Grammar and Vocabulary of the Lau Language | Page 4

to lead, naofa first, naofe mwela eldest child, also with suffixed pronoun _naofana mwela_; ta is seen in the root afuta all, which is used only with the suffixed pronoun, afutagera all of them, afutana na ai gi all the people. The termination la has a more or less gerundival force.
Compound nouns may be formed, girigiri lifoa gnashing of teeth, saitama dooa wisdom.
Where in the vocabulary fa and ta have a hyphen attached, it is intended to show that they are used only with the suffixed pronoun attached.
There are certain adjectives to which the termination la is attached, diena good, dienala goodness, baita big, baitala bigness, and tasa in excess, tasala excess. It is probable, however, that these words are really verbs.
b. Independent nouns: The only termination is na, and this is added (1) to certain nouns which express relation ship or kindred; (2) to cardinal numerals to form ordinals. 1. Nouns so formed are always preceded by a prefix which marks reciprocity of relationship or kindred, mwai, and by the numeral ro two; sasi brother, ro mwai sasina the two brothers, te mother, ro mwai telana wife and child.
2. Numerals: olu three, oluna third.
3. Construct form: To make a construct form the letter e is added to the first of two nouns, toloe fera hill, fuli abae ai men's handwork. When the first member ends in a the ae sometimes contracts to e, fufue ai seed, aqale mwai ten baskets, but maae rodo, a night; also when the first noun ends in o the oe is contracted to _e_: abole ai a log, abolo a piece. This e may be added to words which have not a distinct noun termination: naoe gula the chief place.
4. Genitive relation: The genitive relation of nouns one to another is effected by the use of the propositions ni and _i_: ni is used mainly in construction: baea ni sugela deceitful words, gwai ni gwaila anointing oil; ni expresses purpose: si gula ni lea inia a place for him to go to, rosuli ni manatai gami hear us in mercy. In certain words li replaces _ni_: maalimaea enemy, maalitafa a channel in a reef; i is used also to denote purpose: lea i fasifa came to sell it. Location, which also denotes place whence, is shown by i, geni i Saa, a Sa'a woman. Si is used in certain phrases: ofu si doo bundles, ro tooni si doo two thousand.
The genitive is frequently omitted olu teu flour, three measures of flour, mumudi fangala crumbs of food, mwane Saa, a Sa'a man, falisi vine a vineyard.
The possessive ana may be used to denote the genitive: luma ana foaa house of prayer, tala ana fanualama way of peace. A genitive relation is also shown by the use of the suffixed pronoun of the third person singular or plural in agreement with the idea expressed in the second noun of the pair: i tolona fera on the tops of the hills, gwouda na ai gi men's heads.
The ordinary personal pronouns are used as possessive in cases where the pronoun can not be suffixed: afe nau my wife, arai nia her husband.
The instrumental prefix i occurs: kamu to eat areca nut, ikamu a line spatula.
5. Plural: To show plurality gi is used, following the noun na mwane gi the men. The word oro, many, may be attached: na mwane oro gi many men, tani ai oro many people.
The personal pronoun plural third gera is used to mark plurality: gera fiolo the hungry, gera priest da adea urina the priests acted thus.
Totally and completion are shown by sui finished or _sui na_: afutada sui they all, gera lea sui na they have gone already. To express totality the suffixed pronoun singular third and all persons plural are added to a root afuta, formed from afu to complete, with ta noun termination: afutanafera all the land, afutana nonigu all my whole body. It is a question whether the numeral qalu eight is used like walu in Sa'a of an indefinite number, e.g., qalu fera all lands; but te si nafera seems to be the proper usage.
6. Gender: There is no grammatical gender. The words mwane male, geni female, are added when the noun does not carry a sex distinction.
7. Nouns of relationship: With the exception of sasi brother, sister, nouns of relationship are never used with a suffixed pronoun: maa nau my father. The prefix mwai, denoting reciprocity of relationship, may precede: mwai asi nau brethren. In speaking of pairs of people ro is used: ro mwai sasina two brothers. The na of sasina, telana, etc., is a noun termination and is not the suffixed pronoun.
The articles ni for the singular and ote for the plural are used of women: ni aia a female relation, ote geni women.
The word for