SEASPEAK

Used in a sentence as a stand-in for articles on nouns, here are the determiners:

• “This” - chī

• “That (thing)” - eba

• “Those” - lifu

• “These” - neme

• “That (person)” - ma +pronoun

The distinction between “these boots” and “those boots” is typically proximity/visibility to the speaker. Anything immediately visible is neme, whether on one’s feet or across the room.

​

*Note on the example: degree of experience or age is the most important signifier in Seaspeaker communities, and functions closest to gender (more on this later). Here I have substituted “man” for “master laborer/worker”, and assumed the appropriate level of honorifics throughout.