Category:Pileni (Language)

PILENI GRAMMAR
This language is also known as Pilheni.

This language is a dialect of Vaeakau-Taumako and its dialects are: Matema, Taumako (Duff), Nupani, Nukapu, Pileni, and Aua. This language is spoken on the Solomon Islands in these areas: Duff Island, Reef Island, Matema, Taumako, Nupani, Nukapu, Pileni, and Nifiloli by about 1,700 people.

THE Language here called Pileni is spoken on the island of that name in the Swallow or Reef Islands, north-west of Santa Cruz, and on the neighbouring islands of Matema, Fenua Loa (Lomlom), Nukapu and Nupani. The same language is spoken on Taumako or Duff Island, north of Santa Cruz. A different language is spoken in Tikopia.

With the exception of the word Taurique already quoted from Figueroa, and the numerals of Mami on Matema Island given by D'Urville, the only words of this language which had been published when these notes were first drawn up in 1916, were some relationship and clan names collected by Dr. W. H. R. Rivers in Matema, Nukapu and Pileni. Other literature included the pronouns and numerals and a few particles, the last having also a few sentences. A little more knowledge of the grammar was obtained from the Pater Noster. Another piece of correspondence and a prayer book give a fair, if not very extensive view, of the structure of the Reef Island Language. It is made from the Mota (Banks Island) version, which it somewhat slavishly follows. The Mota is translated phrase by phrase, with the compound words in Mota represented by similar compounds in Pileni, the components being literally translated. Some examples are: Valoa-mata, church; in Mota loglue, called out; faloki-lavoi, praise; Mota logwia, call good; lakau tao splinter; Mota tangesar, sharp piece of wood, sar sharp,; auake, lift up. Mota saukalo. In translating a Mota word with suffix pronoun or with a following possessive the Pileni prefixes the possessive word. Thus toinoa for Mota nasasama, thy name; autai for Mota o tanun anoma, thy man; (to and au the Pileni possessives, ma the Mota suffix, and anoma the Mota possessive). But preceding possessives in Mota presented no difficulty. Thus atatu value for nonina o ganganor, our sins.

1. ALPHABET
Vowels: a, e, i, o, u. Consonants: b, f, (g), k, l, m, n n, p, s, t, v.

The italic n (printed in roman when the remainder of the word is in italic) represents the sound of the English “ng” in “sing.”

The printed book and the MSS. also have: gh, kh, ph, sh, and th.

There is some uncertainty as to final e or i. In the printed book an initial a sometimes disappears after ȧ: tana liki, the chiefs, for tana aliki; anana, works, for anaana; tukuane, speak, for tukua ane. The a and o of the possessive pronouns are often separated from the pronominal suffix, especially after the preposition i: io tatu tapeo osi, from all our badness; instead of i otatu tapeo osi.

The use of h is peculiar as the aspirated and unaspirated sounds are interchanged: khato or kato, all; phau or pau, read; shiai or siai, not; thama or tama, father. The use of kh probably marks an approach to the sound of the Samoan break ('). The writing of ph is perhaps due to a tendency to interchange p and f as in the neighbouring Melanesian Island of Nifiloli. In Santa Cruz and Nifiloli p an v commonly interchange. In the printed Pileni book v is sometimes found for f. The name of the island has been written Pileni, Fileni, Phileni, and Pilheni. The interchange of th and t probably indicates that the true sound is that of the Maori t.

The letters g and gh are rarely used. They are apparently used for k and kh.

2. ARTICLES
The article with common nouns is te: te ifi, the chestnut; te malama, the world; te unu, the loosing. This makes verbs and adjectives into nouns: te mate, death; te maoli, the truth; te fakamauli otatou, the saving of us.

Ko is used for emphasis predicatively with proper nouns: A Lord aia ko God, the Lord he (is) God; na inoa ko Pasikaloa, his name (was) Pasikaloa.

The nominal particle a is used in the objective after the prepositions ki and i: ki a sinana, to his mother.

The plural article is a, often prefixed: atai, men; afeina, things; a fenua, lands. A is also used in a collective sense with a few words: avai oku, my water; atoto, blood; alau, thatch (lit. leaves); aone, sand.

The indefinite ni, some, is almost equivalent to an article: ni sheep ne lavaki, (some) sheep that are lost; i ni manava e fuama, with hearts pure.

3. NOUNS
Derivation:—

Any word becomes a noun by prefixing the article: mauli, to live; te mauli, life; maki, sick; te maki, sickness.

The place or circumstance of an action is shown by the suffix -na: nofoana, a seat; tau fanauna, thy being born. The suffix may be added to the last word of a phrase: tau fui-tapuna, thy baptism (washing-holy); tana ifomaina, its coming down.

A demonstrative personal noun is formed from an adjective or verb by the word tanai prefixed: tanai e matua, those (who) are great; tanai no maki, those (who) are sick; tanai latu fanafanai khilatou, those that shoot them; tanai i monomatou, those in our land.

The word tuki, equivalent to the Mota tur is prefixed to nouns for emphasis: tukialiki, the real chief; tukimana, the real power, almighty.

Number:—

The plural is shown in several ways:

1. By the article a: atalatala, words; afenua, lands. When the noun begins with a this is sometimes omitted: a ta, souls, for a ata.

2. By the indefinites ni, some, osi, all, the first preceding the second following the noun.

3. The plural of persons is shown by tana: tana thama, children. An initial a disappears, tana liki, chiefs.

4. A few plurals are formed by reduplication: fenufenua osi, all lands.

5. With some names of relatives fe, the reciprocal prefix is used: fethupuna, ancestors; fethuokana, brothers.

6. The collective noun mata is used for a company, or family: te mata ona, his family; a mata poi, all sorts of animals.

Case:—

The nominative usually precedes the verb: thuaone kei fanaua a kaikai e kiu, the ground shall bring forth foods innumerable; omatu alofata kei menaina to lono, our mouths shall declare thy praise.

The objective is preceded by the preposition i: tu lono i te lono, sing (imperat.) a song.

The genitive is shown by a or o; a taumafa a God, the sacrifices of God; te unu a value, the forgiveness of sins; te fakoto a to ataliki, the love of thy son; apeo o te malama, the deceits of the world; a tautaufaa o te afiafi, the prayers of the evening; te malumalu o te mate, the shadow of death.

Some nouns have a vocative form: Opa! Father! (the common word is tama); Apu! grandparent!

4. ADJECTIVES
An adjective or qualifying noun follows without particle: feina osi, things all; afeina kee, things wonderful; te ala melo, the peaceful way.

The common particle with adjectives is e: manava e fuama, heart pure; feina e mana, powerful thing; tau e vovo, years many.

Comparison is made by positive statements: tenei e lavoi ko thaina e tapeo, this is good, that is bad; e tapeo ane ki thainei, worse than this; e tapeo aliali, bad exceedingly.

5. PRONOUNS
Personal:—

Singular: 1. aiau, iau; 2. akoe, koe, ko; 3. aia, ia.

Plural: 1. (inclus.) khitatou, kitatou, thatu, tatu; (exclus.) khimatou, kimatou, matu; 2. khoutou, koutou, kotou, tou, tu; 3. khilatou, kilatou, latu.

Dual. 1. (inclus.) kitaua; (exclus.) khimaua, kimaua; 2. koulua, kolu; 3. kilaua.

The shorter forms are used as nominatives to verbs. Ko may take the place of a in the singular, and may precede the longer forms in the dual and plural. The particle te is placed before the singular pronouns in the objective and dative cases: ana thauane ki te ia, serve confidently him; faloki i te iau, call me; faloki-lavoi i te koe, praise thee.

Possessive:—

The words used as possessive pronouns fall into three divisions:

1. Pronouns suffixed to nouns; 2. Possessive words preceding nouns;

3. Possessive words following nouns.

1. Pronouns suffixed to nouns. These are apparently few in number, and are all names of relationships. The suffixes found are:

Singular: 1. -ku; 3. -na.

Plural: 1. (inclus.) -thatou, -tatou; 3. -latou.

Examples are: thamaku, my father; sinana, his mother; tanata thauathatou, our enemy; thamatatou, our father; sinulatou, their mother.

Relationship names with the reciprocal prefix do not take the suffix pronoun, but the word tono, used alone for “inheritance,” and apparently meaning “family connections,” is used with the suffix pronoun: tonoku fethuokana, my brothers; tonona vethokana, his brothers: tonotatu fethupuna, our forefathers. In the 2nd person singular the pronoun is suffixed to the noun and not to tono: tono vethokau, thy brothers.

2. Possessive words preceding nouns. These are formed as usual in Polynesian by the words o or a with the suffixed pronoun. In the singular t for the article is prefixed. In the plural o or a is often separated from the pronoun and joined to the preceding word especially if this be the preposition i: io nakafu, in its season; ia nalima, in his hand.

The following words are found:—

Singular: 1. tuku, oku, aku; 2. to, tau, o, au; 3. tana, ona, ana.

Plural: 1. (inclus.) otatu, atatu; 1. (exclus.) tamatu, omatu; amatu, 2. toutu, otou; 3. talatu, olatu, alatu.

Dual: 2. tela.

Examples: tuku mauli, my life; tuku vae, my foot; oku mata, my eyes; aku value, my sins; to inoa, thy name; tau fanauna, thy birth; i o mata, in thy sight (eyes); au tai, thy people; tana lavoi, his goodness; i ona lima, with his arms; ana tai, his people; otatu vae, our feet; atatu value, our sins; tamatu nofo, our way of living; omatu manava, our hearts (bellies); amatu kaimauli, our trespasses; toutu ataliki, your son; otou vae, your legs; talatu uauake, their ship (?); olatu lima, their hands; alatu kaimauli, their trespasses.

In the 3rd person the first vowel is sometimes omitted and the pronoun prefixed, thus: nainoa, his name; naataliki, his son.

3. Possessive words following nouns. These consist of the words o and a with suffixed pronoun.

Singular: 1. oku, aku; 2. ou, au; 3. ona, ana.

Plural: 1. (inclus.) otatou, atatou; 1. (exclus.) omatou, amatou; 2. autou; 3. alatou.

Dual: 1. (inclus.) otaua, ataua; (exclus.) omaua, amaua; 2. oulua; 3. alaua.

Examples: a vai oku, my water; nofini aku, my wife; te maoli ou, thy truth; nofini au, thy wife; te mathapua ona, his gate; te tai ana, his man; po otatou, our days.

The word nio with suffixes also appears: nioku, nio.

Interrogative Pronouns:

Koai? who? Koai kai kutea kitaua ateiao? who will see us tomorrow? Koai i te koe? who (is) with thee?

Nia? what? Ne fiaki aia i nia? struck him with what?

Nanafea? is used equivalent to the Mota irasei? who? those of what place?

Demonstrative Pronouns:—

Nei, this; na, that: te malama nei, this world; te po nei, this day; te ifi nei, this chestnut-tree; te tafola na, that whale.

Nei and na may be combined with the articles, as tenei, thainei, this; thaina, that; anei, these.

A personal demonstrative is nana: those people of, those fellows belonging to a place. Mota, iragai.

Indefinite Pronouns and Adjectives:—

Ni, some; ke, other, different: ni ilo o te maoli, some knowledge of the truth; siai e tai ke, there is no other man; afeina ke, other things (wonders).

Koai, who, is used as indefinite “whoever”: koai no ana atu ki te koe ka nofo tautia, whoever works for thee shall dwell safely.

Relative:—

Tanai is used for “persons who”: tanai e thuu, those who stand.

6. VERBS
Derivation:—

The causative prefix is faka. The use of this with adjectives is not prominent, but there are a few examples: fakatai, together; faka-peupeu, humble; fakavo, often.

Transitive verbs have the suffixes -a, -ina, -aki, -akina: faia, to fakamaolia, to believe (maoli, true); fakamaulia, to save (mauli, to live); fanaua, to bear, bring forth; tapeoina, to hate (tapeo, bad); fakafonuina, to make full; alikina, to govern (aliki, chief); tuanaki, to trust; fakamataki, to begin; vakivakiakina, to praise.

The reciprocal prefix is fe: feilia, to ask.

The desiderative prefix is fie: fiekhai, hungry; to hunger, to desire food.

Passive terminations are not prominent: ne tanumia, he was buried.

Compounds are frequent: taku (a) talaina, to confess (say-tell); faloki-lavoi, to praise (call-good), leleina-lavoina, to judge rightly. Many of these imitate the Mota.

Conjugation:—

The verb is conjugated by means of shortened pronouns and particles, either separate or conjoined. The exact meanings of all these have not been determined.

The particles found are e, ko, no, ne, ka and ke. In form and use these appear to be very like those in Futuna of the New Hebrides.

The abbreviated pronouns found are:—

Singular: 1. u-; 2. ko-; 3. -i.

Dual: 1. (inclus.) ta; (exclus.) ma; 2. —; 3. la.

Plural: 1. (inclus.) tatu; (exclus.) matu; 2. —; latu.

These appear not to be necessary when the person is otherwise indicated. When used u and ko are prefixed to the particle, but i is suffixed. The duals and plurals are written separately before the particle.

Examples of verbs without particles: koe nofo i te toilo, thou sittest at the right hand; khitatou tatu takua po, we, we say thus; tatu tokotuli, we kneel; e lavoi ta le ifo, it is good we 2 (i.e., we must) go down; ke fakamama, po ma kutea, open (your) mouth then we 2 will see; atai latu malelakina akoe, men praise thee.

The indefinite particle e is commonly used with adjectives, and with verbs in its unchanged form. But Singular: 1. ue; 2. koe; 3. ei, also appear: aiau e fakamaolia, I believe; akoe e fakamataki melo, thou beginnest peace; aia e maoli, he is true; khimatou e fakamaolia, we believe; thatu e takua, we say; tuku ata e makoekoe, my spirit is glad; aiau ue kutea-iloaina oku fai valeina osi, I acknowledge all my wrong doings; khimatou ne faia afeina koe lilia, we have done things thou art angry at; ei faia afeina e taunatai ki te leo, he does things conformable to the law.

The narrative particle is ko, used in all persons and numbers. It does not appear to take the pronominal additions, and there are no examples in the 1st and 2nd person. The singular is used without pronoun, the dual with la, and the plural with latu: te tafola na ko fakatheki ake, that whale ran inland (stranded); ko le kake, he went up; la ko takuane, they two say; latu ko oo, they went.

Ko is often followed in both singular and plural by i, as koi. This appears to denote continuation of the action, or perhaps consequence: tanai koi lavoi, those who are (still) well; afeina osi koi mauli i thuaone, all things that are living on the earth; aia no muli mai a koi kutea te ifi, he comes back and (then) sees the chestnut; Moiteua koi avake te kapekape, Moiteua (then) takes away the comb.

The particle of the present tense is no; 1st singular uno, 2nd singular kono, 3rd singular noi: uno tuanaki atu ki te koe, I am trusting in thee; aiau uno tauneveiatu khoutou, I exhort you; kono feitakina khimatou anei, thou dost try us now; e a no tani ai? why does he weep about it?; te uu na noi fakatulia te keu, that crab feels the fire; ghila no le ifo, they are going down; khimatou no faloki-lavoi i te koe, we praise (call good) thee; latu no folafolau, they are travelling; tanai no faifekau i naleo, those who are ministers of his word. The i may perhaps denote continuance or consequence: A

tuitui e tapu noi tauneveia fakavo mai khitatou, the holy writings beseech often us.

The particle ne shows completed action; 1st singular une, 2nd singular kone, 3rd singular nei: une faia, I have done; kone tapenai, thou hast prepared; kone afaniane, thou hast opened; kone filifilia khitatou, thou hast chosen them, nei asio mai, he has come; nei kutea, he has seen; khimatou ne sipa, we have erred; latu ne tanumia, they buried him.

The future particle is ka; 1st singular ku, 2nd singular, ko, 3rd singular kai: ku tu, I will arise; ku tukuane, I will say; ko avane afeina, thou wilt give the things; kai leleina te malama, he shall judge the world; aia ka (i) ifo mai, he shall descend hither.

The subjunctive particle is ke, used with the conjunction po that, and somewhat confused with ka: po ke alofa, that he may love; po kei tulama, that he might enlighten; pekei manatua oki, that he should remember; po ke afio ake oki i ana nana tapeo, that he may come back again from his evil doings; te malaama kei fakamalaa-maina atai osi, a light to lighten all men; khimatou e fakamaoli po ko afio mai, we believe that thou shalt return hither; omatu alofafa kei menaina to lono, our mouth shall show thy praise.

Other particles appear, but the exact meaning is uncertain. Te ala ou koio fakatea mai ki te malama, thy way may be (?) make clear hither to the world.

Mood:—

The infinitive mood appears to be shown by the particle o: ipi mai o aina khimatou, hasten hither to help us; latu ko oo ki taupe o kaukau, they went to the sea to bathe; ku tu o afioake oki kia thamaku, I will arise to visit again my father.

The imperative particles are koa (singular) and tou or tu (plural): koa fakatelekia o mata, do thou turn away thy face; koa lono fakalofa mai kia matu, hear pitifully to us; tou vakhei ake o malelakina i te mathapua ana, enter (ye) to rejoice in his gates; tu faloki-lavoi ia Lord, praise ye the Lord.

The particle ke is used in precatory sentences: te malama ou ke au, thy kingdom let come: ke takoto mai i khimatou, let it lie on us.

The prohibitive is aua to: aua to fenane ki manana, do not go there; aua to avavake o tupu, don't take away thy spirit.

The negative is expressed by siai before the verbal particle: te maoli siai ne takoto mai i khitatou, the truth is not in us; siai e tai ke, there is no other man; aiau siai no kutea aia, I do not see him.

7. ADVERBS
Directive: mai, hither, towards the speaker; ane, towards him; atu, towards you; ake, up; ifo, down. These are compounded with the verb au thus: aumai, bring; avane, give; avatu, take; auake, lift up. Other examples are: una ifo, send down; ipi mai, hasten hither.

Time: i laninei, to-day; a te iao, to-morrow; lanila, day after to-morrow; anafi, yesterday; anafiata, day before yesterday; ia malamaki, in the mornings; ia fiafi, in the evenings; anei, now; aumai anei ni kaikai, give now some food; mananei, now; tuai, formerly, of old; loaloa, continuously, always; oki, again; la, continuously.

Place: te fea? i fea? where? aia te fea? where is he? imananei, here; imanana, there; imanala, there (distant); levethak, near; mao, far.

Manner: pena, thus (used as a verb); kilatou osi ne pena, they all did thus; phenei, this way, so; a kila phenei, and they did so; belekha, properly; fafai, apart.

Cause: inia? why?

Negative: siai, shiai, no.

There are the usual local nouns: muli, hind part; tua, the back; mua, front; luna, top; lalo, under; loto, the middle; fafo, the outside; tafa, the side. With the prepositions i and ki these form adverbs and compound prepositions of position and direction. Some examples are: ko kake ki luna, climbs up; te malama i eluna, the world above; takafia ki lalo o matu vae, cast down under our feet; afeina i loto, things within; aia e ko tai e tu i loto, he is one he stands between; te ulumatua no tele i mua, the firstborn goes in front; i natua, at his back, behind him.

The relative adverb ai comes at the end of a phrase: koa sukumai te ua akaikai ke mauli ai, give rain (that) food may grow thereby.

8. PREPOSITIONS
Genitive:—

The genitive is sometimes expressed without a preposition: kutu-lana martur, the company (of) martyrs; te malaama Opa, the glory (of the) father.

The genitive prepositions are o and a: te ataliki o opa, the son of the father; te makhona o atanata thaua, the power of the enemies; a taumafa a God, the sacrifices of God; te unu a value, the forgiveness of sins; te ifi a Pasikaloa, Pasikaloa's chestnut.

Accusative:—

The accusative preposition is i, written ia before personal nouns and pronouns. The singular pronouns also take te: alofa i khimatou, pity us; khimatou no faloki-lavoi i te koe, we praise thee; faloki-lavoi ia Lord, praise the Lord.

Instrumental:—

This case is commonly shown by i, but e is found in a few examples: nei fakafonuina tanai e fiekhai i afeina e lavoi, he has filled those hungry with things good; i ni manava e fuama, with hearts (bellies) pure; i te leo lavoi, with a good voice; e nanakau, with his heart; e ai, thereby.

Dative:—

This is shown by ki, with a and te: ki taupe, to the sea; ne fano ki thalafali, he went to Hades; kia Lord, to the Lord; kia te koe, to thee; kia te ia, to him.

Locative:—

The preposition i is used for “in” or “at”: i thuaone, on the earth: i te ala, on the path; i to nakau, in thy heart.

The compound locative prepositions derived from local nouns have been given under Adverbs. A few common nouns appear used in the same way: i oku mata, before me (at my face); i o mata, before thee; i ona mata, before him.

“With,” “in the company of” is translated by ma: a Bishop ma tanai latu no folafolau ma ia, the Bishop and those they voyage with him; taku fakatai ma ia, say with him; Moiteua ma Taniteala, Moiteua with Tangiteala.

“Like” is expressed by mana: mana ni sheep ne lavaki, like sheep lost; mana tuai, as (it was) formerly.

The word kai (khai and ghai) is used with the preposition o as equivalent to the Mota talo, belonging to: te talatala kai o Taumako, a story belonging to Taumako.

9. CONJUNCTIONS
These are: ia, a, and; ka, but; po, that, then; e, if; e phenei, thus; e phena phela, wherefore; takina, because, through.

Examples: te malaama ia te popouli, light and darkness; te Priest ko tuake ka tana fenua koi tokotuli, the Priest stands up but the people still kneel; aia faifekau kai takua po, he the minister shall say thus; koi feiliane ki ghilaua po, fea? he asked them two, where? takina ne au po kei leleina te malama, because he comes that he may judge the earth.

Phenei, phena, phela are used as though verbs: a ko phenei, and (they did) this; a ko phela, and they did thus.

10. INTERJECTIONS
Very few of these appear in the matter available. A few nouns have a vocative form: Opa! father!; I te! mother! Rivers 5 gives also: apu! and pu! grandparent! The Mota vocative Ragera! you two? is translated by thaua! (perhaps for tai ua). The Mota Gai! is simply tai, man! The Mota Ragai! you fellows! used as a demonstrative is translated Nana: Nana Taumako, those fellows belonging to Taumako (Mota: Iragai ta Taumako).

11. NUMERALS
These are: 1 tai, 2 lua, 3 tolu, 4 fa, 5 lima, 6 ono, 7 fitu, 8 valu, 9 iva, 10 khato or katoa.

The tens are numbered by a verbal phrase: 20 nakatoa e lua, its ten is two; 30 nakatoa e tolu; 90 nakatoa e iva, etc.

Similarly the word vesiki means “hundred”: 100 te vesiki e ko tai, the ten is one; 200 avesiki e lua; 300 avesiki e tolu, etc.

“A thousand” is kiu: te kiu e ko tai. Kiu is also used for “innumerable.”

The units above ten are named tuma: nakatoa e fa natuma e lima, its tens are four its units (above ten) are five, i.e., 45.

The interrogative, How many? is E fia?

When referring to persons toko is prefixed to the numerals: atai e tokolu e tokotolu, two or three persons.

The ordinals have the possessive pronoun prefixed either to the noun or the numeral: te taufaafaa nalua, the second prayer; na po tolu, the third day; te tautaufa natolu, the third prayer.

See Also: Pileni Rosary Prayers