A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE ...

(106) bina within jussive constructions
Maanoo bina!
let it be DM
‘Let him (leave)!’ (feeling of bina: I don’t care, it’s okay that he leaves.)
The statement in (106) was not uttered to the angry elder that left, but to us, the other
interlocutors in the room at the time. Here, bina appears to signal to interlocutors that she
does not care against the expectation that one would normally care in situations such as
this. This particular elder was known to be a scrapper in her younger days and so it was
no surprise that she would make such a comment. In short, the use of maanoo in her
utterance tells us (the interlocutors) to let him (leave), and bina strengthens that
imperative. It is important to note that the I don’t care attitude emanating from this
utterance is pragmatically inferred, since bina does not have any meaning in and of itself.
It is bina’s strengthening function which allows the pragmatically inferred attitude of I
don’t care to be obtained. While my data is somewhat scanty for this particle, my
observation has been that bina usually appears in these situations where there is some
social norm or expectation that is not being observed.
While bina may strengthen the illocutionary force of imperatives (which are
inherently confronting), bina may also strengthen, or reinforce, expressions which a
speaker uses to quash any fears, hesitations, or unfounded expectations by interlocutors.
For example, in the following example, my consultants suggest that the response to
Speaker A’s would be appropriate. Speaker A asks whether it would be okay to come
and sing at a ceremony (something that someone might think is inappropriate to ask
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