Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 3, sentence 33
The head slave kept the fowls and rods for himself, and did not go near the ju-ju man, but the next day he went to his master and said that he had consulted the ju-ju man, who had said that the chief’s life was in danger, and that he had been poisoned by his Okuni wife, who wanted her son to inherit her husband’s property.
Who acts: head slave, Chief, ju man, life, Okuni wife, son · What happens: keep, not go, go, say, consult, be · To what, where: fowls, master, ju man, danger, Chief, son · Speech: someone speaks here
This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 3. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (head slave, Chief, ju man, life), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.
Mova's own parse. This tree may be wrong.
The tree
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 3 slave | det |
| 2 | head | head | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 slave | compound |
| 3 | slave | slave | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 kept | nsubj |
| 4 | kept | keep | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 6 fowls | det |
| 6 | fowls | fowl | NOUN | Number=Plur | 4 kept | obj |
| 7 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 8 rods | cc |
| 8 | rods | rod | NOUN | Number=Plur | 6 fowls | conj |
| 9 | for | for | ADP | _ | 10 himself | case |
| 10 | himself | himself | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs Reflex=Yes | 8 rods | nmod |
| 11 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 15 go | punct |
| 12 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 15 go | cc |
| 13 | did | do | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 15 go | aux |
| 14 | not | not | PART | Polarity=Neg | 15 go | advmod |
| 15 | go | go | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 4 kept | advcl |
| 16 | near | near | ADP | _ | 21 man | case |
| 17 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 21 man | det |
| 18 | ju | ju | NOUN | Number=Sing | 20 ju | compound |
| 19 | - | - | PUNCT | _ | 18 ju | punct |
| 20 | ju | ju | NOUN | Number=Sing | 21 man | compound |
| 21 | man | man | NOUN | Number=Sing | 15 go | obl |
| 22 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 28 went | punct |
| 23 | but | but | CCONJ | _ | 28 went | cc |
| 24 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 26 day | det |
| 25 | next | next | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 26 day | amod |
| 26 | day | day | NOUN | Number=Sing | 28 went | obl:unmarked |
| 27 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 28 went | nsubj |
| 28 | went | go | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 4 kept | parataxis |
| 29 | to | to | ADP | _ | 31 master | case |
| 30 | his | his | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 31 master | nmod:poss |
| 31 | master | master | NOUN | Number=Sing | 28 went | obl |
| 32 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 33 said | cc |
| 33 | said | say | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 28 went | conj |
| 34 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 37 consulted | mark |
| 35 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 37 consulted | nsubj |
| 36 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 37 consulted | aux |
| 37 | consulted | consult | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 33 said | ccomp |
| 38 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 42 man | det |
| 39 | ju | ju | NOUN | Number=Sing | 41 ju | compound |
| 40 | - | - | PUNCT | _ | 39 ju | punct |
| 41 | ju | ju | NOUN | Number=Sing | 42 man | compound |
| 42 | man | man | NOUN | Number=Sing | 37 consulted | obj |
| 43 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 46 said | punct |
| 44 | who | who | PRON | PronType=Rel | 46 said | nsubj |
| 45 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 46 said | aux |
| 46 | said | say | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 42 man | acl:relcl |
| 47 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 54 danger | mark |
| 48 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 49 chief | det |
| 49 | chief | chief | NOUN | Number=Sing | 51 life | nmod:poss |
| 50 | ’s | 's | PART | _ | 49 chief | case |
| 51 | life | life | NOUN | Number=Sing | 54 danger | nsubj |
| 52 | was | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 54 danger | cop |
| 53 | in | in | ADP | _ | 54 danger | case |
| 54 | danger | danger | NOUN | Number=Sing | 46 said | ccomp |
| 55 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 61 poisoned | punct |
| 56 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 61 poisoned | cc |
| 57 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 61 poisoned | mark |
| 58 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 61 poisoned | nsubj |
| 59 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 61 poisoned | aux |
| 60 | been | be | AUX | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 61 poisoned | aux:pass |
| 61 | poisoned | poison | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 4 kept | conj |
| 62 | by | by | ADP | _ | 65 wife | case |
| 63 | his | his | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 65 wife | nmod:poss |
| 64 | Okuni | Okuni | PROPN | Number=Sing | 65 wife | compound |
| 65 | wife | wife | NOUN | Number=Sing | 61 poisoned | obl |
| 66 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 68 wanted | punct |
| 67 | who | who | PRON | PronType=Rel | 68 wanted | nsubj |
| 68 | wanted | want | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 65 wife | acl:relcl |
| 69 | her | her | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 70 son | nmod:poss |
| 70 | son | son | NOUN | Number=Sing | 68 wanted | obj |
| 71 | to | to | PART | _ | 72 inherit | mark |
| 72 | inherit | inherit | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 68 wanted | xcomp |
| 73 | her | her | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 74 husband | nmod:poss |
| 74 | husband | husband | NOUN | Number=Sing | 76 property | nmod:poss |
| 75 | ’s | 's | PART | _ | 74 husband | case |
| 76 | property | property | NOUN | Number=Sing | 72 inherit | obj |
| 77 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 4 kept | punct |
Pragmatics
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | keep | past | the head slave | the fowls and rods for Chief | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fowl=Theme | ||||
| 2 | not go | past · do-support | the head slave not said here | near the ju man | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme near man=Location | ||||
| 3 | go | past | Chief | Chief's master | day | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial_location»: agent=Theme to master=Initial_Location | |||
| 4 | say speech: assert | past | Chief not said here | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | |||||
| 5 | consult | past · perfect | Chief | the ju man | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent man=Theme | ||||
| 6 | say speech: assert | past · perfect | the ju man | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent | |||||
| 7 | is | past | the chief's life | danger | tree rules | ||||
| 8 | poison | past · perfect · passive | Chief's Okuni wife | Chief | vn poison-42.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient | ||||
| 9 | want | past | Chief's Okuni wife | poisoner's son | tree rules | ||||
| 10 | inherit not said to happen | to-infinitive | poisoner's son not said here | poisoner's husband's property | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent property=Theme |
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.
Text: «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Project Gutenberg book 70959 (public domain in the USA). Tree: Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. Frames: Mova's frames reader (prag), the chapter read in order.
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/33/