13ma
What is not
Part III is about people together, and it begins with the smallest sentence-changer in the language: ma, not. It stands where the time particles stand (touching the verb, after them if both appear) and it turns any sentence you own into its shadow. A quiet morning of things not happening:
SceneI
pheralu ma lepa.howeli ma shua.lo neparu ma shua.waero welao nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ma | ma | (before the verb: not) |
No rain falls, no wind comes, no clouds come, and the sky, said without ma, is good. Negation in Phi is not gloom; half the time it is how you notice a fine day.
SceneII
melu ha ma nai.ne sulae ha ma nai.A person's name, wearing a little word; chapter sixteen explains both.lopia lue ponu nila.ruela maeli nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ruela | ru · e · la | path |
The friend is not here. The child looks out from the door; the path is quiet. Absence is a thing Phi can say plainly (is-here, not) without drama.
SceneIII
sulopa mua tomi ma nai.mawha nuora mua wonepa nai.lopia phao nila.phao sulopa pa pharelo.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| mawha | ma · wha | no, none (before a noun) |
No soup in the pot; no food at all on the table: mawha before a noun empties it the way lo fills it. The child looks at the parent. The parent, who can read a look, begins cooking the soup.
SceneIV
misheko ma thalo.misheko ma wile.misheko ma wishe.misheko ma meliho.misheko nulae.
A complete portrait of the cat, in negatives: does not walk, does not play, does not swim, most certainly does not sing. The last line needs no ma at all, and never has.