ABSTRACT
First, the particle (㧊)⋮ means “or something (like that),” when it is used after a single noun. Consider the following examples.
㰧㠦㍲ {}⋮ ⽒GỆ㡞㣪 “(I) will watch TV or something (like that)” 䎢┞㓺⋮ 㼦㣪 “(I) play tennis or something” ゚❪㡺GỢ㧚G㧊⋮ 䟊㣪 “(Let us) play video games or something” 㫆ₛ㧊⋮ 䞿㔲┺ “(Let us) jog or something” 䟚⻚Ệ⋮ ⲏ㦒㕃㔲㡺 “Eat hamburgers or something”
As seen above, the particle (㧊)⋮ marks the object of the sentence and reduces the importance of the object noun. For instance, the object being chosen may not be the best possible action or item for the given situation or there may be more choices. In addition, when the particle (㧊)⋮ is used with certain question words such as 㠊❪G“where,” ⶊ㠝 “what,” and ῂ “who,” the particle (㧊)⋮ reduces the interrogative meaning of these question words and generalize their meanings, as in:
㠊❪ “where” becomes 㠊❪⋮ “anywhere” ῂ “who” becomes ῂ⋮ “whoever,” “anyone,” or “everyone” ⶊ㠝 “what” becomes ⶊ㠝㧊⋮ “anything” or “whatever”
㠊❪Ṗ ⰱ㧞㠊㣪f “Where is (it) delicious?” 㠊❪⋮ ⰱ㧞㠊㣪 “(It) is delicious anywhere”
䕆䕢┞⓪ ῂ 㫡㞚䟊㣪f “As for Tiffany, who (does she) like?” 䕆䕢┞⓪ ῂ⋮ 㫡㞚䟊㣪 “As for Tiffany, (she) likes anyone”
㫊㦖 ⶊ㠝㧊⋮ ┺ ⲏ㠊㣪 “As for John, (he) eats about everything”
Second, when the particle (㧊)⋮ is used between two nouns, it simply means “or.” Consider the following examples:
㌂ὒ⋮ 㡺⩢㰖 㭒㎎㣪 “Give (me) apples or oranges” ㍲㩦㧊⋮ 䞯ᾦ㠦 Ṟ Ệ㡞㣪 “(I) will go to the bookstore or school” 䄺䞒⋮ ⏏㹾 㭒㎎㣪 “Give (me) coffee or green tea”
Third, when the particle (㧊)⋮ is attached to an expression of quantity, the particle means “as many as,” “as much as” or “up to.” The particle expresses the speaker’s surprise that the quantity of the item is more than the speaker’s expectation. For example, consider the following sentences:
⍺G㔲Ṛ㧊⋮ 㤊㩚䟞㠊㣪 “(I) drove as many as four hours” 䎪⩞゚㩚㦚 ⚦G㔲Ṛ㧊⋮ ⽦㣪 “(I) watch TV as many as two hours” XWW ╂⧒⋮ 㞮㞚㣪 “(I) received as much as 100 dollars” 㧊 䄺䞒Ṗ \ 㧊⋮ 䟊㣪 “This coffee (can) costs as much as 5 dollars”
Fourth, the particle (㧊)⋮ means “about” or “approximately,” when it is used with certain question words, such as ⳝ “how many” and 㠒Ⱎ “how much.”
