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English Translation (Kun-balandaken) |
they, them |
Pronunciation (Bale ka-yime karri-ngeybun?) |
bet-duh
Note the 'dd' which is called a 'double stop'. The sound straddles the syllable boundary. To an English speaker, the first consonant in the double stop sounds like 't' and the second sounds voiced like 'd'. Think of the first 'd' closing the first syllable and the second one opening the next syllable, bed-da. The -dd- sound can only appear between vowels. |
Morphology (Karri-wokdjobdjobke) |
The bed- syllable is also found in other related free-standing pronouns such as bedberre 'theirs, belonging to them' and bedman 'themselves'. |
Notes (Njalenjale) |
Bedda can also be used to identify a group by placing it after the name of a referent associated with or a member of the group. In this construction it is also a strategy for indirect reference when it appears after someone's name (or a kin term) requiring the addressee to
Also, you must not refer directly to, or address your mother-in-law. Instead of saying ngaleng 'she' (a pronoun we have already learnt) you must refer to her by saying bedda 'them'— using the plural to refer to tabooed kin, even if it is only a singular person. |
Usage (Bale kabirri-yime?) |
Kunekke kabirri-yime bedda.
Ngarri-re rowk wanjh bedda kabirri-wohnan.
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Date (Balekeno) |
18 Jun 2012 |