Phi practice The three slots

Reading 8 of 13

Part 7

Slot 2: the nesting phrase

ha lo melu is not a loose handful of particles. ha reaches across lo melu, while lo supplies the plurality inside that demonstrative phrase. Slot 2 orders such layers from wider scope to narrower scope:

we / li > ha / ra > lo / numeral > ko > degree > word

The broadest addition or restriction comes first, followed by deixis, quantity, focus, and degree. The content word arrives last.

ha lo melu
(these friends)

ra nu wi shiro
(that second tree)

ha mo ko mioru peloru
(this most beautiful flower)

we ha melu
(this friend too)

li ha lo melu
(only these friends)

we and li do not stack on the same phrase. Three local constructions also keep fixed internal orders: mo ko forms the superlative, ne precedes an honorific, and nu precedes the numeral it makes ordinal.

01li: restriction

li restricts the identity of the constituent in its scope.

li shia sano.

RESTR 3SG know.

(Only they know.)

li ne sulae ruela sano.

RESTR NAME sulae path know.

(Only sulae knows the path.)

The restriction does not apply directly to a quantity. English "only three eggs" may mean an exact count or an insufficient amount. Phi gives the count as ta shao lipha powea; when it falls short of a need, henoi ma nai. says so. The number does not have to perform the disappointment as well.

02ko: focus

ko selects a constituent for contrast or correction without claiming that all alternatives are excluded.

mia ko lothea sano.

1SG FOC love know.

(Love is what I know, specifically.)

ko mia thia nila.

FOC 1SG 2SG see.

(I am the one who sees you.)

The difference between ko and li is therefore practical. ko mia naphe. selects me as the helper in the present contrast. li mia po naphe. says that only I am able to help. One points; the other restricts.

Practicebuild the constituent

Use the scope order to form each phrase.

  1. these trees
  2. that second tree
  3. only this child
  4. the dog too
  5. these very beautiful flowers
  6. sulae as the only person in scope
  7. sulae as the person selected for contrast

Answers: 1 ha lo shiro. 2 ra nu wi shiro. 3 li ha lopia. 4 we lohau. 5 ha lo ru mioru peloru. 6 li ne sulae. 7 ko ne sulae. If a phrase becomes crowded enough that its noun is hard to find, a second clause is often kinder than another particle.