24hi ke ti ho
The news
This final grammar chapter introduces four small particles for the source a speaker claims: hi, direct perception; ke, inference from particular signs; ti, a report from another source; ho, background assumption. They stand with the other verb-particles. None certifies truth or honesty; each makes the claimed source audible. Something has happened at the well:
SceneI
lopia lue phitura shua. lopia haolu.lopiasuliwa mua phitura nai. mia suliwa hi nila.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| suliwa | su · li · wa | snake |
| hi | hi | (I perceived it myself) |
A snake at the well, and the child says hi: perceived directly, in this case with the eyes. hi does not outrank the other particles or guarantee accuracy. It puts the child on record as a witness.
SceneII
sulae shua.sulaesuliwa ti nai. siora mia shane.wheo kau phitura thalo. wheo muila nila.wheosuliwa ke nai. mia suliwa ma nila. mia mua muila ruela nila.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ti | ti | (someone told me) |
| ke | ke | (I infer it) |
sulae marks the snake report with ti because siora ran ahead with the news; the particle says where the claim came from, not whether sulae knows it to be true. The elder walks to the well, sees no snake, and notices a winding trail in the earth. The elder says ke: inferred from those signs. Three people now hold three different relations to the same report.
SceneIII
phaosuliwa ki ho wepu. suliwa lo miona ma lothea.wheolia. suliwa maeli nolika nai.lo mia mua phitura phialu kolua. mawha suliwa.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ho | ho | (I assume it) |
| lothea | lo · the · a | love |
The parent assumes (ho) that the snake has gone, since snakes do not love crowds. Perfective ki marks the departure as complete while ho gives the claim its assumed source. The elder agrees: a quiet animal. Water is fetched; no snake remains; nobody was bitten or otherwise harmed. The snake too remains unharmed. And there, in the parent's sentence, one word the whole book has been saving: lothea. Love. You will meet it properly in the texts.
SceneIV
shero shua. lopia nophi shane.lopiamia suliwa hi nila. sulae ti sano. wheo ke sano. phao ho sano.wheolia. theula miona shewo haolu.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| shewo | she · wo | true |
The child retells the day as a study in sources: I perceived; sulae received a report; the elder inferred; the parent assumed. The elder then says that everyone spoke truly. That is a later judgement within the story, not a gift conferred by the particles. A witness can be mistaken, a report unreliable, an inference poor, or an assumption wrong. Phi keeps claimed source, truth, and confidence as separate questions.