bruk, brukim

Pacific Pidgin English: *brok.

Bislama: brok; Pijin: brok; TSC: brok.

Churchill (1911: 36) quotes Wawn (1891: 97, 144) with ‘Cappen he broke.’ (the captain is injured) and ‘Man Sandwich make big wind, big wind broke ship belonga me.’

It may be that German Bruch ‘break’, and even Brücke ‘bridge’, have acted to modify brok in Tok Pisin.

See first Mihalic entry. See second Mihalic entry. See List discussion. .

Brukim wara, Yaganon River, Rai Coast, Madang Province, 1998.

Modifier forms

  1. Physical state: broken
    glas i bruk the windshield is broken

Intransitive verb forms

  1. Physical state: to break, to burst
    klaut i bruk it it thundering
    si i bruk the waves are breaking

  1. Physical state: to be broken, torn, cracked, smashed, separated ® bagarap
    kap i bruk the cup i broken
    klos i bruk the clothing is torn

Transitive verb forms

  1. Action: to break something
    ston i brukim glas a stone broke the windshield

  1. Action: forms of brukim with physical objects
    brukim kanda to split cane for woven bands
    brukim paiawut to chop firewood
    brukim namel to break in two
    brukim plang to split timber with wedges, to pitsaw, to cut logs into boards

  1. Action: forms of brukim with the body
    brukim ai to wink
    brukim bel to abort an unborn child
    brukim han (a) to make a fist (b) to fold the arms
    brukim kok penile incision (in initiation)
    brukim long tit to bite off
    brukim mambu sodomy (in initiation)
    brukim skru to kneel

  1. Action: forms of brukim with relationships
    brukim lo to break the law
    brukim marit, brukim ring to break the marriage bond, to divorce
    brukim pepa to break a contract
    brukim tambu to break a taboo, to do something that is forbidden
    brukim tok (a) to break a promise, (b) to say the decisive word at a meeting

  1. Action: to break down or take apart
    brukim bet to strip off bedclothes; to break down a collapsible bed or cot
    brukim haus sel to strike a tent

  1. Action: to fold
    brukim laplap to fold a cloth, a sheet
    brukim pepa to fold a sheet of paper

  1. Form of relating: to share out, distribute ® skelim, tilim
    mani em i brukim na givim ol he divided up the money and gave it to them

  1. Action: to cross a river etc
    brukim wara to cross a river
    brukim kunai to cross a grassland area

  1. Action: arithmetic division
    brukim sikis long tu six divided by two

Verb phrase forms

  1. Kinship: brukim marit to intermarry: when a tribal section grows sufficiently large in the highlands, it is deemed acceptable for intermarriage to begin between it subsections (and is a sign of prosperous population growth)
    tupela haus man i no save brukim marit the two men's houses cannot intermarry (they are sections of an exogamous clan)
    mipela save brukim marit long ol we can marry them (our tribal sections are large enough for intermarriage to occur)

  1. Fauna: brukim kiau to hatch out ® kiau
    san em i hatim kiau inap long 3-pela no 4-pela de, na pikinini i save brukim kiau after 3 or 4 days in the sun, the eggs hatch out (Yangpela Didiman Bilong Niugini, Buk 5: Lukautim Pis, Kristen Press, 1972, p.12).

  1. brukim kiau to be the first to do something when others have failed; to break a deadlock; to get a score off zero (from the resemblance of zero to the shape of an egg)
    Na dispela i givim sans long East long kam na kamapim 2 poins long brukim kiau na go pas. This gave Easts the chance for two points, break the deadlock, and take the lead (Wantok).
    brukim kiau liklik plis! hey, put a score on the board!

© Revising the Mihalic Project, 26 Jan 2005 [Home]