Marshallese Language Training Manual - Linguistics

DIALOGUE FIVE
TRAINEE EO EJ TO JÄN BOOM-BOOM EO ILO JE
trainee/the/is/disembark/from/boat/the/in/island name
A. Iokwe!
B. Yokwe yok yokwe yok!
A. Etam?= What's your name?
name-your
B. Eta in Amata.= My name is Amata.
name-my/is/Amata
A. Ewi Mama im Papa?= Where are my host-parents?
where/mother/and/father
B. Etan Mama im Papa?= What are your host-parents' names?
name-of/mother/and/father
A. Etaer in Loeak.= Their name is Loeak.
name-their/is/Loeak
B. Mama eo im Papa eo.= Here's your Mama and here's your Papa.
mother/here is/and/father/here is
A. Kommool! Yokwe komro!= Thanks! Hello you two!
you- are thanked/love/you two[you, speaking to two people]
C. O! Yokwe! Yokwe!= Oh! Hello! Hello!
DRILLS
Eta in _____ . Iokwe yok.[you,to one person]
Etam kom [you,to an indefinite number]
Etan komro[you,to a pair of people]
Etaer
NOTE: Vocabulary and Grammar: As you may have noticed in this lesson, possession
in a certain class of nouns in Kajin M ajel is indicated by the addition of a possessive
suffix to the word. These nouns which make use of a possessive suffix are termed
"inalienable nouns" because they name objects which are of such value to the possessor
that they are unlikely ever to be separated from him. Examples are words for body parts,
or in the case of the above dialogue, the word for "name". The most important possessive
suffixes to learn at the beginning indicate that the name is mine, yours[to one person], his,
hers,its, or theirs. In the case of etaer, the meaning is either "their name[if people have a
common name]" or "their names". You may inquire as to the names of a group of people or
things (all with different names) just by saying "Etaer?". More about this later . . . in
Grammar Section 5, Possessive Classifiers.
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