---
title: [1] Words without meaning, but used to express contempt, being merel… — Kaffir folk-lore · tree and pragmatics
description: [1] Words without meaning, but used to express contempt, being merely a repetition of the sound ngci. Who acts: Words. A sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Story of Lion and Little Jackal., with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause.
---

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# Kaffir folk-lore, Story of Lion and Little Jackal., sentence 6

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\[1\] Words without meaning, but used to express contempt, being merely a repetition of the sound ngci.

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**Who acts:** Words · **What happens:** mean, use, express, be · **To what, where:** Words, contempt, repetition

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This is a sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Story of Lion and Little Jackal.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Words), 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:pg71335:39:6
# text = [1] Words without meaning, but used to express contempt, being merely a repetition of the sound ngci.
1	[	[	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	1	1	NUM	LS	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	]	]	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
5	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	meaning	mean	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	express	express	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	contempt	contempt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	17	cop	_	_
15	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	repetition	repetition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	compound	_	_
21	ngci	ngci	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | gerund | Words *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **use** | past |  | Words |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **express** | to-infinitive |  | contempt |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent contempt=Theme |
| 4 | **is a** | gerund |  | a repetition |  |  |  | of the sound ngci; merely *property* | tree rules |

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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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