Reflexives 419
The null pronominal subject of the sentence in (8) is a magical blade possessed
by the hero of the story; here it indicates that with a little encouragement from
its owner it could fly on its own. A second use is what Gil refers to as ‘decomit-
ative’, that is describing a situation in which the subject acts alone.
(9) Pekker dibi' ba'eng ya.
think you yes
‘Think on your own.’
(10) Ali entar ka Jakarta dibi'.
A go to Jakarta
‘Ali went to Jakarta by himself.’
In (9), the addressees (children listening to a story) are encouraged to think for
themselves, while (10) asserts that Ali went to Jakarta without a companion.
Dibi' also has an intensive usage, in which it emphasizes a particular par-
ticipant in a situation, as in (11) and (12).
(11) Pangeran Wilaran dhari ahli-na Keyae Pratanu dibi' ya.
Pangeran Wilaran from relative-DEF Keyae Pratanu yes
‘Pangeran Wilaran was descended from Keyae Pratanu himself.’
(12) Ina ngerem pesse-na Wati dibi' ka ebu'-na Sundari.
Ina AV.send money-DEF Wati to mother-DEF Sundari
‘Ina sent Wati’s money itself to Sundari’s mother.’
In its intensive use in (11), the role of dibi' is to emphasize the fact that Pange-
ran Wilaran has a particularly famous and influential relative, Keyae Pratanu. In
(12), an inanimiate object, pessena Wati ‘Wati’s money’ takes dibi' and is the
focus of emphasis. Finally, dibi' can be used to indicate that a noun phrase is the
only element of which a state of affairs is true; what Gil refers to as ‘dealiative’.
(13) Poko'-eng aba'eng dibi' kennyang, aba'eng dibi' senneng, lo'
short-DEF he full he happy not
mekker-re ra'yad-da se sangsara.
AV.think-LOC people-DEF REL suffer
‘In short, only he was satisfied; only he was happy. He didn’t think about
his people who suffered.’
(14) Pesse-na e-tarema Satimma ban bapa'-na dhari Arinda dibi'.
money-DEF OV-receive Satimma and father-DEF from Arinda
‘Satimma and her father received money only from Arinda.’