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A Grammar of Vabungula
| Part 2.7 - Parts of Speech - Interrogatives and Related Forms |
Formation of Interrogatives
Questions in Vabungula are formed simply by inflection of voice. There is no inversion of noun and verb as in other languages:
De agula Vabungula.
He speaks Vabungula.
De agula Vabungula?
Does he speak Vabungula?
DABUNA
Questions may be introduced by the word dabuna, which developed in casual colloquial language as a contraction of the words "da obuna", literally, "about whether". (Da obuna is the normal way to say "whether", as in "I don't know whether he will come" - So fwil nigo da obuna de mulu lale). Although dabuna is now acceptable usage, it still retains a certain colloquial flavor.
Dabuna de agula Vabungula?
Does he speak Vabungula?
Dabuna ka nigo alagê da ke?
Do you know anything about it?
List of Interrogatives
Vabungula has the following interrogatives:
kam what? which?
sokam who?
lam where?
fûmna when?
kamu why?
kanudž how? (what means?)
kalafe how? (in what manner?)
kameke how? (what condition?)
kameku what (is it) like?
kamzo how many?
kamja how much?
kanot what kind of?
kalara how long? (time)
kalaro how many times? how often?
kajasi how big?
katên which direction?
kagac which way (road, path)?
kalaga how far away?
ekamja how? how much? to what extent?
kamalar what time is it?
also:
kame what then?
(what then do you say to this?
what is to be done now in this case?)
kamoda what about? how about?
Each interrogative has a corresponding form which is used in a non-interrogative sense, such as introducing relative clauses:
okam which; that
osokam who
olam where
ofûmna when
okamu why
okanudž how
okalafe how
okameke how
okameku what (it is) like
okamzo how many
okamja how much
okanot what kind of
okalara how long
okalaro how many times; how often
okajasi how big
okatên which direction
okagac which way
okalaga how far away
oekamja how; how much; to what extent
okamalar what time it is
okame what then
okamoda what about
De sum osokam so mala alega umalarêm.
He is the person whom I saw yesterday.
So nigo okam de mala agula.
I know what he said.
Fwil fûfwini olam ka mala džula ke.
Don’t forget where you put it.
Aguglu so okalara de mêta lag.
Tell me how long he’s been sitting there.
Interrogative Word Families
Generally speaking, interrogatives can engender a family of words according to the following pattern:
XXX interrogative oXXX relative soXXX noun (seldom occurs) alaXXX some... malaXXX any... šalaXXX every... fwilaXXX no... zeXXX the same ... karXXX a different ... tuXXX this... têXXX that...
Not all patterns are populated for all interrogatives. Also note that the pattern soXXX only occurs in the words sokamu, sokamzo, sokamja, and solam.
KAM Word Family
kam what? okam which, that, what kamo thing (tangible) ekamo thing (intangible) kames material, substance alagê some, something malagê any, anything šalagê everything fwilagê nothing zelagê the same thing zelakam duplicate
SOKAM Word Family
sokam who? osokam who sum person, human being alasum someone, somebody malasum anyone, anybody šalasum everyone, everybody fwilasum no one, nobody
FÛMNA Word Family
fûmna when? ofûmna when lar time alalar sometime malalar anytime malafûman whenever, no matter when šalar always, all the time fwilar never zelar simultaneous karelar at a different time fûn now têlar then
LAM Word Family
lam where? olam where solam place alalam somewhere malalam anywhere šalam everywhere fwilam nowhere zelam in the same place karlam in a different place, elsewhere pla here lag there
KANUDŽ Word Family
kanudž how? okanudž how inudž means, way alanudž somehow malanudž anyhow šalanudž in every way, by every means fwilanudž no way zenudž in the same manner, likewise karenudž a different way, by different means tukanudž this is how... onudž by, by means of, with
KALAFE Word Family
kalafe how? in what manner? okalafe how, in what manner ilafel manner, way alafe some way, in some manner malafe any way, any manner šalafe in every way, in every manner fwilafe no way, in no manner zelafe in the same manner, likewise karlafe in a different way or manner tulafe in this way, in this manner
KAMZO Word Family
kamzo how many? okamzo how many zo number sokamzo quantity (of countable entities)
KAMU Word Family
kamu why? okamu why sokamu reason alamu for some reason malamu for any reason zeramu for the same reason karamu for a different reason tukamu this is the reason why... fidaku reason for not being able to fimaku reason it shouldn't be done
KAMEKE Word Family
kameke how?, in what condition? okameke how, in what condition tukameke in this condition, in this way zemeke in the same way or condition karmeke in a different way or condition
KANOT Word Family
kanot what kind of? okanot what kind of kenot kind alanot some kind of malanot any kind of šalanot every kind of fwilanot no kind of zenot the same kind of karnot a different kind of tukanot this kind of
KAGAC Word Family
kagac which way? okagac which way gaco way gace path alagac some way malagac any way šalagac every way fwilagac no way zegac the same way kargac a different way or route tugac this way têgac that way
KATÊN Word Family
katên which direction? okatên which direction tên direction zetên the same direction kartên a different direction tutên this direction, this way têtên that direction, that way gotên to the right sutên to the left otên forward, straight ahead patên sideways tatên backwards
KAMJA Word Family
kamja how much? okamja how much sokamja amount
KALARA Word Family
kalara how long? (time) okalara how long (time)
KALARO Word Family
kalaro how many times? how often okalaro how many times, how often
KAJASI Word Family
kajasi how big? okajasi how big karjasi of a different size
KAMEKU Word Family
kameku what (is it) like? okameku what (it is) like sokameku way, what something is like tueku like this, such, so ekudal attribute edaleku feature, observable attribute esukul personality
KALAGA Word Family
kalaga how far away? okalaga how far away lamga distance aga away
KAMALAR Word Family
kamalar what time is it? okamalar what time it is
EKAMJA Word Family
ekamja how? how much? to what extent? oekamja how, how much, to what extent alekamja to some degree, to a certain extent jalekamja by far, to a large degree zerekamja to the same degree or extent
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| Page last modified on December 30, 2009 |
| Vabungula is an artificial language invented by Bill Price in 1965. |
| Vabungula co nûsk mugola famêlêtke onudž Bill Price larla alara idekuzorekol. |
| Copyright © 1999 by Bill Price |
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