MATERIALS IN NEW GUINEA PIDGIN (COASTAL AND LOWLANDS)

Transcription

1 PACIFIC LINGUISTICS SeJtieJ.J V - No.5 MATERIALS IN NEW GUINEA PIDGIN (COASTAL AND LOWLANDS) by Don Laycock Department of Linguistics Research School of Pacific Studies THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Laycock, D. Materials in New guinea Pidgin (coastal and Lowlands). D-5, xxxviii + 99 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, DOI: /PL-D5.cover 1970 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.

2 PACIFIC LINGUISTICS is published by the L gu t c C Acle 06 Ca beaaa and consists of four series: SERIES A - OCCASIONA L PAPERS SERIES B - MONOGRAPHS SERIES C - BOOKS SERIES V - SPECIA L PUBLICATIONS. EDITOR: S.A. Wurm. ASSOCIATE EDITORS: D.C. Laycock, C.L. Voorhoeve. ALL CORRESPONDENCE concerning PACIFIC LINGUISTICS, and subscriptions, should be addressed to : including orders The Secretary, PACIFIC LINGUISTICS, Department of Linguistics, Schoo l of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T Australia. Copyright ( ) D.C. Laycock. First published Reprint ed ( with minor corrections ) in The editors are indebted to the Australian National University for help in the production of this series. This publication was made possible by an initial grant from the Hunter Douglas Fund. National Library of Australia Card number and ISBN

3 EVITORS' PREFACE TO SERIES V An increasing number of manuscripts and other materials has been made availab le to the editors for possible pub lication which do not appear suitable for inclusion in the existing Series A, B and C of PACIFIC LINGUISTICS, but which nevertheless constitute valuab le materials worthy of publication. It has therefore been decided to add a new series, named Series D _ Special Publications, to the estab lished series, and to include in it archival materials, texts, vocabularies, course materials, short technical manuals, and other special ty pes of materials. The previous Bulletin Series is superceded by this Series D, and Bulletins have been made a part of it. The Edi tors iii

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Edito ' P e6ace to Se ie V iii INTRODUCTION Pre 1 i mi na ri es Development of New Gui nea Pidgin Lexicon Orthography Phonology Grammar P onoun N oun Ve b Adjective Adve b P epo itional Ph a e 1 nte M gativ e Aux.ilia y Ve b Co-o dinate Clau e Subo dinate Clau e Style and Idiom MATERIALS IN NEW GUINEA PIDGIN Numeral s Nou ns Adjectives Sentences with Verbs Sentences wi th Several Verbs Condi ti onal Forms Verb List Interrogatives Possession Phrases vii vii ix xi xii xii xvii xviii xix xix xxv xxvii xxviii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii xxxv iv

5 v Equation Statents Reflexi ve Forms Reci proca l Forms Appl icative Forms Forms Indicati ng Competence and Incompetence in Carrying Out an Action Di alogues Usefu l Sentences Further Usefu l Sentences TEXTS

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7 INTRODUCTION PRELIMIN ARIES Books, like cities, and many other human artefacts, grow in many ways. Only sometimes are they planned from start to finish; at other time s they grow ad hoc, gathering accretions to meet new exigencies. of the latter type. This book is It was never planned as a full course in Pidgin, and some of its short comings in this respect may perhaps be forgiven if the course of its development is understood. The genesis of this book, and of the companion volume on Highlands Pidgin by Profes sor Wurm, was a manuscript prepared by Professor Wurm for the eliciting of native languages in New Guinea. It was designed for the novice fieldworker, and contained long lists of the vocabulary and sentences which a fieldworker should obtain in order to have a solid core of mat erial on which the basic grammar of the elicited language could be based. The arrangent of the its reflects the original purpose. Pidgin and Motu translations of the its were provided. In about 1960 or 196 1, during one of Professor Wurm 's ab sences, I received a number of requests for teaching mat erials in Pidgin ; at that stage almost nothing was avai lab le but the excellent grammar and dictionary of Rev. Francis Mihalic. l To fill the gap, I tape-recorded the Pidgin sect ion of the eliciting manual, added a small number of texts in Sepik Pidgin, and sent this off to enquirers with a photocopy of the relevant text. By the time Professor Wurm returned, the requests for this Pidgin mat erial had grown considerably. He prepared tapes of the eliciting material in Highlands Pidgin, and added some dialogues and some typical Highlands texts ; we then arranged for the taped material to be mimeographed, and the two texts, with appropriate tapes, were distributed, first by the Department of Anthropology and later by the I Grammar and Dict ionary of Neo-Melanesian, by Rev. Francis Mihalic, S.V.D., Mi ssion Press, Techny, Illinois, 1957 (and later editions, Sydney). vii

8 viii Department of Linguistics, as COU 4e in New Guinea (Sepik) Pidgin, and COU 4e in New Guinea Highland4 Pidgin. The Wurm course was somewhat longer than mine, not only because of the additional dialogues, but also because I had been more ruthless in cutting out repetitions and sent ences which were appropriate for the original eliciting purpose, but not for learning Pidgin. These two courses proved best-sellers, and were distributed widely. Many purchasers were however disappointed with the quality of the tapes, which were often copied hastily, and suffered from distortions and omissions ; nevertheless, many people with work to do in New Guinea acquired a useful grounding in Pidgin that they would not otherwise have had. When the original supply of the mimeographed courses ran out, both Professor Wurm and I were reluctant to reprint th, mainly because we were aware of their somewhat unsatisfactory nature. Also, Professor Wurm was writing an extensive manual of Pidgin ( still forthcoming, and further delayed by other work pressures ) which was to replace the two original courses. However, by the end of 1969, the need for the original courses was still apparent, and Professor Wurm and I decided, after all, to revise and reprint the original courses. This volume represents the revision of the Sepik Pidgin course, with the addition of the dialogues from the Highlands course, and an additional text. In the arrangent of material, it still betrays its origin as an eliciting manual, but this is less apparent in this edition than in the older one, because the headings have been altered slightly. New its have been added, the Pidgin has been corrected, and further repetitions have been deleted. The book now contains a wealth of material useful for the speaking of Pidgin in village contexts. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, it is somewhat lacking in vocabulary and sentences useful for the speaking of Pidgin in more Europeanised contexts - giving orders to native servant s in the household, or to ployees on a labour line, for instance. To have included these would have taken more time than can be current ly spared. This is less of a lack, however, when one realises that the vocabulary required in these situations is almost totally derived from English, so that the person who masters Pidgin from this work will have no trouble in adapting his usage to cover any eventuality. Because of the differences in the original volumes, and the revisions here incorporated, this edition differs even more from the Wurm revision of the Highlands Pidgin course, though the basic format is the same. The introductions also differ. This is somewhat unfortunate, as the two texts were intended to be comp lent ary, so that the purchaser could

9 ix choose which variety of Pidgin was mor e appropriate to his needs. The discrepanc ies cannot be eliminated at this stage without a great deal of extra work, so we can only recommend to potent ial purchasers that if they really want to know Pidgin, they should buy both volume s, and forgive us for the unavoidab le repetition. Professor Wurm's manual of Pidgin, when available, should incorporate the best from both volumes. No tapes of this volume have yet been made. The original Sepik Pidgin tapes could be used with it, but wi ll cause inevitable frustrations when the text does not mat ch the tape. It is hoped that tapes will be made later in 1970 by native Pidgin speakers, and purchasers of this volume are welcome to direct their enquiries about these to the publishers. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW GUINEA PIDGIN The ultimate origins of Pidgin are ob s cure, less because of the time elent involved than because few people ever took the trouble to record languages which were used solely for different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. But we can distinguish the ma in streams which flow into the Pidgin of today. It has for instance been claimed (by Whinnom (1965)) that all pidgins with a European language as base have a single origin in the pidginised form of Italian and Spanish known as Sabir, and widely spoken in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. A Portugese version of this was brought to the Malay archipelago and to Macao. In Macao and Hong Kong, this Portugese pidgin became adapted by the nineteenth-century English settlers of China; the Portugese vocabulary was replaced by English vocabu lary, and cont inued as a practical means of communication for about two hundred and fifty years, into the second half of the twent ieth century. The golden age of this Chinese pidgin was the mid-nineteenth century. Somewhat earlier, versions of this pidgin were taken to the South Seas, by traders in sandalwood and trepang; this language, which is known as Beach-la-Mar (from beche-de-mer, a French name for the trepang), and which is still spoken to some extent in the New Hebrides and Fij i, is the direct ancestor of Melanesian Pidgin, but shows many differences from it. By about the middle of the nineteenth cent ury two new mo tifs in the development of Melanesian Pidgin make their appearance : the development of Queensland sugar industry, and the appearance of German trading, and, later, colonial interests in the Pacific. The relative importance of these two streams has been argued (by, for example, Salisbury 1967) but it is certain that both played an important part in

10 x the development of New Guinea and Solomon Islands Pidgin. The Queensland sugar industry required large numbers of labourers who could stand tropical conditions and hard work. In the opinion of the time, it was felt that the first condition excluded white Australians, and that the second excluded Australian aboriginals, so, in 1847, the iniquitous syst of 'blackbirding' was introduced, although it was not till later that it became a maj or industry. Natives of coastal regions of Melanesia - principally the Solomon Islands, Fij i, the New Hebrides, the Louisiade archipelago, New Britain, and New Ireland - were caj oled, kidnapped or coerced by 'blackbirders ' into working for two years on the Queens land canefields. Perhaps in some cases they already spoke Beachla-Mar or some other form of pidgin; in any case, a pidginised language grew up very quickly in this artificial Queensland community. Here, too, the present-day pattern of the spread of Pidgin was first established, in that the new language tended to be used more as a means of communication between natives of quite diverse linguistic backgrounds, rather than as the vehicle of commands of white overseers. During the course of the Melanesian labour syst in Queensland, and at the end of it in 1902, natives were repatriated when their time had expired. If they were lucky, they were taken to their home islands ; others were dropped at the ships' captains' nearest gue ss as to where they had come from. But, wherever they ended up, they took Pidgin with th, and spread it through count less villages throughout Island Melanesia and New Guinea. At the same time - the second half of the nineteenth century - Germany was becoming interested in the Pacific, and German traders were operating out of Samoa as far as New Guinea. Their contact with other Pacifi c islanders, and the fact that their ship 's crews were for the most part from Island Melanesia, and already fami liar with Beach-la-Mar, helped spread Pidgin throughout New Guinea, and by the time Rabaul was fully functioning as the German administrative capital in the 1880 's Pidgin in the New Britain area had become thoroughly established - a fact which accounts for the large Tolai elent in the vocabulary of New Guinea Pidgin. The Rabaul pidgin became, in the course of time, blended with the pidgin of the returning Qu eensland labourers, and the new language spread rapidly through German New Guinea, in spite of German efforts to replace it with German. In Papua, the opposition of Sir Hubert Murray to Pidgin, and his efforts at establishing Police Motu as the lingua franca, delayed the spread of Pidgin in Papua for some time, but the extensive population movents during World War II brought many Pidgin

11 xi speakers into Papua, and the opening up of new Highlands areas in Papua has re lied on Pidgin as a lingua franca, rather than on Motu. In re c ent years Pidgin has been spreading throughout all parts of Papua and New Guinea. It is now spoken by we ll over half a mil lion people in the Territory - for the mo st part indigenes - and is thus far and away the maj ority language of Papua-New Guinea, with over twice as many speakers as English, and over four times as many speakers as Police Motu or the largest regional language (Population Census 1966). LEXICON Though New Guinea Pidgin is a 'mixed' language, it is in fact somewhat less hybrid in its vocabulary than is English. A count of the vocabulary from Mihalic 's dictionary gives the following percentages for the origins of Pidgin words : English 77%, Tolai 11%, other New Guinea languages (principally Austronesian languages of New Britain and New Ireland) 6%, German 4%, Latin 3 %, and Malay 1%. No count s have been made for running text, but one can say, impre ssionistically, that the proportion of English vocabulary may drop as low as 60%, or rise ab ove 90%, depending on the subject of dis course. Even this does not give a true picture. Less than half the German words, for example, are in common us e, and many of these are gradually being replaced by English equivalents. All of the Lat in terms are ecclesiastical, and are used only in mission contexts. The total number of words derivable from Malay is only about twenty. And claims that Pidgin has a significant proportion of Portugese, Spanish and Polynesian words are wildly exaggerated. The only Portugese words in Pidgin appear to be bi 1 inat a eca nut, pikinini chi Zd, and save know, while from Spanish we have only the two words pato du ck and kal abus p i8on. From Polynesian languages there are less than a dozen words, of which kanaka native, ka ikai fo od, lotu chu ch and taro ta o are typical. The vocabulary of Pidgin is thus no more 'mixed ' than that of any modern European language. In recent times the influx of English words has increased considerably. It rains to be seen whether Pidgin can survive the continuous influence from English without altogether losing its own identity and becoming a form of 'broken English ', such as that spoken by Australian aboriginals.

12 xii ORTHOG RAPHY Pidgin has been spelt in many ways during the course of its history. Mo st Europeans originally spelt the words of Pidgin as if they were the English words from which they were derived, so that yumi appeared as you-me. Many Europeans still spell Pidgin in this unsatisfactory fashion, but most have long since accepted the principle that Pidgin should be spelt phonetically, with consistent pronunciations given to each letter of the orthography. The mainlines of the spelling used at present were drawn up by the American linguist Robert A. Hall Jr., and most writers on Pidgin do not deviate widely from his re commendations, which are followed in Father Mihalic's dictionary. The orthography of this volume does not differ markedly from that used by Father Mihalic, or from the new proposed standardised orthography used in the translation of the New Testament l ; nevertheless, it has not been checked throughout, and some minor differences will occur. In a few cases, these differences reflect the pronunciation of the speakers of the Pidgin I know best, and are there fore an indication of slight disagreent with some aspects of the new orthography, which in any case has not as yet been widely promulgated. The reader will have no difficulty in adapting to the new orthography should he so desire. PHONOLOGY The sounds of Pidgin do not closely resb le those of English, though the phonology of Pidgin is in many ways related to that of English. The principal differences are to be found in the stops p t k b d 9, in the cont inuants 5 r and I, and in the vowels. These differences are as follows : p Always unaspirated 2 - that is, lacking the slight puff of air that follows English p in words like pit; like p in French petit. Pronounced by some native speakers, in some words, as a type of f [ J. l Nupela Testamen bilong Bikpela Ji sas Kraist, British and Foreign Bible Society, Canberra-Port Moresby, In the pronuni cation of almost all nat ive speakers. However, in a few areas, especially in the Southern Highlands, p t and k may be aspirated in all or some positions. This reflects the pattern of the nat ive languages in the area.

13 xiii 1 t Always unaspirated, unlike English t in take; like French t in tante. Pronounced with the tongue closer to the teeth (again as in French ) than English t. some speakers pronounced as 5, or r between vowels. k Always unaspirated l, unlike English k in king; like French c in coeur. Pronounced as a fricative [xj (like ch in English loch or German lachen) speakers. by some By b Often prenasalised (i.e., pronounced as if spelt mb) by native speakers of Pidgin. d Often prenasalised, as if nd. May be pronounced as r in some areas. 9 Often prenasalised, like ng in finger. 5 Pronounced with the tongue closer to the teeth than English s. May become t in some areas. r Pronounced as a flap [rj, never like the r in English words, the effect is that of a d pronounced rapidly. Pronounced as a clear flap [ I J, unlike English I; closely resbles r. o u, The orthography of Pidgin recognises only five vowel symbols, a e i and in Highlands Pidgin perhaps only five vowels Occur in the language. In coastal forms of Pidgin, however, two contrasting pronunciations are often encountered for each written vowel symbol; these are given below. Note that all vowels in Pidgin are short, or at most half-long, and that the differences between th are (with the exception of [aj and [a J) differences of quality, not quantity. The following chart sets out the ten vowel distinctions recognisable in coastal varieties of Pidgin. To these, some Pidgin speakers who have learnt English add an eleventh, as a third pronunciation of o. This is [ J, as in English court (Pidgin kot). The bulk of Pidgin speakers, however, pronounce this vowel as [oj or [DJ. 1 See footnote 2 on previous page.

14 xiv Examples: a [aj in hat hot ; similar to Australian English cut [a J in hat hard; similar to Australian English heart e [ej in wet wait; similar to French e in He [E J in bet benah; similar to Au stralian English bed [ i J in ni l nai Z; similar to French i in pique [\ J in pis fi sh; similar to Au stralian English kiss 0 [oj in ko l aozd; similar to o in French role [D J in dok dog ; similar to Australian English dog u [uj in susu breast; similar to ou in French fou [uj in pu l paddze ; similar to Australian English pu I I The re lationship between the sounds of Au stralian English and those of Pidgin can best be seen in the following table of how the spellings of some English words are adapted into Pidgin spelling : English as in becomes Pidgin as in p pig 1 p pik t tongue t l ta n 9 k key k l k i b big b bikpela d dog d dok g goal 9 gol m mouth m maus n new n nupela ng sing ng sings ing ng finger ngg pingga leg 12 lek r round r 2 rau n s soap s sop h half h hap l Unasp irated! 2 Flapped!

15 xv English as in becomes Pidgin as in w window w windua y young Y yangpela z lazy 5 1 es ch cheque-book 5 sekbuk j Japan s. 5 i Siapan j June j Jun 1 sh shame s s sh shoot s i s i u t th think t tingting th this d dispela 2 five p paip ficus f fikus 3 v veranda v veranda 4 v live r w lewa 4 w wa it w wet wh wheel w wi 1 Y young y yang x six kis s i k is qu queen kw kw in l In Pidgin j is usually pronounced as 5, and this is the preferable spelling, except in a few rare words. 2 My own feeling is that most Pidgin speakers say tispela, but the spelling with d is standard. 3 In Pidgin, f is almost always pronounced as p. The spelling and pronunciation f may be retained in rare wor ds, such as fikus rubber tree or profe ta prophet. 4 In Pidgin, v should be used ini tially only in very rare words ; it is pronounced b in this position by most Pidgin speakers. Between vowels, v is usually pronounced - and spelt _ as w.

16 xvi English as in becomes Pidgin as in a ancho r a anka a bank e benk a card a kat a sha ke e sekim e be I I Y e bel e where e we ei eight e et fish pis feel pi lim line a i lain o s t ro n g o strong o hot a hat o post o pos o more 0, oa mo, moa o floor ua plua oa boat o bot u pu I I u pu lim 00 school u skul ow now au nau oy boy 01 boi ew news i u nius eer beer i a bia ere here ia hia The above list is of course not comp lete, and there will be many exceptions. Nevertheless, it provides a useful guide for the adaptation of new words into Pidgin. STRESS Most Pidgin words in isolation are stressed on the first syllable; the mo st common exceptions tend to be verbs derived from English verbs with the so-called prepositions 'out ' and 'up', e.g. bagarimapim ru in,

17 xvii kamaut exit. Some words do not follow the stress of the English (or other language ) word from which they are derived; the following, for example, are stressed on the first syllable : banana banana, kakao cocoa, kanaka native, pikinini chi Ld. The following common words have the stress on the second syllab le : salat stinging ne ttle, sen cent, ating perhaps, bilip belief, ambrela umbre ZLa, Au stral ia l Austra Lia, Amerika America, and a numb er of ecclesiastical terms borrowed from Latin, e.g. pekato sin, kompesio confession. This last class of words may have the main stress on syllab les other than the first or se cond, e.g. mat rimon io matrimony, konsekras io consecreation, but the beginner in Pidgin can safely ignore such comparatively rare words (rare outside of mission contexts, that is ) for the time being. In general, the less common a word is, the more likely it is to retain the stress pattern of its source. If in doubt, copy the common nat ive habit of stressing the first syllable regardless; this will probably be acceptable, if not correct. Stress in noun phrases will be dealt with under grammar. GRAMMAR A comprehensive account of Pidgin grammar will not be attpted here ; the fu llest ac count is still that to be found in the introduction to Rev. Mihalic 's dictionary. Only a few salient points will be covered here. Pidgin shares with English the maj or word classes, or 'part s of speech'; of pronoun, noun, verb, adj ective, and adverb ; but it uses th with greater flexibility, so that the same 'base ' may be used as many different 'parts of speech '; thus we have strongpela ma n strong man (attributive adj ective ), ma n i strong the man is strong (insistent ) (predicative adj ective ), rop i no ga t strong the rope has no strength (noun ), stron g im pos strengthen the post (transitive verb ), and tok stron g speak LoudLy (adverb ). Not all bases can undergo so many changes, however; thus mu ruk cassowary is a noun only, gat have is a verb on ly, and tru tru Ly is an adverb only. In what follows, then, 'noun' will mean a base functioning as a noun, 'verb ' will mean a base functioning as a verb, and so on. l A better spelling of the Pidgin pronunication would be As trel ia.

18 xviii PRONOUNS Pidgin distinguishes, essentially, seven pronouns, three singular and four plural, as follows : mi I, me mipela we, us (exclusive ) yumi we, us (inclusive ) yu you yupela you he, him; she, her; it 01 they, th Note that can refer to males or fales, or to things - that is, there is no gender distinction in Pidgin pronouns. The form yu can only be used when talking to one person ; when talking to a number of people, one must say yupela. The distinction of 'inclusive ' and 'exclusive' is a feature taken over from Melanesian languages in New Guinea. One must always distinguish in Pidgin whether 'we' includes the person or persons spoken to or not. If the addressee is not included, one says mipela; if he is, one says yumi. Failure to observe the distinction can lead to misunderstandings ; thus, a missionary must say Ji sas i-da i long yumi Jesus died for us - that is, for Europeans and natives alike ; if he said Jisas i-da i long mipela it would mean Jesus died for us (missionaries ) (and not for the congregation ). The basic pronouns given above are often expanded in Pidgin by the addition of numerals specifying exactly the numb er of people involved in an action; these numerals are added to the singular pronouns, and to yumi ; thus we have mi tupela we two (exclusive ), yumi tupela the two of us (inclusive ), yu tupela you two, tupela they two. Similarly, one can say mi tripela we three, mi popela we four, mi pa ippela we fi ve, and so on. The us e of such forms is almost ob ligatory, especially when only two or three people are involved. For larger numbers, one says mipela ologeta we all (exclusive ), yumi ologeta all of us (inclusive ), yupela ologeta you all, and (less often ) ologeta they all. If it is necessary to stress that only one person is involved in the action, wanpela is used: mi wanpela i go tasol only I shall go; similarly, yu wanpela you alone and wanpela he alone. The pronouns do not change when they are the obj ects of verbs, in the way that English I changes to me. However, the third person ( ) is often not expressed after transitive verbs, it being understood after the transitive verb marker -im (see verbs, below) ; thus, i lukim mi he sees me, but mi lukim or mi lukim I see him.

19 xix After the two 'prepositional ' markers long and bilong, change s to en, and is written joined to the marker : mi go longen I go to him, papa bilongen his fa ther. Em may be used in these phrases, but it is then phatic : mi go long I go to THAT man, papa bi long that man 's fa ther. Interrogative pronouns are treated below, under Interrogatives; donstrative pronouns are treated under Adjectives. NOUNS Nouns in Pidgin are used without artic les, and have no numb er or gender; thus kapul means a possum, the possum, possums, the possums, fa le possum, ma le possum, and so on. Sometimes the third person pronouns are used to indicate numb er, and in these contexts are comparab le to the definite article in English : kapu l hia the possum here, 01 kapu l i stap long diwa i the possums in the trees. The numeral wanpela is often weaker than in English, and may be trans lated as the English indefinite article 'a' in sentences like wanpela pu kpu k stap long dispela baret there is a crocodi le in this stream. Gender may be indicated by qualifying the noun with man or me ri ; thus, pik man boar, pik me ri sow. As can be seen from these examples, nouns used as adj e ctives follow the noun they qualify (see Adjectives, below). VERBS General. Just as nouns in Pidgin do not show numb er, so Pidgin verbs do not in thselve s indicate tense - that is, the same basic verb form can be past, present, or future. Tense - and aspect, the grammatical category which specifies the nature of an action rather than the time (that is, whether the action is uncompleted, completed, intermittent, and so on) - is indicated, where required, by the use of auxiliary partic les, or by the use of time adverbs. Verbs may be transitive (have an obj ect) or intransitive (with no object). The former are, with few exceptions, distinguished by the transitive verb marker -im. Basic Paradi g m. All verbs, and any certain other types of sentence dis cussed below, require the predicate marker i when the subj ect is in the third person. After first and second person pronoun forms ending in -pe la, the use of is optional ; it is also required when an adj e ctive or adverb separates the subject from the verb ( mi tasol go only I go ). It is preferab le to write this marker as a separate word, and not to join it, whether by hyphen or otherwise, to the preceding or following word.

20 xx The negative is formed by placing no immediately before the verb, and after the predicate marker. The basic paradigm of an intrans itive verb, positive and negative, is then as follows : Positive mi kam I aome (aame, wi ZZ aome) mipela ( i ) kam we (excl.) aome yumi kam we (incl.) aome yu kam you aome yu pe 1 a ( i ) kam you aome i kam he, she, it aomes 01 i kam they aome Negative mi no kam I do not aome mipela ( i ) no kam we (excl.) do not aome yu mi no kam we (incl.) do not aome yu no kam you do not aome yu p ela ( i ) no kam you do not aome i no kam he, she, it does not aome 01 i no kam they do not aome Commands and questions expecting the answer yes or no, are not always distinguished in form from statents, though the intonation differs. Thus yupela i g07 means did you go?, and yu kam! means you aome! Commands to a group of people are often given in the third person : 01 go! (you) azz go! The predicate marker i is some times used in sharp commands : yu i go! you go! Note that answers to negative questions differ from those of English. To the question ma sta i no stap7 is the master not at home? The answer yes means yes, it is true, he is not at home, and no means no, what you say is fa s e, he is at home. This feat ure of Pidgin gives rise to many misunderstandings among beginners in the language. As mentione d ab ove, the borderline between noun, verb and adj ective in Pidgin is not always clear. Th s explains why sentences involving adj ectives or nouns, of the sort where we would use 'is' in English, are expressed in exactly the same way as the basic verb paradigm. Thus we have sentences with nouns and adj ectives like : i man he is a man; mi no dewe l I am not a spirit; yu kauns ila? are you the aounai or?; mu uk i no pisin the aassowary is not a bird l ; mi sik I am siak; l In our terms, of course, the cassowary is a bird ; but in many regions of New Guinea, the cassowary is regarded as being in a special class by itself, because it is large, and does not fly.

21 xxi diwai i hev i the tree is heavy; yupel a ora it? are you all right?, 01 me ri kros the women are angry. The number of verbs which are never transitive, and which cannot be used as adj e ct.ives, is quite small. 'l'he most common are the following : amamas be de lighted wi th, da i die, driman dream, go go, kam aome, les be tired, lukluk look, res is raae, ronewe run away, sekan meet, shake hands, sindaun sit, spik utter, stap stay, live, stori narrate, sings ing danae, sing, toktok aonverse. Transitive Verbs. The transitive verb su ffix -im can be attached to a number of bases. It can transform a 'passive ' concept into an 'active ', as we see in the pair b r uk broken/brukim to break; or else it can be regarded as a 'causative ' marker, as also in the pre ceding pair (aau se to beaome broken), and in pa i rap exp lode (intr. ) /pairapim aause to exp lode, blow up. Typical transitive verbs (which never occur without the suffix -im) are as follows : haskim ask, bekim re turn, di 1 im distribute, harim hear, ka rim aarry, ki lim hit, kisim get, mekim do, pa inim fi nd, pe im pay for, pi lim fe el, planim bury, pu tim plaae, sal im send, so im show, siubim push, tanim turn. With some verbs, the transitive verb su ffix -im can be regarded as equivalent to the use of long after an intransitive form of the same verb ; there may be a slight difference in meaning, however - compare English I hit him and I hit at him. Typical verbs of this group are bi l ipim/b i lip long believe ( in ), goapim/goap long alimb, grisim/g r is long fla t ter, poto im/poto long photograp h, singautim/s i ngaut long aa ll, tokim/tok long tell, we tim/wet long await. Sometimes the distinction may resolve an ambiguity; thus was im can mean wa tah or wash, but was long can only mean watah. A small number of common transitive verbs never occur with the su ffix -im in their basic meanings; these are gat have, ka ikai eat, plei play; save know (and compounds luksave reaognise by sight and sme l save reaognise by sme ll, pekpek exarete l, pispis urinate l, tekewe alear (tab le), and tring drink. Two of these verbs, ka ikai and tring, may occur with -im in slightly different meanings; ka ikai im me ans bite, and tringim swal low or suak. Virtually all raining Pidgin verbs can be transitive or intransitive, the former taking the marker -im and the rainder lacking it. Examp les of verbs of this type are : bi las be deaorated/bilas im deaorate, l In the expressions pekpek wa ra exarete water (have diarrhoea ) and pe kpek blut exare te blood ( have dy sentery ); pispis blut urinate blood.

22 xxii ha it be hidden/hait im hide, kamap arrive/kamapim cause to arrive, Ius lose out, be lost/1 us i m lose, undo, ro n run/ro n i m chase, s be ashamed/ sim abash, skul learn l skul im teach, tambu forbidden/tambuim fo rbid, wok work/wok im ma ke. Where a verb has two obj ects, a direct object and an indirect obj ect, the indirect obj ect is expressed by the use of the preposition long, but the decision as to which is the direct and which is the indirect obj ect is not always made in the same way as in English; compare mi gipim wanpela pik long dispela ma n I give a pig to this man with mi skul im tispela man long tok pisin I teach Pidgin to this man (but not e also English I instruct him in Pidgin ). Other verbs which take two obj ects are bekim give back, soim show, and tokim te ll. With the verbs gipim, soim, and to k im, the preposition long may be omitted, and the two obj ects then occur in the same order as in English (indirect object first ): i gipim mi pik he gives me pork, mi soim yu banara bilong mi I show you my bow, and 01 i tokim mi wanpe1a gutpela samt ing they told me some thing good. Aspect. Aspect has been mentioned ab ove as one of the characteristics of Pidgin, independent of tense. Two common aspect markers are i stap for cont inuous action, and pinis for completed action; these markers usually follow the verb directly, but i stap may precede the verb, and both markers may be separated from the verb by the direct or indirect obj ects, or both. Examples : i go i stap he is (was, wi tt be) going; i stap ka ikai he is (was, wi ll be ) eating; 01 raunim pukpuk i stap they are (were, wi ll be ) hunting a crocodi le; gipim kiau long mi pinis he gave (has given, had given, will have given) me an egg; 01 kamautim kaukau pinis they (have, had, will have) pu ZZed up the sweet potato. Hab itual action is expressed by means of the auxi liary verb save, which in other contexts means know : 01 man bilong wok long masta 01 save hatwok tumas the men ujho work for Europeans 7Jork very hard; b i po mipela save beha inim rot bi long tumbuna in the old day s we used to conform to the ways of the ancestors. Two additional markers for continuous action, which yield different meanings from that expressed by i stap, are the adverbs nau and yet. The first of these re fers to actions just having started, or just about to start, while the second expresses actions that have been going on for some time (and that one would expect to have finished) ; the usage is mo st clearly seen when the actions expressed are re lated to some other action. For example : 01 i ra unim pik; ra un im nau, na wa npe 1a man i lukim rot bilongen they hunted a pig; they had just started the hunt

23 xxiii when one man saw its tracks; 01 ka ikai nau, ba i yumi i go they are just about to start eating, so we shal Z 'le ave; 01 i ka i ka i yet, yum i wet long 01 they are stizz eating, we shazz wait for th; mipela pa inim kapul ; pa inim yet, pa inim yet, bikpela ren i kam was im mipela we were hunting possums; whi Ze we were stizz 'looking, we were caught by a heavy downpour. Another unusual aspect marker in Pidgin is the adverb nating, used to express actions which are undertaken in vain, or for no obvious purpose : yu kam bi long won7 mi kam nat ing why have you come? I haven 't come for anything; mi siutim nat ing spia i go antap I fi red an arrow into the air; mi gipim yu nating I give it to you for nothing (gratis ). Note also the special uses of mi stap nating I am not married (or: I am naked, cr : I am here for no purpose) and mi wokabaut na ting I go round naked (or: I take a strozz). Closely related in usage to the ab ove aspect markers are the directional markers i kam and i go (more common in Highlands Pidgin than in Lowlands Pidgin), which indicate whether a verb of motion describes an action which approaches the speaker or which goes away from him. Examples : i siutim spia go (or i siutim i go spia) he fi res an arrow (away) ; ston i tantan im i kam stone ro ZZs towards us. The marker i go may also be used to denote continuous action, even when movent is not involved : 01 i ka ikai i go they go on eating (contrast 01 ka ikai i stap they are eating). It is somewhat more common in this usage with nouns than with verbs : tok i go, na wanpela man i kirap nogut the tazk continued, and one man became angry; wok i go the work goes on. Very complex aspectual situat ions can be expressed by the use of two or more of these markers simultaneously, as in i toktok i go i stap pinis he finished tazking away. Tense. Tense in Pidgin is commonly expressed by the use of time adverbs with the verb - i kam tuma ra he wizz come tomorrow; i kam aste he came yes ter-day - but, in addition, clear past and future tense forms are found. The past is commonly formed by using the aspect marker pin is, but one also finds the use of the auxiliary verb bin in this context : 01 i bin siutim pik they shot a pig; i bin da i long na intin-p ipti he died in The most general future is expressed by ba i (a contraction of ba imbai, also heard), which always immediately precedes or follows the subj ect : ba i 01 man i kamap sings ing the men wizz come and dance; dispela me ri ba i haptumara i ma rit this woman wi ZZ get married the day after tomorrow; dispela diwa i ba i i pundaun this three wi ZZ fa ZZ down. Where the subject is mi or yu, the predicate marker i is used when bai follows the subj ect : ba i mi go, but mi ba i i go ; bai yu go, but yu bai i go.

24 xxiv Other future forms with aspectual overtones are expressed by the auxiliaries ken and lalk; the former is the normal way of expressing the future in Highlands Pidgin. Examples : tumara ml p ela ken I go long pies bl long yupela (or tuma ra ba l mlpela I go long pies bllong yupela) tomorrow we shall go to your vi l lage; ba lus I lalk pundaun nau the plane is about to land l. The adverb klosap nearly is often used in sentences trans latab le by an English future tense: dlspela dlwa i klosap I pundaun this tree is fa lling (will soon fa l l). Tense and aspect markers can be comb ined in various ways to express subtleties of meaning that cannot be dealt with fully here - for examp le ba i 01 dispela ma n klosap i laik mumu im pik nau these men are just on the point of roasting the pig. Reflexi ve and Reci procal. The most usual way of forming reflexive verb forms is by the addition of yet to the pronoun object of the verb : mi lukim mi yet long glas I see my self in the mirror (contrast mi yet mi lukluk long glas I my self look in the mirror). Re ciprocal action is expressed by the 'distributive ' wanpela wanpela each other; one at a time: tupela lukim wanpela wanpela they two see each other; 01 I pa itim 01, wanpela wanpela they are hitting each other. Othe r Verb Usages. Ability to carry out an action is expres sed by the auxiliary verb inap; usage varies as to whether the linking elent to the following verb should be i or long. For example : mi no inap i (or: long) karim I cannot carry it; husat i inap long (or: i) save? who would know? Emphasis in verbs is usually indicated by repetition of the verb, or by the additon of the adverb tasol only : mlpela i wok i stap, wok i stap, wok I stap, ora it, na mipela les pinis we have been working and working and working, and now we are tired; i go go go go go, i go, na beha in i kamap long pies he kept on going until eventually he arrived at the vil lage; i wok long giaman tasol he does nothing but tell lies. In spite of the fact that a small numb er of Pidgin verbs are reduplicated (haphapim share, ka ikai eat, lukluk look, pekpek defecate, pispis urinate, l Note the use of I after ken, and its ab sence after lalk, in this usage. Many Pidgin speakers appear to dist inguish ken I/la lk ( future markers) from ken be ab le/lalk I want to: yupela ken I go you wil l go, but yupela ken go you can go; mlpela lalk go we are abou t to go, but mlpela lalk I go we want to go. This usage is however nbt yet st andardised, but is recommended.

25 xxv sings ing dance, tantan im ro ll, tingting think, toktok converse), new verbs cannot be reduplicated, and there is no use of redupli cation to express phasis or repeat ed action l. Note that there are three ways of translating the English auxiliary verb can in Pidgin, depending on exactly which me aning is intended: yu p ela ken wok im haus you can (= may ) build the hou se, yupela inap i wok im haus you can ( = are ab le to) bui ld the house, and yupela save wok im haus you can (= know how to) bui ld the house. AVJECTI VES Adjectives in Pidgin may be divided into a numb er of subclasses, according to the way they are used. Most basic des criptive adj ectives precede the noun, and do not take the primary stress - that is, the primary stress of the phrase rains with the noun; however, a small number of common adj ectives follow the noun, and take primary stress. Most monosyllabic adj ectives of this class take -pela when they precede the noun (are used attributively ); these can be further subdivided according to whether or not the -pela is dropped when they are used predicat1vely. Usage fluctuates somewhat in this, but the following lists are fairly representative of the usage of good Pidgin speakers : 1) Adj ectives which usually retain -pela in predicative position : bikpela big, blakpela black, dark blue, blupela blue, braitpe la wide, 2 braunpela brown, dra ipela large, grinpela green, light blue, gutpela good, na i spela attractive, olpela old, raunpela round 3, retpe la ped, siotpela short, stron gpe la strong 4, wetpela white, yangpela young; also, all numerals, and donstratives such as disp ela this, narape la another, and sampela some. 2) Adj ectives which usually drop -pela in predicative position: dra ipela dry 2, hatpela hard, hot, kl inpela clean, ko lpel a cold, l Thi s may not be true of all Pidgin speakers. heard Buin speakers (whose own language makes cat ion as a tense marker) use phrases like it away. I have, on rare occas ions, frequent us e of reduplii karkarim i go he carries 2 Not e the contrast of pik the pig is dry. 3 Note the contrast of ha i spin (= be giddy). dra ipela the pig is large, an d pik dra i raunpela eye is round, and ha i raun eyes 4. Note contrast between man I strongpe 1 a th e man s. s t rong, and man strong the man insists, rains firm.

26 xxvi patpela fa t, sappela sharp, stretpela straight, taitpela tight, yelop ela yehow. 1 3) Adj ectives whi ch precede the noun but do not take -pela kranki odd, wrong, lapun ozd (of people ), likl ik smah, longlong arazy, longwe di stant, nambatu seaond 2, nambawan fi rs t 2, naraka in different, rabis poor, wa il wi ld, wanka in same. 4) Adj ectives which follow the noun : daun low, hait hidden, ka is left, kaki khaki, kela bald, kl ia alear, ma l omalo soft, ma rit married, mau ripe, nating p ty; us ed fo r no purpose, nogut bad, tambu forbidden, taranggu unfortunate, tru rea l, and all adj ectives of nationality or religious affiliation : Inggl is Eng lish, Siaman German, Siapan Japanese, katol ik Ca tholia, popi 3 Catholia, talat ala Protestant, Sewende Seventh Day Adventist, and so on. Nouns used as adj ectives fall into class 4, and perhaps the its listed in class 4 could all thselves be regarded as nouns, although there se a few structural pressures against this. Examples of nouns used as adj ectives are: haus sik hospital, bokis ain iron box (patro l box), pikinini man ma le ahild, buk beten prayerbook, and so on. Nouns or adj ective bases may also be compounded with nouns ; in these cases they precede the noun which they qualify, and are written as one word with it, and take the primary stress. Examples : blkbarata elder brother, blks i high seas, ha iwara flood, high tide, skul boi sahoolboy, wan tok friend. Note the distinction in meaning and stress of such pairs as haus kuk kitahen/hau skuk house-aook, haus bo i servants ' quarters/ hau sboi domestia servant. Sometimes the compounded form can be exactly equivalent to a two word phrase : nll pis/p is nil (or pis i gat nil) spiny fi sh. Often regarded as different classes of adj ectives are numerals (of which a list is given on page 1 of the text), and donstrative and indefinite adje ctives such as dispela this, diskain this kind of, l All adjectives in this class, with th e except ion of wa il, have more than one syllable, just as al l adject ives in the first two classes have one syllable (in the base form) only, with the except ion of yelo. 2 Like nambatu are nambatri third, nambapo fo urth, and so on. When nambawan, nambatu and so on follow the noun, they mean fi rst-rate, seaond-rate, and so on. 3 0ften, but not alway s, in an insult ing sense.

27 xxvii na raka in different, narapela another, ologeta all, planti many, sampela some, and wanka in same. However, the only real difference is that these adj ectives can precede other adj ectives : dispela blakpela pik these black pigs, planti bikpela diwa i many big trees, sampela lapun meri some old women. If the third person pronoun 01 is used as an 'article', it may precede or follow adj ectives of this class : 01 dispela 1 ikl ik manki or dispela 01 1 ikl ik manki these small boys. If the pronoun is used, it precedes only : dispela kranki skulmeri this odd schoolgirl. In Pidgin, there are no comparative and superlative forms of adj ectives, though the usages with mo approximate to th; varying degrees of a quality are usually expressed by the use of adverbs with the verb. The following sentence shows the approximate relationship of the different degrees of size expressible, though it must be rbered that differences of phasis can change order shown somewhat : dispela i bikpela; orait, na dispela i bikpela likl ik, na dispela i bikpela pinis; dispela i bikpe la ologeta, dispela i bi pela mo, na dispela i bikpela mo yet ; dispe la i bikpela stret, dispela i bikpela tumas, dispela i bikpela tru, dispela i bikpela tumas tru, na dispela bikpela tumas tru ologeta; na dispela bikpela bilong winim 01. this one is big; now this one is fa irly big, and this one is quite big; this one is ve y big, this one is bigger, and this one is bigger still; this one is pretty big, this one is extre ly big, this one is really big, this one is rea lly very big, and this one is really enormous; and this one is the piggest of al l. Comparison may also be expressed by mo... long, mo... olos, by juxtaposition of two statents, or by the use of win{ im} : dispela haus i mo strongpela long (or: olos) narapela this house is stronger than the other one; dispela haus i strong, na narape la i no strong this house is strong, but the other is not; dispela haus i winim narapela long strong this house surpasses the other in strength. For the strongest of all, one says strongpela bilong 01, or strongpela bilong winim 01. AVVERBS Most adj ectives in Pidgin can be used as adverbs without any modification, or by simp ly dropping -pela if they belong to class 2 above : win i kamap nupela the wind rises anew, 01 i singaut strong they ca ll loudly, mi tok tru I speak truly, i pa itim kundu kranki he beats the drum wrongly. Similarly, nouns and noun phrases can be used as adverbs, especially of time or place : long Sande mi 10tu I go to church on

28 xxviii Sunday, i go insait he goes inside, i lukluk antap he looks up. Only a small numb er of words can be regarded as being primarily adverbial in their function, and even some of these have been discussed previously, in other contexts ; the common ones are aste yesterday, bek back, bihain later, bipo previous ly, ba imbai eventually, gen again, hariap hurriedly, isi slow ly, klosap almost, hia here, klostu nearby, kw ik, kw iktaim quickly, nau now, 80on, olos thus, pas. pastaim, paslain first, tasol only, tede today, tru truly, tumas greatly, yet still, tumara tomorrow. Adverb s can modify adj ectives as well as verbs; for examples, see the text illustrating degrees of adj ectives, above. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES In Pidgin, there are only two words which really correspond to English prepositions: long and bilong. The second of these is used when the relationship between tvio objects is intimate or permanent. It is thus used to translate possessive phrases : gaten bi long papa bilong mi my fa ther 's garden, papa bi long dok i go sindaun long haus bi long 01 the owner of the dog has gone to sit down in their house. It is also used where the relationship between objects is one of purpose or customary behaviour : haus bil ng waswas laundry, rum bilong sl ip bedroom, man bi long giaman liar. In these latter constructions bilong can often be omitted, and the result is a noun-noun attributive phrase as described ab ove (under Adjectives ) : haus waswas, rum sl ip, man giaman. In the same way, bilong can link a noun to a verb or verb phrase: basket bilong kisim pis trap for catching fi sh, bros bi long brumin haus broom for sweeping the house, me ri bi long wok im gutpela ka ikai woman who prepares good good, man bi long toktok olota im chatterbox. The preposition long on the other hand is used mainly for spatial relationships between obj ects, and relationships where the connexion is less intimat e than is the case with bilong : haus long bu s a house in the bush, pipia long graun rubbish on the ground, wok long gat en work 1: n the garden, rum long ku k a room for cooking (contrast wok bi long gaten work in the garden, rum bi long kuk ki tchen). To express exact location, long is compounded with nouns indicating location : antap long on top of, ab ove, ananit long underneath, be low, arare long beside. In various kinds of verb constructions, long may take on a number of different meanings, as the following examp les show : mi karim long sol I carry it on my shou lder, ml sore long yu I am sorry for you, and so on.

29 xxix The us e of long to replace the trans itive marker -im has been mentioned above (under Verbs), but there are often shades of meaning expressed in this way, as for example mi tokim yu I te ll you/mi tok long yu I talk to you; mi bi l ipim Got I be lieve God/m i bi 1 ip long Got I be lieve in God. Note that with the verbs stap stay, go go and kam come, the preposition long is usually omitted before a noun of place, especially when it is a proper name : mi stap Ambunti I live in Ambunti, mi go Rabau l I go to Rabau l, mi kam Sepik riwa I come from the Sepik river. (But : mi stap long haus I am in the house, mi go long rot I walk on the road, mi kam long Rabau l I came to Rabaul.) For long and bilong in purpose clauses, see below (Subordinate Clauses ). INTERROGATIVES As mentioned in the section on Verbs, certain types of question - those expecting the answer 'yes ' or 'no' - do not differ from statents, except by intonat ion. However, there exist in Pidgin four basic interrogative words - noun, pronoun, adj ective, or adverb, ac c ording to their usage - for asking other types of question requiring more specific answers. A fifth interrogative word ( watpo ) is discussed below. The four basic interrogative words - haumas how much, how many, husat who, we where, and won what - are used just like any other words in Pidgin, and no special question intonat ion is used: haumas ba i yu gipim mi? how much wi ll you give me? husat i kamap who is coming? won i kam? what is coming yu lukim won? what do you see? 01 ba i 01 go we? where will they go? All these interrogatives, except we, may be used as adj ectives : haumas pe yu bin gipim longen? how much pay did you give him? husat man i sanap i stap wan taim yu? who is the man standing beside you? won samt ing yu lukim? what is it you see? won me ri i kukim kaukau? which woman cooked the sweet potato? won ka in pas in bilong yu? what sort of behaviour is that? The interrogative does not necessarily come first in the sentence, especially if it is the object (direct or indire ct) of a verb : yu lukim won samt ing? what is it you see? yu gipim sol long haumas man? how many men did you give salt to? Where the interrogative is the subject of the sentence, the sentence can be broken into two phrases, especially where the it being questioned is a long phrase : man i kamap, husat? the man coming, who is he? dispela samt ing mi lukim long ples bilong yu, i olos bikpela anka, won samt ing? this thing I saw in your house, like a big anchor, what is it? The interrogative won is used in other phrases to form other common interrogatives: ( long) wo n taim (at) what time, when, ( long) won hap

30 xxx in what place, where, whereabouts, bi long won for what, why, and olos won Like what, how: won ta im ba i yu go? when will you go? bilong won yu no singautim mi? why didn 't you call me? yu sapim na ip olos won? how do you sharp en a knife? Interrogat ives are also used in phrases with the prepositions long and bilong (apart from the special use of bi long won in the preceding paragraph ): yu sindaun i stap long won (samt i ng)? what are you sitting on? dispela haus bi long haumas man? how many men own this house? dispela pik bi long husat? whose pig is this? dispela lain ma n 01 bilong we? where does this group of men come from? The interrogative we is rarely preceded by long, perhaps because of possible confusion with longwe distant ; thus, for yu raun im pik long we? whereabouts were you hunting the pig? one is more likely to hear yu raunim pik long won hap? Somewhat idiomat ic is the us e of we in the phrase we stap: we stap kauns ila bilong dispela lain? where is the counci LLor of this vi L Lage? In all other uses, we follows the main verb : yu kam we? where have you come from? An interrogative of a somewhat different type is wa tpo why ; it is used only in angry or aggressive questions : watpo yu no lukautim gut do k bilong mi? why didn 't you take good care of my dog? AUX ILIARY VERBS Auxiliary verbs - for want of a better term - are those which enter into close-knit constructions with other verbs ; they are linked to the second verb either directly, or by use of the predicate marker i. Some of these verbs have been mentioned above (under Verbs-Tense and Verbs Aspect), but are repeated here for clarity. These verbs do not usually occur in conj unction with each other, unless the second verb is me kim. 1) Auxiliary verbs linked direct ly to the following verb : bin 'past tense marker, l, ken be ab Le to, laik be about to, mas have to l, l bin and mas are irregular verbs, in that they never, or at best very rarely, occur without another verb following. They could perhaps be regarded as adverbs in a full analysis of Pidgin grammar.

31 xxxi mekim cause t l e, save know how to, be accus tomed to, stap stay 2 Examples : mi bin kros im 01 I abused th, 01 ken ka ikai, na nau ba i ml laik kirap i go you can eat, I am just about to go, mi mas hatwok long di spela taim I have to work hard at present, mi save mekim da i man I know how to ki ll people, mi stap sapim spia I am sharpening a spear. 2) Auxiliary verbs linked by i: i nap 3 be ab le to, ken be abou t to, 1 a i k wan t to, mekim cause to. Note that three of these occur in the previous group, but two of th with different meanings. Examples : mi inap halpim yupela I can help you, won ta im yu p ela ken i g07 when will you go? 01 i laik kisim pe nau they want to get their pay now, pu tim kap iak long graun na mekim pik i kam put breadfruit on the ground and make the (pig) come. Verbs of motion (go go, kam come, kamap arrive) may be joined to other verbs either directly or by the use of i, and verbs of state (sindaun sit, sanap stand) may be joined to other verbs directly. Examples : 01 go lukim bi las bi long 01 they go to see everyone 's decorations, i kam long na it stil im ka ikai it comes in the night to steal fo od, i sindaun ka ikai he is sitting eating, 01 i sanap lukluk nabaut they stood looking around. Verbs joined to verbs in other ways are treated below (Co-ordinate Clauses and Subordinate Clauses ). CO- ORVINATE CLAUSES 4 Co-ordinate clauses in Pidgin are usually linked by na and, 0 or tasol but, used in mu ch the same way as in English. Co-ordinate or, l Occurs dire ctly linked to the following verb usually only in the common phrases mekim da i ki ll, extinguish and mekim save teach a Zesson. In other phrases the construction with i is more accept able : mekim i krai! make it (the drum ) sound! This construction can also be used as an alternative of mekim da i, but not of mekim save: mekim ( i ) da i pa ia extinguish the fire. 2 stap may al so be followe d by long, in which case the following verb is to be regarded as a verbal noun : mi stap ritim bu k I am reading the book, but mt stap long ritim bu k I am engaged in reading the book. 3 inap may also be treat ed as an adj ective, in wh ich case it is followed by long : mi inap long halpim yupela I am able to help you. Compare this with phrases like mi hapi long ha lpim yupela I am ready to he Zp you, and mi redi long kirapim sings ing I am ready to start the dance. 4 Somet imes no ; but the use of this form appears to be on the wane.

32 xxxii clauses may also be linked without any conjunction, but this is a device more commonly ployed for subordinate clauses (for which see below) ; thus, mi go, mi lukim can mean I go and see it, but it can also mean if I go, I shatt see it, or when I go, I shatt see it. Examples with conj unctions are as follows : go, na i lukim di spela pukpuk, na i raun im he went and saw the crocodi te, and started chasing it, yu go 0 yu stap7 are you going or not? mi laik kam long yu long na it, tasol mi poret long papa bilong mi I shoutd tike to come to you at night, but I am afraid of my fa ther. The conj unction na is often, in narrative texts, translatab le as then: i siutim pik, na kam bek, na i putim long sospen, kukim na ka ikai he shot a pig, then he came back and put it in the saucepan, cooked it, then ate it. If actions conne cted by na are not simultaneous, or if they are not intimately connected, then the subj ect is usually repeated: mi go na lukim I went and saw it, but mi go na mi lukim I went and (then) I saw it; also mi sindaun na ka ikai I sat down and ate, but mi sindaun na mi ka ikai I sat down and started eating. Also : mi wokabaut long rot na mi wisil I was watking on the road and whistting, mi singaut na mi pundaun I gave a cry and fe tt down. Sentences involving a numb er of choices of action (whether... or... or ) are translated in Pidgin simply by the repetition of 0: i go, 0 i stap, mi no save I do not know whether he went or not, yu kat im pik pastaim, 0 ba i yu kukim pastaim, 0 ba i yu raus im gras bilongen which witt you do first: cut the pig, or cook it, or peet off the bristtes? With questions expecting a yes/no answer, it is usual to express the alternat ive answer, or add 0 nogat or not at the end : i da i pinis 0 i stap7 is he dead or ative? yu lukim 0 nogat7 did you see him or not? SUBORVINATE CLAUSES Many types of subordinate clauses in Pidgin, especially relative clauses. time clauses, and conditional clauses, may be expressed without the use of any subordinat ing conj unctions whatever, by rewriting the clauses as statents, with their relationship to the rest of the sentence being underst ood by context ; nevertheless, various subordinating conj unctions are present in Pidgin, and are being increasingly used. Both kinds of usage are given below. Note that conditional clauses and time clauses in Pidgin normally precede the main clause, so that we do not say she 'Zt be coming round the mountain when she comes, but When she comes, she 'tt be coming round the mountain ( taim i kam, ba i i raun arare long maunten).

33 xxxiii Rel ati ve Cl auses. These are expressed, without any relative pronoun, as two sentences, usually with repetition of the subject in the form of a pronoun : dispela man i kam aste, i papa bilong mi this man who came yesterday is my fa ther, wa npela diwai i stap klostu long rot, i pundaun pinis a tree growing near the road has fa llen down, 01 manme ri i stap long haus 01 i 51 ip pinis the men and women who are in the house are as leep. Words like whichever and whoever are expressed by won or husat: won (or: husat) man i laik i go, i mas kam tok im mi pasta im whichever man wants to go must come and tell me fi rst, husat inap long wo kim banis, yet i ma s wokim whoever is ab le to ma ke a fence must be the one to make it. 'Place ' clauses are also expressed as relative clauses, by the use of such expressions as long ( won ) pies in what vi llage, long ( won) hap in what location, and so on : yu ma s kam long pies mi stap longen you must come to where I am living, long won hap ba i mi go, bai yu ma s kam pa inim mi wherever I go to, you mu st come and find me there. Time Clauses. Without a conj unction, these are just expressed by two sentences loosely linked (with or without the coordinating conj unction na and) : mi raun long pa inim pik na mi lukim kapul long diwai; lukim pinis, mi go kisim banara When I was out looking for pigs, I saw a possum in a tree; after I had seen it, I went to get my bow. When the conjunction when is expressed taim (or, more rarely, the fuller forms long taim, won ta im, long won taim) : ta im mi stap Ra bau l, wanpe la me ri l kam skrap im mi when I was in Rabaul, a woman made advances to me; long taim mi wok yet long gaten, bikpela ren i kamap at the time when ( = whi le I was working in the garden, heavy rain started; ( long) won ta im ba i i kam, ba i mi redi I shall be ready, whatever time he comes. When the time clause follows the main clause, and contains yet still, the meaning expressed is while: 01 ka ikai pinis, taim mi wok yet long gaden they had finished eating whi le I was still in the garden. The reverse order is, however, also possible : taim mi kam yet long rot, 01 i, wa s long mi whi le I was coming up the road, they were watching me. The exact time can be expressed by stret long taim: stret long ta im mi laik siutim kapu l, rop bilong banara i bruk just when I was about to shoot the possum, my bowstring broke. Repeated time (whenever) is expressed by o\ogeta ta im: ologeta ta im tel ipon i krai, mi stap long haus wa swas every time the telephone rings I am in the bathroom. Manner Cl auses. These are usually expressed by the use of olos: yu ma s wok im olos mi bin so im yu you must make it as I showed you, olos kru bilong diwai i krum, olos bikpel3 diwai ba i gro as the shoot is

34 xxxiv bent, so the tree wilt grow. How in subordinate clauses is olos won, as it is in questions : mi ken i soim yu olos won mi kat im pik I can show you how to butcher a pig. Condi tional clauses. The usual indication of a conditional clause in Pidgin is sapos if, but it may be omitted: ( sapos ) yu kam tumara, ba i yu kam wantaim me ri bi long yu if you come tomorrow, come with your wife, sapos Gavman i no harim tok bi long mipela, ba i i gat bikpela trabe l if the Government does not listen to our claims, there wi ll be great trouble. Clauses with whether... or are best expressed by the use of ma s ki, a word meaning roughly despite: maski yu wok 0 yu no wok, i wanka in, Gavman i kam kisim takis whether you work or not, the Government nevertheless collects tate, ren i stap 0 nogat, maski, yumi ba i i go whether it is raining or not, we shall still go. Causal Clauses. Because in Pidgin is expressed by long won, b i long won, or ( more rarely ) by b i kos : mi pa itim, long won i tok nogut long mi I hit him because he slandered me, 01 i hanggr i, b i long won, 01 no ka ikai tede they are hungry, because they did not eat today, 01 mas behainim rot bilong Got, bikos sapos 01 i no behainim, 01 i ken Ius long pies pa ia all must fo llow God 's way, because, if they do not, they will be doomed to he ll. Purpose and Result Clauses. Purpose clauses (in order to ) are expressed by long or bi long; the difference is one of degree of purpose, as discussed ab ove ( under Prepositional Phrases) l : 01 ma s hatwok tumas long red i i m rot all must work hard to prepare the road, 01 bikpela man ma s lukaut im gut 01 pikinini bilong 01 i no ken pundaun long maunten the adults must look aft er the chi ldren we ll so that they do not fa ll over the cliff. This second sentence is similar to 'result ' clauses, which may be expressed by olos: 01 i save samba i long pas in bi long 01 masta, olos ba imbai 01 ken save as bilong kamap im kago i kam they observe the ways of Europeans, so that they can know how to make the cargo come. Negative result or purpose may be expressed in the ab ove ways with the negative marker no in the sentence, or by the use of nogut in the sense of lest: ma ski troimwe pipia klostu long haus, nogut pik i kam paul im graun bilong yumi don 't throw the rubbish away near the house, lest pigs should come and mess up our ground. l Not e the slight shades of meaning in the following sent ences : mi go lukim I go see, mi go na lukim I go and see, mi go na mi lukim I go and then see, mi go long lukim I go to see, mi go bi long lukim I go in order to see.

35 xxxv Reported Speech. Reported speech may be dire ct (quoting exactly the words sp oken), or indirect ; the former is clearer when the sentence is complex, and often preferred in Pidgin. Direct sp eech is usually introduced by tok, or i tok i spik. Examples: i tokim mi aste i laik kama p long pies bi long mi tede he tozd me yesterday he would come to my vi L Zage today, i tokim mi aste, i tok: 'mi laik go long pies bilong yu tumara ' he said to me yesterday : 'I shou Ld Like to go to your village tomorrow ', orait, na dispela pis i kirap im tok, i tok i spik: 'yu no ken siutim mi, mi tambu ' this fish spoke, saying: 'You cannot ki LL me, I am sacred '. STYLE ANV IVI0M Something of the st yle of Pidgin sent ences in isolation can be seen from the sentences that have been quoted so far. In conne cted discourse, whether st ories or conversation, a number of stylistic features are apparent, principally ellipsis, repetition, the summation of comp lex subjects by pronouns, and the common use of orait as an introduction, or as a summation of previous events. Ellipsis requires little elab oration. Elliptical sentences are those which are not full sentences, for the most part exclamat ions or comments; they are common in English as well as in Pidgin. Repetition may be of two kinds : repetition of verbs to indicate continued or repeated action, and repetition of the main verb of the previous sentence, as a stylistic device for linking events in a narrative. The raining features need no further comment. All are explified in the following (invented) narrative text and conversational text : I. Narrative Orait, stori bi long ba i bel. Stori olos. 01 di spela lain man, na me r i, na 01 pikinini, husat ologeta stap long pies, 01 laik lusim pies nogu t nau. PIes 01 stap anan it bi long 01 Isipt 01 bos im. Orait, na 01 man bilong Isipt i tok: ' I orait, yu p ela ken i go '. Orait na 01 i go, i go i go i go i go, 01 i kamap long wanpe la bikpela wa ra. Bikpela wa ra olos Sep ik riwa. 01 laik brukim, tasol 01 i no inap. Na wanpela bi long 01, A bib Ze story, as fo LLows : A group of people, women and chi Ldren too, all of th, wanted to Leave a bad place, where they were in subjection to the Egyptians. The Egyptians said: 'Yes, you can go '. So off they went, a Long way, and came to a large body of water, as big as the Sepik river. They wanted to cross, but they

36 xxxvi n bi longen Moses, i singaut long Got. Singaut pinis, na Got i harim. I harim, na yet, olos Got, brukim wa ra long namel. brukim, na i tanim bek wa ra bi longen, na long name l grau n i drai. Orait, 01 dispela lain man, 01 ko lim Yudaman, 01 i ki rap i go brukim nau. 01 i go name l long wa ra, long graun i drai. Orait, 01 i go, brukim pinis, na 01 kamap long hapsa it. 01 i kamap long hapsait pinis, orait, 01 sampe la bilong Is ipt 01 i laik behainim nau. 01 laik behainim, tasol di spela wa ra Got i tanim bek na mekim graun bi long wara i drai, i ki rap bek gen na i kam olos bikpela ha i wara. Ha iwara i kam, na 01 man bilong Is ipt i Ius long wa ra. Orait, na 01 Yudaman i stap long hapsa it na 01 i lukim. Orait, pinis nau. could not. Moses, ca LLed on God. and God heard him. One of th, called He called God heard him and broke the water in the middle, turning back the water, so that the middle was dry. Now all the peopte (catled Jews ), they went an d crossed. They went through the mids t of the water, on the part that was now dry. They crossed and arrived on the opposite bank. Now some of the Egyptians tried to fo LLow. Bu t the waters that had been turned back by God to make the riverbed dry rose up again Like a flash flood. flood came and the Egyptians were drowned in the water. all the Jews on the opposite bank saw th. The Now That is the end. II. Conversation A. Yu kam, a? B. Yes, mi kam. A. Gutpela. Yu sindaun ka ikai. B. Ba i yu go long bung? A. Yes, ba i mi go. Na mi kros I i k Ii k. B. Olos won? A. Mi no laikim dispela nupela takis. B. Oloboi, mi haumas tok? Mi yet planti taim mi bin sakim tok long dispela. A. Tasol at ing yu no inap. B. Maski, mi inap. Ba i mi go kirapim tok i go long 01. A. Here you are, eh? B. Yes, here I am. A. Good. Sit down and eat. B. Wi ll you go to the meeting? A. Yes, I shatt go. And I am rather annoyed. B. Why? A. I don 't Like this new tax. B. We H, what di d I teh you? I have spoken out about it many times. A. But I don 't think you can do any thing. B. You 'tl see that I can. I wi ll te tt th all something.

37 xxxvii A. Tru, a? At ing ba i 01 bu n g i m A. Is that right? I think they yu long tok. wi n an gang up on you. B. Maski long 01. Sampela wantok B. So mu ch fo r th. Some b i long mi ba i i strong im mi friends of mine win back A. long tok. Na yu wantaim, me ating? up. At ing. A. Probab ly. Wi ll you? B. Pas in b i long 01 kaunsil, long B. Councils are always asking kirapim nupela takis nating. for new contributions, for nothing. A. Tru tumas. A. Very true. It has been the purpose of this introduction to provide a wide variety of Pidgin usages. The reader, armed with the vocabulary and material in the pages to follow, should now be ab le to go on and discover ways of expressing anything he wishes in Pidgin. My best wishes go with him or her.

38 Laycock, D. Materials in New guinea Pidgin (coastal and Lowlands). D-5, xxxviii + 99 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, DOI: /PL-D5.cover 1970 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.

39 MATER IALS IN NEW GUINEA PIDG IN NUME RALS wanpela tupela tripela popela pa ippela sikispela sewenpela etpela na inpela tenpe la wanpela ten wan ( elewen) l wanpela ten tu tupela ten ( olos twenti) tripela ten pope la ten pa ippe la ten wa n handet one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve twenty thirty forty fifty one hundred NOUNS man me r i lapun man lapun me ri manki pi kin i n i pikinini man (native ) man (native ) woman old man old woman young boy child male child l With some Pidgin words it is often helpful to add an explanation or synonym if the cont ext does not make clear what is meant. These explanat ions are added here in parentheses after the it. 1 Laycock, D. Materials in New guinea Pidgin (coastal and Lowlands). D-5, xxxviii + 99 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, DOI: /PL-D 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.

40 2 pikinini meri yangpela man, ( singgelman) no ma rit yangpela meri, i no ma rit ( sin 9 gel me r i ) papa mama tumbuna man tum buna meri bikbarata ( bikpela; nambawa n ba ra t a ; nambawan ) likl ik ba rata ( likl ik; nambatu ba rata ; nambatu) biksusa ( nambawan susa) 2 likl ik susa ( nambatu susa) pikinini bi long pikinini man bi long mi pikinini meri bi long mi meri bi long mi man bi longen kantire tambu smolpapa smo l mama was papa wasmama ma n bi long mekim po ison manmeri, me riman fale child young unmarried man young unmarried woman father mother grandfather grandmother elder brother (sister) l younger brother (sister) elder sister (brother) younger sister (brother) child of... my son my daughter my wife her husband mother's brother affines, in-laws, re latives father 's brother, guardian mother's sister, guardian guardian, stepfather, adoptive fat her guardian, stepmother, adoptive mother sorcerer peop le hai nus yau tis eye nose ear tooth l The term barata really means 'sibling of the same sex', and susa 'sibling of the opposite sex'. Thus, with reference to a woman, these terms will refer to her sisters and brothers respectively. Note also that Pidgin terms for kinship reflect native kinship classifications, and may be applied to more distant relat ives ; e.g. barata may mean 'cousin ', and papa 'uncle ' ( father 's brother, mother 's sister 's husband). 2 0ne also hears susa pronounc ed as sista or sister, but this latter form is best reserved for the meaning 'ecclesiastical sister, nun ; cf. also pater 'Father, priest '.

41 3 tang maus usket ( asket) pes het gras bi long het pes ologeta gras bi long usket gras bilong maus gras bilong ha i wa ra bi long ha i nek baksa it bi long nek sol han han antap skru bi long han han daunbe lo pingga likl ik pingga pingga hia longpela pingga 2 bikpela pingga ka pa bi long pingga pa ipia bros susu bilong me ri bel baksa it as bilong sindaun mit bi long lek skru bilong lek baksa it bilong lek bun bi long lek tongue mouth chin forehead head hair face beard mustache eyebrow, eyelash l tears neck, throat nape of neck shoulder arm, hand, palm of hand upper arm elbow lower arm finger little finger this finger (ring finger) middle finger thumb fingernail fist chest fale breast belly back buttocks thigh knee calf shinbone 1 Where a term for a part of the body has more than one meaning, it is necessary to point to the it in question if precision is desired. It is customary also, in many contexts, to point to part s of the body spoken of even when there is no ambiguity. 2 The index and ring fingers do not have commonly accepted names in Pidgin, and mu st be shown for precision. Note that the virtually universal method of count ing on the fingers in New Guinea is to start with the open hand, and close one finger for each digit _ starting with the little finger, as here.

42 4 lek ologeta anan it bi long lek ( pies bilong wo kabaut long lek) pingga bilong lek kapa bi long lek skin gras bilo ng skin blut bun ban is klok I iwa blakl iwa we tl iwa 9 r i s (b i long pu l im win) likl ik hul long bel, mama kok ( samt ing bi long man) bol kan ( boki s bi long mer i, s bi long meri ) sua susu bi long sua wa ra bi long sua dewe l masalai tambaran tumbuan bilo ng ma n dai pinis kat im dewel bi long ma n, bilong diw ai, long graun ( olos long ta im san i stap i kamap ) d r ima n leg sole toe toe nail skin body hair blood bone rib s heart intestines liver lungs fat (body fat ) navel penis testicle, scrotum vulva sore pus lymph ghost natural spirit ancestor spirit carving (usually of ancestral figure ) shadow dream san san kamap san godaun san stap long name l mun mun i kamap mun godaun ( mun i dai pinis) raunpela mun, bikpela mun nupela mun star ( likl ik mun) hewen klaut sun sun rises sun sets sun stays in the zenith, moon moon rises moon sets (has set ) full moon new moon, first quarter star sky cloud it is noon

43 5 sno ( i go pas long maunten) klaut i klaut i pa i rap lait renbo ( lait olos bana ra long hewen ; ren i pinis, na lait olos i kamap ) ren ren i kamdaun tudak ( olos narape la hap 01 ko lim na it) tulait mon ingta im abinun ta im bilong san name l ( belo) bela bek bikn ait smok bilong pa ia sit bilong pa ia stap long we tpela sit bi long pa ia blakpela sit bilo ng pa ia retpela sit bi long pa ia ( i likl ik, i no da i yet) brus smok ( sigaret, rot ka i ka i diwai han bilong diwa i lip bi long diwai het bi long diwa i siga l hat name l bilong diwai ( olos stik bi long diwai) as bi long diwai rop bi long diwai ( long graun) rop bi long diwai ( i diwa i ) huk bi long diwai pikinini bi long diwai hangap long skin bi long diwa i ( skin diwa i ) plaua kuna i pies kuna i suga fog, mist thunder lightning rainbow (the light on the sky after rain that looks like a bow) rain it rains night day ; dawn morning evening noontime one p.m. (bell for returning to work ) midnight smoke (of fire) ashes white ashes black ashes cinders native tobacco, cigarette road, path food tree branch leaf crown of tree, treetop trunk 'twist ' tobacco bottom of tree, tree stump root vine, liana forked bran ch fruit bark blossom, flower (sword ) grass, alang alang grass grassland sugarcane, sugar

44 6 pit pit tiktik pitpit bilong wok im haus pitpit bilong wok im banis pitpit bilong ka ikai, i suga mambu kanda r p rop ndaka saksak mo rota pangga l kaukau gat ni I hatwa ra ( olos sup) taro yam mami banana karoka ( aran) kokonas d ra i ku lau wa ra riwa baret raunwa ra tais ta it long wa ra wa ra i solwara s i biksi ha iwara draiwara graun ston ta it clos graun i gat wa ra ( olos graun i ma loma lo, pies ma loma lo, pies ta is) wetsan namb is cane grass (edible Saccharum sp. ) wild cane grass (Saccharum sp.) cane grass for making walls of houses cane grass for making fences cane grass, edible bamboo rattan cane lawyer cane betel pepper vine sago sago leaves (used for thatch) leaf (of palm) sweet potato sago broth taro yam (long) yam (short ) banana pandanus palm coconut ripe coconut green coconut for drinking water, river river tributary, drain, gutter pond, lake swamp tide, current the river has a strong current sea wave, swell large waves, surf; open sea high water low water ground, earth stone mud, soft ground, swampy ground sand beach

45 7 ail an pas is sua ( olos hap bilong wa ra) maunten kil bilong maunten pies daun ( 01 os hap name 1 long tupela maunten) graun i stret ( olos pies ba lus, olos pies singsing ) bus bikbus gaten ban is pies seksek win wind i kirap win i kamap bikwin buswin bun im ta leo 1 a i taim b i long san ta im b i long ren pies b i long san kamap pies bi long san godaun hap bi long bun im pa ia pa i awut kumu bua i b iii na t kamban skin kamban stik kamban sol ( bilong ka ikai) kasang ( bi 1 inat) ga 1 i p bin anien kap iak mu 1 i island passage shore mountain ridge of a mountain valley level ground (like airfield, like singsing ground, plain) bush, forest jungle, deep forest garden fence dry ground wind wind rises wind is blowing high wind night wind from the interior (on coast ) north wind from sea (only used on north coast ) N.W. monsoon S.E. trade wind dry season wet season east west north fire, firewood firewood green vegetables betel nut ; betel chew betel nut lime lime gourd lime spat ula salt peanut Canarium nut bean onion bread fruit lon

46 8 hebsen ra is grinlip, tul ip, epika, sayor gras nogut blut bilong diwa i kon tanket kapok lombo mangg ro wa i I saksak Ii mbun wa il l imbum kw i I a papa i ta Ii nga ( mas rum) popo salat tapiok dok pik tel bi long dok gras bilong dok pisin han bilong pisin gras bi long pisin nus bilong pisin tel bi long pisin kiau bilong pisin haus bilong pisin sikau kapul muruk sikau bilong antap mumut rat blakbok is likl ik blakbokis ba lus gu ria ka na i pea rice vegetables, greens (varieties) weed sap corn cordyline kapok tree capsicum mangrove nipa palm areca palm black palm ironwood mushroom edible mushroom pawpaw stinging nettle, poison oak cassava dog pig dog's tail dog's fur bird wing feather beak bird's tail egg nest wallaby possum, cuscus ; often, any marsupial or any animal cassowary tree kangaroo bandicoot rat flying fox bat pigeon goura pigeon seagull

47 9 kok i kotkot kokomo ka ka ru longpela nek taranggau pato kaka ru bi long bus kumu l taranggau bi long nait ka langgal snek moran ( bikpe la snek) pukpuk palai bikpe la pa lai ( nambatu bi long pukpuk) snek i gat gip, olos i gat pa it, i save mekim da i man rokrok ( prok) pis pis nil maus gras ma 1 i 0 sak sop is gramsel 9 i r ig i r i 1 a 1 a i tambu torosel taul skin bilong torosel grinpela torosel pislama kina skin kina kuka kindam binatang bbe ( bataplai) lang blulang cockatoo crow hornbill fowl, hen crane hawk, eagle duck wild fowl, scrub turkey bird of paradise (with red bushy tail) owl parakeet snake python, carpet snake crocodile lizard goanna venomous snake frog fish perch, any spiny fish catfish eel shark swordfish clam shell small cowrie shell trochus shell Nassa shell turtle conch shell turtle shell green turtle trepang oyster oyster shell crab crayfish, prawn lobster insect (often used for butterfly) butterfly fly March fly

48 10 natnat an is korakum likl ik snek bilong graun binen n i n i k plantihan ( olos narapela n bilongen handethan, na sandavet) kokoros laus ngosngos musmus ( ngosngos) grasop snek bi long tringim blut spa ida an is bi long ka ikai haus haus pies ban is bi long haus dua het bilong haus pos ( diwa i pos pos rigel sanap slip bi long haus) graun bilong haus ( plu a ) pilo bilong kanaka ba sket bilong 51 ip pies bilong pa ia supia bilong troim long han bana ra supia bi long banara ( olos supia bi long siut) supia i gat huk supia mambu supia plt pit supsup rop bilong bana ra stik bi long pa it plang bllong pa it rop pis I a I n bikpela rop mosquito ant red ant worm bee wasp centipede, millipede cockroach flea, louse louse bedbug grasshopper leech spider termite house village wall door roof post vertical post horizontal post rafter floor head rest sleeping basket fireplace spear bow arrow barbed arrow/spear bamboo arrow/spear pitpit arrow three-pronged fish spear or arrow bow string club shield string, rope string, fishing line rope

49 11 b i I urn b i long man b i I urn b i long mer i ba s ke t laplap b i long kanaka paspas b i long be l pu I pu I pulpul bi long mer i laplap ma l kam akis tam iok akis bi long kanaka akis bilong skraplm saksak na ip longpela na ip likl ik na ip bris ( bilong pas im kanu) bris ( bilong brukim wa ra) bris kanda kundu skin bi long kundu ( olos skin pa I a i ) ga ramut singsing kangga l b i I a s paspas bi long han bl las bl long yau paspas bi long lek pin bilo ng nus bi las bi long nus paspas bi long pes bis ( olos smolbis) we i stori kanu se I mas pu l a ngka ( bilo ng grisim skin) bilong kanu angka ( bilong hang imapim pis long haus) man's netbag woman 's netbag basket male dress belt variegated plant leaves used for decoration or perfume fale dress, grass skirt loincloth genital covering shell as penis covering axe tomahawk stone axe sago axe knife bush knife small knife jetty bridge rope bridge drum tympanum, skin of drum (lizard skin) signal drum singsing, dance, feast large singsing ornament ornament arm band ear ornament anklet nose peg nose ornament head band pearls fat (for greasing body ) story canoe (dugout ) sail mast paddle anchor hanging hook

50 12 umben bl 10ng pis huk bl10ng pis ba sket bl 10ng pis trap fish net fish hook fish trap trap ADJECTIVES blkpe 1a 1 I k 1 I k 10ngpe1a slotpe1a gutpe1a nogut s I k ml slk ( ml ga t s I k ) m I oralt ( ml no s I k ) ml hanggrl ml hanggrl long wa ra ml 1es plnls ml 1es ml 1es ( oltalm ml no wok ) ha l bl 10ng ml I raun retpe 1a wetpe1a b1akpe1a ye10pe1a grlnpe1a ha t I hat, sa n kuk 1m ml ml hat ( skin b 11 ong ml ha t ) ml ko1 ( s kin b 11 ong ml ko 1 ) pies I ko 1 ( ko 1 I pa It) skru bl10ng ml I Ius, ml no save woka baut gut ha I pa s ha l bl 10ng ml I pas wa npe 1a ha l pas taso1 ( mataklau ) wa npe1a hal bl 10ng ml taso1 pas ( mi mataklau ) yau pas yau bl10ng ml pa s maus pas maus bl10ngen pas big small long short good bad sick I am sick I am well, I am not sick I am hungry I am thirsty I am tired out I am tired I am lazy (I do not work) I am dizzy red white black, blue yellow green, pale blue hot it is hot, the sun is burning me I am hot I am cold it is cold I am lame, I cannot walk blind I am blind one-eyed I am one-eyed deaf I am deaf dumb he is dumb

51 13 ml sore pulap stap nat lng yu kam kw lkta lm { yu kam harlap} ml kam I s I nupela haus olpela haus haus I ma loma lo sting strongpela { olos ston} strongpela man man I ma l oma lo ra l than { han slut } han ka ls l dralpela { olos plk} dralpela { olos man} I gat grls, olos plk merl bun natlng bel I hat bel bl long ml I hat { ml kros} yangpela { olos yangpela dok} I yangpela wetpela gras gras bl long ml I wetpela me r I I gat bel blkpela long name l d I wa I } 1 I k 1 I k long namel antap daun slek { o l os rop} seksek { olos pos} stret { olos pos I { olos hap stret} stret { olos tok I s t re t } krunggut { kruketlmnabaut, krum, I no stret} hev l I dot I no hev i ml dotl, skin bllong ml dotl I am sorry (otionally affected) full pty you come quick! I come slowly new house old house rotten house soft hard (like stone ) strong man weak man right hand left hand fat, big (pig) fat, big (man ) it is fat (pig) thin woman angry I am angry young (dog) it is young grey hair(ed) I have grey hair the woman is pregnant thick (of things ) (stick) thin (of things ) high low loose (rope) shaky, not firm (post ) straight (post) right, correct (speech) wrong, crooked, incorrect heavy, difficult not heavy, light dirty I am dirty 1 Left-handed people may use kais to refer to their right hands.

52 14 I gat plpla kl lnpela swltpela ( olos suga) I gat pa lt ( olos mu ll) I gat pa lt ( olos sol ; swlt olos sol ) dan plnls ( olos kaukau) I no dan (I amat ) mau plnls ( olos banana) no mau gat wa ra ( I dralpela ( olos I wei no dral) plnls ( olos rot) rab ls ( olos rablsman) man I gat plantl me r I 1 rna r I t I no ma rlt 10ng l ong krankl I wa nka ln krankl tupela samtlng tupela samtlng narakaln raunpe la kago no ga t wa ra) wa nka ln naraka ln there is rubbish clean sweet (sugar) sour (lon) bitter, acrid (salt) cooked (sweet potato) raw, uncooked ripe (banana ) unripe wet dry slippery (road ) poor, impoverished (man) rich man married woman unmarried, single insane, mad stupid, wrong he is stupid same, identical, alike two things are alike two things are different round SENTENCES WITH VERBS ml ka lkal yu ka I ka I yu ka I ka I? I ka lkal ml tupela ka I ka I yum l tupela ka lkal yu tupela ka lkal yu tupela ka lkal? tupela I ka lkal yuml trlpela ka lkal ml trlpela I ka lkal yu trlpela ka lkal yu trlpela ka lkal? trlpela ka lkal yuml ka lkal I eat you eat do you eat? he eats we two eat (I and he) we two eat (I and you) you two eat do you eat? they two eat we three eat (I and you two) we three eat (I and they two ) you three eat do you three eat? they three eat we eat (I and you all)

53 15 mipela ka ikai yupela ka ikai yupela ka ikai? 01 i ka i ka i m i no ka i ka i yu no ka ikai yu no ka ikai? ba i mi ka ikai mi ka ikai nau ( olos nau mi ken i ka i ka i ) klosap mi ken nau beha in tuma ra haptuma ra aste hap aste tede bipo longta im bipo 01 ta im pa sta im gen ka i ka i tumara ba i mi ka ikai haptuma ra ba i mi ka ikai m i ka i ka i pin i s b i po m i ka i ka I pin I s tede ml ka lkai ( plnls) aste ml ka lkal hapaste ml ka lkal long ta lm bipo ml ka lkal m i ka I ka I let sapos ml tok 'yu ka fkai!', ml ken ma klm ko l 1m olos wo n long tok pies bllong yu? yu ka ikal beha ln! nogut yu ka lkai! ka I ka I! ) ( yu no ken I sapos ml tok ' I ken I ka ikal nau!', mi ken ho I 1m olos won long tok pies bllong yu? I a r im ka I ka I! mi pa itim yu we eat (I and they all) you all eat do you all eat? they eat I do not eat you do not eat do you not eat? I shall eat later I shall eat immediately I shall eat soon now, immediately later tomorrow day after tomorrow yesterday day before yesterday today formerly long ago always ( at ) first again I shall eat tomorrow the day after tomorrow I shall eat I have eaten I ate formerly I ate today I ate yesterday I ate the day before yesterday I ate a long time ago I am eating if I say 'eat!', how do I say that in your language? eat later! don't eat! if I say 'he should eat!', how do I say it in your language? let him eat! I hit you

54 16 mi pa itim yu tupela i pa itim mi mi pa it i m dok b i long yu mi I uk i m pik bi longen I hit you two he hits me I hit your dog I see his pig SENTENCES WITH SEVERAL VERBS mi sindaun na mi ka ikai mi wokabaut long ro t na mi smok, na mi pul im brus mi stap na mi toktok mi sanap na mi toktok mipela sindaun long pa ia na mipela toktok mi wo kabaut longta im na mi les pin is mi ka ikai pinis na mi laik 5 lip go pasta im mi ka ikai, beha in mi ken i go pas im maus na ka ikai! nogut yu toktok, yu ka ikai! mi wok longta im nau mi laik ka i ka i mi wok pinis na mi les pinis mi wok pinis na mi les pinis, mi l a i k i go 5 l i p mi brukim pa i awut pinis na mi sindaun mi kam na mi lukim yu mi kam pasta im, na nau mi lukim yu mi toktok na yu harim mi sindaun na yu ka ikai yu sanap i stap, mi lukim yu mi lukim yu, yu sanap i long hap stap mi pa itim yu na yu kra i.. 1 ml so lm yu b anara b l I ong mi, yu I uk I m yu so lm ml ba na ra bllong yu, mi ken I lukim mi putim ka ikai na yu ka ikai mi gipim yu ka ikai, yu ken i k i s i m I sit down and eat I walk on the road and smoke I stand and talk I stand up and talk we are sitting at the fire and talk I have walked for a long time and now I am tired I have finished eating and shall go to sleep I eat first, then I shall go stop talking and eat! don't talk, but eat! I have worked for a long time and want to eat now I have finished working and am tired I am finished working and am tired, I want to go to sleep I have finished breaking the firewood, and sit down I come and see you I came earlier, and I see you (now) I talk and you listen I sit down while you eat you are standing, I can see you I see you, you are standing there I hit you and you cry I show you my bow, look at it yes, you show me your bow, I'll look at it I put food down, you eat it I give you food, take it I pronounced ( sow e nim ) by many Sepik speakers of Pidgin.

55 17 kam iet na mi go nau go pinis na mi ka ikai nau mi wa kim bana ra bilong yu, pinis mi laik i go nau, tasol pasta im mi laik i lukim kundu bi long yu, bringim i kam na soim mi, mi lukim na mi go ta im yu kam isi, mi ka ikai pinis, na yu kam he is coming, I'll go now he has gone, I'll eat now I have made a bow for you, it is finished I want to go now, but first I should like to see your drum, bring it and show it to me, I'll have a look at it, and shall then go while you were coming, I finished eat ing, and now you have come CONDITIONAL FORMS yu daun im tispela ma res in; sapos yu no daun im, yu ken i dai na rapela ma n i bekim tok na haskim: sapos mi no daunim mi ken i dai? sapos yu daunim tispela ma res in, yu orait sapos yu lukim, yu ken i gipim akis bilongen sapos yu kam tumara, yu ken k i s i m ka i ka i sapos mi pa iti'm yu, yu ken i sapos yu pa itim dok bi long mi, mi ken i pa itim yu na rapela man i bek im tok na i toktok: sapos mi pa itim dok bilong yu ba i yu pa itim mi? kra i sapos yu kam tuma ra ba i mi gipim yu ka i ka i sapos yu kukim kaukau, ba i mi ka i ka i sapos yu kukim kaukau beha in, mi ken i ka ikal beha in sapos i gat banara mi ken kisim longen sapos aste mi gat banara pinis, mi Inap long gipim yu plnis sapos aste i got banara pinis, mi inap i kisim longen sapos aste mi wak im ban is pinis, tede pik i no inap long bagarap im gaten bilong mi pinis take this medicine ; if you do not take it, you will die the other man answers and asks : if I do not take this medicine shall I die? if you take this medicine, you will be all right if you see him give him an axe if you come tomorrow, you will receive food if I hit you, you'll cry if you hit my dog I shall hit you the other man answers : if I hit your dog, you will hit me? if you come you food tomorrow, I shall give if you cook sweet potatoes, I shall eat if you cook sweet potatoes, I shall eat if he has a bow, I shall take it away from him if I had had a bow (yesterday ) I would have given it to you if he had had a bow (yesterday ) I would have taken it from him if I had made a fence (yesterday ), the pig would not have ruined my garden VERB LIST ka ikai tring wa ra sanap he eats he drinks water he stands up

56 18 sa nap stap he is standing slndaun he sits down slndaun stap he is sitting klrap he gets up dal pin Is he dies toktok he talks slngaut he calls ron I go he runs (away ) wokabaut he walks klslm kam he brings klslm go he takes (away ) k I s 1 m he takes glplm ml he give s me glplm yu he gives you glplm he gives him pa I t im he hits bruklm he breaks (something) pundaun he falls down s I I P he sleeps, lies I s I I p long graun ( olos he lies on ground I I ndaun) I luklm he sees I lukluk I stap ( I wa s lm, he watches (a man ) olos I wa s long narapela rna n ) ha rim he hears sing sing he dances, sings kra l he cries s t I I 1m he steals kuklm kaukau he cooks sweet potat oes hasklm he asks bekim tok he answers wi n i m pa la he blows fire I goap long dlwa l ( klrap he climb s tree long d I wa I ) ka lap he jumps ka laplm dlwa l he jumps over a tree lap he laughs i po ret ( olos poret he is afraid (he is afraid of the long dok) dog) skraplm skin he scrat ches skin skraplm saksak he scrapes sago trolm he throws trolmwe he throws away

57 19 sa 1 i m kros im ha rim smel siub im wa ra ( waswas wa s im pikinini pa inim pa inim pinis lukautim sikman mumu im pas im mumu rausim mumu pas im dua op im dua wet im man we t i stap i giaman, olos giaman wok im supia wokim haus wok im ban is wok im bilum go go antap go daunbe lo kam tan im tan im samting so im mi so im yu so im swim) toktok mi so im yu banara bi long mi ha it ha i tim ka i ka i i lusim ( i no save pa inim pin is) lusim i stap lusim pies bilongen beha inim mi beha inim yu behainim ka rim long sol mi tupela bung long ro t he sends he scolds he sme lls (something ) he swims he washes he washes child he looks for he finds he looks after sick man he looks in earth oven he closes earth oven he opens earth oven he closes door he opens door he waits for a man he is waiting he tells a lie he makes an arrow he builds a house he makes a fence he makes a net bag he goes he goes up he goes down he comes he turns (around ) he turns something he shows me he shows you he shows him I show you my bow he hides he hides food he loses (cannot find it ) he leaves behind he leaves his village he follows me he follows you he follows him he carries on shoulder we two meet on the road

58 20 ston i pisin i i go pas siubim go pul im i kam tantanim plai s i u ti m go i siutim popa ia ( olos i siutim kranki, i no siut stret) i klkim dok i ka ikail m lek bl long mi wi s i I winim mambu traut kus i 9 u ri a ( olos skin guria) lindaunim diwa i ka t im d i wa i i brukim diwa i ( olos brukim pa ia), sakim diwa i lusim tingting ting longen i wokabaut nating lilimbut ) skin sotwin ma lolo pekpek pispis hangamapim l i p timap lm kamau tim kaukau pulapim mambu long kapset 1m sanapim pos bekim pik k l in im na ip raus 1m pipia brumim haus makim 9 raun solap tupela meri i pa it i putim bilas ( let ) bi longen ( olos wa ra b i I as im he passes by he pushes he pulls stone rolls (away ) bird flies he shoots he misses (in shooting ) he kicks dog bites y leg he whistles he plays flute he vomits he coughs, sneezes he shivers, trbles he bends down a tree he cuts wood he breaks wood (firewood) he shakes tree he forgets he rbers him he takes a stroll (walks about ) he rests (gets his breath) he rests (takes a long rest) he defecates he urinates he hangs up he lifts up he pulls up a sweet potato he fills bamboo with water he pours out he erects a post he returns a pig he cleans a knife he throws out rubbish he sweeps house he marks ground skin swe lls up two women quarrel he decorates himself

59 21 i pa itim garamut i haphapim ka ikai long 01 ( olos i skel im ka ikai bi long 01) i stap he, yu stapf i pasim man ( olos pas) tupela man i tok plei ho 1 i m i putim baksa it long diwa i ( i 1 in long diwa i ) diwa i pisin dok i seksek go insa it long haus go autsa it ma n i sanap hau s man i sa nap diwa i sindaun antap long haus slip anan it long haus rausim tispela man! man i da i pinis i man i da l planim man stap arare long stap klostu yupela planim pinis? long pinis, yupela lanlm mipela I no planim pinis, mlpela I ken I planlm tuma ra tasol mipela plan lm pinis longta im blpo bruklm graun wok lm hul i ma rltim meri ( olos i k I s I m me r I ) skin I wa ra ( tuhat ski n ) I daunim kamap long I lapim ( olos dok I laplm han bi long ml, na ml laplm skin bilong banana bllo ng wok lm brus) laplap i bruk i laplap i so imaplm bruk, yu so lmaplm rauslm gras bilong plsln I ta ltim bun ( olos I ta itim skin) ka tim rop ka tlm plk he beats slitgong he distributes food he stays hey, you stop! he stops (arrests) a man two men joke, make fun he leans against tree tree shakes he enters house he goes outside a bird is sitting on the house a dog is sleeping under the house a man is standing beside the house a man is standing near the tree throw this man out! a man has died he buries a man a man has died, you bury him have you buried him already? we have not yet buried him, we shall bury him tomorrow we buried him a long time ago he digs ground he makes a hole he marries a woman he perspires he swallows he licks (as a dog licks my hand and as I lick banana skin to make a cigarette) the loincloth is torn he sews it up the loincloth is torn, you sew it up he plucks feathers he stretches himself he cuts rope he cuts up pig

60 22 sapim na ip pasim rop pul imapim wa ra grislm man ( long toktok) skul long tokples i lainim ka ikai ( long singsing ) 01 bung 01 bung im ka ikai 01 put im 010 ka i ka i wa nta im k I i rim graun laikim man poretlm wanpela man i smok ( olos i pul lm brus, i ka ikai brus) kanu i I sekan pu llm kanu kapset ko l im n he sharpens a knife he ties rope he draws water he flatters a man he learns a native language he displays food (as at singsing) they gather, come together they collect food they put all the food together he clears ground he likes a man he frightens a man he smokes (tobacco) he shakes hands he paddles canoe capsizes he says name INTERROGAT IVES yu huset? yu luklm huset i stap long hap? yu gipim kaukau long huset? yu go long huset? yu kam long huset, olos yu lusim huset i kam? yu go wa nta im huset? yu sanap I won samt ing? won meri i stap klostu long huset? kuklm kaukau plnis? won diwa i i pundaun pinls? won pik I bilong mi? won ba nara I won wa ra tr ing7 haumas man haumas haus i haumas supla i haumas wara i bagarapim ga ten bruk pinis? gutpela bilong kamap7 5 ta p7 stap7 stap7 tupela mambu i pulap 5 tap yu gipim haumas sol longen7 who are you? whom do you see over there? to whom did you give the sweet potat oes? to whom do you go? from whom do you come? with whom do you go? you are standing close to whom? what is this? which woman cooked the sweet potatoes? which tree fell down? which pig destroyed my garden? which bow broke? which water is good for drinking? how many men have come? how many houses are there? how many arrows are there? how much water is there? there are two bamboo tubes full how much salt did you give him?