ba
| Possible Affixes | -shi evidential |
| Pronunciation | [ba] |
| Related Ideophones | sa, san, ton1 |
| Definition | spreading something out, or all over a surface |
| Sensory Modality | MOVEMENT > Haptic MOVEMENT VISUAL |
| Paralinguistic Description | gestured with hands and intonationally foregrounded by lengthening |
| Transcription | tɕajtaga apikga kaj witukwaŋga ba-ɕi ɲawitaga kakuɕka |
| Translation | ‘And so grabbing (that face) with this wituk dye, she rubbed his face baaa (all over)’ |
| View full video |
Commentary
Video 1: This example occurred during the telling of a traditional narrative to Tod Swanson, in which a brother comes to his sister at night in disguise. One night she rubs a clear vegetable juice called wituk across his face, which dries a dark, shiny black color. When she sees his face in the daylight she realizes that he has been her night visitor. The difference between ba and related ideophones sa and san is that ba depicts a spreading motion that is in contact with a surface, while sa and san depict spreading motion that may take place in mid-air, without contacting any surface.
Nuckolls, Janis and Tod Swanson. 2024. ba. The Quechua Ideophonic Dictionary. Online: https://quechuarealwords.byu.edu/?ideophone=ba.
