Tmaśareʔ

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Tmaśareʔ
[ˈtmɑ.ʃɑ.ɾɛʔ]
Period c. -1800 YP
Spoken in Kipceʔ desert
Total speakers c. 15,000
Writing system none
Classification Western languages
 Tmaśareʔ
Typology
Basic word order SOV
Morphology highly synthetic; agglutinating w/ some fusion
Alignment ERG-ABS
Credits
Created by Cedh

Tmaśareʔ is a language of the Western family, spoken on the northern fringe of the Kipceʔ desert on the west coast of Peilaš. It is the southernmost direct descendant of Proto-Western, and it has been significantly influenced by an unknown substrate language. Apart from providing a number of loanwords, this substrate is assumed to be the source of linguistic features in Tmaśareʔ that are not found in other Western languages, for instance reduplicative plural formation and a productive alternation between approximants and nasals based on vowel nasality.

Tmaśareʔ culture is still somewhat similar to the culture of Proto-Western speakers; notably, the religion is still built around the concept of kwaco ("strength" associated with bodily fluids, especially blood and semen). Due to the scarcity of resources in the dry environment, most speakers of Tmaśareʔ are not fully sedentary. Usually they migrate up and down a river with the seasons, focusing on fishing at the coast in the dry summer, small-scale agriculture in the river valleys in the more humid winter, and goat- and sheep-herding as well as hunting all year round. Villages are often moved every few years so as not to exhaust the soil too soon. Bronze is known but obtainable only from trade with other Western or even Lukpanic peoples further north, which doesn't happen too often (the Tmaśareʔ don't have much to offer in return). Writing is unknown.

Phonology

Phoneme inventory

labial dental alveolar palatal velar lab-vel glottal
plosive p t ʦ ʧ k kʷ ʔ
fricative s ʃ h
nasal m n ɲ
liquid w l · ɾ j
  • /kʷ ʦ ʧ ʃ ɲ ɾ j/ are written kw c ć ś ń r y.


front central back
high i
mid e · ẽ o · õ
low a · ã
  • Nasalized vowels are written with an ogonek: ę ą ǫ.

Distribution and phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)(C)CV(C).

The onset may consist of any single consonant, of a plosive followed by a nasal, or of two non-identical obstruents other than /h/. Word-initially, three-term onset clusters consisting of two plosives separated by a sibilant are also permissible. Clusters ending in one of /t ʦ ʧ/ may additionally be followed by /w/, and clusters ending in one of /p t k/ may additionally be followed by /j/. Empty onsets only occur word-initially. As the glottal stop is not found in that position, onsetless syllables are sometimes analysed as containing underlying /ʔ/.

All single consonants except /w j/ can appear in a medial syllable coda; however, coda consonants other than /ʔ h/ are fairly rare. (Note that pure obstruent clusters are usually syllabified as complex onsets.) Nasal coda consonants can only occur in geminates, and coda /ɾ/ can only occur before nasals.

At the end of a word, /ʔ/ is the only allowed coda consonant.

The following additional restrictions apply:

  • i does not occur immediately after y.
  • The liquid consonants w l r y do not occur after nasalized vowels.
  • The distinction between /k/ and /kʷ/ is contrastive only in prevocalic position. /kʷ/ never contrasts with the cluster /kw/, but it is analysed as a separate phoneme because of its high frequency.

Phonetic detail

  • In the prestige dialect, obstruents are almost never voiced. Some speakers have voiced allophones of non-glottal obstruents adjacent to nasals and nasalized vowels though, and sometimes after l as well. In dialects that have it, obstruent voicing is blocked by adjacent voiceless consonants.
  • Plosives are aspirated when preceded by h, and m n ń l r are devoiced in the same position. In the prestige variety, devoiced nasals are realized as a nasalized vowel followed by a voiceless fricative: /Vhm Vhn Vhɲ/ → [Ṽɸ Ṽθ Ṽç].
  • Before obstruents, coda h is normally realized as velar [x], though it may become [ç] when preceded by i and/or followed by ć y, and [ɸ] when preceded by o ǫ and/or followed by p.
  • ć ś become alveolo-palatal [ʨ ɕ] when adjacent to i ń l.
  • l is commonly palatalized to [ʎ] when adjacent to i ć ś ń.
  • In other positions, coda l is darkened to [ɫ] or even [ɰ].
  • w is normally realized as a purely labial approximant [β̞], which is devoiced to [ɸ] when preceded by h. Intervocalic w may also be realized as [w], especially when preceded by o.
  • When preceding a nasalized vowel, postconsonantal w r l j are realized as [m n n ɲ] (written m n n ń).
  • e is realized as [e] word-finally, and as [ɛ] elsewhere.
  • a is [ʌ] in unstressed open syllables, and [ɑ] elsewhere.
  • o is [ʊ] in unstressed open syllables, [o] in stressed open syllables, and [ɔ] in closed syllables.
  • Nasalized ę ą ǫ are [ɛ̃ ɑ̃ ɔ̃] in all positions.
  • In stressed open syllables, nasalized vowels (but not oral ones) are lengthened.

Stress

Tmaśareʔ has a dynamic stress accent. Most words are accented on the first syllable of the root; however, pluralized nouns normally stress the reduplicated syllable (i.e. the first vowel of the word), and most conjunctions, particles, and postpositions are unaccented. Some but not all of those grammatical morphemes cliticize to other sentence constituents, becoming part of the host's prosodic group.

Longer words containing at least three post-tonic syllables exhibit one or more positional secondary accents. These are placed on every even syllable counting from the end of the word; however, syllables immediately adjacent to the main stress do not receive secondary stress. If a word ends in a glottal stop, the last secondary accent moves from the penult to the final syllable, triggering exceptional secondary stress on the antepenultimate if the fifth-to-last vowel carries a lexical accent.

As exceptions to the above, compounds (which includes nouns with an adjectival prefix) normally stress the first syllable of the first root, with the second root receiving secondary stress if its accented syllable does not end up adjacent to the main stress. Further secondary stress is assigned by counting from the end of the word as usual. Verbs with an incorporated object do not fall under this rule; the object - even though it follows the verb root - receives positional stress only, which can lead to a changed prosodic pattern as compared to the full nominal form.

Sound changes


Morphology

Nominal morphology

The three cases of Proto-Western (absolutive, ergative, construct) are retained in Tmaśareʔ, with the construct being reanalysed as a genitive. On the other hand, the edibility distinction has been lost, and even though the plural is retained as an inflectional category, the inherited number morphology has become unproductive and survives only in pronouns and a few fossilized lexical items. Noun plurals are now formed by a reduplicative strategy, picked up from a substrate language.

The citation form of Tmaśareʔ nouns is the absolutive singular.

Case

The ergative and genitive cases are formed by ablaut of the final vowel of the noun stem, combined with a suffixed glottal stop:

absolutive ergative genitive
e/i-stem -e, -i -iʔ -oʔ
a/o-stem -a, -o -eʔ
nasal stem -ę, -ą, -ǫ -ęʔ -ǫʔ

Some nouns end in a glottal stop in the absolutive case. These words take the regular affixes -eʔ in the ergative and -oʔ in the genitive, but often undergo stem changes with the addition of a case suffix. Most frequently, the stem-final glottal stop reverts to its original value (which may be any other plosive consonant); sometimes a vowel is dropped as well. Irregular oblique stems are indicated in the lexicon.

Examples:

  • hąse 'horse' (abs) → erg hąsiʔ, gen hąsoʔ
  • kwela 'child' (abs) → erg kweleʔ, gen kweloʔ
  • tohną 'headman of a family' (abs) → erg tohnęʔ, gen tohnǫʔ

Number

Unlike those of Proto-Western, Tmaśareʔ nominals do not inflect for dual number. The inherited suffixal plural morphology was originally replaced by reduplication of the first C(C)V portion of the stem; however, this pattern has become obscured by a combination of stress shift and vowel syncope. Synchronically, plurals usually look like an infixed copy of the initial consonant(s), with echo vowels as needed to conform to phonotactic rules. Words with initial nasals regularly form their plural with nasalization of the first vowel (often accompanied by a change in quality); vowel-initial words tend to use either /-hV-/ or /-ʔ-/ as the plural infix.

Quite a number of words have slightly irregular plural forms. In addition, there is a distinct class of mass nouns that do not form plurals; these mostly belong to one of the noun classes IV, V, and VI. Plurals are given in the lexicon for all nouns.

Examples:

  • takala 'rope' → tatkala 'ropes'
  • kohta 'boat' → kokohta 'boats'
  • mera 'dog' → mǫra 'dogs'
  • aśę 'woman' → aʔśę 'women'

Possession

Like its predecessor, Tmaśareʔ distinguishes between alienable and inalienable forms of possession. Alienably possessed nouns are simply accompanied by their possessor, cast in the genitive, whereas inalienably possessed nouns take an obligatory possessive prefix marking number and person of the possessor. Note that the possessor need not necessarily be present as an overt noun phrase. For first and second person possessors, the possessive prefixes still have a separate set of forms deriving from the PW dual. However, these are now used for any small group of inextricably linked possessors, e.g. for a group of brothers (even if there are three or four of them), and are probably best interpreted as paucal or collective.

singular   paucal     plural  
1st na- ę- ǫk-
2nd ć- c- ik-
3rd e- k-
  • When followed by a consonant cluster or a glottal consonant, the plural forms appear in the alternative allomorphs ǫka-, iko- and kwe-. Before oral vowels they appear as ǫkw-, ikw- and kw-, and before nasal vowels they appear as ǫkm-, ikm- and km- respectively.
  • The 2sg and 2pc prefixes become će- ce- when followed by a consonant cluster or a glottal consonant, and ś- s- when followed by an affricate.
  • The 1sg and 3sg/pc prefixes add an epenthetic /ʔ/ before vowels, while the 1pc prefix adds /n/.

Examples:

  • naʔilca 'my hand'
  • ćtohną 'your(sg) father'
  • kmǫʔta 'their teeth'

The alienable/inalienable distinction also serves as a productive method to change the meaning of nouns:

  • la 'man' → ela 'her husband'
  • nanańo 'my foot', knęńo 'their feet' → nańo 'platform, base'

The same prefixes also appear on verbal nouns in subordinate clauses, specifying the subject (i.e. the syntactic pivot) of the nominalized verb.

  • mihe- 'to be absent' → ikmihmę 'your(pl) absence'
  • lǫpa- 'to kiss' → ęnǫpamę 'our(pc) kiss; the event of the two of us kissing each other'

Noun classes

The pronominal classifiers of Proto-Western, which could be assigned pragmatically depending on the edibility and/or semantic role of the referent, have become fixed in reference in Tmaśareʔ, thus creating a system of lexical noun classes. These classes are not marked on the nouns themselves in any way; however, pronouns, determiners, and 3rd person absolutive participant marking on verbs exhibit noun class concord.

Of the nine classifiers reconstructed for Proto-Western, two pairs have merged: those for edible and inedible solid objects (*-ca- and *-ta-), and those for edible and inedible mushy objects (*-če- and *-kʰiw-). The latter group (Tmaśareʔ noun class V) is increasingly becoming confused with classes IV and VI (granular masses and liquids, respectively); these three classes are rarest and tend to include mostly mass nouns with no distinct plural forms and often fairly similar semantics. Among those speakers that conflate them, usually classifier IV is the one that prevails morphologically.

The resulting classifier system is shown in the table below. Note that all classifiers have several allomorphs depending on the phonological environment. For convenience, the most frequent surface forms of all classifiers will be listed separately in the relevant chapters of this grammar sketch (3rd and 4th person pronouns, correlative pronouns, and verbal agreement).

   class     C_     V_{ʔ,h,CC}    V_C      V~_C     V~_#      V_#   
I -wa-/-o- -ho- -h- -ma- -ho humans, gods, spirits etc.
II -ta- -s- -t- -ta animals, solid spherical or irregularly shaped objects
III -ǫ- -ńǫ- nas -ńǫ- tools, weapons, solid long objects
IV -ki- -hki- -hk- -hke granular masses
V -će- -ć- -će soft objects; mushy matter
VI pal-e- -ye- del-i-pal -ńe- -ye liquids, fire, wind etc.
VII -śi- -ś- -h- -se intangible or abstract nominals, geographical features, trees
  • nas indicates that the classifier is realized as nasalization on the preceding vowel.
  • pal indicates that preceding or following prevocalic /t ʦ k s n/ palatalize to /ʦ ʧ ʧ ʃ ɲ/.
  • del indicates that the preceding vowel is deleted.
  • The postconsonantal class I classifier is -wa- after /t ʦ ʧ k ʔ/, and -o- after other consonants.
  • Classifiers V and VII merge phonetically when immediately followed by an affricate; the resulting forms are those given for class VII.

Personal pronouns

Tmaśareʔ has true personal pronouns only for speech act participants. They inflect for case in exactly the same way as regular nouns. However, they do not form their plural via reduplication, using distinct plural stems instead. In the first person, the plural is suppletive; in the second person, it contains a reflex of the original plural marker *-kʷ, analogically extended to -kwe- with the phonetic reduction of PW case suffixes.

1st person (speaker)

absolutive ergative genitive
singular na neʔ noʔ
plural sa seʔ soʔ


2nd person (listener)

absolutive ergative genitive
singular ta teʔ toʔ
plural tkwe tkwiʔ tkwoʔ

Proximate and obviative pronouns

The anaphoric and cataphoric pronoun stems of Proto-Western, *ya- and *kʷi-, have been reanalysed as proximate and obviative (3rd and 4th person) respectively. Unlike 1st and 2nd person pronouns, these inflect not only for case and number, but also for noun class. Case inflection is regular. Number inflection uses the analogically extended *-kʷ morpheme instead of reduplication, like the 2nd person pronouns. However, sound changes have fused the original phoric stems with the classifiers in many forms, to a point where it is easier to treat Tmaśareʔ proximate and obviative pronouns as having distinct stems for each combination of class, person, and number.

3rd person (proximate)

   class singular   plural  
I yaho- yoʔ, yokwe-
II yata- cakwe-
III yańǫ- ńǫkwe-
IV yahke- śkikwe-
V yaće- ćekwe-
VI yaye- yekwe-
VII yaśe- śikwe-
  • yokwe is the regular stem of the class I 3pl pronoun, and also used as a more formal absolutive. In colloquial speech, the absolutive is reduced to yoʔ; the other cases remain regular.


4th person (obviative)

   class singular   plural  
I kwa- kwakwe-
II kwita- psakwe-
III kwińǫ- kmǫkwe-
IV kwihke- kwihkwe-
V kwiće- pśekwe-
VI kwoye- kwoyekwe-
VII kwiśe- pśikwe-

Other pronominals

Demonstratives, indefinite quantifiers, and interrogative pronouns were originally built on the same template as the 3rd and 4th person pronouns - a deictic stem, followed by a classifier, followed by case/number inflection. During the development of Tmaśareʔ, the deictic elements were increasingly perceived as proclitic morphemes, which eventually came to be used with all nominals. In some colloquial registers they can even be added to other pronouns for locational or referential emphasis.

deictic gloss
śe= this
ra= that
ya= the aforementioned one(s)
yel= the other one(s)
twi= some, a few
ląc= many
ha= all, every
ye= no, none
wi= which, what
  • śe= shortens to ś= before vowels and single stem-initial plosives, and to ć= before stem-initial nasals.
  • ra= shortens to r= before vowels, and to t= before /p k kʷ m n ɲ w/.
  • twi= shortens to tw= before oral vowels, to tm= before nasalized vowels, and usually (but not always) to toʔ= before nasals.
  • ye= shortens to i= before stem-initial consonant clusters.
  • Shortening before consonants does not happen if this would cause the resulting word to become monosyllabic.
  • When attached to nouns, all deictic proclitics may co-occur with plural marking; however, the quantifying twi=, ląc=, and ha= are more commonly used with singular nouns.

Examples:

  • śkahpa 'this tree'
  • racacnanǫ 'those spears'
  • toʔnęke 'a few steps' (note the singular stem; cf. pl nenęke)
  • tmęta 'some feathers' (cf. pl ęʔta)
  • wipsanǫ 'which knife?'


Combined with the classifiers, the deictic clitics can be arranged into a large but mostly regular table of correlative pro-forms, which is given below. Note that the demonstratives have separate plural forms.

   class     this         that         some         many        every         no      question
I śeho-
śokwe-		 raho-
rokwe-		 twiho- lątwa- haho- yeho- wiho-
II śeta-
śtakwe-		 rata-
ratkwe-		 twita- lącta- hata- yeta- wita-
III śeńǫ-
śękwe-		 rańǫ-
rękwe-		 twińǫ- lącńǫ- hańǫ- yeńǫ- wińǫ-
IV śehke-
śkikwe-		 rahke-
tkihkwe-		 twihke- lącke- hahke- yehke- wihke-
V śeće-
śećkwe-		 raće-
raćkwe-		 twiće- ląsće- haće- yeće- wiće-
VI śeye-
śikwe-		 raye-
rikwe-		 twiye- ląće- haye- yeye- wiye-
VII śeśi-
śeśkwe-		 raśi-
raśkwe-		 twiśi- ląći- haśi- yeśi- wiśi-

Numerals

Tmaśareʔ retains the base-8 number system of Proto-Western. Numeric quantifiers come in three forms: (1) Indeclinable numeral particles, which consist of the bare stem and are used for counting and compounding; (2) cardinal numerals, which function like pronouns and inflect for case and noun class (note that the latter is agreement, and thus mandatory even when used attributively); and (3) ordinal numerals, formed with the suffix -ro, which may only be used as modifiers of a nominal head in this bare form and are thus syntactically comparable to a noun in the genitive case, but which may be extended to full pronominals by suffixing an appropriate classifier.

The paradigm for numerals is entirely regular, with classifiers suffixed to the numeral stem. However, note that the class VII classifier appears in the form -se (unlike with other pronouns), and that all numeral stems lose their final vowel in compounds with a vowel-initial noun stem.

      stem ordinal
1 takwa- takwaro
2 śi- śiro
3 nahto- nahtoro
4 męca- męcaro
5 ora- oraro
6 męći- męćiro
7 nalći- nalćiro
8 ńaho- ńahoro

Multiples of eight are formed with an ordinal followed by the cardinal. Note also that nouns accompanied by a numeral always appear in their singular form:

  • nahtoro ńahońǫ yeći
    nahto-ro ńaho-ńǫ yeći
    three-ORD eight-CL.III arrow
    twenty-four arrows (lit. "third eight")

Other numerals are formed as a coordinated phrase, with the enclitic =ʔma suffixed to the unit number:

  • ńaho śitaʔma mera
    ńaho śi-ta=ʔma mera
    eight two-CL.II=and dog
    ten dogs (lit. "eight and two")

Distributive numerals are formed with reduplication, like the plural forms of nouns.

  • memęcahke oha
    me~męca-hke oha
    DISTR~four-CL.IV bean
    four beans each

The Verbal Complex

Tmaśareʔ has extended the verbal system of Proto-Western significantly through the agglutination (and, to some extent, fusion) of adpositions and particles to the verb, resulting in a polysynthetic verbal complex that is best described in terms of a positional template containing twelve slots. By far the most part of verbal morphology is suffixing.

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII
(applicative) stem (incorporated noun) (directional) (causative) (modal) (evidential) (ergative) absolutive (aspect) (negation) (speech act)

Only the verb stem (which may itself be polymorphemic - e.g. formed by compounding or by adding a derivational affix) and the absolutive agreement suffix are mandatory with all verbs. Ergative agreement is mandatory with transitive verbs; all other affixes are optional.

Applicatives

There are four applicative prefixes that can be used to promote an oblique argument to the rank of primary absolutive, triggering agreement with this argument. Depending on lexical properties of the verb, the original absolutive participant may be left out, become incorporated, or stay in place as long as the verb remains maximally ditransitive. If the original absolutive is omitted, the applicativized argument itself may undergo incorporation.

The applicative prefixes are as follows:

  • benefactive (ben): c- (ca- before stem-initial consonant clusters or /s ʃ h l j/; s- before /ʦ ʧ/; causes following /r/ to mutate to /t/)
  • instrumental (instr): mek- (meʔ- before /k kʷ l r j ɲ/; causes following /h/ to mutate to /w/ or /l/ depending on etymology)
  • locative (loc): twe- (tm- before nasal vowels; tw- before oral vowels)
  • lative (lat): k- (ke- before /l/ and most consonant clusters; causes following /r/ to mutate to /t/; causes following /h/ to mutate to /w/ or /l/ depending on etymology)

Examples:

  • kwekwo- 'cook' → ckwekwo- 'cook for so.'
  • woʔla- 'plan, come up with' → cwoʔla- 'suggest sth. to so.'
  • yahke- 'keep' → cayahke- 'take care of sth. on behalf of so.'
  • romę- 'lend, borrow' → ctomę- 'lend for the purpose of'
  • olca- 'hit' → mekolca- 'hit with sth.'
  • homę- 'help' → meʔlomę- 'help by doing/using sth.'
  • ćeka- 'sit' → twećeka- 'sit (at a place)'
  • somo- 'agree' → twesomo- 'approve of sth.'
  • yele- 'run' → kyele- 'run towards sth.'
  • cana- 'glow' → kcana- 'illuminate sth.'

Directionals

Two directional suffixes have become grammaticalized as inflectional markers specifying the direction of movement with regard to the "focus point", which is determined by context - usually one of speaker, addressee, or sentence topic.

  • motion towards focus (all): -hca-
  • motion away from focus (abl): -ʔco-

Examples:

  • ye- 'go' → yehca- 'come, arrive'; yeʔco- 'leave'
  • okmę- 'carry' → okmęhca- 'bring'; okmęʔco- 'carry away'

Causative

A morphological causative can be formed with a suffix that shows up as -na- when preceded by a nasalized vowel, as -s- when followed by a plosive or sibilant, as -r- when followed by a nasal consonant, and as -ra- otherwise. Causativization adds an agent to the verb, demoting any pre-existing agent from ergative to absolutive (monotransitives only) or oblique.

  • causative (caus): -na-/-s-/-r-/-ra-

Modals

The next slot in the verbal template indicates modality. There are three morphemes that can appear here:

  • optative (opt): -ći-
  • obligative (obl): -tę-/-tańa-
  • abilitative (abil): -yąʔ-/-yąpa-

These suffixes are a fairly recent innovation, originating in compound verbs with ćiye- 'want', tańa- 'must, should', and yąpa- 'be capable of' as their second element. (The directionals and the causative were still partly derivational at that time, which explains the position of the modal affixes right in the middle of the verbal complex.)

The mono- and disyllabic variants of the obligative and abilitative suffixes are selected mainly on a prosodic basis: The modal suffix always receives secondary stress, and thus prefers to be in an even-numbered syllable counting from the end of the verb. However, only the disyllabic forms are seen before the direct participation evidential, and only the monosyllabic forms are seen before the assumed and hearsay evidentials. The abilitative is also always monosyllabic before the non-visual sensory evidential.

It should be noted that modal suffixes may not occur in verbs with an incorporated noun.

Evidentials

Tmaśareʔ has a set of six verbal suffixes indicating the nature of the evidence supporting a statement. These morphemes are not obligatory; however, the lack of an evidential in a main clause not marked as interrogative or irrealis is usually taken as a sign of pure speculation and thus likely to raise suspicions about the statement's truth.

  • direct participation or general knowledge (dir): -ʔo- (-ʔ- before prevocalic plosives, nasals and glides, and sometimes also before consonant clusters depending on the prosodic structure of the word)
  • visual sensory (vis): -ya-
  • non-visual sensory (sens): -pǫ- (causing nasalization of following approximants)
  • inferred from physical or situational evidence (evid): -loʔ- (loʔk- when followed by a nasal or sibilant)
  • assumed (ass): -kwe- (-p- when preceded by a vowel and followed by a prevocalic plosive)
  • hearsay (rep): -mą- (causing nasalization of following approximants)

Participant marking

Tmaśareʔ verbs exhibit polypersonal agreement with their primary absolutive arguments as well as with the ergative arguments of transitive verbs. Ditransitive verbs normally agree with the theme, not the recipient. However, verbs with an applicative prefix inflect for the applicativized absolutive element.

Participant marking can be broken down in two distinct sets of affixes, with the ergative marker (if present) preceding the absolutive marker.

The underlying ergative agreement suffixes are -ɴ- (i.e. nasalization of the preceding vowel) for 1st singular, -nę- for 1st plural, -ćeh- for 2nd singular, -ćęh- for 2nd plural, and -k- (no number distinction) for 3rd/4th person agents.

The underlying absolutive markers are -na- for 1st person, -tah- for 2nd person (both with a nasalized vowel for plural referents), and the regular set of classifiers for 3rd/4th person participants.

Because of sound changes, specific combinations of these agreement markers have become quite fusional; the full set of pronominal suffixes is therefore given in the table below:

ergative → none (intr.) 1sg 1pl 2sg 2pl 3p/4p
absolutive ↓
1sg nas-/-ne-/-ę- -nna- -nę- -ćehna- -ćęhna- -kna-/-ką
1pl -ną- -nną- -nęną- -ćehną- -ćęhną- -kną-
2sg -ta(h)- nas-ta(h)- -nęta(h)- -ćta(h)- -ćęhta- -kta(h)-
2pl -tą(h)- nas-tą(h)- -nętą(h)- -ćtą(h)- -ćęhtą- -ktą(h)-
3p/4p class I -ho-/-ma-/-wa- del-ǫma-/-neho -nęma- -ćeho- -ćęhma- -kwa-
class II -ta- nas-ta- -nęta- -ćehta- -ćęhta- -kta-
class III -ńǫ- -ńńǫ- -nęńǫ- -ćehńǫ- -ćęhńǫ- -kńǫ-
class IV -hke-/-ki-/-ki- nas-ki- -nęki- -ćehke- -ćęhke- -kahke-
class V -će- nas-će- -nęće- -ćehće- -ćęhće- -kće-
class VI -ye-/-ńe-/-ye- del-ęńe- -nęńe- -ćehye- -ćęhńe- -kye-
class VII -se- nas-ce- -nęce- -ćesse- -ćęhce- -kse-
  • In lexically intransitive verbs with an applicative prefix, two "absolutive intransitive" markers may be combined if both arguments of the verb are 3rd person, but belong to different noun classes.
  • Where several variants for the intransitive form are given, the first is used after oral vowels, the second is used after nasal vowels, and the third is used after consonants (e.g. when preceded by the inferred evidential -loʔ-).
  • When following a consonant other than /t ts tʃ k ʔ/, the 3/4p.I intransitive marker simplifies to -o-.
  • When following a consonant, all "nas" in the 1sg.erg column are replaced by the overt vowel -ę-.
  • The 1sg.erg>3/4p.I.abs suffix is del-ǫma- only if another morpheme follows. In word-final position it is -neho instead.
  • Likewise, the 3/4p.erg>1sg.abs suffix is -kna if another morpheme follows, and -ką when word-final.
  • del indicates that the preceding vowel is deleted before adding this suffix.
  • nas indicates that the preceding vowel is nasalized.
  • The bracketed (h) in the 2nd person absolutive series vanishes when word-final or preceding a glottal consonant.
  • Most of the 3/4p absolutive morphemes (excepting those for classes III and VI and those of the 3rd/4th person ergative series) drop their final vowel when followed by another morpheme that does not start with a consonant cluster.

Aspect, negation and speech act markers

Two aspectual morphemes have been grammaticalized in Tmaśareʔ. The completive aspect indicates that the action described by the verb has been or will be successfully completed, and the progressive aspect indicates that the action was/is/will be ongoing at the time of reference. Both of these aspects are relatively rare in main clauses, but common in subordinated clauses. Verb forms unmarked for aspect do not specify the status of completion and usually have a generic habitual or aorist meaning.

  • completive (cpl): -mo- or del-ǫ-
  • progressive (prog): -kiʔ(k)-

Verbs can be negated with a negative suffix, which indicates that the action did not occur, or that it is not expected to happen.

  • negative (neg): -ye or -(i)hma

In addition, non-declarative speech acts may be marked with suffixes that appear at the very end of the verb. Their use is fairly straightforward: The interrogative is used in questions, and the irrealis is used in conditional clauses, when referring to hypothetical or future events, and in imperative statements. Both the interrogative and the irrealis do not usually co-occur with evidentiality marking; however, the latter is not ungrammatical, and some specific combinations are not all that rare (for instance, the irrealis combined with the assumed evidential signals a conditional clause).

  • interrogative (q): -wi
  • irrealis (irr): -ʔi

In theory, the suffixes for aspect, negation and speech act occupy different slots in the verbal template. However, the degree of fusion is such that their surface forms depend rather strongly on contiguous affixes, and the negative morpheme even has a suppletive variant in some circumstances. For convenience, the following tables list all possible combinations:

polarity → affirmative
aspect →    generic    completive progressive
speech act ↓
declarative -Ø -mo -kiʔ
interrogative -wi/-mi del-ǫmi -kiʔkwi
irrealis -ʔi del-ǫʔi -kiʔki
polarity → negative
aspect →    generic    completive progressive
speech act ↓
declarative -(i)hma del-ǫńe -kiʔće
interrogative -yewi/-hmawi del-ǫńewi -kiʔćewi
irrealis -yeʔi/-hmaʔi del-ǫńeʔi -kiʔćeʔi
  • del indicates that the preceding vowel is deleted before adding this suffix.
  • The generic aspect negative marker is usually -hma, but the vowels /a e/ in preceding 3/4p absolutive markers for classes I, II, IV, V, and VII are changed to /i/. In the interrogative and irrealis, the forms with -hma- are used in verbs with a 1st or 2nd person absolutive participant, and the forms with -ye- in verbs with a 3rd person absolutive participant.
  • The generic aspect interrogative marker is -wi after consonants and oral vowels, and -mi after nasal vowels.
  • Both -(i)hma and -ʔi drop their initial glottal consonant if the preceding syllable contains coda /h/.

Verbal nouns

There are several distinct types of verb nominalization in Tmaśareʔ; most of these work on the lexical level and will be covered in the derivation section below. However, one such formation, simply called the verbal noun (vn), features prominently in subordinate clauses and therefore warrants a discussion here.

Verbal nouns are formed with the suffix -mę, appended to a verb that may be fully inflected, but will usually not even take evidentiality markers or, for intransitive verbs, participant suffixes. Instead, subjects of intransitive verbs and agents of transitive verbs are specified by prefixes that are identical in form to the possessive prefixes for inalienably possessed nouns. Patients or themes of transitive verbs as well as applied objects of applicative verbs take normal absolutive agreement.

In subclauses, all arguments of verbal nouns may be overtly present as noun phrases, with the subject marked for the genitive instead of the ergative or absolutive case.

  • ćehpo ćośśatmę
    ćehpo-Ø ć-ośśa-ta-mę
    deer-ABS 2SG.POSS-kill-3.II-VN
    your killing of the deer
  • macoʔ ecwayahcnąmę
    maci-oʔ e-cwaya-hca-ną-mę
    bear-GEN 3SG.POSS-fight-towards-1PL-VN
    the bear's attack on us

Derivation

Tmaśareʔ does not have a separate class of adjectives, and only a small number of lexical adverbs. It makes up for this with a large number of derivational morphemes that can be used to create new words.

Adjectival prefixes

Adjectival prefixes can be added to almost any nominal, including pronouns. They cover a wide range of attributive meanings, which may be stacked upon each other if the combination makes sense semantically. The list is too large to be given here; adjectival prefixes are therefore found in the lexicon.

With nouns, adjectival prefixes are added before the (possibly plural-marked) stem, but after any possessive or demonstrative prefixes. With pronouns they appear at the beginning of the word, even with correlative pronouns that include a deictic morpheme in their stem.

  • mahkapsanǫ
    mahka=psanǫ
    sharp=knife
    a sharp knife
  • śekcehkpehkekehka
    śe=kceh=kpeh=ke~kehka
    this=dirty=dry=PL~rock
    these dirty dry rocks
  • Cmaʔoʔoha rohkeya wekco twehalloʔkahke.
    cma=o~oha-Ø roh=keya-Ø wek-co twe-hala-loʔ-kahke
    red=PL~bean-ABS good=soil-ABS quick-ADV LOC-grow-EVID-3>3.IV
    Red beans grow quickly in good soil.

The meaning of adjectival prefixes can be reversed by adding i- (iʔ- before vowels), and intensified by adding cpo-.

  • icictoca
    i=cic=toca
    not=centrally_located=house
    a house at the edge of the village
  • nacpokahtomina
    na-cpo=kahto=mina
    1SG.POSS-very=gentle=mother
    my affectionate mother

Derivational suffixes

A second set of derivational morphemes consists of suffixes that change the meaning of a root, instead of adding an attributive property. These suffixes are stem extensions; that is, they are added after the root (often with deletion of a vowel), forming a new stem that inflects according to the vowel in the suffix. Interestingly, some of these morphemes contain an "echo vowel", i.e. a copy of the original thematic vowel. When combined with vowel deletion, such suffixes look like an infix.

The following symbols are used in the tables below:

  • del indicates that a preceding vowel is deleted unless the resulting cluster would be illegal.
  • V represents an echo copy of the underlying stem vowel. If bracketed, it appears only word-finally.
  • Ṽ stands for a copy of an underlying nasalized stem vowel.
  • A bracketed final (h) does not appear before ʔ h or word-finally, and it coalesces with following prevocalic s ś into a geminate version of the latter.

Nominalizers

suffix usage etymology       example
(del)-cV- / del-ęńṼ- V → N, agent nominalizer < *-dayV- ćihtaca 'mentor' ← ćihta- 'teach'
-nǫ- V → N, instrument nominalizer < *-dzũ- meʔśonǫ 'needle' ← meʔśo- 'sew'
(del)-mę- V → N, action nominalizer < *-γʷĩ- mihmę 'absence, omission' ← mihe- 'be absent'
-ha- / -Ṽna- V → N, result nominalizer < *-ła- polaha 'gift' ← pola- 'donate'
(del)-pV- V → N, patient/theme nominalizer < *-pV- lǫćpa 'trade item' ← lǫća- 'exchange, trade, share'
-ńę- V/N → N, goal/recipient nominalizer < *-γẽ- pątańę 'goal, target, destination' ← pąta- 'reach for'
(del)-ma- V/N/Pre → N, location nominalizer < *ma 'place' śeʔtama 'channel, ditch, moat' ← śeʔta- 'flow'
-laho- / -namṼ- V/N/Pre → N, related male person < *-lawV- comalaho 'storyteller' ← coma 'story, legend'
(del)-kę- V/N/Pre → N, related female person < *-kĩ- kwelkę 'girl' ← kwela 'child'
(del)-kV(h)- V/N/Pre → N, related thing < *-kʰa- yećka 'quiver' ← yeći 'arrow'
-sso- N → N, object made of X < *-słu- tolasso 'thread, twine' ← tola 'wool'
(del)-cǫ- N → N, collective (only with animals & plants) < *-cũ- kwohcǫ 'pack of wolves' ← kwoho 'wolf'
(del)-to- N/PP/Pre/Adv → N, abstraction, collective < *-tu- cohto 'courage, energy' ← coh- 'strong, manly'

Verbalizers

suffix usage etymology example
-ʔyV- N/PP/Pre → V, stative verbalizer < *-ʔayV- otwaʔya- 'resemble, match' ← otwa- 'similar'
-hpa- N/PP/Pre → V, dynamic verbalizer < *-łpa- kayahpa- 'burn' ← kaya 'fire'
(del)-ta(h)- N/Pre → V, dynamic verbalizer (intensive, factitive) < *tʰa- 'do, make' kolta- 'gouge, drill, pierce' ← kolo 'hole'
-ʔna- N/V → V, permissive/factitive verbalizer < *ʔẽdza- 'give' eniʔna- 'entrust to' ← eni- 'be equipped with'
-ćka- N/PP/Pre → V, durative verbalizer < *čeka- 'sit' yeyaćka- 'listen to' ← yeya- 'hear'
(del)-twi(h)- V/N/Pre → V, inchoative/evolutive verbalizer < *tʰuya- 'become' kpehtwi- 'become dry' ← kpeh- 'dry'

Other derivational morphology

suffix usage etymology example
(del)-co- N/V/Pre → Adv, general adverbializer < *-cu- yelco 'else, otherwise' ← yel- 'different'
-hą- / (del)-ną- N/Pre → Adv, manner adverbializer < *łãγa 'spirit' śaʔną 'intentionally, on purpose' ← śaʔę 'mind'
(del)-męt(V)- V/N/PP → Adv, directional/purposive adverbializer < *γʷĩta 'wind' nokmęti 'backwards, the other way around' ← noki- 'turn (sth.)'

Compounding

Compounding is a highly productive device to create new lexical items. Almost all content morphemes can be freely combined head-finally, provided the head is a noun or a verb. Adpositions can also be the head of a compound; however, this is not quite as productive and happens only when the modifier is an adposition or particle. Compounds of more than two parts can always be decomposed into smaller binary head-final compounds. In theory, arbitrarily long words are possible with this strategy, but Tmaśareʔ speakers tend not to create lexical stems consisting of more than four or five distinct lexical morphemes.

  • hapaʔtkwoćę
    hapaʔta-kwoćę
    shoot-sinew
    bow (n.)
  • eńopaho-
    eńo-paho-
    again-walk
    return (v.)

Syntax

Tmaśareʔ syntax is mostly left-branching, with postpositions, modifiers preceding their heads, and basic SOV word order.

The noun phrase

Simple noun phrases

A noun phrase consists of a nominal head, optionally preceded by one or more modifiers (numerals, other noun phrases, postpositional phrases, or relative clauses). The heads of modifying NPs are cast in the genitive case.

  • hąse
    hąse-Ø
    horse-ABS
    a horse
  • soʔ kakca
    sa-oʔ ka~kaca-Ø
    1PL-GEN PL~friend-ABS
    our friends
  • aśǫʔ etęʔpi
    aśę-oʔ e-tęʔpi-Ø
    woman-GEN 3SG.POSS-daughter-ABS
    the woman's daughter
  • kahpoʔ laʔ orata kąʔmera
    kahpa-oʔ laʔ ora-ta-Ø kąʔ=mera-Ø
    tree-GEN under five-CL.II-ABS black=dog-ABS
    the five black dogs under the tree

Postpositional phrases

A postpositional phrase is made up of a postposition, preceded by a noun phrase in the genitive case.

  • cǫńąkoʔ mnąʔco
    cǫ=yąki-oʔ mnąʔco
    long=river-GEN downward
    down along the long river
  • tkwoʔ tnęcpątanǫʔ śe
    tkwe-oʔ t=nęc=pątanǫ-oʔ śe
    2PL-GEN that=straight=road-GEN via
    by means of that straight road of yours

Coordinated phrases

Noun phrases can be coordinated with a number of conjunctions, which behave like enclitics attaching to the head of the last phrase to be coordinated. The most relevant phrase-joining conjunctions are =ʔma "and", =so "or", =śo "neither/nor", and =ća "either/or".

  • yoma mahńę śeśehoʔma
    yoma-Ø mahńę-Ø śe~śeho-Ø=ʔma
    sun-ABS moon-ABS PL~star-ABS=and
    sun, moon, and stars
  • nǫńoći kńąhkwitaso
    nǫ-yoći-Ø kńąh-kwita-Ø=so
    thick=fish-ABS thin=OBV.II.SG-ABS=or
    the fat fish or the thin one

The clause

Intransitive clauses

Intransitive clauses minimally consist of an inflected verb with an absolutive agreement marker. The subject NP, which may be omitted if reference is clear from context, takes the absolutive case and normally precedes the verb.

  • Yeleʔcoʔǫ.
    yele-ʔco-ʔo-ɴ
    run-away-DIR-1SG
    I run away.
  • Hora oleyahmo.
    hora-Ø ole-ya-ho-mo
    chief-ABS die-VIS-3.I-CPL
    The chief has died.

Transitive clauses

Transitive clauses may take two or three core arguments (with mono- and ditransitive verbs respectively). All overt arguments must be placed on the same side of the verb, usually before it, with agents (marked with the ergative case) coming first.

In monotransitive clauses, the verb is inflected to agree with both its arguments.

  • Keyassǫ kęhtaʔǫtkiʔ.
    keyassǫ-Ø kęhta-ʔo-ɴta-kiʔ
    wall-ABS build-DIR-1SG>3.II-PROG
    I am building a wall.
  • Maciʔ ńęʔka coheloʔkće.
    maci-eʔ ńęʔka-Ø cohe-loʔ-kće
    bear-ERG honey-ABS find-EVID-3>3.V
    The bear finds honey.
  • Toʔ cǫccoʔ tohnęʔ naʔaśę olcamąkwa.
    ta-oʔ cǫcca-oʔ tohną-eʔ na-aśę-Ø olca-mą-kwa
    2SG-GEN family-GEN headman-ERG 1SG.POSS-wife-ABS hit-REP-3>3.I
    The headman of your family hit my wife!

Ditransitive clauses have three arguments, two of them in the absolutive case. Only the agent and the primary object (typically in the semantic role of theme) will be marked on the verb; the secondary object (typically the recipient) does not trigger agreement. If both objects are represented in the clause by overt noun phrases, the secondary object NP precedes the primary object NP.

  • Sohceʔ eʔaśę ećąke enayakta.
    sohca-eʔ e-aśę-Ø e-ćąke-Ø ena-ya-kta
    hunter-ERG 3SG.POSS-wife-ABS 3SG.POSS-skin-ABS give-VIS-3>3.II
    The hunter gives his wife its skin.

Ditransitive clauses need not contain a lexically ditransitive verb though. They can also be formed by adding an applicative or causative marker to a monotransitive verb stem. The former operation promotes an oblique object to the primary object slot, the latter adds an agent in the ergative slot. In both cases, the displaced argument will be demoted to secondary object, ceasing to trigger agreement on the verb.

  • Kwelkęʔ cocwa nǫćeyąsa meksoppeyeloʔktakiʔ.
    kwelkę-eʔ co~cowa-Ø nǫće-yąsa-Ø mek-soppeye-loʔ-kta-kiʔ
    girl-ERG PL~fruit-ABS evening-meal-ABS BEN-gather-EVID-3>3.II-PROG
    The girl is collecting fruit for dinner.
  • Teʔ na toca ćeltaraʔćessemo.
    ta-eʔ na-Ø toca-Ø ćelta-ra-ʔo-ćesse-mo
    2SG-ERG 1SG-ABS house-ABS see-CAUS-DIR-2SG>3.VII-CPL
    You showed me the house (lit. You made me see the house).

A special type of monotransitive clause is formed when an intransitive verb is applicativized: the resulting clause will contain two absolutive-marked arguments but no ergative-marked one. In such clauses, the verb takes "ergative" agreement referring to the non-applied absolutive (i.e. the subject). If both arguments are 3rd person, but belong to different noun classes, absolutive markers are used for both - with the marker for the subject first and for the applied object second.

  • Na kpahcǫ twepahoʔǫce.
    na-Ø kpahcǫ-Ø twe-paho-ʔo-ɴce
    1SG-ABS forest-ABS LOC-walk-DIR-1SG>3.VII
    I walk in the forest.
  • Heńaho malekehkwi kyehcakwessemo.
    heńaho-Ø male-kehkwi-Ø k-ye-hca-kwe-ho-se-mo
    priest-ABS sea-sand-ABS LAT-go-towards-ASS-3.I-3.VII-CPL
    The priest has gone to the seashore, I believe.

Tmaśareʔ is a pro-drop language; verbal arguments may be left out in transitive sentences just like in intransitive ones. Both agent and patient/theme may be omitted; however, applied objects may only be dropped if there is no other overt absolutive argument, and recipients may not be dropped at all. Monotransitive and applicative clauses therefore minimally consist of an inflected verb, whereas true ditransitives will always have at least one overt argument NP.

  • Kohpątaʔi.
    kohpa-ɴtah-ʔi
    follow-1SG>2SG-IRR
    I will follow you.
  • Tweśikąńahose.
    twe-śiką-ya-ho-se
    LOC-stand-VIS-3.I-3.VII
    He is standing there.
  • Napcaha ćihtaʔǫce.
    na-pcaha-Ø ćihta-ʔo-ɴce
    1SG.POSS-boy-ABS teach-DIR-1SG>3.VII
    I'm teaching it to my son.

Predication

Nominal or adjectivial predicates do not exist as a distinct clause type in Tmaśareʔ. Predication is achieved via ordinary clauses, using a wide variety of verbalizing suffixes that attach to the predicated nominal, adpositional, or adjectivial stem. The most common verbalizers used in predication are -ʔyV- (stative/gnomic), -ćka- (durative/situational), and -twi(h)- (evolutive).

  • Na ćtohnąʔńaʔǫ.
    na-Ø će-tohną-ʔyV-ʔo-ɴ
    1SG-ABS 2SG.POSS-father-be-DIR-1SG
    I am your father.
  • Saye tahnatwihpǫse.
    saye-Ø tahna-twih-pǫ-se
    night-ABS cold-become-SENS-3.VII
    It's getting cold tonight.

Adpositional predicates normally occur in the form of applicative constructions:

  • Ćaćahkwoho soʔ toca tweyoćkapǫtase.
    ća~ćahkwoho-Ø sa-oʔ toca-Ø twe-yo-ćka-pǫ-ta-se
    PL~hyaena-ABS 1PL-GEN house-ABS LOC-outside-DUR-SENS-3.II-3.VII
    Hyaenae are outside our house.
  • Yąsa mekihmahtaʔǫta.
    yąsa-Ø mek-ihma-hta-ʔo-ɴta
    food-ABS INSTR-without-RES-DIR-1SG>3.II
    I don't have any food (lit. I have ended up without food).

Adverbs

A clause may optionally take one or more adjuncts, most commonly adverbs or postpositional phrases.

Postpositional adjuncts normally follow the verb, though they may be fronted to sentence-initial position when topicalized.

  • Kwela kahkwapǫmakiʔ lǫńomoʔ laʔ.
    kwela-Ø kahkwa-pǫ-ma-kiʔ lǫ-yoma-oʔ laʔ
    child-ABS laugh-SENS-3.I-PROG warm=sun-GEN under
    The child is laughing in the sunlight.

Adverbial adjuncts may appear almost anywhere in a sentence (but not between the two absolutive complements of a ditransitive clause); they are most commonly found right after the head of the first NP in the clause (Wackernagel's position). If the adjunct is a clause, it may occur initially or finally, but not in between other elements.

  • Hitkweleʔ wekco kahpa tahmorayakse.
    hit=kwela-eʔ wek-co kahpa-Ø tahmo-ra-ya-kse
    small=child-ERG quick-ADV tree-ABS fall-CAUS-VIS-3>3.VII
    The little child quickly felled the tree.
  • Kahkwaco, yokwoʔ toca kayahpamąsemo.
    kahkwa-co, yokwe-oʔ toca-Ø kayahpa-mą-se-mo
    laugh-ADV PROX.I.PL-GEN house-ABS burn-REP-3.VII-CPL
    Amusingly, their house burnt down.
  • Pcaheʔ toʔ mǫńo laʔpaloʔktaʔi oca.
    pcaha-eʔ ta-oʔ me~meńo-Ø laʔpa-loʔ-kta-ʔi oca
    boy-ERG 2SG-GEN PL~sheep-ABS steal-EVID-3>3.II-IRR day_after_tomorrow
    The day after tomorrow the boy will try to steal your sheep.

Discourse particles

Discourse particles function a lot like sentential adverbs in that they commonly occur after the first phrase in a clause (or clause-initially if there are no overt participants or fronted adjuncts). Unlike true adverbs, however, they may not be moved to other positions.

  • Sa kehće yemahcaʔną.
    sa-Ø kehće yema-hca-ʔo-ną
    1PL-ABS instead row-forward-DIR-1PL
    Instead, we rowed onwards.
  • Śeheʔ kwe hanelćoma wecokwektaʔi.
    śeho-eʔ kwe ha=nelćoma-Ø weco-kwe-kta-ʔi
    this.I.SG-ERG but all=mushroom-ABS eat-ASS-3>3.II-IRR
    But I'm sure that he will eat all the mushrooms!

Questions

Questions are formed by inflecting the verb for the interrogative mood. If a specific sentence constituent is being asked about, an interrogative pronoun or a query proclitic will be used in addition to verbal inflection. No wh-movement takes place.

  • Wila ćiyećehwi?
    wi=la-Ø ćiye-ćeho-wi
    Q=man-ABS want-2SG>3.I-Q
    Which man do you like?
  • Twi kwoho sohoćehtǫmi?
    twi kwoho-Ø soho-ćehta-ǫmi
    yesterday wolf-ABS catch-2SG>3.II-CPL:Q
    Did you catch the wolf yesterday?
  • Śeheʔ, kwoho twi sohoktǫmi?
    śeho-eʔ, kwoho-Ø twi soho-kta-ǫmi
    this.I-ERG, wolf-ABS yesterday catch-3>3.II-CPL:Q
    Was it him who caught the wolf yesterday?
  • Wita roʔ teʔ twi sohoćehtǫmi?
    wita-Ø roʔ ta-eʔ twi soho-ćehta-ǫmi
    what.II-ABS therefore 2SG-ERG yesterday catch-2SG>3.II-CPL:Q
    What did you catch yesterday then?

Serial verb constructions

Tmaśareʔ permits two kinds of verb serialization that appear to work within a single syntactic clause. The first of these looks like verb-verb compounding on the morphological level, but its semantics are different in that it portrays several distinct actions as happening simultaneously, and being performed by the same participants. This type of construction works only for verbs that would share the exact same morphology (including derivational suffixes) when free-standing. This morphology is used only once, with all the verb roots combined into a single composite stem.

  • Kana ćawińęsaśętayaho.
    kana-Ø ćawi=ńęsa=śęta-ya-ho
    group_of_people-ABS smile=dance=sing-VIS-3.I
    The group of people laughed and danced and sang (all at the same time).

The second type of verb serialization, which is formed by simply concatenating several fully inflected verbs with the clitic conjunction =ʔma added to the last verb in the chain, does not require identical morphology, and is thus much more flexible. However, it still requires identical morphologically relevant participants. When contrasted against the compositional method of serial verb formation, it portrays the actions as closely linked but non-simultaneous, following each other in short succession.

  • Kana ćawiyaho ńęsayaho śętayahoʔma.
    kana-Ø ćawi-ya-ho ńęsa-ya-ho śęta-ya-ho=ʔma
    group_of_people-ABS smile-VIS-3.I dance-VIS-3.I sing-VIS-3.I=and
    The group of people laughed, then they danced, and then they sang.

Complex sentences

Coordinate clauses

Coordinate clauses are formed with a conjunction, which is inserted right after the head of the first phrase in the second clause. If that clause does not contain an overt NP, or if the first NP is modified by a relative clause, the conjunction is added between the two coordinated clauses instead.

  • Weye kpahohcmąkse tma ca twekęhtatocamąksemo.
    weye-Ø k-paho-hca-mą-kse t=ma-Ø ca twe-kęhta-<toca>-mą-kse-mo
    hill-ABS LAT-walk-towards-REP-3>3.VII that=place-ABS and LOC-build-<house>-REP-3>3.VII-CPL
    They say he went up the hill and built a house there.
  • Teʔ maci cohećehtwi, ćehahoʔ aro so wetaʔcotkiʔkwi?
    ta-eʔ maci-Ø cohe-ćehta-wi, će-ha~ha-oʔ aro so weta-ʔco-ta-kiʔk-wi
    2SG-ERG bear-ABS discover-2SG>3.II-Q, 2SG.POSS-PL~eye-GEN from or turn-away-3.II-PROG-Q
    Did you see the bear, or was it hiding from your eyes?

If the two conjoined clauses have the same topic appearing in different roles, pronouns will be used to clarify. In the following example, the horse is both topic and patient in both clauses, but the verb of the first clause is applicativized, which demotes the horse from primary to secondary absolutive. Accordingly, the pronoun yata is used in primary absolutive position to indicate that the second clause focuses on the horse.

  • Teʔ hąse ćopńę kyehcasćesseʔi, yata śeʔ siśęnaćehtihma.
    ta-eʔ hąse-Ø ćopńę-Ø k-ye-hca-s-ćesse-ʔi, yata-Ø śeʔ siśę-na-ćehta-ihma
    2SG-ERG horse-ABS water_place-ABS LAT-move-towards-CAUS-2SG>3.VII-IRR, PROX.II.SG-ABS however drink-CAUS-2SG>3.II-NEG
    You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

In the next sentence, note the seemingly reversed use of proximative and obviative pronouns. By referring to the chief with the proximative even though he is not the subject of the transitive first clause, it becomes possible to track him as the subject of the intransitive second clause without having to use an overt resumptive pronoun.

  • Kwakwiʔ yaho ińeʔnahorapǫkwa tǫ sǫskwacolaćkaloʔwa ceʔkoʔ sąʔ.
    kwakwe-eʔ yaho-Ø ińe-ʔna=hora-pǫ-kwa tǫ sǫs=kwaco-la-ćka-loʔ-wa ceʔka-oʔ sąʔ
    OBV.I.PL-ERG PROX.I.SG-ABS name-FACT=chief-SENS-3>3.I because primary=strength-man-DUR-EVID-3.I tribe-GEN in
    They chose him as chief because they considered him the bravest man in the tribe (lit. because he was obviously the man with the greatest amount of kwaco).

Relative clauses

Relative clauses precede their antecedents. They are formed with an introductory pronoun agreeing in noun class and number with the relativized nominal - usually a demonstrative, but indefinite quantifying pronouns and ordinary 3rd/4th person pronouns are also seen. The relativized noun itself may be preceded by a deictic proclitic for emphasis or disambiguation; if the relative clause is introduced with a 3rd/4th person pronoun and the relativized noun is not possessed, this deictic is mandatory.

There is no syntactic or inflectional difference between stand-alone relative clauses and full main clauses, except that the introductory pronoun in relative clauses may not be omitted.

  • Śehke soppeyeʔnękmo yolći kwisayakahke.
    śehke-Ø soppeye-ʔo-nęki-mo yolći-Ø kwisa-ya-kahke
    this.IV.SG-ABS gather-DIR-1PL>3.IV-CPL millet-ABS grind-VIS-3>3.IV
    She is grinding the millet that we gathered.
  • Yaho na cwihoraʔką śeleʔ namina yaśiloʔkwihma.
    yaho-Ø na-Ø ca-wihora-ʔo-ką śe=la-eʔ na-mina-Ø yaśi-loʔ-kwa-ihma
    PROX.I.SG-ABS 1SG-ABS BEN-give_birth-DIR-3>1SG this=man-ERG 1SG.POSS-mother-ABS marry-EVID-3>3.I-NEG
    The man who fathered me did not marry my mother.

In relative clauses introduced with a quantifier, the meaning is partitive if a demonstrative proclitic is added to the relativized noun. If no demonstrative is present, the quantity is absolute.

  • Kweʔ cwayayakta śeleʔ na twihke enaʔkahke roʔoha hą kwekmǫkiʔi.
    kwa-eʔ cwaya-ya-kta śe=la-eʔ na-Ø twihke-Ø ena-ʔo-kahke ra-o~oha-Ø hą kwekwo-ɴki-ʔi
    OBV.I.SG-ERG fight-VIS-3>2SG this=man-ERG 1SG-ABS some.IV-ABS give-DIR-3>3.IV that=PL~bean-ABS then cook-1SG>3.IV-IRR
    I might as well cook some of those beans that the man who I saw fight you gave to me.

Oblique arguments cannot be relativized directly, and relativized nouns cannot take an oblique syntactic role within the relative clause either. Both situations are resolved by using applicative verbs, which promote the applied object to the core absolutive slot.

  • Seʔ hahąse śeśi twećeltaʔnęcmo olco keńopahcaʔnęce.
    sa-eʔ ha~hąse-Ø śeśi-Ø twe-ćelta-ʔo-nęce-mo olco-Ø k-eńopaho-hca-ʔo-nęce
    1PL-ERG PL~horse-ABS this.VII.SG-ABS LOC-see-DIR-1PL>3.VII-CPL location-ABS LAT-return-towards-DIR-1PL>3.VII
    We went back to the place where we saw the horses.

Complement clauses

Complement clauses are typically formed as a verbal noun, with agents and intransitive subjects being agreed with by means of nominal possessive prefixes instead of the usual verbal participant suffixes. (Transitive patients are still marked on the verb in the normal fashion though.) Any overt subject or agent in a complement clause appears in the genitive case.

The complementized verb itself is treated as a class VII noun for any agreement purposes in the matrix clause.

  • Ćośśahomęʔ ahparaʔką.
    ć-ośśa-ho-mę-eʔ ahpara-ʔo-ką
    2SG.POSS-kill-3.I-VN-ERG anger-DIR-3>1SG
    That you killed him angers me.
  • Emineʔ etęʔpi ececemę ćihtayakse.
    e-mina-eʔ e-tęʔpi-Ø e-cece-mę-Ø ćihta-ya-kse
    3SG.POSS-mother-ERG 3SG.POSS-daughter-ABS 3SG.POSS-prepare_leather-VN-ABS teach-VIS-3>3.VII
    The mother teaches her daughter to prepare leather.

A second type of complement clause is formed like an ordinary main clause that follows the matrix verb, and is itself terminated with the prox.VII.sg pronoun yaśe. This construction is preferred in situations where the subclause contains several overt participants and/or adjuncts, but it can only be used in the primary absolutive role of non-applicativized verbs.

  • Yekonęceʔi sorohca eńopahcayahmo weweloʔ aro ląsćehącǫʔ oma yaśe.
    yeko-nęce-ʔi so~sohca-Ø eńopaho-hca-ya-ho-mo we~weli-oʔ aro ląc=ćehącǫ-oʔ oma yaśe-Ø
    honor-1PL>3.VII-IRR PL~hunter-ABS return-towards-VIS-3.I-CPL PL~mountain-GEN from much=game-GEN with PROX.VII.SG-ABS
    Let us celebrate that the hunters have returned from the mountains with a good catch.

Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses are formed with a nominalized verb as the object of a postposition. As with nominalized complement clauses, overt subjects of the subclause are cast in the genitive.

  • Ikpahohcamomǫʔ oma pahoʔconąʔi.
    ik-paho-hca-mo-mę-oʔ oma paho-ʔco-ną-ʔi
    2PL.POSS-walk-towards-CPL-VN-GEN with walk-away-1PL-IRR
    We will leave when you arrive.
  • Maci pątaʔcoʔnętamo yatoʔ ńęʔka ewecoyaćkiʔmǫʔ sąʔ.
    maci-Ø pąta-ʔco-ʔo-nęta-mo yata-oʔ ńęʔka-Ø e-weco-ya-će-kiʔ-mę-oʔ sąʔ
    bear-ABS reach-away-DIR-1PL>3.II-CPL PROX.II.SG-GEN honey-ABS 3SG.POSS-eat-VIS-3.V-PROG-VN-GEN at
    We sneaked away from the bear while it was eating honey.
  • Kńaćkamęno ćtwećekamǫʔ sąʔ, yeyeći laʔpaloʔkńǫ.
    kńaćka-mę-ro-Ø ć-twe-ćeka-mę-oʔ sąʔ, ye~yeći-Ø laʔpa-loʔ-kńǫ
    sit.together-VN-HON-ABS 2SG.POSS-LOC-sit-VN-GEN at, PL~arrow-ABS steal-EVID-3>3.III
    He must have stolen the arrows when you were attending the village meeting.

Valence adjustment

Causativization

Causativization increases the valence of a verb by adding an agent. When added to lexically intransitive verbs where the subject is an experiencer, the causative suffix simply adds an ergative argument, which is typically interpreted as bringing about the state that the subject is experiencing. This type of causativization can be combined with an applicative prefix, with no major effect on the semantics.

  • Kwela ńępeyaho.
    kwela-Ø ńępe-ya-ho
    child-ABS sleep-VIS-3.I
    The child sleeps.
  • Emineʔ ekwela ńęperayakwa.
    e-mina-eʔ e-kwela-Ø ńępe-ra-ya-kwa
    3SG.POSS-mother-ERG 3SG.POSS-child-ABS sleep-CAUS-VIS-3>3.I
    The mother puts her child to sleep.
  • Emineʔ ekwela home meʔńęperayakse.
    e-mina-eʔ e-kwela-Ø home-Ø mek-ńępe-ra-ya-kse
    3SG.POSS-mother-ERG 3SG.POSS-child-ABS song-ABS INSTR-sleep-CAUS-VIS-3>3.VII
    The mother puts her child to sleep with a lullaby.

In order to portray the causation of the described event as indirect and/or accidental, the added agent may be rendered as the object of the postposition elka 'due to' instead of appearing as a core argument in the ergative case (note the intransitive agreement suffix in the following example).

  • Tahmoraʔwa noʔ elka.
    tahmo-ra-ʔo-wa na-oʔ elka
    fall-CAUS-DIR-3.I 1SG-GEN due_to
    I accidentally made him fall (lit. He was made to fall because of me).

Causativized intransitive verbs may also appear without any reference to the added agent at all. In such constructions, the verb generally takes on a permissive meaning:

  • La kipceʔ twoleraloʔwase.
    la-Ø kipceʔ-Ø twe-ole-ra-loʔ-wa-se
    man-ABS desert-ABS LOC-die-CAUS-EVID-3.I-3.VII
    The man was left to die in the desert.

When a lexically transitive verb undergoes causativization, the original ergative argument is demoted to a secondary object, which will appear in the absolutive case but does not trigger verbal agreement. Semantically, the demoted agent usually retains its agentive role, and the new agent is understood to have played a key role in starting the action performed by the demoted agent. Again, indirect causation may be indicated by casting the causer as an oblique argument.

  • Soleʔ aśę yaho tǫhnoskwekwa.
    solo-eʔ aśę-Ø yaho-Ø tǫhno-s-kwe-kwa
    warrior-ERG woman-ABS PROX.I.SG-ABS have_sex_with-CAUS-ASS-3>3.I
    The warrior forced the woman to fuck him, I guess.
  • Toʔ tatahkoʔ elka, na toʔ śelehe ćosąnapǫkse.
    ta-oʔ ta~tahka-oʔ elka, na-Ø ta-oʔ śe~śehe-Ø ćosą-na-pǫ-kse
    2SG-GEN PL~effort-GEN due_to, 1SG-ABS 2SG-GEN PL~goal-ABS be_curious_about-CAUS-SENS-3>3.VII
    Your actions have made me curious about your goals (lit. Because of your actions, I have been made curious about your goals).

Ditransitive verbs can also be causativized. Since this creates a tetravalent verb, one of the four arguments must be expressed obliquely, either the original agent or the original secondary object. In the former case, the postpositions śe 'via' or nene 'across' can be used (with the second of these implying non-volitional involvement of the causee); in the latter case, the demoted secondary object may appear with almost any postposition, most typically kǫpe 'towards'.

  • Pcahoʔ nene etohnęʔ kaca psanǫ enaspǫkta.
    pcaha-oʔ nene e-tohną-eʔ kaca-Ø psanǫ-Ø ena-s-pǫ-kta
    boy-GEN across 3SG.POSS-father-ERG friend-ABS knife-ABS give-CAUS-SENS-3>3.II
    His father made the boy give the knife to his friend (in spite of his objections).
  • Neʔ kwa kokwoho piʔehparaʔǫtmo mǫńoʔ kǫpe.
    na-eʔ kwa-Ø kwo~kwoho-Ø piʔehpa-ra-ʔo-ɴta-mo me~meńo-oʔ kǫpe
    1SG-ERG OBV.I.SG-ABS PL~wolf-ABS protect_from-CAUS-DIR-1SG>3.II-CPL PL~sheep-GEN towards
    I made him protect the sheep from wolves.

In case a ditransitive verb is subject to both causativization and applicativization, it is common to incorporate the primary object into the verb in order to prevent the clause from having too many overt arguments:

  • Neʔ kwa ćępesso mekpiʔehpakwohraʔǫtmo mǫńoʔ kǫpe.
    na-eʔ kwa-Ø ćępesso-Ø mek-piʔehpa-<kwoho>-ra-ʔo-ɴta-mo me~meńo-oʔ kǫpe
    1SG-ERG OBV.I.SG-ABS wooden_wall-ABS INSTR-protect_from-<wolf>-CAUS-DIR-1SG>3.II-CPL PL~sheep-GEN towards
    I made him protect the sheep from wolves by a fence (lit. I made him wolf-protect the sheep by a fence).

De-agentivization

To deemphasize the agent of a transitive verb and consequently emphasize the patient, the agent can be omitted. Note that the verb may or may not show agreement with the agent: In the first case, the focus is simply shifted towards the absolutive argument while the verb remains transitive; in the second case, the verb is instead detransitivized by removing all reference to the agent. For most verbs, detransitivization results in a mediopassive interpretation of the event. (A full passive can be formed by re-adding the agent as an oblique argument; the semantic connection between the agent and the patient remains fairly indirect though.)

  • Sohceʔ ćehpo wecoyakta.
    sohca-eʔ ćehpo-Ø weco-ya-kta
    hunter-ERG deer-ABS eat-VIS-3>3.II
    The hunter ate the deer.
  • Ćehpo wecoyakta.
    ćehpo-Ø weco-ya-kta
    deer-ABS eat-VIS-3>3.II
    He ate the deer.
  • Ćehpo wecoyata.
    ćehpo weco-ya-ta
    deer-ABS eat-VIS-3.II
    The deer was eaten.
  • Ćehpo wecoyata sohcoʔ elka.
    ćehpo weco-ya-ta sohca-oʔ elka
    deer-ABS eat-VIS-3.II hunter-GEN due_to
    The deer was eaten by the hunter (lit. because of the hunter).

Reflexives and reciprocals

Reflexives and reciprocals are not formed by valence reduction. Instead, they are expressed by using a pronoun coreferential with the agent as the primary object of the verb, which itself takes transitive agreement. Typically, an anaphoric personal pronoun is used for this purpose, often prefixed with the deictic proclitic śe= 'this' or with the adjectival prefix tąc- 'same' (the former can be used for both reflexives and reciprocals, the latter for reflexives only). In 1st and 2nd person reflexives, the overt pronouns may be dropped because verbal agreement is unambiguous already.

  • Yaheʔ (śe)yaho hesayakwa.
    yaho-eʔ (śe=)yaho-Ø hesa-ya-kwa
    PROX.I.SG-ERG (this=)PROX.I.SG-ABS cut-VIS-3>3.I
    He cut himself.
  • Hesapǫnna.
    hesa-pǫ-nna
    cut-SENS-1SG>1SG
    I cut myself.
  • Yokwiʔ (śe)yoʔ ćeltayakwa.
    yokwe-eʔ (śe=)yoʔ ćelta-ya-kwa
    PROX.I.PL-ERG (this=)PROX.I.PL.ABS see-VIS-3>3.I
    They see themselves. / They see each other.
  • Yokwiʔ tąćoʔ ćeltayakwa.
    yokwe-eʔ tąc=yoʔ ćelta-ya-kwa
    PROX.I.PL-ERG same=PROX.I.PL.ABS see-VIS-3>3.I
    They see themselves (e.g. mirrored on the surface of water).

Noun incorporation

In order to deemphasize the patient and emphasize the agent, the patient can simply be omitted without valence adjustment, or it can be incorporated within the verb, which reduces the verb's valence by one and has the effect of portraying the patient as non-specific and the action as something conventionally done to patients of that sort. The incorporated object appears right after the verb stem (following any derivational morphemes but preceding suffixal inflection), and the agent is cast in the absolutive case:

  • Neʔ toca kęhtaʔǫce.
    na-eʔ toca-Ø kęhta-ʔo-ɴce
    1SG-ERG house-ABS build-DIR-1SG>3.VII
    I built the house.
  • Neʔ kęhtaʔǫce.
    na-eʔ kęhta-ʔo-ɴce
    1SG-ERG build-DIR-1SG>3.VII
    I built it.
  • Na kęhtatocaʔǫ.
    na-Ø kęhta-<toca>-ʔo-ɴ
    1SG-ABS build-<house>-DIR-1SG
    I built a house (lit. I house-built).

In ditransitive verbs, only the primary absolutive may be incorporated. The result is a monotransitive verb with an incorporated theme, which may then itself be detransitivized by removing the agent.

  • Seʔ aśę pǫki enaʔnęńǫ.
    sa-eʔ aśę-Ø pǫki-Ø ena-ʔo-nęta
    1PL-ERG woman-ABS bowl-ABS give-DIR-1PL>3.II
    We gave the bowl to the woman.
  • Seʔ aśę enapǫkiʔnęma.
    sa-eʔ aśę-Ø ena-<pǫki>-ʔo-nęma
    1PL-ERG woman-ABS give-<bowl>-DIR-1PL>3.I
    We gave the woman a bowl (lit. We bowl-gave the woman).
  • Aśę enapǫkiʔwa.
    aśę-Ø ena-<pǫki>-ʔo-wa
    woman-ABS give-<bowl>-DIR-3.I
    The woman was given a bowl (lit. The woman was bowl-given).

Applicative verbs may incorporate either the patient or the applied object. However, the latter is only possible if the clause does not contain a patient (as the last two examples demonstrate), because even if noun class agreement would disambiguate in theory, any single overt absolutive argument of an applicative verb will be interpreted as the applied object. Note also that incorporated applied objects still trigger agreement on the verb, and that the agent consequently does not get promoted to absolutive.

  • Natohnęʔ soha psanǫ mekośśamąkńǫ.
    na-tohną-eʔ soha-Ø psanǫ-Ø mek-ośśa-mą-kńǫ
    1SG.POSS-father-ERG leopard-ABS knife-ABS INSTR-kill-REP-3>3.III
    My father killed the leopard with a knife.
  • Natohnęʔ psanǫ mekośśasohamąkńǫ.
    na-tohną-eʔ psanǫ-Ø mek-ośśa-<soha>-mą-kńǫ
    1SG.POSS-father-ERG knife-ABS INSTR-kill-<leopard>-REP-3>3.III
    My father killed a leopard with the knife (lit. My father leopard-killed with the knife).
  • Natohnęʔ mekośśapsanǫmąkńǫ.
    na-tohną-eʔ mek-ośśa-<psanǫ>-mą-kńǫ
    1SG.POSS-father-ERG INSTR-kill-<knife>-REP-3>3.III
    My father killed it with a knife (lit. My father knife-killed it).
  • *Natohnęʔ soha mekośśapsanǫmąkńǫ.
    na-tohną-eʔ soha-Ø mek-ośśa-<psanǫ>-mą-kńǫ
    1SG.POSS-father-ERG leopard-ABS INSTR-kill-<knife>-REP-3>3.III
    (ungrammatical)
  • *Natohnęʔ soha mekośśapsanǫmąkta.
    na-tohną-eʔ soha-Ø mek-ośśa-<psanǫ>-mą-kta
    1SG.POSS-father-ERG leopard-ABS INSTR-kill-<knife>-REP-3>3.II
    *My father killed a knife with the leopard. (nonsensical)

Noun incorporation is not possible with verbs that are lexically intransitive.

Syntactic transformations

Topicalization

Almost any sentence constituent may be topicalized by being left-dislocated to the beginning of the clause. If the topicalized element is a 3rd person core argument of the verb (including applied objects), it is mandatorily co-referenced by an overt pronoun in the clause. Most commonly, proximate/obviative pronouns are used, although demonstratives are also seen.

  • Śceʔkoʔ sąʔ, ikmǫna cą yaśiʔnęmihma.
    ś=ceʔka-oʔ sąʔ, ik-mi~mina-Ø cą yaśi-ʔo-nęma-ihma
    this=tribe-GEN in, 1PL.POSS-PL~mother-ABS EMPH marry-DIR-1PL>3.I-NEG
    In this tribe, we do not marry our mothers.
  • Horoʔ etęʔpi, yaho tǫhnomąkwa.
    hora-oʔ e-tęʔpi-Ø, yaho-Ø tǫhno-mą-kwa
    chief-GEN 3SG.POSS-daughter-ABS, PROX.I.SG-ABS have_sex_with-REP-3>3.I
    The chief's daughter, that's who he apparently had sex with.

Argument postposing

Aside from topicalization, Tmaśareʔ permits another strategy for emphasis, which is right-dislocation of core arguments to the end of the clause. This construction is not particularly common, but increasingly being employed as a rhetorical device in storytelling and upper-register speech, and it is also used colloquially to convey enthusiasm or surprise.

There are some important restrictions on the formation of postpositive constructions. Most significantly, if any of the core constituents of a transitive clause is moved (agent and patient in monotransitives, agent and theme in ditransitives), then the other core constituent will be postposed as well, or else omitted entirely. In fact, it is common to postpose only a single argument, and to drop all others. The recipient of a ditransitive verb will only appear as such in post-verbal position if there is also an overtly postposed or else incorporated theme; otherwise it will be converted into a benefactive applicative. Applied objects, on the other hand, may only be postposed if any other absolutive-marked participants are either non-overt or incorporated. Note also that the basic order of noun phrases remains the same as in ordinary head-final clauses (i.e. ergative, secondary absolutive, primary absolutive).

  • Saląʔkną canę maciʔ.
    salą-ʔo-kną canę maci-eʔ
    attack-DIR-3>1PL suddenly bear-ERG
    Suddenly a bear attacked us.
  • Enańępemęńakwa śehomiʔ ǫkkekwela.
    ena-<ńępe-mę>-ya-kwa śe=home-eʔ ǫk-ke~kwela-Ø
    give-<sleep-VN>-VIS-3>3.I this=song-ERG 1PL.POSS-PL~child-ABS
    This song seems to have put our children to sleep.
  • Nǫćoʔ ǫcąʔ caśętaʔǫma kcektęʔpi!
    nǫće-oʔ ǫcąʔ ca-śęta-ʔo-ɴma k-cek=tęʔpi-Ø
    evening-GEN during BEN-speak_poetically-DIR-1SG>3.I 3PL.POSS-beautiful=daughter-ABS
    In the evening I really managed to have a flirt with their beautiful daughter!

Texts

The horse and the sheep

Main article: The horse and the sheep


Hąse mǫńoʔma.

Weyoʔ moʔ hąsiʔ twimeńo ćeltamąkta. Aśęʔ takwaro meńoʔ tola hesaʔcoyakće, kweleʔ śirotoʔ taya kwisaʔcoyakye, leʔ nahtorota ośśayakta. Cakwoʔ kayoʔ naʔ, męcaro meńo kwekwoyata.

Hąsiʔ takwata meńo śeśi sacemąkse: "Yeyeńaʔoʔ cą kwiśehą mǫńo ktahtatmęʔ oyaspǫknakiʔ."

Meńeʔ hąse śeśi hanimąkse: "Śeśi ćmeʔyeyaćkaseʔmę ćiyeʔǫce. Kwita wekco yeleʔta rahąse ehapaʔtayećimęʔ ewecomęʔma, śeśiʔ na oyaspǫknakiʔ. Toʔ wekto wihańa kmektahtasewimę, yeyeńaʔ menaloʔwahma. Otweʔnǫʔ sąʔ śeʔ menahoʔi. Rayeśoʔ sąʔ roʔ caca ta yeyeńaʔ cwehpotwihćehoʔi!"

Yaśe eyeyasemǫʔ kwoco, hąse takace kyelehcamątasemo.

Interlinear gloss

Hąse
hąse-Ø
horse-ABS
mǫńoʔma.
me~meńo-Ø=ʔma
PL~sheep-ABS=and
The horse and the sheep.


Weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
moʔ
moʔ
at
hąsiʔ
hąse-eʔ
horse-ERG
twimeńo
twi=meńo-Ø
some=sheep-ABS
ćeltamąkta.
ćelta-mą-kta
see-REP-3>3.II
A horse on a hill saw some sheep.
Aśęʔ
aśę-eʔ
woman-ERG
takwaro
takwa-ro
one-ORD
meńoʔ
meńo-oʔ
sheep-GEN
tola
tola-Ø
wool-ABS
hesaʔcoyakće,
hesa-ʔco-ya-kće
cut-away-VIS-3>3.V
A woman was cutting away the wool of the first sheep,
kweleʔ
kwela-eʔ
child-ERG
śirotoʔ
śi-ro-ta-oʔ
two-ORD-CL.II-GEN
taya
taya-Ø
milk-ABS
kwisaʔcoyakye,
kwisa-ʔco-ya-kye
squeeze-away-VIS-3>3.VI
a child was milking a second one,
leʔ
la-eʔ
man-ERG
nahtorota
nahto-ro-ta-Ø
three-ORD-CL.II-ABS
ośśayakta.
ośśa-ya-kta
kill-VIS-3>3.II
a man was slaughtering a third one.
Cakwoʔ
cakwe-oʔ
PROX.I.PL-GEN
kayoʔ
kaya-oʔ
fire-GEN
naʔ,
naʔ
above
męcaro
męca-ro
four-ORD
meńo
meńo-Ø
sheep-ABS
kwekwoyata.
kwekwo-ya-ta
cook-VIS-3.II
On their fire, a fourth sheep was being cooked.
Hąsiʔ
hąse-eʔ
horse-ERG
takwata
takwa-ta-Ø
one-CL.II-ABS
meńo
meńo-Ø
sheep-ABS
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
sacemąkse:
sace-mą-kse
say-REP-3>3.VII
The horse said this to one sheep:
"Yeyeńaʔoʔ
ye~yeńaʔ-oʔ
PL~human-GEN
cą
cą
EMPH
kwiśehą
kwiśe-hą
OBV.VII.SG-ADV
mǫńo
me~meńo-Ø
PL~sheep-ABS
ktahtatmęʔ
k-tahta-ta-mę-eʔ
3PL.POSS-use-3.II-VN-ERG
oyaspǫknakiʔ."
oya-s-pǫ-kna-kiʔ
pain-CAUS-SENS-3>1SG-PROG
"It hurts me that humans use sheep like this."
Meńeʔ
meńo-eʔ
sheep-ERG
hąse
hąse-Ø
horse-ABS
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
hanimąkse:
hani-mą-kse
respond-REP-3>3.VII
The sheep responded this to the horse:
"Śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
ćmeʔyeyaćkaseʔmę
ć-mek-yeya-ćka-se-ʔi-mę-Ø
2SG.POSS-INSTR-hear-DUR-3.VII-IRR-VN-ABS
ćiyeʔǫce."
ćiye-ʔo-ɴce
want-DIR-1SG>3.VII
"I want that you listen to me."
"Kwita
kwita-Ø
OBV.II.SG-ABS
wekco
wek-co
quick-ADV
yeleʔta
yele-ʔo-ta
run-DIR-3.II
rahąse
ra=hąse-Ø
that=horse-ABS
ehapaʔtayećimęʔ
e-hapaʔta-<yeći>-mę-eʔ
3SG.POSS-shoot-<arrow>-VN-ERG
ewecomęʔma,
e-weco-mę-eʔ-ʔma
3SG.POSS-eat-VN-ERG=and
śeśiʔ
śeśi-eʔ
this.VII.SG-ERG
na
na-Ø
1SG-ABS
oyaspǫknakiʔ."
oya-s-pǫ-kna-kiʔ
pain-CAUS-SENS-3>1SG-PROG
"The horse that runs swiftly being shot and eaten, this is what hurts me."
"Toʔ
ta-oʔ
2SG-GEN
wekto
wek-to-Ø
quick-_ness-ABS
wihańa
wi=hańa-Ø
Q=spirit-ABS
kmektahtasewimę,
k-mek-tahta-se-wi-mę-Ø
3PL.POSS-INSTR-use-3.VII-Q-VN-ABS
yeyeńaʔ
ye~yeńaʔ-Ø
PL~human-ABS
menaloʔwahma."
mena-loʔ-wa-hma
know-EVID-3.I-NEG
"How they can use your swiftness, humans do not yet know."
"Otweʔnǫʔ
otweʔną-oʔ
next_year-GEN
sąʔ
sąʔ
in
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
menahoʔi."
mena-ho-ʔi
know-3.I-IRR
"But next year they will know."
"Rayeśoʔ
ra=yeśe-oʔ
that=day-GEN
sąʔ
sąʔ
in
roʔ
roʔ
therefore
caca
caca
also
ta
ta-Ø
2SG-ABS
yeyeńaʔ
ye~yeńaʔ-Ø
PL~human-ABS
cwehpotwihćehoʔi!"
c-wehpo-twih-ćeho-ʔi
BEN-slave-become-2SG>3.I-IRR
"On that day, you too will become a slave of the humans!"
Yaśe
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
eyeyasemǫʔ
e-yeya-se-mę-oʔ
3SG.POSS-hear-3.VII-VN-GEN
kwoco,
kwoco
after
hąse
hąse-Ø
horse-ABS
takace
takace-Ø
grassland-ABS
kyelehcamątasemo.
k-yele-hca-mą-ta-se-mo
LAT-run-towards-REP-3.II-3.VII-CPL
After hearing this, the horse fled towards the plain.

Creation myth

Sǫsseńaheʔ wihoma kęhtaʔokse, yaśe śeʔ ećehca mekihmahtayakse, ca tahnaʔyapǫse. Wihoma cenaćehcihcmǫʔ kǫpe, sǫsseńaheʔ wihomoʔ sąʔ haho kwehąhńa polaloʔkwa. Taloʔkse cą cǫke, wihomeʔ tǫ ećehca eniyakse. Ca rokwoʔ kyaratwihmǫʔ olemǫʔma oma, tąctoco kwahiʔcoloʔwa kwehąhńa.

Yaśe kęhtaksemo tmoʔ sąʔ, kwakwe cą sǫsseńaheʔ yęsohcaloʔkwa sǫssą, śokwe lalaʔyaʔwa. Śokwe cą, cpolaʔokwa hakpolaha: kwaco. Halala kwaco mekćęʔnaʔwase kwihoramǫʔ cehtǫʔ kwoco, kąta ca kmamąsoʔ olemǫʔ oma, oleloʔtayeʔi śeʔ kwehąhńa. Cpoktahćkaloʔkse, sǫsseńaho ca ćawiʔwa.

Cohąńeyeńaʔeʔ kwe siʔtatahka yokwoʔ kwaco meʔyoʔpeloʔkse. Śehakpolaha yekoloʔksihma ktahco yekwe, poʔce poʔwaroloʔkse ca ćećehą kekehka kakahpaʔma kwiną sćakęńakta. Śeśoʔ aro ca, kwakwe ayećkaʔwa ońoyońǫnańa ćeʔśoyahmo.

Sǫsseńaho roʔ ahparayaho, yaheʔ ca yeyeńaʔ epiwa węćaloʔksemo. Rayeśoʔ kwoco, yepąʔkwaco wihoma ckihoʔnahcaloʔksihma ńęso. Sǫsseńaheʔ laloʔ kpihkamę taholoʔksemo. Lala kohpco kwaco mekćęćkaloʔwihma kwihoramǫʔ oma. Kąta kehće kwaco lǫćatańaʔkse yeʔyahketańaʔkse yekotańaʔkseʔma, yelco tǫ kwiśe kwahiʔceʔi, laleʔ yeca eńopahrayąpaʔkseyeʔi cą. Caca iktahco lǫćakwacokwehoyeʔi yeʔyahkekwacokwehoyeʔiʔma, waʔąʔkseʔi ćocwo ckǫnalano. Kwaʔśę cą wihoskwelaʔwayeʔi, kwecńǫhąhńaro cą sokwatwiʔwaʔi ca kćećehca mekihmahtaʔkseʔi, caca kmamąsoʔ olemǫʔ oma, oleʔtaʔi eńo cą laloʔ kwehąhńa.

Śeśoʔ elka ońotatańaʔnęceʔi kwaco hayehco yęsohcaʔnęceʔi yekohcaʔnęceʔiʔma yaśe, epoʔwaromę ca yecąʔnęceʔi yaśe cą.

Interlinear gloss

Sǫsseńaheʔ
sǫs=heńaho-eʔ
primary=priest-ERG
wihoma
wihoma-Ø
world-ABS
kęhtaʔokse,
kęhta-ʔo-kse
build-DIR-3>3.VII
yaśe
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
ećehca
e-ćehca-Ø
3SG.POSS-life-ABS
mekihmahtayakse,
mek-ihma-hta-ya-kse
INSTR-without-RES-VIS-3>3.VII
ca
ca
and
tahnaʔyapǫse.
tahna-ʔyV-pǫ-se
cold-be-SENS-3.VII
The First Priest created the world, but it was without life, and it was cold.
Wihoma
wihoma-Ø
world-ABS
cenaćehcihcmǫʔ
c-ena-<ćehca>-hca-mę-oʔ
BEN-give-<life>-towards-VN-GEN
kǫpe,
kǫpe
towards
sǫsseńaheʔ
sǫs=heńaho-eʔ
primary=priest-ERG
wihomoʔ
wihoma-oʔ
world-GEN
sąʔ
sąʔ
in
haho
haho-Ø
all.I-ABS
kwehąhńa
kwe-ha~hańa-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~spirit-ABS
polaloʔkwa.
pola-loʔ-kwa
donate-EVID-3>3.I
In order to give the world life, the First Priest endowed all things in the world with their spirits.
Taloʔkse
ta-loʔ-kse
do-EVID-3>3.VII
cą
cą
EMPH
cǫke,
cǫke
skillfully
wihomeʔ
wihoma-eʔ
world-ERG
tǫ
tǫ
because
ećehca
e-ćehca-Ø
3SG.POSS-life-ABS
eniyakse.
eni-ya-kse
be_equipped_with-VIS-3>3.VII
He did so skillfully, because obviously the world had life.
Ca
ca
and
rokwoʔ
rokwe-oʔ
that.I.PL-GEN
kyaratwihmǫʔ
k-yara-twih-mę-oʔ
3PL.POSS-old-become-VN-GEN
olemǫʔma
ole-mę-oʔ=ʔma
die-VN-GEN=and
oma,
oma
with
tąctoco
tąctoco
simultaneously
kwahiʔcoloʔwa
kwahi-ʔco-loʔ-wa
be_gone-away-EVID-3.I
kwehąhńa.
kwe-ha~hańa-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~spirit-ABS
And when the things grew old and died, their spirits died with them.


Yaśe
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VI.SG-ABS
kęhtaksemo
kęhta-kse-mo
build-3>3.VII-CPL
tmoʔ
tma-oʔ
there-GEN
sąʔ,
sąʔ
in
kwakwe
kwakwe-Ø
OBV.I.PL-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
sǫsseńaheʔ
sǫs=heńaho-eʔ
primary=priest-ERG
yęsohcaloʔkwa
yęso-hca-loʔ-kwa
love-towards-EVID-3>3.I
sǫssą,
sǫs-hą
primary-ADV
śokwe
śokwe-Ø
this.I.PL-ABS
lalaʔyaʔwa.
la~la-ʔyV-ʔo-wa
PL~man-be-DIR-3.I
In that which he had created, those which were most favoured by the First Priest were men.
Śokwe
śokwe-Ø
this.I.PL-ABS
cą,
cą
EMPH
cpolaʔokwa
c-pola-ʔo-kwa
BEN-donate-DIR-3>3.I
hakpolaha:
hak=polaha-Ø
divine=gift-ABS
kwaco.
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
To them, he gave a divine gift: kwaco.
Halala
ha=la~la-Ø
all=PL~man-ABS
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
mekćęʔnaʔwase
mek-ćę-ʔna-ʔo-wa-se
INSTR-full-FACT-DIR-3.I-3.VII
kwihoramǫʔ
k-wihora-mę-oʔ
3PL.POSS-give_birth-VN-GEN
cehtǫʔ
cehtǫ-oʔ
moment-GEN
kwoco,
kwoco
after
All men would be filled with kwaco from the moment of their birth,
kąta
kąta
now
ca
ca
and
kmamąsoʔ
k-ma~mąso-oʔ
3PL.POSS-PL~bone-GEN
olemǫʔ
ole-mę-oʔ
die-VN-GEN
oma,
oma
with
oleloʔtayeʔi
ole-loʔ-ta-ye-ʔi
die-EVID-3.II-NEG-IRR
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
kwehąhńa.
kwe-ha~hańa-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~spirit-ABS
and now their spirits would not die when their bodies did.
Cpoktahćkaloʔkse,
cpo=ktah-ćka-loʔk-se
very=suitable-DUR-EVID-3.VII
sǫsseńaho
sǫs=heńaho-Ø
primary=priest-ABS
ca
ca
and
ćawiʔwa.
ćawi-ʔo-wa
smile-DIR-3.I
This was very good, and the First Priest smiled.


Cohąńeyeńaʔeʔ
cohą=ye~yeńaʔ-eʔ
original=PL~human-ERG
kwe
kwe
but
siʔtatahka
siʔ=ta~tahka-Ø
wrong=PL~action-ABS
yokwoʔ
yokwe-oʔ
PROX.I.PL-GEN
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
meʔyoʔpeloʔkse.
mek-yoʔpe-loʔ-kse
INSTR-begin-EVID-3>3.VII
But the first men began to do bad things with their kwaco.
Śehakpolaha
śe=hak=polaha-Ø
this=divine=gift-ABS
yekoloʔksihma
yeko-loʔ-kse-ihma
honor-EVID-3>3.VII-NEG
ktahco
ktah-co
suitable-ADV
yekwe,
yekwe
but_not
They did not value this divine gift like they should,
poʔce
poʔce
on_the_contrary
poʔwaroloʔkse
poʔwaro-loʔ-kse
abandon-EVID-3>3.VII
ca
ca
and
ćećehą
će~ćehą-Ø
PL~animal-ABS
kekehka
ke~kehka-Ø
PL~rock-ABS
kakahpaʔma
ka~kahpa-Ø=ʔma
PL~tree-ABS=and
kwiną
kwiną
even
sćakęńakta.
c-ćakę-ya-kta
BEN-distribute-VIS-3>3.II
instead they wasted it, and even shared it with animals, rocks and trees.
Śeśoʔ
śeśi-oʔ
this.VII.SG-GEN
aro
aro
from
ca,
ca
and
kwakwe
kwakwe-Ø
OBV.I.PL-ABS
ayećkaʔwa
aye-ćka-ʔo-wa
dangerous-DUR-DIR-3.I
ońoyońǫnańa
ońo=yǫ~yǫnańa-Ø
eternal=PL~demon-ABS
ćeʔśoyahmo.
ćeʔśo-ya-ho-mo
appear-VIS-3.I-CPL
And it is from this that the dangerous immortal demons have come.


Sǫsseńaho
sǫs=heńaho-Ø
primary=priest-ABS
roʔ
roʔ
therefore
ahparayaho,
ahpara-ya-ho
enrage-VIS-3.I
yaheʔ
yaho-eʔ
PROX.I.SG-ERG
ca
ca
and
yeyeńaʔ
ye~yeńaʔ-Ø
PL~human-ABS
epiwa
e-piwa-Ø
3SG.POSS-favor-ABS
węćaloʔksemo.
węća-loʔ-kse-mo
deprive-EVID-3>3.VII-CPL
Therefore, the First Priest got angry, and he withdrew his favour from humans.
Rayeśoʔ
ra=yeśe-oʔ
that=day-GEN
kwoco,
kwoco
after
yepąʔkwaco
ye=pąk=kwaco-Ø
no=new=strength-ABS
wihoma
wihoma-Ø
world-ABS
ckihoʔnahcaloʔksihma
c-kihoʔna-hca-loʔ-kse-ihma
BEN-pour-towards-EVID-3>3.VII-NEG
ńęso.
ńęso
finally
From that day on, he would not pour any new kwaco into the world.
Sǫsseńaheʔ
sǫs=heńaho-eʔ
primary=priest-ERG
laloʔ
la~la-oʔ
PL~man-GEN
kpihkamę
k-pihka-mę-Ø
3PL.POSS-exist-VN-ABS
taholoʔksemo.
taho-loʔ-kse-mo
bend-EVID-3>3.VII-CPL
The First Priest changed the nature of men.
Lala
la~la-Ø
PL~man-ABS
kohpco
kohpco
accordingly
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
mekćęćkaloʔwihma
mek-ćę-ćka-loʔ-wa-ihma
INSTR-full-DUR-EVID-3.I-NEG
kwihoramǫʔ
k-wihora-mę-oʔ
3PL.POSS-give_birth-VN-GEN
oma.
oma
with
As a result, men are no longer filled with kwaco from birth.
Kąta
kąta
now
kehće
kehće
instead
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
lǫćatańaʔkse
lǫća-tańa-ʔo-kse
share-OBL-DIR-3>3.VII
yeʔyahketańaʔkse
yeʔ=yahke-tańa-ʔo-kse
safe=keep-OBL-DIR-3>3.VII
yekotańaʔkseʔma,
yeko-tańa-ʔo-kse=ʔma
honor-OBL-DIR-3>3.VII=and
Instead, they now have to share their kwaco, conserve it and treat it with respect,
yelco
yelco
else
tǫ
tǫ
because
kwiśe
kwiśe-Ø
OBV.VII.SG-ABS
kwahiʔceʔi,
kwahi-ʔo-se-ʔi
be_lost-DIR-3.VII-IRR
laleʔ
la~la-eʔ
PL~man-ERG
yeca
yeca
and_not
eńopahrayąpaʔkseyeʔi
eńopaho-ra-yąpa-ʔo-kse-ye-ʔi
return-CAUS-ABIL-DIR-3>3.VII-NEG-IRR
cą.
cą
EMPH
because otherwise it will be lost, and men will not be able to make it return.
Caca
caca
also
iktahco
i=ktah-co
not=suitable-ADV
lǫćakwacokwehoyeʔi
lǫća-<kwaco>-kwe-ho-ye-ʔi
share-<strength>-ASS-3.I-NEG-IRR
yeʔyahkekwacokwehoyeʔiʔma,
yeʔ=yahke-<kwaco>-kwe-ho-ye-ʔi-ʔma
safe=keep-<strength>-ASS-3.I-NEG-IRR=and
And if they do not share their kwaco properly and conserve it,
waʔąʔkseʔi
waʔą-ʔo-kse-ʔi
clash_with-DIR-3>3.VII-IRR
ćocwo
ćocwo
soon
ckǫnalano.
ckǫ=la~lano-Ø
severe=PL~outcome-ABS
they will soon encounter dire consequences.
Kwaʔśę
kw-aʔ~aśę-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~wife-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
wihoskwelaʔwayeʔi,
wihora-<kwela>-ʔo-wa-ye-ʔi
give_birth-<child>-DIR-3.I-NEG-IRR
Their women will not bear children,
kwecńǫhąhńaro
kwe-cńǫ=ha~hańaro-Ø
3PL.POSS-noble=PL~ancestor-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
sokwatwiʔwaʔi
sokwa-twi-ʔo-wa-ʔi
be_silent-become-DIR-3.I-IRR
ca
ca
and
kćećehca
k-će~ćehca-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~life-ABS
mekihmahtaʔkseʔi,
mek-ihma-hta-ʔo-kse-ʔi
INSTR-without-RES-DIR-3>3.VII-IRR
their noble ancestors will become silent and lifeless,
caca
caca
also
kmamąsoʔ
k-ma~mąso-oʔ
3PL.POSS-PL~bone-GEN
olemǫʔ
ole-mę-oʔ
die-VN-GEN
oma,
oma
with
oleʔtaʔi
ole-ʔo-ta-ʔi
die-DIR-3.II-IRR
eńo
eńo
again
cą
cą
EMPH
laloʔ
la~la-oʔ
PL~man-GEN
kwehąhńa.
kwe-ha~hańa-Ø
3PL.POSS-PL~spirit-ABS
and the spirits of men will again die with their bodies.


Śeśoʔ
śeśi-oʔ
this.VII.SG-GEN
elka
elka
due_to
ońotatańaʔnęceʔi
ońota-tańa-ʔo-nęce-ʔi
be_determined-OBL-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
hayehco
hayehco
always
yęsohcaʔnęceʔi
yęso-hca-ʔo-nęce-ʔi
love-towards-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR
yekohcaʔnęceʔiʔma
yeko-hca-ʔo-nęce-ʔi=ʔma
honor-towards-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR=and
yaśe,
yaśe
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
This is why we must make sure that we revere kwaco and treat it with respect,
epoʔwaromę
e-poʔwaro-mę-Ø
3SG.POSS-abandon-VN-ABS
ca
ca
and
yecąʔnęceʔi
yecą-ʔo-nęce-ʔi
stop-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR
yaśe
yaśe
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
cą.
cą
EMPH
and that we stop it from being wasted.
(Based on the creation myth of the Proto-Westerners, written by Dewrad.)

Hunter Rock

Sohcakehka.

Lącweweʔnǫʔ hihmoʔ, śecahma twepahpątmąmase sǫssohca. Hapaʔtayećiyąʔmąma koʔ cǫke, roʔ kwińihtamąma kohpco, cmę ca pǫkmǫ halćaʔęnoʔwa. Haho polpapeńehcamąkwa, "Yećehęʔ noʔ ehona pątaʔcoyąpaʔkńǫńe koʔ!"

Hiya śeʔ yeyapomiloʔta tohmotwihloʔtaʔma. Ǫtahpilcaloʔkwa śeteʔ, yaho ca hiwahka mekońoʔnaloʔkye. Nehi, sayoʔ ina, sohca kehka kwetaraloʔwatmo cą.

Śkehka... yasohcaʔyamąta.

Interlinear gloss


Sohcakehka.
sohca-kehka-Ø
hunter-rock-ABS
Hunter Rock.


Lącweweʔnǫʔ
ląc=we~weʔną-oʔ
many=PL~year-GEN
hihmoʔ,
hihmoʔ
upward
śecahma
śe=cahma-Ø
this=land-ABS
twepahpątmąmase
twe-pahpąta-mą-wa-se
LOC-explore-REP-3.I-3.VII
sǫssohca.
sǫs-sohca-Ø
major-hunter-ABS
Long ago, a great hunter roamed this land.
Hapaʔtayećiyąʔmąma
hapaʔta-<yeći>-yąʔ-mą-wa
shoot-<arrow>-ABIL-REP-3.I
koʔ
koʔ
indeed
cǫke,
cǫke
skillfully
He could shoot arrows very skillfully,
roʔ
roʔ
therefore
kwińihtamąma
kwińi-hta-mą-wa
shine-RES-REP-3.I
kohpco,
kohpco
accordingly
cmę
cmę
CIRC
ca
ca
and
pǫkmǫ
pǫkmǫ
gradually
halćaʔęnoʔwa.
hala-<śaʔę>-loʔ-wa
swell-<mind>-EVID-3.I
so he became famous, and with time he also became proud.
Haho
haho-Ø
every:I-ABS
polpapeńehcamąkwa,
polpa-peńe-hca-mą-kwa
loud-tell-towards-REP-3>3.I
He would tell everyone loudly,
"Yećehęʔ
ye=ćehą-eʔ
no=animal-ERG
noʔ
na-oʔ
1SG-GEN
ehona
ehona-Ø
arrowtip-ABS
pątaʔcoyąpaʔkńǫńe
pątaʔco-yąpa-ʔo-kńǫ-ǫńe
escape-ABIL-DIR-3>3.III-NEG:CPL
koʔ!"
koʔ
indeed
"No animal has ever been able to escape the tip of my arrow!"


Hiya
hiya-Ø
snake-ABS
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
yeyapomiloʔta
yeya-<pomi>-loʔ-ta
hear-<word>-EVID-3.II
tohmotwihloʔtaʔma.
tohmo-twih-loʔ-ta=ʔma
angry-become-EVID-3.II=and
However, a snake heard these words and became angry.
Ǫtahpilcaloʔkwa
ǫtahpa-<ilca>-loʔ-kwa
bite-<hand>-EVID-3>3.I
śeteʔ,
śeta-eʔ
this.II.SG-ERG
yaho
yaho-Ø
PROX.I.SG-ABS
ca
ca
and
hiwahka
hiwahka-Ø
snake_venom-ABS
mekońoʔnaloʔkye.
mek-ońo-ʔna-loʔ-kye
INSTR-rigid-FACT-EVID-3>3.VI
It bit him in the hand and paralyzed him with venom.
Nehi,
nehi
alas
sayoʔ
saye-oʔ
night-GEN
ina,
ina
before
sohca
sohca-Ø
hunter-ABS
kehka
kehka-Ø
rock-ABS
kwetaraloʔwatmo
k-weta-ra-loʔ-wa-ta-mo
LAT-be_changed-CAUS-EVID-3.I-3.II-CPL
cą.
cą
EMPH
Alas, before the night came, the hunter had been turned into stone completely.


Śkehka...
śe=kehka-Ø
this=rock-ABS
yasohcaʔyamąta.
ya=sohca-ʔyV-mą-ta
aforementioned=hunter-be-REP-3.II
This rock... it is said that this is him.
(Based on the initial text of the 1st Tumblr Conlang Relay)

The scorpion and the fox

Twolata cmeskwiʔma.

Twolata yąkoʔ ehipę twemenątahmątase, ca nǫkoćaloʔkse wihańoʔ oma yeloso kpątahcaksewi yaśe. Hą ćocwo ćeltaloʔkta cmeskwi, kwitoʔ kǫpe ca koćamąkse enąsoʔ tahco yąki knenokmętasewi yaśe.

Cmeskwiʔ śeśi saćemąkse: "Homętahmaʔi koʔ. Raśi tǫ cmę cayekmęceʔi, teʔ cą saląćehnaʔi, na ca hą ćohe twolerąceʔi."

Twolateʔ kwita cpeńehcamąkta, "Saląkmętahi, ta naʔma kęhco ćohe twoleranęceʔi."

Cmeskwi nǫkoćamąta somomątaʔma ńęso. Twolateʔ roʔ enąso naʔlahcamąkta, cmeskwi ca yoʔpśokamąta. Yąkoʔ ceʔloʔ moʔ śeʔ canę twolateʔ saląhcaloʔkta. Hiwahkeʔ cmę kwitoʔ kwaco kaćahraloʔksekiʔ, cmeskwiʔ ekmeno twolata knokihcamąkta ca mahkmehpamąkta, "Wile cą rasiʔtahka taʔksemo? Ta caca kohpco ćohe twoleraʔćesseʔi!"

"Nehi, yecąńąpaʔǫcǫńe," hanimąkse twolateʔ. "Napihkamęʔńeʔce."

Interlinear gloss

Twolata
twolata-Ø
scorpion-ABS
cmeskwiʔma.
cmeskwi-Ø=ʔma
desert_fox-ABS=and
The scorpion and the fox.


Twolata
twolata-Ø
scorpion-ABS
yąkoʔ
yąki-oʔ
river-GEN
ehipę
e-hipę-Ø
3SG.POSS-shoulder-ABS
twemenątahmątase,
twe-menąta-mą-ta-se
LOC-roam_around-REP-3.II-3.VI,
A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river,
ca
ca
and
nǫkoćaloʔkse
nǫkoća-loʔ-kse
ponder-EVID-3>3.VII
wihańoʔ
wi=hańa-oʔ
Q=spirit-GEN
oma
oma
with
yeloso
yel=oso-Ø
other=edge-ABS
kpątahcaksewi
k-pąta-hca-kse-wi
LAT-reach-towards-3>3.VII-Q
yaśe.
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
and he was wondering how he should get to the other side.
Hą
hą
next
ćocwo
ćocwo
soon
ćeltaloʔkta
ćelta-loʔ-kta
see-EVID-3>3.II
cmeskwi,
cmeskwi-Ø
desert_fox-ABS
Soon he saw a fox,
kwitoʔ
kwita-oʔ
OBV.II.SG-GEN
kǫpe
kǫpe
towards
ca
ca
and
koćamąkse
koća-mą-kse
ask-REP-3>3.VII
enąsoʔ
e-nąso-oʔ
3SG.POSS-back-GEN
tahco
tahco
using
yąki
yąki-Ø
river-ABS
knenokmętasewi
k-nene-okmę-ta-se-wi
LAT-across-carry-3.II-3.VII-Q
yaśe.
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
and he asked him to carry him on his back across the river.


Cmeskwiʔ
cmeskwi-eʔ
desert_fox-ERG
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
saćemąkse:
saće-mą-kse
say-REP-3>3.VII
The fox said,
"Homętahmaʔi
homę-ɴtah-hma-ʔi
help-1SG>2SG-NEG-IRR
koʔ."
koʔ
really
"I will not help you."
"Raśi
raśi-Ø
that.VII.SG-ABS
tǫ
tǫ
because
cmę
cmę
CIRC
cayekmęceʔi,
caye-kwe-ɴce-ʔi
attempt-ASS-1SG>3.VII-IRR
teʔ
ta-eʔ
2SG-ERG
cą
cą
EMPH
saląćehnaʔi,
salą-ćehna-ʔi
stab-2SG>1SG-IRR
na
na-Ø
1SG-ABS
ca
ca
and
hą
hą
next
ćohe
ćohe-Ø
water-ABS
twolerąceʔi."
twe-ole-ra-ɴce-ʔi
LOC-die-CAUS-1SG>3.VII-IRR
"Because if I try that, you will sting me, and I will die in the water."


Twolateʔ
twolata-eʔ
scorpion-ERG
kwita
kwita-Ø
OBV.II.SG-ABS
cpeńehcamąkta,
c-peńe-hca-mą-kta
BEN-tell-towards-REP-3>3.II
The scorpion assured him,
"Saląkmętahi,
salą-kwe-ɴtah-ʔi
stab-ASS-1SG>2SG-IRR
ta
ta-Ø
2SG-ABS
naʔma
na-Ø=ʔma
1SG-ABS=and
kęhco
kęhco
together
ćohe
ćohe-Ø
water-ABS
twoleranęceʔi."
twe-ole-ra-nęce-ʔi
LOC-die-CAUS-1PL>3.VII-IRR
"If I sting you, you and me will both die in the water."


Cmeskwi
cmeskwi-Ø
desert_fox-ABS
nǫkoćamąta
nǫkoća-mą-ta
ponder-REP-3.II
somomątaʔma
somo-mą-ta=ʔma
agree-REP-3.II=and
ńęso.
ńęso
finally
The fox thought about it and finally agreed.
Twolateʔ
twolata-eʔ
scorpion-ERG
roʔ
roʔ
therefore
enąso
e-nąso-Ø
3SG.POSS-back-ABS
naʔlahcamąkta,
naʔla-hca-mą-kta
climb-towards-REP-3>3.II
cmeskwi
cmeskwi-Ø
desert_fox-ABS
ca
ca
and
yoʔpśokamąta.
yoʔpe-śoka-mą-ta
begin-swim-REP-3.II
So the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim.
Yąkoʔ
yąki-oʔ
river-GEN
ceʔloʔ
ceʔla-oʔ
middle-GEN
moʔ
moʔ
at
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
canę
canę
suddenly
twolateʔ
twolata-eʔ
scorpion-ERG
saląhcaloʔkta.
salą-hca-loʔ-kta
stab-towards-EVID-3>3.II
But halfway across the river, the scorpion suddenly stung him.
Hiwahkeʔ
hiwahka-eʔ
poison-ERG
cmę
cmę
CIRC
kwitoʔ
kwita-oʔ
OBV.II.SG-GEN
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
blood-ABS
kaćahraloʔksekiʔ,
kaćah-ra-loʔ-kse-kiʔ
be_stained-CAUS-EVID-3>3.VII-PROG
As the poison was contaminating his blood,
cmeskwiʔ
cmeskwi-eʔ
fox-ERG
ekmeno
e-kmeno-Ø
3SG.POSS-head-ABS
twolata
twolata-Ø
scorpion-ABS
knokihcamąkta
k-noki-hca-mą-kta
LAT-turn_around-towards-REP-3>3.II
ca
ca
and
mahkmehpamąkta,
mahkmehpa-mą-kta
scold-REP-3>3.II
the fox turned his head to the scorpion and scolded him,
"Wile
wile
why
cą
cą
EMPH
rasiʔtahka
ra=siʔ=tahka-Ø
that=bad=effort-ABS
taʔksemo?"
tah-ʔo-kse-mo
do-DIR-3>3.VII-CPL
"Why did you do such a stupid thing?"
"Ta
ta-Ø
2SG-ABS
caca
caca
also
kohpco
kohpco
accordingly
ćohe
ćohe-Ø
water-ABS
twoleraʔćesseʔi!"
twe-ole-ra-ʔo-ćesse-ʔi
LOC-die-CAUS-DIR-2SG>3.VII-IRR
"Now you will die in the water, too!"


"Nehi,
nehi
alas
yecąńąpaʔǫcǫńe,"
yecą-yąpa-ʔo-ɴce-ǫńe
stop-ABIL-DIR-1SG>3.VII-NEG.CPL
hanimąkse
hani-mą-kse
answer-REP-3>3.VII
twolateʔ.
twolata-eʔ
scorpion-ERG
"Alas, I couldn't prevent it," answered the scorpion.
"Napihkamęʔńeʔce."
na-pihka-mę-ʔyV-ʔo-se
1SG.POSS-be_naturally-VN-be-DIR-3.VII
"It's my nature."
(Source: Star Trek Voyager, season 3 episode 26: "Scorpion, Part One")

The audacious he-goat

Polpaćoʔnala.

Cekaśę pahmąma natanǫʔ nene. Ćoʔnaleʔ kwe canę yecąmąkwa, polpayateʔ ca śeśi sacemąkse: "He! Ta cą cpopewecekaʔyayata! Nańępotahkiʔkmǫʔ oma nahaha taho mekćętwiʔćese. Mahńǫʔ lena kwińiyata. Ćiyeʔǫce cą nayaśitahmę!"

Aśę yeyapomiloʔwa yoʔpkahkwapǫmaʔma: "Wile ćeyaśęmę ćiyećessewi? Naʔińe kwiną menapćessehma. Cą peńehcaćesseʔi!"

– "Ćińe? Noʔ poʔmi yeyaćkaćesseyeʔi? Ćińe koćaʔǫcǫńe. Śeśi ta cpeńeʔǫcmo: 'Ćiyeʔǫce cą nayaśitahmę!' Wiśi ćehanimęʔńesewi?"

– "Śeśi cą nahanimęʔńese!" sacepǫkse aśęʔ, ca kwińǫ wekmahkaʔyaloʔkńǫ ośśaćehcaloʔkńǫʔma yahoʔ psanǫ mekwesaʔcoyakńǫ hą yaheʔ ćoʔnaloʔ ekmeno.

Yąkoʔ moʔ tatka ektahmomǫʔ oma, polpaćoʔnaloʔ ekmeneʔ canę śeśi sacepǫkse: "Kohpco... somoloʔtahwi?"

Interlinear gloss

Polpaćoʔnala.
polpa=ćoʔna-la-Ø
loud=goat-MALE-ABS
The audacious he-goat.


Cekaśę
cek=aśę-Ø
beautiful=woman-ABS
pahmąma
paho-mą-ma
walk-REP-3.I
natanǫʔ
natanǫ-oʔ
bridge-GEN
nene.
nene
across
A beautiful woman was walking across a bridge.
Ćoʔnaleʔ
ćoʔna-la-eʔ
goat-MALE-ERG
kwe
kwe
but
canę
canę
suddenly
yecąmąkwa,
yecą-mą-kwa
stop-REP-3>3.I
polpayateʔ
polpa=yata-eʔ
loud=PROX.II.SG-ERG
ca
ca
and
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
sacemąkse:
sace-mą-kse
say-REP-3>3.VII
But suddenly a he-goat stopped her, and the audacious one said this:
"He!
he
oh
Ta
ta-Ø
2SG-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
cpopewecekaʔyayata!"
cpo=pewe=cek=ʔyV-ya-tah
very=graceful=beautiful=be-VIS-2SG
"Oh! You are so very graceful and beautiful!"
"Nańępotahkiʔkmǫʔ
na-ńępo-tah-kiʔk-mę-oʔ
1SG.POSS-watch-2SG-PROG-VN-GEN
oma
oma
with
nahaha
na-ha~ha-Ø
1SG.POSS-PL~eye-ABS
taho
taho-Ø
joy-ABS
mekćętwiʔćese."
mek=ćę=twi-ʔo-će-se
INSTR=full=become-DIR-3.V-3.VII
"With my seeing you, my eyes become filled with joy."
"Mahńǫʔ
mahńę-oʔ
moon-GEN
lena
lena
as
kwińiyata."
kwińi-ya-tah
shine-VIS-2SG
"You are magnificent like the moon."
"Ćiyeʔǫce
ćiye-ʔo-ɴce
wish-DIR-1SG>3.VII
cą
cą
EMPH
nayaśitahmę!"
na-yaśi-tah-mę-Ø
1SG.POSS-marry-2SG-VN-ABS
"I wish for my marrying you!"


Aśę
aśę-Ø
woman-ABS
yeyapomiloʔwa
yeya-<pomi>-loʔ-wa
hear-<word>-EVID-3.I
yoʔpkahkwapǫmaʔma:
yoʔpe-kahkwa-pǫ-ma=ʔma
begin-laugh-SENS-3.I=and
The woman heard these words and began to laugh:
"Wile
wile
why
ćeyaśęmę
će-yaśi-ɴ-mę-Ø
2SG.POSS-marry-1SG-VN-ABS
ćiyećessewi?"
ćiye-ćesse-wi
wish-2SG>3.VII-Q
"Why do you wish for your marrying me?"
"Naʔińe
na-ińe-Ø
1SG.POSS-name-ABS
kwiną
kwiną
even
menapćessehma."
mena-p-ćesse-hma
know-ASS-2SG>3.VII-NEG
"You don't even know my name."
"Cą
cą
EMPH
peńehcaćesseʔi!"
peńe-hca-ćesse-ʔi
tell-towards-2SG>3.VII-IRR
"Tell it to me!"


"Ćińe?"
će-ińe-Ø
2SG.POSS-name-ABS
"Your name?"
"Noʔ
na-oʔ
1SG-GEN
poʔmi
po~pomi-Ø
PL~word-ABS
yeyaćkaćesseyeʔi?"
yeya-ćka-ćesse-ye-ʔi
hear-DUR-2SG>3.VII-NEG-IRR
"Didn't you listen to my words?"
"Ćińe
će-ińe-Ø
2SG.POSS-name-ABS
koćaʔǫcǫńe."
koća-ʔo-ɴce-ǫńe
ask-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL:NEG
"I have not asked for your name."
"Śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
ta
ta-Ø
2SG-ABS
cpeńeʔǫcmo:
c-peńe-ʔo-ɴce-mo
BEN-tell-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL
'Ćiyeʔǫce
ćiye-ʔo-ɴce
wish-DIR-1SG>3.VII
cą
cą
EMPH
nayaśitahmę!'"
na-yaśi-tah-mę-Ø
1SG.POSS-marry-2SG-VN-ABS
"I have told you this for your benefit: 'I wish for my marrying you!'"
"Wiśi
wiśi-Ø
what.VII-ABS
ćehanimęʔńesewi?"
će-hani-mę-ʔyV-se-wi
2SG.POSS-answer-VN-be-3.VII-Q
"What is your answer?"


"Śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
nahanimęʔńese!"
na-hani-mę-ʔyV-se
1SG.POSS-answer-VN-be-3.VII
sacepǫkse
sace-pǫ-kse
say-SENS-3>3.VII
aśęʔ,
aśę-eʔ
woman-ERG
"This is my answer!" said the woman,
ca
ca
and
kwińǫ
kwińǫ-Ø
OBV.III.SG-ABS
wekmahkaʔyaloʔkńǫ
wek=mahka=ʔyV-loʔk-ńǫ
quick=sharp=be-EVID-3.III
ośśaćehcaloʔkńǫʔma
ośśa-<ćehca>-loʔk-ńǫ=ʔma
kill-<life>-EVID-3.III=and
yahoʔ
yaho-oʔ
PROX.I.SG-GEN
psanǫ
psanǫ-Ø
knife-ABS
and with her knife, which was quick and sharp and life-killing,
mekwesaʔcoyakńǫ
mek-hesa-ʔco-ya-kńǫ
INSTR-cut-away-VIS-3>3.III
hą
hą
then
yaheʔ
yaho-eʔ
PROX.I.SG-ERG
ćoʔnaloʔ
ćoʔna-la-oʔ
goat-MALE-GEN
ekmeno.
e-kmeno-Ø
3SG.POSS-head-ABS
she cut off the head of the he-goat.
Yąkoʔ
yąki-oʔ
river-GEN
moʔ
moʔ
at
tatka
ta~taka-Ø
PL~grass-ABS
ektahmomǫʔ
e-k-tahmo-mę-oʔ
3SG.POSS-LAT-fall-VN-GEN
oma,
oma
with
As it was falling into the grass near the river,
polpaćoʔnaloʔ
polpa=ćoʔna-la-oʔ
loud=goat-MALE-GEN
ekmeneʔ
e-kmeno-eʔ
3SG.POSS-head-ERG
canę
canę
suddenly
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
sacepǫkse:
sace-pǫ-kse
say-SENS-3>3.VII
suddenly the head of the audacious he-goat said:
"Kohpco...
kohpco
accordingly
somoloʔtahwi?"
somo-loʔ-tah-wi
agree-EVID-2SG-Q
"That means... you agree?"
(Written on Apr 9, 2011 as part of the LCC4 Relay. Translated from Carsten Becker's Ayeri.)

The rocks, the blackbird, and the mouse

Śita kehka weyoʔ ehipę twemoʔćkamątase. Takwateʔ kehkeʔ yelta peńehcmąkta: "Pśikwe weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi tma twesąʔćkakwekse, tkekera cą ćosąhcaʔǫce." - "Yǫco cańe menaloʔknęceʔi," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Ćma śeʔ twehakwaćkaloʔwase kąʔęta komąʔma. Yeyapomiloʔkta kwakwiʔ kekehka, śeśi ca kohpco cakwe cwoʔlahcapǫkta: "Seʔ kwe cmę weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma kyehcayąpaʔnęceʔi. Tma kyehcanęceʔi, pahpątanęceʔi, tkwe ca ceńopahnętąʔi. Pśikwe cohenęcǫʔi kekera hą cą tkwe cpeńenętąʔi, pśikwe ikweʔątwissemǫʔ kǫpe." Kekehka somoloʔta, ca yeʔcoloʔwa hą kąʔęta komąʔma.

Yocǫtomoʔ kwoco eńoranąhcayaho kąʔęta. "Weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma ktanąʔǫcmo, ca ńępoʔǫcmo ciʔyąki lǫhiʔnaʔma, caca hą twileʔkakahpa." Takwaro kehkeʔ śeśi sacepǫkse: "Nehi, rapśikwe cą ćeltahcayąʔkwenęceʔi!" - "Yǫco cańe ćawiloʔknąʔi koʔ," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Ląćeyeśoʔ kwoco eńopahcayaho komą. "Weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma kpahoʔǫcmo, ca coheʔǫcmo śekmǫ tąctakcǫ tąckikihpo tąćoyonayękwi." Takwaro kehkeʔ śeśi sacepǫkse: "Yekwe, rapśikwe cą koʔ ćeltaćiʔnęcihma!" - "Kąta hayehco ćawiʔną cą," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Interlinear gloss

Śita
śi-ta-Ø
two-CL.II-ABS
kehka
kehka-Ø
rock-ABS
weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
ehipę
e-hipę-Ø
3SG.POSS-shoulder-ABS
twemoʔćkamątase.
twe-moʔ-ćka-mą-ta-se
LOC-at-DUR-REP-3.II-3.VII
Two rocks were located at the shoulder of a hill.
Takwateʔ
takwa-ta-eʔ
one-CL.II-ERG
kehkeʔ
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
yelta
yel-ta-Ø
other=CL.II-ABS
peńehcmąkta:
peńe-hca-mą-kta
tell-towards-REP-3>3.II
One rock said to the other one:
"Pśikwe
pśikwe-Ø
OBV.VII.PL-ABS
weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
emanǫʔ
e-maną-oʔ
3SG.POSS-nose-GEN
tewi
tewi
behind
tma
tma-Ø
there-ABS
twesąʔćkakwekse,"
twe-sąʔ-ćka-kwe-kse
LOC-in-DUR-ASS-3>3.VII
"Those things which I assume to be located in the area behind the nose of the hill,"
"tkekera
r=ke~kera-Ø
that=PL~item-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
ćosąhcaʔǫce."
ćosą-hca-ʔo-ɴce
be_curious-towards-DIR-1SG>3.VII
"I am curious about them."
"Yǫco
yǫco
unfortunately
cańe
cańe
never
menaloʔknęceʔi,"
mena-loʔ-nęce-ʔi
know-EVID-1PL>3.VII-IRR
hanimąkse
hani-mą-kse
respond-REP-3>3.VII
śiro
śi-ro
two-ORD
kehkeʔ.
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
"Unfortunately, we will never know," answered the second rock.


Ćma
ś=ma-Ø
this=place-ABS
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
twehakwaćkaloʔwase
twe-hakwa-ćka-loʔ-wa-se
LOC-nearby-DUR-EVID-3.I-3.VII
kąʔęta
kąʔęta-Ø
blackbird-ABS
komąʔma.
komą-Ø=ʔma
mouse-ABS=and
However, a blackbird and a mouse were nearby.
Yeyapomiloʔkta
yeya-<pomi>-loʔ-kta
hear-<word>-EVID-3>3.II
kwakwiʔ
kwakwe-eʔ
OBV.I.PL-ERG
kekehka,
ke~kehka-Ø
PL~rock-ABS
They heard the words of the rocks, (lit. 'they word-heard the rocks')
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
ca
ca
and
kohpco
kohpco
accordingly
cakwe
cakwe-Ø
PROX.II.PL-ABS
cwoʔlahcapǫkta:
c-woʔla-hca-pǫ-kta
BEN-come_up_with-towards-SENS-3>3.II
and they suggested this for their benefit:
"Seʔ
sa-eʔ
1PL-ERG
kwe
kwe
but
cmę
cmę
CIRC
weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
emanǫʔ
e-maną-oʔ
3SG.POSS-nose-GEN
tewi
tewi
behind
cahma
cahma-Ø
land-ABS
kyehcayąpaʔnęceʔi."
k-ye-hca-yąpa-ʔo-nęce-ʔi
LAT-go-towards-ABIL-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR
"But we can go to the land behind the nose of the hill."
"Tma
tma-Ø
there-ABS
kyehcanęceʔi,
k-ye-hca-nęce-ʔi
LAT-go-towards-1PL>3.VII-IRR
pahpątanęceʔi,
pahpąta-nęce-ʔi
explore-1PL>3.VII-IRR
tkwe
tkwe-Ø
2PL-ABS
ca
ca
and
ceńopahnętąʔi."
c-eńopaho-nętąh-ʔi
BEN-return-1PL>2PL-IRR
"We will go there, we will explore it, and we will come back to you."
"Pśikwe
pśikwe-Ø
OBV.VII.PL-ABS
cohenęcǫʔi
cohe-nęce-ǫʔi
discover-1PL>3.VII-CPL:IRR
kekera
ke~kera-Ø
PL~item-ABS
hą
hą
then
cą
cą
EMPH
tkwe
tkwe-Ø
2PL-ABS
cpeńenętąʔi,"
c-peńe-nętąh-ʔi
BEN-tell-1PL>2PL-IRR
"And then we will tell you what we have discovered,"
"pśikwe
pśikwe-Ø
OBV.VII.PL-ABS
ikweʔątwissemǫʔ
ik-weʔą-twih-se-mę-oʔ
2PL.POSS-familiar-become-3.VII-VN-GEN
kǫpe."
kǫpe
towards
"so that you become familiar with those things."
Kekehka
ke~kehka-Ø
PL~rock-ABS
somoloʔta,
somo-loʔ-ta
agree-EVID-3.II
ca
ca
and
yeʔcoloʔwa
ye-ʔco-loʔ-wa
go-away-EVID-3.I
hą
hą
then
kąʔęta
kąʔęta-Ø
blackbird-ABS
komąʔma.
komą-Ø=ʔma
mouse-ABS=and
The rocks agreed, and the blackbird and the mouse went away.


Yocǫtomoʔ
yocǫ=tomo-oʔ
early=period-GEN
kwoco
kwoco
after
eńoranąhcayaho
eńo-raną-hca-ya-ho
again-fly-towards-VIS-3.I
kąʔęta.
kąʔęta-Ø
blackbird-ABS
After a short while, the blackbird returned.
"Weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
emanǫʔ
e-maną-oʔ
3SG.POSS-nose-GEN
tewi
tewi
behind
cahma
cahma-Ø
land-ABS
ktanąʔǫcmo,"
k-raną-ʔo-ɴce-mo
LAT-fly-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL
"I have flown to the land behind the nose of the hill,"
"ca
ca
and
ńępoʔǫcmo
ńępo-ʔo-ɴce-mo
observe-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL
ciʔyąki
ciʔ=yąki-Ø
wide=river-ABS
lǫhiʔnaʔma,
lǫ=hiʔna-Ø=ʔma
green=valley-ABS=and
caca
caca
also
hą
hą
then
twileʔkakahpa."
twi=leʔ=ka~kahpa-Ø
some=tall=PL~tree-ABS
"and I have observed a wide river and a green valley, and also some tall trees."
Takwaro
takwa-ro
one-ORD
kehkeʔ
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
sacepǫkse:
sace-pǫ-kse
say-SENS-3>3.VII
The first rock said this:
"Nehi,
nehi
alas
rapśikwe
ra=pśikwe-Ø
that=OBV.VII.PL-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
ćeltahcayąʔkwenęceʔi!"
ćelta-hca-yąpa-kwe-nęce-ʔi
see-towards-ABIL-ASS-1PL>3.VII-IRR
"Alas, if only we could see those things!"
"Yǫco
yǫco
unfortunately
cańe
cańe
never
ćawiloʔknąʔi
ćawi-loʔk-ną-ʔi
be_happy-EVID-1PL-IRR
koʔ,"
koʔ
indeed
hanimąkse
hani-mą-kse
respond-REP-3>3.VII
śiro
śi-ro
two-ORD
kehkeʔ.
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
"Unfortunately, we will never be happy at all," answered the second rock.


Ląćeyeśoʔ
ląc=ye~yeśe-oʔ
many=PL~days-GEN
kwoco
kwoco
after
eńopahcayaho
eńo-paho-hca-ya-ho
again-walk-towards-VIS-3.I
caca
caca
also
komą.
komą-Ø
mouse-ABS
After many days, the mouse also returned.
"Weyoʔ
weye-oʔ
hill-GEN
emanǫʔ
e-maną-oʔ
3SG.POSS-nose-GEN
tewi
tewi
behind
cahma
cahma-Ø
land-ABS
kpahoʔǫcmo,"
k-paho-ʔo-ɴce-mo
LAT-walk-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL
"I have walked to the land behind the nose of the hill,"
"ca
ca
and
coheʔǫcmo
cohe-ʔo-ɴce-mo
discover-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL
śekmǫ
śekmǫ
only
tąctakcǫ
tąc=taka-cǫ-Ø
same=grass-COLL-ABS
tąckikihpo
tąc=ki~kihpo-Ø
same=PL~worm-ABS
tąćoyonayękwi."
tąc=yo~yonayękwi-Ø
same=PL~beetle-ABS
"and I have found nothing but the same grass and worms and beetles."
Takwaro
takwa-ro
one-ORD
kehkeʔ
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
śeśi
śeśi-Ø
this.VII.SG-ABS
sacepǫkse:
sace-pǫ-kse
say-SENS-3>3.VII
The first rock said this:
"Yekwe,
yekwe
but_not
rapśikwe
ra=pśikwe-Ø
that=OBV.VII.PL-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
koʔ
koʔ
indeed
ćeltaćiʔnęcihma!"
ćelta-ći-ʔo-nęce-ihma
see-OPT-DIR-1PL>3.VII-NEG
"Oh no, we really do not want to see those things!"
"Kąta
kąta
now
hayehco
hayehco
always
ćawiʔną
ćawi-ʔo-ną
be_happy-DIR-1PL
cą,"
cą
EMPH
hanimąkse
hani-mą-kse
respond-REP-3>3.VII
śiro
śi-ro
two-ORD
kehkeʔ.
kehka-eʔ
rock-ERG
"Now we will always be happy," answered the second rock.
(Written on May 21, 2012 as part of Conlang Relay 19. Translated from John Quijada's Ithkuil.)

The return of the rain

Kwahoʔ eʔeńopahmę.

Ckǫmamąkwa sa mekomaćkaloʔkną, soʔ kwaco cą kwahipǫskiʔ, elaʔpaloʔkmomǫʔ otwoʔ. Ciciʔńǫʔ sąʔ cańe yolći halayahkihma, kpehkekehkeʔ ca yekiho enayakye koʔ.

Mekwesanąńǫʔi śeʔ yońǫnańoʔ yemahkahepsanǫ. Araʔyayahohma ktetęʔpi kśeśpąʔma; tahoʔ oma kehće ćawińęsaśętayaho, eńo ca halayata pewepoʔma.

Ńęso tǫ śeśkwe ćoʔnaʔnęce ćkasco, śkakwaha eńopahpǫse.

Interlinear gloss

Kwahoʔ
kwaha-oʔ
rain-GEN
eʔeńopahmę.
e-eńopaho-mę-Ø
3SG.POSS-return-VN-ABS
The return of the rain.


Ckǫmamąkwa
ckǫ=ma~mąkwa-Ø
severe=PL~sorrow-ABS
sa
sa-Ø
1PL-ABS
mekomaćkaloʔkną,
mek-oma-ćka-loʔ-kną
INSTR-with-DUR-EVID-3>1PL
Severe sorrows sat with us,
soʔ
sa-oʔ
1PL-GEN
kwaco
kwaco-Ø
strength-ABS
cą
cą
EMPH
kwahipǫskiʔ,
kwahi-pǫ-se-kiʔ
be.lost-SENS-3.VII-PROG
our strength was getting lost,
elaʔpaloʔkmomǫʔ
e-laʔpa-loʔk-mo-mę-oʔ
3SG.POSS-steal-EVID-CPL-VN-GEN
otwoʔ.
otwoʔ
like
as if it had been stolen.
Ciciʔńǫʔ
ci~ciʔńę-oʔ
PL~plain-GEN
sąʔ
sąʔ
at
cańe
cańe
NEG:EMPH
yolći
yolći-Ø
millet-ABS
halayahkihma,
hala-ya-hke-ihma
grow-VIS-3.IV-NEG
On the plains, the millet failed to grow,
kpehkekehkeʔ
kpeh=ke~kehka-eʔ
dry=PL~rock-ERG
ca
ca
and
yekiho
ye=kiho-Ø
no=drop-ABS
enayakye
ena-ya-kye
give-VIS-3>3.VI
koʔ.
koʔ
indeed
and the dry rocks did not yield any drop of water.
Mekwesanąńǫʔi
mek-hesa-ną-ńǫ-ʔi
INSTR-cut-1PL-3.III-IRR
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
yońǫnańoʔ
yo~yǫnańa-oʔ
PL~demon-GEN
yemahkahepsanǫ.
ye=mahka=he~psanǫ-Ø
no=sharp=PL~knife-ABS
However, we were not cut by the demons' sharp knives.
Araʔyayahohma
araʔya-ya-ho-hma
worry-VIS-3.I-NEG
ktetęʔpi
k-te~tęʔpi-Ø
1PL.POSS-PL~daughter-ABS
kśeśpąʔma;
k-śe~śepą-Ø=ʔma
1PL.POSS-PL~son-ABS=and
Our daughters and sons were not afraid;
tahoʔ
taho-oʔ
joy-GEN
oma
oma
with
kehće
kehće
instead
ćawińęsaśętayaho,
ćawi=ńęsa=śęta-ya-ho
smile=dance=sing-VIS-3.I
with joy instead they laughed and danced and sang,
eńo
eńo
again
ca
ca
and
halayata
hala-ya-ta
grow-VIS-3.II
pewepoʔma.
pewe=po~poma-Ø
graceful=PL~flower-ABS
and graceful flowers grew once more.
Ńęso
ńęso
finally
tǫ
tǫ
because
śeśkwe
śeśkwe-Ø
this.VII.PL-ABS
ćoʔnaʔnęce
ćoʔna-ʔo-nęce
wait-DIR-1PL>3.VII
ćkasco,
ćkasco
welcomingly
śkakwaha
śe=ka~kwaha
this=PL~rain
eńopahpǫse.
eńopaho-pǫ-se
return-SENS-3.VII
Because at last those we had been eagerly waiting for, the rains, returned.
(Inspired by this intermediate result of Conlang Relay 9)

Fire and water

Yoʔpco, ćmącanakehkala ohńǫhą nąʔǫ kśeʔtahcayayese. Ońotwihyayekiʔ pǫkmǫ, ćocwo śeʔ kwiśe kceʔpątahcaloʔyesemo. Canakehkaloʔ koheʔ hinahoso waʔąńakse nenehpayakse tahoyakseʔma, nąʔǫʔ ceʔla ca kahmo kohńǫhcayakse cą. Śeye canaćkayaye yąkiʔ lącńąśkekehka eniyakta, komąnaʔkse hą śeyeʔ mohoʔ sąʔ kokohta poʔęńąpakńǫʔi yaśe. Ćohe kąta kwekwoʔyayaye canakehkaloʔ eʔilcahpnąʔǫhcmǫʔ oma, ca halayaye soʔnayayeʔma, kwekwoloʔksekiʔ cą nąʔǫ. Kwekwoʔyaćohmǫʔ sąkma polpasisimę yeyapǫnęckiʔ, mǫńiʔ cmę raśi tockana kokmęhcpǫkse.

Ćohe kohpco yoćkęʔcoloʔksemo. Kwoye otwaćkacecayaye ńąśćęco mętka kelępoloʔyemo. Kńąćohoʔ epątaʔcomomǫʔ oma, yeraloʔkse taholoʔkseʔma hinahoso. Pahohcakweyeʔi cą ckǫmińi, yayeʔ ćma kokmęćoheʔcoyąpakseʔi nąʔǫʔ moʔ raśi senąńasemo ońotwisǫʔ kǫpe.

Interlinear gloss

Yoʔpco,
yoʔpe-co
begin-ADV
ćmącanakehkala
ćmą=cana-kehkala-Ø
liquid=be_on_fire-stone-ABS
ohńǫhą
ohńǫ-hą
roll-MANNER
nąʔǫ
nąʔǫ-Ø
lake-ABS
kśeʔtahcayayese.
k-śeʔta-hca-ya-ye-se
LAT-flow-towards-VIS-3.VI-3.VII
At first, the liquid burning stone quickly flowed towards the lake.
Ońotwihyayekiʔ
ońo-twih-ya-ye-kiʔ
solid-become-VIS-3.VI-PROG
pǫkmǫ,
pǫkmǫ
gradually
ćocwo
ćocwo
soon
śeʔ
śeʔ
however
kwiśe
kwiśe-Ø
OBV.VII-ABS
kceʔpątahcaloʔyesemo.
k-ceʔ-pąta-hca-loʔ-ye-se-mo
LAT-sufficient-approach-towards-EVID-3.VI-3.VII-CPL
It was gradually becoming solid; however, soon it had approached it sufficiently.
Canakehkaloʔ
cana-kehkala-oʔ
be_on_fire-stone-GEN
koheʔ
koha-eʔ
wave-ERG
hinahoso
hinahoso-Ø
shore-ABS
waʔąńakse
waʔą-ya-kse
collide-VIS-3>3.VII
nenehpayakse
nenehpa-ya-kse
go_across-VIS-3>3.VII
tahoyakseʔma,
taho-ya-kse=ʔma
change-VIS-3>3.VII=and
A wave of burning stone touched and crossed and changed the shore,
nąʔǫʔ
nąʔǫ-oʔ
lake-GEN
ceʔla
ceʔla-Ø
middle-ABS
ca
ca
and
kahmo
kahmo
almost
kohńǫhcayakse
k-ohńǫ-hca-ya-kse
LAT-roll-towards-VIS-3>3.VII
cą.
cą
EMPH
and it almost reached the middle of the lake.
Śeye
śeye-Ø
this.VI.SG-ABS
canaćkayaye
cana-ćka-ya-ye
be_on_fire-DUR-VIS-3.VI
yąkiʔ
yąki-eʔ
river-ERG
lącńąśkekehka
ląc=ńąś=ke~kehka-Ø
many=large=PL~rock-ABS
eniyakta,
eni-ya-kta
be_equipped_with-VIS-3>3.II
The burning river was filled with many large rocks,
komąnaʔkse
komą-na-ʔo-kse
fear-CAUS-DIR-3>3.VII
hą
hą
next
śeyeʔ
śeye-eʔ
this.VI.SG-ERG
mohoʔ
moha-oʔ
harbor-GEN
sąʔ
sąʔ
in
kokohta
ko~kohta-Ø
PL~boat-ABS
poʔęńąpakńǫʔi
poʔę-yąpa-kńǫ-ʔi
destroy-ABIL-3>3.III-IRR
yaśe.
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
and it caused fear that it might destroy the boats in the harbor.
Ćohe
ćohe-Ø
water-ABS
kąta
kąta
instantly
kwekwoʔyayaye
kwekwoʔya-ya-ye
boil-VIS-3.VI
canakehkaloʔ
cana-kehkala-oʔ
be_on_fire-stone-GEN
eʔilcahpnąʔǫhcmǫʔ
e-ilcahpa-<nąʔǫ>-hca-mę-oʔ
3SG.POSS-touch-<lake>-towards-VN-GEN
oma,
oma
with
The water instantly boiled when the burning stone touched the lake,
ca
ca
and
halayaye
hala-ya-ye
swell-VIS-3.VI
soʔnayayeʔma,
soʔna-ya-ye=ʔma
enlarge-VIS-3.VI=and
kwekwoloʔksekiʔ
kwekwo-loʔk-se-kiʔ
cook-EVID-3.VII-PROG
cą
cą
EMPH
nąʔǫ.
nąʔǫ-Ø
lake-ABS
and it swelled and became enlarged, for the lake was cooking.
Kwekwoʔyaćohmǫʔ
kwekwoʔya-<ćohe>-mę-oʔ
boil-<water>-VN-GEN
sąkma
sąkma
made_of
polpasisimę
polpa=sisi-mę-Ø
loud=hiss-VN-ABS
yeyapǫnęckiʔ,
yeya-pǫ-nęce-kiʔ
hear-SENS-1PL>3.VII-PROG
We were hearing a loud hissing noise from the water-boiling,
mǫńiʔ
mi~mińi-eʔ
PL~wind-ERG
cmę
cmę
CIRC
raśi
raśi-Ø
that.VII.SG-ABS
tockana
tockana-Ø
village-ABS
kokmęhcpǫkse.
k-okmę-hca-pǫ-kse
LAT-carry-towards-SENS-3>3.VII
as the winds carried that noise towards the village.


Ćohe
ćohe-Ø
water-ABS
kohpco
kohpco
as_a_result
yoćkęʔcoloʔksemo.
yoćkę-ʔco-loʔk-se-mo
scatter-away-EVID-3.VII-CPL
Now the water is scattered.
Kwoye
kwoye-Ø
OBV.VI.SG-ABS
otwaćkacecayaye
otwa-ćka-<ceca>-ya-ye
similar-DUR-<smoke>-VIS-3.VI
ńąśćęco
ńąś=ćęco-Ø
large=cloud-ABS
mętka
mętka-Ø
air-ABS
kelępoloʔyemo.
k-lępo-loʔ-ye-mo
LAT-lift-EVID-3.VI-CPL
A large cloud that resembles smoke has lifted into the air.
Kńąćohoʔ
kńą=ćohe-oʔ
thin=water-GEN
epątaʔcomomǫʔ
e-pątaʔco-mo-mę-oʔ
3SG.POSS-escape-CPL-VN-GEN
oma,
oma
with
yeraloʔkse
yera-loʔk-se
cause_to_move-EVID-3.VII
taholoʔkseʔma
taho-loʔk-se=ʔma
change-EVID-3.VII=and
hinahoso.
hinahoso-Ø
shore-ABS
As the shallow water has gone away, the shoreline has shifted and changed.
Pahohcakweyeʔi
paho-hca-kwe-ye-ʔi
walk-towards-ASS-3.VI-IRR
cą
cą
EMPH
ckǫmińi,
ckǫ=mińi-Ø
severe=wind-ABS
yayeʔ
yaye-eʔ
PROX.VI.SG-ERG
ćma
śe=ma-Ø
this=place-ABS
kokmęćoheʔcoyąpakseʔi
k-okmę-<ćohe>-ʔco-yąpa-kse-ʔi
LAT-carry-<water>-away-ABIL-3>3.VII-IRR
If a strong storm would arrive, you would think it would be able to carry the water away from here,
nąʔǫʔ
nąʔǫ-oʔ
lake-GEN
moʔ
moʔ
on
raśi
raśi-Ø
that.VI.SG-ABS
senąńasemo
seną-ya-se-mo
freeze-VIS-3.VII-CPL
ońotwisǫʔ
ońo=twisǫ-oʔ
solid=snow-GEN
kǫpe.
kǫpe
towards
towards the frozen ice on the lake.
(Written on Jul 17, 2011 as part of the 5th Conlingual Telephone. Translated from Nortaneous' Kannow.)

A dialogue

"Raheʔ ęńecąmę ćiyemąkse yeńaʔ, wile caca kwiśe ćiyemąkse, yaśe ćosąhcaʔǫce."

– "Wile cą? Ęnońǫmę tǫ menaʔnęceyeʔi, menaloʔkseyeʔi roʔ yeheʔ. Menakwekseyeʔi kehće kohpco yeheʔ ęnońǫʔimę, wile kwiną ępoʔwarosemę raheʔ ońotahloʔksekiʔkwi?"

Interlinear gloss

"Raheʔ
raho-eʔ
that.I.SG-ERG
ęńecąmę
ę-yecą-mę-Ø
1PC-stop-VN-ABS
ćiyemąkse
ćiye-mą-kse
wish-REP-3>3.VII
yeńaʔ,
yeńaʔ-Ø
person-ABS
"The person who is said to wish that we be stopped,
wile
wile
why
caca
caca
moreover
kwiśe
kwiśe-Ø
OBV.VII.SG-ABS
ćiyemąkse,
ćiye-mą-kse
wish-REP-3>3.VII
and moreover, why he is said to wish so,
yaśe
yaśe-Ø
PROX.VII.SG-ABS
ćosąhcaʔǫce."
ćosą-hca-ʔo-ɴce
be_curious-towards-DIR-1SG>3.VII
this I am curious about."


"Wile
wile
why
cą?
cą
EMPH
"Why indeed?
Ęnońǫmę
ę-lońǫ-mę-Ø
1PC-act-VN-ABS
tǫ
tǫ
because
menaʔnęceyeʔi,
mena-ʔo-nęce-ye-ʔi
know-DIR-1PL>3.VII-NEG-IRR
menaloʔkseyeʔi
mena-loʔ-kse-ye-ʔi
know-EVID-3>3.VII-NEG-IRR
roʔ
roʔ
therefore
yeheʔ.
yeho-eʔ
none.I-ERG
Because in case we ourselves do not know our actions, then obviously noone knows them.
Menakwekseyeʔi
mena-kwe-kse-ye-ʔi
know-ASS-3>3.VII-NEG-IRR
kehće
kehće
instead
kohpco
kohpco
accordingly
yeheʔ
yeho-eʔ
none.I-ERG
ęnońǫʔimę,
ę-lońǫ-ʔi-mę-Ø
1PC-act-IRR-VN-ABS
Instead, if we assume that accordingly noone can know our future actions,
wile
wile
why
kwiną
kwiną
even
ępoʔwarosemę
ę-poʔwaro-se-mę-Ø
1PC-abandon-3.VII-VN-ABS
raheʔ
raho-eʔ
that.I.SG-ERG
ońotahloʔksekiʔkwi?"
ońotah-loʔ-kse-kiʔk-wi
be_determined-EVID-3>3.VII-PROG-Q
why then is that one so obviously determined that we abandon them?"

A tongue-twister

Hakwakakpahcǫʔ ckǫkahkya kmeʔkayahpamomǫʔ kwoco haktahkakahpoʔ kohpco kwahmomǫʔma,
kąta kcehkpehkekehkoʔ kwihkwoʔ sąkma kehće Kąʔkokwohoʔkęʔ ǫkśokmąką ckehtakweckwekńǫkiʔkwi?

[ ˌhʌkʷʌkʌˈkpɑxtsɔ̃ʔ tskɔ̃ˈkɑxkjʌ kmɛʔˈkɑjɑxˌpʌmʊˌmɔ̃ʔ ˈkʷotsʊ hʌˌktɑxkʌˈkɑxpɔʔ ˌkɔxptsʊ ˈkʷɑxmʊˌmɔ̃ʔmʌ |
ˌkɑ̃tʌ ˌktsɛxˌkpɛxkɛˈkɛxkɔʔ ˈkʷiçkʷɔʔ ˌsɑ̃kmʌ ˌkɛxtʃe ˈkɑ̃ʔkʊkʷoˌhɔʔkɛ̃ʔ ɔ̃ˈkʃokmɑ̃kɑ̃ ˈtskɛ̃xtʌˌkʷɛtskʷɛˌkɲɔ̃kiʔkʷi ]


Hakwakakpahcǫʔ
hakwa=ka~kpahcǫ-oʔ
near=PL~forest-GEN
ckǫkahkya
ckǫ=ka~kaya-Ø
serious=PL~fire-ABS
kmeʔkayahpamomǫʔ
k-mek-kayahpa-mo-mę-oʔ
3PL.POSS-INSTR-burn-CPL-VN-GEN
kwoco
kwoco
after
haktahkakahpoʔ
ha=ktah=ka~kahpa-oʔ
all=suitable=PL~tree-GEN
kohpco
kohpa-co
follow-ADV
kwahmomǫʔma,
kwahi-mo-mę-oʔ=ʔma
be_gone-CPL-VN-GEN=and
After the nearby forests have burned down in serious fires and all the suitable trees are gone as a result,
kąta
kąta
now
kcehkpehkekehkoʔ
kceh=kpeh=ke~kehka-oʔ
dirty=dry=PL~rock-GEN
kwihkwoʔ
kwihkwe-oʔ
OBV.IV.PL-GEN
sąkma
sąkma
made_of
kehće
kehće
instead
Kąʔkokwohoʔkęʔ
kąʔ=ko~kwoho-oʔ-kę-eʔ
black=PL~wolf-GEN-FEMALE-ERG
ǫkśokmąką
ǫk-śokmąką-Ø
1PL.POSS-dwelling-ABS
ckęhtakweckwekńǫkiʔkwi?
c-kęhta-<kwece>-kwe-kńǫ-kiʔk-wi
BEN-build-<pillar>-ASS-3>3.III-PROG-Q
I assume She of the Black Wolves is now building pillars for our dwelling from those dirty dry rocks instead?


See also

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