Functions of reduplication 139
This is illustrated in (29) and (30).
(29) Ter-dhokter juwa sa-pareksa'-an.
RED-doctor that RED-examine-IT
‘The doctors examined each other.’
(30) Marlena ban Siti rem-kerem-an sorat.
Marlena and Siti RED-send-IT letter
‘Marlena and Siti sent letters to each other.’
Inasmuch as each participant in a reciprocal performs the activity denoted by
the predicate, there is necessarily more than one event, hence plurality is ex-
pressed. Also, for a few verbal elements, reduplication with actor voice results
in a reciprocal meaning.
(31) asa-basa ‘speak alos to each other’
ada-bida ‘be different from each other’
Reciprocal constructions are discussed in detail in Chapter 14, section 3.
3.1.2 Imperfect aspect
In addition to the auxiliary-type adverbial gi' ‘still’ (see chapter 9, section 4),
the imperfect can be expressed by reduplication. Reduplication is used to indi-
cate the imperfect in a number of other languages (Chamorro (Topping 1973),
Mokilese (Harrison 1973), Siraya (Adelaar 2003), West Tarangan (Nivens
1993), and others). Although it is not as common in Madurese, this use is clear
in the sentences that follow.
(32) Ke' Lesap nga-tela' keng a-tabbu-wan sambi dang-tandang.
Ke' Lesap AV.KA-see only AV-drum-IT while RED-dance
‘Ke' Lesap only saw them drumming while they danced.’
(33) Mon teppa’-na les-noles sengko’, ja’ olok!
if good-DEF RED-AV.write I don't call
‘If I am writing well, don’t call me!’
(34) Adha’ reng men-namen sakale.
not.exist person RED-AV.plant a.little
‘No one was planting anything.’
In each of these sentences, the reduplication denotes the ongoing action. In (32),