Ukamayan registers
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 29 Aug 2017, 06:01.
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
There are two registers in Ukamayan, casual and honourific. The registers both decide what words that are used, to some extent grammar. Mostly, there is not too much difference, but in some cases it can be quite extreme:
| Casual | vs. | Honourific | Na kofeo na 'oakotāŋi. and 2Second person (person) addressee (you)-be.clear and 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I-2Second person (person) addressee (you)-see I see you clearly | Rasiasia i 'oatamāŋoe io te fa'akāaroa. 2FSecond person formal (person) addressee, formal register (you)-be.clear in 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I-see⟨CNJVConjunctive (mood) subordinates or serialises verb⟩-INFInfinitive (TAM) non-tensed verb INVInverse marker (valency) AKA action redirector HONHonourific indicates respect for the addressee 2Second person (person) addressee (you)>1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I I see you clearly. |
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[top]Usage
The rules of registers are quite complicated, and the social rules may differ from village to village. Both the location, time and adressee are determining which register to use. However some general rules can be made:
- In your own house: Usually casual
- In someone else's house: Casual if you know the house owners well, honourific if you are a stranger.
- Outside in the village: Casual if you speak to someone of your own or a lower social rank, honourific if you speak to someone with a higher social rank.
- In the wild: Casual if it is daytime and you are not in explicit danger, honourific if is night or if you are hunting or in danger.
- Around a fire: Always casual
- On holy ground Always honourific
In addition, there is a rule that states that you should generally answer someone using the same register that they used. This, however, conflicts with a lot of the above rules. To solve this problem, one has to look at the social hierarchy, the specific time of the day and location, and follow the rules that are special for the village.
[top]Grammar differences
There are not so many right now, but I may add some more later. They can be found in this article under pronouns and adverbs.
[top]Vocabulary differences
This is where the greatest difference between the registers lays. Although more than half of the words do not differ, there are many that do. There are several ways a casual word can differ from a honourific word:
Different roots
Some words have completely different roots in the two registers. This is the case for most of the random words that for some reason come in two forms:
- ama (egg, casual) vs. 'ōaŋa (egg, honourific)
Casual shortening
Some words that originally were long (3 or more syllables) are shortened in the casual register:
- foe (mother, casual) vs. fonokoe (mother, honourific)
Compound substitution
Some words became inapropriate to say in formal situation, and compound words were made to substitute them. This happens with body parts and religious things amongst others:
- 'āo'āo (holiness, casual) vs. 'ekotāŋi (holiness, honourific, lit. that which should not be seen)
- fei (arm, casual) vs. fāŋiroa (arm, honourific, lit. branch of a human)
- aŋano (dance, casual) vs. 'ārino (dance, honourific, lit. music step)
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