Book 2 Lesson 10 | omavang do sikoki (Taking a Plane)

omavang do sikoki ｜ Taking a Plane

At the end of si Masaray's (Ma) tour of Orchid Island, she decided to take the old grandfather, si apen Magaga (Ga), back to Taiwan for a tour. At the airport, the lady at the desk (D) helped them register, check in baggage, and the security officer (S) assisted them through security.

Readings

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Ma: ko mapadket so ngaran.
I want to register my name (reserve seats).
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D: ya apira mo padketen?
How many seats do you want?
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Ma: ya adoa.
Two.
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D: simango o mo padketen?
What day do you want them for?
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Ma: siciaraw ya.
For today.
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D: apey o ngaran nio aka no kipo nio, angayan kamo o pzapzatan nio do jito ta pararaen.
Here are your tickets and IDs. Please take your luggage over there for shipment.
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S: ya apira o pzazatan nio?
How many pieces of luggage do you have?
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Ma: ya tlo.
Three pieces.
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S: aney, mo akay, o mo 'aviten ori ta pararaen.
Grandfather, give me that thing in your hand to ship.
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Ga: ciaha, ta to ko na 'avita.
It's ok, I'll carry this.
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S: ikongo ya mipipi do katawtao mo ori? pacitan pala?
What do you have that keeps ringing? Take it out please.
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Ga: ipimamaman ko.
It is my betel nut knife.
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S: aney, ta itoro ko do mapagozit do sikoki, si makaranes kamo do Taito am, itoro da jimo.
Give it to me, and I'll hand it to the pilot. When you reach Taitung, he will give it back to you.

Grammar ｜ omavang do sikoki (Taking a Plane)

(1) Word order of WH-questions

In Yami WH-questions, the WH-word always appears at the beginning of the sentence, where the new information and predicate are located. The other part of the sentence, the Subject (old information), appears as a full noun phrase (Example 1) or as a nominalized clause (Example 2).

In Example (3), the pronoun mo is moved to the front of padketen because the verb expresses present progressive aspect. Similarly in (4), because the verb represents an ongoing action, the nominative pattern is replaced by a verbal phrase. Not only is the pronoun moved forward, but the nominative case marker o is omitted.

1. ya apira — o pzazatan nio?
“How many pieces of luggage do you have?”
2. ikongo — o ya mipipi do katawtao mo ori?
“What do you have that keeps ringing?”
3. simango — o mo padketen?
“What day would you like to sign up for?”
4. ya apira — mo padketen?
“How many seats do you want?”

(2) The Agent of Imperative sentences

The second-person pronoun “you” usually does not appear in an imperative sentence. However, when a transitive verb is used and the speaker wishes to draw special attention, the agent becomes nominative. In Examples (5)–(6), the nominative agent kamo “you (plural)” is used. Also, the suffix -an is an inflected form derived from the transitive prefix i-.

5. angay-an kamo o pzapzatan nio do jito ta pararaen.
“Please take your luggage over there for shipment.”
6. pacita-an pala?
“Show it, please.”

(3) Direction of the imperative verb “give”

When the direction of “give” is toward the speaker, use aney “give me (something)” (Example 7). When the direction is toward the hearer, use apey “give you (something)” (Example 8). Since both are transitive verbs, the Patient must appear in the nominative case.

7. apey o ngaran nio aka no kipo nio.
“Here are your IDs and tickets.”
8. aney, mo akay, o mo ’aviten ori ta pararaen.
“Grandfather, give me that thing in your hand to ship.”

(4) Conjunction ta “because”

The conjunction ta “because” is used to connect clauses and always appears before the clause it introduces, as in (9). It may also function like a linker in a serial verb construction, as in (10)–(11).

9. ciaha ta to ko na ’avita.
“It’s ok, I’ll carry this.”
10. aney, mo akay, o mo ’aviten ori, ta pararaen.
“Grandfather, give me that thing in your hand to ship.”
11. aney, ta itoro ko do mapagozit do sikoki.
“Give it to me, and I’ll hand it to the pilot.”