Along with
Indonesian,
Malay, and other related languages, the word order in Mukomuko is typically
subject-verb-object (SVO). While there are notable exceptions, the grammar structure of the Mukomuko language shares many similarities with Indonesian and Malay.
Affixes There are three types of affixes in Mukomuko:
prefixes,
suffixes, and
infixes. Similar to Malay, Mukomuko words are composed of a root or a root plus derivational affixes. The root is the primary lexical unit of a word and is usually bisyllabic, of the shape CV(C)CV(C). Affixes are "glued" onto roots (which are either nouns or verbs) to alter or expand the primary meaning associated with a given root, effectively generating new words, for example,
baco ('to read') may become
mambaco ('reading'),
mambacokan ('reading for'),
dibaco ('being read'),
pembaco ('reader'),
bacoan ('reading material'),
terbaco ('accidentally read').
Prefixes The prefixes found in Mukomuko are
N-,
ba-,
di-,
ta-,
paN-, and
sa-. The combination of the prefix
N- with base words appears in various forms, such as
mang-,
ma-,
many-,
m-, and
n-. These variations of the
N- form are called allomorphs of the
N- prefix, and their occurrence is caused by the influence of the phoneme that begins the base word. •
N- +
ambiq ('take'):
mangambiq ('taking') •
N- +
akeq ('carry'):
mangakeq ('carrying') The attachment of the prefix
ba- to base words appears in two forms, namely
ba- and
bagh. These variations are considered allomorphs of the
ba- prefix, and the variation is caused by the influence of the phoneme that begins the base word. •
ba- +
ghiang ('happy'):
baghiang ('be happy') •
ba- +
janjing ('promise'):
bajanjing ('to promise') The attachment of the prefix
di- to base words only appears in one form, which is
di-. •
di- +
dendo ('fine'):
didendo ('fined') •
di- +
jua ('sell'):
dijua ('for sale') The attachment of the prefix
ka- to base words only appears in one form, which is
ka-. •
ka- +
tuo ('old'):
katuo ('leader') •
ka- +
duo ('two'):
kaduo ('second') The attachment of the prefix
ta- to base words only appears in one form, which is
ta-. •
ta- + acam ('threat'):
taancam ('threatened') •
ta- + dekeq ('close'):
tadekeq ('closest') The attachment of the prefix
paN- appears in several forms, namely
pam-, pan-, pany-, pang-, pange-, and pa-. These variations are considered allomorphs of the
paN- prefix, and the variation is caused by the influence of the phoneme that begins the base word. •
paN- + beling ('buy'):
pambeling ('buyer') •
paN- +
dapeq ('obtain'):
pandapeq ('opinion') Lastly, the attachment of the prefix
sa- to base words only appears in one form, which is
sa-. •
sa- +
pinggan ('plate'):
sapinggan ('a plate') •
sa- +
dikiq ('little'):
sadikiq ('a little')
Suffixes The suffixes present in Mukomuko are only
-an and
-nyo. Imperative meanings in this language are not expressed through suffixation, but rather through other means, such as the use of the particle
-lah or the prefix
di-. For example: •
Sambalah udang ko! ('Add sambal to this prawn!') •
Hitamlah alis mato ban! ('Blacken your eyebrows!') The position of the suffixes
-an and
-nyo is located at the end of the base word. For example: •
aghing ('day') +
-an:
aghian ('daily') •
paneh ('hot') +
-nyo:
panehnyo ('it's so hot')
Infixes In the Mukomuko language, there are three infixes, namely
-ar-,
-al-, and
-am-. Word formation through suffixes on base words is very limited and only occurs in certain words. For example: •
-ar- +
suIieng ('whistle'):
sarulieng ('flute') •
-am- +
geta ('shake'):
gameta ('shaking')
Reduplication There are four types of
reduplication in Mukomuko, which are full reduplication, partial reduplication, reduplication combined with the process of affixation and reduplication with phoneme changes. Examples of full reduplication are: •
makan-makan ('eating out') •
malung-malung ('shy-shy') •
sesah-sesah ('wash-wash') Examples of partial reduplication are: •
N- +
caghing ('look'):
macaghing-caghing ('look around') •
ba- + kupu ('gather'):
bakupu-kupu ('gather together') •
ta- + senyum ('smile'):
tasenyum-senyum ('smiling') Examples of reduplication combined with the process of affixation are: •
sa- +
cepeq ('fast') +
-nyo:
sacepeq-cepeqnyo ('as fast as possible') •
sa- +
tingging ('high') +
-nyo:
satingging-tinggingnyo ('as high as possible') •
sa- +
lueh ('wide') +
-nyo:
salueh-luehnyo ('as wide as possible') Examples of reduplication with phoneme changes are: •
asa-usu ('origin') •
bulaq-baliq ('back and forth') •
kedap-kedip ('blinking')
Nouns In Mukomuko,
nouns can be identified from two perspectives:
semantic and
syntactic. Semantically, nouns refer to humans, animals, objects, and concepts or ideas. Words like
imam ('priest'),
jawing ('cow'),
bining ('wife'), and
pamalaih ('lazy person'), for instance, are nouns because they refer to humans, animals, objects, and concepts or ideas. Nouns tend to occupy the functions of subject, object, or complement in a sentence. For example: •
Kaqkung malopeq ka batang aie. ('Frog jumps into the river') •
Baq mangambiq kayung. ('Dad is taking the wood') In the example above, the words
kaqkung ('frog') and
kayung ('wood') are nouns, because each of these words fulfills the function of subject, object and complement. Nouns can be preceded by the negator
bukan ('not'). For example: •
Itung bukan jawing. ('That is not a cow') In the sentence above, the word
jawing ('cow') is classified as a noun. Generally, nouns can be followed by adjectives either directly or with the intermediary word
na ('that'). For example, the words
sapelo ('papaya') and
giging ('teeth') are nouns because they can combine to form
sapelo kuning ('yellow papaya') and
giging putih ('white teeth') or
sapelo na kuning ('papaya that is yellow') and
giging na putih ('teeth that are white'). Nouns in Mukomuko can be either base nouns or derived nouns. Base nouns can be general or specific in nature. For instance,
gambar ('picture'),
malam ('night'), and
meja ('table') are general base nouns, while
adiq ('younger sibling'),
batang ('stem'), and
iceq ('grain') are specific base nouns. Lastly, in derived forms, nouns can receive the affixes
ka-, pa-, -ar-, -al-, and
-am-. Words such as
katuo ('leader'),
palupo ('forgetful person'),
saruling ('flute'),
gelembung ('bubble'), and
kamunieng (
murraya paniculata) are examples of derived nouns that have received these affixes.
Adjectives Adjectives can be modified by comparison markers such as
kurang ('less'),
lebih ('more'), and
paling ('most'). Examples are
kurang eloq ('less good'),
lebih kumuh ('more dirty'), and
paling tinggi ('the tallest'). Adjectives can also be intensified with
modifiers like
sangat ('very') and
nian ('extremely'). Examples are
sangat pandi ('very foolish') and
tipih nian ('extremely thin'). Adjectives can be negated with the
negator idaq ('not'), for example,
idaq ghusaq ('not broken'),
idaq ghaming ('not noisy'), and
idalq lama ('not long'). Adjectives can be repeated with the prefix
sa- and the suffix
-nyo, such as
samasin-masinnyo ('as salty as it gets'),
sagedang-gedangnyo ('as big as it gets'), and
sakughuieh-kughuiehnyo ('as sharp as it gets'). In addition, adjectives in Mukomuko can be monomorphemic or polymorphemic. Words like
masin ('salty'),
gedang ('big'),
ghaming ('noisy'),
tingging ('tall'),
eloq ('beautiful'), and
tipih ('thin') are examples of monomorphemic adjectives. Polymorphemic adjectives can take the form of reduplication or compound words. Words like
sighah-sighah ('red-red'),
malung-malung ('shy-shy'),
gedang-gedang ('big-big'),
putih-putih ('white-white'),
ghaiin-ghaiin ('diligent-diligent'), and
tingging-tingging ('tall-tall') are examples of polymorphemic adjectives. Meanwhile, adjectives in compound word forms include
gedang hating ('big-hearted'),
kereh kapalo ('stubborn-headed'),
gedang mulut ('big-mouthed'),
begheq hating ('heavy-hearted'),
itam manih ('dark-sweet'), and
aluih buding ('gentle-minded').
Adverbs In Mukomuko,
adverbs can also be monomorphemic or polymorphemic. Some adverbs are formed through affixation. Words like
sangat ('very'),
hinyo ('only'),
capeq ('immediately'),
jo ('just'),
nian ('extremely'),
talalung ('too much'),
hapieng ('almost'),
jaghang ('rarely'),
coq ('often'),
mukien ('maybe'), and
teruih ('always') are examples of monomorphemic adverbs. Adverbs can also appear in reduplicated forms, such as
cepeq-cepeq ('firmly'),
lambeq-lambeq ('slowly'),
noq-noq ('quietly'), and
eloq-eloq ('carefully'). Then, words like
saeloqnyo ('ideally'),
sabenanyo ('actually'),
besonyo ('usually'),
betuqnyo ('apparently'), and
ghasonyo ('feels like') are adverbs in affixed forms.
Pronouns Personal pronouns This table shows an overview over the most commonly and widely used
pronouns of the Mukomuko language. The first person singular pronouns are
ambo,
mbo, and
mbo. The word
ambo, meaning 'I' or 'me', is used in both formal and informal situations. In other words, the usage of
ambo in speech is common. The
mbo form is used to indicate possession. However, to express possession, the word
ambo is more frequently used, as in
jawing ambo ('my cow'),
ghumah ambo ('my house'), and
oto ambo ('my car'). The word
mbo also substitutes for
ambo, and in its usage,
ambo is the one more commonly used. The first person plural pronouns are
kaming,
kito, and
awaq, which all means 'we'. The word
kaming is used in speech that refers to conversations with others on the speaker's side. Meanwhile, the words
kito and
awaq are used in speech that refers to both the speaker and the listener being addressed. The usage of the
kito and
awaq personas does not seem to indicate any difference in meaning, as both words can substitute for each other in the same context. The second person singular pronoun is
aban or
ban. In context, the persona
ban tends to indicate possession. However,
aban is also often used to indicate possession. Additionally, at the beginning of sentences,
aban frequently appears. However, in casual and less formal conversations, the position of
aban at the beginning of sentences is often replaced by
ban. The second person plural pronouns are
kamung ('you all') and
aban kelagalo ('all of you'). The third person singular pronouns are
inyo ('he' or 'she') and
yo ('he/she' or '-nya'). The third person plural pronouns are
ughang tung and
nyo, meaning 'they'. The usage of both types of third person pronouns can be interchangeable.
Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns in Mukomuko can be distinguished into general demonstrative pronouns and temporal demonstrative pronouns. General demonstrative pronouns include
iko ('this') and
itung ('that'). Referentially, the word
iko refers to a reference close to the speaker, while
itung refers to a reference far from the speaker. The usage of both types of demonstrative pronouns in sentences demonstrates the following. First, both pronouns may occur at the beginning, middle, and end of sentences. Second, at the beginning, middle, and end of sentences, the word
iko can take the form
iko and also
ko, especially in somewhat rapid speech, while the word
itung always takes the form
itung at the beginning of a sentence, and usually takes the form
tung if appearing in the middle or at the end of a sentence. For example: •
Iko/ko unggeh ambo ('That is my bird') •
Itung/tung jawing sepo? ('Whose cow is that?') Temporal demonstrative pronouns include
siko ('here') and
sinon ('there'). The word
siko refers to a nearby place, while the word
sinon refers to a place far from the speaker. As temporal demonstrative pronouns, the words
siko and
sinon often combine with directional prepositions:
di ('at'),
ke ('to'), and
daghing ('from'), thus becoming
di siko,
ke siko,
daghing siko, and
di sinon,
ke sinon,
daghing sinon. Additionally, there are also the words
cemiko ('like this'),
betugtu ('like that'), and
modeko ('like that') which can be classified as demonstrative pronouns. These three pronouns refer to the meaning of 'thing' or 'matter'. The meaning of the pronoun
modeko seems to encompass the meanings of both the pronouns
cemiko and
betugtu.
Interrogative Pronouns In speech,
interrogative pronouns are used because the speaker wants to obtain information from the listener. The required information may concern people, things, choices, reasons, time, place, manner, tools, or companionship. Related to this, the use of various interrogative pronouns depends on what information is needed. The types of interrogative pronouns in Mukomuko are
sepo ('who'),
apo ('what'),
mano ('which'),
ngapo ('why'),
pabilo ('when'),
ke mana ('where to'),
di mano ('where'),
daghing mano ('from where'),
dengan apo ('with what'),
camano ('how'), and
dengan sepo ('with whom'). == Dialects ==