, NIZI PUHWAHStN SCHOOLS , '.:: ',;',':;:::",,;',, ,'., ., " . '. AMSKAPI PIKUNI GE I , .... Great Camp of the Piekannes near Fort McKenzie I-Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000FORWORD INTRODUCTORY NOTES ON THE LESSON BOOK I I I AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA The following Nizi Puh Wah Sin (Real Speak) Amskapi Pikuni Language I Lessons were compiled from the field notes presented as a gift to the Peigan Institute by Jack Holterman. They were edited and prepared by the Piegan Institute staff during the years 1994-1999. They represent one of the most comprehensive studies of I the Amskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet) Language. The study consists of sixty lessons and ten supplemental sheets. I The lessons are based on a system of learning the language, and each lesson must be mastered before going on to the next. The system will enable students to understand the structure of the language, as well as learn how to utilize the I language in conversations. I The system works on the following rules: I At the beginning of each lesson is a list of words. It is important the list be learned thoroughly before going on to the exercises. Each word (verb stem) will have a dash (-) either in front or at the end of it. The dash means either a prefix or a suffIX is needed for the word to have it's fullI meaning. If there is no dash connected to the word it can stand alone. It is of crucial importance the word lists at the beginning of each lesson be I mastered before going on. Take the time and the effort to learn each lesson. Create as many examples of sentences asked for at the end of each lesson as II you possibly can before moving on to the next lesson. I This is the official curriculum and study guide of the Piegan Institute's Nizi Pub Wah SiD (Real Speak) Schools. It is used by parents, students, and teachers to learn to speak and write the language the correct and traditional way. I It is copyrighted by the Piegan Institute, but is offered as a gift to those who wish to use it to fulfill their responsibility of learning more about their tribal I language. Please give credit when citing passages from the book. I PIEGAN /NS11TUTE IS A PRIVATE NON PROFIT DEDICATED TO RESEARCHING, PROMOTING, AND PRESERVING 71lEBLACKFOOTLANGUAGE I I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000i ! Lesson I Lesson II Lesson III Lesson IV Lesson V Lesson VI Lesson VII Lesson VIII Lesson IX Lesson X Lesson XI Lesson XII Lesson XIII Lesson XIV Lesson XV Lesson XVI Lesson XVII Lesson XVIII Lesson XIX Lesson XX Lesson XXI Lesson XXII Lesson XXIII Lesson XXIV Lesson XXV Lesson XXVI Lesson XXVII Lesson XXVIII Lesson XXIX I I BILL OF FARE Introduction: Sounds of Blackfeet; Alphabet I Verb Stems - Configuration I -AKI and -KOAN; Prefixes AI- and AUI Singular Commands; Interrogatives and Negatives (Configuration I) Plurals of Nouns; a Few Numerals IConfiguration II of the Conjugation of Verbs Interrogative and Negative of Configuration II; More on -KOAN; UYI The Suffix -AKI; Past and Future; Combining Verbs I Initial M-, N- and P- Are Often Dropped. Conjugating a Noun! The Construct Case; Declension of Nouns; Prepositions and postpoSitionsll Verbs with Suffix -1-1; Color Verbs and Their Type; Plural Commands. Review of Numerals; H- Stem Verbs I Adjectives Pointers on NIZITAPI; Gender in Animals; Negative Commands; Y ~ N - and its Type; Collectives I More Verb Combinations; Pointers on KISTAP-Using Intransitive Stem Transitively; Gender in Adjective-Verbs Telling Time; More Adjective Verbs New Names for Animals; Saying "old"; Expressing Age in Years Nouns Formed from Verbs; Demonstratives ~ Review of Numerals The Demonstrative ANA; Relative Pronouns ,Counting Within the Decades; Kinship Terms; Possession; Pronominal Prefixes Pronominal Suffixes; INAN How To Identify Relationships; Possession: Verbalized Nouns Noun Incorporation Numerals for Price (Buying and Selling) The Erratic Verb IKI; the Handy Verb POKO; How To Say "Let's" Relative Clauses; Asking "Why?" Verbalized Nouns for Body Parts; "To Make"; Transformative; Frequentative Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Lesson XXX Transitive Animate Lesson XXXI Transitive Animate (Plural Objects); Negatives and Interrogatives Lesson XXXII Transitive Animate: Configuration II; T-Stems; Trouble-Making Verbs Lesson XXXIII Configuration II: Negative and Interrogative Lesson XXXIV Passive; Reciprocals Lesson XXXV Reflexives Lesson XXXVI Centrifugal and Centripetal Verb Forms Lesson XXXVII Centripetals Continued Lesson XXXVIII Negative and Interrogative Centripetals Lesson XXXIX Irregular T-Stems Lesson XL Transitive Inanimate Lesson XLI Transitive Inanimate: the Second Configuration Lesson XLII Transitive Inanimate: Negative and Interrogative Lesson XLIII Imperative Mood Lesson XLIV Causative-Permissive Lesson XLV Subjunctives; the Conjunctive Type Lesson XLVI Transitive Subjunctive of This Type Lesson XLVII Centrifugal and Centripetal Subjunctives of This Type Lesson XLVIII Comparison of Adjectives Lesson XLIX The Conditional Subjunctive: "If" Clauses Lesson L The Conditional Subjunctive Continued Lesson LI Numerals for Counting Days Lesson LII The Potential Subjunctive Lesson LIII The Potential Subjunctive: Negatives Lesson LIV The Potential SUbjunctive: Centrifugal and Centripetal Lesson LV Ordinal Numerals and Other Numeral Series Lesson LVI Accommodative Forms Lesson LVII NANO Appendix: The Moons of the Year Blackfeet Courtesy Blackfeet Syllabary Given Names Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000I I LESSON ONE (NITOXKA) I Vocabulary: IVerbs Other Words -APO- = to go, come anom = here -APOTAKI- = to work ami there, over there I -OMAHKA- = to run anohk now -ITOMO- to lead, go first itom- = first, leading I -OTO-ITO- = to come, go, arrive oki hello! come in! -UPI- = to sit (down) ki and I -ITAUPI- = to live, dwell nitoxka one sokapi, sokap- good Init- I, me, real, one, Indian Each lesson will have a word list or vocabulary, including verbs, I nouns and other kinds of words or stems. Often these "words" are only stems and cannot be used by themselves. If the "word" has a hyphen in front of it or behind it or both, it is a combining form and must have I something attached to have it make sense. How to make these combinations will be one of the main things to learn in the Blackfeet language. I You must also learn to tell verbs from nouns., and for that reason they will be listed separately. The verbs are so important in Blackfeet I that they will be given to you in capital letters and only as stems to which you will have to link other terms. It may be a good idea if you I try to find the verb stem first of all and then consider all the particles that come attached to it in front and behind: VERB STEM I Now let's start to use a few of these verb stems to make sense out of them: I singular plural 1st person nitAPOTAKI I work nitAPOTAKlhpinan we work I2nd person kitAPOTAKI = you work kitAPOTAKlhpuwaw you (pI.) work Notice that to sa.y "r" you add ni-t- in front of the verb stem. The I -t- must be inserted in some words as a "go-between". Some people use just the -t- and omit the ni-. To say "you" the prefix is ki-t- and I 1 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000 I must not be omitted. What do you add to end of the stem to say "we"? I To say "you pI." ("you guys")? We should note that this way to say-' I "we" is not the only way and is used only when "we" does not include "youll Exercises: I Take each one of the verb stems listed in the vocabulary and treat it , just the way APOTAKI is treated here. singular plural 1st person 2nd personI It will be a good habit to use this table-like form to conjugate verbs from now on. To conjugate means to "yoke up" and is a Latin word used I to describe what we do to verbs. With one of our verb stems, there is I a little trick to remember: O } ~ drops the final -A if nothing is attached onto it, becoming -OMAHK' (note the use of the apostrophe.) I There is another trick to remember if you use 1TAUP1 or 1TOMO: The "go-between" -.!.- of ni t- and kit- turns into ts in front of the i. (I usually write Z in place of TS.) } ~ n y verbs act like OMAHKA, 1TAUP1 and 1TOMO. That will help keep us awake.I Now translate: I 1. I live here. You live there. We live here. You (pl.) live there. 2. Now I am working. ("am working" is the same as just "work".) 3. (Make up your own.) , -II I II 2 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON II (NATOKA) Vocabulary Verbs Nouns -ANI- = to say, tell aki = woman -SAMI- to hunt, seek akfkoan girl -SAXI- to go out napikoan white man -XlKAI- to walk Pikuni Piegan '" -PUYI- to speak Sixika Blackfoot, Blackfeet -OHKlMA- to wait Kaina = Blood(s) -OKA- to sleep napi = old man -PAPAUKA- & -PAPOKA- napi friend, partner! (in address to dream mahkuyi = wolf -ASAINI- = to cry, weep mistaki = mountain '" -YIMI- & -IMI- to laugh iniw = buffalo Other Words nat-, natoka two amoyauk, amoye here is.... (on handing things) a = yes sa no kika! wait! kako! = go on! AKI and KOAN: Algonquian languages usually do not distinguish male and female. In some cases, however, Blackfeet uses these two terms as suffixes in this manner: -AKI is frequently attached to feminine personaL names and to tribal and ethnic terms; e.e. napiaki = white woman; Pikuni-aki Piegan woman. -KOAN is sometimes attached to masculine and ethnic terms: e.g. = Piegan man. For other functions of -KOAN, see Lesson Timeless Verbs: Blackfeet does not need to distinguish time or tense in its verbs as English does, though it can make such distinctions if the speaker wants to. In other words, a Blackfeet verb may refer to the past or the present and be translated "I do . It or "I did . ", "I was doing"' . Prefixes AI and. AU: Most verbs in Blackfeet require on.e or the other of------'. - -_. these two prefixes, usually accented. You just have to remember which c: 3 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000I I I I I I I II these two goes with which verb. Some verbs. however, require neither but may use one if the speaker wishes. The verbs given in Lesson I and SAXI do not require such a prefix. Of the verbs given in this -' lesson, ANI takes AU and so does ASAINI: auANI, auASAINI. The other -' verbs in this lesson take AI: aiSAMI, aiXIKAI, aiPUYI, aiOHKIMA, aiOKA, aiPAPAUKA, aiYIMI. Here is how it works: nitauANI I am saying etc. nitauANIhpinan we are saying etc. kitauANI you are saying etc. kitauANIhpuwaw you(pl.) are saying etc. These prefixes can be translated by the "progressive" forms in English: , e.g. "I am (was) doing". The pronunciation of AI varies from AY as in English "day" to the Y in English "sky" and sometimes even to the U in English "but". From here on the prefix AI or AU will be given with each verb in the vocabularies that requires such a prefix, or usually uses one. Exercises: Conjugate each one of the new verbs using the appropriate prefix if one is needed. But be careful! aiSAMI and SAXI are like OMAHKA; they drop their final vowel (I) when nothing follows it and put an apostrophe in its place. 4 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON III (NIUOXKA) Vocabulary: Verbs Nouns auAMISO to go up, climb matapi person -" aiINISO to go down, descend nizitapi Indian (real person) aiSUMOSI to get water, go for sahkumapi boy water (drops final I) auAHKAII to go home poka = child kokit! give me! (command only) imita dog piit! ;; come in! ( " ) nitomitam my dog istupit! = sit here (there)! kitomitam = your dog (command form) kos cup, dish Other tvords (n)api- white sahk- short niuoxka three ami- up in- down amitohzi = up, upstream, west inisohzi ;; down suyi water, in the water isu6hzi near the water, on the shore Command Forms: We have just a few of these, but you can see from them that to form a command we add -T to the verb stem when only one person is addressed. e.g. UPlt = sit down! Interrogatives: To ask a question with either of the singular forms we have had, simply add the suffix -HPA to the verb stem. To ask a question using either of the plural forms, add -A at the end of the word. For example: singular plural 1st person nit-ANI-hpa nit-ANI-ihpinan-a 2nd person kit-ANI-hpa kit-ANI-puwaw-a 5 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000These words mean: "Am I telling. ?" , "Are you . ?" Some people drop the final -A in accordance with the tendency in the Blackfeet language to silence final vowels. II To form negatives with any verb in the forms we know, prefix MAT- to the interrogative forms just given. But the -T- of nit- and kitdisappears in front of MAT-, and the accent falls back from AI or AU to MAT-. For example: 1- ni-mat-ANI-hpa I do not say we do not say 2- ki-mat-ANI-hpa = you do not say ki-mat-ANI-hpuwaw-a = you do not say These words can also be translated: "I am not telling" etc. If we use the AU- with ANI we these forms: 1- ni-mat-auANI-hpa ni-mat-auANI-hpinan-a 2- ki-mat-auANI-hpa ki-mat-auANI-hpuwaw-a Conj all the verbs we know in the interrogative and forms. Translate: 1- Come in and sit down here! 2- Givei.1me the cup! 3- Give me one cup (two cups, three cups)! (You do not need plural forms with numerals.) 4- I am not laughing. Are you laughing? 5- Do you live near the shore? 6- No, I live here. Yes, I live there. The pupils should ask each other questions for each possible verb:I "Are you ... ? and then reply "Yes, I am... or "No, I am not. .. " I II 6 II Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000= black nisui ( (from here) truely = there, here Plurals: To form plurals, we must first know the gender of the noun: Is it "animate" or "inanimate"? In Algonquian languages it has become customary to divide nouns into these two genders even though the terms "animate" and "inanimate" do not seem adequate. Nouns for people and animals are animate, of course, but some things, like stars are also considered animate. Nouns for some trees are animate, some inanimate. Some terms are animate with one meaning and inanimate in another: e.g. kos(a) means "cup" if animate and "a pottery dish" if inanimate. The plurals of animate nouns are formed by adding -IX. The plurals of inanimate nouns are formed by adding -ISZ. If a noun ends in -N, the -N is dropped before changing to the plural. It is not necessary to pluralize nouns in Blackfeet, however, especially if they are accompanied by a n,umeral or some other indication of plurality. Here are some examples: imitaix = dogs; kosix = cups; kosisz = dishes; akikoaix = girls. Numerals have several forms: counting forms, animate and inanimate forms and on,e Qr more combining forms each. Here are some of the extra forms for the numerals we already know by their counting forms: 7 LESSON IV (NISO) Verbs Nouns aiSAPI = to look at, see kon snow aiKOANI = to play konsko = snow (on the ground)UNOZI to be hungry napayeni = bread (fromINAKI to be thirsty French la farine) aiKAKIAKI = to chop (wood), aisixikimi = coffeebat, hit (in baseball) nietahta = river, streamAMI = to be the one .. kitan(i) = loaf of bread,6hKOTAKI = to give cooking; pl. -anisz KITA = to bake, cook -kimi = water (ohK1TA: aihKIT') .. ohki = water (in.) POHSAPO = to come here pokun(a) (an.) = ball; MISTAPO to go away pl. pokuyix; n6hpokun = my ball; mi6hpokun = auZIMOTA = to run away, baseball (the game & the ball) Other Words -sko (collective suffix) sik-, sixiniso =..four; nisuim(an) puhs- = mist- = away -ikip- = funny, .. .. ik-, ix- = very im- = true, -it(at a point in time) Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000I I I - nitoxka ('toxka); nitoxkam; nitoxkai 2 - natoka; natokai. 3 - niuoxka; niu6xkam; niuQxkai.I 4 - niso; nisufm; Exercises: I A- Read and understand: Napikoaix; kosix; kosisz; mistakisz; akiix. Nitupi anom; kizitupihpuwaw. Kitaiok' isoohzi. Kifaiyimi; Kitainiso. ". ". I Kitainisohpuwaw. Kika! Kitaiohkimahpuwaw. Piit! Oki, napi! Kokit kos! Sokapin 1ksokapi. Amoyauk koso Otot! Mistapot! Puhsapot! Anohk nitaipuyihpinan. Nitauamisohpinan amitohzi. Isoohzi nizitaupihpinan.I Amitohzi kizitupi. Isoohzi nitapotakihpinan. Isoohzi nizitapohpinan. Anoma kizitotohpuwaw. Nizipikunikoan. Nitaiok'. Kimatapokihpuwawa. I Nimatapokihpinana. Nizitsam'. Nimazitsamihpa. Anom nitahkaii. Kitaikipanihpa? I verbs: You can make up new verbs by combining ANI (which drops---"--I final -I of course) by prefixing im-, ikip-: e.g. kiz-im-AN' = you're right, you tell the truth. Kiz-ik1p-ANI-hpa? = Are you joking? I B- Translate: You are speaking. We are speaking. I am a Piegan. I am working. I'm not working now; are you working here? We are I running near the water. You (pl.) stay here; you (pl.) laugh and sleep. We are sleeping. We laugh. I am waiting. You sit down over here and I sit on shore. Are you joking. I'm not joking. I'm telling the truth. Speak up! You live there. You are going down. I'm joking and you are I laughing. We live near the water. I sleep. I do not I am hunting now. I'm not hunting now. Are you going home? Come here! I Go away! Complete Exercise: In each group of three sentences, there is one I question, one affirmative answer and one negative answer. Fill in whichever sentence is missing: Kit auANlhpa ? A, nitauANI. Sa, niI matauANIhpa. I Kizikipanihpa? Sa, ___ ? A, nitomahk'. Sa,------------ Omi kizitapohpuwaw? A, Sa, . ----------A, Sa, nimatahkaiihpinana. ? A, Sa, nimatauasainihpa.I ------------- Kitaixikaihpa amitohzi? Sa, Sa, ____________________A, nitaipapauk'. 8 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000----I I LESSON V (NISITO) I Verbs Nouns Other Words APIXISTAKI = to throw notas = my horse. pet pi- = far ohKITUPI to ride. sit on, kotas = your horse. kit-,ihkit- = on :::::'11 straddle pet akai-, akau- = ma=y IaiSOTA to rain otas his/her horse. oma = that, thepetohPOTA to snow mazoap- = otomitam = his/her dogaiSOPU = to be windy, blow I nisito = fiveninaw = man, chiefaiPIUO = to be far off nisizi (an.)aiputaw = airplaneaiPUTA to fly Inisitol (in.)pokun(a) = ball (a.) --NISIZliaw (an.), NISITOiaw pokuyix (pl.)(in.) = there are five. IThe Rest the Conjugation of the Verb: The first portion of the conjugation of a verb included the first and second persons. It did not include the 1st person plural (that refers to "you" or the person spoken I to), nor any third, fourth or fifth persons. These are all part of the second configuration, made up mostly of suffixes. Fourth and fifth I may seem strange to you because English does not have them. The fifth person is now so rarely used that we shall skip it for the present. IThird Person: Third person forms are usually made with suffixes only. Since there is no distinction for sex, we may translate it by either "he" or "she" and occasionally by "it", for the singular, and by "they" for I the plural. (Note the verb NISIZI-. In another lesson we'll discuss a distinction between the so-called "animate" and "inanimate".) The 3rd I person singular is formed by suffixing -WA to the stem or root. Usually the A of -WA is final and therefore silenced, and all we may hear is the I W sounded like the W in English "few". Some people, especially south of the border, do not even say that. There are also instances where a final II -A or final -M is the 3rd person ending, but we can discuss those cases when we come to them. The 3rd person plural ("they") is formed by adding 'Z) the T, of the pronoun prefix. To illustrate: .. 1- nitIYI nitUYlhpinan.. UYlop .. 2- kitUYI kitUYlhpuwaw .. 3- UYlw UYIiaw .. -" 4- UYlinai And we meet alternates like nizOI, kizOI, OIw, OIop etc. Exercises: A - Let each student conjugate a verb of his/her choice in the interrogative and negative of all four persons. B - Apotakiw'; matapotakiwaz; apotakiwazix; kutapotakiwazix? Apotakiiaw; matapotakiwexaw; apotakiwexaw? kutapotakiwexaw? Napikoan kutapotakiwaz, mataikakiakiwz ki mataisumosiwaz. Zima kizitapohpa? Mistakisz nizitapo. Nimatapohpa. (In translating add "anywhere".) Kitoihpa pixi? Sa, nimatoihpa. Taka otasaz? Sahkumapi ki imitaikoan aunoziaw; mataunoziwexaw; kutaunoziwexaw. C - She is staying here. They are seated over there. He is sitting at the shore. That Piegan is climbing on the mountain, on Chief Mountain. Where are you (pl.) going? We are not going anywhere. Eat! Drink! What does "Piegan" mean? It means "Pikuni". The chief goes away (went away), The chief's horse went away. 13 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON VII (IHKIZIKA) Verbs Nouns Other Words auAZIMOIHKA = to pray nato-, "'" ihkizika = seven AKOMITAKI = to love holy, spirit(ual) ihkizikam (an.) APISTO(TAKI) = to create, natosi = sun, holy one "'"ihkizikai (in.) make, fix, arrange OTAKO (auTAKO) = to turn, go around Apistotoki = God ,kisum = sun, moon kakatosi star ahs(i) = good sotam-, s'tarnnow, soon aiAHSI want = to feel good about, to, like to azotaki .. = square as-, aso = trying AHSI = to be good APATO = to go behind, be OXKASI to run pita-w = awakasi nataiyo eagle deer cat (wild) spohzi = up, above, in the sky isohzi ahead, in front SINAKI OTAKSIw to write, draw (an.), OTAKI (in.) (m)otaki (in.) = shadow, notakaw spirit; = my shadow, apatahzi = behind, in the North is round, a circle, zero otaki his/hers. otak round, nitakaw my friend circular The suffix -AKI, -AKI: This suffix can be attached to various words for the sake of emphasis: e.g. ! = hey partner! It often appears~ . ; ; . . . . ; ; : ; ; ~ = o on the intransitive forms of verbs: e.g. APIXISTAKI, APISTOTAKI, AKOMITAKI. How To Talk About the Past: The verb forms we already know are timeless and may refer to the present or the past. But if we wish to clarify or emphasize the past action, we simply switch the -T- of nit-, kit- to a -K-: nik-, kik-, and in 3rd and 4th persons we ak- or ik-: e.g. nikUrI (or nikUI), nikOTO (nikAUTO), akOTOw(akAUTOw), ikitAPOw. To add more stress, we can use a reduplication: nikauk-, kikauk-, akauk-: nikaukUI, akaukUlw. How To Talk About the Future: This is even easier. Just prefix AK (ix-) right in front of the verb root. This gives the meanings "shall, will, going to, about to, intend to, want to" e.g. akSOTAw, nitakOTO, nitakitOTO, nitakUYI (nitaxUYI). Combining Verb Roots in the Same Manner: We often use two verbs together. one dependent upon the other. Let's take some examples: To say "can, be able to" we combine the two roots AK- and -OT- (from OTO?) producing a new prefix AKOT- (AKOZ-): nitakozaiPUYI (nitakotaiPUYI). To say "wish, want to, feel like, like toll we use the verb aiAHSI (aiAHS') 14 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000~ t h some other verb root: nitaiAHS-UYI. kitaiAHS-SIM'. nitaiAHS-APOhpinan. To say "go to do II use OTO in the same manner (though it may be cut down to OT-) : nitak-OTO-aiSUMOS'. To say "try to". combine AS- with AK- to form ASAK-: nitasakSAM'. Sometimes AS- is used by itself with the same meaning: asANIT! To say "must. have to". couple AK-with -S'TAM to get a more urgent form: nitaks' tamitAPO. Exercises: bmi nitakitoto. Nitakitotohpinan. Nizikitapo .. Akitapow. Asohkokit! Sapit! Awakasix ihzikamiaw. Za kitauanihpa: Nimatakotihpa. Oma awakasi auzimotaw. Omi kitaiahsitapohpa? Oma napiwa akazlmoihkaw. asakazimoihkaw. akotazimoihkaw, aiahsazimoihkaw, aks'tamazimoihkaw. Za kitaiahsuthpa? Nimataiahsuihpa . Nikaiok'. That star is not round. There are seven elk over there. Do you feel like eating (something)? Where are you going? Where did you go? Where will you go? You can pray; you try to pray; you will pray; you did pray; you must pray. 15 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON VIII (NtNISO) Verbs Nouns aiSAKO =: to hail moyis = house, ". ". ". lodge (in.)NIPUYI, aiPUYAw =: to rise, moyisz (pI.)up, stand up ponokaumitaw horseNINIHKI- =: to anisin = word, meaningMAKITA(KI) = to load, pack, saddle nitoyis = tipi (real lodge)MAHKIZI- = to get to bed isokinaki = doctorMANISTAP- = to be of some sort (a specifier) NATOSIw(an.), NATOYlw (in.) = to be holy, spiritual aiSKO to go back Other Words naniso = eight nanisufmi (an.) nanisui (in.) amiskapohzi south, in the south omahk- = ,great (k)inok- small, little za anistap(i) = what is it? What do you want? za kanistapaupfhpa = How za anistap-anisin = what does (it) mean? anistap-anisin = it means INITIAL M-, ~ - and ~ - : When these sounds are initial to a root they often are dropped to make room for a prefix. This happens to verbs, nouns, adjectival particles, but more often with M- and N- than with P-. When they are dropped, we get the combining form of the root and frequently the vowel that follows them is weakened. Examples: mistaki turns into the combining form napi- becomes a p ~ - (an ancient root for "white!!), moyis becomes -oyis as in nitoyis (tipi or !!real lodge"), nato(the basic root for "holy") becomes -ato-, becomes the combining....--form -inok-, and so of course natosi becomes -atosi (as in kakatosi, ". "just a sun or holy one"). But the P- ofpita-w is not dropped (maybe it l S a relic of "white"). As examples of verbs, let's take the following: ITOMO is a shortened form of MATOMO, and NINIHKI becomes 16 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000-INIHKI-. Here is the sample conjugation of MAKITA- : 1- nitaiAKIT' nitaiAKITAhpinan AKITAop 2- kitaiAKIT' kitaiAKITAhpuwaw 3- aiAKlTAw aiAKITAiaw 4- aiAKlTAinai But notice that the M- reappears on the command: Makltat!. Here is the conjugation of MAHK'ZI (MAHKIZI) (cf. IHZI, Lesson ): 1- nita:tAHKIZ ' nitaiAHKIZIhpinan a;!...AHKIZIop 2- kitaiAHKIZ' kitaiAHKIZIhpuwaw 3- aiAHKIZIw' aiAHKIZIiaw 4- aiAHKIZIlnai ( Now let's conjugate napikoan to make a verb out of it: "to be a white man" (remember that the -T- of the prefix becomes -Z-, for reasons unknown!): 1- nizAPIKOAN' niz4PIKOANIhpinan NAPIKOANIop 2- kizAPIKOAN' kizAPIKOANIhpuwaw 3- NAPIKOANIw NAPIKOANIiaw 4- NAPIKOANIfnai But the verb NIPUYI presents some peculiarities and has to be memorized separately. It derives from the root NIPU- (rising, standing). When the N- is suppressed and the prefix AI- replaces it, this verb becomes practically indistinguishable from aiPUYI (to speak). Perhaps for that reason, the Y interchanges with Wand we get a new conjugation that is now the more common one, meaning "to stand, to stand up, stop, rise, get up": 1 nitaiPu\-JAU nitaiPUHAUhpinan aiPUWAUop 2 kitaJPUWAU kitai;PUWAUhpuwaw 3 aiPUWAUw aiPUWAUiaw 4 a i;pUWAuInai But the command forms are .. .. nipuyit, in.tensified to nipupuyit and alternating with nipuwaut! 17 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000But notice that the M- reappears on the command: Makitat!. Here is the conjugation of MAHK'ZI (MAHKIZI) (cf. IHZI, Lesson ): " " 1- nitATOS' nitATOSIhpinan NATOSIop 2- kitATOS' kitATOSIhpuwaw " '"3- NATOSIw NATOSIiaw "" '"4- NATOSIinai The inanimate forms will be in the next lesson. .. Exercises: Explain: Omahkastosi; nitoyis; nizitapi; isokinaki. Conjugate all the verbs in this lesson. Alternates for the question "i.Jhat does (it) mean" are Za aniwaz 11 tI ~ -: h d h hand for the reply It means ,auanlwa. Using t ese an t e ot er expressions composed of MANISTAP-, hold a question-answer conversation about the meaning of Blackfeet terms. 18 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON IX (PIHXO) Verbs Nouns Other Words auAWAHKA = to walk akaitapisko = town pihxo = nine 02IS1 = to smoke mazitapisko nobody pihxi (an.) PIHXliaw(an.), PIHXOiaw ohkotoki = stone, rock pihxoi (in.) (in.) there are nine istoan = knife (an.) nistowa I, me OMA = to marry (a husband) sinaxin a writing kistowa you ohKlMA = to marry (a wife) -" spiksinaxin book ustoi he, she aiPIKIAKI to mash, grind aiskatopi = corn spik- thick aiSIKSOPU to blow a kOpi = soup, coffee mazoap- = beautiful,chinook handsome, fineixisako = meat (in.) mazi- = beautiful,noma = my husband fine omi = her husband namisz, nam- east nitohk{man = my wife -" nimisz, nim- west otohk{man = his wife mat- = again, also, mostum(i) = body. self too Construct Case: This paragraph could have just as well been labeled "Obviative Case" or "Nouns in the 4th Person". A noun in the fourth person replaces the suffix -W or -WA or -A by an -I. Some nouns, however, do not distinguish 4th person from 3rd person. The 4th person often serves as the combining form of a noun (e.g. imitai-koan = puppy) and even as the verbal root of a noun conjugated in the 1st and 2nd persons (e.g. niPITAI or niziPITAI 'm an eaglell , used in an old song). -" (Note that 3rd person for "he's an eagle" is simply PITAw.) The personal pronouns are based on the word or "someone's body", so that the pronoun for "I, me" can really be considered a noun meaning "my body, self", nistowa, while kisto,va similarly means "Your body, self". But ustoi or "his/her body, self" must carry the U- prefix for 3rd person and the -I suffix for the "body" as 4th person. This "construct case" is also called non-particular, unindexed and $ubordinate. Note that final -N or -S are usually dropped before adding it, that the -I is used for both animate and inanimate, and that singular and plural have the same form. It can be used as the object of ordinarily 19 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000'" intransitive verbs, e.g. pokai, istoai, owai, ponokai, sinopai, pitai, 6hk:Li, otakai. Declension of Nouns: Nouns have some or all of the following cases, though only a few of them have all four cases. The basic case is called "unindexed" for lack of a better name. Only a few nouns have the 4th case or Vocative (e.g. = partner). It is only the singular that these cases are distinguished, so the plural of them all is the same. We shall take nina as an example, the plural of which is -" in all four instances:Unindexed: NINA 3rd Person: NfNAw 4th Person: NfNAi Vocative: NINA Examples of the Construct Case or 4th Person nouns: akii. akikoani. otohkiman(i), nietahtai, nizINAI I am a man (initial N- dropped). ions are often omitted, but adverbs in -OHZI (-OHZIM, -OHZ')--"-"------"function as either prepositions or postpositions, that is, they may follow or precede the noun at the speaker's option. Itapotakiw ~ _______ moyisi = he is working behind the house; ~ ? y { s i is 4th person, of course, since the "he" (understood, not expressed) is the 3rd person. But, Nizitupi moyis pist6hzi I am sitting in the house. (Can you explain why moyis is only 3rd person here?). A few more samples: {sohzi notas nietahtai aistohzi moy{s(i) aistohzi. Exercises: Conj NINA. NIZITAPIKOAN. Nimatapohpa (add "anywhere" in the translation). Rikutaiitsapihpa matapi (translate this last word as "anybodyll). Kitaisapihpa matapi? Mazitapisko. Behind the tipi; in front of the I am in front of my horse. You are in front of your horse. He is behind his horse. He is in front of his house. They are living near the river. 20 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON X (KIPO) Verbs Nouns Other Words KIPliaw (an.), KIPOiaw omahk{na old man k{po = ten (in.) = there are ten. akoxkina chief k{pi (an.), aiIPI = to enter kyaiyo = bear kipoi (in.) aiKOPU = to fear, be afraid apohkyaiyo = grizzly mahk-, mahx- = red AUZI (AZI) = to swim, bathe owa = egg, eggs otahkui- = yellow SIXINA = to be black uniki = milk otahkuinazi an orangeMAHXINA = to be red s{nopa = (kit) fox ~ ozkui- = blue, greenOTAHKUINA = to be yellow pikiazis stone ax kumonui- blue,OZKUINA = to be blue, green pikiaxin mush purple KUMONUINA = to be blue, purple isz{ = fire, coals anat-, anatap- = MAZIINA to be handsome omahx1kimi = lake pretty ANAZINA to be pretty ZANISZINA = what color is it? Verbs With the Suffix -M: A few verbs use -M instead of -W or -WA in the 3rd and 4th persons, usually with reference to an animate subject. Color verbs, as we shall soon see, do this consistently, and a few others that follow this pattern are given in this and the next lesson: e.g. "to enter": nitaiIPI but aiIPlm, aiIPIMiaw, aiIPlminai; "to fear": nitaiKOP' budiiKOPUm, aiKOPUmiaw, aiKOPUmfnai; "to swim": niti\UZ' but AUZlm, 'i\UZlmiaw, AUZlminai (the initial au- has evidently become absorbed into the root AZI to form AUZI.) All such verbs are intransitive. The command forms for the three just given are slightly irregular: Kbput!. pift! az{t! Color Verbs and Their Type: Many of the verbs of this kind are listed in the vocabulary for this lesson. Notice that their stems all end in -NA (the A is short). The 3rd and 4th persons follow the rules given in the paragraph above, with -M for animate subjects: e.g. nitSIXINA but SIXINAm SIXINAmiaw, SIXINAminai. These verbs may be translated "It looks black etc." Color verbs, however, and their type also have one inanimate form for the third person singular, which terminates in -ZI + -W: e.g . .-SIXINAziw. You may have noticed that numeral verbs have an -M in their animate forms and so follow a similar pattern. We'll review them in the next lesson. 21 -I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Plural Imperatives: We have learned to make the singular imperative by adding -T to the verb root. To make the plural, used for addressing more person than one, you put a -K in place of the -T. e.g. anik!, nipupuyik!, sinakit! The plural imperatives for the verbs of this lesson with slight eccentricities are these: kapuk!, piik!, azik! Exercises: Conjugate all the new verbs of this lesson (remembering that MAHXINA often uses the prefix au- without dropping the initial M-). Count several dishes and both ask and reply about their colors. 22 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000I LESSON XI (NIZIKOPUTO) Verbs Nouns Other Words NIZINA = to resemble, look xiszikum = thunder nizi- one like -xoko = friend, relative, -koputo = suffix lKANA = to shine (ik- + ANA) for numeralskinsman; nixoko = my f. &c. , within a decadMOXINA = to be mean oxokoi = his/her f. &c. ; xasximok- = green(ai)PUINA to suffer nixokoai (obv.) , nixokowa nitowa (a.),XASXIMOKA to be green (voc. ) (as grass) " nitui (in.)= samexasximoko = grass (new) XIXINA = to be white nist-, nistokmokakin pemmican twoiiXISZIK6 = it is " xisziko (in.) = day, light xik- = whiteANA = to be clear, bright; koko (in.) = night, chocolate (eni) = likeANAm (an.), aiANANAZlw (in.) kokumik1sum = moon as aiKOKO = it is night. Review of Numerals: Partly to review and partly to pickup more information, here is a survey of the numerals with their animate and inanimate and verbals forms. We have to remember that the number One will have only singular forms and all the rest of the numbers will have only plurals. The animate forms end in vowels (-A for number One, -I for the others), but usually these final vowels are suppressed and so are represented here .by the apostrophe: Counting Animate ]inanimate Combining Form Adjective Verb Adjective Verb Form 1. [nitoxka nitoxkam' nit6xkam' nitoxkai n1toxkaw nit- nizi"(alternates: 'toxka, nisia) natokaiaw 2. nitoka nitokam' nitokamiaw nito.kai 3. niuoxka niuoxkam' niuoxkamiaw niuoxkai niuoxkaiaw niuox-,ni4. niso fnisuim' {nisu{miaw nisoi nisoiaw nisi-,nislnisoyim' nisoybm."taw 5. nisito {nisiz{ jhisiziiaw nisitoi nisitoiaw }llisit-, Lnisitoyim1visitoyimiaw lnisizi6. naw nai' naiiaw niw' nawiaw nai-,naw23 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 20007. ihkiz{ka ihkiz{kam' ihkiz{kamiaw ihkiz{kai ihkizikaiiaw ihkizik8. ....nanl-SO nanisolm' nanisolmiaw nanisoiaw nanisinanisoy{m' nanisoy{miaw nanisoyi nanisoyoiaw 9. p{hxo pihx{ pihx{iaw pihxoi pihxoiaw pihx{-,pihx 10. k{po k{pi kip:!iaw kipoi kipoiaw kip-M Stem Verbs: The new verbs of this lesson, NIZINA, MOXINA and aiPUINA are M-stems and so conjugated like aiKOPU and So too are ANA, ikANA, XASXIMOKA, XiXINA, which are like the other color verbs and include the 3rd person singular form for the inanimate: XASXIMOKAZIw and XfXINAZIw. Exercises: Count ten dogs, ten eggs, ten birds, ten small birds, ten persons, ten white men, ten Piegans, ten Indians etc. Conjugate all the new verbs and make them into sentences using numerals with their subjects. Read: Oki, nixoko! P{it! Ahsikoko! 24 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XII (NAZIKOPUTO) Verbs Nouns Other Words AKAIYIMiaw (an.), AKAUQ manikapi = young anat":', ana21-. :=; few, (in.) = they are many, much man (unmarried) little (in amount) ANATOHSIMlaw (a.), UNATOH- potazis (an.) = stove anauk- half , Siaw (in.) = they are few. fractionpotani (in.) = ANAUKlw = there is half. (camp) fire ahsap- = kind, generouaiPOTA to make a fire apinako = morning makap-, mak- = bad MANISlw'(an.), MANlw (in.) matapinakoi = the itamap-, itami- = to be new, young next morning happy IK6MSlw (an.), IKOMlw (in.) ximat- = happy= is round kom- = roundaiPAPIS (nitaiPAPIS, aiPAPISAm) = to yell, shout' ectives: Adjectives occur both as combining forms (always prefixes) and as independent. The present no problem, and we have already encountered a few of them: e.g. sixi- as in S!xi-Plta and napi- as in napikoan. The independent forms may also be used as nouns or verbs and should agree in gender, number and even person with the noun they refer to. Most of the independent forms terminate in -API and have combining forms that end in -AP-. Thus, s o k a p ~ , which can stand alone as adjective or adverb, meaning "good, fine, OK", or as a noun meaning Ita good thing". Or it can be conjugated as a verb, either animate or inanimate. To make it animate. we have to insert an -S- after the -AP-: 1. nitSOKAPS' nitSOKAPSIhpinan SOKAPSIop 2. kit SOKAPS, kitSOKAPSlhpuwaw 3. SOKAPSlw SOKAPSIiaw 4. SOKAPSI:Lnai The inanimate forms, of course, can occur only in 3rd and 4th persons: 3 SOKAPIw SOKAPliaw 4 SOKAPI1nai The animate -S- is not used for the prefix. Thus: and its negative, mat-sokap-apikoan (a favorite expression!). 25 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Now, let's go back to NAT6sI, which as a noun is usually translated as "sun" but which we can now see from the animate infix -S- primarily must mean "holy one" or "holy person". We shall conjugate it as a verb "to be holy": 1. nitATOS' nitATOSIhpinan NATdsIop 2. kitATOS' kitATOSIhpuwaw 3. NATdsIw NATdSIiaw 4. NATdSIinai And the inanimate forms for 3rd and 4th persons: 3 NATOyfwa (or _WI) NATOYtiaw 4 NATOYI!nai Here are a few more adjectives used also as adjective-verbs: AHS- combining form; AHSSIw' an. verb; AHSIw' in. verb; AHSSix an. ., AHSIsz in. pl.; nitAHSSI = U am good. MANI- combining form; MANISIw an. verb; MANtw in. verb. Za ANISTAPSIwaz? Uhlenbeck distinguishes traditional from modern usage: ahsisz koisz (good meats); ponokawmitaix ahsix (good horses--note the reversed order); n!naw sokapsiw' (the man is good); sokaps(i) n!naw (a good man); sokapinaw (a good man). In the last two examples; the final one is definitely the more traditional form, whereas the first one seems to be a modern anlicization. The use of independent adjectives, unless they are adjective-verbs, seems modern and more frequent among younger people. Exercises: Conjugate all the new verbs and adjective verbs of this lesson. Read: Oki, nitaka. Ahs-apinako. 26 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XIII (NIKOPUTO) Verbs Nouns Other Words AMAUPI = to be quiet, be aplnako = morning nitohzi on the right-have well, be silent ahkuiinima = pipe nawohzi on the left IZINlKA = to relate, sahklna = married man akap- = oftentell (stories), narrate stamik = bull, steer pinap-, pinapohziauYOSI = to cook downstream, eastskim, skini = cow, mareAN!TAKI = to hurry kanai-, kanau- = allnapim = male (pl.AWAUPI = to swing naplmix) aplnakosi = tomolrrow NIZITAPI = to be alone naplnyuan = sugar matoni = yesterday KOKUT6 = to freeze (of inaplnyuan = candy nohk- = please!water etc.) (aiKOKUTO) ("long sugar") IN!PIZI = to freeze (of kokuito = ice, glacierpeople and animals Pointers on NIZITAPI: This word can be either a noun or a verb: "a lone person" or "to be alone". Obviously it is compounded of NIT- + MATAPI. To conjugate it, you do not have to drop the initial N-, but instead you can say: niNtZITAPI = I am alone, I am one person. If you do drop the initial N-, you will get the forms niztZITAPI, kiztZITAPI etc., which are also acceptable but present a confusion with nizIZ1TAPI I am an Indian, derived from nizltapi = real person. The confusion can be avoided by adding -KOAN or -AKI to the noun to get nizltapikoan or nizltapiaki, and its verbal forms. Another way to avoid the confusion would be to use nistowa and the appropriate form of the noun without any verbal form. Gender in Animals: In terms for animals (hoofed animals at least), -STKMIK is often suffixed to indicate the male and -SKIM or -SKINI to designate the female. Both terms should be added onto the construct case: e.g. ponokaistamik, ponokai-skim. Negative Imperatives: to say "don' tit do this or that, you simply prefix PIN- or MIN- to the positive imperative (and it is evidently optional whether you use PIN- or MIN-): e.g. pinUYlt!, pinUPlk!, pinOTOt!, miniKOKlt! ~ I Row_ To Say "Please": Prefix NORK,.- to the ordinary imperative form. Some irregularities do occur, and occasionally OR- is inserted between N6RK- and the verb stem: e. g. nohkAPOTAKIt!, n6hxIPlit! (please come in), n6hkitUPIt! nohkohK6KIt! (please give it to me), mini6kat! pini6kat! 27 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000KANA1- KANAU- and Its Type: The adjectival prefix KAN-, "all, every", usually adds either -AI or -iu to itself. Thus we get kanai-in!w = all the buffalo; all the people; kanai-apikoaix = all the white men; kanai-izitapi all the Indians; kanau-akiix = all the women; kanauotasix; etc. KAN- can even be incorporated into compound verbs; ai-kan-istAPOiaw they all went away. There is no rule known as to when KAN- uses AI and when it uses AU, but AU does occur before an 0, whereas AI is more A few other adjective-prefixes follow this pattern: AK (AKAI-, AKAU-), NIT- (NITAI-, NITAU-: e.g. akaitapi (crowd, throng), akaitapisko, (lone chief or lone man). KAN- often takes the prefix OH-. Exercises: Give the positive, , singular and plural imperatives of all the verbs of this lesson. Then give the forms with "please". Then do the same with UIY, UPI, OTO, SAPI, KOKI, APOTAKI, NIPUYI, aiPUYI, itAPO, ANI, SAKO, MAHKIZI, IPI. Name the four world directions. Conjugate "to be Indian" and "to be alone". What alternative expressions can you use to avoid confusion? Collectives: Collective nouns are often formed by the suffix -SKO: e.g. akaitapisko (town), konsko, misz1sko (timber), ohkot6ksko (rocky place). Others, usually referring to people or animals, are formed by prefixing OT- etc. and suffixing -SINA, -SIN: e.g. otapisina (all the people), otaxisina (all the women), opokasina (all the children), unnasina (all the men-- U- = 3rd person as does OT-), onokasina the onokamitasina (all the horses), 6tomitasina (all the dogs). 28 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XIV (NISIKOPUTO) Verbs Nouns Other Words OMATO (auMATO) to begin, nistunan we, us kistap- (xistap-) start (exl.), -nani(obv.) ready, finished aiSIKO to stop, quit xistunan = we, us zaniszi when? (in past' OHKOT can, be able (inclusive) zaniszis when?(iri futur_ SIKUPI to rest xistoaw = you (pl.) (m)i = hard, strong sikepit! stop! ostoawai = they, them miskap strong, muscula aiKISTAPSI = to be ready -atuyi = tail siszik tired (of) (M)IIw = is hard, strong, awatuyi = deer tough(in. ) aisikotuyi = mule deer More Verb Combinations: This note is a continuation of Lesson VII. Please refer back to that lesson for review. Here are more examples of verbal stems that can be incorporated with the principal verbal stem to make compound verbs: -OHKOT- (IHKOT-) = can, be able. Very like AKOT-, but notice the common prefix OH (IH) in front of K-: e.g. nitohkotOHKlMA: ihkotAUZlm; nitohkozOK'. SISZIK- = to be tired (of): e.g. akaisiszixINIHKlw (he has already got tired of singing). SIKO, SIK- = to stop, quit: aisikAPOXKASlw (he quits running about); aisikAZIMOIHKAw. OMATO, OMATAP-, auMATO = to begin, start: omatapOXKASlw; nitomatapAZ'. KISTAP- = to finish: aikistapOXKASlw. There are a good many other similar combinations, but from now on you should be able to discover them for yourself. Notice, for instance, the use of APO (AP-) meaning "around, about", with OXKASI: AP-OXKAAI. It may be that APOTAKI is a combination of AP+OTAKI or AP+OT+AKI. So what about APATO? And observe the root AWA which refers to a swaying or rythmical motion. We have several words based on it. Can you name them? It may even turn out that the common verbal prefix AU derives from this source suggesting some sort of reversible motion. See SIKO (SIK-) in aisikotuyi and in SIKUPI. Now take it from there on your own..... POINTERS ON KISTAP-: This word can easily be used as an animate verb or adjective-verb "to be ready": In an as sibilated form (that is, 29 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000K as sibilated to X producing XIST- or XISTAP-, it may also be used to indicate a past tense, often preced by AKAI- and perhaps also by IT-or IZ-, "then, there". All three of these prefixes may occur separately or together in past "tenses": e.g. iz-akai-xistap-aUYlw = he had already finished eating. But in the present elementary introduction to the Blackfeet language we shall not try to develop such complicated forms, recalling rather that it is useful to the student to realize that they do occur. Exercises: Using nitAUZ' as a starter, supply the 1st person singular forms for these variations: CAN swim AM TIRED of swimming SHALL swim FEEL LIKE swimming SHALL BE ABLE to swim DO NOT WANT to swim CANNOT swim HAVE to swim TRY to swim HAVE to swim? START to swim HAVE TO TRY to swim? STOP swimming HAVE TO QUIT swimming? Now do the same for 3rd person plural. Conjugate the future and past of SIKUPI, APO. Translate: Are you ready? Are you ready already? When will they be ready? handsome young mam:good-looking woman; handsome person (or people); pretty girl. 30 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XV (NISIZIKOPUTO) Verbs Nouns INfpIZI = to feel cold aistuYl = ice cream (i)STuyr = to be cold (of (i)stuniki = milkshake weather & things), be winter aixini = pig aiSTUYISI = to be ashamed aixinyosaki = bacon XISTUSI to feel hot, warm kinl = rose, tomato XISTUYI to be hot (of miszls = tree, logweather & things) (if an.); stick, aiXlMAZfTAKI = to be glad, wood (if in.); pleased (with, rejoice, an. pI. misZlx, greet, thank in.pI. miszlsz firewoodXINI = to grunt sixi-, xi- = tree, wood(M)IIK6w = it is hard, strong, difficult Other Words (i)stuyi-, stu- = cold xisto- (kristo-) = hot itami-, itamap happy itami-xisziko-w (it's) good weather. makapi-xisziko-w = (it's) bad weather. zanizlwa xisziko? = how's the weather? Using Intransitive Stems Transitively: Luckily for us, we do not have to wait until we get to the transitive verb stems in order to use objects with verbs, though in fact that would be the normal thing to do. But it is acceptable, sometimes, to use and intransitive verb with a noun object expressed. This is often done with common verbs, like SAPI, SAMI, UYI, SIMI: nitaiahsuyi lxisako; kitaiahs-sim' uniki; kitsapihpa matapi? aisamiaw inl. Notice that in the last instance and whenever you use a third person verb, the noun object will become fourth person. Gender in Special Adjective Verbs: Some adjective-verbs have special forms, not only for animate and inanimate, but also for persons, animals and inanimate trees. The words for "to be big", "to be small", "to be hot", "to be cold" all belong to this class. Here are the third person forms: .. OMAHKSIm to be big, old of persons OMAHKIMIw of animals 6MAHXIXIm of animate trees 31 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000d'MAHXIXlw of inanimate trees 6MAHKO of inanimate things INfxZlm to be small of persons INlKIMlw of animals INA'XIXlm of animate trees INAxIXlw of inanimate trees INlKOHZlw of inanimate things Note the use of -XIXI- for trees (probably from the root SIXI or XI) and the suffixing of -M for living things. In the adjective-verbs for "hot" and "cold" there is a little difference: STUSlm and STUSlw to be cold of animates rSTUYlw of inanimates sTuknnw of liquids (inanimate) XISTUSlm and XISTUSlw to be hot. warm of animates '" of inanimates XTSTUYlw XISTUKd'Mlw of liquids (inanimate) Note the use of SIm for persons and -KIM I (-KOMI) for liquids. Exercises: Conjugate all the verbs of this being careful to note those that are impersonal (have only third persons). 32 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XVI (Naikoputo) ANAUKOw = it's a half. otakohsin =hour pok- = small ANAUKATUm = it's half past ihtaixiszikumopi sahxz- light (not (the hour) clock, watch heavy) POKIMIw = is small (of ani aisaixisto = show, sahk- = short mals); POKISIw = is small movie, theater, spi- = high, tall(of animate things) television tazik- middle, in(i)SOKSIm (of persons); (i) -stoki = ear the middleSOKIMIw (of animals); (i)nohtokis = my earSOKOw (in.) = is heavy skohzi = back, behind -ihkini = head, horn, (time) (an.)SAHXZlw (SAHtop, hair (an.)KOZfw) = is light (not za anistapaup1waz? = heavy). stukimi cold water How is ... (3rd per son)?auZISKATOw it's half-past xistokomi = hot water ino- (inoi-) = long(the hour) Time: Time (by the clock) is indicated by using the verb itOTOw in 3rd person singular; thus, Za-itotowaz? = What time is it? Or for variety, you may say Za-itotowazix? and you may add ihtai xiszikumiopi. In reply, simply use the inanimate form of the appropriate numeral (which will also be its obviate or 4th person form), and then, if you wish, you may repeat the verb in either the present (itotow) or the past (akaiitotow). Thus, for example, Natokai itotow. To indicate the half hour or just that the hour is well substitute the verb ANAUKATUm for itOTOw. More precise indications of time are not normally used. There are, however, words for the major fractions of an hour anaukotakohsin (half hour); inakanaukotakohsin (quarter of an hour). E.g. nitoxkai auziskatow. More Adjective-Verbs: Several new adjective-verbs appear in this vocabulary. The verb meaning high, tall" seems too involved for the vocabulary list so is given here: SPITAw (of persons); SPIMIw (of animals); SPIXfm (of animate trees); SPIXlw (of inanimate trees); SPlw (inanimate generally). 33 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000SAHKIMIw is short (of animals); SAHXIXIM (for animate trees and wooden objects); SAHXIXIw (of inanimate trees and wooden objects); SAHXIw (of animate generally); and SAHKlw (of inanimate generally). INOIMIw (INOYIMIw) = is long (of animals); INOXIM (of animate trees and wooden objects); INOXlw (of inanimate trees and wooden objects); INOSIm (of animate generally); and INOYlw (of inanimate generally). Cheer up! There's not much more to come. Exercises: Translate: What time is it? It's four- thirty (2 ways). The day is long, the night is short. The day is short, the night is long. The stick is short. The tree is tall. The mountain is high. See the high mountain! The trees are tall. The mountains are high. It's seven o'clock. The shadows are short at twelve o'clock. LongKnife. They are Long Knives. 34 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XVII (ihKIZIKIKOPUTO) ONISTAw is holy, spiritual onistan = a spirit onista- = holy, supernatural,IZZIw there is, are (i)stuim(i) (stuwimi spiritual & stuYlmi) (an.)lKAPI to be funny winter, year iksap- = funny STUyfMI = to pass the winter nipa = summer nipusi & !1ipusi NIPUMI = to pass the summer in the summer+mota (in.) spring aiPUw it is summer. motusi & autusimoka (in.) autumn in the spring +auTOw it is spring. -oh-xisi- = nose, beak mokusi & aukusiauKOw it is autumn. nohxisls = my nose in the autumn + mazIZZfhp(a) = there isn't any; aikatosi spirit, God (i)stuYls(i) inall gone. slkimi-w black horse the winter + xikihklni = bald eagle stuim- (an.), stuyi(in.) = winter adj za aniszi-stuyimiw =_ how old is he/she? Notes on the Vocabulary: The forms marked + are really subjunctives: e.g. "when it is summer", etc. The verb NIPUMI drops initial N-, thus: nitaiIPUMI or niziPUMI. The verb STuyfMI, which is used to count age, is conjugated nltSTUyfMI etc. What would this mean? Za kitaniszi-stulmihpa? Notice that to say "It is winter", you use the verb "to be cold" (i) STUYlw. New Names forAnimals: From the roots given in this lesson you can form a number of animal names: omahkstoki = mule; inohxisi = elephant; omahkatayo = mountain lion, puma, cougar, tiger; nlpumaki = chicadee (summerlady); mQtolsiszi = junco (spring bird), miomita (tough horse or dog); mexikazl-w = duck (red or pink feet); lmahkihklna-w = sheep, goat, bighorn (IMAHK = OMAHK) = mountain goat. Saying "old": To say "is old" (3rd person), use dMAHKSlm (c5MAHXlm) for persons; akaiapiw (of male human and of animals but not of women). This latter form derives from "already" and NAPI. For either animate and inanimate things, except animals, you may use akaislw. 35 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000To ~ ~ ___ Age in Years: Here are the 3rd person singular forms of the verbs expressing age from one to seventeen: (1) aiitSTUyfMlw, (2) aistokiSTUyfMlw, (3) aioxkaSTUyfMlw, (4) aisoSTUyfMlw, (5) aisitoSTuyfMlw, (6) auaiSTUyfMlw, (7) aukizlkiSTUYlMlw, (8) auanistoSTUYfMlw, (9) aipihxoSTUyfMlw, (10) aiipoSTUYfMlw, (11) aizikoputoSTUYfMIw, (12) aiszikoputoaiikoputoSTUYfMlw, (13) aisekoputoSTUYfMlw, (14) aisizekoputoSTUYfMlw, aiaikoputoSTUyfMlw, (17) aukizlkikoputoSTUyfMlw. This list looks pretty scary, but if you have memorized the combining forms of the numerals and remove the initial N-'s, you should not have too much trouble with them. Exercises: Each student should ask another about his or her age, and each in turn should reply. Since we know only the numbers up to seventeen, fictional ages will fortunately be in order. Conjugate the new verbs of this lesson in any possible or practical forms. Analyze each of the verbal expression for expressing age in years and extract from it the particle that stands for the number. Make a list of these. Can we say these things in some other way? Explain: Nitokan nitayikinaw (my guardian spirit speaks to me), 36 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000--LESSON XVIII (NANISIKOPUTO) aiSIXTAKI = to bite omaiyauk = there hel comes! omakauk = here hel she comes! SAHPsrw (an.), SAHPIw (in.) = to be weak auanisikoputoSTuyrMl . to be 18 years old isapiazis (in.) = mirror itaisapiopi theater nosazix my glasses itauyopi = cafe sopazis = chair anakimazis (in.) lamp, candle pataki potato saam(i) = medicine, drup, war bonnet amo (an. & in.) = this oma (an.), omi (in.) = that unat- = few, little bit itunazi less, minus inakohzi = a little bit anaukohzi = half, halfway sahp- = weak Nouns Formed from Verbs: We have already seen that the simple root of the verb can be used as the noun agent. Other types of nouns can also be derived from verbs, as isshown in this vocabulary and in others: 1) Attach -SIN or -SINI to the verb stem to produce both abstract and concrete nouns like sinak-sin and pikiak-sin. (Note that the final -I was dropped from both SINAKI and PIKIAKI. 2) If the verb stem ends in -W, the suffix is simply -N or -NI, e.g. potani, ayikfnan. 3) Instrumental nouns can be formed by suffixing -ZIS: potazis. pikfazis, or 4) by prefixing IHT- and suffixing OPI (from -op of the 1st person plural inclusive): ihtaixiszikumiopi, or 5) by prefixing IT- and suffixing -OPI to form place nouns: itaisapiopi. These forms are not always regular--or have you noticed? Their plurals are sometimes erratic so will have to looked up in the dictionary. This and That; the Demonstratives: AMO (this, this one) is declined this way: (no fixed accent) singular plural 3rd person an. AMO 4th person an. AMOI &OXI all in. AMO AMOISZI OMA (that, that one, the) is declined (no fixed accent): 3rd person an. OMA 4th person an. OMI fMIXI all in. OMI OMISZI 37 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Exercises: Can you guess the meaning of the following nouns derived from verbs you already know? okan(i), papokan(i) or papaukan(i) , isapiazis, potani, potazis. Look up their plurals. Conjugate the new verbs. Translate: these boys, these horses, those dogs, those trees (an. & in.), that man, that , this woman. 38 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XIX (PIHXIKOPUTO) ..aipihxikoputoSTUY:lMI to be apls = rope zanizlm(i) = how much? 19 years old ipuahsin == word, lan zanizima (an.) ,z&niZe)\'L sapit & sazit! = look! guage, speech (in.) = how many? mlstAPOtot! == take (it) away! -ski == face zanizl-tapi(wa) == how subtract many? (of people)-apini eye(s) mazit! = take it! ahsa = what?makski == ugly aiAPI == to see za kaniszlhpa? = how namaw (an.) gun are you? == how far is it? namai (in.) bow zanizlwa(z) == how is i-KdPUZIiaw (an.), -KdPUTOiaw upsi (in.) == arrow(in.) (verbal forms of -kopuzi (an.), -koputor -koputo) nohpsi == my arrow, (in.) (forms of -koputo)ohpsl == his/her arrow mam! = fish Review of Numbers: This lesson will be devoted to a review of numbers, which could become very confusing if not well memorized. First let's count with a typical animate object, recalling that it is not necessary to use plurals with numerals: nitoxkam I pita natokam pita niuoxkam pita nisoyim pita nisitoyim naw pita ihkizikam nanisoyim pihxim pita kipuyim pita etc. (continue with nizikopuzi pita Or you can use combining forms: nazi-pita two Now let's count with a typical inanimate object: nitoxkai ohkotok(i) natokai ohkotok niuoxkai ohkotok 39 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Ohkotok ohkotok naw(!) Ohkotok ihkiz!kai Ohkotok nanisoi Ohkotok pihxoi Ohkotok kipoi Ohkotok (continue with nizikoputoi Ohkotok .... ) Now for the numeral verbs: Mnimate Inanimate nitoxkam nioxkaw natokamiaw natokaiaw niuoxkamiaw niu6xkaiaw nisu!m:ilaw nis6iaw nisiz!iaw nisitoiaw naiiaw nawiaw ihkiz!kamiaw ihkizfkaiiaw naniso!milaw nanisoiaw pihx!aw pihx6iaw kipHaw nizikopuziaw etc. etc. Now for the verbs to count ages (and this time. instead of capitalizing the verb stem. I shall capitalize the numerical components): aiITstuYlmi aiZIKOPUTOstuY1mi aiSTOKIstuyfmi aiSZIKOPUTOstuyfmi aiOXKAstuyfmi aiIKOPUTOstuy1mi aiSOstuyimi aiSIKOPUTOstuy1mi aiSITOstuyimi aiSIZIKOPUTOstuy1mi auAIstuyimi aiAIKOPUTOstuy1mi auKIZIKIstuyfmi auKIZ:lK1KOPUTO auA:NISOstuyfmi auA:NIS1KOPUTOstuy!mi aiPIHXOstuyfmi aiPIHX1KOPUTOstuy!mi aiIPOstuyfmi l1iSZIPOstuy!mi In the last column. it is yQ1Jr job to isolate the two parts of the numerical component of the teens. 40 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Exercises: Tell the time around the clock for hours and ages 1 to 19. Count animate objects 1 to 19. Count inanimate objects 1 to 19. Conjugate the numeral verbs 1 to 19. Do this simple arithmetic. using the examples as your guide: . '" 2 + 2 == 4 natokai ki natokai n1.So. S 2 3. nisito itunazi (or mistaputot) natokai niuoxkai. 3 + 4 = 7. 8 2 6. 10 7 = 3. 5 + 4 9. 5 + 1 6. 41 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XX (NAZIPO) ...aiKIPAN1sZI ::: to be in a hurry akoxkina = chief nazl.po, nl.zl.po ::: twenty; nazipi (an.:aiSZIPOSTUY1MI to be twenty kipitaki = old woman nazipoyi (in.);years old nlnihkasim (in.) = a iszipo, iszipi (an.: NAZIPIiaw there (they) are 20. name; niZlnihkasim -iszipoyi (in.) my name (combining forms)UKI (aiUKIAKI) = to close. shut ninihkiazis = musical ana that right therEKAWAlPIXI (aiKAWAlPIXISTAKI) = instrument. music that one. he, sheto open box. phonograph; ani, eni like, asaiOHZnH = to hear. understand pl. -asisz kyene (ki + eni) = nlnihkisini music. that's all. thesong; pI. -sisz end (to finish a ihtainihkiopi violin speech or story) kizlm(i) = door. gate, ana = where? (of house or tipi) (in.) The ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A N A : This is a demonstrative'that is often used as a pronoun. Like AMO and OMA, it has no fixed accent, but in common speech it often drops its initial A- to become simply INA. which can mean "he". "she" and even "where?" Here is its declension: singular plural 3rd person animate ANA. 'NA 4th person animate ANI. 'NI ANIXI all inanimates ANI ANISZI Relative Pronouns: An especially important function of ANA is its use to form relative pronouns. meaning "who". "which". "that". To do this, s add -HK to the singulars and -SK to the plurals. singular plural animate ANAHK (who, that) ANIXISK inanimate ANIHK (which, that) ANISZISK These forms can be verbalized by adding -AYE: anahkAYE. anixiskAYE. anihkAYE, and anisziskAYE. ANIHKAYE also means "that's why, because". 42 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000Congruence: These same relative suffixes (-HK ans -SK) are added to other words in the relative "clause" or complex, but particularly to the verb: anahk Pikanikoanahk (he) who (is) a Piegan; anahk omahkawahk = (he) who is running. With a little practice, this custom should be easy enough to pick up since it serves to bind the whole relative complex together. Exercises: 'Na notas? 'Na kitohk!man? Omakauk ninawahk amiwahk. Anahk nitohkitupihk aiistapoxkasiw. Anihk kitaisapihk spixinaxinihk sokapiw. The books that I read are big (ones). Where are those books? That old man is the chief. Where is the war-bonnet? Where are my glasses? I can't see. 43 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XXI (NAZIPO NIZIKOPUTO) (I)SZISO = to go (nin'na = my father oma = all winter in, go into town longnohkowa == my son, nohkoi or the woods (voc. ) (i)szisohzi == in the woods, IKI == to whistle, in townnixlsta = my motherblow (on a wind instrument) nlsa = my elder brother (aiIKI) niskuna = my younger brother etc. ikip-zis (in.) = whistle, flute nislsa == my etc. nlnista my elder sister, etc. slk-isziso = moose azoasko = forest (in.) naahsa = my grandparent moapspi my eye (an.) Naahsinan(a) = the government ("our grandpa") Kokona = little girl; pl. kokoax; voc. kokoa! Count Within the Decades: To form the numerals between the decades, we first name the number of the decade (in this case "twentyll nazipo), then the number used for the IIteenll (in this case "elevenll or nizikoputo). Both animate and inanimate forms exist for both, as we already know, and must be used together according as the object enumerated is animate or inanimate; e . g. 56 = nisizlpo naikoputo (neutral), nisizlpi mHkopuzi (an.), nisiz:fpoyi naikoputoyi (in.). Kinship Terms: Kinship is reckoned differently in different cultures. In the Blackfeet system nixlsta means "my auntll as well as "my mother"; niskun(a) means "my younger brother, sister, cousin, nephew, niece but of a male speaker only, and its plural is niskaix. Nislsa has all these same meanings but refers back to a female speaker only, and its plural is nislsix. Nlsa has only -S- for its root but may include a glottal stop (n1+sa) and means "my elder brother, cousin, uncle, son-in-law" of a male speaker, and its plural is nisix. Nlnista (commonly cut to nln'sta or n:fn+sta) means limy elder sister, cousin, etc. of a female speaker. Its root is NIST and its plural niniszix or nin'szix. And finally naahsa refers to a grandparent of either sex or to a parent-in-law. None of these kinship terms is ever used 44 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000without a personal possessive prefix and sometimes with a suffix as well. It is important to realize that in Blackfeet, as in other American Indian languages and world-views and in some also of eastern Asia, exists ----= apart from its relationships. (Quite unlike English!) This reminds us also of "field theory" in modern subatomic physics and relativity. So the "old ones" were not behind the times after all. Possession: To indicate these relationships, we show "possession", as the notion is rather sloppily called in English (can anyone "possess" or "own" his relatives?) The basic rule of "possession" to remember is this: If the possessor is 3rd person, the possessed is 4th. If the possessor is 4th person, the possessed is 5th. 1st and 2nd persons, of course, can possess either of the others. Pronominal Prefixes: Verbs Verbs and Nouns Nouns 1st person NIT- NI- NO- &N2nd person KIT- KI- KO- &K3rd person (OT-) 0- 0- &M- ("someone's "for M-) 4th person OT- 0OT- is rare in 3rd person. Otherwise we are already well acquainted with the first column. The prefixes M- and MO- mean "someone's" or non-specified relationship. This may have something to do with the dropping of initial M- so frequent in Blackfeet. Perhaps we are dropping the unspecified relationship in order to put another prefix in its place which will denote a more specific relationship. Notice that the horizontal series for 2nd person across the board is also used for 1st person inclusive. The suffixes will appear in the next lesson. Caution! You must notice that nouns possessed really involve two persons, an, not the fictitious unilateral relations imagined in English. The two persons, of course, are the owner and the thing owned. 1st or 2nd person may possess 3rd or 4th, but 3rd possesses 4th. Thus, nllin'na (root N'N or N+N) carries NI- for the 1st person possessor, but the father himself must therefore be 3rd person which is shown by the ending -A. (On other words the 3rd person ending would be -W, WA or -M.) But his/her father has to be on'ni, the 0for the 3rd person possessor and the -I to make the father 4th person or obviative. A vocative form for "fatherl! (Le. used in address) is nin 'nii. 45 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000So we have altogether these singular forms: my father = n{n'na; your father Ina; his/her father = un 'ni. My mother = nix{sta; your mother = kix{sua; his/her mother ox{szi (T>2 before I). If all this seems complicated, that is the price we must pay to have a language that is logical instead of gibberish. Exercises: Form the singular possessives of the kinship forms we now know. Notice that none of them can ever stand alone. without any affix showing relationship. Some other nouns are like that too. So give the singular possessives of notas, nokos, moapspi, nohpsi. The follmving diagram may prove helpful. Perhaps you can make up others like it: younger of a male SKAN of a female SIS older -SNIST (N'ST) 46 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XXII (NAZIPO NAZIKOPUTO) auTAKOw= it is evening. mam::l fish anohk(a)-xiszikoi = today aiPAPUm = it's lightning. aohsin = berry soup kanai-xiszikoisx = every day, dailyAMOZA (auMOZAKI) = to apani butterfly conquer, defeat Apatohsitapi ANISZI = to do, make, a Canadian obey, mind ap::ls rope MIZIHTA = to think, endure inan = possession, (aiIZIHT(A)) thing MIHKA to fish (auMIHTA) m::Cni (in.) = berry, fruit; pI. m:!nisz.NIZtw to be the same. inaks::lni = raisin;MINANI = to have, own, possess (sik)6mahx:!ni = prune Pronominal Suffixes: These occur only on nouns to show possession or some similar relationship: exclusive -NAN (-INAN,-INANA)1st person inclusive -NUN (-INUN,-INUNA) 2nd person -OWAW (-OWAWA) 3rd person -OWAWAI etc. In addition to these, there is a common Algonquian suffix to indicate alienable possession: -M or -MI. It is not often used on body parts or kinship terms. Sample Paradigms: "father" -N'Nmy nfn'na our (exc1.) nfn'nan our (incl.) k::Cn'nun your kfn'na your (pI.) kin 'nmvaw his/her un'ni their un'nowawai "mother" XIST or KRIST (The vocative is ha+a) nix!sta nixfstanan kixistinun kix::lsta kix:!stowaw ... OX1SZl . ox:!stowawai 47 I Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000The plural paradigm for "child" -KOS-, will demonstrate how the plural suffix is attached after the possessive suffix. This the singular is nokos, kokos, okos, nokosinan, kokosinun, kokosiwaw, The Plural is: nokosix (excl.) (incl.) nokosinanix kokosinunix kokosix kokosiwawaix okosix okosiwawaix The paradigm for "chief", NINA, illustrates the use of the alienable possessive suffix -M, -1M: .. ., ...(excl. ) nlZlnalmlnannidna(i)m (incl. ) kizlnaiminun kizlnaim kizlnaimowaw .. .OZlnalm oznaimowawai The paradigm for "old man", NAPI, is a bit peculiar: (excl. ) ninapiminanninapim (incl. ) kinapiminun kinapim kinapimowaw onapim onapimowawai More irregular is the paradigm for "aRROW", UPSI, because of the insertion of OH-: (excl. ) nohpsinannohpsi (incl. ) kohpsinun kohpsi kohpsowaw ohpsi ohpsowawai The plural of which will serve as an exemplar of plural animates: (excl. ) nohpslnanisznohpsisz (incl. ) kohpsinunisz kohpsisz kohpsowaisz ohpsisz ohpsowawaisz Some other peculiar forms are: APTS follows the pattern nitopim (my rope) etc. KIPITAKI (old woman) becomes nipitam etc. (with the implication of "my wife" etc.!) MISZIS becomes nizlszim (my stick) etc. AKI possessed means "sister" and takes the pattern nfa kim etc., used by males. MAMI follows the schema nitomlmetc. IMITA (of which the root becomes OMITA when prefixes are attached) becomes nitomitam etc. IxISAKO takes the forms nitoxisakom etc. 48 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000An especially useful--and regular-- word is INAN. Coupled with the possessive affixes it comes to mean "mine, yours, his" etc. Its singular pardigm runs this way: nizinannannizinan kizinannun kizinan kizinanowaw ozinan ozinanoaiaw Its plural paradigm: ........nl.Zl.nanlSZ nizinannanisz kizinannunisz kizinanisz kizinanoawaisz ozinanisz ozinanoawaisz Examples: Kizinanaz? A, nizinan(aiye): Is it yours? Yes, it is mine. Amo spixinaxin kizinan. A, nizinan niuoxkai splxinaxin. = This book is yours. Yes, I have three books (or Three books are mine.) The nizinan can come at the beginning or the end of the sentence. As your may have noticed, INAN can be verbalized and so can be regarded as a noun or a verb "to have, own, possess". Thus it becomes a part of the verb MINAUI which loses its initial M- when a prefix is used, and also drops the final -I if nothing follows. It is another example of an "intransitive" verb used transitively: nizINAN' or nitaiINAN' etc. Exercises: Conjugate the verb MINANI. Translate: That horse is mine. No, it's not mine. Is it his? Does he own that house? We have many horses. My father has many horses. They have five dogs. How many arrows do you have? Give the possessive paradigms singular and plural of NAMAAw, NAMAII, " NAA.HSA? NISISA, KIPITAKI, NINA, NOTAS, NISKUN. Translate: Zanizi-tapi(waz) kisix? Nisix ihkizlkamiaw. Zanizf-tapi kiskawawix? Niskunanix niuoxkamiaw. Taka otuniwaz? Taka otasaz? Here is a group of old idioms recorded by Lanning at Fort Benton long ago. (nizfw is the verbal form for nitowa, nitoi): Nizfw nitanisin; nizlw otanlsin; nitoxkaw nizipoahsin; nitoxkaw ozfpoahsin; natokaw kizfpoahsin. Za kizlnihkasim? Nizlnihkasim Sixi-Pita. Ahsaz? 'Na ninamaw. Nizlhpuahsin Sixikai-ipuahsin? Za (Ahsa) kitaiapihpa? Nimataiapihpa. Takaz? Nimataiapihpinana matapi. Zaniz1m ihkizlka ki nis6? NizikDputo. Zanizima kotasix? Naiiaw. Zanizltapi kin'sszix? PihxLaw. Zanizowa kohpsisz? Nawiaw. 49 Amskapi Pikuni Language Lessons Piegan Institute, Browning MT, 2000LESSON XXIII (NAZIPO NIK6pUTO) OKOSI = to give birth pahtoki = pine (an.) as- = young, small ~ PUKA = to wake up ( ~ i - aSlzixim = aspen, cotton saki- still PUKAKI) wood (a.) plxini- skinny, thin, lean ptXINI = to be lean, -slxlm (an.), -sixiw istohk- = thin, skinnyskinny (aiPfXINI) (in.) = tree, stick APOHSI = to be fat, slkoklni = birch (in.) stout (auApdHSI) slkokinisz (pl.) ISTdHKSlw (an.), ISoxipls = willowTOHKfw (in.) = to be thin, skinny asaitahta = creek OPI = to have arrow(s) itun'niopi = agency, Browning aiPlw = he has a. -oko- = lodge, home, tipi; nokowa = my 1.; okoai = his/ her lodge How to Identify Relationships: To claim kinship and identify intimate possession is a simple process. The common way to say, for example, "Red Eagle is my father", "She is my mother", "I am his father", "You are my brother", etc. is to use the appropriate nouns and pronouns without any copula: Mahxi-Pita nin'naw; oma nixlsta; nistowa un'ni; kistowa niskan'. But the negatives of such expressions present more of a problem. "He is not my father" must derive from a hypothetical positive for nitun'na and so turns out to be "(oma) nimatun'naz." Can you pick out the element that shows this to mean "He is not my father" rather than "I am not his father"? Here are a few more illustrations: kimatun'naz he is not your father. nimatoxistaz she is not my mother (1