---
title: The assagai (a corruption of a Portuguese word derived from the Lati… — Kaffir folk-lore · tree and pragmatics
description: The assagai (a corruption of a Portuguese word derived from the Latin hasta) consists of a long, thin iron head, with both edges sharp, and terminating in a point, and is attached by thongs to a slender shaft or rod. Who acts: assagai. A sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Introdu
---

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# Kaffir folk-lore, Introductory Chapter Regarding the Kaffirs., sentence 97

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The assagai (a corruption of a Portuguese word derived from the Latin hasta) consists of a long, thin iron head, with both edges sharp, and terminating in a point, and is attached by thongs to a slender shaft or rod.

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**Who acts:** assagai · **What happens:** derive, consist, terminate, attach · **To what, where:** Portuguese word, Latin hasta, point

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This is a sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Introductory Chapter Regarding the Kaffirs.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (assagai), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg71335:2:97
# text = The assagai (a corruption of a Portuguese word derived from the Latin hasta) consists of a long, thin iron head, with both edges sharp, and terminating in a point, and is attached by thongs to a slender shaft or rod.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	assagai	assagai	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	corruption	corruption	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	Portuguese	portuguese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	derived	derive	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	Latin	Latin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	hasta	hasta	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	5	punct	_	_
16	consists	consist	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
19	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
21	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
22	iron	iron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	compound	_	_
23	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
25	with	with	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	27	det	_	_
27	edges	edge	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obl:unmarked	_	_
28	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
30	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	31	cc	_	_
31	terminating	terminate	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
32	in	in	ADP	IN	_	34	case	_	_
33	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	34	det	_	_
34	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	31	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	38	punct	_	_
36	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	38	cc	_	_
37	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	38	aux:pass	_	_
38	attached	attach	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	parataxis	_	_
39	by	by	ADP	IN	_	40	case	_	_
40	thongs	thong	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	38	obl	_	_
41	to	to	ADP	IN	_	44	case	_	_
42	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	44	det	_	_
43	slender	slender	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	44	amod	_	_
44	shaft	shaft	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	38	obl	_	_
45	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	46	cc	_	_
46	rod	rod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	44	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
47	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **derive** | participle |  | a Portuguese word *not said here* |  | the Latin hasta |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP PP.material»: agent=Agent from hasta=Material |
| 2 | **consist** | present | the assagai |  |  |  |  | of a long thin iron head | tree rules |
| 3 | **terminate** | gerund | the assagai *not said here* |  |  | a point |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 4 | **attach** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  | by thongs; to a slender shaft or rod | vn shake-22.3-2-1 «NP V NP PP»: to shaft=Co-Patient |

<!-- .note -->
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.

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**Text:** «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Project Gutenberg book 71335 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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