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Example 23-58
mifala i stap talem wan gel ia hem i bin bon long faea
mifala
1pl
.
excl
i
agr
stap
prog
talem
tell
wan
indf
gel
girl
ia
def
hem
3sg
i
agr
bin
ant
bon
burn
long
loc
faea
fire
We're talking about this girl who was burnt in a fire.
Comment:
Note the way the indefinite and definite/specificity marker combine to give the discourse pragmatics of indefinite
this
in English.
Type:
naturalistic spoken
Source:
Meyerhoff nd
Language:
Bislama
by
Miriam Meyerhoff
cite
Datapoints:
Definite articles: No definite article, but indefinite article
Indefinite articles: Indefinite article identical to numeral ‘one’
Position of tense, aspect, and mood markers in relation to the verb: Immediately preceding the verb
Uses of the progressive marker: Progressive, habitual, and current state
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