The particle "ma" in Old Sundanese

• Main Authors: Aditia Gunawan, Evi Fuji Fauziyah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Indonesia 2021-05-01
• Series: Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia
• Subjects: particles; "ma"; old sundanese; philology; historical linguistics; syntax.
• Online Access: http://wacana.ui.ac.id/index.php/wjhi/article/view/1040
• ISSN: 1411-2272; 2407-6899

<p>This article will analyse the distribution of the particle <em>ma</em> in Old Sundanese texts. Based on an examination of fifteen Old Sundanese texts (2 inscriptions, 8 prose texts, and 5 poems), we have identified 730 occurrences of <em>ma</em>. We have selected several examples which represent the range of its grammatical functions in sentences. Our observations are as follows: (1) <em>ma</em> not only appears in direct dialogues, but also in narrative texts, both prose and verse; (2) <em>ma</em> functions as a copula in nominal sentences, connecting subject and predicate; (3) in conditional clauses containing the conjunction <em>lamun</em>, <em>ma</em> has a function similar to that of <em>mah</em> in Modern Sundanese but, in the absence of <em>lamun</em> and if the supplementary clauses only consist of verb phrases, <em>ma</em> itself is also capable of expressing conditionality; (4) if this particle is preceded by negations such as <em>hamo</em> ‘not’ or <em>hant</em><em>ə</em>‘there is not’ in conditional clauses, <em>ma</em> is placed directly after these negations and does not mark the predicate, but serves instead to stress the negation itself; (5) in the cases described in points 1-4, <em>ma</em> can be considered a topic marker, and in some phrases we have even found the dislocationsthat are characteristic of topic markers; and (6) <em>ma</em> can appear in imperative sentences, placed immediately after verbs to emphasize commands, which does not apply to <em>mah</em> in Modern Sundanese.</p>