[Mihalic] Piccaninny dawn

[Fr Patrick Gesch]

I find this expression completely ambiguous. The other morning I was having a 
sleep in and someone shouted to me in Madang:

Hau na yu slip yet, em bik morning tru?

On the other hand if we were to go on our way next day I would expect to hear:

Bai yu mi kirap long bik moning tru na yumi tekof.

    long live ambiguity.

Pat Gesch
DWU Madang.


---------- Original Message -----------
From: Stuart Robinson <Stuart.Robinson at mpi.nl>
To: mihalic at anu.edu.au
Sent: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:20:48 +0100 (MET)
Subject: RE: [Mihalic] Piccaninny dawn

> In Bougainville, I have heard the opposite size descriptor, 'bik', to
> describe what I believe is the same time of day---namely, early in 
> the morning. For example,
> 
> Bai yu kam long bik moning tru.
> Come in the early morning.
> 
> Is this a common expression?
> 
> -Stuart
> 
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 r.clark at auckland.ac.nz wrote:
> 
> > "Piccaninny daylight", also "piccaninny dawn, piccaninny sun" as
> > expressions for the earliest morning, are well attested in Australian
> > English, going back to the 1840s at least. I assume this is from the
> > earlier sense of "piccaninny" = "small", and originated in some pidgin
> > context. However, the only place I can find it in use today is in Torres
> > Straits Creole, in the relexified form "smol delait" = "dawn, early
> > morning".
> >
> > Ross Clark
> >
> > 	-----Original Message-----
> > 	From: mihalic-bounces at anu.edu.au
> > [mailto:mihalic-bounces at anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Institute of Papua New
> > Guinea Studies
> > 	Sent: Thursday, 16 November 2006 5:25 p.m.
> > 	To: Tok Pisin list
> > 	Subject: [Mihalic] Piccaninny dawn
> >
> >
> > 	In The Sky People (1984) by John Emery, there are numerous
> > references to "piccaninny dawn" which I assume means something like the
> > first light of dawn, before the sun actually appears.
> >
> > 	Is this a version of a normal TP expression? Has anyone heard
> > "pikinini tulait" or something like that? Or might it be some sort of
> > Tok Masta?
> >
> >
> > 	Don Niles
> > 	Acting Director & Senior Ethnomusicologist
> > 	Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies
> > 	Box 1432
> > 	Boroko 111
> > 	PAPUA NEW GUINEA
> >
> > 	tel.: +675 325-4644
> > 	fax: +675 325-0531
> > 	email: ipngs at global.net.pg
> >
> >
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> >
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------- End of Original Message -------