Home > Sound Clips > Negation Sandwich


Negation Sandwich   by Mo Rui Qiu

I have noticed that many Europeans make a sandwich by putting the topping on one piece of bread, and leaving it open as they eat. Most Americans make sandwiches by putting the contents between two slices of bread. So, when I want to express negation in Jingxi Zhuang, I think of an American sandwich because you put the negated verb or adjective between two pieces of bread. If you leave off the second slice of bread, it is missing something. English negates an adjective by adding the word “not,” for example “not happy.” Or English speakers can add a negative prefix like “un-” or “in-” and say things like “unhappy” or “indispensable.” For a negated verb, English speakers would say “not going” or “not eating.” Do you notice that negated adjectives and verbs in English are open at the end? There is only one slice of bread, i.e. there is not a second negation word at the end. However, to express present or past negatives in Jingxi Zhuang you need to begin with the negation word mei or mi and end with the final negation word nao. For example, with the verb gin, “to eat,” one would say “mi gin nao.” If you’re talking about something in the future that has not happened yet, one begins with the negation word zang and it is optional whether or not to add the final negation word nao. However, for all other negations, if you forget the final sound nao, to a native speaker it sounds incomplete. So, when I’m telling someone “not” I can’t forget the nao.


Sound Clip 1  Telling someone, “I’m not going to eat,” in Jingxi Zhuang using the required initial and final negative markers.

Sound Clip 2  Telling someone, “I have not eaten yet” using the optional final nao negative.

Reference: Personal Research, confirmed by consulting:
Zheng Yi Qing, 1996. Jingxi Zhuang Yu Yanjiu. Zhong Guo She Hui Ke Xue Yuan Minzu Yanjiu Suo. 237 – 239. (郑贻青, 1996. 靖西壮语研究. 中国社会科学院民族研究所. 237 – 239.)