i n pub l i c , taro-ha,
news > t a r o- h a ' i n i - a , speak 0 1' pre ach a b o u t i t . C ompound ve rb s ( s e e
be low ) may a l s o t ak e the remot e r s e r i e s : bu-, t r e a d + t e r e , come down >
b u - te re - t a ' i n i - a i ' o ra, come dO bJ n from t h e s h i p , di sembark . So a l s o
may c a u s a t i ve s : h a ' a - u s u r i - n g a ' i n i - , c a u s e to hand down, teach as a
 31

t radi t i o n . I t is al s o p os s ib le t o s e p arate the s u f fi x from the verb ,

us i ng a form ' i n i , w i t h : ra hon u - ra ' i t a ' as u a , t h e y w e re fi l- l- e d w i t h
a n ge r , b ut : mou ha ' ahonu ' i da ra ' i ni wa i , fi n t h e p o t s w i t h wa t e r ;
rau honu - r a ' i ' i ni k a k o a o me , t h e y w e re fi l- l- e d w i t h indigna t i o n .

2. The s uf f i x e s - h a ' i and - t a ' i may b e s e p arat e d from the s t e m o f

the ve rb b y an adve rb : ' ari wou t a ' i n i - a , g o away ( w o u ) from i t . In
fact , t a ' i n i a b y i t s e l f s e rve s a s a sharp c ommand : away from i t ! , and
w i t h a furth e r verb al form t a ' i h i - , go fro m , o u t of s i g h t of - a l s o
t a ' i ng a ' i ; t a ' i r a ' i - , avoid, k e e p fro m .
Thi s s e c ond t y p e o f s uf f i x c o u l d h i s t or i c a l l y r e s u l t from a c omb i na­
t i on of the dire c t ob j e c t s uf f i x e s w i t h the i n s t rume n t a l p re p o s i t i on
' ini-, u s e d in the e x amp l e s ab ove , e . g . n a h a ' a-pwaa ra ' i n i -a i mw a n i
he reh o , came - to - happ e n b y - h i m a l- l- t h i n g s - here ' i n i a i s s t i l l i ndepende nt.
A t the s ame t ime the e x t e nded forms ne e d not always be a c t i ve : i a a t a ro
na h a ' a- aho i - t a ' i non i , t h e g ho s t was t u r n e d i n t o ( OR b e came ) a man .
In s ome c as e s the l onger form is the only one u s e d : i i a a a ra- ta ' i n i -a ,
he swore (an o a t h ) to him , b u t t h i s form may a l s o gain further us e s , as
in ' i n i a i arata' i n i a ana , o n a c coun t of his o a t h , where a r a t a ' i n i a
b e c ome s fun c t i onally a noun , pre c e d e d b y the art i c l e i and f o l lowed b y
ana, his .
Trans i t i v i t y in A ro s i d o e s not always c orre s p ond w i t h t rans i t i v i t y
i n Engl i s h . Thi s i s part i cu l arly the c a s e w i t h verb s o f mot i on , whi ch
in E ng l i s h u s u a l ly are intrans i t i ve b ut in Aro s i can as s ume the s u f f i x e s ,
e . g. ' ari > ' a r i h i - , ma k e s o m e o n e go to ( a p l- ace ) ; h a n e , c l- imb > h a n e i - ,
c l- imb ( a s a t re e ) ( th i s c an b e d one i n Eng l i s h a l s o ) . E x amp l e s o f t h i s
more e x cep t i onal k i nd o f t rans i t i ve wi l l b e found i n t h e d i c t i onary .

C . l .i i i . V o i ce i n t h e Aro s i V e r b

There has b e e n mu ch d i s cus s i on a s t o the d i s t i nc t i ons o f voi ce i n

Me l ane s i an languag e s as a whole , and Aro s i i s invo lved in t h i s d i s cu s s i o n .
The q ue s t i on i s no t finally s e t t le d . The auth or o f t h e Ar o s i d i c t i onary
has hims e l f w ri t t e n on the s ub j e c t of p as s ive s i n Aros i : re ference may b e
made t o two art i c le s b y C . E . Fox i n the J o u� nal 0 6 � h e P o l if n e6 � a n
S o e� e� y : (i) ' Phone t i c Laws i n Me l ane s i an Language s ' , Vo l . 5 6 , March
19 4 7 , pp . 5 8 - 1 1 8 ; ( ii ) ' P as s i ves in O c e an i c Language s ' , Vol . 5 7 , No . 1 ,
Mar ch 1 9 4 8 , pp . 1 - 2 9 .
The p rop o s i t i ons put forward in the s e c ond art i c l e are b r i e fly t h e s e :
( a) The f o rm o f the verb : ( i ) the t r ans i t ive s uf f i x e s may b e added t o
t h e s t e m t o form p art i c i p l e s whi ch are pas s ive in meaning : a n u , b u ry >
32

a n um i , s ome t hi n g b ur i e d . Thi s i s a t rue o r fu l l p a s s i ve , b u t i t i s a

b a s e on wh i ch a p as s i ve can b e deve lop e d . ( i i ) The comp l e t i ve part i c le
na ( pp . 2 5 - 6 ) may be added t o the form w i t h a tran s i t i ve s u f fi x , as i n
i a re i a n a , he has seen i t . The n c e h o n o - s i - n a , a L o s e d , lead i n g t o
omi s s i o n o f t h e - n - o f n a , giving h o n o - s i - a , a s a r e g u L a r p a s s i v e
partiaip L e . I t s e ems t o the p re s ent wri t e r that t h i s i s le s s l i k e l y
than Fo x ' s di c t i onary e n t ry , ' - a , p as s i ve p arti c i p le marker , added
di re c t ly t o the t rans i ti ve form of the verb . C o n c e rning this form ,
wha t e ve r i t s o r i gi n , Fox s t at e s that ' there are many such in Aros i . '
Howeve r , in h i s t rans l a t i o n of J ohn 2 0 : 19 he has wri t t e n r a u h o n o s i a
no ' a i mas u ru n g a , t h e y had s h u t t h e do o r s , whe re the original has t h e
doo r s w e r e s hu t , wh i le i n Mat t hew 2 5 : 9 , m a g u h o n o s i a i m a r a r u m a , a n d
t h e n w a s s h u t t h e doo r ; i n Luke 1 1 : 7 , na nasu runga a honos i a no' a , the
door has been shut. The r e a s o n f o r th i s vac i l l a t i o n b e tween a formal
a c t i ve and a p a s s ive wi l l b e seen i n ( b ) b e low . A t the s ame t ime i t
may b e doub t e d whe ther the ab ove i s a c orre c t analy s i s o f the forms i n
- i a , i na , i . e . whe ther - i n a > - i a i s re a l l y a c c e p t ab le . ( i i i ) The
i n s t rument by wh i c h an a c t i o n is per forme d , s uch as k i L L e d by an axe ,
k i L L e d w i t h a s t o n e , c an be e x p re s s e d by us ing I ini as shown in the
p re c e ding s e c t i o n o f thi s grammar . The agent o f the a c t ion , how e ve r ,
e . g. k i L L e d by h i s e n e m i e s , c annot be s o i nd i c at e d .
Mos t o f the forma t i o n s in ( i ) and ( i i ) ab ove are not p roduc t i v e , or
only w i t h in limi t s ; i n general the a c cept ab le ins t an c e s mus t b e l e arne d
indi v i d u a l ly , like the c o rre c t tran s i t i ve endings for the verb s .

(b ) Synt a c t i c al ly , there are d e f i n i t e l i m i t a t i o n s on the us e of the

p as s i ve , both i n Aro s i and in other Me l ane s i an l anguage s . (i) A
s t at i ve p a s s i ve , e xp re s s ing a c ondi t i on as s ume d , may b e e xp re s s e d : a
t a roh a ' i n i a h u n i i i a i ai ruma n o ' a , i t was n e w s e d t h a t he was i n t h e
hous e , t h e n e w s w e n t a b ro ad t h a t he was i n t h e hous e . ( i i ) The p a s s i ve
form may b e u s e d adj e c t i v a l ly : n a he reho ini pono- s i - a , t h i s a L o s e d up
thing, t he p a r t t h a t was a L o s e d ( or i s a L o s e d ) ; a i raua i ha ' ate na
ra rasanga ' i n i a no ' a i a h u d a , h e wi L L t a k e away t h e w o rd tha t was s own i n
t he i r h e a r t s ( Mark 4 : 15 ) . ( i i i ) Whi le the i n s t rument of a p a s s i ve
a c t i on c an b e e xp re s s e d in Aros i , the agent o f the a c t i o n i s not s o
e xp re s s e d . For ( art i c le 2 , p . 85 ) s ay s : " In Aro s i the native w i l l s ay
that i t i s n o t w�o ng t o s ay a h o n o s i a n a m a r a r u m a I inia i i a, the door
w a s s h u t by h i m , b ut h e d o e s not like i t a n d w i l l not u s e i t . "
The answer t o the q ue s t i on , " How doe s o ne s ay in Aros i , he was k i L L e d
by h i s e n e mi e s ? " i s that one u s e s the a.c t i ve form : h i s e ne m i e s k i L L e d
h i m , and s o h i gh ly favoured i s t h i s choi ce that i t i s far more o f t e n
 33

made e ve n when there i s n o age n t e xp re s s e d at a l l . A v o i ce w a s h e a r d

i s rendered b y t h e y h e a r d a v o i ce : ra ron goa r i nge . C as e s s uch as
na ' a d o rn a ' i nugas i ' i ' i n o rn u , y o u r s i n s are fo rg i v e n rather s t and out
b y w ay o f contras t , and the cho i c e of the p as s i ve form here i n the B i b l e
t rans l a t i o n i s n o doub t a d e l ib e rate reprodu c t i on o f the J e w i s h r e f u s a l
t o u s e the name o f God i f i t c o u l d b e avoi de d . Thi s cons truc t i on , t he n ,
s t ands s i de b y s i de w i t h a forma l ly s imi lar a c t i ve : i i a a ' a d o rn a ' i
n ugas i a i ' i no , he fo rg i v e s s i n . The formal di ffe r e n c e i s the p r e s e n c e
o f a s ub j e c t i i a whi ch caus e s t h e verb t o b e unde r s t ood as ac t i ve .
Other s imi lar e x amp l e s c an b e addu c e d in the t rans l at i on s : ra i
h a ' ah a i ' au , t h e y wi t t t i k e n i t wi t l be l i k e ( introduc i ng a p arab le ) ,
e . g. ra i h a ' aha i ' au ' i nia hourana ni aro, t h e k i n g dom of h e a v e n may
b e l i k e n e d to . . . ( Mat thew 2 5 : 1 ) ; ra h e i aw a r a , t h e y cri e d o u t = a cry was
ra i s e d ( Mat thew 2 5 : 6 ) - b u t later i n the s ame p as s age gu h o n o s i a
rn a r a r u rn a , and t h e do or was s h u t .
The c omp le t e omi s s i o n o f a ve rb a l p art i c le w i t h a p as s i ve form i s
p o s s ib le b u t s omewhat uncommo n : i t app e ars i n the t r an s lat i on o f Matthew
3 : 16 : rn a b w a r e o rn a e a no ' a a Jesus , rn a a r a t a ra u b a a n i a i wa i , (wh e n ) w a s ­
was h e d - h o t y ( = bap t i s e d ) Je s u s , a n d came o u t from t h e w a t e r , i a ro
rn a r a w a , t h e h e a v e n op e n { e d ) . Even the word-order the l a s t part o f t h i s
pas s age i s unus u a l .

C . l .i v . Compou n d i n g o f Verbal Roots

A fe at ure o f Aro s i a s we l l a s o f other Me l an e s i an l anguage s i s the

ab i li t y t o put two verb s tems t o g e t he r , the s e c ond s t e m alone taking
the t ran s i t i ve s u f f i x e s , and the fi r s t the p re f i x e s s u ch as c au s at i ve
and r e c i p r o c al s . The c omp ound a l re ady u s e d i n a numb e r o f e x amp le s ,
' a d o rn a ' i n uga- s i - a , fo r g i v e < ' a d o rn a ' i , t h i n k + n u g a - s i - , s e t fr e e ,
Z o o s e n e xe mp l i fi e s thi s ab i li t y t o form c omp ounds . I t i s an i mp or t ant
fe ature i n Aro s i , more than i n s o me o t h e r language s . The comp ound may
then a s s ume pre f i x e s , e . g . h a ' a ' a d o rn a ' i nugas i a ,
c a u s e h i m to forg e t .
The r e c i p r o c a l h a ' i - c o u l d theore t i c a l ly a l s o b e u s e d , b u t t h e ac c e p t e d
u s e in th i s c a s e s e ems t o b e more norma l l y ' a d o rn a ' i nugas i ' i ha ' i r i u ,

t o fo rg i v e o n e ano t h e r .
As thi s c omp ounding p r i n c i p le i s l arge ly prod u c t i ve in the l anguage ,
i t i s rather a mat t e r for the d i c t i o n ary than for the p re s e n t b r i e f
grammar out li n e , and o n l y a few spe c i me n s w i l l b e given . The p r i n c i p l e
i t s e l f i s not unc ommon i n human l anguage : two r o o t s are comb i ned t o
p r o d u c e a form i n whi ch t h e s e n s e o f e lement c o n t ri b ut e s t o a r e s u l t ant
that mo d i fie s the s e n s e o f the fir s t p art . Thus , the s ame root ' a d o rn a ' i ,
34

t h i n k c omb i n e s w i t h s i b a , s e e k t o produce ' a d o rn a ' i s i b a s i b a , exam i n e

( in the mind ) : i ia na ' a d o rn a ' i s i bas i b a no ' a i ah u n a , he t ho u g h t i t o v e r

i n h i s m i n d , h e cog i t a te d ab o u t i t . S imi l ar c omp ounds a r e s e e n i n e . g .
o rn e , s e e + s a d o , ge t , h a v e : o rn e - s a d o - i - a , gain by s e e in g , l o o k and B e e ;
o rn e + s u r i , afte r , fo l l ow , p r od uc i ng o rn e - s u r i - a , k e e p i n r e s e rv e .
Th e f o l lowi ng t ab le w i l l show j us t a few e xamp le s of s uch c ompoundi ngs :

S e cond e lement Base Re s u l t an t

s ado- i - , ge t , have s i ba , seek s i b a s a d o i a , fe e l fo r,

grope for
rong o , h e ar rongo s a do i a , ov e r h e ar
, a d o rn a ' i , think ' a d o rn a ' i s i ba s i b a , exam-
i n e carefu l l y
boh i , handle dau , take dau b oh i a , touch
ronga- 5 i - , ma ke n oi s e unu- a , say ha ' a u n u a rongas i a , confe s s
suri , aft e r , fo l l ow rong o , hear rongoa sur i , obey

T h e me t h o d s o f c omp ounding - the p o s i t i on o f t rans i t ive s u f f i x e s i n

p a r t i c u l ar - vary i n di fferent cas e s , ac c ording t o the grammat i c a l
nat ure o f t h e s e c on d e lement , whe ther i t i s verb a l o r not . One s p e c i al
group i ng c on s i s t s of words where the s e c ond e lement i s a re c ogni s e d and
independent adverb i a l adj u n c t of a ve rb ( s ee § C . 2 . 4 . R e l ators , i n f ra ) ,
e . g. ta ' e, up , whi ch , added t o s u r u ' i , ra i s e , g i v e s s u r u t a ' e , to a r i s e .

C.2. T h e N o u n P h ra s e

Pre l iminary

The n o un phrase i n Aro s i c ont ai ns as n u c l e us a noun ( N ) wh i ch may

fun c t i o n as e i t h e r subj e c t or ob j e ct of a s en t e nc e , or p art of a prep­
o s i t i on a l o r c on j unc t i onal phras e , and axi s phrase ( C . 2 . 4 . ) . The noun
is de fi n e d h e re as any l e x i cal e lement whi ch c an be preceded by the
marke r s a , e , i or n a . ( The n a whi ch fun c t i ons i n t h i s i ns t ance i s
h omophonous w i th the n a that marks the 3 rd p e rs on s i ngular p a s t t e n s e
in a VP ( C . l . i { b » ) . T h e fun c t i o n s o f the noun mark e r s ( nm ) are de t ai le d
i n C . 2 . 1 . i i { a ) b e low ) . The Aro s i noun i s roughly homogene ous w i t h the
noun in E n g l i s h b u t not comp l e t e ly s o , and o f cours e , the s y nt a c t i c
markers and c o nd i t i on s d i ffer comp le t e ly .
S y nt a c t i c a l l y NP may c o n s i s t o f

± nm + N ± D ± p ± d

where nm i s ' noun marke r ' ; D i s ' de mo n s t rat ive ' ; d i s ' de i c t i c ' ,
( p o in t i n g word or demon s t rat i ve ) and p i s ' p o s s e s s ive ' whi ch has a rather
 35

c omp l e x s y s t e m o f form and fun c t i on in t h i s language . Nume r a l s form a

s ub - c la s s o f D . Numb e r indi c at or s are a s ub - c las s o f noun mark e r s in
gener a l . The p o s s e s s ive mark e r s do not a lw ay s o c cur in the p art i cu l ar
p o s i t i on shown ab o ve . The index shows t h e s e c t i on s o f the grammar
whe re e a ch o f t h e s e e leme n t s of NP i s de s crib e d .
In the NP a p r i n c i p le o f b alance i s ob s e rve d . The general p a t t e rn
o f the NP may b e s ymb o l i s e d as f o l lows :

1. nm + N + sm + V P i n i ntrans i t i ve c lau s e s
l
2. nm + N + sm + V + om + N in t rans i t i ve c l aus e s ,
l 2
whe re N and N are the s ub j e c t and obj e c t nouns ( or s ub s t i t ute s )
l 2
r e s p e c t i ve ly , nm i s as usual ' noun marker ' , s m i s ' sub j e ct marker ' , and
om ' ob j e ct marker ' . It is imp o r t an t to note that nm can be omi t t e d
only unde r s p e ci fie d c on di t i o n s , wh i l e s m c annot b e omi t t e d a t a l l .
I n the f o l lowing s e c t i o n s , C . 2. 1 . i s c on c e rned w i t h the Noun i t s e l f ;
C.2.2. de a l s w i t h the e lement s whi ch s y n t a c t i c a l ly depend on t h e noun .
I n C . 2. 3 . the s ub s t i tu t e s for N , c ommonly c a l le d p ronouns ( o f various
k i n d s ) are s e t out in the i r di fferent vari e t ie s .

C . 2. 1 . T h e N oun

Aro s i n o u n s a r e e i ther s imp le , c omp ound ( or phras al ) o r d e r i ve d .

The b u lk o f the vo c ab u lary invo lved in nami ng the p e op le and ob j e c t s i n
the n e i ghb ourho od c o n s i s t s o f s imp le nouns , who s e p lace i s i n the
d i c t i on ary , not i n the grammar . They form the b a s i c l e x i c on o f re fe rence .
Names o f p e r s o n s are not i n c l ude d in t h i s l e x i c a l comp onent o f the l an­
guage , b ut t h e y e x e r c i s e c e r t a i n s y n t a c t i c i n fl u e n c e s whi ch d o c o n c e rn
the grammar .
Apart from s imp le nouns , phras a l nouns c o n s i s t o f two lexi c al c om-
ponents gene r a l ly l i n k e d by a prep o s i t i o n s u ch as n i , o f . The two
c omp o ne n t s may e a ch func t i on i ndependent ly , e . g . r uma , house > r u m a n i
ora, canoe ho u s e , h o u s e of canoe ; ruma n i maho i ngau , s t ore hous e , room
fo r things t o e a t .
Derived nouns are f o rme d b y the addi t i o n o f s u f f i xe s t o a b a s e whi ch
is ge nerally v e rb a l i n nature : koe , de c e i v e > k o e h a , dec e i t . From the
s ame r o o t b y a regular p ro ce s s adj e c t i val de ri vat i ve s , e . g . koe koe ,
fa l s e may b e forme d . A s imi l ar t r i o i s k e t o , b e s o r e > k e t o - n a , a s o r e ;
ketoketo ' a , fu l l of s o re s .
The s ame s e t s o f n oun markers i s us e d w i t h a l l t y p e s o f nouns
(C . 2. ; ; ( a ) b e l ow ) .
36

C . 2. 1 . ;(a) . S i mpl e Nouns

Th i s s ub - c l as s i s d i vi s ib le i n t o name s o f ob j e c t s and names o f l i vi n g

beings . P e r s onal name s are a s ub cate gory o f the l a t t e r and the di s t in c ­
t i ons n e e d t o b e made b e c ause there are vari a t i ons i n s y n t ax depending
on the s ub - group i n g .
The r e i s no gender c l as s i fi c at i o n in the language . The e x amp l e s
are s e t o u t b e l ow under t h e three headings ment ione d . P e r s onal name s
n owaday s are usually Engli sh Chri s t i an name s ; in the e x amp l e s o l d name s
from a k i n s h i p t ab le have b e e n us e d .

Ex amp l e s

Ob j e cts Persons P e rson al names

hau : s tone non i : man Uuri ( m )
s i na : s un u rao : woman Rota ( f )
i ' a, fi s h gare : c h i 'l d I animanu ( m )
ra rak i , t h o rn s ae : human b e i n g Suari ( f )

A l th ough t he re are no c l a s s e s re s t ing on gender or s e x , there are two

group s of A ro s i s imp le nouns . Forma l ly there are two w ay s o f indi c a t i n g
possession : ( 1 ) a s u f fi x o f p e r s on i s adde d t o a noun , e . g . a b e - g u ,
my b o dy , a b e - m u , y o u r b o dy , a b e - n a , h i s or h e r b o dy e t c . or ( 2 ) the
p o s s e s s ive marker i s added t o a free noun b as e whi ch s e rve s as carri er :
g a r� a-gu , my c h i 'l d , g a r e a - m u , y o u r c h i 'l d , g a r e a - n a , h i s or h e r c h i 'l d .
Thi s dual divi s i o n o f nouns i s c ommon t o a l l Me lane s i an l anguage s ; the
s e c ond c la s s is subdi vide d in vary ing ways i n many o f them , t h ough not
i n Aros i . S e e C . 2 . ; ; b e l ow .

C . 2 . 1 . ; (b ) P h ras a l N o u n s

The t e rm " phras a l noun" has b e e n de fined ab ove . I t r e fe rs t o a noun

phrase c on s i s t ing o f two comp one n t s generally but not always linked by
a prepos i t i on , o f wh i ch the chi e f are n i and i . Such phras al nouns are
very c ommon i n Aros i .
Phras al nouns fal l i n t o certain s ub - c l as s e s :

1. non i + N = noun o f agen t ; n o n i = person . Examp l e s : t a u a r o , work >

n on i t a u a r o , w o r kman . Agency may a l s o b e e xpre s s e d b y other means :

s e e Nomi n a l s , b e l ow . Other e x amp l e s are : non l h a i w a i , b ride groom ;
non i b e r i be r i , thief; non i tatagora , s e rvan t . I n s ome c as e s n o n i is
omi t t e d : i raau na rongo- i - s u r i , t h e 'l e ar n e r s , d i s ci p 'l e s . B r i de g ro o m
may b e a l s o e x p re s s ed by n a n o n i na h a i wa i or n a g i n a h a i w a i : s ee
di c t i onary .
 37

2. N + i + N , whe re of, fo r . The d i s t i n c t i on b e twe e n a p la c e o f

and a p l a c e fo r d oe s not s e em t o b e made in Aros i . There i s a l s o n i ,
of as a rep l a cement for i , and t h i s doe s not s e e m t o produce any
d i f fe r e n c e of me aning . Examp l e s are numerous : hua i r umu , oi l flask
( wh i � h may o r may n o t c ontain oi l ) ; o i i w a i , cup o f wa t e r , wa t e r cup ;
gare i m a a , p up i l ( li t . c h i l d ) of t h e e y e ; m a d o r a i d a n g i , t i m e of day ;
maena i ' ab u , t h e p r i ce of b l o o d . I n t h e l a s t e x amp le t h e c o n s t ru c t i on
i s rather di f fe re n t i n that m a e - n a c on t ai n s the s uf f i x e d p os s e s s i ve .
Thi s o c c urs a l s o in s u ch a phrase as d a n a a n a i s u r u , p l a t e of s ou p ,
which may a l s o b e h i s p l a t e o f s o u p .
Phras e s w i th n i are : r uma n i maho n g a u , h o u s e fo r s t o ring fo o d ,
s to r e h o u s e ; r uma n i o r a , canoe house . I n s ome c as e s Engli s h t e rms are
us e d : k i s i n i , k i t c he n . I n o ther c as e s , where in othe r language s E n g l i s h
o r P i dg i n t e rms have b e e n i ntroduc e d , in Aro s i n a t i ve t e rms are u s e d :
r uma n i h o ' o - h o ' o , p r i s on , where P i dgin k a l a b u s i might b e e xpe c t e d ,
whi le E n g l i s h k ni fe i s adap t e d as n a i h i where a nat i ve t e rm would have
b e e n e xpe c t e d . The s e are di c t i onary mat t e r s as far as us age i s
c on c e rne d ; grammar mat t e r s where a nat i ve c on s t r u c t i o n i s i nvo lve d .

3. Compounding o f two nouns i s ve ry c ommon i n Aro s i , and c o ve r s a l l

t y p e s o f phras e . D o r a , p l a c e , p roduc e s a numb er o f c omp ounds s uch as
d o r a he i h e i n a g u , chair < he i nagu , sit ; dora ngaungau , tab l e < ngau ,
e a t , fo o d . E x amp l e s w i l l b e found unde r vari ous head i ngs in the
d i c t i onary . Another c ommon b as e for comp ounding i s a h u , answe ring t o
E n g li s h h e a r t a s s e at o f f e e l i ng and produ c i ng s u c h compounds as
a h u b a ' a h a u , h a r d h e a r t e dn e s s ; a h u r o d o , b l i n dn e s s o f heart ( rodo = dark ) ;
a h u t a a , i l l wi l l , ma l i c e ( taa = b ad ) ; a h u t o t o u , t ro u b l e o f m i n d ,
aff l i c t i o n ( t o u = we ep ) .
The b a s i c e le me n t s in s u c h c omp ounds are not alway s noun s . The verb
' a d om a ' i , t h i n k forms c omp ounds that may or may not b e noun s : ' a doma ' i
mw a e r a h a , p r i de ( t h i n k i n g c h i ef) ; ' adoma ' i mw a h e a h e , c o n t e mp t ( mwa h e a h e
= de s p i s e ) ; ' a d om a ' i ' o r i s i , re p e n ta n c e ('orisi = turn b a c k , b u t the
v e rb a l form is ' or i s i ' adoma ' i i n this c a s e , r e p e n t ) .
Another verb c ommon e le me n t i n c omp ounding i s h u n a , i t s b as e , w h i c h
re s u l t s gene r a l ly i n adj e c t i val format i on s , e . g . huna i he i ta ' ah i , all
loving , lit . s ou r c e o f l ov e ; h u n a i m e n a , s o urce o f p o we r , i . e . a lm i g h t y ;
h un a i tah i t a r a u , e v e r l i ving , l i t . s ou r c e o f l i fe e terna l . The word
d a n g i , day , w e a t h e r , forms c ompounds s uch as d a n g i r e h o , t emp e s t ; o ' a ,
s tay , s u ch as o ' a k o e k o e , h y p o c r i s y , l i t . s t a t e o f fa l s e ne s s . I n other
c as e s agai n , set phra s e s are found whi ch are c o n s t ru c t e d on rather
d i fferent p a t t erns , s u c h as t o t o u i ahun a , t r i b u l a t i o n , l i t . w e e p i n g in
his h e a r t . Li s t s o f s uch phra s e s mus t be s ought i n the d i c t i on ary .
38

C.2. 1 . i {c) Deri ved Nouns

A r o s i has fewer derived nouns than the Malai t a language s , i n that

s u ff i x at i on i s l e s s c ommon i n Aro s i , and the - a n a , - a n g a s u f f i x e s found
in Malai t a as formant s o f verb a l nouns are ab s e nt from Aro s i . One pre fix
and one s u f fi x are c ommo n .

A The pre f i x h a i - � he i - � ha ' i i s not limi t e d t o nouns , b u t p l ays an

imp or t an t part in t h e i r forma t i o n . I t i s b a s i c a l ly re ciprocal , and
b e s i d e s the three a l l omorphs l i s t e d he re , there is a form h a r i - w i t h
v e rb s whi ch d o e s not seem t o b e u s e d i n t h e formati o n o f nouns . The
u s e s are as fol lows : h a i - and h e i - b e i n g free vari an t s , c on t ro l l e d
rather b y l o c a l i t y than anyt h i n g l i ngui s t i c , and h a ' i - having a s p e c i al
us e , whi ch in Malai t a l anguage s b e longs t o h a i - .

1. h a i - forms ab s t ract nouns w i t h certain s tems : t o t o r i - , to hope >

h a i t o t o r i , hope ; t a ' ah i , to l o v e > h e i t a ' a h i , l o ve as noun . Other w ords
s u ch as h i n i h i n i , b e l i e v e , howeve r , do not use the p re fi x : h i n i h i n i is
a l s o fa i t h .

2. h a ' i - forms re c i p r o c a l s o f k i n s hip t e rms , and c omb ines w i t h the

approp r i a t e suffixed p ronouns t o form c omp ound te rms : a rn a - , fa t h e r �

h a ' i - a rn a - d a , fa t h e r and s o n , fa t h e r s and s o n s ; i n a - , mother � h a ' i - i na­

d a , m o t h e r and daug h t e r . The only avai lab le equivalent t o fam i l y in
Aro s i is h a ' i a rn a d a rn a h a ' i i n a d a .
Refere n ce should b e made t o the di c t i onary for u s e s of t h e s e p re f i xe s ,
a l l o f w h i ch are i n t e rre la t e d .

B The noun- forming s u f fi x - h a i s a produ c t i ve s u f fi x . A few e x amp l e s

w i l l s h o w i t s u s e s ; many others w i l l o c cur i n the b ody o f the di c t i onary .

t a ro : te l l > t a r o h a , news
g o r o , good > g o r o h a , good condi t i o n , p e ace
' a r i , go > ' a r i h a , j o u rn e y , going
o'a, s t ay , a b i de > o ' a h a , way of l i fe
dao , be s i c k > d a o h a , s i c k ne s s

I t w i l l b e s ee n that more than one l e x i c a l c a t e gory may t ake t h i s

s u f fi x . I n s ome c a s e s , howeve r , a verb doe s not t ake a s u ff i x a t a l l
t o b e u s e d a s a noun : t h i s w a s demons t r a t e d e a r l i e r i n t h i s s e c t i on .
E . g. t a u a r o , to a c t , action . The o c curre n c e s o f the two t y p e s cannot
be p r e di c t e d .
I n s ome i n s t an c e s the verb al noun thus formed c an t ak e a further
remo t e r t rans i t i ve s u f fi x , as in the c as e of t a r o - h a ' - i n i a , give a
m e s s a g e to s om e o n e .
 39

C. 2 . l . i i . Nomi n a l i s a t i ons

S ome o f the ab ove phras al nouns have verged o n the phras e rather than
b e i n g s t ri c t ly nouns e x cept i n s y nt a c t i c fun c t i ons . The forma t i o n o f
s u ch phra s e s demands part i c ular t r e atment unde r the heading ' nominal­
i s a t i on ' . Eng l i s h u s e s o f - i ng i l lus t ra t e the p r i n c i p le of nominali s a­
t i o n : h i s c h a s i n g of the b urg l e r , t h e i r running away are e x amp l e s o f
s uch format i on s . Ano ther t y p e app e ars when a s ub j e c t o r o b j e c t , u s u a l ly
a noun or pronoun , i s rep laced b y a c laus e : I unde r s t a n d WHY HE RAN A WA Y :
the c ap i t a l i s e d p or t i o n i s grammat i c al ly a noun h i s running away ; s imi­
larly , THA T HE DID N O T KNOW ME is s t range , equivalent to his i g no r an c e
of m e or h i 8 n o t k n ow i n g me . S u c h nomi nal i s at i ons can b e i mport ant i n
Aro s i , a l s o , b ut they are n o t s o marke d formally a s 'they are i n the
Malai t a language s .
A ve rb a l phrase may i t s e l f fun c t i on as a noun , l i k e the Engli s h
phras e s a n d c l aus e s i l l us t rated ab ove . That i s t o s ay , the phras e may
b e nomin a l i s e d . I n Aro s i t h e ending - a n a c ommon i n Malai t a language s
d o e s not appe ar , and there i s no formal d i ffere n ce b e tw e e n the v e rb and
the noun , e x c e p t that the l a t t e r i s p re c e d e d by a noun marke r , e s p e c i a l ly
na ( s e e b e l ow ) . Thus n a o me s u r i , t h e care t a k e r , the o n e who o m e - ( look)
srui aft e r ; i ne i na ma e , t h e dead ( p l . ) ; n a o h o n g i '0, t h e try i ng - y o u ,
y o u r t ri a l , tempta tion ; e d a n g i 'oi h i h i r am i , t h e day o f j udgm e n t , l i t .
t h e day y o u w i l l j udge U 8 ; n a ' a i d a n g i s i a i Ga rena God , t h e know l e dg e
( OR know i n g ) of t h e Son of Go d . I n the last i n s t an c e t he phras e i s
amb i guous ; i f n a were re garded a s a verb al p e r s o n marke r , the s en t e n c e
w o u l d b e h e k n o w 8 t h e S o n of Go d .
The forma l s i de o f n omina li s at i on p r o ce s s e s can b e s e t out a s f o l l ow s :

1. N ominal i s i de nt i c al w i t h N , e . g . d ao , l i e down : rau dao i 'ei ,

,
t h e y l ay i n i t (p l a ce ) ; n a u o m e s i a i d a o a n a , I saw h i s l y i n g , I 8 aw
t h a t he was l y i ng down : a n a i s the p o s s e s s i ve 3rd p er s on s i ngu lar and
t h e re fore the pre c e d i ng w ord is N , not V . Such nomi nali s at i on s can b e
i n t r ans i t i ve , a s i n the ab ove c as e , o r t rans i t ive , a s i n n a o m e s i r a
h e r i he r i i ' a, he 8aw t h e s e l l e r s of fi s h : he s aw t h e m ( t h e y ) 8 0 l d fi 8 h .
t h i s w o u l d equa l ly we l l answe r t o Eng l i s h h e s aw them s e l l i n g fi 8 h , h e
8 aw t h a t t h e y w e re 8 e l l i n g fi s h . Aro s i nomi nali s at i on s are s omewhat
le s s s p e c i f i c than E n g l i s h , there i s not q u i t e so large a s e le ct i o n o f
f o rms . S o als o , n a o m e s u r i , t h e care t a ke r , as ab ove : n a o me s u r i bo,
the pig keeper - not o m e s u r i r a b e caus e p i gs are not human , whi le n a
o me s u r i ' i b o w o u l d b e d e fi ni t e , t h e k e e p e r o f THE p i g 8 . Another e x amp l e :
'0 tah i i ' ei , in y o u r l i fe time , l i t .
no' a i dang i in t h e t ime y o u l i v e
in-it .
40

A s app e ars ab ove , nominali s at i ons i n Aro s i are u s e d i n s ome i n s t an ce s

whe re E n g l i s h would emp loy a noun - c l au s e , e . g . ra raba- s i - a i nora-s i ­
ami , t h e y w i s h - i t t h e i n j u r i ng - of- u s , t h e y w i s h to injure u s . The nm
i here is u s ua l , indi c at i ng the ob j e ct of the verb , even though the
s ub j e c t i s e xp ande d t o c laus e s t atus . S ome t ime s als o such a c o n s t ru c t i on
i s us e d a f t e r a p r e p os i t i o n : ' inia i h a ' a a s a ' o , on a c c o u n t of t he
prai s i n g - y o u , i . e . in y o u r h o n o u r , i n honour of y o u .
A n e n t ire c laus e may b e nominal i s e d b y a p re ce di n g nm :
na ah u - na a mah a i ' in ia / i ome s i a omaa na
h i s - heart was aroused by the s e e - i t t h e v i L L a g e afo re s a i d .
' H i s h e a r t w a s arou s e d b y s e e i n g t h a t v i L L age ' , o r ' hi s h e a r t w a s
aro u s e d b y t h e s i g h t of t h a t v i L L a g e ' .

C.2.' .iii . N o u n - P h ra s e Ma rkers

B r i e f re fe re n c e was made a t the b e ginning o f t h i s s e c t ion t o certain

markers whi ch ac c ompany N in a phrase o r s en t e nc e . These are now t o b e
de t ai le d .
N o un-markers are i nvari ab le morpheme s whi ch a c c ompany N and de fi ne
i t i n s ome p art i c ular w ay . They are not q u i t e equivalent t o ' art i c le s '
in E urop e an language s , for they mark chi e fly the fact that the word t o
whi ch they p o i n t i s a noun , not primar i ly whether i t i s d e f i n i t e o r
inde fini t e . I n fa c t , t h e s yn t a c t i c fun c t ion o f the noun i s more
imp or t ant than i t s d e f i n i t e ne s s . Numb e r , al s o , i s not i nherent in the
noun-marker ; it is e xp re s s e d b y s e p arate c ompone nt s of the phras e . It
i s c onven i e n t t o s p e ak o f t h e " fo c u s " o f a noun-marker ( ab b re vi at e d
h e re nm ) . B y f o c u s i s meant t h e c e n t re o f a t t e n t io n . The f i r s t centre
o f a t t e n t i o n i n an u t t erance i s usually what i s b e ing t alked ab out - i n
o t her w o rd s , t h e s ub j e ct o f t h e s e n t e nc e , from t h e grammat i c al p o i n t o f
view . T h e t e rm " fo c u s " i s there fore u s e d here t o re fer t o t h e s ub j e c t
p o s i t i o n ; the contrary " non- fo c u s " w i l l re fer t o any other p art o f the
sentence - the ob j e c t , a noun f o l lowing a prepos i t i on , e t c .
The noun-mark ers in Aro s i can then b e repre s en t e d as f o l l ows :

TABLE OF AROS ! N OUN - MARKERS

S ingular P lural

N on-p e rs on a l Pers onal Non-pers onal Pers onal

n a mw a n i
F o c us na, e n a mw a h i
a, ia ( i ) raau
i mw a n i
Non- f o c u s i i mw a h i
 41

A s a and i a are free var i ant s , the re are r e a l l y four nm ' s i n Aros i ,
and they wi l l be d e a l t wi t h � ekia�im, r e ad i ng acro s s t h e mat r i x .

1. a, ia. The former i s the b as i c form ; the form i a i s c omp ounde d

o f a and a third p e r s o n marke r , i , wh i c h d o e s not o c cur as a free form
in Aro s i , b u t is found in i i a , i a , he, she . Thi s marke r i n d i c a t e s that
the n oun fo l l owing re fe rs to a p e r s on whe ther nat i ve or not . I t s e rve s
a l s o t o p e r s on a l i s e c ommon n ouns . Th us p e o p l e w i l l be re fe rred t o as
a P i t a , Pe t e r . l a P i t a i s al s o p c s s i b le . I n the c a s e o f a c ommon nou n ,
e . g. h a u , s t o n e , the re ference i s t o t h e e x t e rnal obj e c t ; a H a u o r i a
H a u i s S t one , as a p e r s on , wh e ther male or female . I n s ome languages
further d i s t i n c t i on can be mad e : in M o t a o f Banks I s . , i V a t would b e
Mr S t o n e ; i r o V a t , Mrs o r Mi s s S t o n e , and i r a V a t , t he S t o n e fami t y .
Thi s s ub c a t e gori s a t i o n d oe s not o c c ur i n Aro s i ; t he marker p e r s onal i s e s
general l y , n o t spe c i fi c al ly . The marker may als o pre cede a word that
i s n o t a noun and b e c ome d e s crip t i ve o f a p e rs on : m e n a , s up e r n a t u ra t
p ow e r , gives a M e n a , t h e Mi g h ty One - the c ap i t a li s at i o n , o f c ours e , i s
a p r a c t i c e o f Europ e an orthography o n l y . Pre c e ding the t e rms h e r e h o or
mah o , t h i n g , a p e rs onal i s e s i n general t e rms : a h e r e h o or a m a h o , s o - an d ­
so, w h a t ' s h i s name .
As o ne ' s kindre d are a l s o p e r s on s , t h i s marker i s us e d b e fore k i nship
te rms : a amag u , i a a m a g u , my fa t h e r ; a a m a g u a t a t a u a r o , my fa t h e r i s
w o r k i n g ( th e s e cond a i s a verb a l s i gn ) ; a a m a g u a i haa t a n a a m u , my
fa t h e r wi t t g i v e i t to y o u .
I n the s ub s t i t ute pas s i ve ( C . l . i v ) a i s r e t a i n e d in Aro s i : a n u g a s i a
h a k o w o u a J o h n , John was s h u t away ( i n p r i s on ) .
Thi s a , i a o c curs only i n focus , i . e . in re feren c e t o the a c t o r o f
a n a c t i on , t h e s ub j e c t o f a s en t e n c e . In a l l other p o s i t i ons it i s
rep l ace d b y i , e x cept that whe n i t i s p re c e de d b y m a , an d , i t b e c ome s
na, l os i ng i t s p e r s o n a l i s ing quali t y . E xamp le s of the s ub s t i t ut i on o f
i i n non- focus are : i ia i d o ' o r a - g u , h e i s m y b r o t h e r ( no t a d o ' o r a g u ) ;
i i a naan i i g a reg u , t h i s o n e i s my s o n . I n the ob j e c t p o s i t i on e ve n i
i s not ne c e s s ary ; the ob j e c t pre f i x - a on the verb i s s u f fi c i ent : n a u
o me s i a P i t a , I s aw Pe t e r . I f t h e re i s a s e cond noun , l i nk e d t o the
firs t by m a , and , then a form m i a i s u s e d : n a mw a n e a i g ag a t a ' i n i a ama n a
mia i n a n a , a man wi t t t e a v e h i s fa t h e r and mo t he r . It is possible to
use i a f t e r the ve rb i s de s i re d , a l th ough unne c e s s ary : a o me s i a i amana ,
he saw h i s fa t h e r .
The us e s of a , i a may b e s ummari s e d thus : they o c cur i n focus :
42

i. b e fore names o f p e op le
ii . b e f ore c ommon nouns p e rs oni fie d : a h e r e h o , s o -and- s o ; a m o ' o n i ,
t h i s fe l l ow .
iii . b e fore re l at i o nship t erms : a a m a g u , my fa t h e r .
iv. w i t h the pers onal i nt e rrogat i ve : a t e i , i a t e i , who ?

Fox a l s o h o lds that the i n i t i a l a o f p o s s e s s i ves s uch as a - g u , my , a - m u ,

y o ur , e t c . i s t h i s s ame nm . ( C . 2 . 2 . i i . b e l ow ) .
G e n e r a l e x amp le s of t h i s ma rker fo l l ow :
i a P i ta a ha ' ataa r i a i non i s i , P e t e r s e n t t h a t man ; i a A ra h a n a i be i ' o ,
the Lord i s w i t h y o u ; i a w a i g u a h a s i w a e , my w i fe i s o L d .
F o r u s e s o f non- focus , s e e b e l ow .

2. Non-personal markers i n focus are n a and e . The d i s t i n c t i on

b e tw e e n them i s that n a is s l i gh t ly more de f i n i t e than e : e i t s e l f i s
i nde fin i t e , and i s not u s u a l l y s e n t e n c e i n i t i a l . N a i s s e nt e n c e o r
c l ause i n i t i al - i n other pos i t i ons i t b e c ome s non- focus and i s rep l a c e d
by i . Be c aus e n a i s s e n te n c e or phra s e i n i t i a l i t i s u s e d aft e r t h e
c onj unc t i o n rn a , and - the c omb i ned ma n a i s genera l ly wri t t e n in t h e
l i t e rature a s a s ingle word , though t h e r e i s n o l o g i c a l re ason that i t
should b e . N a i s u s e d ( a ) when there i s no ve rb , e . g . in a heading :
na on i on i ' i n i a . . . , A s to ry a b o u t . . . , t h e s t o ry of . . . f o l l ow e d b y the
n ame ; ( b ) in p lace - name s : i r a a u na W a n g o , the Wango p e op L e ; ( c ) s en t e n c e
i n i t i al w h e n a spe c i fi c pers on i s re ferred t o : na h i ' o n a a h a ' a t e
tanaa . . . , the s p i r i t ( g h o s t ) s a i d to him . . . ; ( d ) after rn a : na non i mana
g a re n a . . . , the m an and h i s s o n . . . : ( e ) i n appo s i t i on : A G o d n a
H a ' a t ah i a u , God my S a v i o u r , l i t . Go d the ma k e - me - L i ve ; under t h i s
h e ading i t s u s e w i t h p lurals c ou ld b e j u s t i fi e d : i r a a u n a n o n i , t h e me n ,
p ara l l e l t o b ut s l i ght ly d i fferent from ( b ) .

3. The form e i s u s e d as an inde f i n i t e art i c le : e u r a o , a woman ,

b ut , un l i k e n a it i s usual ly pre d i c at ive rather than s ub j e c t : i nau e
nan i a n a , I am h i s man ; u rao n i a hinihini e u rao a ' ea ' e ' a , the w oman
( wh o ) b e l i e v e s is a happy woman ; i a e non i o d oo d o , h e was (or i s ) a
r i g h t e o u s man . E c an b e i n i t i a l : e n o n i n a b o i , a man w i l l come ; e n o n i
e ada ro ne i ' e i , the man (had) a s p i r i t i n h i m , was p o s s e s s e d ; n a t o ' o n i
ana e u r i k a me l , h i s c l o t h e s w e re came l - s k i n ; na ahuda e boo hehe i ng a u ,
t h e i r h e a r t s are fi e r c e p i g s ( w i L d anima l s ) .

4. The nm whi ch rep la c e s a l l the non-p e r s onal markers i n non- focus

p o s i t i on i s i , and no Engl i s h ' me an i n g ' c an b e as s i gned to i t . I t is
p r e d ominant l y a fun c t i o n word , not a content word . There are three u s e s
of i :
 43

( a) N on- focus as dire c t ob j e c t of a verb : n a u omes i a i u r a o , I s aw a

( OR the ) woman ; 'oi ' unua ' i nia i a t a n a J o h n , You wi l l c a l l h i s name
John ; '0 d u r ua i t a h a ? , wha t did y o u promis e ? ; a u d u r u a i oru he reho ,
I p romi s e d t h r e e t h i ng s .

(b ) Non-focus in the ab s e n c e o f a verb : e t a h a i maho h a ' aho na ha ' ­

as u r i r a u ? , w ha t was t h e la s t t h i n g h e taug h t them ?

(c) Non- f o c us after a prep o s i t i on : na ' ari be i a i g a r e n a , h e w e n t wi t h

his son ; rarua ' ar i suu r i a i o n e , t h e two of t h e m fo l l owed t he s ho re ;
, inia i t a h a ? , how ? , w i t h wha t ? ; na i ra rona i wab a , in t h e g rave ; n a h a n D
b aa n i a i o m a a s i , h e w e n t away from t h a t v i l l age .
I t i s t o b e n o t e d that the pre s e n c e of a demon s t r a t i ve s uch as s i ,
t h a t ( in the p re ce ding e x amp le ) doe s not e l iminate the need for an nm .
S e e C . 2 . 2 . i . b e l ow .
A l though the nm ' s are not i n thems e lve s e i ther de fini t e or inde f i ni t e ,
there are c e r t ain forms wh i ch e xp re s s the i nde f i n i t e whe n n e e de d . The
b a s i c word is t a , r e a l l y the nume ral o n e , b ut u s e d in the s e n s e o f o n e ,
any, s ome : nau ' ai 'ai ' i r a r a m a u o ' a b e i a t a mwa n e , I h a v e n o t y e t l i v e d
w i t h a n y m a n ( i . e . t h e spe ake r i s a vi rgin ) ; g a r e n a a n o n g i a t a h u a ,
h i s s o n a s k s fo r a fru i t (a p i e c e o f fru i t ) ; n a u h a a u a t a n a a t a h a u ,
I g a v e him a s to n e . Th i s t a may b e c omp ounded w i t h demons t rat i ve s :
t ane i a d a r u a , o n e of t h e m two ; tane i e r u a g a r e a n a , a c e r t a i n man two
s on s h i s , i . e . h ad two s o n s ; f o l l ow e d b y a ne gat ive verb , the s e n s e o f
n o , n o n e , n o t h i ng : tane i ' a i ' a o m e s i a m a u , no o n e has e v e r s e e n h i m ;
' a i ' a t a rawa ' a t a ' i n i a ta h e re h o , n a h a ' a p w a r a n o ' a , n o t o n e t h ing was
made w i t h o u t h i m ; mou bw a ' i h a a u a mw a d a u ta h e r e h o , you cann o t do any­
thing .
The personal non-focus form i s not i , b u t a or l a , i . e . i t c oale s c e s
w i t h t h e fo c u s form - t h e s t r e s s i s o n t h e p e rs on a l i t y rather t h an on
the focus . Examp le s : ra ' unua i atana i a P i ta , they ca l l e d his name
Peter - i is u s e d b e fore the non-personal a t a n a , b ut i a b e fore the
p e rs on a l P i t a . With kinship t erms the s ame us age is re t a i ne d : rau soi a
ma i a a ma n a m i a i n a n a m O ' O n a , t h e y ca l l e d h i t h e r h i s - fa t h e r and h i s ­
mo t h e r t h e p e r s o n afo r e s a i d , t h e y ca l l e d t h e man ' s p ar e n t s ( t o come t o
them) . I f t h e re i s no i n t erme d i at e non-personal noun , a p roper noun
re t ains a or i a : i i a a daua a P i ta , he t o o k Pe t e r ; '0 nugas i g i ra rua a
P i t a m i a P a u l , s e p ar a t e o u t (from t h e g r o u p ) Pe te r and Pau l . Where two
names are linke d , i a i s always u s e d w i t h the s e c on d : mia < rna + i a , and
person.
44

C. 2 . l . i v . Ma rkers of the Pl ural

P lural markers i n Aro s i are mw a n i and mw a h i , and the third p e r s on

p lural p ro noun i r a a u , r a a u as shown in the p re ce d i n g mat r i x . Alth ough
the fir s t two are p l a c e d in the ' non-pe rsonal ' c o l umn , they are a c t ua l l y
u s e d q u i t e o ft e n w i th n o u n s i n d i c a t i n g l i v i ng b e i ngs s u ch as u r a o ,
woman : n a mw a n i u r a o , whi le ( i ) r a a u i s u s e d w i t h other t e rms , s u c h as
t h o s e o f kinship .
The fun c t i ons o f mw a n i , mw a h i are s imp ly t h o s e o f numb e r indi c at i on .
The noun markers c ons i de r e d i n the p re c e d i n g s e c t ions c ar ry n o d i r e c t
imp l i c at i o n o f numb e r , e x c ept f o r e , w h i c h i s de fi n i t e l y s ingular , and
is never c oup le d w i t h mw a n i , mw a h i . On the other hand , n a and i
regularly pre c e de the s e other marke rs . O f the s e , mw a n i is mu ch c ommone r
i n us age t han m w a h i , b u t there i s no s eman t i c d i s t i n c t i o n b e tween them .
The r u l e s regarding focus are the s ame wi th t h e s e p lurali s ers as w i t h ou t
t he m . E x amp le s are : Focus : n a mw a n i d a n g i , day s ; n a mw a n i h e ' u , the
s tars ; n a mw a n i a h u , the hearts ( o f p e op Z e ) ; n a mw a n i h e r e h o s i , those
things - mw a h i may b e s ub s t i t u t e d . Non-focus : m o u o m e s i ' i mw a n i
h e r e h o s i , y o u s e e t h o s e t h i n g s ; the nm n a i s omi t t e d in addre s s : mw a n i
non i ni H e u r u ! , men of Heuru !
C e r t a i n other forms o f addre s s are found al s o : r o mw a n e ! , y o u p e op Z e ! ;
ara i h a i d o ' o r a d o , b re t hren ! In the Gosp e l t rans l a t i on of Mat thew 1 1 : 2 8 ,
Chri s t i s made t o s ay , r o mw a n e , amou hako r a h e ma mou ro ros u • . . , aZ Z
y o u w h o are b u rde n e d and Z aden . . , as an addre s s form , which would not
.

app e ar o t he rw i se .
The p e r s onal p lural marke r i r a a u , r a a u i s re a l ly the p ronoun t h e y .
S ome o f t h e Mal a i t a language s u s e t h i s form as a p lura l i s e r o f general
app l i c at i on , p la c e d after the noun , as i n Lau na mw a n e g i , the m a Z e s ,
where g i repre sent s A ro s i i r a a u . Lau a l s o has mw a i , repre s en t i n g mw a h i ,
b u t i n t h i s language m w a i i s u s e d only w i t h kinship t e rms , whi le i n
U l awa mw a i i s the general p lural i s er . In Aro s i i r a a u i s the general
p e r s onal mark e r , and if only two p e op l e are re ferre d t o , ( i ) r a r u a , they
t w o i s s ub s t i t u t e d for i t . T h e r e is no d u a l marker i n Aro s i i n o ther
s i t ua t i o ns . The marke r mw a n i i s not us u a l ly c omb ined w i t h i r a a u , but
in non- fo c u s pos i t i on i t may app e ar : i i a a h a nD t a n a a r aa u i mwa n i u rao,
h e w e n t t o t h e women : here i i s u s e d b e fore the noun i n non-focus
p o s i t i on , whi le the p e r s onal marke r i s reduced t o a s u f fi x t o the p r e ­
p os i t i o n t a n a - , to , b e c oming a n ant i C ipat ory form , like the - a s u f fi x
t o a t r an s i t i ve verb . I t t h e n b e c ome s p o s s i b le t o omi t the i r a a u ,
re p la c i n g it b y - r a , the ob j e c t s u ff i x t o the verb , but re t aining n a
bwa reoamae a - ra i kaaka e , t h e b ap t i s e ( t he ) i n fan t s . O f c ours e , i f there
 45

i s n o noun t o fo l l ow , the fu l l s u f f i x i s re t ai ne d : ra bwa reomaea - ra a u ,

t h e y b ap t i s e t h e m .
The p e r s onal p l ur a l marker not o n l y r e fe r s t o p e op le , b u t mak e s the
p l ur a l d e f in i t e : i r a a u na mw a n i u r a o , the ( as agai n s t some ) wome n .
More u s u al ly , w i t h i r a a u , mw a n i n e e d not app e ar : i r a a u g a re n a , h i s s o n s ,
lit . t h e y s o n - h i s ( - n a ) , and s imi lar l y i r a r u a g a r e n a , h i s two s on s ;
i i a a boi be i ra rua do ' ora- g u , he came to t h e m - t w o b r o t he r-my , i . e . he
came to my two b r o t h e r s . I n a p o s s e s s i ve phras e , a s imi l ar abbre viat e d
c on s tru c t i on i s found : na ruma adaau i o n i , the men ' s hous e ; n a mw a n i
r uma a d a a u i non i , the m e n ' s h o u s e s ; n a a h u - d a i n o n i , t h e m e n ' s h e a rt s .
S y n t ac t i c a l ly , the verb c arr i e s an ob j e c t s uf f i x whi ch i s redundant ,
and the p lural noun c omp lement fo l l ow s t h i s wh o l e phrase : n a u ome - s i ­
r a a u n a n o n i , I s aw - t h e m the m e n , I saw t h e men . I f the noun i s not
pers onal , the suffix to the verb is not - r a or - r a a u b u t - ' i ( s e e b e l ow ,

p . 67) : n a u omes i ' i mw a n i h e r e h o s i , I s aw t h o s e t h i n g s ; 0' i haa ' i

mwa n i t a u a r o a m u , y o u s ha l l do y o u r w o r k ( s ) .

C . 2. 2 . Adj u ncts of the N o u n

Ad j un c t s o f the noun c omp r i s e word typ e s c las s i fi ab l e as adj e ct iv e s

o r de s c rip t i ve s ( s ymb o l , A ) , p o s s e s s i ve s ( p ) and numerat i ve s ( num ) .
De i c t i c s may al s o o c c ur i n the NP - symb o li s e d as 0 - b u t are not l i mi t e d
to it . I n Aro s i they may fun c t i on as noun s ub s t i t u t e s or l o c a t i v e s .
I n t h i s fun c t i o n they wi l l b e d i s c u s s e d in C . 2 . 3 . I n add i t i on t h ere are
s ome typ e s o f de f i n i ng words , c h i e f ly numb er markers , that o c cur in NP
b e f o re N . The N P w i th a l l po s s ib le adj unc t s i s then repre s e n t e d by a
f o rmu l a
def
nm
num
� N :!: P :!: A _ D .

Not a l l memb e rs of t h i s comp l e x w i l l , of c ours e , o c cur t ogether at

one t i me ; s ome , in fac t , c annot c o- o c c ur w i t h c e r t a i n others for
s emant i c r e a s o n s . Moreove r , the nature of A renders a t w o f o l d arrange ­
ment p o s s ib l e w i t h i n thi s s e c t i on o f the phras e .
The forms o f the various t ype s o f adj un c t w i l l b e s t u d i e d f i rs t ; i n
t h e s e cond s e c t i on the i r arrangemen t when c o - o c current i n t h e N P may b e
p ro f i t ab ly d i s cus s e d .

C.2.2. i . The Descri pti ve

Aros i de s cr i p t i v e s , l i ke Aros i noun s , are o f two k i n d s , s imp l e and

d e r i ve d , i . e . formed from other word - c las s e s . Many are s imp le root s ,
46

and t e n d t o b e phonemi c a l ly o f the pat t e rn CVC V , s u ch a s g o r o , g o o d ;

r a h a , big ; t ew a , long.
D e r i v e d forms whi ch are a sub group o f D o c cur w i t h t h e pre fi x m a -
o r t h e suffix - ' a . The s e are b oth o f Aus t rone s i an o r i gi n , show i ng
re fle x e s i n many l anguage s as we l l as Aros i . There i s another c ommon
p re fi x , t a - , whi ch marks a s t at e as s umed s p o n t aneous ly , b ut t h i s doe s
n o t s e em t o o c cur in Aro s i ; the l o s s o f t wh i ch i s s uch a s t rong fe at ure
of Aro s i w o u l d t e nd to reduce thi s p re fix phone t i c al ly , and app are n t l y
i t has n o t d e ve l op e d i n t h e l anguage . Codrington i n h i s M el a � e 6 i a �
L a �g uag e6 gave n o e q u i v a l e n t of t a - for Wango .
O f m a - , Fox s t at e s that " more than 8 0 0 words have the p re f i x m a - .
I t i s the chara c t e ri s t i c mark of an Aus t rone s i an language . " It i s a
pre f i x i n d i c at i ng a s t at e , and marks a s t a t i ve verb or a des crip t i ve ,
s uch as among the lat t e r , m a n g a s a r a , emp t y ; m a o r o or ma n i h i , t h i n ;
m a h e r a , b ro a d ; and m a u r u , s le ep among the forme r .
The c ommon s u f f i x - ' a rep re s e n t s Aus trone s i an - k a , -ga: ke t o , be
s o re > k e t o n a , a s o re > k e t o k e t o ' a , fu l l o f s o r e s . Also a ' ea ' e ,
re j o i c e > a ' e a ' e ' a , r e j o i c i n g , happ y ; m a e , die > m a e ' a , de a d .
The i n c lus i on o f s t at i ve verb s s u ch a s m a u r u , s l e e p among t h e ab ove
l i s t s , re c a l l s the fa c t that an adj e c t ive used in the p re d i c at e o f a
s e n t e n c e i s l i nk e d with the s ub j e c t by a ve rb a l marker , as was shown i n
C . 2 . ' . i i i . ab ove . I n a u n a u g o r o , I am good i s s t ru c t urally p aral l e l t o
i n a u n a u m a u r u , I s l e e p o r - adj e c t i va l ly - I am a s l e ep . From the v i ew­
p o i n t of t rans forma t i o n grammar , there fore , the adj e ct ive may be re gar d e d
a s e s s e n t i a l ly a t ran s form o f a verb , vi z . V
. Thi s i s o n e o f t h e
adj
reas ons f o r t re at i ng the ve rb phras e b e fore the n o u n phras e i n t h e
pre s e n t grammar . So e u rao wa r i a ma i n a , an o l d w o m a n has come , w i t h
the NP e u r a o w a r i may b e regard e d as c ont aining i n the NP a V t rans­
adj
form of e u r a o a w a r i , the woman is o l d as an emb e dd e d c laus e t rans forme d
b y the de l e t i o n o f the verb al s i gn a i nt o e u r a o w a r i a ma i na .
I n a numb e r o f Me lane s i an language s th e adj e c t i ve i s e i ther s yn­
t a c t i c a l ly a t r ans form of a VP as in the ab ove i ns t an c e , or a c t ua l ly
a VP c o n t a i n i n g the ve rb al marke r . Thus i n Mota o f the Banks I s l ands ,
the two s en t e n c e s , 0 t a n u n w e g o p a , t h e man i s s i c k and 0 t a n u n we r i sa
a l o i m w a , t h e man l i e s i n t h e h o u s e , produce the s ingle s e n t e n c e 0 t a n u n
we g opa we r i s a a l o i m w a , t h e s i c k man ( or , t h e man who i s s ic k ) i s
l y i ng i n t h e h o u s e , b y emb e dding w i th l o s s o f the s e c ond N P b u t w i t h
r e t e nt i on o f the verb a l s i gn . I n Aros i the former de l e t i on t a k e s p lac e
and t h e v e rb a l s i gn i s l o s t al s o .
 47

J u s t as there are phras a l nouns , s o there are phras al adj e c t i ve s ,

s u ch as i m u r i , a t the r e a r , b e h i n d , in n a g a r e i mu r i , the y o u n g e r s o n ,
and i n a ' o , i n fro n t , in the phras e n a g a r e i na ' o , the e l der s o n . On
the wh o l e , howe ve r , the s e are fewer in numb e r than the phras al nouns ,
and are mos t ly l e x i cal i t ems .
C ompar i s o n i s c arried out in a manner s omewhat di f fe rent from the
Europ e an . There are two typ e s o f compar i s o n : equali t y and inequali t y .
E q u a l i t y i s e xp re s s e d b y the u s e o f the verb o n a i , t o b e t h e s ame a s ,
s im i l a r to , a s i n n a g a r e a r a h a o n a i i a m a n a , t h e chi ld i s as b i g as
h i s fa t h e r ! ; au ome s i ' i ona i mw a n i h a s i ' e i , I s e e t h em r e s emb l e tre e s ,
t h e y l o o k l i k e tre e s t o me ; n a t a t a g o r a a i ona i -a i bwau s i a n a , the
s e r v a n t w i l l b e e q u a l to h i s ma s t er ( Mat thew 10 : 2 5 ) . O n a i a s a t rans i t i ve
v e rb t ak e s the s u f f i x - a or - ' i as required .
Inequa l i t y in Europe an languages is s ub d i vi de d i n t o ' more than ' ,
' le s s than ' . Thi s i s not s o in Aro s i . The f a c t of inequal i t y i s
e xp re s s e d by o r o r i u , exc e e d . T h i s c a n b e u s e d w i t h nothing t o f o l low :
i ate i n a o r o r i u 7 , who i s t h e g r e a t e r ( o r grea t e s t ) ? I f a c omp ar i s o n i s
made w i t h ano t h e r ob j e c t , the p r e p o s i t i on b a a n i - , from i s u s e d a s the
l i nk : na r uma n i a o ro r i u b a a n i a i ruma s i , this h o u s e i s bigger t h a n
t ha t , lit . t h i s hou s e e x c e e d s from t h a t hou s e . S imi l arly , k e k e r e i
b a a n i - , sma l l fro m , sma l l e r t h a n , w i t q omi s s i on o f o r o r i u : i ' oe '0
k e k e re i b a a n i a u , y o u a r e sma l l e r t h an I .
A s e c ond method o f e xp re s s ing c ompari s o n i s the u s e o f r i u , an
ab b re vi a t i o n of o r o r i u . R i u s i mp ly f o l l ows the adj e c t ive as an adj un c t
to i t : a g o ro riu, i t i s b e t te r , lit . i t i s g o o d exce ed ; a i g o ro r i u
t a n a ' o , i t w i l l b e b e t t e r fo r y o u . A dependent c laus e i s then l inke d
t o t h i s phras e b y h u n i , t h a t : a i goro r i u tana ' o humi 'oi s i ri nai r u ma ,
i t w i l l b e b e t t e r fo r y o u t h a t y o u s ha l l go i n t o t h e h o u s e , y o u h ad
b e t t e r go i n t o t h e h o u s e . A further derivat i ve i s r i u t a h a : a r i utaha
b a a n i a a m a g u , h e i s a g r e a t e r (ma n ) than my fa t h e r .
S ome t im e s t h e verb h i h i ' a , h a v e v a l u e , i s u s e d i n c ompari s on s : na
non i a h i h i ' a he ' ua baan i a i b o , a man h a s v a l u e h o w much from a p i g ? ,
h o w mu c h b e t te r i s a man t h an a p i g ?
I t i s p o s s ib le a l s o t o have more c omp l i c a t e d phra s e s b u t t he s e are
le s s usual . An e xamp le is found in the G o s p e l t rans l at ion at Mark 1 0 : 2 5 :

ai mwa d a u t a n a i kame ! ai 5 i r i na i maana n i ra

i t - w i l l - b e po s s ib l e t o a came l i t - wi l l e n t e r i n t o e y e - i ts a n e e d l e
b aa n i a i ne i ra to ' ora ha ' a ra i 5 i r i na i hou rana ana God
from - i t s o m e t h e y own wea l t h t h e y - wi l l e n t e r i n t o r e a l m his God
' I t i s e a s i e r fo r a came l to go t h r o u g h t h e e y e o f a n e e d l e t h a n fo r
t h e r i c h t o e n t e r t h e k i ngdom of God . '
48

Compari s on o f d iminut i o n i s t r e a t e d i n the s ame way as compari s o n o f

i n creas e : n a u ke ke re i r i u b a a n i a , I a m l e s s t han he .
The s ame aux i l i ary r i u i s a l s o u s e d t o e xpre s s an ab s o lu t e s up e r l a t i ve :
raha r i u , v e ry g r e a t , as in a h a u n a raha r i u , t h e s tory was v e ry b i g .
A n a l t e rnat i ve i s r a k a h i u s e d s imi larly : n a a h u d a au a t o t ou r a ka h i I inia,
t he i r h e a r t s w e re v e ry s o rry abou t i t .
A p e j orat i ve c omp ari s o n i s marked b y g e r e , l i t t l e , w h i c h , how e ve r ,
p�ecede� the ad j e c t i ve : g e r e g o r o , r a t h e r go o d . Thi s g e r e enters i n t o
c e r t a i n NP c omp ound s : g e r e s a e , young man ; g e r e a m a , fa t h e r ' s b r o t he r ;
g e r e i n a , mo t he r ' s s i s t e r , fa t h e r ' s s i s t e r .

C.2.2.ii. Noun-Adj u ncts : Dei cti cs

D e i c t i c s o r demon s t rat i v e s s h ow b o t h formal and b ehavi oral di ffer e n c e s

a c c o rd i ngly as t h e y are adj un c t s t o nouns or s ub s t i t u t e s f o r the m . In
t h e p re s e n t s e c t i on adj u n c t s only are d e a l t w i t h ; f o r noun s ub s t i t ut e s
see C. 2 3 . i i .
.

The Aros i l anguage d i s t i ngui s he s o n ly two p o s i t i on s t o emphas i z e -

ne ar the s p e ake r , and at a d i s t ance from him . The i n t erme d i a t e p o s i t i on ,
I near the addre s s e e ' , d o e s not o c cur i n t h i s p art o f Me lane s i a . The
b as i c forms in Arosi are n i , n e a r t h e s p e a k e r , and s i , d i s t a n t from t h e
s p e a ke r . To t he s e mus t b e added n a , afo re s a i d i n reference t o a p e rs on
or obj e c t a lr e ady know n , regard le s s o f i t s s i tuat i on . The s e de i c t i c s
fo l l ow the noun t o whi ch they re fe r . Be fore the noun the approp r i at e
marke r i s re t ai n e d e x cept under c e rt ai n s p e c i fi e d c on di t i on s . The
i n de fi n i t e marke r e , o f c ours e , does not o c cur , but e i ther i a or n a may
app e ar . The c omb i nat i on n a . . . n a d o e s not s e em t o be u s e d . Examp l e s :

(i) ni , thi s , near speake r : i a mo ' o n i , this person ; na h a ' a te n i ,

t h i s word, this speech

(ii ) s i , t h a t , remo v e d from s p e a k e r : i a mo ' o s i , t ha t p e r s o n o v e r

t h e re ; n a mw a n i h e r e h o s i , those t hings ; e tai t anga- h u r u non i s i , those
ten men * , t h o s e t e n me n .

A s e c ond s e t o f c ompound d e i c t i c s i s a l s o found , and thes e , l i k e the

o t he r s , f o l low the noun . They are forme d b y pre f i x i n g i - to the short
forms , and app e ar to be s l i gh t ly s tronge r than the o t hers . The p re fi x
i - i s found w i t h p ronouns al s o , g i vi ng them a cert ain degree o f

*
T h e e b e f o r e t h e p h r a s e i s n o t t h e i n d e f i n i t e n m , b u t a h om op h on o u s
p a rt i c le wh i ch p r e c e d e s nume r a l s . T h e p lu r a l men i s t ak e n t o b e e x p r e s s e d
b y t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e a r e t e n o f t h e m , but w i l l b e e x p r e s s e d i n t h e v e rb
p h r a s e p r e c e d i n g o r f o l l ow i n g , e . g . a u o m e s i r a a u e t a i t a n g a h i r u n o n i s i ,
I s aw t h o s e t e n m e n , o r e t a i t a n g a h u r u n o n i s i r a a u b o i n o ' a , t h o s e t e n
m e n h a v e a rr i v e d .
independence : s e e end o f C . 2 . 3 . ; . Examp l e s : na non i i s i , t h e s e me n ;
n a mw a n i maho ini , these things ; n a h a ' a b u o a h u i n i , t h e s e wonde r s ;
n a mw a n i he reho ini, t h e s e t h i n g s ; n a mw a n i d a ng i i s i , t h o s e day s * .
A f o rm w i t h pre f i x e d n a - i s a l s o found : na i n i , na i s i . I t i s not c le ar
j us t h ow i t i s c o n s t r u ct e d , whether the n a i s the d e i c t i c o f b ack re fe r­
e n c e or ( le s s l i k e l y ) the noun-marker , b ut i t s u s e s are very s im i l a r t o
those o f i n i and i s i .
A t h i rd c omp o und de i c t i c , p r e f i x i n g a - i s a n i , p lural a a n i (i.e.
lengthe n i ng of vowe l ) , re ferring b a ck i n the s ame way as d o e s n a : m a h o
an i , t h a t t h i n g , known b u t not v i s i b le . S e n t e n c e final , a n i may b e u s e d
t o mean t h e r e fo r e , on a c c o u n t o f t h i s , t h a t i s w h y , and i n t h i s us age
i t d e fine s the e n t ire p re ce d i n g c l aus e : naas i gau re i a g a ' u a n i , the
o n e we h a d s e e n b e for e .
I n add i t i on t o c omp ound forms of d e i c t i c s there are al s o redup l i c at e d
forms n a i n i n i and n a a s i n i n i , a s i n n a mw a n i h a ' a t e n a i n i n i , t h e s e words ,
or i ' a m o u m o u i ra ra ' ini h a ' a t e n a s i n i n i , y ou know ab o u t t h e s e w o rds
( whi c h have b e e n p r e v i ou s l y s p oken ) . N aa s i and n a a s i n i n i alway s r e f e r
b a c k t o a n e ar l i e r re fere n c e , and t h e y may b e s ep arate d b y a c ons i derab l e
i n t er va l from the i mme di a t e re ference . A good e x amp l e of t h i s s ep ar a t i o n
i s s e e n i n the t rans lat i o n o f Mark 4 : 2 4 i n Aro s i :

i tohotoho mou tohon i a ' inia rai tohotoho ahoi t a n a amo u

t h e m e a s u r e y o u m e a s ur e - i t w i t h ( i t ) , they -wi l t measure again t o - y o u
naas i .
that-one .

Thi s n a a s i at the end o f the s en t e n c e i s a c t u a l l y a noun s ub s t i t u t e and

not an adj u n c t in t h i s i ns tan c e , but it shows the u s e o f the s e forms i n
b a ckward re fere n c e .
I t is a l s o p os s ib le t o u s e a s imp l e s i i n the s ame w ay t o fina l i s e
a n u t t e r an c e :

n a u ' a d oma ' i n a h u n i n a ma rewan a ma ' a t a abwa ' i h a a ' i mw a d a u i mw a n i

I think that the wortd e n t i re w i t t - n o t h o t d b e - ab l e t h e p L
usuusu ra i usu ' i s i .
w r i t i n g t h e y - w i t t wri t e - t h e m t ho s e .
' I t h i n k t h e who t e wo r t d wou t d n o t b e a b l e to con t a i n t h e b o o k s WHICH
wo u t d be w r i t t e n . ' ( J ohn 2 1 : 2 5 ) .

*
T h e r e a r e s e ve r al w ay s o f e x p re s s i n g o n e s e l f i n t h i s c on n e c t i on . In
t ho s e day s m ay al s o b e e x p r e s s e d a s n o ' a i d a n g i n a a s i n i n i ( s e e n e x �
p ar ag r ap h ) , n a i d a n g i n a a s i or n a i d a n g i n a i s i , a t t h a t t'Lme , d a n g ! r a g o
.
i s i , a l t t ho s e day s , a t t t h a t t ime .
50

C. 2. 2. iii . N u me r a t i v e s *

There are s e veral numeral s y s t ems i n Aros i , b u t they agree i n t re a t i ng

the nume rals as nouns ; and t h e re i s one out s t anding s y s t em , u s e d on mos t
o c c as i on s , wh i ch i s a d e c imal one . Thi s i s the one gene rally found i n
Me l ane s i a , and i n i t the c ardinal numb e rs are a s f o l l ows :

e ta a iI ( Ea s t Aro s i ) , e t a I i ( We s t Aros i ) , e t a ( i n c ount i n g ) o n e

e rua , two
e o ru , three
e h a i , fou l"
e r i m a , fi v e
e o n o , s ix
e b i u , s e ve n
e w a r u , e ight
e s i wa , nine
tangahu ru, ten

ab ove t e n the s e nume r a l s are repeat e d , p r e c e d e d b y the c onj un c t i o n m a n a ,

and, or rn a , a n d , w i t h the verb a d a r a , to e x a e e d , go b e y ond , e . g . : e ta' i
tangahuru mana r u a or e t a ' i t a n g a h u r u rn a a d a r a r u a , tw e Z v e , and s o o n ;
e rua t a ng a h u r u , t w e n t y ; up t o t a n g a r a u , a hundred.
A c omp le t e ten s ome t ime s has the word h u n u or h u n u h u n u , a o mp Z e te ,
added .
K o a , m a t e i s u s e d t o e xpre s s odd and e ven , k o a g o r o , e v e n ; koa t a ' a ,
odd.
The art i c l e e may b e omi t t e d , o r rep l a c e d by e i t h e r o f the nominal
art i c l e s i . n a , the us e in this mat t e r f o l l ow i n g that of the s ame art i c le s
w i t h o t h e r nouns , though e perhaps i s more c ommonly u s e d w i t h t h e numer­
als .
Tah i i s u s e d ins t e ad o f t a ' i , w i t h the c ount ing u n i t o a (of p e o p Z e
s i t ti ng ) and i n o a t a h i , a w i dow .
Ab o ve a hundre d the s y s tem p r o c e e d s in the s ame way ( e . g . e ha i
tanga rau e rua t a n g a h u r u m a n a b i u , 4 2 7 ) t o a thousan d , me r u ; and s o o n
t o a n y n umb e r o f t h o u s and s , b ut me r u i s the h i ghe s t numeral t erm .
The ordinals are formed from the c ardinals by s u ff i x i ng n a , and are
als o n o uns ; in t h i s c as e n a is the usual arti c le : n a e t a n a , o n e ; na
ruana, two e t c .

*
Th i s s e c t i o n w a s w r i t t e n by D r Fox h i ms e l f a n d app e ar e d i n t h e J o u�nal
0 6 t h e Polyne� ian S o c i e t y , v o l . 4 0 ( 1 9 3 1 ) pp . 2 3 6 - 4 3 . It i s r ep r i n t e d b y
p e rm i S S i on o f t h e e d i t o r o f t h e JPS .
 51

( Not e : ha ' ata ' i or h a ' a t a ' a i , o n c e ; h a a t a ' a i o r h a ' a t a ' a i , comp l e t e l y . )
The s e forms may als o b e u s e d for fi r s t , s e cond , e t c . j us t as v a g a t u ­
wa l e , v a g a r u a may b e i n Mot a .
D i s t r i butives - One a t a t ime , e t c . are e x p re s s e d b y us ing the word
w e r a w e r a b e fore the numeral , and u s u a l ly redup l i cat i ng the numeral :
w e r a w e r a t a ' i , o n e a t a t ime ; we r a w e r a rua , two a t a t i m e . Or s imp l y
b y redup l i c a t i o n : t a ' i ta ' i n e i , o n e a t a time ; ' ado rua , ' a do o r u etc . ,
two e a c h , three e a c h .
W a r u t a , p e rhaps c o nne c t e d w i t h w a r u ( e igh t ) , me ans a large b u t
i nde fi n i t e numb e r .
As how e v e r h a r u i s a l s o u s e d t o mean a ( sma l l ) indefini te numb er
( s ome ) , the two words may b e two forms w i t h a c ommon origin and c onne c t e d
w i t h M o t a v a l u , e v e ry , a l Z ; indire c t ly c onne c t e d w i t h t h e re c i pro c al
harl , hai ( Mota v a r ) ; rather perhap s than re l at e d t o w a r u , (eight ) .
T a n g a r a u i s s e ldom u s ed e x c e p t for men or c o c onut s ; ' a rang i rep l a c e s
it .
Th i s i s the ordi nary Arosi sy s t em , s imp le and t y p i c a l ly Me lane s i an ;
b ut , b e s ide s th i s , almo s t e v e ry c h i l dren ' s game has i t s counting s ong ,
w i t h q u i t e d i fferent numeral s , e . g . , they may a l l o f them b e the names
o f t re e s ; and als o many s p e c i a l obj e c t s are c ounted in a d i f ferent way .
Th i s las t fact is perhaps the mo s t imp o rt ant fac t in Ar o s i numera t i o n ,
and of v a l ue in c l as s i fy i ng the language . It would app e ar that ob j e c t s
w e r e o n c e d i v i de d i n t o a numb e r of categorie s ; with s ome t h i ngs c o un t i n g
o n l y p r o c e e de d as far as ten , w i th s ome t o a hundre d , i n the case o f
c o c onuts t o t w e n t y mi l l ion . S ome t imes c o un t i ng i s b y o ne s , s ome t imes
b y p airs , s ome t imes b y fours , s ome t i me s b y fives ; the p ai r , or four or
five b e i ng reckoned as a uni t and given a d i s t i nc t name . Thi s l e a�s t o
v ar y i ng values for nume r i cal te rms , a s the f o l l ow i ng e x amp le w i l l make
c le ar : ' arang i is a t e rm u s e d for a hundred in c ount i ng s e ve ral kinds o f
ob j e c t s ; i t me ans a hundred �f t h e p art i cular un i t .
I n c o un t i ng money the unit i s t a h a n g a , whi ch cons i s t s o f four fathoms
o f she l l money ( al l money is coun t e d by fours ) ; t e n of t h e s e is an i t a
and a hundre d i t a is ' a rang i - i.e. 4 , 0 0 0 l e ngths . But i n count i n g
money i n the form o f f i s h o r b at s ' t e e t h , the uni t i s four and i s a n a b e ;
' a r a n g i means 1 0 0 a b e - i . e . , 4 00 t e e t h .
I n c ount i ng hous e s , where the unit is one , ' a r a n g i means 1 0 0 .
Yams are c ounted by fives , y e t ' arang l d o e s not mean 5 0 0 , but 2 0 0 ,
as t h ough c ou n t i ng b y pairs were once the cus t om . Thus ' a r a n g i , used o f
she l l-money , means 4 , 0 0 0 fat homs ; o f t e e th-mone y , 4 0 0 t eeth ; o f y ams ,
2 0 0 t ub e r s ; of h o u s e s , 1 0 0 hou s e s .
52

1. Y am s , t a p o , bananas , s to n e s , mango e s :
The o r d i n ary nume rals are u s e d up t o f i ve , wh i ch i s d u m a i , and whi ch
i s the uni t , as th e s e obj e c t s are counted by five s ; e r u a d u m a i i s ten ,
b ut w a i o a , a pa i p , a l s o come s i nt o the count ing ; t a ' i d uma i mana wa i oa ,
se ven ( eight i s t a i I duma i mana t a ' i wa i oa mana t a ' i ) . F i ve d u m a i are
g a ga u , 2 5 , and two g a g a u or t e n d u m a i are s u s u a b a , 5 0 ; two s u s u a b a ( W )
- abaaba ( E ) - are ' arang i , 100 . Coun t i ng then p r o c e e d s b y ' a r a n g i ,
t e n o f whi ch are w aw a i b e ' o , 1 , 0 0 0 ; t e n w a w a i b e ' o are h u s i a , 1 0 , 0 0 0 ; t e n
h u s i a are s i n o r a , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 ; t e n s i n o r a are r a u , 1 , 000, 000 . Whe n h u s i a i s
re a c h e d they nip o f f the l e ave s ( rawa , r a u ) o f a fern t a h u t a h u , and when
they are all n i p p e d off thi s numb e r was r a u , s a i d to b e 1 0 0 h u s i a , b u t
prob ab ly vary ing i n numb e r . Beyond a mi l li on coun t i ng c e as ed . Thi s i s
We s t Aros i ; i n Eas t Aro s i a b a a b a i s one hundre d , and two a b a a b a are
' a r a n g i ; ten ' a ra n g i are s o s o o b a , two t h o u s an d ; and t e n s o s o o b a are
wawa i be ' o , 20, 000 ; ahus i a , 200 , 0 0 0 et c . But in Aro s i E as t mango e s are
c o un t e d as in We s t Aros i , and a b a a b a ( E ) = s u s ua b a (W) . In U lawa s i n o l a
i s 1 , 000 y ams ; and m o r a may b e us e d i n Aro s i for h u s i a ( U . m o l a , 1 0 , 0 0 0
y am s o p t a po ) .

2. C o c o nu t s :
The s e are counted by p a i rs , w a i o a ; f i ve w a i o a are a ' u r u ; t e n a ' u r u
are t a n g a r a u , 1 0 0 ; ten t a n g a r a u are b w e r a , 1 , 0 0 0 ; t e n b w e r a are rau k i
ha ru ( h a r u i s a t ree ) , 1 0 , 0 0 0 ; ten r a u k i h a r u are r a w a i niu C l eaf o f
c o c o n u t ) , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 ; ten r aw a i n i u are n i u t a r i , 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 . In East
A r o s i t h e c ou n t i n g i s the s ame t o r a w a i n i u , 1 0 0 , 0 00 ( though r a u k i
h a r u i s r a u k u h a r i ) ; but t e n r aw a i n i u are r a u r a u n i h a ' a r o ( h a ' a ro i s a
t r ee ) , 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 ; and t e n r a u r a u n i h a ' a r o are e a h u s i a , 10, 000, 000 .
The p e o p l e s ay they never nee ded i n p r ac t i ce a larger numeral t erm , as
they ne ver prepared for a fe a s t more than t e n mi l l i o n nut s , and so they
did n o t go any further . The word a h u s i a is from a h u , to p i l e up ; the
p a s t p ar t i c i p le , p i l e d up .
U lawa a p a i n i u i s 1 0 , 0 0 0 c o conut s .
S aa r a u i h e l u the s ame .
I n U l aw a q e l a has the s ame meaning as i n Aro s i .

3. B a n an a - s h o o t s fop p l a n t i n g :
C o un t i ng b y the us ual s y s tem up t o t e n , whi ch i s h a r a i n s te ad o f
t a n g a h u r u ; t e n h a r a are u m u u m u , 1 0 0 . N o further t e rms .
 53

4. Sago - p a l m fronds fo r t h a t c h :
Te n h a h a fronds are t a ' i h a a n i ao ( a o , sago p a lm ) ; t e n h a a n i a o are
' a rang i , 100 . C ount i ng after t h i s f o l l ow s that for y ams .

5. Pigs, do g s :
Coun t e d one b y one w i t h the ordi nary nume rals up t o t e n , t a ' i hag a ;
t e n h a g a are n a h om e r a ; t e n n a h om e r a are h a g a h a g a , 1 , 0 0 0 , and there
count i ng c e as e d .

6. Op o s s um s :
C o u n t e d up t o t e n , whi ch i s ram a ; t e n r a m a are ' a rang i .

7. Fi s h :
Counted up t o t e n , wh i ch i s b a t a i ; ten b a t a i are ' a rang i .

8. Ee l s :
Counted up t o five , wh i ch i s h a s i w a r o h a s i a b a ( E ) , w a r o ( W ) ; two o f
these , h a s i w a ro ( E ) , w a r o b u b u ( W ) , 1 0 ; t e n h a s i w a r o are b o h i t a n g a , 1 0 0 .

9. Bre adfru i t :
C ount e d b y p a i r s : e t a , one pai r ; e rua , two p a i r s ; f i ve p a i r s are
ta ' i to' i ; 10 t o ' i are t a n g a h u r u i to' i . In We s t Aros i they are count e d
as y ams ; s ome u s e d o d o ' i for t e n .

10 . Dogs ' t e e t h :
Dogs ' t e e th r i h o ri hori ( l a rg e ) and m w a r a u , s u r a h u , t a g a i ' u ra ( s ma l l )
are c ount e d , the former b y p a i r s and the l a t t e r b y fours ; i n e a ch c a s e
the u n i t i s c al le d t a ' i abe . T e n a b e are a m a a r u , 4 0 t e e t h o r 2 0 . Ten
m a a r u are ' a ra ng i . Te n ' a r a n g i are d o h u , 4 , 0 0 0 . Ten d o h u a r e ' u m a ,
4 0 , 0 0 0 or 2 0 , 0 0 0 . I n Eas t Aro s i t e n a b e o f the l arge t e e t h , 2 0 t e e t h ,
may b e c a l l e d a h a r a r a . I n We s t Aro s i s u r i h a t a may b e u s e d for m a a r u i f
the t e e t h are u s e d for s ac r i f i c e t o a gho s t .

11 . B a t s ' te e t h :
R i h o r o g e , b a t s ' te e t h are c ounted b y fours , the u n i t b e i ng a b e ; ten
a b e are m a a r u ; t e n m a a r u are ' a rang i . B w a u may b e u s e d i n s t e ad o f a b e .

12. Fi s h ( p o rp o i s e ) t e e t h :
R i ho i 'a, i ' a fi s h - t e e t h are counted b y fours , the uni t for whi ch i s
abe . Ten a b e are m a a r u . Two m a a r u are b w a u . Ten m a a r u are ' a r a n g i .
Te n ' a r a n g i are t o ' a n i i ' a , 4 , 000 . In E a s t Aro s i ' a r a n g i may b e
omi t t e d , and t o ' a n i i ' a i s then 4 0 0 ; a h a r a r a i s used for 40 teeth .
( ' ahunu, 100, 000 teeth.
54

13. She l l money :

Thi s ( h a ' a ) i s s t rung , and four fathoms i s the unit , c a l l e d t a h a n g a
( p roperly , a fathom) o r h a ' a n i a t a ' e or h a ' a m o r a . Ten t a h a n g a are i ta
( 4 0 fa t homs ) ; twenty- five t a h a n g a ( two and a h a l f i t a ) are g a g a u ; f i f t y
tahanga ( fi v e i t a ) a r e s u s u a b a ( 2 0 0 fa t homs ) ; t e n i t a a r e ' a r a n g i h a ' a
( 4 0 0 fa thoms ) ; t e n ' a r a n g l h a ' a are w aw a i b e ' o ( 4 , 0 0 0 fa thoms ) ; t e n
s t rings , e a ch a fathom us ual ly , are g a r i awa r a . I n t hi s , and i n c ount i ng
b re a d frui t , the U lawa word for 1 0 , a w a r a , i s u s e d .

Sp e c i al t e rm s were u s e d i n counting other obj e c t s , e . g . , b irds ,

arrow s , b ow l s o f food at fe as t s , giant c lams . I t was o n c e the c u s t o m ,
e s p e c i al ly on Ugi and Th ree S i s t e r s , t o e a t giant c l ams rather than
p i g s at great fe as t s , and t radi t i on s ay s hundre d s were s ometimes pro­
vided for a s i ngl e fe as t ; b u t the cus t om has died out , and w i t h i t the
t e rms , t h ough t erms are known t o have been us e d . Ten b i rds are a m a a r u ,
t e n food-b ow l s a w a i a u .

Cl a s s e s o f O b j e c t s

There i s a t e nd e n c y i n Aros i t o c l as s i fy obj e c t s and u s e di fferent

words with e a ch c l as s . Thi s is s e e n :

(1) I n the di ffe re nt vari e t i e s of p o s s e s s ive p ronouns .

(2) I n the d i f ferent w ay s of coun t i ng vari ous s or t s o f ob j e ct s .
( 3) I n verb a l pre f i x e s t o d i f ferent c l a s s e s o f nouns , u s e d w i t h
nume r a l s re ferring t o t h o s e nouns .
(4) I n nomi nal p re f i x e s t o di fferent c l as s e s of nouns .
(5) I n nomi n a l pre f i xe s , o f a s l i gh t l y d i fferent s o rt .
(6) I n d e s cript i ve words of di fferent c l as s e s o f propert y .

( 1 ) and ( 2 ) are not re ferred t o in de t a i l here . (3) The chi e f

verb al pre fi x e s are t a ' e , h e r e , s a g u , we r a .
Ta ' e , to go u p , embar k , i s u s e d b e fore �umerals re ferring t o the
numb e r o f men i n a canoe : t a ' e r u a , two ; t a ' e o r u , t hr e e , e t c . ( in Mot a
this is s age ) .
H e re , to ho l d , i s u s e d b e fore nume r a l s r e fe rring t o w e ap o n s ( e s p e c i -
'
a l l y s p e ars ) and foo d : he re rua 00 , t w o s p e ar s ; h e r e r u a ' u h i , two
y am s .
Sagu, t o s i t , i s u s e d b e fore nume rals re ferring t o b i rd s s i t t i n g o n
a t re e or s h o t : s a g u r u a m a n u , two b i rds .
W e r a may b e d i f ferent i n origin b u t i s s imi larly u s e d b e fore
numeral s r e l at i ng t o men : w e r a r u a , w e r a t a i , two one .
 55

O a i s a l s o u s e d , o f me n s i t t ing , b e fo re nume rals : oa t a h i , one ( tah i

i s n o t otherw i s e u s e d for one , e x c ep t i n a s i ngle phras e ) ; o a r u a , two ;
oa o r u , thre e .
(4) The n omi nal pre f i x e s are : a b e , m a a , kora , pwe r a , h ua , mae r e .
They are u s e d as uni t s i n c ount i ng .
A b e ( b ody ) i s u s e d as a uni t i n c ou n t i n g s p e ar s , p o le s , tree s , p i gs ,
b i rds , c ooked foo d : e s i h a abe ( i m a n u ) ? , how many b i rds ?
M a ' a ( fa c e ) i s u s e d as a uni t i n c ou n t i ng mat che s , arrow s , f i s h­
hooks , s t ake s , f l i n t s , fi s h i ng-rods , hous e s , t r ap s , s l i ngs , armle t s ,
ne e d le s , p ad d le s .
K o r a i s u s e d as a uni t i n count i ng s e e ds , e ggs , t ub e r s , she l l s , nut s ,
or almo s t any round ob j e c t ; i t i s als o p re fi x e d t o ob j e c t s re garde d as
round , e . g . , kora i da r o , t h e ank l e b o n e .
P w e r a i s u s e d in the s ame way o f al l l i q ui ds - w at e r , b l ood , s ap ,
etc.
H u a i s u s e d l i ke k o r a as a uni t i n count i n g round ob j e c t s s uch a s
frui t , f i s h , s t o ne s , e ggs , rafter s , r i d ge-p o le s .
M a e r e i s u s e d of s h o o t s of trees , f l owers : e r u a m a e r e , two f l ow e r s
(5) S l i ght ly d i fferent i s the use o f de s cr i p t i ve p r e f i xe s , thems e l ve s
nouns , t o di f fe rent c las s e s o f nouns . K o r a and h u a are b oth s o u s e d o f
round ob j e c t s : hua i i ' a , a fi s h ; hua i h a u , a s tone ; k o ra i uh i ,
Ha l i o t i s s he l l ; k o r e i p o r u , a B u l im u s s he l l ; ko r a i h a u , a sku l l ; kora
t e t e , ro und e n d o f a c l ub , e t c .
O t h e r w o r d s s o u s e d are ' a i , a t re e ; w a r o , a c r e ep e r ; r a u , a l e af ,
b e fore the n ames o f t re e s ; h e n u , a she l l ( w i t h no s h e l l fi s h i n s i d e ;
kor a , if t h e mo l l u s c i s p r e s e n t ) .
A l l t h e s e gene r i c w ords t en d t o amalgamate w i t h the s p e c i fi c words ,
and i n many c a s e s the s i ngle word i s ne ver us e d , b ut only the c ompound ,
e . g. , dan g i ( t he s k y ) i s the re al n ame o f the mur e x s he l l ( whi ch has a
s ac re d c hara c t e r ) but i t i s never u s e d w i th o u t the p r e f i x k o r a , kora­
i dang i . S o ' a i wh i c h means a t ree , and w a r e whi ch me ans a creep e r , are
us e d w i t h the s pe c i fi c n ame s of t re e s and creeper s , and very o f t e n only
the c omp ounds are u s e d . There is a t e n de n c y to us e i ' a , a fi s h ; m a n u ,
a b i r d ; mw a mw a , an i n s e c t , i n the s ame w ay w i t h s p e c i f i c name s , as may
be s e e n by c o n s u l t i n g t h e s e w ords i n the di c t i onary . An i n t e re s t i n g u s e
o f t h i s me thod o f c l as s i fi c a t i o n i s that o f r a u , a l e af, b e fore n ame s o f
t re e s , raupon i u , r a u r a h a , e t c . , f o r e x a c t ly t h e s ame u s e i s found i n
M o t a , where n o , a l ea f , i s p re fi xed t o a numb er o f name s o f t re e s and i s
i n s ep arab le from t he word t o whi ch i t i s p re fi x e d . The s ame u s e i s
found i n B auro .
56

Thi s t e ndency t o c l as s i fy ob j e c t s app e ars under di fferent forms ; a l l

c o l o ur s , for e xamp le , are p re f i x e d b y ' ome , to s e e : ' om e m e r a m e r a ' a ,
re dn e s s ; and s t at e s o f fe e l i ng b y a h u or h a u ( p ro b ab ly the s ame word ) ,
t h e m i nd or h e a r t .
(6) There are only two d i s t i n c t i ve words throughout Aro s i for c las s e s
o f propert y : r u r u u n g a for fru i t - b e ar i n g tree s , w i t h whi ch are i n cluded
a t ree used for s e t t i ng b i r d t rap s ; and b w e n a a , for property i n l and .
There i s , i n the e as t , no spe c i al word for p roperty in animal s , as i n
Mot a . There i s , howe ver , a spe c i a l word for p roperty i n f i s h- p o o l s i n a
s t re am where the w at e r has a dyke o f s t one s t o deepen i t ; p roperty i n
s u ch a p o o l i s u r u u n g a . I n the we s t of Aros i , property i n l i vi ng
c re a t ure s , s uch as p i gs , turt le s , or parro t s , i s c a l l e d mw a a mw a a .
I t i s ob v i ous that there i s in the l anguage a s t rong t endency t o
c l as s i fy ob j e c t s and u s e s pe c i al words t o di s t i ngui s h the c l a s s e s , whether
d i f ferent nume r i c a l t e rms in counting d i fferent s or t s of things ( in
chi ldren ' s game s , t o o , there are di ffe rent d e c i mal s y s t em s for c ount i n g
t re e s a n d other things ) ; or d i fferent p o s s e s s i ve s f o r d i f fe rent c a t e g o r i e s
o f nouns ; or d i f fe rent count ing uni t s w i t h d i f fe rent s or t s o f ob j e c t s ;
or di fferent noun pre f i x e s t o ob j e ct s e v i dent ly c l as s i fi e d as round ,
l ong , l i q ui d , e t c . ; or d i f fe rent w o rd s for di ffe rent s ort s o f propert y ;
i n a l l t h e s e the p ri n c i p le i s the s ame . One wri t er c ons iders Me l ane s ian
language s whi ch s h ow thi s t e ndency mos t s t rongly are tho s e whi ch are mo s t
u n l i k e typ i c a l Melane s i an ; i t i s doub t fu l i f t h i s o p i n i on has y e t b een
p ro ve d true ; b u t t h e re can b e no d oub t o f the i mp o r t ance i n grammar of
s u ch a u s e , and o f the value o f evi dence o f t h i s k i nd i n c las s i fy i n g
Me l ane s i an language s . In Sauro there i s p e rhap s more c l as s i fi ca t i on t h an
i n A r o s i , and a mos t i n t e re s t ing e xamp l e there i s the u s e of mas c u l i ne
and feminine pre f i x e s w i t h n ame s , p ronouns , and nouns o f re lat i on s hi p .
Trac e s o f t h i s o c cur in Aros i , e s p e c i a l l y i n the b us h , where w e and r e
are re s p e c t i ve ly mas c u l i ne and feminine p re fi xe s t o name s , j us t a s w a
and k a are i n Sauro . I n Mot a a s imi l ar u s e i s found . Th i s s h o u l d b e
adde d t o the e x amp le s o f c l as s i fi c a t i o n gi ven ab ove .

C.2.2. iv. Possess ion

Me l ane s i an l anguages have two me thods o f expre s s ing p o s s e s s i o n w i t h

nouns , al thou gh t h e y vary s omewhat amongs t thems e lves in f i e l d o f
app l i c at i on o f e a c h me t ho d . I n c e r t a i n cas e s , the marker o f p o s s e s s i o n
i s s u f f i x e d imme di at e ly t o t h e noun , i n others i t i s adde d , n o t t o the
noun , b ut t o a part i c l e wh i ch may e it h e r pre cede or f o l l ow the noun .
 57

I n Aro s i , a m a - g u , my fa t h e r , b u t r u m a a g u , my h o u s e . The choi c e b e t we e n

whi ch form i s u s e d re s t s o n a n answer t o the ques t i o n : i s the ob j e c t
p o s s e s s e d alienab le o r i n a l i e n ab l e ? I t i s i n t h e app l i c a t i o n o f the
rule , the de c i s i on as to what i s a l i e n ab l e and what i s i n a l ie nab le that
the l anguage s di ffer amon g s t thems e lve s . In mo s t Me l ane s i an l anguage s ,
my c h i l d i s c o n s i de r e d i na l i e n ab le : i n Ge l a , d a l e - n g g u , my chi l d , b u t
i n A r o s i t h e re l a t i on s h ip i s cons i dered alienab le : na g a re a - g u , my
chi ld . W i t h i n t h e c las s o f a l i e n ab le s , t h e r e may be furt h e r s ub d i v i s i o ns
i nt o , e . g . ge neral p o s s e s s i o n , food and drink and other s ub - group s . In
A ro s i there i s n o furt h e r s ub d i vi s i on o f thi s k i n d , n o doub t l arge ly
b e c aus e phone t i c changes have re duce d the part i c le s for general and
food p o s s e s s i on t o the s ame phone t i c form .
The Me lane s i an s y s tem o f indi c a t i n g p o s s e s s ion i s really an e xamp l e
o f w h a t a s ch o o l o f p s y ch o l ogy would c a l l ' Ge s t a l t ' , ' s hape ' , ' p a t t e rn ' .
Goethe e xp re s s e d the mai n i de a of thi s long b e fore Ge s t alt p s y ch o l ogy
c ame i n t o b e i ng , whe n he wrote : " In every l i ving b e ing , what we c a l l the
p art s are i n s e p arab le from the whole to s u ch an e x t e nt that they c an
only b e c omp rehended in and w i t h the who le , and the parts c annot b e
t ak e n as a me as ureme nt o f t h e whole , nor t h e whole u s e d a s a meas ure o f
the parts . " *
I n Aro s i t h e re are two b as i c forms o f p o s s e s s i ve , s u f f i x e d and
i ndependent . ' I n a l i e n ab le ' p o s s e s s ion is indi c at e d by the s u f f i x e d
forms , ' al i e n ab le ' b y t h e addi t i on o f the s ame s u f fi x e s t o a p a rt i c le
a- , e . g. a - g u , my ; a - m u , your , et c . The i n a l i e nab le c l a s s c o n s i s t s o f
p art s o f a who l e : parts o f the b ody , parts o f an ob j e c t ( as t h e ' b ow '
o r ' s t e rn ' o f a c anoe , the b ranche s , le ave s and frui t of a tree ) , and
mos t , b ut not a l l , k i n s h i p t erms : a m a - g u , my fa t he r ; i n a - g u , my mo t he r ;
b ut not g a r e , c h i l d . I n di c t i onari e s , words whi c h t ake s u ff i x e s o f
p o s s e s s i o n are u s u a l l y i n d i c a t e d b y a hyphen : a m a - , and t h i s p rac t i c e
i s fo l l ow e d here , s o that the ab s en ce of a hyph e n i n t h e entry i nd i c a t e s
that t h e i ndependent p o s s e s s ive i s re qui red .

A. P o s s e s s ion w i th Imme d i ate Personal Reference

(i) I n al i e nab le Pos s e s s ion

The nouns whi ch t ake t he p os s e s s i ve s u f f i x e s imme d i a t e l y and w i t ho ut

p o s s e s s i ve p art i c le s are ( a ) p a r t s of a whole - p ar t s o f the b ody and
p ar t s of t h ings , and ( b ) k i n s h i p t e rms , w i t h c e r t a i n e x cep t i ons .

*
GOethe S am�ii c h e W e� � e , Ju bii aum� - Au� g a b e , B an d 3 9 . 7 . F r om .
Phiio� o p hi� c h e S�udi e n , 1 7 8 4 / 5 , q u ot e d i n Mar j o r i e L . H o u r d , E d u ca�� o n
0 6 � h e P o e�i c S pi�i� , p . 1 5 7 , fn . 5 3 .
58

( a) ' a b u - g u , my b r o o d ; m e a me a - m u , y o u r t o n gu e ; m a a - n a , h i s (or her

eye rs) . Non- s i ngular s uffi xe s aut omat i ca l ly i n d i c a t e a p lural i t y o f
ob j e c t s i f t h e me ani ng requi res i t : m a a - d a , t h e i r e y e s i s unavo i dab le
in t e rms o f s emant i c s , and p lural indi cat i on is not n e ce s s ary . S i mi l ar ly
b w a u - g a i s ne c e s s ar i ly t o be cons t rued as our heads .
(b) K i n s h i p t e rms : i n s ome Me l ane s i an language s a l l k i n s h i p t e rms
repre s e n t i n a l i e nab le p o s s e s s i on and t ake d i re c t s u f f i xe s ; in others
there are e x ce p t i ons , e spe c i al ly in re gard to re lat i ve s b y marri age .
I n Aros i a l l k i n s h ip t e rms t ake d i re c t s uf f i x e s e x ce p t : m a u , unc r e ,
n e p h ew, n i e ce ; uw a i , gran dfa t h e r , g rands o n ; w a e , g randmo t h e r , g rand­
daugh t e r ; h a s i w a e , g randmo t h e r, granddaug h t e r ; mw a n e , h u s b a n d ; u r a o ,
w i fe and , k i k i i , s o n o r dau g h t e r o f m a u . Re lat i ve s b y marri age do t ake
the s u f f i xe s . The s e others t ake a - : mw a n e , u r a o a g u , my h u s band, w i fe .
The t erm g a r e , c h i r d , t ake s e i ther : g a r e g u , my chi r d , b ut a l s o g a r e a g u ,
and Fox s t a t e s that s ome regard g a r e a g u as app l i cab le t o a b ought ch i ld ,
n o t a b orn chi l d , b ut us age s e ems t o be unc e r t ai n .
In s ome c a s e s w ords that do not s e em logi c a l ly t o b e long t o t h i s s ub ­
group t ake d i r e c t s u f fi xe s , e . g . b e n g a - m u , your bed . The e xa c t c o n t e n t s
o f the c l a s s mus t b e le arne d b y e x p e r i e n ce .
The c a t e gory o f ' prep os i t i on ' as found in Engli sh grammar i s not
dire c t ly t r ans ferab le to Aro s i , for s ome ' p rep o s i t i o n s ' t ake the d i r e c t
s u f f i x e s a n d are there fore morpho logi c a l ly t o be regarded a s nouns ;
o thers mus t be re garde d as verb s b e c au s e they t ake ve rb a l s u f f i xe s .
To the f i r s t b e long n a i m u r i - n a , b e h i nd ( h i m ) a t ( h i s ) rear ; b a h a i - n a ,
u n de r ( h i m ) . Codrington gi ve s (na) kua a ha ' asusu baha i na i ruma , the
fow r r a i d under t h e h o u s e ; (na) has i a a teri hungana i bauna, t h e tre e
fe r r o n h i s h e ad . The verb al group i s sh own in b a a n i - a u , from me ;
t an a - a , to h i m ; be i - amo u , with you.

( ii ) Alienab le P o s s e s s ion

The group of a l i e nab le nouns is s ub d i vi ded i n t o two s ub group s -

( i ) food and dri n k , and ob j e c t s i n ended for a p e r s on ; and ( i i ) a l l
other ob j e ct s . Thi s s e c ond group may b e c a l led ' general p o s s e s s i on '
and t h e b as e t o whi ch the s uf f i x e s are added i s the morpheme a - as i n
g a re a - g u , my chi r d ; r um a a - m u , your house . The f i r s t group , o f f o o d
a n d drinks , has s p e c i al p o s s e s s i ve s : i n the thi rd person they are
b a s e d on ' a - , b u t in the f i r s t and s e c ond p e r s ons they c on s i s t of the
normal s u f f i x redup l i c at e d , and i n the s i ngular -a is s uf f i x e d to t h i s
form : g u g u a , my , e t c . The l i s t i s given in the t ab le of Pronominal
Forms (p. 65) . The s e p o s s e s s i ve s also h ave the p e c u l i ari t y that the
 59

f i r s t and s e c on d p e rs ons p � e c e d e the noun , whe reas a l l others fo l l ow i t ,

e . g. g u g u a w a i , my dri n k i n g wat e r , b u t w a i ' a n a , h i s drin k i ng wat e r .
I t should b e n o t e d that omi s s i on o f the g l o t t a l s t op here wou l d i mp l y
t h a t t h e fo od w a s a me re p o s s e s s i o n , n o t f o r u s e .
There i s an e x t ended us e of t h i s p o s s e s s i ve . An obj e c t that d o e s
not b e l ong t o , b u t i s i n t ended for a p e rs o n , i s marke d b y the u s e o f the
'
' a n a form : 0 0 a g u , my s p e a r , b u t g u g u a 0' 0 , a s p e a r t o k i l l me wi t h .
Thi s us age i s found s p orad i c a l ly among s t Me lane s i an language s , i n c luding
Aros i .
The forms here g i ve n are u s e d only i f the ob j e ct p o s s e s s e d i s
s i ngular . I f they are p lur al , a s u ffi x - ' i i s added t o the p os s e s s i ve :
g a r e a g u ' i , my ch i l dren ; non i a m u ' i , y o u r p e op l e . The p lura l i s e r m w a n i
may o r may not b e pre s ent , and the form o f the nm depends on the
s y n t a c t i c s i t uat i on : ( n a mwan i ) bu ruada ' i , their l amp s . The s u ffi x - ' i
i s found al s o in Ge la ( F lo r i da ) , b u t there i t i s l i mi t e d t o non-p e r s o n a l
noun s . In Aros i i t d o e s not have t h i s limi t at i on . The i n i t i al g l o t t a l
s t op p o i n t s t o a n earl i e r k i , wh i ch i s a p lural marke r i n p ar t s o f
Mal ai t a ( Lau , n a mw a n e g i , me n ) . The u s e o f th i s s ame - ' i a s t h e marker
of a non-personal p lural ob j e c t of a ve rb ( o me s i - a , s e e him ; o m e s i -
r a a u , s e e them ( p e op l e ) ; o m e s i - ' i , s e e t hem ( th i n g s ) ) has b e e n already
noted in C . l . i i i ab o ve . An Aro s i e x amp le of i t s u s e w i t h a p o s s e s s i ve
i s s e e n i n n a d o r a n g a u n g a u a n a ' i , h i s t ab l e s .
The indepe ndent p os s e s s i ve s are u s e d w i t h ab s t r a c t nouns i n thi s
language as we l l as w i t h thos e i n d i c at i n g c o n c r e t e p o s s e s s i ons : ' ar i -ha
a n a , h i s going, h i s journey . A contrast i n nomi n a l i s a t i o ns may b e
ob s e rved i n the p ai r : t a r o - h a a m e u , our m e s s a g e ( w h a t w e s a y ) and t a r o ­
ha ' i a me u , a m e s s ag e a b o u t us .
A final - a may b e adde d t o the a g u s e ri e s ( a g u a e t c . ) w i thout change
of me an i n g .
The t h i rd s e t o f p o s s e s s i ve s are formed by addin g the s ame s u f f i x e s
t o a ro o t n a - , whi ch w o u l d s ee m t o b e de i ct i c in nat ure and p rob ab l y
t o b e i d e n t i f i e d w i t h the n a whi ch i n d i c at e s b a ckward refere n c e
( C . 2 . 2 . i i . ab o ve ) . The n a - s e t h a s t w o u s e s : ( a ) emphat i c and ( b )
predi c a t i v e .

( a) n a ne i na i haaua nana ai ha ' a- rua-n i a tanaa

t h e o n e -who s h a l l have h i s - own s ha l l m a k e - two -of- i t t o - h im
' to t h e o n e w h o h a s , more wi l l be g i v e n ' ( Mark 4 : 2 5 )

i ' ameu m e u h a a ua i h e reho nameu h u n i me i h a a

we we do - i t t h in g o u r -own t h a t we - s ha l l do
' we h a v e o n l y done our duty ' ( Luke 1 7 : 1 8 )
60

(b ) n amo u h o u r a n a G o d , Y o u r s i s t h e k i n gdom o f Go d ( Luke 6 : 2 0 )

n am u a h o u r a n a , t h i n e i s t h e k i n g do m ( Matthew 6 : 1 3 )

I t i s p o s s ib le t o us e the n a - forms als o t o i ndi c at e de s t i nat i on o f an

obj e c t :
' 0iab u ' i a raara nunu i ' abe he reho n amua
don ' t carve s ha p e o f b ody ( o f) t h i n g fo r - y ours e l f
' do n o t make y o u r s e lf any c a r v e d image ' .

S t i l l a fourth s e t o f p o s s e s s i ve s re s t s o n a b a s e i a - and t he s e
e xp re s s the p rodu c t o f an ac t i o n , the out c ome o f work : i ana Araha naan i ,
h i s - w o rk t h e L o rd t h i s , t h i s i s t h e Lord ' s d o i n g ( Matthew 2 1 : 2 4 ) . To
thi s would c orre s p ond n a n a i non i naan i , this i s t h e man ' s do i n g , i f
the a c t o r i s a common noun . But the real e x i s t e n c e o f i a - as a d i s t i nc t
form appe ars i n i r a a u i a - m u - ' i , t h e y were y o u r s = i a + mu + ' i p l urali s e r .
Again i n n a h e r e h o h a k o a g u ' i i a m u ' i , a l l m y t h i n g s are y o urs ; na he i nagu
ni i a- gu- a , this s eat i s mine ; n a h e re h o s i a o ' a mau i amu , that thing
remains s t i l l y o u r o w n ( Ac t s 5 : 4 ) ; ' a i ' a no n i be i r a a u a ' unua hun i
h e reho ana ' i h un i i a n a , n o t a man amo n g - t h em s a i d t h a t h i s t h i n g s (wer
h i s o w n ( Ac t s 4 : 3 2 ) .
Here the me ani ng of ' p red i c at i ve ' cros s e s w i t h the original meaning
of work o f a p e r s o n .
The various t y p e s of p o s s e s s i ve in Aro s i s ummari s e d i n the fo l l ow i n g

-{
di agram :

-{
I na l i e nab le
General
Pos s e s s ion
F OO d and dri nk
A l i enab le
Emphas i s
Pred i c a t i on

B. P o s s e s s ive Re lat ions h i p Between Nouns

S e c t i on A has d e a l t w i t h the mat t e r of e xp re s s ing p e rs on a l p o s s e s s i o n :

mine, yours, t h e i rs , e t c . The r e l a t i onship i nvolve d i n A ' s B, the
man ' s h a t , t h e b o y ' s fo o t , e t c . , where two nouns are involve d , i s
s omewhat di fferent . There are s e ve ral w ay s i n indi c a t i n g s uch re lat i on­
s h i p s in Aros i .

(i) N + N2 : ' uri p i p i ra , s kin of bat ; 'uri b a ' ew a , s ki n o f s h a r k ,

l
s ha r ks k i n . The s e c omb i nat i ons an swer t o t h e ' i nal i en ab le ' p o s s e s s i o n
o f t h e p re c e d i ng s e c t i o n : ' ur i p i p i r a , s k i n b a t , i s p ar a l le l t o ' ur i -na,
s ki n - i t s . A s the s u ffi x i s added t o the s imp le noun , s o the s e c ond
 61

noun i s added t o the f i r s t - n o t orthographi c a l ly ( or at l e a s t t h e r e i s

n o reas on t o do s o ) b u t s y n t a c t i c a l ly . Thi s i s why the ob j e c t p o s s e s s e d
p re ce d e s t h e p o s s e s s or .

(ii ) Nl + �Ji
+ N2 : two nouns j o ined b y the re l at o rs i or n i , o f ,
b e tw e e n whi ch there d o e s n o t s e em t o b e any mean i ng di fferen c e , g a r e
n o n i , c h i l d of man ; g a re i m a a , p up i l ( lit . chi l d ) of e y e ; m a d o r a
d a n g i , t ime o f day . The s e nouns s eem t o b e long t o the p art-wh o l e s ub ­
group , and p e rh ap s n i forms are j us t a l i t t le more s e p arat e : bwa r a n i
h a k a , s a i l of b o a t ; dang i ni m a m a r o , day o f re s t ( as agai n s t the ab ove
t ime o f day which is i nherent in the day , whi l e r e s t is no t ) .
I f the p o s s e s s e d noun t a k e s the s u f f i xe s , they w i l l b e u s e d w i t h
s u f fi xes a l s o i n the noun-p o s s e s s i ve phras e , i . e . the chi l d ' s fa t h e r
wi l l b e c ome h i s - fa t h e r the chi l d , b u t t h e n m u s e d w i t h chi l d w i l l b e
the non- f o c u s i : thus , i a amana i g a re . Thi s i s normal Me lane s i an
prac t i ce e x c e p t for the nm ' s . S imi larly , t h e man ' s fo o t i s n a ' uw a n a
n on i . I f the p o s s e s s o r i s a name d p e r s on the nm i s omi t te d : na ' uw a n a
P i t a , P e t e r ' s fo o t . I n the non- s i ngular , the app rop ri ate p o s s e s s i ve
s uffi x rep l a c e s the - n a of the ab ove e xamp l e s , e . g . na ahu-da i non i ,
men ' s h e a r t s : non i n e e d s no p l ura l i s e r b e cause ob vi ous ly one man d o e s
n o t h ave more than o n e he art , and - d a , t he i r mus t re fer t o more t han
two p e rs ons . I f two men were i n v o l ved the form would be n a a h u - d a r u a
n on i , t h e h e a r t - o f- t hem- tw o man .
E i ther e l e me n t o f the phras e may b e e x p ande d : na r i nge-na i ne i a
t o t o r o , t h e v o i c e o f o n e cry i n g o u t ; na ' uw a - d a - ' i ne i r a u , t h e i r - fe e t
t h o s e - w h o a r e coming, t h e fe e t of t h o s e w h o are coming ( fo r i n e i . n e i ,
o n e who , s e e C . 2 . 3 . ; ; ; b e l ow ) . The final - ' i o f ' uw a d a ' i i n d i c a t e s
the p lural o f obj e c t s D o s s e s s e d , as alre ady e x p l a i ne d . I n a l l the s e
i ns t an c e s t h e ob j e c t p o s s e s s e d p re ce d e s the p os s e s s or .
Whe n the s e t o f al i enab le p o s s e s s i ve s i s require d , s e veral c o n s t ru c ­
t i on s are p o s s ib le . The r e l a t o r n i a s w e l l a s i , have b e e n men t i oned
ab ove ; it is p o s s i b l e also t o us e the a n a form after the p o s se s s ed ,
whi ch h e re p re c ed e s the noun : n a h a k o a n a J a m e s , Jame s ' s hi p ; n a h a ' a t e
h a ko a n a ' i non i n i , a l l t h i s man ' s w o r ds . I f the p o s s e s s o r i s n on-
s i ngu l ar , the re q u i re d form of the a n a s e r i e s wi l l b e u s e d : mw a e r a h a
adaau i Wango , t h e c h i e f o f t h e Wan go p e op l e . I n the a n a ' i form the
ob j e c t s are p l ur a l ; i n the a d a a u forms the owne rs are p lural .
I t n e e ds t o b e rememb e re d , how e v e r that here as e l s ewhere nati ve
i di om mus t be ob s e rve d . I n s ome c as e s the Aro s i e q ui v a l e n t t o a
p o s s e s s i ve noun phras e i s not a noun phras e i t s e lf , e . g . o r i s i a a m a n a ,
62

i n p l a c e o f h i s fa t h e r , � n l o co pa� ent�� i s l i t e rally o r i - s i - a , rep l a c e ­

t rans . - h i m h i s - fa t h er .
P os s e s s i ve cons t ruc t i ons i n Aro s i may be t ab u l at e d in the fo l l ow i ng
manne r : R = ' po s s e s s ive roo t ' (a- , ' a- ) ; s = s uf f i x :

A. N only :
l
1. N + s: inali enab le owne rs h i p : i a a m a - g u , my fa t h e r .
2. N + R + s : n a r u m a a g u ( a ) , my h o u s e - alienab le p o s s e s s i on .
2
3. (R + s ) + N for food and drink : g u g u a h e r e h o - i n g a u , my fo o d .
I n the t h i rd p e r s o n the cons t r u c t i on reve r t s t o the p re ce di n g :
he reho- i - ngau ' a n a , h i s fo o d .

B. N + N . P o s s e s s i on b e tween two nouns .

l 2
1. I na l i enab le : N+ N : ' u r i m i s u , dog ' s fur , non-human ; b u t for
l 2
human owne r : + s ) + i + N : a m a n a i g a r e , the chi l d ' s fat h e r .
(N
l 2
2. P art-wh o l e r e l a t i onsh i p : N + i f n i + N : a h u n g a n i r u m a , the
l 2
h o u s e - to p ; a g a r e i n o n i , t h e man ' s chi l d i s c l as s e d here if g a r e - n a
i s not used .
3. N + ( R + s ) + N : mw a e r a h a a d a a u i Wango, t h e c h i e f of t h e
l 2
Wan g o .

Note : 1. P lura l i t y o f ob j e c t s p o s s e s se d i s i ndi c a t e d b y - ' i : n a mw a n e

h e r e h o a g u ' i , m y t h i ng s .

2. The forms i n A . 3 ab ove , i f app l i e d t o two nouns , are the s ame as

t h e re not e d , e x c e p t that ' a n a rep l a c e s a n a as the linking e lement : na
maho- i - ngau ' ada ' i g a re , t h e chi l dren ' s fo o d .

3. A p os s e s s i ve i n the p re di c at e , e . g . t h i s b o o k i s m i n e a s agai ns t
t h i s i s my b o o k i s t r e at ed d i fferent ly : s e e C . 2 . 3 . i , end .

C . 2 . 2 . v. S y n t a x o f t h e A d j u n c t : A S u mm a ry

The comb i nat i on of adj un c t s may re a ch a c ons i derab le degree o f

comp le x i t y i f a l l p o s s ib le e leme n t s are present . The f o l l ow i ng t ab l e
gives a s ummary of the vari ous comb i nat i ons avai lab le , although i t w o u l d
b e very rare t o find any re a l degree o f comp le x i t y i n the sp oken l anguage .
P e o p l e p re fe r s imp ler s t atemen t s even i f a longer u t t e rance res u lt s .
H owe ve r , the vari ous adj unc t s when c omb i ne d do s o in a fi xed s equenc e ,
and the t ab le s e rves t o show not only what c omp le x i t i e s are p o s s ib le ,
b ut the order in whi ch the e l ement s o c cu r .
Three s ub - group s are g i ven : 1. s equences in which t h e noun has
nothing b e fore it b ut a noun-marker ( nm ) and the adj un c t s come after ;
2. s e q u e n c e s i n wh i c h the adj u n c t s pre cede the noun , w i t h or w i thout
 63

a noun-marke r ; 3. s e quenc e s i n whi ch e leme n t s b oth p re c e de and f o l low

the n u c l e u s noun .

1. Noun wi th fol lowing ad j un cts :

nm + N: n a h e r e h o , a thing
nm + N + adj ; n a h e r e h o g o r o , a g o o d t h ing
nm + N + p os s ; n a h e r e h o a g u ( a ) , my t hi ng
nm + N + D: n a h e r e h o n i , this thing
nm + N + A + p os s ; n a h e r e h o g o r o a g u ( a ) , my g o o d t hi n g , a g o o d
thing of mine
nm + Nl + A + p + N : na t a ro h a g o ro a n a i g o r o h a , h i s g o o d news
2 o f peace
nm + N + A + cp s n ± d : n a h e r e h o g o ro riu ( 5 i ) , t h a t be t te r t h i n g

2. Noun w i th p re ceding ad j uncts :

1. numer a l : e s i ha hua i b r e a d 7 h o w many L o a v e s o f b r e ad ?
e r i ma h u a i b read mana rua i ' a , fi ve L o a v e s o f b r ead a n d t w o fi s h .
e tai a b a , one par t , o n e s hare .
2. adj e c t i val : na g e r e g a re , t h e y o u ng b o y .
3. group s : na t a ra i n o n i , s ome p e o p L e .
adona i h a s i ' e i , e v e ry t r e e ( s e e b e l ow , C . 2 . 3 . i i i , end ) .
4. nume ral c las s i fi e r : w e r a r u a n o n i , two m e n .
w e r aw e r a ta i n o n i , o n e by o n e .

3. Noun w i th preceding and fol l owing ad j uncts :

num + N + poss : e r u a he reho an a , his two t h i ng s
num + N + A + p : e r u a h e r e h o g o ro a n a , h i s two g o o d t h i n g s
nm + p I + N ( no np e r s onal ) : n a mw a n i h e r e h o , the things
( p e r s o n al ) : i r a a u na mwa n i mw a e r a h a , t h e c h i efs
nm + p I + N + p: n a mw a n i h e r e h o g o r o a n a ' i , h i s g o o d t h i ngs
nm + p I + N + A + c l au s e + d : n a mw a n i h e r e h o g o r o r a t a i s a d a i n i ,
t h e g o o d t h i n g s t h a t a r e s uffi c i e n t
nm + p I + N + Al + A2 :!: d : n a mw a n i h e r e h o g o r o r a g e ( i n i ) , aU these
good t hings
n a mw a n i h e r e h o r a g e n a i s i , a L L t ho s e
good things t here

Other t y p e s w i l l b e found o c c as i onal ly , but t h e s e rep re s ent the mo s t

c ommo n .
I n s ome c a s e s the arrangement of orders i n the phras e i s not qui t e
t h e s ame a s i n t h e ab ove p a t t erns no r a s i n Engli s h ; e q u i v a l e n t s for
aL L , r a g e and h a ko may at t imes b e synonymous , but at other times may
both o c cur i n the one u t t eran c e , h a k o f o l l ow i ng the verb i n a manner that
64

s e ems p leonas t i c : nai w a t e a h a ko t a n a ' o i mw a n e h e r e g o r a g e i n i , I wi L L

g i v e y o u a L L t h e s e t h i ng s . H a k o , agai n , i s u s u a l after p ronouns : i raau
h a k o , a L L o f them, t h e y a L L , where i t i s pre ferred t o r a g o . A t h i rd
word for a L L , a d o - , w i t h p ronominal s uf f i xe s , i s t re a t e d i n C . 2 . 3 . i i i .

C .2.3. N o u n S ub s t i t u te s

The t e rm noun s ub s t i t u t e ( NS ) i s app li e d here t o morpheme s whi ch may

rep l a c e or repre s ent N in NP as s ub j e ct or ob j e c t of a s en t e nc e , or i n
s ome other p art o f the phras e . The s e are generally re ferre d t o i n
grammars a s pronouns . Mos t o f the morpheme s c o n c e rned have b e e n t r e a t e d
i n c i de n t al ly i n the p re ce ding s e c t i ons , e s p e c i a l ly i n terms o f t h e i r
s y n t ac t i c fun c t i ons . For these see C . l . i ( a ) ( p . 2 4 ) and C . l . i ( b ) (P · 25 ) ·
The p re s e n t s e c t i o n s e e k s chie fly t o gat her up what has b een s ai d
p re vi ous ly and arrange the fa c t s i n s ummary mat r i c e s . I t ems whi ch h ave
b e e n p r e v i ou s ly i n c lud e d unde r other headings c an then be s ep arat e d out ;
t h o s e whi ch have not b e e n s o treated c an b e i nd i vidual i s e d and t he i r
us e s e xp l aine d .
I t w i l l b e w e l l t o b egin b y p re s e n t i ng a forma l i s e d analy t i c a l t ab le
of s u ch Aro s i morp heme s as may b e p roperly c a l l e d pronouns . Other
t y p e s o f N S w i l l be pre s e n t e d i n the two fo l l owing s ub s e c t i on s .

C.2.3. i . Pronouns

A ro s i p ronoun s d i f fe r t o s ome e xt e nt from tho s e o f mos t Europe an

l anguage s i n s e ve r a l fe ature s : (1) The y do not d i s t i ngui s h gender i n
the 3rd p e r s o n - there i s n o formal e q u ivalent t o h e and s h e i n Engli s h ,
as any s y s t em o f gender i s ab s ent from the language . (2) They p o s s e s s
a dual numb e r a s we l l as a s i ngular and p lural : t h e y two di ffers from
t he y . (3) I n the fir s t p e rs o n non- s i ngular a d i s t i n c t i o n is made
b e tw e e n an ' in c lu s i ve ' we = y o u and I and an ' e x c lu s i v e ' we = he (or
they ) and I. The s e fac t s have b e e n men t i oned i n gre a t e r de t a i l e arl i e r .
There are a l s o s u f f i x e d forms o f the p ronouns .

An a l y t i c a l T ab l e o f Aro s i Pr onouns

Be l ow is pre s en t e d in mat ri x form a t ab le of p ronouns in Aro s i in

all the s h ap e s they may as s ume .

P r e f ato ry Note

The Arab i c numerals 1 , 2 and 3 mark p e r s on . The p lus ( + ) symb o l

f o l l ow i n g i s u s e d i n two way s : ( i ) t o l i nk the di fferent p e r s o n s :
1 + 2 1 s t p e r s o n and s e c ond , y o u and I , or two i dent i c a l p e r s o n s :
2 + 2 y o u and y o u , y o u two ; 3 + 3 = ( s J h e and ( s J he , t h e y two ; ( ii )
w i t h n o fi gure fo l l owi ng , but b r a c k e t e d w i t h a p r e c e ding figure , an
i n d e f i n i t e add i t i on i s indi c at e d , i . e . a p l ural : ( 2+ ) = y o u , p l ura l ;
( 3+ ) = they ; 1 = ( 3 + ) , I and t h e y , i . e . e x c l us i ve p l ural o f f i r s t
p e rs o n ; 1 + ( 2+ ) = I and y o u (p l J , i n c lus i ve p l ur a l o f f i r s t p e r s on ,
we, ina l .

Abbrevi ati ons :

' I ndependen t ' are the cardinal p ronouns , u s e d i n i s o l a t i o n from other

e le me nt s . N . s u f f i x are the forms o f the pronouns u s e d as s u f fi xe s to
noun s , in a p o s s e s s i ve s e ns e . V . s u f f ix are the forms added t o verb s t o
i ndi c at e obj e c t . Food & Drink are the p o s s e s s i ve s u s e d b e fore words
i n d i c at i ng food and d r i nk . V : NF are the p e r s o n i n d i c at o rs u s e d b e fore
verb s in the non- fut ure t e n s e . V : F are the p e rs on i nd i c a t o r s u s e d
b e fore verb s i n the future t e ns e , along w i t h the homophonous imperat i ve .

MATR I X OF AROSI PRONOUNS

I N DEPENDENT SUFFIXED SEPARATE

P e rs on N . suffix V. suffix Food & Drink V : NF V:F

1 i nau -gu -au gugua nau wa i

1 + 2 i ga ra -garaa -garaaa gagaraa g a ra ga ra i
1 + ( 2+ ) i9ia -gaa -gaau gagaau ga ga i , ra i
1 + 3 i ' am i r i a -mi r i a -m i r i a mi m i ria mi ri mi ri i
1 + < 3+ ) i ' am e u - mam i -meu meme u meu meu i

2 ' '
i ' oe -mu - ' 0 mumua 0 0 i
2 + 2 ( ' a } mu r ua -mu r ua - mu rua mumu rua mu rua mu r u i
( 2+ ) i ' amou - mo u -mou momou mou mo i

3 i ia -na -a ' ana a ai

3 + 3 i ra rua - d a rua - ra rua dada rua ra ru r a ru i
< 3+ ) i raa u -da - ra , - I i ' ad a a u rau ra i

A c omp one n t i a l an a ly s i s o f the ab ove mat r i x s h ow s the fo l l ow i ng b as i c

s t ru c t ure s :

A. C ard i n al Pronouns
A s e t of b as i c pronominal roo t s , d i fferent i at i n g only s i ngu lar and
p l ura l , b u t s howing the i n c lus i ve - e x c lus ive d i s t i n c t i on as one of the
b as i c e l ement s :
66

S ing. 1. -u-; 2. - ' 0- ; 3. -a

N o n- s i ng . i nc l . ga- ; 1 . exc l . -'a; 2. -u- ; 3. ra- .

I t i s n ot ew orthy t hat the non- s i ngu l ar e x c lus ive may b e f i r s t p e r s o n o r

s e cond ; the di s t in c t i o n depends on a s uperadded e lement .
To the s e are add e d e l eme n t s marki n g numb e r :
S i ngular 0
I n c lus i ve : dual : i nc 1 . - ra ; excl. -mi ri ; 2. -mu r u ; 3. ru (a)
P l ural : i nc 1 . - a u ; exc 1 . -eu ; 2. -ou ; 3. -au .

I n c e r t a i n cas e s there are p re fi x i a l e lement s , i- and - n - , the f i r s t

p e r s o n i fy i n g , t h e s e c ond demons t r at i ve , l i m i t e d i n t h i s c a s e t o t he
f i r s t p e r s o n s i ngu lar : p e r s o n - t h i s - I .

B. Pos s e s s i on
A s e t of s u f f i x e d forms added imme d i at e ly t o C las s I nouns and u s e d
w i t h C las s I I n o u n s w h e n added t o a b as e a - f o r general a n d ' a - for
food and drink p o s s e s s i on i n the 3rd p e rs o n . The b as i c s u f f i x e s are :
1st . -g- ( inc l . ) ; - m i - 'V -ma- ( e x c 1 . ) ; 2nd . - m u - , and 3rd . -n- ( s ing . ) ,
-d- ( n o n- s i ng . ) . I n the f i r s t and s e c ond p e r s ons food p o s s e s s i ve s are
forme d by p a r t i al redup l i c at i on of the general p o s s e s s ive in 1 s t and
2nd p e r s o n s , w i t h ' a - i n 3rd p e r s o n only .
The working o f the s y s tem depends on i nt e r ac t i o n o f t h e s e e l emen t s
i n vari ous w ays .
The manner o f t h e s e i nt e ra c t i o n s has alre ady b e e n s e t out in p re c e ding
s e c t i on s :
1. Noun s uf f i x e s e xp re s s ing p o s s e s s i o n i n a l i enab le or ali enab le
( C . 2 . 2 . i v) ,
2. F o o d and drink p o s s e s s i on ( C . 2 . 2 . i v ) ,
3. P rep o s e d morpheme s indi c at i ng the s ub j e ct s of verb s (C. l . i { a) ) .
Tho s e that remai n t o b e dealt w i t h are t h e re fore only 1 . i ndependent
p ronouns and 2 . ob j e c t s u f f i x e s to verb s .

1. I ndependent P ronouns are us ed i n A r o s i for empha s i s ; they are not

ne ce s s ary for grammat i c a l ly c o rr e c t s t at erent s ; it is the short forms
that fu l f i l t h i s ro le . Thus '0 ' ari n i g e t a 7 you went when? = w h e n did
you g o ? is p e r fe ct ly grammat i c al and norma l ly us e d . I f the s p e aker s ay s
' i ' oe '0 'ari n i g e t a 7 , h e i s b e i n g emphat i c : a s for y o u , w h e n did y o u
g o ? ( as agai n s t others ) . I n · th e s e c a s e s b ot h long and short forms are
u s e d t o ge th e r . The long d o e s not s ub s t i t ut e for the short , b e cause the
l a t t e r is a p art o f the p r e d i cate , not a s ub j e c t . I n a u au g o r o , I am
goo d . I n s u c h an u t t e rance there i s alway s a contrast i mp li e d : I i n
 67

c on t r a s t t o o t h e r s a m good . That i s w h y i t i s b e s t t o t reat the s h o rt

forms as p art o f the VP and not the NP : i na u / a u g o ro ; i ' oe / '0 ' ari
n i geta7 I t i s then c lear why the s h o rt forms mus t s t i l l app e ar after
an NP s ub j e c t :

s ub j e c t p re d i c a t e
i r a a u n a mw a n i non i // rau ' a r i
t h e me n ( t h e y ) wen t

P re ci s e ly the s ame p r i n c i p le governs the o t h e r p ronoun forms t o b e

s t udi e d .

2. Pronouns suffixed t o verb s : the s e are p ar t s o f the obj e c t whi ch

i t s e l f is p art o f the VP . They appear only when the verb has an ob j e c t ,
and are p re ce de d by the trans i t ive s u f f i x e s d e a l t w i t h i n C . l . i i i . The
u s e s o f t h e s e forms can now be d i s cus s e d i n more de t ai l , and the r e a s o n
for t reat i n g them p art o f the ve rb al obj e ct made c l e ar :
(a) S u ff i x e d p ronouns i nd i c a t e the o b j e c t o f the verb :
a u ome - s i - ' o , I s e e you
S t ru c t ural ly t h e d i vi s i on o f t h i s s en t e n c e i n t o N P = � and V P i s c le ar ;
VP i s then s ub d i vi s ib le as indi c a t e d ab o ve : o m e - , verb b as e ; - s i - ,
t rans i t i ve s u f f i x and - ' 0, ob j e c t .

(b) I f the o b j e c t i s an N P i t fo l l ows the p ro noun i n d i c a t o r ,

e xp andi ng and e xp l ai ning i t :
a u ome - s i - a i n o n i , I s e e t h e man
Here the VP is d i vi s ib le as ab ove with the d i f ference that final - a i s
him : t o the que s t i o n , who i s h e ? i s g i ve n the e xp lanat i o n i n o n i , the
man , u s i n g t he non- focus art i c le . The who l e u t t eran c e i s t h e n l i t e ra l ly :
I s e e him (he i s ) t h e ma n .

(c) I f the obj e ct a s w e l l a s the s ub j e ct i s a fu l l N P , the whole

s en t e n ce then b e c ome s
S ub j e ct Verb phras e
I
I

\ verb 1 I
0b j e ct

i r a a u n a mw a n i non i l
r a u o me - s i - ' i I i mw a n i h a k a
the m e n they- see - t h e m t h e s hi p s

S o much t h a t i s i mp l i e d i n Europ e an language s i s s p e l l e d o ut e xp l i c i t ly

i n a M e l ane s i an l anguage s uc h as Aros i .
68

C.2.3. i ; ' De i c t i c s

De i c t i c s a s N oun Adj un c t s were treated i n C . 2 . 2 . i i ; b ut a s i n Engl i s h

s om e o n e may rep l a c e s ome man o r s ome woman , and t h i s o n e may rep l ac e
t h i s man o r s ome other N + d e i c t i c , o r t h e s e say may r e f e r b ack t o a
previ o u s l y de fined group , s o in Aro s i c e r t ai n de i c t i c s may rep l a c e the
noun to w h i c h l o g i c a l l y they re fer , e . g . naan i i ha ' a tora , t h i s is t he
l aw ; i ateu naan i ? , who i s t h i s ? The limi t at i o n on t h e s e u s e s is that
only the longer forms of de i c t i c s as l i s t e d previou s l y may b e so u s e d ,
b e c au s e t h e o ne - s y l l ab le forms n i . s i . n a are e n c l i t i c s and s o are ruled
out o n phone t i c grounds . The c ommo ne s t are n a a n i and n a a s i and t he s e
may app e ar e i ther a s s ub j e c t s o r obj e c t s i n the s e n t e nc e . E x amp l e s :
i ate i n a a s i ? , who i s t h a t ? ; e t a h a n a a n i ? , w h a t i s t hi s ? ; n a a n i a mo ' o
na , t h i s i s t h e p e r s o n ( re fe r r e d t o ) ; naa n i g a re agu ( a) , t h i s i s my
ahi l d ; naan i a gare na ha I ate ' ini a, t h i s is the ahi l d I s p o k e of ;
i ana a raha naan i , t h i s is the a h i e f ' s do ing ( fo r i a n a s e e C . 2 . 2 . i v . A ,
e nd ) ; 'ai ' a i i a naa n i a mo ' o na? , i s n ' t t h i s the p e rs o n spo ken o f ?
Linked w i t h a fo l l owing n e i ( C . 2 . 3 . i i ; ) : naas i na nei na i boi , that is
t h e o n e who wi l l aome .
As s h ow n i n t h e s e e x amp le s , the order o f e leme n t s i s not fixed :
N + NS and NS + N are b o th ac ceptab le , p rovided that the non- focus form
o f art i c le i s u s e d w i t h the noun , wha t e ve r i t s p o s i t i on : i h a ' a to ra
naan i , t h e l a w is t h i s and n a a n i i h a ' a to ra , t h i s is t h e l aw . In e a ch
c as e the t op i c i s n a a n i and i ha ' atora , the l aw i s c ommen t .
Howe ve r , owing t o the fa c t that the de i c t i c s may als o s e rve t o
i nd i c a t e p l a c e ( s e e R e l a t ors , p . 7 4 ) , t h e word orde r may affe c t meani ng :
i non i naan i , t h e man is h e re , b u t n a a n i i non i , t h i s i s t h e man .
C o n t e x t may have s ome t imes t o p ro v i de a d e c i s ion .

C.2.3.iii. I n t e r ro g a t i v e s

The inte rrogat i ve N S i n Aro s i are two in numb e r : t e i , w ho ? , and t a h a ,

w ha t ? They p re s e nt no morph o l o gi cal di f f i c u lt i e s , but t h e i r s yn t ax needs
attention . The fo rmer is p e r s onal and i s there fore p r e c e d e d b y the
p e r s o na l art i c le i a : i a te i , or i f p lural � b y the p lural s ub s t i t ut e , i ra :
i r ate i . As t h e re i s no p lural form in Engl i s h , c o n t e xt mus t here b e
re gard e d : ia te i na bo i n o ' a ? , w h o has aome ? ; i rate i rau boi no ' a? ,
w h o h a v e aome ? The morpheme t a h a i s non-personal and i s there fore
pre c e de d by a non-pe r s o n al art i c le , i n prac t i c e u s ua l ly e : e t a h a n a a s i ? ,
w h a t i s t h a t ? , w h a t s o r t of a t h i n g i s t h a t ? I n a p o s s es s i ve c o n t e x t
the r o o t f o r m t e i i s u s e d w i t h the normal p o s s e s s i v e cons t ru c t i on required
 69

i n t h e given i n s t an c e : na nunu-na te i ? , w ho s e s hadow ? , l i t . h i s s ha dow

w h o ? , w i th omi s s i on of i a ; or aft e r a r e l at o r : na u s u us u ' i nia te i ? ,
a wri t i n g ab o u t w h om ? , w h o s e s i g n a t u r e ?
I n ob j e c t p o s i t i on t h e re i s no re vers al o f t h e orde r as i n Engl i s h ,
'
w h o m did y o u s e e ? ; Aro s i s ay s y o u s aw w h o m : 0 omes i a te i , you saw-him
wh o . T h e requ i s i t e t rans i t i ve s u f fi x i s requ i re d as a lw ay s i n Aros i :
'
i i a na haaua i taha? , w h a t d i d he do ? ; 0 s i ban i a te i ? , w h o m are y o u
� o o k i n g fo r ? I f t h e i n t e rrogat i ve i s p lural , t h e p lural ob j e c t pronoun
w i l l pre c e de i t in fi nal p o s i t i o n , b ut i ra- i s n o t r e q u i r e d i n addi t i on :
na i ome s i - r a a u te i ? , whom (p � . ) s h a � � I s e e ? I f the re fe rence o f t h e
i n t e rro gat i v e i s not t o the t h i rd p e r s o n , the fa c t w i l l app e ar i n t h e
obj e c t s u ffi x : i amou mou ' unua ' i n i - au i a- te i ? , y o u s a y a b o u t -m e w h o ? ,
w h o do y o u s ay t h a t I am ? ( Ma t t hew 16 : 1 5 ) .
A l tho ugh primar i l y N S , the i n t er rogat i v e s can a l s o b e u s e d as NA .
Thr e e e x amp le s wi l l i l l us t r at e t h i s us age :

1. i a te i b e i amo u , who of y o u ? , w h i c h o n e of y o u ? : i a te i b e i amou ta

ora ana? , w h o o f y o u h a s a c a n o e ? , l i t . w h i c h y o u a canoe h i s ?

2. i a te i + e + N: i a te i e u r ao , w h a t woma n ? , w h i ch woman ? : i ate i e

u r ao na ha ' a ana e ta i tangah u r u ? , w h a t woman ( w h i c h w o m a n ) h a s t e n

p i e c e s of m o n e y , h a ' a b e i n g a she l l whi ch i s gro und t o make nat i ve
money , and e t a i tangahu r u , t e n i s u s e d adj e c t i va l ly a f t e r i t , l inked
b y e nume ral conj u n c t i o n , ( s ee C. 2 . 2 . i i i ) .

3. nahe i , which? : nahe i ha ' atora na r a h a ? , w h i ch i s t h e g re a t

commandm e n t ? ( Ma t t hew 2 2 : 3 6 ) .

C . 2. 3 . i v . I n d e f i n i te s

The t i t le ' i nde f i ni t e s ' re fe r s t o morp hemes t h at do not re fer to a

p a r t i cular p e r s on or t h i ng . Engli sh examp les would b e any , a n y o n e ,
n o b o dy , s o m e o n e , s ome t h i ng and numb e r s o f others .
The b as i c Aro s i morphe me s on wh i c h are b u i l t phras e s i nde f i n i t e i n
the i r re fe r e n c e i s n e i , whi ch i s n o t us e d ent i re l y b y i t s e l f , b u t i n
conne c t i on w i th the var i ous forms o f t h e art i c le s , g i vi n g t a n e i . na
nei . i ne i . The re i s s ome u n c e r t a i n t y as t o t h e s p e l l i ngs o f t h e s e
comp o un d phras e s ; i n the Gosp e l s , tan e i and i t s p lural t a r a i n e i are
wri t t e n as s i ngle words , b u t n a n e i is not so wr i t t en , e v e n though i ne i
usually i s . H e re the e lement s have b e e n k e p t s e p arate , e x c e p t i n the
c a s e o f t a r a i n e i , i n whi ch r a i d o e s n o t h ave a s e p arat e e x i s t en c e .
70

The morpheme n e i and i t s c ompounds w i l l be d i s cus s ed f i rs t , then t a

and i t s c omp ound s . The t h i rd s e c t i on w i l l d e a l w i t h a numb er o f
mi s ce l laneous inde f i ni t e s s u ch as equivalents for e a c h , e v e ry . a l l .
The morpheme n e i , wh i ch i s e q u i valent rough ly t o ' i nd e f i n i t e re fere n c e ' ,
d o e s not o c cur a l one , b ut in c onj un c t i o n w i t h an art i c l e , giving e n e i .
na ne i . i ne i .

E ne i i s the mo s t i n d e f i n i t e of the phras e s . The i d e a o f i t i s

anyone a t a l l : e n e i na i ah utora , i f a n y o n e i s angry ; e n e i na toheau ,
if a n y o n e r e j e c t s m e . a n y o n e who r e j e c t s m e . I t i s not c ommon as n a n e i ,
whi ch i s the mo s t us ual form o f e xp re s s i on .
Na ne i i s u s u a l l y equivalent t o w h o e v e r . anyone who , and i s u s ua l l y
fo l l owed b y t he ve rb a l marker n a i . I t i s not alway s involved i n a
re l at i ve c l au s e , but may appear i n s imp le s e ntence s : i ia nei , this one ,
as i n i i a n e i a haaua , t h i s is t h e o �e who did i t , and i i a n e i c ou l d b e
t h e answer t o a q ue s t i o n s u ch a s i a t e i a h a a u a 7 , w h o did i t . S imi larly
an answe r c o u l d b e n a a s i ne i h a au a , t ha t i s t h e one who did i t . The
Eng l i s h s e t t i n g i s aga i n a re l at i ve c laus e b u t not the Aros i . In the
las t i ns t an c e the Aros i s en t e n c e i n tree di agram would b e

S
� VP
NP
� �verb
de i c . i nde f . tense

nals i nl i 1 h a ai u a
that one pas t do - i t

l e a v i n g the ve rb unanal y s e d at t h i s s t age .

O t h e r e x amp le s : na ne i ai rongoa i h a ' a t e a g u ' i , w ho e v e r h e ar s my
wo rds ; na ne i ai gonoh i a i wa i ni ai mae , w ho e ver drinks t h i s w a t e r wi l l
die .
Li ke the i nt e rrogat i ve s , n e i when u s e d i n the p o s s e s s i ve r e l at i on s h i p
l o s e s i t s art i c le : na r i nge-na i ne i na t o t o ro , t h e v o i c e o f o n e who
cri e s : s e e fur the r under i n n e i b e l ow . I n the ob j e ct p o s i t i on s imi larl y :
ona i a n e i na ra ras a ng a ' i n i ' a , l i ke o n e who s ow s .
Ne i may b e ne gat i ve : 'ai ' a n e i , n o one. n o b o dy : 'ai ' a nei a boi no ' a ,
n o o n e h a s come ; ' a i ! a ne i b e i a mo u , n o b o dy amo ng y o u . I t may al s o b e
us e d i n the p lural , the numb e r b e i ng s hown b y t h e s m b e fore t h e verb :
na ne i rau h u n i oo , t h o s e t h a t a r e w i s e : the numb e r o f p e o p l e i s indi c a t e d
b y r a u ; mw a n i i s not u s e d . The l a s t e x amp le b ut one s h ow s t hat n e i may
a l s o be u s e d w i t h an adj un c t phra s e fol l owing ( b e i a m o u , among y o u ) .
 71

ne i s eems t o repre s ent the p e rs onal form that might b e expe c t e d

as ia ne i , a n d t h e l a t t e r i s n o t found : i ne i na i ha ' a te , i a mo ' o naas i

na a h u t o t o u , w h o e v e r s p e a k s wi l l be s o rry .
I n the ob j e ct p os i t i o n n e i i s paral l e l e d b y a p e rs onal s uf fi x t o the
ve rb t o whi c h it i s the ob j e c t :

na ne i wa i o me s i a wa i watea tana-a
w h o e v e r I - s ha l l s e e - hi m I - s ha l l g i ve - i t t o - h i m
' I s h a l l g i ve i t t o w h o e v e r I s e e '

The i n d e f i n i t e t a n e i and the shorter form t a may be t r e at e d t o­

gether .
Ta is re a l ly a form o f the nume ral t a i , o n e . I t i s u s e d as a NA i n
ta r u ma , a ho u s e , any h o u s e ( unspe c i f i e d ) ; ta gege i a b a a b a , o n e s i de
of t h e s l o p e ; ta taha , any t h i ng ( l i t . a wha t ) : ra i a bwa ' i haaua ta taha

' i ni ' ar i ha, t h e y a re n o t to t a k e any t h i n g for t h e i r j ou r ne y ; ta ruma ,

s ome o i l . Aros i does not make t he d i s t i n c t i o n found i n En g l i s h b e tween
' c ount n ouns ' and ' ma s s nouns ' : i n Eng l i s h an o i l w o u l d be imp o s s ib le .
Frequent ly t a m a h o , a t h ing i s u s e d s i m i l arly , and e m a r e h o i s almo s t
s ynonymous b u t does n o t s e em t o be u s e d w i t h t a o
Where groups are contras t e d , t a may i ndi c a t e a group : e wera r i ma . . •

ma t a we r a r i m a . . . , fi v e ( p e o p l e ) . . . and t h e o t h e r fi ve , as i n e w e r a
r i ma be i raau rau h u n i oo ma ta wera r i ma ro ' u r a u m a h o o , five o f t h e m

w e r e w i s e and t h e o t h e r fi ve w e re fo o l i s h ( Matthew 2 5 : 2 ) .
I n comb i n a t i o n w i t h n e i , ta ne i i s c ommon , and u s u a l l y w r i t t e n i n
t h e l i t e rat ure as t a n e i . I t i s hard t o det ermine a d i s t i n c t i on b e tween
ta ne i and n a n e i although there is a c l e ar di ffe rence b e tween t a and n a .
It w o u l d s eem that where the i mp l i e d answer to a que s t i on s u ch as I s
a n y o n e . . ? i s n o , p r o b ab l y n o t , ta ne i i s p re ferre d , b u t i t i s h a r d t o
de c i de t he i s s ue .
U s e d alone , ta nei i s a NS , fun c t i o n i ng pronomina l ly : t a ne i a boi ,
s om e o n e has come , a c e r t a i n p e r s o n has come ; g a s i tanei a haaua tanaa

h e reho- i - n ga u , p e r haps s ome o n e has g i v e n him fo o d ; tanei e rua gare ana ,

s ome o n e a two s o n s h i s , i . e . a c e r t a i n man had two s on s . As a noun-
adj un c t , ta ne i is l i nk e d to the noun b y a f o l l owing n i : t a ne i ni non i
tauaro, a c e r t a i n wo rkman . Fo l l owed b y a negat i ve i t i s n o b o dy : t a ne i
' ai ' a ome s i a , n o b o dy s aW him ; also ' a i ' a i non i a t a u a ro , n o b o dy i s
w o r k i n g , whi ch may form a s ub s t i t ute for t a n e i ' ai ' a a t a u a ro , but
n o t e the non- f o c u s art i c l e i w i t h n o n i . The o n e . . . t h e o t h e r . . . is
e xp re s s e d b y a s e cond t a n e i b al an c i ng a fir s t : ta ne i a rara sa ma ta
ne i a h a a ' i gon i , o n e s ow s and ano t h e r r e ap s . Like n a n e i t h i s phrase
72

a l s o c an b e u s e d w i th a fo l l ow i n g adj un c t : ta ne i b e i a mou , s ome b o dy

from y o ur group . Ta ne i can oc cupy ob j e c t p o s i t i o n w i t hout mo di fi c a t i on :
i na u bwa ' i i taa t a ne i na i bo i b e i a u , I wi l. l. n o t re j e c t a n y o n e w h o c o m e s
t o me .
There are two c ompo un ds of t a : tara i and t a r a i ne i whi ch fun c t i on as
p lurals . The di s t i n c t i o n s e ems t o be that t a r a i i s adj e c t i val and t a r a i
n ei i s p ronomi n al . Thus t a r a i dang i , s ome day s , t a r a i ' a doma ' i , some
t h o ug h t s . If t a r a i ne i i s t o b e l i nked with a noun , n i s e rve s t o l i nk
them : ta ra i ni kora, some s e eds . But t a ra i ne i may be p re ce de d by i raau ,
t h e y i n re ference t o p e o p le : i raau ta ra i ne i , s ome of t he m , and u s e d
t w i c e re fe rs t o s ome . . . o t h e rs . . . : tara i ne i ra t o t o ro oa n i , t a ra i ne i ra
t o to ro o a s i , s ome cri e d ou t t h i s , o t he r s c r i e d o u t t ha t . In t he ob j e c t
p o s i t i o n i t i s u s e d wi thout the non- fo cus arti c le , but the verb gove rning
it c arri e s the p l ural ob j e c t marker - i i : rau r a b us i ' i tarai ne i ma rau
ngahu i ' i tarai ne i , t h e y b e a t s ome an d k i l. l. e d o t he r s . T a a l one i s least
c ommon , e x c e p t i n t h e form o f t a . . . ' a i ' a , o n e . . . no t = no , none : ta i ' a
' a i ' a be i au , a fi s h no t w i t h -me , i . e . I have no fi s h ; ta he reho 'ai ' a
be i a , h e h a s n o t h i ng .
Tane i , pl. tara ' i ne i has w i de u s e s as NS : tane i ada rua , one of t he
two ; t a ne i adarua e r o n g oa , one t h e m h eard him ; a h a a t a n a a t a n e i e r i ma
ma tanaa t a ne i e rua, he g a v e o n e of t h e m fi ve and t h e o th e r two . If
the forms are u s e d a s NA , they are li nke d t o the s e c ond comp onent o f
t h e phrase b y n i : t a r a ' i ne i ni g a re , some of t h e c h i l. dre n .
Whe re there i s a p o s s i b i l i t y o r i mp l i c at i on o f a chan c e that nobody
may p e r fo rm the act men t i one d , t a ne i s eems to b e p r e ferred for anyo n e ;
where the re s e ems t o be a l i k e lihood of r e s p on s e , n a n e i or i n e i s eems
to be p re ferre d : tane i ai r ub u ' o , i f any o n e h i t s you ( n o b o dy may ! ) ;
na ne i ai r u b u ' o , whoever hits you ; tane i ai ' i ri s i a i s uu r i a u , if
any o n e fo l. l. ows m e ( Mark 8 : 3 4 ) imp l i e s t hat p e rhap s nob ody w i l l .
An e xamp le o f s e veral us e s o f the t a forms appears i n the t rans l a t i o n
o f Mat thew 2 5 : 2 9 :
, inia ra i watea tanaa t a ne i ta he reho na be i a ma
fo r t h e y - s ha l. l. g i v e t o - h im t h e - o n e a thing t h a t w i t h - h im a n d
gu i to' ora rago , ma na nei 'ai ' a ta he reho na be i a
t h en - h e - s ha l. l. h a v e a - l. o t , and w h o e v e r n o t a thing t h a t wi t h - hi m ,
ra i haaua baan i a ma ' a t a na he reho na be i a .
t h e y - s h a l. l. t a k e from - him e v e n t h e t h i ng t h a t w i t h- h im .
1. e. ' Fo r to h i m who h a s s ha l. 1. b e g i v e n , and h e s h a H h a v e m u c h , b u t
fro m h i m w h o h a s n o t s ha l. l. b e t a k e n away e v e n w h a t h e has .

The c h i e f remai ning NS c an be l i s t e d as fo l lows :

 73

1. ado- , e a a h , e ve ry , a l l i s fun c t i o n a l ly a noun , t ak i n g s u ffixed

i n a l i e nab l e po s s e s s i v e s : ado-na , eaah one , a d o n a i kora , eaah s e e d .
Th i s e x amp le s hows that when a noun i s the comp leme nt o f a d o - , the non­
focus art i c le is u s e d as a l i nk ( ' i ko r a ) adon a i non i , e v e ry man .
P lural r e fe re n c e is t h e n s h ow n by the p ron oun pre c ed i n g the verb ; b u t
the s u ffi x - d a , 3rd p I . i s u s e d als o : adoda i non i r a u omes i a u , e ve ry ­
b o dy s aw me ; n a u o m e s i r a a u a d o d a i n o n i , I s aw e v e r y b o dy . Redup l i c at io n
gives a d i s trib ut i ve s e n s e a s a lway s : adoadoga , eaah o f us ( inc l . ) : i i a

' a i ' a ;:" a h a ' a t a u baan i a adoadog a , h e do e s n o t l i v e far from e a a h ( or

any ) o f u s - b u t n o t e the 3rd s i ng . su ffi x - a on b a a n i - a , c l as s ing a d o ­
a s fun c t i onal ly a noun . U s e d a s a n NS , a d o - i s c oup l e d w i t h n e i , t h a t
one who ; a d o n a n e i , whoever, a l l who : adona ne i nai hi nihinia, e ve r y o n e
w h o s ha l l b e l i e v e h i m ; a d o n a n e i na i bo i , a mo ' o s i nai haaua i dora
ana , e v e ry o n e w h o a o m e s w i l l g e t h i s p l a ae t h e re .
Where d e f i n i t e nume rat i o n is involve d , the numeral c l as s i fi e r can
s imi lar ly b e redup l i c at e d : w e r a , human b e i ng > w e r aw e r a t a i , e a a h o n e
( p e r s o n s s ep a r a t e l y ) : i ia s o i r a a u we r awe r a ta i ma i be i a , h e aa l l e d
eaah one o f them to him.

2. ' e tea , diffe re n t , ano t h e r : i raau ' ari wou no' a i omaa ' e te a , they
w e n t t o an o t h e r v i l lage ; a n o n i ' e tea , a diffe r e n t man ; a k o r a ' etea ,
a di ffe re n t ( k i n d of) seed. There s e ems t o b e l i t t le di f fe re n c e b e tween
this word and h e i ' e t e i , as in i i a n a h a ' a t a a r i a w o u i non i he i ' etei ,
he s e n t ( y e t ) ano t h e r man , a l t hough thi s does s e em t o imp l y ano ther
item o f the s ame k i n d .

3. h a ko , r a g a , man y , al L A raga i ne i rau ' a r i h u r a a u , many are aa l Z e d ,

as again s t e g o g o t a , few : e g o g o t a r a o rn e s i g i h i r a a u , few are a h o s e n .
Lik e e ve ry d e s crip t i ve , raga fo l l ows i t s noun : i raau a non i raga , all
t h e peop l e . H a k o may b e us e d s i mi l ar l y , but i t i s o f t e n u s e d a l s o
w i t h a verb : ai h ako r a u r a u rn a me u h o r a wou , ( the time) w i l l b e over
q u i a k l y and we s ha l l f l e e away ( P s alms 9 0 : 1 0 ) ; h a k o i he reho i ni , all
t h e s e t h i n g s ( agai n w i t h non- focus art i c l e ) ; i wai a r aga no ' a i do r a
s i , t h e re w a s p l e n t y o f w a t e r i n t h a t p l a ae . S ome t imes the p lural
marke r rnw a n i is s uf f i c i e n t t o e x p re s s t o t a l i n c l us i on : na mwa n i he reho

= na h e r e h o h a ko , a l l t h i ngs .

4. gogo t a , a few w as i l lus t ra t e d i n the p r e c e di ng p aragraph ; i t i s an

e n ume rat i ve and t h e r e fore is pre c e de d b y e , and it may b e u s e d for any
numb e r up to ab out 2 0 . Thus : e g o g o t a m o i na s i ba s a d o i a , few o n l y
w i l l find i t ( Mat thew 7 : 1 4 ) .
74

5. ma h o , t h i n g i s u s ed vague ly as w h a t , w ha t e v e r , e . g . wha t e v e r he
wis he d : t a maho a ' i ri s ia, na maho a ' i ri s ia. Thus , 'oi ha ' anong i
tanaau ' i nia i maho na '0 ' i risia, as k me for w h a t e v e r y o u w an t , and
var i o u s d e r i vat i ve phras e s are in u s e : i maho nau ' i r i s i a , w h a t I wan t ;

mw a n i maho, w h a t e v e r (p l . ) ; the s ynonymous word m a r e h o is u s e d al s o :

e ma re h o nau ' i r i s i a , w h a t e v e r I w an t .

C. 2 . 4 . Re l a to r s

A ' re la t o r ' i s a morpheme that s hows a re lati onship b e tw e e n two or

more morpheme s and groups of morpheme s ( phras e s o r c laus e s ) , and they
t h u s c o rre s p ond t o what in t rad i t i onal grammars have been called pre­
p o s i t i ons and conj un ct ions . The t e rm and the me thod o f t r e atment
b e long to Tagme m i c Anal y s i s , * and i t is u s e d here b e caus e it provides
a means o f gathering t o ge t h e r the s e more or l e s s mi s c e l laneous ' p art s
o f s p e e ch ' that never s e em qui t e at home in t radi t ional grammat i c al
s t ateme nt s . The tre atment here adop t e d i s a me ans o f e c o nomy o f s t at e ­
me nt .
The de fini t i on o f re lators and the ' re lator ax i s ' concept i s b e s t
g i ve n i n Longacre ' s words :

" Re la t o r- ax i s c laus e s have a b i p ar t i t e s t ru c t ure whi ch c ons i s t s

o f a sub ord i n a t i n g conj unc t i on , p art i c le o r phras e ( the r e l at o r )
f o l lowe d b y a s equence ( the axi s ) wh i c h i s s t ru c t urally ident i ca l
w i t h ( o r a re co gni z ab le vari ant o f ) one or more c l au s e t y p e s
p o s i t e d e l s ewhe re . T h e re lator may b e a fun c t i onal spe c i al i z at i on
o f s ome c l au s e l e ve l t agmeme . Thus , w h e n I fi r s t came h e re , w h e r e
y o u we n t , o n w h i c h I s tand, a n d w h i c h I p u r c h a s e d y e s t e rday are
all re lat o r- a x i s c l aus e s i n Engl i sh . . . A s s p e c i a l i z e d fun c t ors ,
w h e n , w h e re , on w h i c h , and w h i c h s e rve t o re l a t e the i r c l aus e s
w i t h i n t h e framework o f an i mb edding c laus e o r phras e . Thu s ,
w h e n I fi r s t came he re he was g o n e has on o ve r a l l s t ru c t ure
t e mp o ral- s ub j e c t -predi c at e ; the i mb e dde d c laus e w h e n I fi r s t came
h e re mani f e s t s the firs t t agmeme ( te mp oral ) of the imb e dding
c l au s e . . . .
" Re lator-ax i s c l aus e s are s imi lar t o r e l a t or-ax i s ( p repo s i t i o n )
phras e s . Typ i c al ly , a p rep o s i t i onal phras e cons i s t s o f a pre­
p os i t i o n p l u s a noun phras e . . . .
" Thus , i n comp aring ax i s - r e l a t e d phr a s e s and axi s -r e l a t e d
c laus e s the fol lowing p ara l l e l i s m i s s e e n :
prepos i t i o n s ub o rd i nat or
_

fol lowing noun phr ase - f o l l owing c lause . " * *

*
S e e K . L . P i k e , Pho n emic� ( 1 9 4 7 ) , E . A . N i d a , M o �pho l o g y ( 19 4 9 ) a n d K . L .
P i ke , Lang uag e i n R elati o n to a U n i 6 i e d The o � y 0 6 the S t�uctu�e 0 6
Human B eha v i o � 3 v o l s . ( 19 5 4 - 6 0 ) , a l l p ub l i s h e d b y t h e S ummer I n s t i t u t e
o f L i n g u i s t i c s , f i r s t A n n Arb o r a n d l a t e r G l e n d a l e , C a l i f . , r e v i s e d
e di t i o n , M o u t o n ' s ( 1 9 6 7 ) , a l s o R . E . L o n g a c r e , G�amma� Vi� c o v e�y P�o ­
c e d u�e� ( M o u t on , T h e H ag u e , 1 9 6 4 ) .
** .
R.E. L o n g a c r e o p . c� t . 37- 8 .
 75

I n the p r e s e n t t re atment , i t has s ee me d d e s i rab le t o t r e at r e l at o r­

ax i s phras e s ( prep o s i t i ons ) b e fore re lat or- ax i s c l aus e s ( c onj unc t i o n s )
in order t o mai n t a i n t h e t re atme nt of NP b e fore VP that has b een
ob s e rve d i n the imme d i at e ly p re c eding s e c t i ons .
The t e rm ' re l ator ' , w i t h i t s c o n c ommi t ant ' ax i s ' has b e e n u s e d b e ca u s e
t h e re i s no s i ng l e c at e go ry i n Aro s i answering t o the Engl i s h t erms
' prep o s i t i on ' , ' adverb ' and ' c onj un c t i on ' . Each o f the group s c o ns i s t s
o f two t yp e s , s imp l e and c omp ound ( o r phrasal ) re l a t or s . Simple r e l a t o r s
a r e not further analy s ab le , e . g . i , � o c a t i o n ; phras a l re lators , l i k e
phras a l n o u n s ( C . 2 . 1 . i ( b ) ) c o n s i s t o f more t h a n one e lemen t , e . g .
hunga , on, o v e r much l i k e the Engl i sh phras al p r ep o s i t i on o n top o f .
The phras al re lators may re s t o n a b a s e that i s nomi na l , a s in the
pre c e d i ng e x amp l e , or one that is verb a l , e . g . hura ' a , out o f al s o g o
o u t s ide . I n t h i s c as e , as a l s o e . g . in the s i mp l e b e i - , w i t h , a l s o
to b e partner, h e �p , i t i s di f f i c u l t t o de c i de whi c h us age i s p rimary .
Whe ther the b a s e i s nomi nal or verb a l can b e d e t e rmine d from the form
of the s u ffixe s , e . g . b e i - a u , w i t h me , t ak i n g the verb al s u f f i xe d
p r onouns , or i hunga-n a , o n i t , t aking t h e nomi nal s uf f i x e s .
I n other c a s e s agai n , the re l at i o n i s more c omp l e x , e . g . b a ho i , on
t h e o t he r s i d e o f , s e ems t o b e r e l a t e d i n s ome w ay t o a b a , ha � f, p �a ce ,
b u t a l s o t o a h o ' i , re turn , go b a c k . Re fe re n c e t o the D i c t i o n ary w i l l
o ft e n make t h e s e cros s - re l a t i o n s h i p s c le ar ; it i s n o t t h e p l ace o f a
grammar t o do thi s .
I n mos t grammars o f Me l ane s i an l anguages , the Engl i s h c las s i fi c at i on s
o f p rep o s i t i ons , adve rb s , and conj unct i ons a r e re t ai ne d . S i n c e , howeve r ,
Aro s i d o e s not re c ogni s e the s e divi s i ons amo n g s t r e l at o r s , i t s e ems t o
b e b e t t e r t o t re at them forma l ly and not s emant i cal ly . They w i l l there­
fore b e t re at e d here as three formal t yp e s o f re lat ors : s imp le ; c ompound
( noun-b as e d ) , and comp ound ( ve rb - b as e d ) .

1. S imple re l ators
S imp le re l at ors are few i n numb e r , b ut they ent e r a l s o i nt o c omp ounds
with n o un-b as e d phras al re l at ors . The s imp le re lators are :

(i) p la c e : i . nai . no ' a i

O f t h es e , i i s a p ure l o c a t i ve , a t , and i t i s the firs t e l ement

u s u a l ly found w i t h noun-b a s e d phr a s a l re l at ors . E x amp l e s : nau o'a

Heuru, I � i v e a t He uru ; i r aau ra i hora i Heuru , t h e y w i � � f� e e t o H e uru ;

i a o ' a toro, h e � i ve s i n t h e b u s h ; b o i ini , come ( t o ) here . Th i s
i s a r e l a t i ve ly rare re l a t o r e x c e p t i n comb i n a t i o n w i t h others , as s hown
b e l ow ; the other two are c ommoner . Na i and n o ' a i s e e m t o b e pra c t i c a l l y
76

s ynonymous ; t h e y b ot h indi c a t e i n rather than a t : ia na i om a a , he i s in

t h e v i � � age ; no ' a i t a rawa ' a , in t h e b e g i n n i ng ; ia no' a i r um a , he i s in
the house ; na i ta do r a , in a certain p � ace, i n s ome p � a ce . The s e d o
not comb i ne w i t h n o uns t o form phras al re lat ors .

(ii) re l at i on s h i p i n s p a c e : horo

Thi s word i n t h e form g o r o i s very c ommon i n Mot a and i n o t h e r

l an guage s , b u t not s o common i n Aros i , where b w a r a s i - an d d i d i u s i - are
more frequent ( phras a l r e l at ors ; s e e b e l ow ) . The general i de a i s o v e r
again s t , in oppo s i tion to , e . g . didi h o ro , t o b u i � d a s hade agai n s t ( t h e
s u n ) - d i d i b e ing a w a l l o f p art i t i on , and t h e b as e o f d i d i u s i - a , de alt
with b e low . The s t atus o f h o r o i n thi s l anguage is uncertai n , and Fox
i n t h e di c t i onary gives i t no p l ace . B i s hop P at t e s on i n c lude s it i n
h i s w o rk , giving a c r o s s as a u r u h o r o ( a ) , and cro s s o v e r as u r u h o r o ( a ) .
Both the s e phra s e s t r e at h o r o as a verb , w h i ch it never i s in the
Me l ane s i an languages of the New Heb ride s .

( iii ) i n s t rument : ' ini

A l t h ough t h i s re lator i s very c ommon in Aros i , i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o
d e t e rmine i t s s t atus , f o r i t freq ue n t l y app e ars w i th a final - a , I i n i a,
w h i c h w o u ld mark i t as a verb . In regard t o i t s o c curre nce , Fox s t a t e s
that ' ini i s " u s e d w i th verb s w i t h t h e s u f fi x e s - n g a ' i , - r a ' i , - t a ' i ,
-ha ' i " and i n t h i s form i t has alre ady b e e n t re a t e d here as a s u f f i x o f
remo t e r t r ans i t i v i t y ( C . l . i i i ) . An e x amp le i s n a ' a r i - ta ' i - n i a , he
w e n t away from h i m .

What e ve r t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e tween t h e s u f f i x and I i n i , the latter is

v e ry c ommon a s marki ng t h e i n s t rume nt b y wh i ch a n a c t i s done : I i ni

ma d a , w i t h a c � ub ; na rabus i a I i ni ma d a , he h i t me w i t h a c � u b ; b u t i t
i s a l s o p o s s ib le t o s ay I i n i a m a d a , whi ch sugge s t s that I i n i - may r e a l l y
b e v e rb a l i n nature rather than a s imp l e re l at o r . I t may a l s o answer
t o c o n ce r n i n g , o n a c c o u n t o f : na s ae ra bwa ' i hano I inia i rang i ana ,
t h e p e o p � e wi � � no t go b e cau s e of t h e r ai n . I n We s t Aro s i there i s a
b y - form I i ne : s e e D i c t i onary .

Some re lat ors not l i s te d ab ove are forma l ly verb s , and t he ob j e c t

p ro noun o f the ve rb al s e ri e s i s added t o t h e m , i n s ome c as e s as i mme d i at e
ob j e c t and i n o t h e r s as ant i c ip at ory obj e c t , b e i - a u , w i t h me ; t a na - au ,
to me are e x amp le s . Others are nouns and t o them t h e endings o f
i n a l i e nab l e p o s s e s s i on are adde d : i mu r i - g u , b e h in d me ; i na ' o-gu , in
fro n t o f me . Thi s l a t t e r c la s s b e l ongs t o t h e group o f compound
re l at ors t r e a t e d b e l ow ; the forme r fun c t i on as s i mp l e re l at ors and
 77

s ome t ime s e ve n as fu l l ve rb s . The fo l l ow i n g i s the l i s t o f the mos t

u s ual verb a l re l a t or s :

( a ) b e i - as a verb me ans t o b e o n e wi t h , h e n c e , t o b e a n a t ty , a
p ar tn e r , a s s i s t , h e t p ( al t h ough there is a l s o a noun k o a - n a , p a r t n e r ) .
H e n c e as a re l at or , b e i w i t h , b ut show s i t s e s s e nt i al ly verb a l n a t ure
=

by adding the obj e c t p ronoun s u ff i x e s : ai o'a b e i - a mo u , he wi t t s t a y

wi t h y o u . * There a r e various e x t e n s i ons o f t h i s us age , e . g . t a ne i no' a i
be i - ra a u , l i t . o n e in wi t h - t h e m , one o f t h e group o r c ro w d . Be i - a also
a c c omp an i e s s ome v e rb s w h e r e Eng l i sh us age di f fe r s : nong i be i - a , ask of
h im , b e g o f h i m ( y o u mus t b e WITH him t o m a k e t h e p t e a t o h i m ) ; (ra ' a ) ­
wa i - a be i -a , take h i m t o ( s om e o n e e t s e ) ; s i ba gehaa be i - a , exam ine h i m .
T h e t y p e o f r e l at or required b y a verb lead s t o t h e s e t t i n g u p o f a
numbe r o f verb c l as s e s , whi ch has , howeve r , not b e e n a t t emp t e d here .

(b ) t a n a- , to, for i n : haa tana- a u , give to me ; na he reho ni tana- ' o ,

t h i s i s fo r y o u ; nugaa tana s i n a , p u t i t i n t h e s un , Tana- then forms
a s ub s t i tu t e fo r the l a ck of a verb t o have in Aro s i : a g e r e r a h a i hu ' u
t a n aa u , I have a bad cough ; e s i h a i ' a na be i ' 0 7 , how many fi s h h a v e
y ou ? , lit . how many fi s h ( are t h e re ) wi t h y o u ? i s an a l t e rnat i v e .
The re i s a l s o a root t a whi ch p ro duc e s as t rans i t i ve t a - h i - a and a
remo t e r t r an s i t i ve t a ' i n i - a or t a ' i r a ' i - . What i s the e x a c t r e l at i o n s h i p
o f t h i s t o t a n a - i s not c l e ar , b ut i n many Me l ane s i an l anguage s , b o t h in
the S o l omon I s l ands and the New He b r i d e s there i s a s imp le re l a t o r t a
w h i c h s ee ms t o b e l a c k i n g i n Aros i . The me aning is d i f f e rent from t h e
the Engl i s h viewp o i n t ; i t i s not t o b u t from : Fox g i v e s s . v . ta , ' ari
ta-h i -a , g o away from h im , wh i ch may al s o b e ' ari wou ta ,'i n i a (wou
i nd i c at e s mot i o n away from the s p e ake r wi thout s p e c i fy i ng dire c t i on :
s e e b e l ow ) . For thi s s ee D i c t i o nary s . v . ta ' i , 2.

( c ) s u r i , a tong, at, to, t hr o u g h , fo t "bo w i n g , a f t e r , o n a c c o u n t o f,

a c co rd i n g t o ( Di c t i onary s . v . s u r i ) , w i t h a verb suur i - , fo t t ow whi ch
s e e ms to b e only a var i ant s p e l l i ng of the s ame word . U s e d as a re l at o r ,
suri repre s e n t s movement in the dire c t i o n o f t h e t h i rd p e rs on , as agai n s t
firs t or s e c ond : ' ari suri i ta ra , g o a t ong t h e p a t h b u t i t h a s s ome

*
Fox A�o � � V�ct� o na� if s . v . b e ' i g i v e s an o t h e r f o rm w i t h g l o t t al s t op .
Th i s ' ap p e a r s t o b e t h e r e m o t e r t r an s i t i ve f o r m o f b e i . > b e ' i n i - a , to b
e
c o n c e r n e d w i t h : n a ' a r i b e i ' i n i a i h a ' a a n a , h e w e n t �n t h e ma t t e r o f .
h i s m o n e y · b ut as F o x s t at e s t h at t h e s i mp l e b e i c an b e u s e d as t o b e � n
,

p ar t n e r s h ip w i t h i t w o u l d s e e m t h at t h e c o r r e c t e nt ry w o u l d b e b e ' ·I >
be ' i n i -a w i t h b ; i ( n o g l o t t a l s t o p ) as a d e ve l op m e n t f r om i t . N o doub t
eled
d i a l e c t i s at t h e b o t t om o f t h i s d o ub l e t , as b e - n g a , b e d i s p ar a l l
A r o s i t o w h i ch B au r o r e g u l a r ly c o r r e s p � n d s . I n more
by W e s t b e ' a , p e ' a
. t h out
t t al s t o p i s doub t ful , a n d f o r m s w l t h a n d w l
t h an o n e i n s t an c e a g l o
i t are in us e . Thi s would s e em t o b e one o f t h e m .
78

s p e c i al us e s , s u c h as s u r i rodo , a t n i g h t , wh i ch may al s o b e n o ' a i rodo ,

i n t h e n i g h t , w i t h very l i t t l e di f ference . Suffixes t o s u r i are verb a l :

boi suri -au, come aft e r m e , come fo 7, 7, ow me ; 1 0 h a a n a s u r i a u , copy m e ,
fo 7, 7, ow my e xamp 7, e .
A n e x t e n s i o n al lows s u r i - a t o introduc e a c laus e : suri a � I ai I a

rongoana , b e cau s e he didn ' t h e ar ; or b e fo l l ow e d b y an o b j e c t : suria �

he i I i r i s i amu , b e ca u s e y o u w i s h i t , as y o u w i s h .

( d ) h u n i - de fine d in the Di c t i onary as u p o n , t o , o n t o , among : e . g .

r i ng i - s i - a h un i -a , p o u r i t on him ; a h u r a ' a a s i r i hu n i - ra , he w e n t o u t
and e n t e re d among s t t h e m , mix e d w i t h t h e m , and l e s s l i t eral ly , a ' u a 7 ,
hun i e no n i 7 , w h a t do y o u mean ? T h a t he was a man ? ; a a r a r i a h u n i ' o ,
i t i s r i g h t for y o u .
Thi s re lator a l s o can b e c ome a c l au s e int roduc er , i n t h e s e n s e o f
t ha t , s o t h a t , i n o r de r t h a t , e . g . a unua hun i wa i boi , h e s a i d ( t ha t )
I was t o come ; a h a a t a n a a u h u n i ai ngau a , h e gave i t t o him t o e a t ,
t h a t h e s ho u 7, d e a t i t . I n t h e s e i n s t an c e s the verb e xp re s s i ng the
p urp os e is i n the fut ure t e ns e : a h a ' a t o r a h u n i ra i o'a nai i ' e i , he
t o 7, d them t o s t ay t h e r e ; a h a ' a t e h u n i ra i bw a ' i ' ari , h e said t h e y
w e r e n o t t o go ; a a ra r i a h u n i 'oi 'ari , i t i s ri g h t fo r y o u t o go . It
n e e d n o t b e future i f the s e n s e doe s not require i t : a I i ra ra h u n i a

amag u a o'a no ' a i i l e i , he knew t h a t my fa t h e r was t h e r e .

The s e are a few o f the verb al i s e d re l a t o rs ; o thers wi l l b e l i s t e d

and i l lus t ra t e d more b ri e f l y i n alphab e t i c al orde r ; they inc lude the
f o l lowing : aral a, up ; b a a n i - , from ; b w a r a s i - , agains t , i n fa ce o f ;
d i d i us i , a g a i n s t ; g a r a n g i - , n e ar ; g a r i , g a r i g a r i - , around ; h i h u ra ' a ,
g o i n g o u t from

2. Compound re l ators
There are two k i n ds of c ompound re l ators , one in which the b as i c
e l ement i s nomi na l , and i s c omb i n e d w i t h s uf f i x e s o f p os s e s s i on that
b e l o n g to the noun , and one i n wh i c h the b as i c e lement i s verb al , and
comb i n e s w i t h s u f f i x e s that i ndi c a t e verb a l obj e c t s .

(i) Re l a t o r s b a s ic a l ly nominal

I n r e l at ors o f t h i s t y p e s u f f i x e s o f a nomi nal nat ure are emp l oye d ,

e . g. i h u n g a - n a , o n top of i t , as agai n s t others i n whi ch the s u ffix i s
v e rb al : baan i -au , from m e , b a a n i - a , from h i m , her, it . A select ion o f
the nomi nal re lators i s given i n alphab e t i c al order b e low . They c an b e
c omp ounded i n two w ay s :
 79

(a) R + N f ormi ng prepos i t i ons of p la c e

n l
R + N forming e xpre s s ions o f t ime
n 2
(b ) R + NS formi ng adverb s of p la c e .
n
R + N are l o c al i s i ng p re p o s i t i ons :
l
1. ahora- ( a ) ab o v e , u p o n : ahorana i hungahunga , on the hi L L
( b ) the end of: a h o r a n a i t a r a , a t t h e e n d o f t h e I'oad , as
in a ' oa i ahorana i ta ra , he L i v e d at t h e end of t h e I' o a d .

2. baha i - , b e L ow , unde I' : baha i na , undeI' i t , on t h e n e aI' s ide o f : na

oma a i baha i na i hungah unga , t h e v i L L a g e i s a t t h e n e a I' s i d e o f t h e

moun t ai n .

3. baho i - , o n t h e o t he I' s i d e : baho i na as i , o n t h e o t h e I' s i de of

the s e a .

4. gege - , s i de , e dge , b e y ond : a ' ari gege as i , h e w e n t acI'O S S t h e

s e a ; i t i s p o s s ib le t o s ay e i t he r i g e g e i as i or i g e g e n a i as i , at
i t s s i de t h e s e a .

5. h u n ga - , t o p , on : hungana , on t o p of i t ; i h u ng a ra , o n t hem ;
h u n gamu , on you , et c . ; i hungana i has i ' e i , o n t h e t I'e e .

6. ma d o r a - , s p ace O I' t i m e b e tw e e n two t h i n g s O I' e v e n t s : ma d o r a n a Uki

me i Aros i , b e tw e e n U k i and A I'o s i .

7. mu r i - , I' e a I', b e h i n d : mu r i , afte I'waI'ds ; mu r i n a has i ' e i , be hind

t h e t I'e e .

8. n a ' o- , fI'o n t ( va l i d b ut rare ) ; long a g o ( n o ' a i na ' o ) ; 'oi 'ari na ' o ,

y o u g o fi I' s t ; i na ' ona , i n h i s p I' e s e n c e , e xpre s s i n g e i t h e r t i me o r
p lace .

9. ra ro- , i n s ide , in ; ra rona r um a , i n s ide t h e h o us e .

10 . ubuta- , amo n g , b e twe e n : a ' ar i ubutara , he w e n t among t h em .

11. wa i h u ru , b e fo I' e mo s t ly i n re gard t o t ime .

S ome o f t h e s e w o rd s c an be c omp ounded w i t h a pre f i x b o - , i nd i c at i n g

a s li ght advanc e , a L i t t L e m O I' e i n a g i ve n dire c t i o n : i boau ru , LittLe
fU I' t h e I' towaI'ds L an d O I' downwaI'ds . Thi s pre fi x c omb i n e s w i t h a numb e r
o f t h e r e l a t or s , verb al i s ed as we l l a s nominal i s e d , e . g . bohu r a ' a ,
s eawaI'd s < h u ra ' a , g o up . The y wi l l b e men t i oned again b e low ( p . 8 1 ) .

(ii) Re l a t o r s basically verbal

Many o f t h i s group a c t u a l l y are verb s in t h e i r primary fun c t i on , and

a l l re fer t o moveme nt in one d i re c t i o n or anot her . The formu la R + N
v
80

t h e re fore i ndi c a t e s ' re l at ors of mo t i o n ' . They are repres ented by :

1. a ra ' a , go up : ia a ra ' a i hungahung a , he w e n t up t h e hi l l and as

s p e c i fi c d i re c t i ve i t i s u s e d of the sun ri s in g , and o f a p e r s on
t rave l l i ng e as t . Simi larly ,

2. auru, go down, go we s t : a a u r u ma i , he aame from t h e e a s t ( tr a v e l l i n g

we s t ) ; a h e i n a g u a a r u , h e s a t down ; h e aame from t h e w e s t i s a t e r e m a i :
i n e ach c a s e m a i i nd i c a t e s ' mo t i on t ow ards the s p e ak e r ' .

3. baan i - , from as i n i a h a a u a b a a n i - a u n a h e r e h o s i , h e to o k t h a t
t h i n g from m e : t h e verb a l b a a n i - and t h e verbal h a a u a keep t o gether i n
t h e s en t e n c e . I n c ompar i s on s , b a a n i - h a s t h e s e n s e t ha n : i a go ro b a a n i ­
gu , he is b e tter ( g oro = g o o d ) t h an I , l i t . good from me - a form o f
e x p re s s i on common t o many O c e an i c languages and not confined t o that
fami ly .

4. be i - has b e e n di s cus s e d ab ove , whe re i t was s hown that i t als o

fun c t i ons as a fu l l verb : ' oi b e i a , y o u as s i s t h i m , b e wi t h him . The
di f fe re n c e b e tween a r a ' a and b e i ' a is that al though b o th c an b e e it h e r
verb s or re lat ors , the fo rme r i s more c ommonly verb a l , t h e lat t e r more
c ommonly p re p o s i t i o n a l .

5. bwa r a s i and 6 . d i d i us i , agai ns t , t ow ards , in t h e way of· - the

d i s t i n c t i on s e ems t o be o r i g i n a l ly d i ale c t a l rather than s e mant i c , but
b o th are i n Aro s i nowaday s . Bwa r a s i < bwa ra , oppo s e ; d i d i u s i i s seen
in : ' 0 u ra d i d i us i a i s i na, y o u are s t anding agai n s t t h e s u n , b e tw e e n
me and the sun . Bwa ras i corre s p onds t o g o r o i n the Mota of B anks
I s l ands .

7. ga rang i - or h a ' a g a r a n g i - , n e a r , a l o s e t o , as verb approa a h .

8. gar i - , go ro und, e n a ir a l e : n a mae ronga a g a r i g a r i a i om a a , t h e e n emy

e na i r a l e d t h e v i l l a g e .

9. hura ' a , go out, aw ay , o u t o f , the opp os i te o f s i r i , e n t e r : a h u r a ' a

wou , h e w e n t o u t s i de ; a s i r i m a i na i ra ron a , h e e n t e re d i n , h e aame
i n s ide .

10 . ora, fo l lo w i n g , a a aording t o , in keeping with : ia 'ai 'a su ' u

tanag i a o rada i o r a o r a a a g a , h e has n o t p a i d us b a a k a a a o rding to o u r
w ro n g d o i n g .

11. s uu r i , sur i , fo l l o w , aft e r : n a n o n i a ' ari sur ia, t h e man w e n t

aft e r h i m .

12 . tahuraga, t h r o u g h , p a s s t h r o ug h : a 'ari t a h u ra g a om a a , he w e n t
t h ro u g h t he v i l l a g e .
 81

13. ' u ruh a , in t h e m i dd L e , w i t h by- fo rms ' i ru h a , ' ub u ta ' ( wi t h noun

s u f f i xe s ) : ' uru' ari , fa r t h e r o n , l i t . g o i n g ami d ; ' u r u h u ra ' a , far t h e r
on , l i t . middLe going o u t ; ' u r u a u r u , d e e p down i n , ' u ruhana i , c:ro s s i n g
over.

( ii i ) T h e b o - mo d i f i e r

A p r e f i x b o - c an b e added t o s ome o f the r e l a t o rs , mo d i fy i ng the

me ani ng much l i ke a L i t t L e mo re i n E n g l i s h , e . g . boau r u , a L i t t L e far t h e r
dow n . The forms mos t c ommonly found are : bo a ra ' a , a L i t t L e far t h e r u p ,
g o up a L i t t L e more ; b o a u r u , a L i t t L e far t h e r down ; b o h u r a ' a , s e awards ;
b om a i , a L i t t L e c: L o s e r h e r e ; b o m a n a , far t he r o n ; b o s i r i , e n t e r a L i t t L e
c: L o s e r , L an dwa rds ; b o t e r e , L o w e r down . The phras e ' 0 b o m a i i h e i , where
d o y o u c: o m e from ? may b e not e d .

( iv ) Re l a t o r s w i t h n o un s ub s t i t u t e s

Re lat ors fo l lowe d b y noun s ub s t i t u t e s ( C . 2 . 3 . ) produce equi valen t s

to here, t h e re and other adverb s o f p l a c e , ac c ording t o t h e formu la
R + NS Adv = ' There is quite a var i e t y o f t h e s e , mo re that j us t
loc
h e re and t h e r e i n Engl i sh , and i t i s di f f i c u l t t o d i s c e rn real di f fe r e n c e s
from the nat i ve s p e ake r ' s p o i n t o f view . T h e fo l l ow i ng are e x amp le s :

R + ( i ) ni , h e re R + (i)si , there R + h e i , w h e re ?

ne ' i n i < nai ini ne ' i s i na i he i

no' a i in i no ' a i is i me i h e i

ne i i ni ne i i s i n i he i

in i i s i nahe i
i he i

R + o h a , t ime R + g e ( i t a ) , w he n ? R + 'ei ( re 1 . )
oha nan i , t h e n ( pas t ) nga i ta ( fu t ure ) j ' ei , no l a i lei ,
thereat
oha baan i , L o n g pas t nage i ( p as t )
oha o rea , t h e n r e c: e n t L y nage ( t a ) ( p as t )
oha n i , now no ' a i ge i ta ( fu t ure )
oha si , then

A few e x amp l e s o f t h e v arious us age s are t aken from the t rans l at i ons :
tara i ne i ra u ra ini , s ome of t h e m are s t anding h e r e ; a g o r o g a i awa ini ,
i t i s g o o d t h a t we are h e r e ; i a ' ai ' a ini , he i s n o t h e re ; ia nai ini,
here he i s ; ' a m e u me l h a a u a mw a d a u m a i h e i i maho- i - ngau no ' a i ini?,
w h e r e - from ( m a i h e i ) c:an w e g e t foo d h e r e ( n o ' a i ini )?; na wou ni , here
( b ut rather more d i s t ant from s p e ake r , a s w o u i n d i c a t e s movement away ) .
82

E x amp l e s i n v o l v i ng i s i t ake o n a s im i l ar p a t t e rn , b u t w i t h re ference t o

d i s t an c e from s p e aker : ia ' a i 'a be i ame u , i a no ' a i i s i , he is no t w i t h
us, he i s o v e r the r e .
The phras e s w i t h ' e i are a l l r e l a t i ve s , co rre sponding t o t h e r e i n
E n g l i s h , o r r e l at i ve w h e re : t he hou s e whe re he i s s t a y i ng , n a r u m a ia
o'a i ' ei , t h e h o u s e he i s s t a y i n g t h e re a t . l a te i na o r a n a n a i ' e i , whoever
i s t i v i n g i n i t o f a p lace alre ady me n t i o ne d . The us age i s c l o s e ly aki n
t o P o lyne s i an i a i , iei , though n o t ne c e s s ari ly h i s t o ri c al ly conne c t e d
with i t , e . g . mou h o r a t e re i oma a s i , ma mou awa g a u i ' e i , r u n away to
t h a t v i t t a g e a n d remain the r e i n ( i n i t ) ; a t a ' e h a i hungahunga ma
he i nag u n a i ' e i , h e w e n t u p o n t o a h i t t and s a t down t h e re .
The forms w i t h h e i ask a que s t i o n : na i he i 7 , w h e re ? ; m e i h e i 7 , w h e n c e ? ;
e a i dang i ni he i b e i a mo ' o ni7, a k n o w t edge from w h e r e w i t h t h i s p e rs o n ? ,
i . e . w h e r e h a s t h i s p e rs o n g o t t h e kno w t e dg e ? ; n a m w a n i m a h o i n i m a i h e i 7 ,
w h e r e h a v e t h e s e t h i n g s come from ?
The t emp oral i n t e rrogat ive g e , g e i , g e t a d i s t i ngui s h e s que s t i o ns
re l at i ng t o pas t or fu t ure t ime : '0 ' u n ua tan aameu i maho is i na i

nga i ta7 , t e t t u s w h e n t h e s e t h ing s s ha t t b e ? ; ' 0 bo i nage i 7 , w h e n did

you come ? ; ' a m e u meu ome s i a na n g a i t a 7 , w h e n di d we see h im ? : the
part i c l e n a marks p a s t t ime . No' a i ge i t a na he r e h o rage n i ra i taha
ma i 7 , w h e n s ha t t t h e s e t h i n g s come ab o u t ?
E x p re s s i ons i nvo lvi ng o h a , time are s t at emen t s , not que s t i ons : o h a
ni , t h i s t i me = now ; o h a b a a n i , time from (an e v e n t ) = t o n g ago ; a i
tari oh a , s h a t t a r r i v e time = un t i t : 'oi o ' a nai ' isi ai ta r i oha wa i
gu i ' un u a tana ' o , s tay t h e r e u n t i t I te t t y o u .
Gene ral e xp re s s i ons o f t ime and p l ace be long rathe r t o the d i c t i on ary
than to a grammar .

(v) D i re c t ive s
Two re lators o f imp o r t an c e are m a i , mo veme n t s t owards t he s p e a k e r
and w o u , m o v e me n t away from t h e s p e a k e r . S u c h re lators are common
t hroughout O c e ani a , i n c luding P o l y ne s i a ; m a i is common to mo s t of the
l anguage s , b ut w o u appe ars t o b e a l o c al form . Examp l e s : 'oi bo i ma i ,
come h e re ! ; ' oi ' ari w o u , g o away ! ; ' 0 h a ' a a t a r i a ma i , s e n d him h e r e ! ;
'0 h a ' a a t a r i a wou , s e n d him away ! The d i re c t i ve s are not u s e d s o
c ommonly a s i n P o l y ne s i an languages , and i n many i n s t an c e s where there
i s u s e o f them i n s u ch a language as Maori they are not found i n the
Aro s i u t t e ranc e . Whe re they are found they imp l y act ual movement .
 83

( vi ) Re l a t o r s of a c c o mp a n i m e n t

The normal re l a t o r i nd i c at i ng w i t h , a l ong wi t h , i s b e i a , wh i ch has

alre ady b e e n d i s cus s e d as one of the ve rb al i s e d re lators . There is a
s e cond , howe ve r , h a ' i , wh o s e us e i s d i f ferent . It i s an adve rb i al
format ive , and the glo t t al s t op is not always p re s ent . (a) Indi c at i n g
a qual i t y o f a c t i on : h a ' i ahugoro, wi t h a c h e e rfu l ( g o ro ) heart ( a h u ) ,
c h e e rfu l l y : Fox ' s e xamp le i s ra t a u ' a rona i mou h a i ' ahugoro, t h e y w o rk e d
t h e garden c h e e rfu l l y ; o t h e r s are h a ' i t o ' o n i , w i t h c l o t h i n g , clothed;
ha ' i hasus , c h i l d b e a ri n g ; and s u c h a comp ound noun a s h a ' i h o ' o , w i t h
b o nds , a p ri s o n e r . (b ) W i t h l o s s o f glo t t a l s t op , h a i - al s o o c c urs :
ha ' i doudou , h a i doudou , with weeping, s ad l y , b u t Fox d i s t i ngui s h e s a
ch ange of me aning w i t h l o s s of g l o t t a l s t op , and i n s t an c e s h a ' i d o u d o u ,
w i t h l o n g i n g , as agai n s t h a i d o u d o u , l o ng i n g fo r ano t he r .
Th i s h a ' i - , h a i - would s e e m t o b e t h e s ame p r e f i x that i s us e d w i t h
k i n s h i p t e rms : h a ' i - ama - d a , fa t h e r and s o n , a fa t h e r w i t h h i s c h i ldren ,
and i n t h i s c a s e the 3rd p lural marke r - d a i s u s u a l l y p re s ent ; h a ' i h u n g ­
od a , a man a n d h i s fa t he r - i n - l aw , and a numb er o f o t her c o mp ounds whi ch
w i l l be found l i s t e d i n the d i c t i onary .
Where w i t h imp l i e s i n s t rume nt and not a c c ompanime n t , t h e r e l a t o r i s
I i ni , already t re a t e d .

C.3. A r o s i S t o ry a n d D i s c o u r s e A n a l y s i s

I n the pre c e di ng Grammar no a t t emp t has b e e n made t o de al w i t h

language ab ove the s e n t e n c e l e ve l , a l though a comp l e t e covering o f t h e
l anguage w o u l d demand t h a t s u � analy s i s b e unde r t ak e n . F o r th i s
r e a s o n a short pas s age o f a t r ad i t i onal Aros i s t ory i s here t aken and
l o o k e d at from the viewp o i nt of the narrat ive s t y le and the s en t e n c e
l inking p r o c e s s e s e mp l oy e d .
The p as s age i s t aken from the b eginning o f a s t ory re c orded and
p ub l i s h e d by Dr C . E . Fox and Re v . F . H . Drew , ' Be l i e fs and Tale s of San
C r i s t oval ' , ] o u�nal 0 6 t h e R o yal Anth� o p o l o g �cal I n� t�tut e of Great
B r i t a i n and I re l and , Vol . XLV ( 19 1 5 ) , pp . 2 1 7 - 2 0 . Th e t e x t is then
f o l l ow e d by s ome c omme n t s o n the s t ru c t ure o f the n arrat i ve s ty l e
e xhib i t e d , on t h e as s ump t i on that i t i s a fai rly t yp i c a l e x amp l e o f i t s
ge nre . S ome rearrangeme nts o f spe l l i ng ( i n addi t i on t o the i ns e rt i on
o f g l o t t a l s t op ) and t rans l at i on have b ee n made . Paragraph d i v i s i on
as g i v e n here i s not p art of the p ub li sh e d te x t . The t r ans l a t i o n i s
that u s e d b y the authors o n p . l S O o f t h e i r art i c le . The s e n t e n c e s are
numb e re d , and the p au s e s or b r e ak s w i t h i n i t , mark e d orthograp h i c a l l y
84

b y c ommas , c o l ons and fu l l s t op s , are i ndi cated here b y up ri ght l i ne s ,

vary ing i n numb e r a c c ording t o the l e ngth of the p au s e imp l i e d :

I e q u i v alent t o a c omma ,
II e q u i v a l e n t t o a s em i - c o l o n or c o l on ,
III e q u i valent t o fu l l s t op or que s t i o n mark i n a we s t ern s t y le t e xt .
What appears mos t c learly i s the art i fi ci a l i t y o f s uch a marki n g
s y s tem i n a n o r a l l i t e rary i t e m . T h e nat i ve s p e ak e r d o e s not u s e t h e
s ame var i e t y o f p aus e s as d o e s the Europ e an s t ory - t e l le r . The p aragraph
a l s o i s a rather art i fi c i a l div i s i on . I t i s u s e d here t o mark a c le ar
trans i t io n from one s t age t o another of the s t ory .
C e rt ai n di f fe re n c e s in the manne r o f s t ory- t e l l ing a l s o make t hem­
s e l v e s n ot i c e d . It i s , for i n s t ance , not s ta t e d that the u r i frui t was
a s p i r i t in changed form; b y a nat i ve aud i e n ce t h i s wou ld at l e as t b e
s u sp e c t e d and c e r t ai n ly would cau s e n o di ffi c u lt y ; when the s p i ri t
change s b ack i n t o h i s own s h ap e the aud i e n ce would find no di ffi c u lt y .
That s u ch a s i t u a t i o n c o u l d ari s e i s p art of the c u l t ural s i tuat i o n
as s ume d b y t h e narrat o r b u t unfami l i ar t o t h e we s t erner - f o r whom , o f
c o ur s e , t h e s t ory w a s n e ver de s i gne d !
F o l lowing the sugge s t i on s o f Longacre , the s t ory t e x t i s marked t o
s how the fo l l ow i ng s tr u c t ure s : fi r s t ly , a contrast o f n u c l e us ( th e
m a i n s t at ement o f the u t t e ranc e ) and pe ripheri e s ( addi t i ona l de t a i l s
o f vari ous k i nd s ) . From t h e d i s course viewp o i nt t h e s en t e n c e may b e
regarded a s c ons i s t i ng o f ± P + N ± P , i n which N repre s e n t s an
n n n
ob l i g at ory n u c l e u s , and P repre s e n t s an opti onal p e ripherous e l ement .
The re may b e any numb e r o f each of the s e , and thi s fa c t i s marked b y a
s ub s c r i p t n . The commone s t s en t e n c e type s are :

TYPE SUBTYPE

1 . re c ap i t u l a t i o n
2 . p araph ras e rep e t i t i on
1. j ux t ap o s i t i on
3 . s e quence
4 . e cho q ue s t i on

1. c o-o rdinate ( an d )
2. c o n c a t e nat i on 2. ant i t h e t i c al ( b u t )
3. a l t e rnat i ve ( o r )

1. gene ral ( i f )
3. imp l i c at i on 2. cont rary t o fac t ( i f i t had b e en )
3 . co rre l at ive ( a s as )• .

1. dire c t
4 . q u o t at i on 2. indire ct
 85

The p e riphe r i e s are marke d as f o l l ow s :

PA a t t e n t i o n marke r s , vo cat i ve s , e t c .
PE e x c l ama t i o n or e mphas i s
PL l i nk i ng word o r c l au s e

S ome s p e c i al c o nd i t i on :

PM manne r o f a c t i o n
PP p l a c e o f the a c t i on ( w h e r e , there )
PR rea s on or p urp o s e ( b e cau s e , s o t ha t )
PT t ime c laus e or word ( t hen . . . )

Other P - t yp e c l aus e s may int rodu c e :

PI i f c laus e s , imp l i c a t i ons ( s e e a l s o 3 ab ove )

PC c onc e s s i o ns ( a l t h o ug h )

The re i s b ound t o be a sub j e c t i ve e lement i n the analy s i s o ffered

b e low , b ut it w i l l at l e a s t give i n i t i al g u i d ance t o the mor e de t a i l e d
s t udy o f s e n t e n c e c onne c t i on and di s c ou r s e analy s i s . The t e x t fo l low s .

Na Onioni ' i n i a H a s i ho n u e ' ero

1. 2 : 1 -- --- - - - -+ I:2 -- --------- ->-

III Ma e rua h a i wa i I na s a e rnw a n e na a tana ia B w o r o u h a r i rn a rn u

And two marry t h e m a n ma l e nam e - h i s B.

1 : 2 --------- .----- - ----- - -- - - - -+-

2. 2:1 -+-

rn a na a tana i u rao ana S a u rn a rn a r u i t a ' a r u III rna ra ru

name - h e r t h e woman h i s S. a n d t h e y - tw o

+-- PP -+ 2:1 ----- - -- - --+

3. 1:3
na- i orn a a adarua II I Mia S. a bwote I rn a ra ru a ' ari
a t - t h e v i l l ag e t h e i r - two And S . co n c e i ve and t h e y - two go
- P P --- --- -+ 4. 2 : 1 --------------------......
suria i one I rn a ra r u ' o rn e s i a i hua i uri
a l o n g - i t t h e s ho r e and t h e y - two s e e - i t t h e fru i t ( o f) a n u r i

- PP (1 : 3) ------ 2 : 1 ------
na ta res i a h u r a ' a rn a i sur i a i wa i raha II rn a gu hatara
that float out h i t h e r a l o ng - i t t h e wa t e r b i g an d t h e n r e a c h

+-- PP 2:1 -+ 5. 2:1

na- i one I rn a raru haua I II rn a r a ru ha ' a te oan i II
t o - t h e s ho r e and t h e y - tw o s e i z e - i t . and t h e y - two s ay t hu s :

6. 4:1 -------­
"na hei na wa rn a i i ' ei i hua i uri
w h e re t h a t o r i g i n a te h i t h e r a t - t h e r e t h e fru i t ( o f) t h e u r i
86

-- 7. 2:1 1:3
n i 7" III ma ra ru suu r i a i ta ' e t an i I raru ta ' e III
this ? " A n d t h e y - two carry - i t t h e sma t t - canoe t h e y - two embar k .

8. 2:1 1:3 • pp .
ma ra ru I ari wo u raru 5 i ri su r i a i wa i raha III
and t h e y - tw o go out t h e y - two e n t e r a t ong- i t t h e w a t e r b i g .

9. 2:1 � 10. 4:1 -+

mea B. a oan i ' ini a u rao an a

s. II II l o i kukuha h a ' ago roh i a
and B . h e t hu s t o - he r w ife h i s s . you-shaH cover carefu H y - i t

4 : 1 ( PT ) -�

i abe I ma na- i oha gara I i suu r i a I bobo

t h e b o dy a n d a t - t h e t i m e w e - tw o - s ha t Z fo H ow - i t t h e s i de (of)

PP 1:3 --

i uri boh u ra ' a ma i I ma i ' oe '0i ab u I i 5i ri wou

the uri o u tw a rds h i t h e r and y o u y o u - s h a t Z s ha Z t - no t e n t e r o nwards

+----- PT ----->- 1:3 - --+

na- i ohana i u t ao r a na I 9a ra I i ta ' e raurau ahoi . " III

a t - t h e t i m e - i t s a s un s howe r t h a t w e - two - s ha t Z embark q u i c k t y aga i n " .

1l . 2:1 - -� +-- PP �

ma r a ru uri sio wou I na- i mu r i n a b a ' a ro

and t h e y - two p i ck u r i o nwards a t - t h e b a ck - i t s o v e r hanging

boa ra ' a wou III

o u twards o nwards .

12 . 2:1 ---- · -------- --- -- ----+-

1: 3-
ma na a d a ro a gu orisia aho i a gu ru
and t h e � p i r i t i t t h e n change - i t again i t t hen come - do w n

- +-- - 1:3 1 3 . 1 : 3 ------------....

ma i I mana na gu u taora III mana a d a ro 51 ha ' aheuheu
h i t h e r and - i t i t t h e n s u n s h o w e r . A n d - t he s p i r i t t h a t change -form

-----+- PR ------ 14 . 1: 2 ------ �

I i n i a do na u ra o s i III na a t ana i a d a ro 5 1 ia
a t - i t s o - t h a t t h e woman t ha t . T h e n am e - i t s t h e s p i r i t t h a t

15 . 1 : 3 --- 4 : 1- -+ +- P R -+
Warungae III a h a ' a te oan i I I " g a ra ' i ta ' e raurau I a gas i
w. i t speak t hu s : w e - tw o - s ha t t embark q u i c k t y test

-------++ 16 . 2 : 1 -------�
gu n g a u g a ra a i a Wa rungae" III ma ra ru ta ' e mana a d a ro
then eat u s - two and t h e y - two embark and - t h e s p i r i t

------ � P R -----+- 17 . 1 : 3 - -- ---

si a ta ' e i na ' o III mea
and B .
B. na ta ' e mu r i a
h e embark be h i n d he p add Z e -away - w i t h
h a r u t a ng a ' i n i
t h a t i t emb ark i n fro n t

-----+-

ra rua III
t h e m - two .
 87

18 . PT 1:3 --- --
ma oha raru h u r a ' a mau wou I I ia S . urao ana
and t i m e t h e y - two g o - o u t s t i l l o nwards S . wife h i s

1:3 2 : 1 - ---'-- -+
mo ' o si a gu bo i ome I ma raru bwa n i ta ' e I
t h a t - o n e y o nder s h e t h e n come l o o k and t h e y - two a l r e ady e m b a r k

2:1 1:3 4:1 1:1 1 : 3 --+

I I
ma awa r a a h a ' a te oa n i I I i nau ni I nau mau ni II e na
and cry s h e s ay thus : "I this I s t i l l this a

19 . 2 : 1 --------�
a d a ro '0 r u t a ng i a S i lO II ma n a a d a ro a h a ' a t e oa n i II
s p i r i t y o u carry - i t t ha t " . and- t h e s p i r i t i t say thus :

1 : 2 --------� 1:2 ------ ._ ._----- 1 : 3 ---+

lO a pwa r i ' i naas i a a d a ro nana gu naa s i I '0
dece ive s t h a t o n e , a s p i r i t t h a t - o ne t h e n t ha t - o n e , y o u - m u s t

1:3 ------
ha ruta rau rau I a gas i ngau g a raalO III
p add l e q u i c k l y i t l e s t ea t u s - two " .

20 . 2: 1 .... 2 : 1 -------- -- -
ma n a u ra o si a toto ro m a t oo I ma ra ru ' ai ' a
and- t h e woman t h a t s h e ca l l - o u t i n - v a i n and t h e y - two n o t

----- - 2:1 ->-

a ra i s u r i a I ma hu ra ' a suri a i rauna i suu I

agre e - t o - he r a n d g o - o u t a l o ng - i t t h e s i de - i t s t h e harbo u r

2:1 2 : 1 --------+
ma ' ome - h a ' a i a ra rua I ma ra ru ahun i a III
and s e e - m a k e - l o s t t h e y - two and t h e y - two l o s t - t o - s i g h t - h er .

The fo l lowing i s the free t r an s l a t i o n as g i ve n b y Fox and Drew

( p . 1 8 0 ) of t h e i r art i c l e :

T w o p e o p l e w e r e ma r r i e d; t h e name of t h e m a n w a s Bwo r o u harimamu and

the n ame of his w i fe wa s S aumama ru i t a ' aru . T h e y l i ve d in t h e i r v i l l ag e
by the shore . Wh e n Saumamaru i t a ' a r u was a b o u t to b e ar a ch i ld , t h ey
w e n t for a wa l k a l o ng t h e s an d , and t h e y saw a fru i t of t h e u r i
( S p o nd�a� d ul c�� ) , w h i c h t he cur r e n t had carri e d o u t from t h e n e i g h b o u r ­
i n g r i v e r and t h e s e a had wa s he d up o n t h e b e a c h ; a n d t he y t o o k i t a nd
a s k e d o n e ano t h e r w h e n c e i t co u l d have com e . So t h e y car r i e d down t h e i r
cano e , l au n c h e d i t t h ro ug h t h e s u r f an d padd l e d a lo n g t h e c o a s t un t i l
t h e y came t o t h e mo u t h o f t h e r i v e r , i n t o w h i c h the y t u r n e d . Bwo r o u ha r i ­
mamu t o l d h i s wife Saumam a ru i ta ' aro to c o v e r up carefu l l y h e r b o dy , and
said t o her, "When we l and w e s ha l l g o t o t h i s s ide o f t h e u r i , t h e s i de
n e are s t to u s , and don ' t y o u go in t o t h e far t h e r s i d e ; and w h e n t he r e
i s a s u n s ho w e r we mus t hurry i n t o o u r cano e " . So t h e y w e n t a l o ng
88

g a t h e r i n g t h e fru i t , b u t t h e woman wandered away t o t h e far t h er s i de

of t h e t r e e u n d e r an o v e rhanging b r a n o h . T h e n t h e w o o d L and s p i r i t
b e oame o ha n g e d a g a i n a n d oame dow n from t h e t re e , and t h e n t he r e w a s a
suns hower, and t he s p i r i t t o o k t h e form of t h e woma n . T h e n ame of t h e
s p i r i t w a s Warunga e . T h e n t h e s p i r i t s a i d t o t h e man , "Come , jump
q u i ok L y i n t o the oanoe w i t h me or Wa rungae w i L L s e e u s and d e v o u r u s . "
So t h ey e m b a r k e d , Wa rungae fi r s t and t h e n Bwo r o u ha rimamu , w h o t o o k t h e
s t ee r i n g padd L e , a n d t h e y padd L e s away down t h e r i v e r . A n d n o w Sauma ­
maru i ta ' aru oame b a o k from t h e far t h e r s i d e o f t h e t r e e and saw h e r
h u s b a n d a n d t h e s p i r i t padd L i ng away a n d a L ready s ome dis tanoe o ff .
She b eg a n s ho u t ing and oa L L ing o u t t o h e r hus band, " H e r e I am, h e r e I
am , i t ' s I mys e L f, b u t t h a t i s t h e e v i L s p ir i t y o u are oarry ing o ff
w i t h y o u in y o u r oano e ! " Bu t t h e sp iri t s a i d to h i m , "A h , w h a t a o L e v e r
de oe i v e r , t h a t i s t h e s p i r i t h im s e L f a L L t h e t ime ; padd L e h ard o r h e
wi L L devour us b o t h " . I t w a s a L L i n v a i n t h a t t h e w i fe s h o u t e d h e r s e L f
h o a r s e o n t h e b a n k , fo r n e i t h e r o f t hem p a i d any fur t he r a t t e n t io n t o
h e r , b u t padd L e s a L o ng the edge o f t h e harbour un t i L t h e y w e r e b o t h
Los t to sight .

The re i s much more of the s t ory wh i ch is not quoted here ; the t e x t

o f t h e fir s t s e c t i o n h a s b e e n gi ven for purp o s e s of l i ngu i s t i c anal y s i s
only . There ar e s ome t h i ng s t hat are not c l e ar t o the European reader ,
e v e n w i t h a l i te rary t rans l a t i o n s u ch as that given b y Fox and Drew .
For i ns tanc e , the r e l e van c e o f the u t a o r a , the s unshower is not o b v i ou s
unt i l i t i s known that e v i l s p ir i t s w e r e l i ab l e t o t ake p o s s e s s ion o f
p e op l e c aught i n s uch a shower - and t h i s i s e x a c t l y what was happening
here , or rathe r , he took the opportun i t y t o u s e the form o f the fru i t
fi r s t a n d t h e n o f t h e woman . Point s s u ch as the s e are not li ngui s t i c
b u t n e e d t o b e known for fu l l c omprehens ion .
Up t o t h e p r e s ent , very l i t t l e work has b e en done on d i s cour s e
anal ys i s , and prac t i c al ly no ne on Me l ane s i an language s . In the fol l ow­
ing not e s , mat e r i al pub l i s h e d by R . E . Longacre has b een u s ed to s up p l y
the i n i t i al s t age s o f s u c h analy s i s . *
The p a s s age given here i s fai r l y t y p i c a l o f much Melane s ian s t ory ­
t e l l ing . The s t y l e is s i mp l e . The r e are no c onj unct ions ( re l a t ors )
except rn a , and . P o ly ne s i an s e nt e n c e c onne c t i ons are o ft e n more e laborat e

*R . E . L o n g a c r e , VI� c o u� � e , Pa�a g �a p h a nd S e n � e n c e S��uc�u� e In S el e c� ed

P hIlI ppIne Lang uag e� , 3 v o l s . , S an t a An a , C al i f o r n i a , 1 9 6 8 , a n d ' T h e
N o t i on o f S e n t e n c e ' , G eo �g e�own M o n o g � a p h S e�Ie� o n L a ng uag e� a nd
LIng uI� �Ic� , N o . 2 0 ( 1 9 6 1 ) , 1 5 - 2 7 .
 89

t han thi s , and Indone s i an t e x t s certainly carry more marks o f art i s try .
There are no s ub o rdi nat e c laus e s in the mat erial u s e d here . Such forms
e xi s t , and they have b e e n d i s cus s e d in the b ody of the grammar , but
they are not so w i d e l y used b y the native as b y Europe ans trans l at i ng
from a Europ e an l anguage i nt o a Me l ane s i an language - and t o that e x t en t
e ve n the b e s t t rans la t i o n s a r e o ft e n non-nat ive in t h e i r s t yl e . The
nat i ve narrator may take great i nt e re s t in the s t ory , but it is t h e
c ontent t h a t i n t e re s t s him rather than l ingu i s t i c emb e l l i shment s .
The marking o f p aragraph s , s e n t e n c e s and the ir subdivi s i ons here
c orre s p o nd s t o European conc e p t s rather than nat ive , b u t they are b a s e d
o n var i a t i o n s i n i nt onat i on pat terns u s e d b y the narrator . The s t o r i e s
are , o f c ours e , n o t - o r not y e t - wr i t t e n by t h e nat ive s p e akers o f
the l anguage , unle s s a t a s t age o f cons iderab le s ophi s t i c at i on under
Euro p e an i n fl uenc e s .
N o t a l l p o s s ib le s en t e n c e t y p e s are i l lus t ra t e d in the ab ove pas s age ,
b u t i t d o e s p r e s e n t e x amp l e s o f

1. s imp l e l i nked s t at ement s , j oined b y ma , and

2. j ux t ap o s e d s t at ement s , not f ormal ly linked at a l l : s e e 16 and
17 e s p e c i a l ly . Thi s expre s s e s e x c i t ement and vividne s s . It is far
l e s s usual t han c o n c at enat i o n b y me ans of ma o

The r e are no examp l e s of imp l i c a t i o n c l au s es ( if ) , b ut there are o f

t ime c l aus e s ( w h e n , o h a - s e e 9 and 1 6 ) . S equence i s s h own b y g u
( fut ure gu ' i i s not s h ow n ) - s e e 1 1 and 1 6 .
Quo t at i on c l aus e s appe ar i n 5 , 9 , 1 4 and 1 8 ; t h e s e are a l l d i re c t
q ue s t i on s . The re i s n o i ndire c t quot a t i o n form i n Aro s i ; Engl i s h h e
s a i d h e w o u l d g o b e c ome s what the s p e aker a c t ual ly s ai d - he said, "I
w i l l go " ; he a s k e d me to g o b e come s he a s k e d me t hu s , "Wi l l y o u g o ? "
The q u o t a t i o n marker o a n i wh i ch o c curs a numb er o f t ime s i s e xp l ai ne d
in C . 2 . 2 . i i . as a form wh i c h p o i n t s forward t o s o me t h i n g about t o b e
s ai d ; o a s i o n the other hand p o i nt s b ack t o s ome t h i ng already s ai d -
a di s t i n c t i on l a c k i ng in Engl i s h .
The analy s i s gi ve n here is not carr i e d through into de t ai l ; t yp e o f
s e n t e n c e , divi s i on o f nuc leus and p e riphery a s developed b y Longacre ,
have not b e e n pre s en t e d . Thi s would require more s t udy than has y e t
b e e n p o s s ib le . What h as b e e n d o n e aims t o show the main di ffere n c e s
b e tw e e n Aro s i o r a l l i t e r ature and Europe an l i t e rary s t y le s . Other
t y p e s o f spe e ch , e . g . p r o c e dural , e x p l a i n i ng ' how t o do i t ' , wou l d need
to be s t ud i e d als o .
 90

N e i ther h a s Aro s i poe t ry b e e n ment i o ne d : b eyond a few s p e c i me n s o f

s ongs i n F o x ' s work i t has n o t even b e e n c ol le c t e d . N o att empt i s made
here to i l lus t ra t e p oe t ic comp o s i t i on . Song is c omp o s e d to be s ung
among p e o p l e s s u c h as the Aros i , and e thnomu s i c o l o gy i s not p art o f
the grammar o f a l anguage . The a c c ount o f the l anguage given h e r e may ,
howe ver , s e rv e t o l e ad s tu de n t s t o c o n t i nue the s t udy , and c arry i t
i n t o t h e s e o t h e r re alms o f l i t e r at ure , b ot h p r o s e and verse , whi ch w o u l d
e n l arge the p r e s e n t w o r k t oo mu ch , e ven i f the author were c ap ab l e o f
doing i t . I n the ab s e nce o f l i t erary s t udi e s o f Me l ane s i an l anguage s ,
the fur ther app l i c a t i o n o f any type o f di s c o ur s e analy s is t o t hem i s
overdue and w o u l d b e wel c ome d .

Capell, A. Arosi grammar.

B-20, iv + 94 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1971. DOI:10.15144/PL-B20.1
©1971 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.