Rarotongan Personal Pronouns: Form and Distribution

Author(s): J. E. Buse
Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London ,
1960, Vol. 23, No. 1 (1960), pp. 123-137
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African
Studies
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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM
AND DISTRIBUTION
BY J. E. BUSE

I. Rarotongan is a Polynesian language spoken on the island of Rarotonga

in the Cook Islands. A phonemic analysis yields a nine-term consonant system
comprising four voiceless plosives (bilabial, dental, velar, glottal), three nasa
(bilabial, alveolar, velar), a bilabial voiced fricative, and an alveolar flapped ' r '.
There is the usual Polynesian five-term vowel system (close front, close back
mid front, mid back, open central). All vowels may be either short (one mor
or long (two morae). Long vowels and short-vowel diphthongs behave phono
logically as dissyllables and are so treated in this paper. Syllable structure
are limited to V and CV.

II. The language was reduced to writing in the nineteenth century by English-
speaking missionaries, who used a thirteen-term alphabet which is now in
general use, viz. a e ng i k n n o p r t u v. The alphabet fails as a phonemiciza-
tion through marking neither the glottal plosive nor vowel length, both of
which are phonemic. Thus ua may represent (1) ua 'rain', (2) Pua 'fruit',
(3) u2a 'female , and keke may stand for (1) keke 'saw ', (2) keke < ' cake ',
(3) keke 'foreign , (4) keke ' armpit'. Rarotongan forms are here cited in the
normal orthography, but with the addition of the glottal sign and macron
as above.1

III. Rarotongan personal pronouns distinguish three pronominal numbers

(singular, dual, plural) and three persons (first, second, third), with a further
inclusive/exclusive distinction (including or excluding the person(s) addressed)
in the first person dual and plural. There is no distinction of sex. The
pronominal forms are set out below. Where, as in the singular, there are
alternative forms, selection is determined by the presence and nature of the
preceding nominal particle.2

FIRST PERSON SECOND PERSON THIRD PERSON

SINGULAR au, ku koe, Pou, 9au, 5 ia, na

INCL. EXCL.

DUAL tdua mdua korua raua

PLURAL tatou matou kotou rdtou

1 Glottalization and vowel lengthening occur in emph

as an attack feature of phrase-initial vowel. These are
of course, in so far as they are implied by the punctua
2 See IV and V below.

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124 J. E. BUSE

The singular forms are monomorphemic and cumulative (exponents of person

and pronominal number). The non-singular forms are bimorphemic, containing
(1) either td-, md-, k6-, or rd-, the exponents of a four-term system (first inclu-
sive, first exclusive, second, third) and (2) either -ua/-rua (allomorphs) or
-tou,1 the exponents of a two-term system of non-singular pronominal number
(dual, plural).
IV. It is convenient to recognize seven positions or positional groups in which
personal pronouns may occur 2:
(1) any position other than 2-7 below
(2) after ko, e, ma, e (agentive)
(3) after e (vocative)
(4) after i, ki, mei, tei, Pei
(5) after 6, to, no (O-particles)
(6) after d, ta, nd (A-particles)
(7) in neutral possessive constructions
V. The distribution of the pronominal forms over these seven positions is
shown in the table below. The sign p indicates that the pronoun is immediately
preceded by the appropriate form of the personal article (see VI below). For
comparison, the distribution of personal nouns is also shown.3

au 1 2
FIRST SINGULAR
ku p4 5 6 7

koe 1 2 3 p4

2ou 5
SECOND SINGULAR
Pau 6

6 7

ia pi 2 p4
THIRD SINGULAR
na 5 6 7

SECOND
DUAL AND PLURAL korua, kotou 1 2 3 p4 5 6

FIRST AND THIRD taua, tdtou

DUAL AND PLURAL nmua, mdtou 1 2 p4 5 6
rdua, rdtou

PERSONAL NOUNS pl 2 3 p4 5 6

For footnotes, see p. 125.

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 125

VI. The personal article, which stands before pronouns and

as shown above, has three forms distributed as follows:
(1) a : Position 1,
(2) a : Position 4, when followed by a personal noun or pronoun containi
three or more syllables (see I above for definition of syllable),
(3) a : Position 4, when followed by a personal noun or pronoun containi
less than three syllables.

VII. A brief comment is necessary on the orthographic treatment of the

personal article and certain of the singular pronouns. The following practi
are commonly-if not consistently-observed. The pronoun ia is written
suffixed to the nominal particle ko (viz. koia) and, in Position 1, to the personal
article (viz. Paia). In Position 4, the personal article is suffixed to the nominal
particles i and ki (viz. ia, id, kia, kid), and when this complex precedes the
pronouns ku and ia, the whole construction may be written as one word (e.g.
idcku, kidia). In Positions 5 and 6, the pronouns ku, Pou, 2au, na, are joined
to the preceding 0- or A-particle (e.g. 5ku, to2ou, dPau, ndna) and, in the neutral
possessive constructions, the pronouns ku and na are written together with the
bound forms ta-, a- (e.g. taku, ana), and the pronoun 6 together with the bound
form t- (viz. t6).4

VIII. There follows some discussion and illustration of the use of the pronouns
in the different positions listed in IV above, personal and common nouns being
included for comparison. In addition to the Rarotongan text, an indication
of its structure and an English translation are also given. The following symbols
and abbreviations are used to indicate the structure:

[ ]: enclose nominal piece ( ): enclose verbal piece

p : personal article v : verbal particle (tense, aspect, mood)
17 : personal pronoun V : verb
P : personal noun N : negative
c : common article (te) + : verb suffix
C : common noun d : directional (post-verbal) particle
A : adjective r : relative (post-verbal) particle (ei)
The indefinite article Pe and the particles listed in IV above are not abbreviat

1 -ua/-rua and -tou appear to be related to rua ' two ' and toru ' three '.
2 Some of these positions have wider syntactic validity, but they are set up here mer
in order to state the distribution of the different pronominal forms, including their colliga
with the personal article. (' Colligate ' and ' colligation ' are here applied to forms as wel
categories; cf. J. Burton-Page, 'Compound and conjunct verbs in Hindi', BSOAS, XIX, 3,
1957, p. 476, n. 1).
3 A personal noun is defined as a member of a class having a distributional scatter over
Positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and immediately preceded by the personal article in Positions 1 and 4.
This class includes personal names, names of months, mea ' so-and-so, whats-his-name', nqdti
' tribe ', and the interrogative Pai ' who ? '.
4 See XIV below, where the neutral complexes are discussed.

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 126 J. E. BUSE

The following additional vocabulary, which does not include personal names,
is used in the texts (verb suffixes shown in brackets):
Paere V go, walk mea C thing, P whats-his-name
Pai P who ? mereni C < melon
Pakatupu (-a) V cause metua C father, parent
Pakavd C policeman moto (-a) V punch
Papai (-na) V take, carry neti C < nurse
Pare C house nu C coconut at the drinking stage
ariki C high-chief, king Poko (-na) V buy, sell
Pauraka N don't pa C wall
e v (future) pekapeka C trouble, disturbance
i v (past) pia C < beer
2inga V fall, topple piripou C trousers
ika C fish poro C <ball
kdre N not puaka C pig
kata (-Pia) V laugh pupu C class, team, group of people
kino V be hurt, damaged rangatira C leader, chief, captain
kipa C < keeper remene2eti C < lemonade
k6 (-ia) V poke, husk tamaiti C boy, child
kua v (perfective) tiki (-na) V fetch
mai d hither tuatua C speech, tale, news
mdnea A fine, lovely vaPine C woman, wife
matangi C wind vaka C outrigger canoe
IX. Position 1. Texts 1, 2, and 3 illustrate the typical use of pronouns
as post-verbal subjects.
subject:
Text 1 : intransitive verb plus
Kua 2inga au (v V) [n] I fell over
rdtou [n] They
Paia [p n] He
Pa Pa [P P] Pa

te pa [c C] The wall

Text 2: intransitive verb plus subject plus agent:

Kua ?inga rdtou i te matangi (v V) [n] [i c C]
Pa Pd [p P]
te pd [c C]
The wind made them (Pa, t
Text 3: transitive verb (unsuf
Kua k5 au i te nu (v V) [H

1 The syntax of the English trans

Rarotongan. In Texts 2 and 4, Rarot
and subject respectively.

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 127

(Compare Text 4: transitive verb (suffixed) 1 plus subject plus a

Kua koia te nu e au (v V +-) [c C] [e H] I've husked the c
Rarotongan intransitive verbs do not take an object and mark t
the particle i (cf. Texts 2 and 17). Transitive verbs require i (
before the object when unsuffixed (cf. Texts 3, 13 (b), 14 (b), 16, 1
the agent when suffixed (cf. Texts 4, 13 (a), 14 (a)). Texts 2 and 3 m
formally identical, but the transitivity distinction is justified by t
transformational potentialities of sentences with transitive an
verbs. For instance, only a transitive-verb sentence may underg
of changes as the following:
Kua k6 au i te nu (Text 3)
Kua koia te nu e au (Text 4)
Naku i k6 i te nu (cf. Text 32)
The suffixed form of the transitive verb is also used imperativally

Text 5: Koia te nu (V +) [c C] Husk the coconut

In negative sentences the pronoun stands immediately after th
before the verb:

Text 6: (negative statement):

Kare au i kata (N [1I] v V) I didn't laugh

Text 7: (negative command):

2Auraka koe e kata (N [H ] v V) Don't you laugh

X. Position 2 (after ko, e, ma, e [agentive]).

These four particles are mutually exclusive with the personal article, and,
though the pronominal forms are the same as for Position 1, the third singular
pronoun ia is not article-prefixed in Position 2.
(i) after ko (specific particle). Ko is used to mark an absolute nominal piece
or a nominal piece placed before the verb for emphasis:

Text 8: Ko Pai te rangatira ? Ko au [ko P] [c C] ? [koH7]

Koia [ko 17]
Ko Tere [ko P]
Ko te ariki [ko c C]
Who is the captain ? I am (He, Tere, The chief, is

Text 9: Ko koe i Pakatupu i te pekapeka [ko 7] (v V) [

It was you that caused the trouble
The dual and plural pronouns appear before an apposi
marked by ko:

1 The Rarotongan verb suffixes are: -a, -ngia, -ia, -?ia, -kia, -m

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128 J. E. BUSE

Text 10:
Kua Paere mai mdua ko Tere (v V d) [I] [ko P] Tere and I came 1
mdtou ko Tere We and Tere
korua ko Tere You (sg.) and Tere
kotou ko Tere You (pl.) and Tere
rdua ko Tere He and Tere
rdtou ko Tere They and Tere
(ii) after e ' and':
Text 11 : Ko 2Ere e au [ko P en] PEr e and I
ia eIn] and he
e Pine e P ] and Pine
e te va2ine e c C] and the woman

(iii) after ma 'together with ':

Text 12:

Kua Paere mai au ma ia (v V d) [H7] [ma H]

I came with him
ma Tere [ma P] with Tere
ma te ariki [ma c C] with the chief

(iv) after e (agentive particle):

This particle is always colligated with the verbal suffix. Two examples are
given below. Corresponding sentences using an unsuffixed verb (cf. Text 3)
are placed alongside for comparison. The English translation serves for both
sentence types as they have the same meaning, or differ only stylistically.

Text 13 (a), suffixed verb: Text 13 (b), unsuffixed verb:

Kua lakatupua te pekapeka e ia Kua Pakatupu Paia i te pekapeka
(v V +) [c C] [e n] (v V) [p 7] [i c C]
He caused the trouble

Text 14 (a), suffixed verb: Text 14 (b), unsuffixed verb:

Kua kata2ia te ariki e koe Kua kata koe i te ariki
(v V +) [c C] [eH] (v V) [n] [i c C]
You laughed at the chief

XI. Position 3 (after e, vocative particle).

This particle, which also is mutually exclusive with the personal article, appears
before personal nouns and second person pronouns.
Text 15: E koe ! [el7] ! Hey you !
E korua ! [e ] ! Hey you two !
E Puna! [eP] ! Puna!
E mea [e P] ! Hey whats-your-name !
1 There may also be double apposition, e.g.
Kua ?aere mai ?aP Pa rua ko Tere (v V d) [p P] [17] [ko P] Pa came with
The particle ma may be substituted for ko in this construction:
Kua ?aere mai ?a Pd rdua ma Tere.

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 129

XII. Position 4 (after i, ki, mei, tei, Pei).

All personal pronouns and personal nouns are immediately pre
personal article in this position.' I and ki are two of the commo
particles in Rarotongan. Only three of their more usual functi
pronouns are illustrated here.
Text 16 (i before the object of a transitive verb):
Kua moto te 2akavc idku (v V) [c C] [i p H]
id koe [i pn]
iwia [ip n]
ia ratou [i p ]
ia Tere [i p P]
ia Terei [i p P]
i te va2ine [i c C]
The policeman punched me (you, him, them, Te
Text 17 (i before the agent of an intransitive verb
Kua kino te vaka idia (v V) [c C] [i p H]
id Tere [i p P]
ia Terei [i p P]
i te va2ine [i c C]
The damage to the canoe was caused by him (Tere, Te
Text 18 (ki indicating movement towards):
Kua rapai au i te ika kidia (v V) [H] [i c C]
kid Mere [ki p P]
kia Tdvita [ki p P]
ki te ariki [ki c C]
I took the fish to him (to Mere, to Tavita, to the c
Text 19 (cf. Text 16):
Kua moto te 2akavd kidku (v V) [c C] [ki p H]
The policeman took a punch at me
The particle i is conventionally written befor
the article-personal noun complexes when these
mei 'from, like', tei ' at' (present time), Pei ' at
heard in normal speech and has been detected only
material. It is bracketed in the following three
Text 20: Mei (i)dku te p6ro kid Koro [mei (i)
Mei (i)d Pa [mei (i) p P]
Mei te kipa [mei c C]
The ball went from me (Pa, the keeper) to Koro
1 The form of the first singular pronoun in this position is given here
and comparative reasons for assuming that ku in this position may r
iaku being < id *aku with reduction of the three-morae open vowel
These are comparative considerations, however, and there would appea
for complicating a synchronic analysis by setting up yet a third first-s

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130 J. E. BUSE

Text 21: Tikina, tei (i)dia (V +), [tei (i) pn]

tei (i)a Terei [tei (i) p P]
tei te vaPine [tei c C]
Fetch it, he (Terei, the woman) has got it

Text 22: PEi (i)aia te remenePeti, Pei (i)dku te pia

2Ei (i)a Pa
PEi te neti

[2ei (i) pn] [C C], [Pei (i) pH] [c C]

[2ei (i) p P]
[Pei c C]
Let him (let Pa, let the nurse) have the lemonade, I'll have the beer

XIII. Positions 5 and 6 (after 0- and A-particles).

In these positions the pronoun follows one of six nominal particles, which
fall into two groups :
(i) o, t6, n6, here called O-particles, and
(ii) a, td, nd, referred to as A-particles.
Particles similar to these are widespread in Polynesia. They are sometimes
called possessive particles, a label which describes only part of their purpose in
Rarotongan. These particles are largely prepositional in function, and, in their
possessive uses, they indicate different types of situational relationship. It is
convenient to name this relationship after its exponents as an O-relationship
(exponents 5, to, no) or an A-relationship (exponents d, td, nd). In Text 23 (a)
below, the noun rangatira and the pronoun na stand in an O-relationship to
the noun metua; in Text 23 (b) they stand in an A-relationship to the noun
tamaiti.

Text 23 (a):
te metua 5 te rangatira ; tona metua [c C] [o c C] ; [to H C]
the father of the captain; his father

Text 23 (b):
te tamaiti d te rangatira ; tana tamaiti [c C] [a c C] ; [ta C]
the child of the captain ; his child
It is hardly practicable to deal with this phenomenon in terms of nominal
gender, using the O/A-distinction to define noun classes, viz.

(i) metua-type nouns (O-gender, i.e. requiring O-particles),

(ii) tamaiti-type nouns (A-gender, i.e. requiring A-particles).
Rarotongan nouns do not fall into two mutually exclusive groups: a large
number are colligated with O-particles in certain contexts and with A-particles
in others. Some nouns may even take different particles in otherwise identical
short pieces, and in this case there is usually a significant difference of meaning.
Compare:

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 131

Text 24 (a):
te tuatua 5 te rangatira ; tona tuatua [c C] [o c C] ; [to
the story of the captain ; his story (i.e. the story concerning
Text 24 (b):
te tuatua a te rangatira ; tana tuatua [c C] [a c C] ; [ta/ C]
the story of the captain; his story (i.e. the story told by him)
Compare also:
Text 25 (a): t6ku pupu [t5 7 C] my class (pupil speaking) or
my team (team member speaking)
Text 25 (b) : tku pupu [ta 7 C] my class (teacher speaking) or
my team (captain speaking)
Any attempt to classify Rarotongan nouns in terms of gender would mean
setting up a third class (common gender) composed of nouns like tuatua and
pupu. This class would be extensive, because, although in most uses a given
noun will take (say) an O-particle, there will be occasional contexts in which
an A-particle is required. Classification in terms of nominal gender is clearly,
therefore, of limited value. It seems more useful to attempt to illustrate and
define the different type of relationship marked by the 0- and A-particles.'
Usually, a person stands in an A-relationship to his or her descendants,
employees, spouse, lover (all acquired relationships), animals (not the horse),
food, crops, instruments, tools, machinery, movable property (not means of
transport). He stands in an O-relationship to his ancestors, employers (rela-
tionships which he is not responsible for or in which he does not play the
controlling part), parts of the body, clothing, buildings, conveyances, abstrac-
tions. It has sometimes been observed, with reference to other Polynesian
languages where quite similar dichotomies exist, that the A-particles mark an
active, controlling relationship, while the 0-particles mark a more passive one.2
(The same is broadly true of Rarotongan. In Text 23 above, for instance, the
captain stands in an O-relationship to his father, but in an A-relationship
to the child he himself begot; in Text 24, in an O-relationship to the tale

1 These observations are made solely with reference to Rarotongan, where the O/A dichotomy
often has semantic force. In a language where the meaning (everyday sense) of the distinction
had been lost and there was left a purely grammatical system in which some nouns colligated
with O-particles in all contexts and the remainder always with A-particles, the phenomenon
would obviously be best dealt with in terms of nominal gender. It may be that in present-day
Rarotongan (and widely in Polynesia) we have the linguistically interesting situation of a gender-
system in the making-a half-way stage, where the O/A distinction, while apparently no longer
semantically relevant in all contexts, has nevertheless not yet ossified into the purely mechanical
colligation of given noun-class with given particle-class. Evidence that the O/A distinction is
not felt to be compulsory in all contexts is provided by the existence of a pre-nominal possessive
complex]which is neutral to this distinction (see XIV below).
2 So, for instance, S. Churchward, Samoan grammar, 1951, pp. 25-6. For a somewhat different
approach to the O/A-particles in Hawaiian as 'markers of alienability', see M. K. Pukui and
S. H. Elbert, Hawaiian-English dictionary, p. xix. Compare also the treatment of Tongan
'subjective and objective possessives' in C. M. Churchward's Tongan grammar, pp. 78-87
and 93-5.

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132 J. E. BUSE

retailed about himself, but in an A-relationship to one which he tells. In Text 25,
the pupil and team-player are in an 0-relationship to the groups of which they
are members, while the teacher and captain are in an A-relationship to the
groups which they guide and control.) It is necessary to enter a caveat against
expecting such lists as the above to give complete cover. Most notional' rules '
require lists of exceptions, especially those framed in the translation language
to try to cover source language data.
There follow specimens of some of the commoner constructions involving
O/A-particles and pronouns. (Similar complexes in other Polynesian languages
are often called possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives.) Constructions of
the type illustrated in Texts 26 and 27 below are usually to be translated as
singular, unless a dual marker (ngd) or a plural marker (au) stands immediately
before the noun, e.g. te ngd Pare oku 'my two houses', tdku au puaka 'my
(many) pigs '.1 Text 28 is plural, and usually indicates a small number, up to
half a dozen or so.

Text 26 (a) : te Pare oku [c C] [5H7] my house

o tdua [oH7] our

5 Tara [6 P] Tara's
5 te ariki [o c C] the chief's

Text 26 (b) : te puaka dku [c C] [a ] my pig

a tdua [a 7] our

d Tara [a P] Tara's
a te ariki [a c C] the chief's

Text 27 (a): toku Pare [ts H C] my house

to tdua [t H7 C] our

to Tara [t6 P C] Tara's

to te ariki [to c C C] the chief's

Text 27 (b): taku puaka [ta 7 C] my pig

td tdua [ta n C] our

td Tara [ta P C] Tara's

td te ariki [ta c C C] the chief's

Text 28 (a): oku Pare [o 7 C] my houses

o tdua [o 7 C] our

5 Tara [o P C] Tara's
5 te ariki [a c C C] the chief's

Text 28 (b): dku puaka [a 7 C] my pigs

i tdua our
[a P C]
d Tara Tara's
[a c C]
a te ariki [a c C C] the chief's

1 Ngd nearly always means ' a pair, a couple ', but very occasionally it is used in the sense of
'just a few'.

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 133

Texts 27 and 28 are shown as one-piece structures, 2are and puak

heads. However, comparison of the forms
toku, to2ou, tona
5ku, 52ou, 5na
tdku, tdPau, tana
dku, adau, ana
suggests that these are tri-morphemic, viz.
I II III

t/f#1 , d ku, Po
If the morphs t/# are taken
Texts 27 and 28 we have a
is interpolated within the

[te [te [6
Pare] (Text
puaka]
ku] 26) [d ku]
[t [o [t [d
ku] (Text
ku]
Pare] 27)
puaka]
[# [o [#
ku][d(Textku]
Pare] 28) puaka

[te Pare] [5 te ariki] ,

[t [5 te ariki] Pare] , [
[# [o te ariki] 2are] ,

Text 29 (a):
2E pare mdnea tona [Pe C A] [to H]
to Tara [to P]
to te ariki [to c C]
He (Tara, The chief) has a fine house
Text 29 (b):
2E puaka mdnea tana [Pe C A] [ta 17]
td Tara [ta P]
td te ariki [ta c C]
He (Tara, The chief) has a fine pig
The particles no and nd are used possessively at the beginning of

Text 30 (a):
Noku te Pare [no 7] [c C] It's my house
No Tara [no P] Tara's
No te ariki [n5 c C] the chief's

Text 30 (b):
Ndku te puaka [na ] [c C] It's my pig
Nd Tara [na P] Tara's
Nd te ariki [na c C] the chief's

1 # is the exponent of nominal plurality.

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134 J. E. BUSE

No may also be translated 'for, from, because of' and n

Compare the following uses meaning ' for':
Text 31 (a): Kua Poko mai au i te piripou nona
no Tara
no te tamaiti
(v V d) [17] [i c C] [no I7]
[no P]
[n5 c C]
I bought him (Tara, the boy) the trousers-to wear (an O-relationship)

Text 31 (b) : Kua 2oko mai au i te mereni ndna

nd Tara
nd te tamaiti
(v V d) [17] [i c C] [na H]
[na P]
[na c C]
I bought him (Tara, the boy) the melon-to eat (an A-relationship)
The active or agentive force of the A-particles is most clear in constructions
where nd and td are used to mark the pre-verbal subject of a transitive verb,
nd being used before the subject in a main clause and td in a relative clause.
Text 32:
Ndna i Poko mai i te Pare [na H] (v V d) [i c C]
Nd mdua [na H]
Nd Tara [na P]
Nd te ariki [na c C]
He (We, Tara, The chief) bought the house
Text 33:
te Pare tdna i 2oko mai ei [c C] [ta 7] (v V d r)
td mdua [ta 7]
td Tara [ta P]
td te ariki [ta c C]
the house which he (we, Tara, the chief) bought
XIV. Position 7.

Here the singular pronouns appear in pre-nominal possessive com

similar to those illustrated in Texts 27 and 28, except that the prono
not preceded by O/A-particles (to, 6, td, d), but by the bound forms ta-,
which do not carry the O/A distinction. Thus, instead of using either an
an A-complex according to the situational relationship discussed
above, it is generally permissible to substitute this neutral complex,

1 In this construction the nominal particle i, which marks the object (Pare), is fr
omitted, e.g. Nana i ?oko mai te Pare [nia n] (v V d) [c C]. It is also dropped when t
piece is placed before the verbal piece, an inversion which is frequent in interrogative s
e.g. Nd Pai te Pare i Poko mai ? [na P] [c C] (v V d) ? 'Who bought the house ? '

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 135

Text 34:

taku Pare, taku puaka [ta- 77 C] my house, my pig

aku Pare, aku puaka [a- 77 C] my houses, my pigs
to5 are, t5 puaka [t- 77 C] your house, your pig
6 Pare, 6 puaka [77 C] your houses, your pigs
tana Pare, tana puaka [ta- 77 C] his house, his pig
ana Pare, ana puaka [a- 7 C] his houses, his pigs

Supplementary note: structure of the Polynesian possessive complex

The two tables at the end of this note analyse the morphemic structure of
the pre-nominal possessive complexes (sometimes called possessive pronouns)
in four Polynesian languages: Rarotongan (R), New Zealand Maori (M),
Samoan (S), and Hawaiian (H). The Maori, Samoan, and Hawaiian complexes
correspond to the Rarotongan forms discussed in XIII above and illustrated
in Texts 27 and 28. The tables give only the definite form of the possessives
(some Polynesian languages, notably Tongan and Samoan, have parallel
series of indefinite and emotional forms) 1 and only the O/A-relationship forms
(some languages, e.g. Hawaiian and Rarotongan [see XIV above] have a usually
incomplete series which is neutral to the O/A distinction). The singular forms,
which are tri-morphemic, are given separately from the non-singular (dual and
plural) forms, which are quadri-morphemic. (The bi-systemic presentation
avoids setting up a non-significant zero merely to bring the singular forms into
line with the non-singular.)
The elements which make up the possessive complex are:
I. The article morpheme. The following are the grounds for regarding the
first morph as a form of the definite article:
(1) evidence of similarity in form. Compare:
Definite First element
article of possessive
R te R t-
M te M t-
S le S 1-
H ka,ke H k-
(2) evidence of similarity of function
article and the zero first morph of the p
plurality. Compare:
S le fale o le fafine, lona fale and
the house of the woman, her house
(#) fale o le fafine, (#)ona fale
the houses of the woman, her houses
1 e.g. Samoan lo?u my, lou your, lona his (definite)
so u my, sou your, sona his (indefinite)
si o?u my, si ou your, si ona his (emotional)

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136 J. E. BUSE

(ii) There occurs in Polynesian a nominal class usually called local nouns. These
are marked by the zero form of the article. In Samoan, where these nouns
may be preceded by a possessive, the zero first morph again occurs. Compare:
S i (#) luma o le fafine and i (#)ona luma
in front of the woman ' at her front', in front of her

II. A particle morpheme, indicating the relationship that exists between

Morpheme III and the noun that forms the head of the construction.

Compare: R tona pupu his class (the pupil's), i.e. I II III

t o na

and tdna pupu his class (the teacher's), i.e. t a na

where the second morpheme distinguishes between an 0- and an A-relationship.

III. A pronoun morpheme, marking pronominal identity.

IV. A number morpheme. This is found only in the non-singular forms, where
it distinguishes between dual and plural pronominal number.

Compare: M t6 tdua whare our (dual) house and

to tdtou whare our (pl.) house, i.e. I II III IV
t 6 td ua
t o td tou

The first two elements of the possessive co

Rarotongan, Maori, and Hawaiian (R to, td, M
vaPine Pare, M to te wahine whare, H ko ka w
but the corresponding construction *(lo le fa
in present-day Samoan.

IPre-nominal possessive complex-singular (tri-

I II III
First person R t/# 6/a ku
M t/# 6/d ku
S 1/# o/a Pu
H k/# o/a Pu

Second person R t/# 6/a Pou/Pau1

M t/# 6/a u
S 1/# o/a u
H k/# o/d u

Third person R t/# 6/a na

M t/# 61/ na
S 1/# o/a na
H k/# o/d na

1 ?ou colligates with the 5 morph and ?au with the d morph.

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 RAROTONGAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: FORM AND DISTRIBUTION 137

Non-singular (quadri-morphemic) forms

I II III IV
First inclusive R t/# o/d td ua/tou1
dual and plural M t/# 6/a td ua/tou
S 1/# o/a td #/tou
H k/# o/a ka ua/kou

First exclusive R t/# 6/a ma ua/tou

dual and plural M t/# 6/a ma
ua/tou
S 1/# o/a md #/tou
H kl# o/a md ua/kou

Second person R t/# 6/a ko rua/tou

dual and plural M t/# 6/a ko/kou rua/tou 2
S 1/# o/a Pou lua/tou
H k/# o/a Po/Pou lua/kou 3

Third person R t/# o6/ ua/tou

dual and plural M t/# o/d ua/tou
S 1/# o/a #/tou
H k/# o/a ua/kou 4

1 The first-cited morph (e.g. ua) marks the dual, the alternative (e.g. tou) marks the plural.
2 rua colligates with ko and tou with kou.
3 lua colligates with Po, and kou with ?ou.
4 The Maori forms are taken from W. L. and H. W. Williams, First lessons in Maori, 1940,
p. 17, and the Hawaiian forms from M. K. Pukui and S. H. Elbert, Hawaiian-English dictionary,
p. xix.

VOL. XXIII. PART 1. 10

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