We meet for a new lesson on the long-awaited theme of how to make a sentence in Tahitian, how to build a sentence in Tahitian.
Make a sentence in Tahitian, an exciting subject
This topic raises many questions:
– In English, the structure is SUBJECT – VERB – OBJECT, what about Tahitian?
– Particles, we have talked about in previous lessons, what is it? What for? what is their role in the sentence?
– Why in Tahitian are there phrases without verbs? Like what:
| English | Tahitian |
| Who are you? | ‘O vai ‘oe? |
| I’m Hina | ‘O Hina vau |
| I’m Mere | ‘O Mere au |
If we observe correctly, we have no verb in this short dialogue
– Etc.
Throughout this lesson, we will answer each of these questions.
The structure of a sentence in Tahitian
Come on, let’s get to the heart of the matter.
First, let’s draw a parallel with English.
In English, a sentence is constructed as follows:
SUBJECT – VERB – OBJECT
Example: I go to school
| Grammar Rule: Structure of a sentence |
| In Tahitian, the structure is as follows:
VERB – SUBJECT – OBJECT Example: Tē haere nei au i te haapiiraa. |
If we analyze, we have:
| Tahitian | English | Grammatical component |
| Tē haere nei | to go | VERB |
| au | I | SUBJECT |
| i te haapiiraa | to school | OBJECT |
This type of sentence structure is a peculiarity of Tahitian.
Little anecdote
You realize that in English, we tend to cut off the other’s speech because we anticipate the end of his sentence.
In Tahitian, it is less happenning, because you have to hear the whole sentence to understand the meaning of the sentence.
It is also cultural to let the other speak to listen to what he has to say to the end. Whereas in English, we sometimes see debates where the goal of the game is to speak more than the other.
Particles
Second, let’s talk about the particles. What is a particle?
| Grammar Rule: Particle |
| A particle is a “small word” that is placed before or after a group of words (which can be a single word, a verb, a group of words) and that can change the meaning of the sentence.
Particles are essential in the construction of a sentence because it gives the meaning of the sentence. |
You already know some: you didn’t realize you learned them.
Location particles
| Particle | Detail |
| I | Location particle that says:
|
| No | Particle to indicate an origin
|
| Na | Particle to indicate a passage, a transit, a stage
|
Directional particles
| Particle | Detail |
| Atu | Particle to indicate a movement that moves away from the place where the speaker is (the enunciator) |
| Mai | Particle to indicate a movement to the place where the speaker is (the enunciator) |
Let’s illustrate with a dialogue from a previous lesson: Where are you from in Tahitian – Where are you going – Mai, atu
| English | Tahitian |
| Where are you from? (country) | No hea ‘oe? |
| I’m from Tahiti | No Tahiti au |
| I’m from Paris, from France | No Pari au, no te fenua Farāni |
| I’m from the Marquesas Islands | No te fenua Enata vau |
| Where are you from? (start location) | No hea mai ‘oe ? |
| I come from Tahiti (start location) | No Tahiti mai au |
| Where do you come from? (step on your journey) | Na hea mai ‘oe ? |
| I come from the city (I passed through the city to here) | Na te ‘oire mai au |
| I’m from Tahiti (I passed through Tahiti to here) | Na Tahiti mai au |
| Where are you going? | Tē haere ra ‘oe i hea ? |
| I’m going to the sea | Tē haere ra vau i tai |
With examples, it’s better!
For the i particle
| English | Tahitian |
| Where are you going? | Tē haere ra ‘oe i hea ? |
| I’m going to the sea | Tē haere ra vau i tai |
For the no particle
| English | Tahitian |
| Where are you from? (Country) | No hea ‘oe? |
| I’m from Tahiti | No Tahiti au |
For the na particle
| English | Tahitian |
| Where do you come from? (step on your journey) | Na hea mai ‘oe? |
| I come from the city (I passed through the city to here) | Na te ‘oire mai au |
For the particle mai and atu
| Tahitian | English |
| Haere mai | Come here! (toward me) |
| Haere atu | Get out of here! Go away! (from me) |
| E haere mai ‘oe | You come to me (me is implied) |
| E haere atu vau | I come (and I leave the place where I am) |
After this introduction to particles, let’s talk about verbal and non-verbal phrases in Tahitian.
Sentences without verbs (verbal and non-verbal phrases in Tahitian)
For this fourth part, let’s take our example seen in the first part:
| English | Tahitian |
| Who are you? | ‘O vai ‘oe? |
| I’m Hina | ‘O Hina vau |
| I’m Mere | ‘O Mere au |
We observe that the sentences are verbless.
Indeed, in Tahitian, many of the sentences are without verb.
Sentences without subject in Tahitian
Let’s start with an example:
| Tahitian | English |
| Haere mai | Come here! (toward me) |
| Haere atu | Get out of here! Go away! (from me) |
Sentences can be without subject in Tahitian.
Tahitian, a poetic language
This language can be likened to a poetic language with its style figures, for example:
| Tahitian | English |
| I te pō et te ao | Day and night (in the word order in Tahitian, night and day) |
This phenomenon is also related to the fact that sentences are often verbless and/or subject-free.
A little extra vocabulary:
| Tahitian | English |
| Te pō | The night |
| Te ao | The day |
And then what?
Finally, throughout this lesson, we learned how to make a sentence in Tahitian (with the structure of the phrase Verb – Subject – Object), we got to know the particles, we discovered or rediscovered that the Tahitian could have sentences without verbs and subjects. The lesson is now ending with 7 words or phrases added to our vocabulary list. The majority of the examples are taken from previous lessons.
See you soon for a new lesson!