Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1987, Qupperneq 38

The Faroese Auxiliary Verb munna*
Michael Barnes
As a teacher of Faroese to non-native
speakers, I have naturally made extensive
use of W.B. Lockwood’s An Introduction
to Modern Faroese (1955). Though excel-
lent in many respects, this is a pioneering
work, and as is to be expected there is
much in it that is imprecise, incomplete and
occasionally even misleading. It would be
gratifying indeed if Lockwood himself or
some native Faroese scholar would under-
take a complete revision of the book.
While we wait for that happy day, how-
ever, it will clearly be helpful if as many
points of Faroese grammar as possible can
be more fully elucidated. Henriksen 1983
has already added considerably to our
knowledge, and Sandqvist 1980 has provid-
ed a number of interesting insights. In a
modest way I have myself attempted to ex-
pand Lockwood’s description of certain
points of Faroese syntax (see, e.g., Barnes
1977, 1981a, 1981b, 1986a, 1986b). In this
brief article, I want to discuss a relatively
minor point, but one which, in the way it is
presented by Lockwood, could easily lead
* Part of the research for this article was supported by
a grant from the British Academy, to whom I should
like to record my gratitude.
students and fellow linguists astray. It con-
cerns the use of the verb munna.
Lockwood’s account of the modal auxili-
ary munna is as follows (pp. 147-8; for easy
reference the whole paragraph is quoted
here more or less in extenso):
§ 148. munna (§ 77, 6) means »may, can, I suppose«
etc.:
Tað man vera so. That may be so. I suppose it is so.
Man tað vera sol Can that be so?
Regin smíðar sær ein leyp til at bera tøð f; hann man
ætla sær at velta nógv í ár. Regin is making himself a
basket to carry manure in; I suppose he intends to culti-
vate a lot of ground this year.
Eg hugsi, at teir munnu fara at koma aftur skjótt. I
think they'll be coming back soon.
Even though munna usually expresses an element of
uncertainty, it may also correspond to English »will«,
e.g.: tað man óivað vera beinari that will doubtless be
more correct.
In the past tense it may often be translated by
»would« (referring to past time):
Hanus mundi vinna, haldi eg, tí hann er so kvikur.
Hanus would win, I think, for he is so quick.
Vit kendu hana ikki og skiftu lágmæltir orð um,
hvussu hon mundi eita. We did not know her and in low
tones asked each other what her name would be.
Mundi »Tjaldrið« fara ígjáramorguninl Would »The
Oyster Catcher« sail yesterday morning?
Tað mundi ikki vera sjáldan, at fátækir menn fingu
við til gávis. It was, one may suppose, not uncommon
for poor men to receive wood as a gift.
Fróðskaparrit 34.-35. bók (1986-87): 42-49