Words with no parallel in English
Thursday, 20 August 2020
COLUMN: It has been stressed several times in these columns that the structure of sentences in te reo Māori is most easily understood by following the principles outlined in Bruce Biggs’ Let’s Learn Maori (1969).
Almost all words are considered to belong in one or other of two main classes: BASES (or content words) and PARTICLES (or structural words).
There are five classes of base words: two types of verb and three types of noun. The class to which a base word belongs is determined by the particles which are used in relation to it when forming phrases and joining phrases into sentences.
For instance, if a phrase begins with a verb particle (such as, say, ka) the base word following must be a verb – either of “doing” (action verb) or of “being” (stative verb). Thus: Ka haere / au. (“Will go / I” = “I will go.”) and Ka pai / tēnā. (“Is good / that.” = “That’s good.”)
None of the nine different verb particles of te reo corresponds to any actual word in English. Each of the verb particles signifies the verb is to be interpreted in a specific manner.
The verb particle ka is used when a new action is about to be done. Hence Ka haere / au. may be understood as “I will go.”
The verb particle me is used when an action should be done: Me haere / au. may be understood as “I should go.” or “I ought to go.”
The verb particle kua denotes that an action has been done: Kua haere / ia. = “She (or he) has gone.”. The verb particle i denotes that an action was done: I haere / ia. = “He (or she) went.”
The great advantage of such a verb system is that the verb base word doesn’t change (as it does in English – from “go” to “gone” to “went”). So-called “irregular” verbs often present considerable difficulties in learning other languages, but there is really very little verb irregularity in Māori.
It’s the correct use of particles, rather, which tends to cause difficulties in learning te reo. This is compounded by the fact that several words classed as particles have multiple functions.
The particle i, for instance, in addition being a verb particle, also functions as a preposition which may best be translated in any of a dozen or so different ways according to context. The online Māori Dictionary supplies several examples.
Some of the particles used in forming noun phrases in te reo are also (like the verb particles) words without parallel in English. Comment on these is planned for next time.