4 · kia
A visitor today, and with them the smallest grammar of any chapter: wa at the front of a sentence turns it into a question, and two little words, lia and tua, answer it. Everything else is sentences you can already read.
I
A friend stands at the door.
melu: kia.
phao: kia. whelani.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| whelani | whe · la · ni | welcome |
II
melu: wa lopia nulae.
phao: tua. lopia thalo.
melu: wa wheo nulae.
phao: tua. wheo mua thepalu nai.
melu: wa misheko nulae.
phao: lia. misheko nulae.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| wa | wa | (asks) |
| tua | tu · a | no |
| lia | li · a | yes |
Three questions, three answers. The question is the plain sentence with wa set before it: nothing moves, nothing changes shape. The friend learns that everyone is up and about, except the one you already knew.
III
melu: wa lohau welao nai.
phao: lia. lohau welao nai.
melu: wa misheko welao nai.
phao: lia. misheko welao nai. misheko nulae.
Yes, the dog is good. Yes, the cat is good: the cat is asleep, which in a cat and goodness are not in conflict.
IV
lopia: kia melu.
melu: kia lopia. wa thia nuora nuola.
lopia: lia. wa thia nuora nuola.
melu: lia.
phao: nuora ha nai. whelani.
The child is asked, answers, and asks straight back: the same five words, returned. The parent settles it the way parents do: the food is here; welcome. (That little ha, here, you will meet properly in the next chapter.) When the visit ends:
melu: pao.
lopia: pao melu.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| pao | pa · o | goodbye |
Read the whole visit aloud once more, both voices, and take the pauses seriously; a Phi conversation is not a race. You can now state, describe, count-by-many, ask, answer, greet, and take your leave. That is most of what neighbors do.
The machinery, when you want it: questions with wa live in the manual's Part IV, chapter 9, with the other framing particles.