Proto-Isles/Grammar

Phonetics

Consonants

	Bilabial	Dental	Palatal	Velar	Pharyngeal	Glottal
Stops	p	t d		k g		ʔ
Affricates		ts dz
Fricatives		s			ħ
Nasals	m	n
Approximants	w		j

Orthography:

• q tz h y for /ʔ ts ħ j/
• The rest are the same as IPA.

The voiceless stops /p t k/ and the voiceless affricate /ts/ are strongly aspirated in pronunciation.

Vowels

a	i	u
aj		uj
aw	iw
am	im
an	in	un

Orthography:

• ay uy. for /aj uj/
• The rest are the same as IPA.

Note:

• The combinations /am/, /im/, /an/, /in/, and /un/ are diphthongs because they are analogous to the other vowel phonemes, namely /a/, /i/, /u/, /aj/, /uj/, /aw/, and /iw/, in the phonotactics of the language.
• /ij/, /uw/, and /um/ are missing.

Phonotactics

The syllable structure of Proto-Isles is CV(C).

Onset: A consonantal syllable onset is mandatory. Any consonant can be the onset, and no clusters are allowed.

Nucleus: Any vowel, monophthong or diphthong, can be the nucleus. Proto-Isles contrasts /wu/ with /ʔu/, and /ji/ with /ʔi/.

Coda: The coda consonant is optional. Only three consonants, /ʔ/, /s/ and /ħ/, are allowed to be coda consonants. No clusters are allowed. Note that final /m/, /n/, /j/ and /w/ do not fill the coda slot because they are part of diphthongs, so syllables like <tims> and <manq> are allowed.

Other processes: the same consonant cannot be both the coda of a previous syllable and the onset of the subsequent syllable. For example, <qassaq> reduces to <qasaq>. Note that once again, final /m/, /n/, /j/ and /w/ do not fill the coda slot; hence, <qayaq> is allowed and would contrast with <qayyaq>.

Unlike many languages, /m/ and /n/ do not assimilate to the onset consonant of the next syllable. Theoretically, Proto-Isles can distinguish <sampi>, <sanpi>, <samti> and <santi>.

Tone

There’s a tonal system in which all words fall into 2 patterns:

• High-high (HH), indicated with an acute accent on the first syllable: qáqasaqaq
• High-low (HL), indicated with no accent: qaqasaqaq

For monosyllabic words, HH is a flat tone and HL is a falling tone. For polysyllabic words, the pitch stays high for at least the first two syllables in HH, and the pitch goes down between the first two syllables in HL.

Note that the two surface realizations of each tone are just that&emdash;surface realizations conditioned by the number of syllables. Hence, a monosyllabic word that takes a suffix adopts the polysyllabic pitch pattern.

Morphology

Nominal morphology (and conjunctions as well)

Nouns inflect for number and case:

	Adjectival	Nominative	Instrumental	Accusative	Dative	Benefactive
Singular	-	*-i / -yi	-ma	*-uys / -wuys	-nim	-dzaw
Plural	-tziws	-tziwsi	-tziwsma	-tziwsuys	-tziwsnim	-tziwsdzaw

• After a final consonant (-h, -q, -s), -i and -uys are used. This makes -h, -q, -s into onset consonants.
• After a diphthong (-w, -y, -n, -m), -i and -uys are also used. This breaks up the diphthongs, making -w, -y, -n, -m into onset consonants.
• After a monophthong (-a, -i, -u), -yi and -wuys are used.

The case endings attach regularly after the plural ending, which ends on a consonant. The plural is optional, and never used when the context is clear (e.g. with numerals).

Conjunctions must agree in case (but not number) with the nouns they connect. The case endings are the same. Adjectives never agree in number or case.

Full paradigms of three nouns (syllabification shown for clarity):

Consonant-ending: root is tá-dziq

"boy"	Adjectival	Nominative	Instrumental	Accusative	Dative	Benefactive
Singular	tá-dziq	tá-dzi-qi	tá-dziq-ma	tá-dzi-quys	tá-dziq-nim	tá-dziq-dzaw
Plural	tá-dziq-tziws	tá-dziq-tziw-si	tá-dziq-tziws-ma	tá-dziq-tziw-suys	tá-dziq-tziws-nim	tá-dziq-tziws-dzaw

Diphthong-ending: root is tiw-kam

"girl"	Adjectival	Nominative	Instrumental	Accusative	Dative	Benefactive
Singular	tiw-kam	tiw-ka-mi	tiw-kam-ma	tiw-ka-muys	tiw-kam-nim	tiw-kam-dzaw
Plural	tiw-kan-tziws	tiw-kam-tziw-si	tiw-kam-tziws-ma	tiw-kam-tziw-suys	tiw-kam-tziws-nim	tiw-kam-tziws-dzaw

Monophthong-ending: root is há-pa

"sun"	Adjectival	Nominative	Instrumental	Accusative	Dative	Benefactive
Singular	há-pa	há-pa-yi	há-pa-ma	há-pa-wuys	há-pa-nim	há-pa-dzaw
Plural	há-pa-tziws	há-pa-tziw-si	há-pa-tziws-ma	há-pa-tziw-suys	há-pa-tziws-nim	há-pa-tziws-dzaw

Case Usage

Adjectival

See "Derivational Morphology" section.

Nominative

The nominative is used for the agent of transitive verbs and the experiencer of intransitive verbs:

Háyi tawsim.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-SENS.
"I arrive."

Háyi pumuyuys múhtzi.
Speaker-NOM fish-ACC find-ATEL-SENS.
"I can't find the fish."

Instrumental

The instrumental is used for the means or instrument of a given action. It can also be used to emphasis that a subject undergoes an action involuntarily:

Pumuyma háyi tzáwnamuys dádatih.
Fish-INS speaker-NOM tree-ACC hit-IMPF-SENS.
"The fish, I'm using it to hit the tree."

Háyma tátatawsim.
Speaker-INS go-DELIM-SENS.
"I was compelled to wander around aimlessly."

Accusative

The accusative is used for the patient of an action:

Tiwkamuys tádziqi gídzan.
Girl-ACC boy-NOM love-ATEL-PAST.
"The girl was loved by the boy, but she didn't love him back."

Mimkiquys yims.
Water-ACC drink-TEL-PRES.
"Someone will drink the water."

Dative

The dative is used with verbs such as "to give", "to say", "to show" etc. to mark the recipient of an action.

Háynim yáwyawuys niwtiq.
Speaker-DAT dog-ACC give-SENS.
"Someone gave me a dog."

Benefactive

The benefactive is used to indicate a beneficiary of the action.

Túqdzaw háyi huysim.
Listener-BEN speaker-NOM come-SENS.
"I have come for your benefit."

Verbal morphology

Verbs in inflect for tense, aspect, and epistemic mood. There are three moods: sensory, non-sensory, and subjunctive. Only the non-sensory mood makes a further distinction between the present and past tenses; the other two moods do not distinguish tense.

The moods/tenses are formed thus:

• The non-sensory past is the root.
• The subjunctive mood is formed by adding -pawh.
• The sensory mood and the non-sensory present are formed by replacing the vowel in the final syllable in the following manner:

Root final vowel	Non-sensory Present	Sensory Mood
-a, -i, -u	-ams, -ims, -uns	-i
-ay, -uy	-ams, -uns	-i
-aw, -iw	-ams, -ims	-iw
-am, -im	-ams, -ims	-im
-an, -in, -un	-ams, -ims, -uns	-in

The final -s in the non-sensory present kills any final consonant that may already be there. The sensory mood, however, leaves the final consonant intact.

For example:

Non-sensory past	Subjunctive	Non-sensory present	Sensory
gidzan "loved"	gidzanpawh	gidzams	gidzin
simtiq "saw"	simtiqpawh	simtims	simtiq
datuh "hit"	datuhpawh	datuns	datih
tawsam "journeyed"	tawsampawh	tawsams	tawsim

Aspect is formed through pitch changes and reduplication:

• The telic has a high-low pitch.
• The atelic changes the pattern to high-high.
• The imperfective reduplicates the first syllable once while using high-high.
• The delimitative reduplicates the first syllable twice while using high-high.

Telic	Atelic	Imperfective	Delimitative
gidzan "to love and be loved"	gídzan "to love but not be loved"	gígidzan "to date"	gígigidzan "to flirt"
simtiq "to see"	símtiq "to look but not see"	sísimtiq "to be looking"	sísisimtiq "to look around, glance"
datuh "to hit"	dátuh "to hit, and miss"	dádatuh "to be hitting"	dádadatuh "to hit haphazardly"
tawsam "to go and arrive elsewhere"	táwsam "to go but not arrive"	tátawsam "to be on the way"	tátatawsam "to wander out"

As can be seen, the part that is reduplicated is the onset and nucleus of the first syllable. If the nucleus of the first syllable is a diphthong, only the first half of the diphthong is reduplicated.

Each verb has 16 forms in total.

Mood, Tense and Aspect Usage

The Moods

The sensory mood is used to describe something the speaker is sure about from personal experience or observation. There is no tense distinction:

Háyi tawsim.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-SENS.
"I arrive(d)."

Speakers also like to use the sensory mood to emphasize that they're really very sure about something, even if they haven't seen it themselves.

The non-sensory mood is used to describe something the speaker is sure about, though not from personal experience or observation.

There is a present/past distinction. The past tense, which uses the bare root, describes something that has already happened:

Túqi tawsam.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-PAST.
"You arrived."

The present tense describes something that has not yet happened, or is generally true:

Túqi tawsams.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-PRES.
"You arrive [usually]. / You arrive now. / You will arrive."

The subjunctive mood is used to describe something that is mere hypothesis, or simply false. There is no tense distinction:

Túqi tawsampawh.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-SUBJ.
"I would have arrived."

The Aspects

The telic and atelic aspects are both used to emphasize that an action is complete. The former indicates that the action is successful, while the latter indicates that it is a failure.

Túqi tawsam.
Speaker-NOM go-TEL-PAST.
"You arrived."

Túqi táwsam.
Speaker-NOM go-ATEL-PAST.
"You failed to arrive."

The imperfective aspect indicates that the action is underway but not complete:

Túqi tátawsam.
Speaker-NOM go-IMPF-PAST.
"You were on your way."

The delimitative aspect indicates that the action is underway, and is not aimed towards any form of "completion":

Túqi tátatawsam.
Speaker-NOM go-DELIM-PAST.
"You were wandering around."

Pronouns (sort of)

There is no separate class of pronouns. There are nine nouns that function as pronouns. They take regular case and plural endings:

"I"	háy
"you"	túq
"this one"	sí
"that one"	sá
"who / which"	súy
"all"	sásawwawq
"many"	pawmunq
"some"	gimsuh
"few"	pímuq

Adjectives

Adjectives and adverbs are the same class of words. Adjectives do not agree with the nouns they describe. However, adjectives can be reduplicated, to indicate greater intensity.

Like verbs, adjectives only reduplicate the initial consonant and the monophthong or the first half of the diphthong. The pitch is always reset to high-high when reduplication takes place:

ta "big"	táta "very big"	tátata "very, very big"
nimtaq "full"	nínimtaq "very full"	níninimtaq "very, very full"
hákapaq "warm"	háhakapaq "very warm"	háhahakapaq "very, very warm"

Numerals

Numerals are nouns, and are given in base-4. Proto-Isles can handle up to 4 places (i.e. up to 255).

The numerals 1, 2, 3:

	Standalone form		In combination
one	sí	"this one"	same
two	sí huy sá	"this one and that one"	sá	"that one"
three	tayq	"three"	same

The numerals 4, 8, 12 (10, 20, and 30 in base-4):

	Standalone form		In combination
four	katah	"hand"	same	`
eight	sí katah huy sá katah	"this hand and that hand"	sá katah	"that hand"
twelve	tayq katah	"three hands"	same

The numerals 16, 32, 48 (100, 200, and 300 in base-4):

	Standalone form		In combination
sixteen	kákatah	"hand-hand"	same
thirty-two	sí kákatah huy sá kákatah	"this hand-hand and that hand-hand"	sá kákatah	"that hand-hand"
fourty-eight	tayq kákatah	"three hand-hand"	same

The numerals 64, 128, 192 (1000, 2000, and 3000 in base-4):

	Standalone form		In combination
sixty-four	kákakatah	"hand-hand-hand"	same
one hundred twenty-eight	sí kákakatah huy sá kákakatah	"this hand-hand-hand and that hand-hand-hand"	sá kákakatah	"that hand-hand-hand"
one hundred ninety-two	tayq kákakatah	"three hand-hand-hand"	same

To combine numbers together, use the conjunction huy. For example, "230" ("3212" in base-4):

3000	200	10	2
tayq kákakatah	sá kákatah	katah	sá
"three hand-hand-hand"	"that hand-hand"	"hand"	"that one"
'tayq kákakatah huy sá kákatah huy katah huy sá

When used alone as a noun, all the components need to take the correct case ending. Conjunctions also agree with the nouns they connect (but adjectives don't need to agree):

tayq kákakatahi huyi sá kákatahi huyi katahi huyi sáyi

When used as an adjective to describe another noun, the noun must be inserted after the first component (e.g. 230 men):

3000	men	200	10	2
tayq kákakatah	nam	sá kákatah	katah	sá
"three hand-hand-hand"	"man"	"that hand-hand"	"hand"	"that one"
tayq kákakatah nam huy sá kákatah huy katah huy sá

The first component is now considered an adjective, and so it doesn't take case endings, but the remaining components still do:

tayq kákakatah nami huyi sá kákatahi huyi katahi huyi sáyi (Nominative)
tayq kákakatah namma huyma sá kákatahma huyma katahma huyma sáma (Instrumental)

etc.

In order to count more efficiently, speakers generally devise simpler methods of counting. For example, this method uses only the last component of each number (in base-4):

1, 2, 3, 4	sí, sá, tayq, katah
5, 6, 7, 8	sí, sá, tayq, sá katah
9, 10, 11, 12	sí, sá, tayq, tayq katah
13, 14, 15, 16	sí, sá, tayq, kákatah

Derivational Morphology

Any verb, in any aspect (but not any mood or tense), can be used as a noun, simply by adding noun case endings (e.g. -(y)i, the nominative):

Telic	Atelic	Imperfective	Delimitative
simtiqi "sight"	símtiqi "blindness"	sísimtiqi "looking"	sísisimtiqi "glance"

The same is true for adjectives / adverbs:

tayi "bigness"

But this cannot be done with prepositions, conjunctions, or discourse particles.

The adjectival form of a noun is used mostly as a possessive:

Tádziq pumuyi
Boy fish-NOM
"The boy's fish"

For the verb, it is best to think of it as the verb changing into a noun, then into an possessive:

Simtiq pumuyi
Sight [see-TEL] fish-NOM
"The fish of sight"

Syntax

Word Order

Sentences come in the order of "topic-comment". The topic must always be a noun. The comment can contain zero, one or more nouns, following by one verb at the end. Word order is freed up by the case endings, so that any noun in the sentence can be the topic, and all remaining nouns can be arranged in any order. For example:

Háyi Mamqisuys gígidzin.
Speaker-NOM Mamqis-ACC love-IMP-SENS.
"I love Mamqis." Or "I am dating Mamqis."

Mamqisuys háyi gígidzin.
Mamqis-ACC speaker-NOM love-IMP-SENS.
"Mamqis, I love him/her." Or "Mamqis, I am dating him/her."

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives are piled before the noun they describe; adverbs, before the verb they describe.

Ta pumuyma háyi mi tzáwnamuys dádatih.
Big fish-INS speaker-NOM small tree-ACC hit-IMP-SENS.
"The big fish, I was using it to hit the small tree."

Háyi háhaku tawsin.
Speaker-NOM happy-very go-TEL-SENS.
"I arrive very happily."

Copula

The copula that connects noun and adjective, or noun and noun, is ni (to do). The nouns being equated are put into the nominative.

Háyi háhaku níni.
Speaker-NOM happy-very do-IMPF-SENS.
"I am very happy."

Háyi pumuyi níni.
Speaker-NOM fish-NOM do-IMPF-SENS.
"I am a fish."

Possession

Possession is indicated by stripping the possessor of case endings and then using it as an adjective:

Tádziq pumuyma háyi tzáwnamuys dádatih.
Boy fish-INS speaker-NOM tree-ACC hit-IMP-SENS.
"The boy's fish, I was using it to hit the tree."

Interrogative and Negative

Questions are formed simply by raising the tone of voice near the end. This is indicated with a question mark:

Háyi Mamqisuys gígidzin?
Speaker-NOM Mamqis-ACC love-IMP-SENS?
"Do I love Mamqis?"

There are two equivalents of wh- words: súy (noun) and sípiq (adjective). Remember that nouns can be used as possessives, and adjectives as adverbs:

Mamqisuys súyi gígidzin?
Mamqis-ACC who-NOM love-IMP-SENS?
"Who loves Mamqis?"

Mamqisuys súy táyi gígidzin?
Mamqis-ACC who son-NOM love-IMP-SENS?
"Whose son loves Mamqis?"

Mamqisuys sípiq tádziqi gígidzin?
Mamqis-ACC how boy-NOM love-IMP-SENS?
"What kind of boy loves Mamqis?"

Tádziqi Mamqisuys sípiq gídzin?
Boy-NOM Mamqis-ACC how love-ATEL-SENS?
"How does the boy fail to get Mamqis to love him back?"

Negatives are formed by adding the adverb qúquq right before the verb.

Háyi Mamqisuys qúquq gígidzin.
Speaker-NOM Mamqis-ACC not love-IMP-SENS.
"I don't love Mamqis."

Remember that adverbs are also adjectives, so qúquq can be used as an adjective:

Háyi qúquq pumuyi níni.
Speaker-NOM not fish-NOM do-IMPF-SENS.
"I'm no fish!"

Locative phrases

Locative phrases, indicating location in space and time, are formed by adding postpositions after nouns. Postpositions can be added to the instrumental, accusative, or the dative cases. The first signifies action from a location; the second, action at a location; the third, action to a location.

Káydiqtziwsma qas háyi tawsim.
Hill-PLUR-INS at speaker-NOM go-TEL-SENS.
"I completed a journey from the hills."

Káydiqtziwsuys qas háyi tawsim.
Hill-PLUR-ACC at speaker-NOM go-TEL-SENS.
"I completed a journey in the hills."

Káydiqtziwsnim qas háyi tawsim.
Hill-PLUR-DAT at speaker-NOM go-TEL-SENS.
"I completed a journey to the hills."

Tádziqtziwsi nawpayma quy tzátzawkims.
Boy-PLUR-NOM summer-INS in hunt-IMPF-PRES.
"The boys hunt from summer into fall."

Tádziqtziwsi nawpayuys quy tzátzawkims.
Boy-PLUR-NOM summer-ACC in hunt-IMPF-PRES.
"The boys hunt in the summer."

Tádziqtziwsi nawpaynim quy tzátzawkims.
Boy-PLUR-NOM summer-DAT in hunt-IMPF-PRES.
"The boys hunt from spring into summer."

Equative phrases

Equative phrases, equating one noun with another, are formed putting the two nouns into the same case, and then inserting the case ending as a high-high conjunction between the two:

Tádziqdzaw dzáw túqdzaw háyi huysim.
Boy-BEN BÉN listener-BEN speaker-NOM come-SENS.
"I've come for your benefit, boy."

Túqdzaw tádziqi yí háyi huysim.
Listener-BEN boy-NOM NÓM speaker-NOM come-SENS.
"I, a boy, have come for your benefit."

Tiwkamuys wúys háyuys tádziqi gídzin.
Girl-ACC ÁCC speaker-ACC boy-NOM love-ATEL-SENS.
"I, the girl, was loved by the boy, but I didn't love him back."

Serial Verb Construction

One topic can take multiple comments.

Háyi káydiqtziwsnim qas tawsim, tzáwkiw, sáma qas tawsim.
Speaker-NOM hill-PLUR-DAT at go-TEL-SENS, hunt-ATEL-SENS, there-INS at go-TEL-SENS.
"I arrived at the hills, hunted without catching anything, and left there."

Mimkiquys tzuysima quy tumims, pasaynim quy sawpuns, yims.
Water-ACC well-INS in take-TEL-PRES, house-DAT in carry-TEL-PRES, drink-TEL-PRES.
"Someone will draw the water from the well, carry it into the house, and drink it."

In the above examples, the topic fulfilled the same case for each comment. If the topic needs to be in a different case, then the following particles, formed from reduplicated case endings, are used to change the case of the topic for each comment:

Nominative	Instrumental	Accusative	Dative	Benefactive
yíyi	máma	wúwuys	nínim	dzádzaw

Háyma káydiqtziwsnim qas tawsim, yíyi tzáwkiw.
Speaker-INS hill-PLUR-DAT at go-TEL-SENS, NOM hunt-ATEL-SENS.
"I was compelled to arrive at the hills, and then I hunted without catching anything."

Tádziq pumuyma háyi tzáwnamuys dádatih, wúwuys tádziqnim niwtiq.
Boy fish-INS speaker-NOM tree-ACC hit-IMP-SENS, ACC boy-DAT give-TEL-SENS.
"The boy's fish, I was using it to hit the tree, then I gave it to the boy."

Comparisons

To make a comparison, use "compare" (taysaq) as one of the verbs in a comment series. The adjective / adverb does not have to change in form, and the noun being compared with is put into the dative.

Háyi túqnim taysiq, háku tawsim.
Speaker-NOM listener-DAT compare-TEL-SENS, happy go-TEL-SENS.
"Compared to you, I arrive [more] happily."

Conjunctions

Conjunctions used to join nouns together must agree in case with the nouns:

Háynim yáwyawuys huyuys mímawuys niwtiq.
Speaker-DAT dog-ACC and-ACC sheep-ACC give-SENS.
"Someone gave me a dog and a sheep."

Conjunctions are also used to connect sentences together logically. For example:

Nawpayi tátawsamya, táq háyi tzátzawkiw.
Summer-NOM arrive-SENS, so speaker-NOM hunt-IMPF-SENS.
"Summer is here, so I hunt."

Súyi simtims, tzay dawdzams.
This-NOM see-PRES, then know-PRES.
"This one sees, then he knows." (or) "Whoever sees will understand."

Discourse Particles

There are several discourse particles, put at the end of sentences to help with the flow of conversation:

Particle	Meaning
káws	solidarity
kíw	assertion
súyq	contradiction
qih	resignation
miwh	softening
tiws	asking for support
niwuh	asking for sympathy
túsaq	asking for confirmation
kúq	skepticism

The first seven are never used with questions; the last two are always used with questions.

The difference between tiws and túsaq is that the former asks the listener to support the speaker in his speech (e.g. by saying "yes"), while the latter is simply asking for confirmation of a fact.

For example:

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam.
Hill-PLUR-INS at this one-NOM go-TEL-PAST.
"He completed a journey from the hills."

With particles added:

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam káws.
"Aye mate, he came from the hills."

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam kíw.
"Of course he came from the hills."

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam súyq.
"How could you think he didn't come from the hills?"

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam qih.
"Oh well, I guess he really did come from the hills."

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam miwh.
"I think maybe he came from the hills, eh."

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam tiws.
"He came from the hills, yes?"

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam niwuh.
"He came from the hills? How pitiful..."

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam túsaq?
"He came from the hills, didn't he?"

Káydiqtziwsma qas síyi tawsam kúq?
"Are you sure he came from the hills?"

Sample

The North Wind and the Sun

As can be seen, this passage is given in the sensory mood, even though the storyteller could not possibly have experienced the story. This is to give the story a sense of vividness. To imitate this style, the translation is given in the English present tense.

Note the last sentence:

1. It's put into the non-sensory present. This distances the "general truth" statement from the storyteller, but makes it seem more solemn.
2. The subject, Qíqi pápatama (gentle persuasion), is put into the instrumental case. This can be read in two ways: that gentle persuasion "can't help but" be better than brute force; i.e., that it is somehow (divinely) "ordained"; and/or that gentle persuasion is an inanimate tool that should be used by a sentient agent (i.e. the listener of the story).

Síkim húyi huyi hápayi múmuytiq,
North wind-NOM and-NOM sun-NOM dispute-IMPF-SENS
"The North Wind and the Sun are disputing,"

súyi súynim tátaysiq, sawnunh níni?
which-NOM which-DAT compare-IMPF-SENS, strong do-IMPF-SENS?
"which one is stronger than which?"

Tzay, namdzaw muypama yáyawtziq,
Then, person-BEN robe-INS wrap-IMPF-SENS,
"When a traveler, wrapped in a cloak,"

yíyi sítziwsnim qas títiwsin.
TOPIC-NOM this-PLUR-DAT at come-IMPF-SENS.
"comes [lit. comes at them]."

Sítziwsi patiq,
This-PLUR-NOM say-TEL-SENS,
"They say,"

síyi ni táq nami muypawuys kaypins,
this-NOM do-SENS so-that man-NOM robe-ACC remove-SENS,
"that the one who makes the man take off the robe,"

tzay síyi sawnunh níni kíw.
then this-NOM strong do-IMPF-SENS assertion-particle.
"then of course it's this one that's stronger."

Tzay síkim húyi yáyayamu húni,
Then north wind hard-very-very blow-ATEL-SENS,
"Then the north wind blows as hard as he could, [but in vain]"

Nami muypawuys yáyayamu yáyawtziq niwuh.
Person-NOM robe-ACC hard-very-very wrap-IMPF-SENS sympathy-particle.
"As the poor sod wraps himself up in the robe just as hard."

Táq síkim húyi tuygim niwuh,
So north wind-NOM stop-TEL-SENS sympathy-particle,
"So the unfortunate North Wind has to stop,"

huy hápanim piwtiq, táq hápa niwuys sísimtiq.
And sun-DAT call-TEL-SENS, so-that sun do-NOUN-ACC see-IMPF-SENS.
"and called upon the sun to see what he would do."

Tzay, hápayi tiwsim tzay sawnunh háhapi.
Then sun-NOM come-TEL-SENS then strong shine-IMPF-SENS.
"Then the sun comes up and shines strongly,"

Nami muypawuys tiwmaq kaypins,
Person-NOM robe-ACC quick remove-TEL-SENS,
"And the man takes his cloak off ,"

Mi dúykuqnim quy tawsim, sísiqsim káws!
Small river-DAT in go-TEL-SENS, wash-IMPF-SENS solidarity-particle.
"And look, goes into a stream and bathes [himself]!!"

Táq síkim húyi patiq,
So north wind-NOM say-TEL-SENS,
"So North Wind says,"

Hápayi sawnunh níni qih.
Sun-NOM strong do-IMPF-SENS resignation-particle.
"That, oh well, the sun really is the stronger."

Qíqi pápatama dádatuhnim tátaysams, sawnunh nínims.
Good-very say-IMPF-NOUN-INS hit-IMPF-NOUN-DAT compare-IMPF-PRES, strong do-IMPF-PRES.
"Gentle persuasion is stronger than force."

The Wolf and the Goat

Sányamhi miminamuys tzítzin hámnaquys qun sísiq,
Goat-NOM grass-ACC sharp-very cliff-ACC on eat-IMPF-SENS,
"A goat is grazing upon a steep cliff,"

wúwuys wunhwunhi simtiq, tzáwkiwpawh.
TOPIC-ACC wolf-NOM see-TEL-SENS, hunt-ATEL-SUBJ.
"when he is seen by a wolf, who would not be able to reach him."

Táq wunhwunhi sínim pípiwtiq,
So-that Wolf-NOM this-ACC call-IMPF-SENS,
"So the wolf begins to call to him,"

"Túqi háynim quy tiwsunpawh táq qúquq kahaytimpawh,"
You-DAT I-ACC at come-TEL-SUBJ so-that not fall-TEL-SUBJ,
"'You should come [to me] so that you would not fall,'"

"huy háyuys quy hahsanhi níni tiws,"
And I-ACC at meadow-NOM do-IMPF-SENS support-particle,
"'also, there are meadows where I am,'"

"síwuys quy miminami háhahawwaq níni kíws."
This-ACC at grass-NOM soft-very-very do-IMPF-SENS solidarity-particle.
"'here the grass is most tender.'"

Sányamhi piwtiq, "Túqi qúquq háydzaw pípiwtiq,"
Goat-NOM call-TEL-SENS, you-NOM not me-BEN call-IMPF-SENS,
"The goat calls, 'You are calling not for my benefit,'"

"sísiqdzaw píwtiq súyq!"
Eat-IMPF-NOUN-BEN call-ATEL-SENS contradiction-particle.
"'you're calling so that you can eat!'"