fa-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "fa"

West Makian

Etymology 1

Possibly from an Austronesian language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɸa/

Prefix

fa-

1. increases the transitivity of a verb

   ‎fa- + ‎abo (“to be wounded”) → ‎faabo (“to wound (someone)”)

   ‎fa- + ‎gei (“to be dead”) → ‎fagei (“to kill”)

   ‎fa- + ‎kou (“to break (intr.)”) → ‎fokou (“to break (tr.)”)

2. derives causatives from intransitive and transitive verbs

   ‎fa- + ‎dadi (“to become”) → ‎fadadi (“to cause to become”)

   ‎fa- + ‎milinga (“to think of, love”) → ‎femilinga (“to make (someone) think of”)

3. derives transitive verbs from nouns

   ‎fa- + ‎carita (“story”) → ‎facarita (“to tell (a story)”)

4. indicates reciprocity

   Synonym: mefe-

   ‎fa- + ‎galeng (“to scold, berate”) → ‎fagaleng (“to scold, berate each other”)

   ‎fa- + ‎ruju (“to thump”) → ‎foruju (“to thump each other”)

Usage notes

The prefix fa- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as fe-, fi-, or fo-.

Alternative forms

• fe-, fi-, fo-

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɸa/

Pronoun

fa-

1. second-person plural clitic, you all

   foco ― you all see

Usage notes

The prefix fa- follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as fe-, fi-, fo-, or fu-.

Alternative forms

• fe-, fi-, fo-, fu-

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics
• James Collins (1982), Further Notes Towards a West Makian Vocabulary‎, Pacific linguistics