# Mav̋ea language

LIG:ligature IMPF:imperfective DL:dual CSTR: CONS:construct suffix
Mavea (also rendered Mav̋ea, Mafea or Mavia) is an Oceanic language spoken on Mavea Island in Vanuatu, off the eastern coast of Espiritu Santo. It belongs to the North–Central Vanuatu linkage of Southern Oceanic. The total population of the island is approximately 172, with only 34 fluent speakers of the Mavea language reported in 2008.
There are 94 languages in the North Vanuatu linkage, including Mavea. The closest linguistic relative to Mavea, sharing a little over 70% of cognates, is Tutuba. Following Tutuba, Aore, South Malok, Araki, and Tangoa are the next closest relatives.

## Language endangerment

Mavea is a moribund language and there are many factors as to why this is.
One factor would be the arrival and Christianization by the Seventh-day Adventist and Church of Christ missionaries in 1839. Only 16% of the population can speak Mavea. These native speakers of Mavea belong to Generation 1, 2, and 3 which ranges from the ages of 20–80 years old. Those born after 1980 ("Generation 4") are less fluent. Commonly, this generation is not taught the language, because the language is inactive and not used in any new domain.
Mavea is not used very commonly outside of the home; in particular, it is not used in school, which reduces the younger speakers' exposure to the language. Most speakers do not feel concerned with the possible loss of the Mavea language.
Bislama, the national lingua franca of Vanuatu, is used more frequently. This creole is the first language for many people in Vanuatu who live in the city. It is used for business, religious sacraments, politics, and is seen as a way to move upward in society.

## Phonology

Mavea has 15 consonants and 8 vowels. The extra vowels are recent developments; they are not indicated in the orthography.
Consonants :
| | Labial | Linguolabial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar |
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n̼ ⟨m̋⟩ | | n ⟨n⟩ | | ŋ ⟨n⟩ |
| Stop | p ⟨p⟩ | t̼ ⟨p̋⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | ɖ ⟨d⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ |
| Fricative | v ⟨v⟩ | ð̼ ⟨v̋⟩ | | s ⟨s⟩ | | |
| Trill | | | | r ⟨r⟩ | | |
| Approximant | | | | l ⟨l⟩ | | w ⟨w⟩ |
Plosives in Mavea are not aspirated.
Vowels :
| | i | a | o | u |
| High | + | | | + |
| Back | | + | + | + |
| Low | | + | | |
| Rounded | | | + | + |

### Orthography

Linguolabial consonants are represented using the corresponding labial consonant with a double acute accent on top: p̋ [t̼]; v̋ [ð̼]; m̋ [n̼]. (This is a slight variation compared with the convention, shared by other Vanuatu languages, of transcribing linguolabials using two dots, respectively as p̈; v̈; m̈.)
The retroflex [ɖ] is represented in the orthography as d.

## Grammar
### Pronouns

There are both free and bound pronouns. Free pronouns are common in many Pacific languages. These free pronouns do not change for gender, but shows numerical differences, including singular, plural, dual, or paucal.
For example:
* /mo/ = he/she/it (third person singular subject)
* He eats taro. = /mo-an pete/

### Proper nouns

Proper nouns includes personal names, vocatives, relational terms, and locatives. They do not proceed an article and can not be used with a determiner. To show gender distinction, males use the prefix /mol-/. For females, the prefix /vo-/ or /va-/ was added.

### Common nouns

Similar to the proper nouns, there are both bound and free common nouns. Both can be used in an argument, be quantified with a marker, be modified with a determiner, be the head of a relative clause, and be questioned with "who" or "what". Bound common nouns are separated into nouns of kinship, body parts, bodily functions, and whole part relations. Also shows possessives.

### Verbs

Verbal predicates are marked with a subject agreement prefix. There are intransitive verbs, transitive verbs, ambitransitive, ditransitive, and auxiliary.
Intransitive verbs are used when the subject has no direct object receiving the action.

### Adverbs

There are two kinds of adverbs: phrasal adverbs and sentential adverbs. Sententail adverbs take up the entire sentence and appear after or before the verb's core argument. For example: to show frequency, /te pong/ meaning "sometimes" is used as a sentential adverb.
Spatial adverbs are used to show the location of the speaker and the direction the speaker is speaking towards. For example: konaro means "here, at speaker's location." This is common in many Pacific languages.

### Reduplication

Mavea shows partial reduplication in its grammar. Reduplication is used to show emphasis. For example: sua means "to paddle" and suosua means "to paddle intensely". Sometimes when using reduplication, the vowels can change. Usually the "a" changes to "o" or "e".

### Adjectives

Adjectives can only be used as noun modifiers. There both adjectives as independent lexical items and also adjectives pulled from transitive verbs by using reduplication. For example: pulua is "paint" and "ima pulpulu" means "painted house".

### Prepositions

There are seven prepositions in Mavea.
| to/from | valu |
| straight | domdomi |
| for | lape |
| to/for | suri |
| around | dal |
| with | tuan |
| in/at | na |

### Demonstratives
#### Pronouns

There are four attested demonstrative pronouns in Mavea: aro, nel(e), maro, and male. Aro and nel(e) can also function as demonstrative determiners, and aro specifically only rarely appears as a pronoun, as in:
Mo-ṽe
3SG-make
mo-pal
3SG-like
aro
here
[ma
COMP
mo-pailu]
3SG-bent
Mo-ṽe mo-pal aro [ma mo-pailu]
3SG-make 3SG-like here COMP 3SG-bent
'He makes (it) like this one here that is bent'
Maro ('this one') is used to refer to something nearby the speaker, and has the plural form maror, which is formed by affixing the plural suffix -re:
Or
maybe
me
FUT
ro
then
ka-var
1SG.IRR-talk
sur
about
maro
this.one
ma
COMP
matua=ku
right=1SG.POSS
mo-adia
3SG-first
Or me ro ka-var sur maro ma matua=ku mo-adia
maybe FUT then 1SG.IRR-talk about this.one COMP right=1SG.POSS 3SG-first
'Maybe I will talk about this one that (is) on my right first'
Ma
COMP
pula-ira
CLF-3PL
maror
these.ones
i
LIG
ṽat.
four
Ma pula-ira maror i ṽat.
COMP CLF-3PL these.ones LIG four
'(The ones) that (are) theirs (are) these four ones.'
Male ('that one') on the other hand is used when speaking of something that is distant to the speaker, both literally, as in
Male
that.one
m̃atan
COMP
me
FUT
ra-lsu
3PL-hit
mate=i=o
dead=TR=2SG
Male m̃atan me ra-lsu mate=i=o
that.one COMP FUT 3PL-hit dead=TR=2SG
'That one (was) for the purpose that they would kill you'
And metaphorically, in order to distance the speaker from the referent, as in
Na
but
vatavata
woman
le
DET
mo-pelmel
3SG-like.this
paingur,
stubborn
male
that.one
me
FUT
i-l-ṽe
3SG.IRR-IMPF-make
Tomy
Tomy
pelmel
like.this
Na vatavata le mo-pelmel paingur, male me i-l-ṽe Tomy pelmel
but woman DET 3SG-like.this stubborn that.one FUT 3SG.IRR-IMPF-make Tomy like.this
'But this woman is stubborn like this, that one will be making Tomy the same'
Malere is the plural form of male, and like maror is formed by affixing the plural -re:
Malere
these.ones
da-sops-varvara
1PL.INCL-NEG-talk
nira.
3PL
Malere da-sops-varvara nira.
these.ones 1PL.INCL-NEG-talk 3PL
'These ones, we don't talk to them.'
Maro and male are both formed by combining the complementizer ma- and a locative adverbial; aro for the former, and ale for the latter.

#### Determiners

In addition to demonstrative pronouns, Mavea also has three demonstrative determiners: nele, (a)ro, and nor(o), although of these only nor(o) is not attested as a pronoun in addition to its role as a demonstrative determiner.
Demonstrative Determiners :
| | Singular | Plural |
| this | nel(e) | neler(e) |
| this here | (a)ro | ror |
| this here now | nor(o) | noror |
The three-way demonstrative system common to Oceanic Languages is not present in Mavean demonstrative determiners, occurring instead in the locative adverbs of the language. The demonstrative determiners of Mavea encode both spatial and temporal proximity to either the speaker, as in
Ki-r-m̃a
1PL.EXCL-DL-come
aro
this.here
Mav̋ea.
Mav̋ea
Ki-r-m̃a aro Mav̋ea.
1PL.EXCL-DL-come this.here Mav̋ea
'We came here, (to) Mav̋ea.'
or to the discourse, as in
Rau=n
leaves=3SG.POSS
mo-sa
3SG-go.up
mo-avtai
3SG-appear
nor
here.now
aulu.
above
Rau=n mo-sa mo-avtai nor aulu.
leaves=3SG.POSS 3SG-go.up 3SG-appear here.now above
'Its leaves go up and appear here on top.'
The plural forms neler(e), ror, and noror are formed by affixing what is likely a reduced form of the plural word re.
Nele, along with its plural form neler(e), is formed in part by the specific definite article le.
Nor(o), and its plural form noror, is actually made up in part by a cut down form of the third demonstrative determiner, (a)ro, while nele is not. Interestingly, the two demonstrative determiners which contain aro, that is nor(o) and (a)ro itself, are also the two demonstrative determiners which serve double duty as demonstrative pronouns, in addition to being used as locational adverbs, a function never assigned to nel(e)(re).
Additionally, one of the other demonstrative pronouns, maro, also has aro as one of its constituents.
Demonstrative determiners can refer to a location in both time and space, but the spatial location is often discourse-related, rather than speaker-related, as in the following example, where aro is used to refer anaphorically to a party (anana) that has previously been mentioned in the text:
Re
PL
m̃asi
bird.fish
nirev
everyone
ra-ṽa
3PL-go
na
LOC
anan-a
eat-NMZ
aro.
here
Re m̃asi nirev ra-ṽa na anan-a aro.
PL bird.fish everyone 3PL-go LOC eat-NMZ here
'All the birds went to this party.'
This use is sometimes called the "tracking use". Ror, nor(o)(r), and nelere all also have anaphoric uses, as displayed in the following examples, where the noun phrase referents occurring prior to the demonstrative have each been mentioned previously:
Ro
then
me
FUT
ro
then
tamlese
old
ror
here.PL
i
LIG
rua…
two
Ro me ro tamlese ror i rua…
then FUT then old here.PL LIG two
'Then, these two men here…'
Ra-l-an
3PL-IMPF-eat
ineler
thing.PL
nelere
these.PL
Ra-l-an ineler nelere
3PL-IMPF-eat thing.PL these.PL
'They are eating these things here.'
Inor
thing.PL
nor
here.now
me
FUT
i-tuen
3SG.IRR-help
nno
2SG
Inor nor me i-tuen nno
thing.PL here.now FUT 3SG.IRR-help 2SG
'These things here will help you.'
The demonstrative determiners of Mavea follow the head noun when used adnominally, a pattern which is the norm in oceanic languages, though by no means universal. Examples of this include:
Tam̃a-n
father-CONS
navaisesea
child
aro
this.here
mo-m̃ata.
3SG-dead
Tam̃a-n navaisesea aro mo-m̃ata.
father-CONS child this.here 3SG-dead
'The father of this child here is dead.'
Ra-l-an
3PL-IMPF-eat
ineler
thing.PL
nelere.
these.PL
Ra-l-an ineler nelere.
3PL-IMPF-eat thing.PL these.PL
'They are eating these things here.'

### Spatial deictics
#### Locative adverbs

Locative adverbs are a class of sentential adverb, modifying entire sentences, and as such occur either subsequent to the verb's core argument, as shown in:
Ra-kuro
3PL-leave
koneine
there
'Ai
ai
sar'
sar
ro
then
ra-sa
3PL-go.up
konain
there
'Panpan.'
panpan
Ra-kuro koneine 'Ai sar' ro ra-sa konain 'Panpan.'
3PL-leave there ai sar then 3PL-go.up there panpan
'They left there, 'Ai sar', then they went up there, 'Panpan'.
Or more rarely prior to the verb's core argument, as shown in:
Ṽisio-n
meat=3SG.POSS
maro
this.one
mo-an
3SG-eat
nna.
3SG
Ṽisio-n maro mo-an nna.
meat=3SG.POSS this.one 3SG-eat 3SG
'His flesh, this one ate it.'
There are two sets of locative adverbs in Mavea, all members of which serve as spatial deictics. There is the A-set, so named because all of its members begin with [a], and the K-set, so named because each of its members begins with [ko]. They form a six-way system based on proximity to the hearer, and to the speaker, as well as relative direction (up, down, or across)
Spatial adverbs :
| aro | ~ | kon(a)ro | 'here, at speaker's location' |
| aine | ~ | konain(e)/koenine | 'there, at hearer's location' |
| ale | ~ | konale | 'there, away from both interlocutors, but closer to hearer than speaker' |
| atu | ~ | konatu | 'over there, away from both interlocutors' |
| atisi(vo) | ~ | konatisi(vo) | 'over there down, far away from both interlocutors' |
| atisa | ~ | konatisa | 'over there up, far away from both interlocutors' |
| atiṽa | ~ | konatiṽa | 'over there across, far away from both interlocutors' |
Atisi(vo), atisa, and atiṽa, as well as their K-set equivalents konatisi(vo), konatisa, and konatiṽa, are likely derived from the form atu (or konatu for the K-set), compounded with a movement verb like si(vo) ('go down'), sa ('go up'), or ṽa ('go'):
Nno
2SG
ko-to
2SG-stay
aro
here
nao
1SG
ka-on
1SG.IRR-look
ka-ṽa
1SG.IRR-go
konatiṽa.
over.there
Ka-val
1SG.IRR-pass
kil
look
ṽa
go
na
LOC
vovono
REDbush
konatu.
over.there
Nno ko-to aro nao ka-on ka-ṽa konatiṽa. Ka-val kil ṽa na vovono konatu.
2SG 2SG-stay here 1SG 1SG.IRR-look 1SG.IRR-go over.there 1SG.IRR-pass look go LOC REDbush over.there
'You stay here, I will go look over there. I will pass towards the bush over there.'
Ra-kuro
3PL-leave
koneine
there
'Ai
ai
sar'
sar
ro
then
ra-sa
3PL-go.up
konain
there
'Panpan.'
panpan
Ra-kuro koneine 'Ai sar' ro ra-sa konain 'Panpan.'
3PL-leave there ai sar then 3PL-go.up there panpan
'They left there, 'Ai sar', then they went up there, 'Panpan'.'
'Soon after I felt something touching my leg here.'
Speakers can emphasise the distance in the forms atisi(vo), atisa, and atiṽa, as well as their K-set forms konatisi(vo), konatisa, and konatiṽa by producing them with a long [t], e.g.: [a.'t:i.si].
There is no easily discernible semantic difference between the A-set and the K-set, however some members of the A-set may also serve as demonstratives, as in:
Mo-ṽe
3SG-make
mo-pal
3SG-like
aro
here
[ma
COMP
mo-pailu].
3SG-bent
Mo-ṽe mo-pal aro [ma mo-pailu].
3SG-make 3SG-like here COMP 3SG-bent
'He makes (it) like (this one) here which is bent.'
which is not attested in any member of the K-set.
The spatial and temporal adverbs aro, aine, and kon(a)ro, as well as the demonstrative determiner nor(o), can be juxtaposed with a noun in order to form an adverbial predicate, as in
Ro,
then
avona-n
end-CONS
ululdunia
story
aro.
here.this
Ro, avona-n ululdunia aro.
then end-CONS story here.this
'Then the end of the story (is) here.' Or 'Then, this (is) the end of the story.'
Nna
3SG
ne
FOC
aine.
there
Nna ne aine.
3SG FOC there
'It (is) there.'
'The third one (is) here, the fourth one (is) here.'

## Morphology

Personal pronouns in Mavea do not inflect for case or gender, but do show number (singular, dual, paucal, plural). First person non-singular has an inclusive/exclusive distinction. Independent personal pronouns are not obligatory, but are used for emphasis, contrast or focus.
| | | Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural |
| 1st person | inclusive | na(o) | darua/ô | datol | (n)ida |
| 1st person | exclusive | na(o) | kam̋arua/o | kam̋atol | kam̋am |
| 2nd person | 2nd person | nno | kamruo/a | kamtol | kam̋im |
| 3rd person | 3rd person | nna | rarua/o | ratol | nira |
me
FUT
ro
then
nno
2SG
me
FUT
ko
2SG
-l
-IMPF
-suruv
-sleep
atano,
ground
na
but
nao
1SG
me
FUT
ro
then
ka
1SG.IRR
suruv
-sleep
aul
above
pere
branch
-n
-CONS
vuae
tree
me ro nno me ko -l -suruv atano, na nao me ro ka suruv aul pere -n vuae
FUT then 2SG FUT 2SG -IMPF -sleep ground but 1SG FUT then 1SG.IRR -sleep above branch -CONS tree
"You, you will sleep on the ground, but I, I will sleep in the tree"

### Bound pronouns

Bound pronouns are obligatory at the beginning of a predicate phrase. Only 1SG and 3SG inflect for mood.
Subject Agreement Markers :
| | | Singular | Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural |
| | | Realis | Irrealis | Dual | Paucal | Plural |
| 1st person | inclusive | na- | ka- | dar- | datol- | da- |
| 1st person | exclusive | na- | ka- | kir- | kitol- | ki- |
| 2nd person | 2nd person | ko- | ko- | kir- | kitol- | ki- |
| 3rd person | 3rd person | mo- | i- | rar- | ratol | ra- |
Object Enclitics :
| | | Singular | Plural |
| 1st person | inclusive | -ao | (i)da |
| 1st person | exclusive | -ao | |
| 2nd person | 2nd person | -o | |
| 3rd person | 3rd person | -a | (i)ra |
Varua
bird
nno
2SG
ko-kolai=ao
2SG-lie=1SG
Varua nno ko-kolai=ao
bird 2SG 2SG-lie=1SG
"Cardinal, you lied to me"

## Counting system

The Mavea counting system is very similar to other Oceanic languages, especially numbers 1 through 5, and 10.
* tea
* rua
* tol(u)
* vat(i)
* lima
* marava
* rave rua
* rattol(u)
* rappat(i)
* anavul(u)

## Possession

Mavea distinguishes direct and indirect possession. Direct possessive constructions nouns take a bound possessive clitic. On the other hand, indirect possession is expressed by the presence of a classifier to which a possessive clitic is suffixed.

### Direct possession

Direct possession is expressed by a possessive clitic attached to the noun when the possessor is not expressed as a Noun Phrase (NP). Alternatively, if no suffix exists for the person and number of the possessor, the nouns are followed by an independent pronoun.
The semantic classes of nouns participating in direct possessive constructions, include, body parts, and bodily functions, kinship terms, articles of clothing, and household goods.
Table of Possessive Clitics :
| | | Singular | Dual | Paucal/trial | Plural |
| 1st person | inclusive | -ku | darua/o | datol | -(i)da |
| 1st person | exclusive | -ku | -mamrua/o | -mamtol | -mam |
| 2nd person | 2nd person | -m | -mrua/o | -mtol | -mim |
| 3rd person | 3rd person | -n(a) | -rarua/o | ratol | -(i)ra |
A noun, which is directly possessed, takes a possessive clitic matching the possessor's features.
For example:
Ka-deo
1SG.IRR-defecate
mo-adia
3SG-first
ro
then
me
FUT
ko-on
2SG-look
tae=ku.
excrement=lSG.POSS
Ka-deo mo-adia ro me ko-on tae=ku.
1SG.IRR-defecate 3SG-first then FUT 2SG-look excrement=lSG.POSS
'I will defecate first, then you will look at my excrement.'
and
This third person singular possessive clitic, pronounced as [na], is suffixed to the noun 'Laloa' for 'saliva'.
Lalao=na
saliva=3SG.POSS
mo-si
3SG-go.down
mo-va.
3SG-go
Lalao=na mo-si mo-va.
saliva=3SG.POSS 3SG-go.down 3SG-go
'Her saliva was hanging down.'

#### Non-pronominal possessors

If a full NP expresses the possessor, the possessee takes the construct suffix –n, or can be pronounces [na], although this construct suffix is a homophony of the possessive clitic –n and –na the distribution is different as displayed in the following examples;
Note that the case of Full NP, the possessee precedes the possessor
Ra-tau
3PL-put
ese-n
name-CONS
Piria.
wild.yam
Ra-tau ese-n Piria.
3PL-put name-CONS wild.yam
'They named it Piria'
and
Natu-n
child-CONS
vomae
dove
mo-sa
3SG-go.up
mo-sakel
3SG-sit
na
LOC
patu-n
head-CONS
kou.
fowl
Natu-n vomae mo-sa mo-sakel na patu-n kou.
child-CONS dove 3SG-go.up 3SG-sit LOC head-CONS fowl
'Dove's child went up and sat on Fowl's head.
Possession is recursive, in the following example, the noun 'vulu' which is possessed by the noun 'vanatu' which in turn is possessed by John, therefore both nouns a suffixed with –[n].
vulu-n
hair-CONS
vanatu-n
daughter-CONS
John
John
vulu-n vanatu-n John
hair-CONS daughter-CONS John
'John's daughter's hair'

### Indirect possession

Nouns in indirect possession constructions do not take a possessive clitic, they require a classifier to which a possessive clitic (or construct suffix) is attached.
There are six classifiers in Mavea:
* a- 'to be eaten'
* ma- 'to be drunk'
* no- 'general possession, valuables'
* pula- 'anima raised, vegetable planted'
* sa- 'housing and land'
* madoue- 'a dead man's possession'
classifier "a-" infers that the item is possessed is meant to be eaten
Mo-vir
3sG-throw
loko
laplap
a=na.
CLF.eat=3SG.POSS
Mo-vir loko a=na.
3sG-throw laplap CLF.eat=3SG.POSS
'She threw his laplap (to eat)'
If the possessor is a full NP, the classifier is market with the construct -n
Nira
3pl
ra-ve
3PL-make
inanan
food
vaisesea
small
a-n
CLF.eat-CONS
re
PL
famli.
family
Nira ra-ve inanan vaisesea a-n re famli.
3pl 3PL-make food small CLF.eat-CONS PL family
'They make a small party for the families (to eat)'
Summarised
| Possession Type | Possessee | Possessor |
| Direct | N -n N CLF -n | Personal Noun Personal Noun |
| Indirect | N -n N CLF -n | Personal Noun Personal Noun |
| Direct | N -n N CLF -n | Specific Specific |
| Indirect | N -n N CLF -n | Specific Specific |
| Direct | N (+human) -n N (-human) -i | Non-specific |
| Indirect | N CLF -n | Non-specific |

## Questions

Intonation is used to distinguish yes–no questions because there is no syntactic way to do so. There are also tag questions which uses the negative tag /te modere/ at the end. In English, /te modere/ means "or not".
Some monoclausal content questions include:
* ape = where
* ingese = when
* ise = who
* ivisa = how much/many
* matai = for what reason
* matan = why
* sa = what
* sava = which/what kind?
* se = which
* sur sa = about/for what

## Negation

Sentential negation is expressed with the bound prefix /sopo/ and appears right after the subject agreement prefix. The order is subject → negation → verb.
mo
3SG
-sopo-
NEG
rongo
see
a
3SG
mo -sopo- rongo = a
3SG NEG see = 3SG
he didn't see him
Sometimes /sopo/ can be shorten to /po/.
na
1SG
-po-
NEG
sasa
work
na -po- sasa
1SG NEG work
I don't work.
When the subject agreement marker is absent, the bare negation marker jumps to the front.
Sopo
NEG
te
some
ta-mavea...
from-Mav̋ea
Sopo te ta-mavea...
NEG some from-Mav̋ea
There is not one Mav̋ea man...
To show the aspectual meaning "not yet", /lo/ is added to the negation marker /sopo/. This refers to events that have not happened yet but are likely to in the future. Added to the end of this form of negation is /pa/ which means "still" or "yet".
nno ko
2SG
sopo
NEG
-l-
IMPF
on
look
diu
crab
pa?
yet?
{nno ko} sopo -l- on diu pa?
2SG NEG IMPF look crab yet?
you haven't seen a coconut crab yet?
When combined with /me/ the negation changes into "not anymore, no more".
mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
me
IT
l
IMPF
suruv
sleep
mo-sopo - me - l - suruv
3SG-NEG - IT - IMPF - sleep
She does not sleep anymore.
Equative clauses are shown by adding the negative marker /sopo/ to the subject marker for third person singular /mo-/. Mosopo meaning " it is/was/not."
Ko-v
2SG-say
mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
nno.
2SG
Ko-v mo-sopo nno.
2SG-say 3SG-NEG 2SG
You said it wasn't you.
Negative locational predicates are similar to equative clauses, by adding the locational marker /na/ to the equative clause /mosopo/.
Mo-sopo
3SG-NEG
na
LOC
ono.
sand.
Mo-sopo na ono.
3SG-NEG LOC sand.
It is not on the sand.