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Ia and hia in Tahitian – Particle ia, anaphoric ia, suffix hia

In this lesson, we will learn how to use the grammatical constructions: ia (particle and anaphoric) and hia (suffix) in Tahitian.

Ia and hia in Tahitian

Ia… ia… and sometimes hia? In my opinion, in this first chapter, it is judicious to approach the theory.

Let’s come back to our subject:

  • If I tell you “ia”, you will answer me?
  • We have already seen this in a previous lesson.
  • Correct!

Straightforward, we will learn in this lesson that it can be used in 2 ways:

  • as particle ia
  • as anaphoric ia

And that hia is used as a suffix.

Function Detail Previous lesson
Particle ia The particle i (which is the particle of location, time, object,

achievement) becomes ia:

  • if ia is followed by a proper noun
  • if the proper noun is in object position

This particle has other functions that we will see in other lessons.

Particle I in Tahitian – Location, time, object, achievement – Ia
Anaphoric ia Reverses the sentence structure

Enable to highlight the subject

Refers to a word or group of words already mentioned

The hia suffix Hia is used as a suffix of a verb. And transforms it into the past participle of the verb Prefixes and suffixes in Tahitian – Faa, Haa, Raa, Hia – Tei hea

The anaphoric ia in Tahitian

In this second chapter, let’s focus on the anaphoric ia that we discover in this lesson.

Little reminder :

As we learned in the lesson: Make a sentence in Tahitian – Particle I, no, na

Grammar rule: Structure of a sentence
In Tahitian, the structure is as follows: VERB + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENTExample: Tē haere nei au i te haapiiraa.

Now let’s learn the grammar rule for the anaphoric ia:

Grammar rule: Anaphoric ia
The anaphoric i inverts the structure of the sentence and ia is positioned after the complement.Basic structure: VERB + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENT

Structure with the anaphoric ia: SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT + IA

This anaphoric allows to:

  • highlight the subject (which is positioned at the beginning of the sentence)
  • refer to a word or group of words already mentioned: this reminds the subject that was mentionned at the beginning of the sentence

E ‘urī teie ‘animara => Teie ‘animara, e ‘urī ia

Let’s illustrate with examples:

Tahitian English
E ‘urī teie ‘animara This animal is a dog
Teie ‘animara, e ‘urī ia This animal, it is a dog
E painapo teie māa hotu This fruit is a pineapple
Teie māa hotu, e painapo ia This fruit, it is a pineapple
E Mere teie tamāhine This girl is Mere
Teie tamāhine, e Mere ia This girl, it is Mere

The already known vocabulary

The already known vocabulary is as follows, it appears in green. Grammatical constructions appear in red.

Examples

In this third chapter, let’s illustrate with examples the 3 functions of our lesson:

Tahitian English
Tē ‘imi nei au i te ‘oire no Papeete I’m looking for the city of Papeete
Tē ‘imi nei au ia Papeete
I’m looking for Papeete
E ‘uru teie This is a fruit of the breadfruit
Teie, e ‘uru ia This, it is a breadfruit fruit
Herehia Loved
Teie tamarii herehia na to na nā metua This child loved by his parents

The already known vocabulary

The already known vocabulary is as follows, it appears in green. Grammatical constructions appear in red.

And after ?

With this lesson we have just learned how to use ia and hia.