Leksion Chamoru: Prefix tak-

Tak- is a comparative prefix that is used with location and direction words. Essentially, tak- takes the direction/location and makes it "in a far place/degree."

• Hulo' = Up, above, on top of.
  Tak- + hulo' =>; Takkilo' = High, in a (high) far up place.
• Påpa' = Down, below, bottom, southward, downward, beneath.
  Tak- + påpa' =>; Takpapa' = Low, in a (low) far down place.
• Huyong = Out, ouside.
  Tak- + huyong =>; Takhiyong = Far out, in a far out place.

Another way to consider the prefix tak- is that it indicates a place greater degree, but not the greatest degree.

• Hålom = In, inside.
  Tak- + hålom =>; Takhalom = Inner, in a (inner) far inside place.
  (i.e. in an inner area, but not necessarily the innermost place)
• Fo'na* = Ahead, be first.
  Tak- + fo'na =>; Takfe'na = Out front, in a (forward) far up front place.
  (i.e. in a more forward position, but not necessarily the farthest out front)

Let's go ahead and use the above examples in sentences to get a better feeling of what tak- actually does.

• Ti siña hu taka' i kisami sa' gof takkilo'. = I can't reach the ceiling because it's very high up.
• Hunggan, takpapa' i presio-ña, lao, åhe', ti baråtu ha'. = Yes, its price is low, but, no, it's not really cheap.
• Sumåsåga yo' takhiyong gi siudåt. = I live far outside of the city.
• Bai sångåni hao ginen takhalom gi korason-hu. = I'll tell you from deep inside my heart.
• Ti un li'e' yo' gi fila sa' gof takfe'na hao. = You didn't see me in line, because you were far up front (in line).

Tak- also follows the rules of vowel harmony, meaning, in general, we change the first vowel in the root word from å to a, o to e, and u to i. The prefix also assumes the primary stress of the new word, so the above examples would be pronounced:

• Takhilo' => TACK-he-loo'
  Takkilo' => TACK-key-loo'
• Takpapa' => TACK-pa-pa'
• Takhiyong => TACK-he-yung
• Takhalom => TACK-ha-lum
• Takfe'na => TACK-feh'-nah

*Mo'na (preposition/past participle form of fo'na) is not really used with the prefix tak-. Instead we use the general/future/command form fo'na.