Example 48-39

Ese ma nimá si a-ta harocho.
Ese
this
ma
pl
nimá
animal
si
your
a-ta
tma-be
harocho.
hungry
These animals of yours are hungry.
Spanish: Esos animales tuyos están con hambre / tienen hambre.
Comment:
Note that sequence of ese ma nimá is fixed, that is, it cannot be ma ese nimá (alternatively, it could, however, be ma nimá ese, a construction that is common in Palenquero). A-ta harocho above is a good example where the segmentation (and exact interpretation) of [a'ta] is in question. That is: is this really a bimorphemic unit (in which case the inital a- carries a function), or is it perhaps a monomorphemic unit, i.e. [a'ta]? Note that, in many cases, expressions like a-ta harocho are simply rendered without the a- as in ta harocho.
Type:
naturalistic spoken
Source:
Recorded by author