16ne sulae
Visitors
People have names, and Phi gives them two small companions. ne stands directly before a name. Its position makes the use as a proper designation explicit even when the same form is also a content word. kona calls to someone from outside the sentence, like a hand raised in greeting. And pi, at the very front, marks the utterance as polite or considerate. Today the friend from the well gets her name and brings company:
SceneI
melu shua. melu nomei ne sulae nai.we thiku miona shua.thiku miona nomei ne siora nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ne | ne | (announces a name) |
| nomei | no · me · i | name |
| we | we | also (before the added thing) |
The friend's name is sulae; a small person also arrives, and the small person's name is siora. Two grammar gifts in one scene: ne before every name, and we, also, standing before the thing it adds, exactly where you would now expect Phi to put it. (Chapter eighteen makes it official.)
SceneII
phaokona ne sulae. whelani.sulaemea. kona lopia. kia.lopiakia. kona ne siora. wa thia wile.sioralia.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| kona | ko · na | (calls: o, hey) |
Calling by name (kona ne sulae) or by role: kona lopia, child. The call stands first, its own little sentence, and then the real sentence follows. The children require one question to reach an understanding.
Three more small words may follow ne, and the household uses all of them on the same guest:
phaokona ne sa sulae.lopiakona ne ni sulae.wheokona ne le sulae.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| sa | sa | (after ne: with respect) |
| ni | ni | (after ne: with closeness) |
| le | le | (after ne: for a role held among neighbours) |
One guest, called three ways in one afternoon. None of the three ranks her. Each records how the speaker holds the relation: the parent's respect, the child's fondness, the elder's regard for what she does in the village. She is the same person after all three.
SceneIII
sulaepi wa lo mia mua thepalu meilo.phaolia. pi no shua.lo shia mua thepalu meilo.lo lopia mua thepalu wile. we lohau wile.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| pi | pi | (at the very front: politely) |
| meilo | me · i · lo | sit |
May we sit in the garden? pi marks the question as polite before it begins and leaves the question itself intact. The answer returns the courtesy: please, come. The grown people sit; the children play; the dog has reviewed both options and chosen correctly.
SceneIV
siorakona misheko. kia.misheko ma shua.siorakona ne misheko.The guest tries treating misheko as the cat's proper designation, in case that was what the household meant.misheko ma shua.sulaemisheko ro nulae.lopialia. theula thimu.
The visiting child calls the cat, then tries again as though misheko were its name. The cat declines both calls equally. sulae states the household pattern; the child confirms it with chapter twelve's favourite exaggeration. Always.