BUA3-004 
Fieldnotes 
2020.09.25 
121. Banana – jaina (/j/ is proncounced like voiceless post-alveolar affricate) 
Au late e na jaina  
“I jumped on the banana” 
O Henry e sisi e na jaina (it’s done) 
could be today, could be yesterday, not necessarily historical.  
E sisi o Henry e na jaina (it’s the past) 
could be today, could be yesterday, not necessarily historical.  
*e na jaina e sisi o Henry 
*e na jaina o Henry e sisi 
“Henry slipped on the banana” 
*a jaina e sisi e na Henry 
O Jaina e sisi e na telai Henry 
“The Banana (a character) slipped on Henry” 
Telai – on top of 
Tana e na telai va’a 
“Put on top of the shelf” 
O Henry e sisi 
E sisi o Henry 
“Henry slipped” 
O Henry e late  
E late o Henry 
“Henry jumped” 
122. blind – Bobo 
Bobo – To blind, to be blind 
To massage 
Ma’a – eyes 
ma’a bobo – blind person 
A ‘ama’a ma bobo e na cina 
Ma bobo a ‘ama’a e na cina 
*a cina (e) bobo a ‘ama’a 
*a cina boboci a ‘ama’a 
“The man is blinded by the light”
A ‘ama’a bobo  
“The man is blind” 
123. Twilight – aranavi 
Dawn – ma’axalailai (grandmother’s words – she lives in Na’oxalau) vulacilailai (father’s words – he lives in Waisa) 
Rowarowa (Mother’s village – Nasolo) 
O Venson tau rixa e na vulacilailai 
*O venson e na vulacilailai taurika 
“Venson goes running at dawn” 
O Venson e laicika laxi rixa e na rara ni vulacilailai 
*O Venson e laxi rixa e na vulacilailai ni rara 
“Venson goes running in the park at dawn” 
Rixa – run  
Rara – park  
O Venson e laxi rixa ni vulacilailai 
“Venson goes running at dawn” 
O Venson e laxi rixa 
“Vensons goes went running” 
124. One hundred thousand – tuga drau udolu 
127. Bean – pini  
O Greg e vaxasama a xina a pini 
*O Greg a xina a pini e vaxasama 
*O Greg e vaxasama a pini  
“Greg thought about beans” 
Vaxasama – thought 
A xina – about  
!O Pini e vaxasama a xina a Greg 
“Bean thought about Greg” 
(I’m guessing this is semantically not great, grammatically maybe okay???) 129. Turtle – vonu 
E xalo a vonu e na wai’ui 
“The turtle swims/swam in the sea” 
E xalo ‘ixo a vonu e na wai’ui 
“The turtle is swimming in the sea”
Xalo – swim 
E xalo a vonu  
“The turtle swims (it was on the beach and is now back in the water)” 
(This phrasing is preferred) 
A vonu e xalo  
(Something had happened that the turtle wasn’t able to swim, or wasn’t swimming,  bot NOW it’s swimming) 
Sisilia pointed out that we need to pay attention to animacy – maybe position of argument of  in the sentence is sensitive to an animacy hierarchy.  
FOR EXAMPLE: 
A gone ma lesu i xoronivuli 
“The child returned to school” 
Ma lesu a gone i xoronivuli 
“The child returned to school”  
(different tone – surprise. Something happened such that the child had to return to school).  
E lu’u a niu mai na vunixacu 
(I’m telling someone right now that the coconut fell) 
A niu e lu’u mai na vunixacu 
(Something happened such that the coconut fell) 
A ‘ama’a e xalo  
E xalo a ‘ama’a 
“The man swims” 
130. Easy - rawarawa 
A xalo e rawarawa 
“swimming is easy” 
A saka ni talo e rawarawa 
E rawarawa a saka ni talo 
“cooking taro is easy” 
A saka ni talo e rawara:wa 
“cooking taro is very easy” 
[#n degree is modified with tone of voice and some vowel lengthening] 
*O Greg e Rawarawa  
(incomplete) 
E rawa ni xaba  
“(he) can climb”
E maka ni rawa ni xaba 
“He cannot climb” 
O Greg e rawa ni xalo 
“Greg can swim” 
O Sisilia e rawarawa ni vosa vei xea  
Sisilia easy NI talk to/with her 
“Sisilia is easy to talk to” 
Vosa – to talk  
O Greg e vosa  
“Greg is about to talk” (inceptive) 
E vosa ‘ixo o Greg 
“Greg’s talking” (progressive/continuative) 
O Greg e vosa vei Sisilia 
“Greg is talking to sisilia” 
*O Greg e vosa a xina Sisilia (talking about ‘the’ Sisilia, like she’s an object) 
O Greg e avola ‘ixo bale’i Sisilia 
“Greg is talking about Sisilia” 
[#n bale’i = bale’a ‘reason’ – He’s talking because of Sisilia] 
O Greg e vosa a xina a v bale’a vonu 
*O Greg e avola ‘ixo bale’i vonu 
“Greg is talking about the turtle” 
131. branch – aba  
Aba – take a photo 
Aba – picture 
Aba – shoulder  
E xamusu a abani vunixacu  
A abani vunixacu e xamusu 
“The tree branch broke” 
musu – broken  
xamusu – to be broken 
O Greg e vaxamusu a xina abani vunicaxu 
“Greg broke the tree branch”
Vaxa- CAU 
E vayavuyavu a xina o Greg abani vunixacu O Greg e vayavuyavu a xina abani vunixacu “Greg burned the branch” 
A xina a – about (?)