May 2022

Much of the Kovol people’s work is out in their gardens and so we should often be making the hike out to see them. Well that’s ideally. In reality because the hike takes an hour and i’s tough to make an appointment we only get out there occasionally.

You never know what’s going to happen when you start a day of language. Yesterday I decided I’d hike down to a nearby hamlet to check out some sentences I’d created. I’ve been working on figuring out Kovol clauses, but there’s a little complexity to it which I think may be explained by calling them dependent clauses. Anyway I had some sentences I’d come up with to check out my ideas on dependent clauses.

I get 20 seconds away from my house and see a friend swinging his machete at a banana tree. “Good morning, what you you up to?” I ask, “I’m removing my pig’s balls” he replies. Obviously then I switch to Tok Pisin to check in a language I’m more fluent in if he said what I thought he said. Sure enough, that mornings work was castrating his pig. I ran to get Rhett because I know he’s into his things and we settled in for the show.
First a ‘fence’ was made which looked like a little circular wicker drum. Some leaves are pointed out that will be used to “take care of the blood” – but not as I thought for wiping or absorbing blood to keep the workspace tidy – more on that later

ew bit of language am I going to after today, and what should I practice speaking about?” Usually that’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up as I’m groggily pulling myself out of sleep.