Datapoint Cape Verdean Creole of Santiago/Complementizer with verbs of knowing

The complementizer after verbs of speaking, thinking and perception is ma, with the variants kuma and kumâ. Thus, it is not identical to the element ki 'that', which introduces other clauses (e.g. subject clauses). Historically, (ku)ma is linked to
old Ptg. coma 'as'. However, it can also be linked to kuma of Guinea-Bissau Kriyol, which has the meanings 'say', 'that' (after verbs of speaking and thinking) and 'as' and which, on its part, is probably related to Mandinka kuma, which, as a noun, means 'speech' and, as a verb, 'say'.

Values

Complementizer not synchronically related to ‘say’

Example 30-203:
Djon sabe ma Maria sta duenti.
Djon
John
sabe
know
ma=Maria
comp=Mary
sta
be
duenti.
ill
John knows that Mary is ill.

Source: Lang et al. 2012

Example 30-204:
Nhos sabe ma ten txeu animal ki ê más spértu ki algen?
Nhos=sabe
2pl=know
ma=ten
comp=have
txeu
many
animal
animal
ki
comp
ê
be
más
more
spértu
intelligent
ki=algen?
than=person
Do you know that there are a lot of animals who are more intelligent than people?
German: Wisst ihr, dass es viele Tiere gibt, die intelligenter sind als der Mensch?

Source: Brüser et al. 2002: s.v. algen

Confidence:
Very certain