I was on a social visit to my aunt in Kg. Bariawa yesterday, a trip that I always do in my free time. I took some photos outside her house but eventually ended up having a few (or perhaps several) sips of her traditional rice wine – the siopon. The taste was the typical one – a little bit of bitterness with a splash of sweet but no sour.
Ripe Pamelo Lemon ready to be picked
I would prefer the classic taste, all three flavour in one – bitter, sweet and sour. It was really a gratifying experience, one that I enjoy every time I visited her and not to forget the pusas – a hot chicken soup with a burst of a local pumpkin. One sip and I was already red in the face, and warmth spreading onto my ears.
My Uncle Mr Yen
I was conversing in Dusun to both my aunt and uncle. Our focus of conversation was on the children playing around the house, despite her cries – some were attempting to climb a guava tree and some were playing cat and mouse, others were enjoying hide and seek.
One of her utterance was “na! kio nga minihad no tanganak“, simply translated as “see, at last the children are crying”. This statement is much more complicated, not the structure itself but the meaning that it conveys. It is essentially pragmatics – which context contributes to meaning.
One of rose that I took a picture of just outside the house
The statement “na! kio nga minihad no tanganak” can be best understood though the context by which the utterance is made, in this case, by my aunt and the situation that the statement is made, this will include what was happening around her at the time of speaking.
Mr Parago and his champ
Mr Justin, after one “rasak“
So the statement “pragmatically” means – “despite all my calls for you to stop, you didn’t listen to my advice, and now see what happened!”
The children – Desmond and Shaun
I ended up coming home late at night, after two more jars were brought in and a few friends came to join the session. I am still on a hangover state at this moment, and perhaps later on will go out for a treatment – the simply delicious and exquisite mee soup! So, see you again in my next post.
~ ~ Humour Of the Day ~ ~
The Verb “monurud” (combing your hair)
Sigog id monurud isio koruba(d) pimpikau.
He combed his hair suddenly after meeting a pimpikau. (a kind of bird)
The Elements of Pragmatics
[End of Part V]
The Elements of Pragmatics
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