Topics in Potawatomi Grammar
TOPICS IN POTAWATOMI GRAMMAR
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1. Introduction to the Potawatomi Language 2. The Sounds of Potawatomi 3. Writing Systems 4. Sound Rules 5. Grammatical Categories 6. Parts of Speech 7. Introduction to Word Structure [more on this subject soon] 8. The Inflection of Nouns 9. The Inflection of Verbs 10 Introduction to Sentence Structure [more on this subject soon] 11. Adverbial Clauses 12. Complement Clauses 13. Relative Clauses [more on this subject soon] 14. Conjunction [more on this subject soon] 15. Disjunction [more on this subject soon] 16. Adversatives
Verb Paradigm Charts A Note on Paradigms and Attrition
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/grammartopics.html2007.01.26. 23:36:54 Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE POTAWATOMI LANGUAGE
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1. Communities of Speakers 2. Dialects 3. Potawatomi an Endangered Language 4. Language Families and the Algonquian Language Family 5. Language Family Trees 6. Some Distinctive Features of Potawatomi Grammar 6.1. Animacy 6.2. Preference for Verbal Constructions 6.3. Inflections vs. Pronouns 6.4. Word-Building 6.5. Word Order 6.6. Linguistic Research
1. COMMUNITIES OF SPEAKERS [top]
Neshnabémwen, commonly known as Potawatomi, is the heritage language of the Bodéwadmik, or Potawatomi people. In the early 1800's, the Potawatomi area extended over a large territory centered around Lake Michigan. After removal, the tribes were dispersed over much of the midwest of the United States and adjacent Ontario in Canada. In the United States there are six federally recognized Potawatomi Tribes: the Forest County Potawatomis in Wisconsin, Hannahville Indian Community in northern Michigan, the Huron Band Potawatomis in southwestern Michigan, the Pokagon Band Potawatomis (which are also in southwestern Michigan but also extend to northwestern Indiana) the Prairie Band Potawatomis in Kansas, and the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma. There are fluent speakers of Potawatomi in nearly every one of the U.S. communies. The largest communities of speakers are among the Forest County Potawatomis of Wisconsin and the Prairie Band Potawatomis of Kansas. In Ontario, there are people of Potawatomi heritage in the First Nations reserves adjacent to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Over the generations, most of the Potawatomis in Ontario switched to the local Ottawa dialect. However, there are some who retained Potawatomi.
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2. DIALECTS [top]
Although each Potawatomi community can be characterized as having a slightly different dialect, there is a much more noticable difference between the Prairie Band dialect and all of the northern dialects. For the purposes of these notes, we will call Prairie Band Potawatomi 'Southern' Potawatomi, and group all of the other dialects into 'Northern' Potawatomi (because there are no known fluent speakers of Citizen Band Potawatomi, we are unable to say whether Citizen Band speakers had a very different dialect or not). There is a larger amount of different vocabulary between Northern and Southern Potawatomi than between any of the Northern groups. Also, Southern Potawatomi has a characteristic pronunciation. When you need to be aware of differences, you will see a (N) for the Northern dialect and (S) for the Southern dialect. Most of the examples will come from the Northern dialect. 3. POTAWATOMI AN ENDANGERED LANGUAGE [top]
An endangered language is one which is still spoken, but is not acquiring native speakers. To be a native language, a language must be acquired at a very early age, particularly as a first language. Adults may learn to speak a second language very well, but will never have the complete fluency of a native speaker. If a language does not acquire new native speakers it will become extinct.
As many as 50% of the languages of the world are in danger of becoming extinct, due to the spread of large economies and global languages. The problem is particularly severe in Native America, where 80% are expected to become extinct within the next few decades.
Potawatomi is one of these languages. The 1996 Potawatomi Language Institute estimated that there are only about 50 fluent speakers left of Potawatomi. These speakers are mostly elderly. At the same time there are no children being raised to speak Potawatomi as a first language. If this situation continues, Potawatomi will be lost as a spoken language within a few decades.
This grammar is part of a larger effort to document and pass on this language to the children of today's speakers. 4. LANGUAGE FAMILIES AND THE ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGE FAMILY [top]
Potawatomi belongs to a vast group of languages known as the Algonquian language family.
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/introtogrammar.html (2 of 9)2007.01.26. 23:36:55 Introduction Algonquian languages stretch from the Maritimes in Canada, down the East Coast of the United States, and west into the Plains. There are even two languages in California (Yurok andWiyot, which is no longer spoken) that have a close relationship to Algonquian languages. These are known as Ritwan languages.
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The Algonquian language family, in turn, is one of many language families in North America. Linguistically, languages that belong to different families have little in common. The difference between two Algonquian languages such as Potawatomi and Menomini might be considered to be like that of English and German, which both belong to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European Language Family. A Potawatomi speaker and a speaker of a Siouan language like Winnebago would have about as much difficulty understanding each other as speakers of English and Japanese!
Linguists are able to determine linguistic relationships by establishing regular correspondences between sounds in different languages. This is known as the comparative method, and can be used to determine relationships up to about 5000 years time depth. Let us examine some comparisons between the "Ojibwe" languages. Look at Figure 3:
English Gloss Potawatomi Ottawa Minnesota Ojibwe man nene nini inini pot, kettle kek kik akik it's raining gmewen (S) gmeya (N) gmiwan gimiwan my son ngwes ngwis ingwizis/ingos fire shkodé shkode ishkode my eye nshkizhek nshkiinzhig nishkiinzhig fly ojés oojii, oojiins oojii, oojiins Ojibwe Language Cognates
One of the first things you will see is that there are an overwhelming number of similarities between these languages. Even a casual look comparing the dictionaries of these languages would indicate they are related to each other. Now look at some of the differences. Where Minnesota Ojibwe words begin with a short vowel (short vowels are written singly in Ottawa and Ojibwe, except for e), the corresponding Potawatomi and Ottawa words do not. The vowels are also different. Potawatomi has e where the others have i or a. Also there are sequences of a vowel followed by n that are in Ottawa and Ojibwe but are absent from Potawatomi. These are some of the differences that may be found throughout the vocabularies of these languages. The similarities and differences show a how these languages originated from a common "ancestor" language, and then changed over time to what we see today.
The Ojibwe languages diverged from each other fairly recently, linguistically speaking; 500 or so years
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/introtogrammar.html (3 of 9)2007.01.26. 23:36:55 Introduction ago. The comparative method may also be applied to languages which on the surface appear to be very different. Linguists look for comparisons in core vocabulary, such as kinship terms, body part terms and words that tend to be cross-linguistically resistant to borrowing and change. The Ritwan-Algonquian relationship (which is probably over 5000 years old) was established by finding regular sound correspondences between a fairly small set of core vocabulary. 5. LANGUAGE FAMILY TREES [top]
One way to look at relationships among languages is with a language family tree. The end of the branches represent languages that are spoken now, or are attested by written records. Each large dot represents a hypothetical language that was the parent of each of the languages below it. Such a parent language is known as a "proto-language." Some proto-languages have been given names by linguists studying them, such as Proto-Algonquian, or Proto-Western-Algonquian. Sometimes for ease of reference, linguists refer to a parent language by naming it after one of the daughter languages. So the parent language of Southwestern Ojibwe, Ottawa, etc. is sometimes refered to as "Proto-Ojibwe."
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By studying this family tree, you can see that at an early point, Proto-Algonquian split into two groups, a Western group and an Eastern group. Current thought in Algonquian studies favors that the next split was Blackfoot, followed by Arapaho and Cree. Then came Cheyenne and Menomini, then Shawnee and the closely related languages Fox, Sauk and Kickapoo. The Miami split off next, followed by Potawatomi, which is differentiated from the other Ojibwe dialects.
There are several things a family tree like that in Figure 4 cannot tell us. Although it shows the sequence of these splits, it does not tell us the relative time depth of each split. For example, because of the similarity of the Eastern Algonquian languages, their differentiation presumably took place much more recently than the split between Blackfoot and the rest of the Western Algonquian languages. The family tree model also does not show later contact between languages. This is important because such contact can result in language change. For example, although Cree and Ojibwe split from each other early on, they had more recent contact which resulted in borrowed vocabulary. Also although Potawatomi is more closely related to Ojibwe, there were more recent influences from Fox, again resulting shared features and vocabulary (not to mention borrowings that have resulted from contact languages such as French and English).
Potawatomi English Gloss Borrowed Term Source Language mikchéwi 'he works' mi>hkec&e>wi>wa> Fox yown 'he uses s.t.' ayo>wa Fox no'ek 'seven' no>hika Fox gmeya (N) 'it's raining' kemiya>wi Fox
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modey 'bottle' bouteille French Zhabdis 'Jean Baptiste' Jean Baptiste French mbedé 'butter' butter English admobin 'car, automobile' automobile English Examples of Borrowed Vocabulary
(Sorry if you can't read the Fox examples in the IPA font here) 6. SOME DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF POTAWATOMI GRAMMAR [top]
The Potawatomi language, along with other Algonquian languages, has certain characteristics which make it very different in structure from a language like English. While this can throw students for a loop, it is also part of what makes Potawatomi unique and studying it fun. Here is a sample of what is in store. 6.1. ANIMACY [top]
Those familiar with grammatical gender (i.e. masculine, feminine, neuter) of such languages as Spanish, French and German will be pleased to learn that Potawatomi has grammatical gender too. Only the basis for "gender" in Potawatomi is animate versus inanimate. All nouns fall into one of two categories: animate and inanimate. The animate category includes people, animals, plants, spirits, things of spiritual nature, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as most things in the natural world. The inanimate category includes (mostly) everything else. Below are some examples from both categories:
Animate Inanimate Potawatomi English Gloss Potawatomi English Gloss nene 'man' myéw 'road' kwé 'woman' waséchgen 'window' gizes 'sun, month' dopwen 'table' jigwé 'thunder' mzen'egen 'paper, book' séma 'tobacco' wigwam 'house' mko 'bear' wiwkwan 'hat' wabozo 'rabbit' kojés 'bean'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/introtogrammar.html (5 of 9)2007.01.26. 23:36:55 Introduction The importance of animacy can be seen by looking at just about any aspect of Potawatomi. The plurals of animate nouns are made differently from inanimate ones. Possession of animate nouns is marked in a special way. Also verbs change (inflect) differently based on the animacy of their subjects and objects. 6.2. PREFERENCE FOR VERBS [top]
Verbs comprise about 80% of Potawatomi vocabulary. If this does not surprise you, compare this with an English dictionary, where the average page is comprised of less than 40% verbs. English also has a large class of words known as adjectives. These are used to describe or qualify nouns. In Potawatomi, many of these meanings fall into the category of verbs, for example: mgegnot 'be big', mskozet 'be red', manék 'be many'. 6.3. INFLECTIONS VS. PRONOUNS [top]
English uses separate words (called pronouns) for persons being talked about (I, you, he, it, etc):
Do you remember when we went camping last summer? I went to town yesterday and bought some groceries. Give it to me.
Potawatomi also has pronouns (nin 'I', gin 'you', win 'he, she, it', etc.), but these are used when the speaker wants to place special emphasis on a person:
Nin nwi-maji. 'As for me, I am leaving.'
The usual way to express who is doing what is to modify the verb by adding prefixes and suffixes. These prefixes and suffixes are required. Each verb then contains information on the important participants (these affixes are in boldface):
Ggekéndan ne ga-je-gbeshkego nétem é-gi-nibek? 'Do you remember when we went camping last summer?'
Wnago ngi-odanké mine ngi-najmijmé. 'I went to town yesterday and bought some groceries.'
Min'esh i. 'Give it to me.'
English has verb suffixes too, such as the -s suffix for third person, present, as in 'he goe-s' or past tense -
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/introtogrammar.html (6 of 9)2007.01.26. 23:36:55 Introduction ed 'he work-ed'. English has only a few verbal affixes, but Potawatomi has a large number of them. 6.4. WORD-BUILDING [top]
Individual words in Potawatomi are fairly complex. Compare the following Potawatomi sentence with it's English translation:
Ngi-wabma. 'I saw him.'
Notice that one word in Potawatomi is equivalent to three words in English. A single word in Potawatomi can be a whole sentence! By taking the Potawatomi word apart, we can see how each piece adds information to make up the whole word:
n- gi- wabm -a I past.tense see.someone him
Most words in Potawatomi are made up of pieces called stems and affixes. STEMS are the part of the word we think of as having more concrete meaning, like wabm- 'see someone' in the example above. Stems are not well-formed words on their own. They require AFFIXES. The n-, gi- and -a above are all examples of affixes. The ones that come before the stem are called PREFIXES, and the ones that come after the stem are called SUFFIXES. n-, gi- and -a belong to a group of affixes which are known as INFLECTIONAL affixes. Inflectional affixes convey important information about who is doing what in the sentence, when the event took place, and so on.
The translation of -a as 'him' in the example above is a little rough. The ending -a is actually pretty complex. It means something more like 'there is a first or second person subject, and a third person object'. Wow! That is a lot of responsibility for such a little suffix! As you will see, many prefixes and suffixes are this complex. What this means is, as students of the Potawatomi language we must pay as much attention to learning the parts of words as we might have to for learning whole words of another language. 6.5. WORD ORDER [top]
When so much information is stored in words, the order of words becomes less crucial to meaning. Consider the following English sentence:
The woman held the firewood.
If we change around the order of the words, we get a variety of nonsense sentences:
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Firewood held the woman. (?) Held the woman firewood. The woman firewood held. ...and so on
Notice that there isn't much flexibility in the order of the words. If 'the woman' is the subject of the sentence, it must come before the verb. 'Firewood', the object, must follow the verb (notice that in some imaginary world 'firewood held the woman' could be interpreted, but only as the 'firewood' being the subject, and 'the woman' being the object). Now look at the same sentence in Potawatomi:
Msén wgi-dgenanen o kwé. (literally: 'firewood she-held-it the woman')
You could also say:
Wgi-dgenanen o kwé msén. Wgi-dgenanen msén o kwé. Msén o kwé wgi-dgenanen. O kwé msén wgi-dgenanen. O kwé wgi-dgenanen msén.
The first version is probably the best, but the other five are acceptable as well. English has fairly rigid word order because the position of words largely determines the role they have in the whole sentence. The position of 'the woman' before 'carried' in English tells us the woman is doing the carrying, that she is the subject of 'carry.' The position of 'the firewood' after 'carry' tells us that the firewood is the one being carried, that it is the object of 'carry.' In Potawatomi, everything you need to know about who is the subject and who is the object is indicated on the verb by prefixes and suffixes:
wgi-dgenanen w- gi- dgen -an -en he/she PAST.TENSE hold something PLURAL
The noun phrases o kwé and msén merely make the 'he/she' and the 'something' explicit. It is the verb that tells you which is the subject and which is the object; not the word order. This is why the word order can be so flexible. 6.6. LINGUISTIC RESEARCH [top]
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As you begin to learn more about Potawatomi, you may wish to study historical records of the language. There is a large amount of material collected during the 1840s to the 1860s by Jesuits. The most notable among these are the materials recorded by Fr. Maurice Gailland. His grammatical materials are somewhat difficult to read, and are based on a Latin format. However, they do contain many words and verb forms no longer in use today. In the 1940s, Charles Hockett compiled a more modern linguistic study. This was primarily written for the linguistic community rather than laypeople. Nevertheless, it is a good study with a great deal of valuable information. The materials that are available today in libraries and archives are listed in the List of Archived Materials.
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2. POTAWATOMI SOUNDS (and how to write them!)
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1. Introduction 2. Potawatomi Sounds 2.1 Vowels 2.1.1. Oral Vowels 2.1.2. Nasalized Vowels 2.1.3. Chart of Potawatomi vowels 2.3. Consonants 2.3.1. Oral Stops 2.3.2. Nasal Stops 2.3.3. Fricatives and Affricates 2.3.4. Glides
a b ch d e é g gw h i ' j k kw m n o p s sh t w y z zh
[Note: this page uses a special font for IPA characters. If you can't see the font (and you probably can't) don't worry, it isn't crucial. I tried to load it according to SIL instructions, but it didn't work for me. If you can see the font, please e-mail me and tell me so I can fix it for my computer as well. In the meantime, I hope the available information is helpful to you. --Laura] 1. INTRODUCTION [top]
The best model for pronunciation is, of course, a native speaker. This section can help guide you when working with a native speaker, but is written to be as concise as possible in case you are working on your own. In some cases, we will cite symbols from the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). This alphabet is a universal system for uniquely identifying the sounds of the world's languages. To see the IPA examples on this page, you must download the font SILManuscriptIPA93, which is available for free from the Summer Institute of Linguistics website. Information on the International Phonetic Alphabet, as well as how to get a recording of IPA sounds can be found at the International Phonetic
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (1 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:56 Sounds Association website. IPA sounds are written below in brackets: [ ].
This section also introduces a method of writing Potawatomi which is discussed more thoroughly in the section on writing systems. The writing system we will be using here (known as the WNALP, or pedagogical writing system) uses a Roman-based alphabet like we use to write English (although, as you will see, there are a couple of unique letters we use for Potawatomi). It is easy to forget that the sounds represented by these letters are often different from English. For this reason, we will draw your attention to the points where the pronunciation differs.
The examples in this pronunciation guide are taken from the Northern Potawatomi dialect. The text contains notes where the Northern and Southern (Kansas) pronunciations differ. 2. POTAWATOMI SOUNDS [top]
Potawatomi has five vowels and nineteen consonants. These sounds are called PHONEMES, and are the sounds combined to make different words. As we will see, some of these sounds will vary slightly in their pronunciation in predictable ways. Such variants (called ALLOPHONES) are important to proper pronunciation. We will first introduce the vowels, and then the consonants. 2.1. VOWELS [top]
Because some Potawatomi sounds have no English equivalents, it is important to begin our discussion by explaining a little about how vowels are produced. That way, we will have a basis for explaining sounds that will be new to you.
VOWELS are sounds that are made when air passes relatively freely from your lungs up through your vocal tract. Look at the following diagram of your speech organs:
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Fig. 1 Speech organs
By placing two fingers at the base of your throat and saying 'ah' you will feel your vocal cords vibrating. Vowel sounds are (in most languages) produced by vocal cord vibration. The difference between vowels comes from the shape of your vocal tract above your vocal cords. You can experiment with modifying the shape of your vocal tract by changing the position of your tongue and lips. To see how this can result in different vowel sounds, thump a finger against your voice box as you form (but don't say) the English sounds 'ah-eh-ee-oh-oo'. You should be able to hear a difference in the quality of the sounds.
For vowels, we will talk about the position of the tongue in terms of 1) the place in the mouth where the tongue makes the greatest constriction of the airflow coming from your lungs, and 2) the degree of constriction, or tongue height. For the place of constriction the most important dimension is the front versus the back of the mouth. For the degree of constriction the important dimension is openness (close versus open). Look at the following diagram:
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Fig. 2 Place of articulation for vowels
The three main places of constriction are front, central and back. For tongue height the three regions are close, mid and open. Notice from the chart that if you know where a vowel is on each dimension, you will have a pretty good idea of how the vowel should be pronounced. When you add the features of rounded lips or nasality, you have a fairly precise way of describing vowels. Each vowel below is will be located on this diagram by naming the 'place' and 'height' of the vowel.
The five Potawatomi vowel phonemes are written a, é, i, o, and e. We will discuss each in turn.
2.1.1. ORAL VOWELS [top] a (phonetically [a]) is a open front vowel sound:
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Fig. 3 [a]
This vowel is pronounced like the underlined sound in the English word 'father'. Some Potawatomi words that contain this sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss bama 'later' koman 'knife' nwabma [L] 'I see him' séma 'tobacco'
é (phonetically[E]) is an open-mid front vowel:
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (5 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:56 Sounds
Fig. 4 [E]
This vowel is pronounced like the underlined sound in the English word 'bed'. Some Potawatomi words that contain this sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss kwé 'woman' migwéch 'thank you' séma 'tobacco'
Many words that end in é in the Southern dialect are pronounced with e in the Northern dialect.
Before y and w, é is pronounced like the underlined sounds in the English words 'say' or 'gray'. Phonetically these combined sounds are the diphthongs [EI] and [EU]. Some Potawatomi words that contain éy and éw are:
Potawatomi English Gloss néyap 'back (direction)' péyéwen 'carnival' dawéwgemek 'store' wkéw- 'easily'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (6 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:56 Sounds i (phonetically[i]) is a close front vowel:
Fig. 5 [i]
This vowel stands for the underlined sound in the English words 'green' and 'lean', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss nin 'I' wigwam 'house' zibe 'river' gizes 'sun, month' (N) o (phonetically [o] or [u]). In syllables that end in a vowel, the sound that is written o is close to the underlined sound in the English words 'soap' or 'soup', depending on the speaker's dialect. The 'soap' variant is phonetically [o], a close-mid back vowel. The 'soup' variant is phonetically [u], a close back vowel.[o] is the common pronunciation in Wisconsin and Kansas, and[u] in Southwestern Michigan. With either pronunciation, the sound is written as o. In Potawatomi, the o sound is not diphthongized as it is in English (the vowel sound in 'soap' is actually [oU]) and has much less lip rounding than it does in English.
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Fig. 6 [o] Fig. 7 [u]
Some Potawatomi words that contain these sounds are:
Potawatomi English Gloss bozho 'hello' négdosha 'horse' jo 'no'
In syllables that end in a consonant, o is closer to the underlined sound in the English word 'good'. This sound is phonetically [U], and is a near-close back vowel.
Some Potawatomi words that contain this sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss gwankod 'it's cloudy' mbob 'soup' e Of all the vowels, the phoneme written e has the most phonetic variants, these being determined
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (8 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:56 Sounds by the following sound.
When e is before n, it sounds like the underlined sound in the English words 'tin', 'print' and 'mitt'. This is a near-close, front vowel.
Potawatomi English Gloss nene 'man' mkedémen 'blackberry'
This sound is phonetically [I].
When e occurs before ', k, g or at the end of a word, it is pronounced like the underlined sound in the English words 'sun', 'cub', and 'ton'. This is a open-mid back vowel. Some Potawatomi words that contain this sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss ne'ish 'both' nde'ish 'my dog, my pet' mtek 'tree, wood' mkek 'box' weye 'somebody' gode 'these'
This sound is phonetically [Ã].
At the ends of words, the Southern dialect has é where the Northern dialect has e.
When e comes before y or w, it combines with the y or w to make a DIPHTHONG. Diphthongs are sometimes called "gliding vowels" because there is a smooth transition from one vowel sound to the next. Phonetically, ey is [Ij] and ew is [ÃU]. There are no English equivalents for these sounds. For many speakers, ey tends to be pronounced as iy (phonetically a diphthong [ij]) or even i [i] in fast speech. Likewise, ew tends to be pronounced as ow (phonetically a diphthong [oU]) or o [o] in fast speech. Some Potawatomi words that contain these sounds are:
Potawatomi English Gloss
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weye 'somebody' gizhkey 'cedar' bgew 'gum, pitch, axle grease' gnew 'golden eagle'
Before all other sounds, e stands for a schwa sound, like the underlined sound in the English words 'about', or in the unstressed words 'a', and 'the' (before a consonant, as in 'a car', 'the car'). This is a mid central vowel:
Fig. 8 [«]
This sound is phonetically [«]. For comparison, the tongue would be a bit higher for the [I] pronunciation, and a bit lower for the [Ã]pronunciation.
Some Potawatomi words that contain the sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss bmedé 'lard' nmeshomes 'my grandfather' gnepshkwé 'mink' mkezen 'shoe, moccasin'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (10 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds 2.1.2. NASALIZED VOWELS [top]
With nasal vowels, the air passes through both your mouth and nose, giving the vowel a nasal quality. Unlike related languages like Odawa and Ojibwe, there are very few words in Potawatomi which have nasal vowels. Two examples are:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss
ahaw [aâhaâw] 'okay'
éhé' [EâhEâ?] 'yes'
There are no special symbols for nasal vowels in the writing system. Instead, they are written using the symbols for the corresponding oral vowels.
2.1.3. CHART OF POTAWATOMI VOWELS [top]
The following diagram summarizes the relative positions of vowel sounds of Potawatomi. Compare this chart with Fig. 2 above:
Fig. 9 Chart of Potawatomi Vowel Sounds
2.3. CONSONANTS [top]
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (11 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds Consonants are different from vowels in that the airflow from the lungs is nearly or completely stopped at some point in the vocal tract. If the airflow is completely blocked, the consonant is called a "stop". Potawatomi has eleven different stops, which are written b, p, d, t, g, k, gw, kw, ', and m and n. The first nine in this list are called "oral" stops, in contrast to m and n, which are called "nasal" stops. Let us begin by discussing the oral stops.
2.3.1. ORAL STOPS [top]
Look at the following diagram of regions of the vocal tract:
Fig. 10 Places of Articulation for Consonants
The bilabial sounds p and b are produced by the lips coming together. The dental sounds t and d are made by the tongue blade (the part of the tongue just behind the tip) meeting the backs of the upper teeth. The velar sounds k and g are made by the back of the tongue contacting the soft palate, or velum (the soft palate is the soft area at the back of the roof of your mouth). The labio-velar sounds kw and gw (which are only used by certain speakers of the Northern dialect) are made like velar sounds, except that they also involve rounding of the lips. The glottal stop, written as a single apostrophe: ' is made by the vocal cords coming together. This is summed up in the following chart:
Bilabial Dental Velar Labio-velar Glottal
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p, b t, d k, g kw, gw ' Fig. 11
Notice that the first eight consonants in the chart above occur in pairs. English stop consonants also come in pairs. For example, in English the most important difference between a p and a b is vocal cord vibration. Put your fingers on your voice box again and slowly say the English words 'pea' and 'bee'. Say them several times. You should feel your vocal cords vibrating when you say the b of 'bee' but not for the p of 'pea'. So even though p and b are pronounced in a similar way, with the lips coming together, there is a difference in that b in English is a VOICED consonant, and p is VOICELESS. This is also true of the pairs of sounds d and t, g and k. Look at the chart below:
Bilabial Alveolar Velar Voiceless p t k Voiced b d g Fig. 12
Now place your hand in front of your mouth and slowly say the English words 'pin', and 'spin'. With 'pin' you should feel a puff of air after the p, but not with 'spin'. In English, voiceless stops like p, t and k have a puff of air after them when they are the first sound in a word or syllable. This puff of air is called ASPIRATION. Aspiration is a quality English voiceless stops have in certain environments, but the main difference between p, t and k on the one hand and b, d and g on the other is still voicing.
Now we are ready to talk about why Potawatomi oral stops come in pairs. Let us begin with p and b. The most important difference between Potawatomi p and b is the 'strength' of how you say them. The term "strength" is not really a phonetic term, however we will use it to talk about a group of characteristics Potawatomi oral stops have. With regard to strength, Potawatomi oral stops can be either strong or weak. STRONG consonants are rather long in duration, are never voiced and may be aspirated, especially at the beginning and ends of words. WEAK consonants can be voiced (but are not necessarily voiced), are rather short in duration and are never aspirated. These differences are summed up in Figure 9 below:
Strong Weak Voicing: voiceless may be voiced Aspiration: may be aspirated never aspirated Length: long short
Fig. 13 Differences Between Strong and Weak Consonants
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If you read older linguistic studies of Potawatomi, Odawa or Ojibwe you will probably encounter the terms fortis for 'strong' and lenis for 'weak'. We have already discussed what voicing and aspiration is. LENGTH refers to the amount of time the airflow coming from the lungs is blocked before being released to come out of the vocal tract. When you pronounce Potawatomi p, you actually hold your lips together for a greater amount of time that you do with Potawatomi b.
Now let us look again at the table of oral stops, where we have added some new headings:
Bilabial Dental Velar Labio-velar Glottal Strong p t k kw ' Weak b d g gw Fig. 14
You can now see that oral stops occur in strong/weak pairs, based upon where the sound is produced in the vocal tract. That is, except for the glottal stop, which has no weak counterpart. We call the glottal stop a strong consonant, because as we will see in other chapters, it behaves like a strong consonant, and not a weak one.We will now discuss each of the oral stops in turn. b (phonetically [b] or [p]) is a bilabial stop which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'boat' , 'cab', or 'spoon', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss bama 'later' abte 'half'
At the end of a word, b is replaced by p. We write p at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a b. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss nbop [m`bop>] 'soup' nnebobim [n`ù«bobim] 'my soup'
Words (and stems) that begin with b in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a p instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial p.
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Two b's in a sequence (bb clusters) are frequently pronounced as a single p, particularly at the beginning of a word. For this reason, many words beginning with bb are often written with an initial p.
When b comes right before an m, the lip closure for the b is not released before pronouncing the m, which makes the b very hard for many native English speakers to hear. However if you listen closely to a fluent speaker of Potawatomi, you can often hear the lowering of the velum (which is the soft part of the roof of your mouth, behind the hard palate). During the transition from the b to the m, the velum is raised for the b (which is an oral stop) and lowered for the m (which is a nasal stop). p (phonetically [p>] or [p>H]) is a voiceless bilabial stop which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'put' or 'pan', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss pen 'potato' dopwen 'table' kyénep 'in a hurry'
Many words (and stems) that begin with p in the Southern dialect are pronounced with a b instead in the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial b. d (phonetically [d5] or [t5]) is a dental stop. It is very easy to mispronounce this sound as an English d. An English d is pronounced with the tongue blade (the part just back from the tip of the tongue) against the alveolar ridge, but Potawatomi d is pronounced with the tongue blade against the backs of the upper teeth.
Potawatomi English Gloss dabyan 'car' ndédé 'my dad'
At the end of a word, d is replaced by t. We write t at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a d. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss
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ankwet [ankw«t>] 'cloud'
ankwedon [ankw«don] 'clouds'
When d comes right before an n, the lip closure for the d is not released before pronouncing the n, which makes the d very hard for many native English speakers to hear. However if you listen closely to a fluent speaker of Potawatomi, you can often hear the lowering of the velum, which is the soft part of the roof of your mouth, behind the hard palate. During the transition from the d to the n, the velum is raised for the d (which is an oral stop) and lowered for the n (which is a nasal stop). This is exactly like the case when b precedes m.
Words (and stems) that begin with d in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a t instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial t. t (phonetically [t5>] or [t5>H]) is a voiceless dental stop. Like d, t is pronounced with the tongue blade against the backs of the upper teeth. Some words that have this sound are:
Potawatomi English Gloss taswen 'cupboard' abte 'half' anet 'some'
Many words (and stems) that begin with t in the Southern dialect are pronounced with the d instead in the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial d. g (phonetically [g] or [k]) is velar stop which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'go', 'dog' or 'skin'. For example:
Potawatomi English Gloss gin 'you' gigos 'fish'
At the end of a word, g is replaced by k. We write k at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (16 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds g. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss
zhgak [Zgak] 'skunk'
zhgagok [Zgagok] 'skunks'
Two g's in a sequence (gg clusters) or sequences of g followed by k (gk clusters) are frequently reduced to a single k, particularly at the beginning of a word. For this reason, many words beginning with gg and gk are often written with an initial k.
Words (and stems) that begin with g in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a k instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial k. k (phonetically [k>] or [k>H]) is a voiceless velar stop which sounds like the underlined sound in the English words 'can' or 'kite', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss kwé 'woman' wika 'ever, late' mkek 'box'
Many words (and stems) that begin with k in the Southern dialect are pronounced with the g instead in the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial g. gw (phonetically [gW] or [kW]) is a labio-velar stop which stands for a g pronounced with the lips rounded, as if you were going to pronounce w at the same time. There is no English equivalent to this sound, but some English words that are borrowed from other languages have a similar sound, for example in the word 'iguana' which is actually borrowed from another Native American language, Arawakan, through Spanish. We write this sound as gw (note that a g followed by a w is also written as gw). For example:
Potawatomi English Gloss
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gwnezhé'gen 'stove poker' bmagwdé 'it's lying along' gwjesdon 'he tastes it' ngwejesdon 'I taste it'
This sound is used only by some speakers of the Northern dialect. Most Potawatomi speakers use g instead of gw. kw (phonetically [kW>]) is a voiceless labio-velar stop which stands for a k pronounced with the lips rounded, as if one were going to pronounce w at the same time. This sound is similar to the underlined sound in the English word 'queen' or 'quick'. We write these as kw (note that a k followed by a w is also written as kw). For example:
Potawatomi English Gloss kekwsé 'chipmunk' pakwzegen 'kinnick-kinnick'
This sound is used only by some speakers of the Northern dialect. Most Potawatomi speakers use k instead of kw.
' (phonetically [?]) stands for a glottal stop. Although it is a common English sound, it is not represented in written English. In English, it is the 'catch' in the throat (glottis) which comes before every vowel that begins a word. Most people have trouble recognizing it at first. It is also where the voice stops between the two 'uh's' of 'uh-uh' in English, meaning 'no', or 'Uh-oh!' The glottal stop is a common Potawatomi sound, and it is written as a single apostrophe: '. Here are some words that contain a glottal stop:
Potawatomi English Gloss éhé' 'yes' ndé' 'my heart' dbe'gen 'hour'
2.3.2. NASAL STOPS [top]
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There are two nasal stop consonants in Potawatomi, m and n. Like nasal vowels, nasal stop consonants are made by air flowing out through the nose. You can hear the difference between an oral stop in English and a nasal stop by putting your fingers on the bridge of your nose and saying first 'be' then 'me'. When you say 'me' you should feel a vibration on the bridge of your nose. This is because your soft palate is lowered and the air is resonating through your nasal cavity. m (phonetically [m]) stands for the underlined sound in the English word 'man' or 'dam' for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss mozo 'moose' amo 'bee' wzam- 'too much'
When m occurs before b, it is syllabified, which means it becomes a syllable in and of itself. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss
mbes [m`b«s] 'lake'
mbwakawen [m`bwakawIn] 'knowledge'
When you pronounce 'mbes', you say something like 'mm-bes'. We have syllabic nasal consonants in English too. Many speakers of American English pronounce the word 'button' as 'butt-nn' (phonetically [bÃtn`]), where the second syllable really is just n. n (phonetically [n]) stands for the underlined sound in the English word 'no' or 'sun', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss nene 'man' wéni je 'who' nin 'I'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (19 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds When n occurs before d, s, t, or z, it is syllabified. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss ndodabyan [n`dodabyan] 'my automobile' nsezé [n`s«zE] 'my older brother' ntape [n`tap«] 'the back of my head' nswe [n`sw«] 'three'
In casual speech, n before b usually becomes m. Either way, the nasal consonant is still syllabified. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss
nbish / [n`biS] / mbish [m`biS] 'water'
nbekdé / [n`b«kdE] / mbekdé [m`b«kdE] 'I'm hungry'
In casual speech n comes before g tends to become [N]. This is the English ng sound in the -ing ending, as in the underlined sound in the words 'walking', 'running'. In Potawatomi, this pronunciation is not reflected in the pedagogical writing system, although in the traditional writing system is written as g. Compare the pronunciations of ngod 'one'. The first pronunciation is careful speech, the second, casual speech.
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss [n`got] / ngod [Nªgot] 'one'
2.3.3. FRICATIVES AND AFFRICATES [top]
Fricatives are produced when the airflow coming from the lungs is constricted at some point in the vocal
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (20 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds tract to such a degree that a friction sound is produced. Affricates are a combination of a stop plus a fricative: the full closure is made as if for a stop, but then opened a little which creates the audible friction. These fricatives and affricates occur in strong and weak pairs. Like stops they also have places of articulation, but we will now have to add a few places of articulation to our chart, alveolar and post- alveolar (refer back to Fig. 14):
Labial Dental Alveolar Post-Alveolar Velar Labio-velar Glottal Strong s, ch sh h Weak z, j zh
Fig. 15 z (phonetically [z] or [s]) is a voiced alveolar fricative which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'zero' or 'maze', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss ziwtagen 'salt' gizes 'who'
At the end of a word, z is replaced by s. We write s at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a z. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss nbemades [nbemad«s] 'I'm alive' bmadze [bmadz«] 'he's alive'
Words (and stems) that begin with z in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a s instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial s. s (phonetically [s]) is a voiceless alveolar fricative which sounds like the underlined sound in the English words 'sun' or 'stand', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss
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séma 'tobacco' ésben 'raccoon' didis 'bluejay'
Many words (and stems) that begin with s in the Southern dialect are pronounced with the z instead in the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial z. zh (phonetically [Z]) is a voiced post-alveolar fricative which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'measure', or 'garage' for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss zhonya 'money' gizhek 'sky'
At the end of a word, zh is replaced by sh. We write sh at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a zh. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss nish [niS] 'two' nizhek [niZ«k] 'two times, twice'
Words (and stems) that begin with zh in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a sh instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial sh. sh (phonetically [S]) is a voiceless post-alveolar fricative which sounds like the underlined sound in the English words 'ship' or 'dash', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss shemojgen 'minnow, bait' gishpen 'if'
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nemosh 'dog'
Many words (and stems) that begin with sh in the Southern dialect are pronounced with the zh instead in the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial zh. j (phonetically [dZ] or [tS]) is a voiced alveolar affricate which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'judge' or 'edge', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss jiman 'canoe' nmaji 'I'm leaving'
At the end of a word, j is replaced by ch. We write ch at the end of a word, but inside a word, we write a j. For example
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss nnech [n`ù«tS] 'my hand' nnején [n`ù«dZEn] 'my hands'
Words (and stems) that begin with j in the Northern dialect are usually pronounced with a ch instead in the Southern dialect. For the Southern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial ch. ch (phonetically [tS]) is a voiceless alveolar affricate which sounds like the underlined sound in the English word 'chair', for example:
Potawatomi English Gloss chikazwen 'game' gachiwet 'the small one' égach 'slowly, carefully'
Many words (and stems) that begin with ch in the Southern dialect are pronounced with the j instead in
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/sounds.html (23 of 25)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Sounds the Northern dialect. For the Northern dialect, the spelling convention is to write these words with an initial ch. h (phonetically [h]) is a voiceless glottal fricative which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'hat' or 'hello'. This sound only occurs in a couple of words:
Potawatomi English Gloss ahaw! 'okay, so be it' hé! 'hey!'
2.3.4. GLIDES [top]
Glides are vowel-like consonants. This is because the airstream is narrowed, but not enough to produce a friction sound as with the fricatives and affricates. This results in a very open, vowel-like sound. There are two glides in Potawatomi: w and y. w (phonetically [w]) is a bilabial glide which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'wait' or 'away'. For example:
Potawatomi English Gloss wiyas 'meat' anwe 'all right, okay' ahaw 'okay, so be it'
When w comes just before another consonant at the beginning of a word, it is a very faint sound which is sometimes difficult for native English speakers to hear. These w's are pronounced by rounding the lips as you pronounce the following consonant. To make matters trickier, most speakers will drop these w's in casual speech. For example:
Potawatomi IPA English Gloss wnagas / [Wnagas] / nagas [nagas] 'cup'
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wnago / [Wnago] / nago [nago] 'yesterday'
wdabyan / [Wd5abjan] / dabyan [d5abjan] 'automobile'
The sound combinations ew and éw stand for vowel sounds. See e and é for a discussion. y (phonetically [j]) is an alveolar glide which sounds like the underlined sounds in the English words 'yes' or 'yellow' For example:
Potawatomi English Gloss yadsokan 'story' jayék 'all'
The sound combinations ey and éy stand for vowel sounds. See e and é for a discussion.
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3. WRITING SYSTEMS
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1. Introduction 2. What is a Writing System? Kinds of Writing Systems [more on this subject soon] Different Purposes [more on this subject soon] Is Potawatomi a "Written" Language? [more on this subject soon] 3. Pictographic Writing 4. Writing Systems Developed by Missionaries 5. The Traditional Writing System 6. The Pedagogical Writing System
1. INTRODUCTION [top]
In this section we will introduce several different systems that Potawatomis have used over the generations to communicate by writing. These systems were developed for many different purposes, and by many different kinds of people. We begin by briefly discussing what a writing system is.
2. WHAT IS A WRITING SYSTEM? [top]
A writing system is a means of expressing thought through written symbols. Some writing systems do this with symbols that represent some aspect of spoken language such as sounds, syllables, or words. If a writing system uses symbols for sounds, or letters, it is called ALPHABETIC. English is a language represented with an alphabet. If a writing system uses symbols that stand for syllables, it is called a SYLLABARY. You may be familiar with Syllabics, which is used to write Cree and some dialects of Ojibwe. Writing systems can even use symbols that stand for words, in which case it is called LOGOGRAPHIC. Chinese characters are logographic. This is summarized in the table below:
Each Writing Language Symbol System: that is Stands For: written this way: a sound Alphabetic English
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a syllable Syllabic Cree a word Logographic Chinese
There are other writing systems that represent ideas without referring to the spoken language. These systems are called PICTOGRAPHIC. 3. PICTOGRAPHIC WRITING
For generations, Potawatomis and other Neshnabék have used a PICTOGRAPHIC writing system. In a pictographic system, each written symbol represents a whole idea rather than individual words or sounds. Symbols were often written by inscribing bark or wood with a sharp tool, and sometimes charcoal and paint was also used. This type of writing system was used for a variety of ceremonial and everyday purposes. Common uses include record keeping, mapmaking, and providing illustrations for stories (Densmore, 1929). The message below was written and explained by a Chippewa woman, Nawajibigokwe:
Message to Fellow Travelers (reproduced from Densmore 1929)
According to her explanation, it is typical of what might be communicated in writing between groups of fellow travelers (this is summarized by Densmore): "Two canoes are shown in the drawing, the two short lines above one of them indicating that the occupants of these canoes are the ones who stayed [at the camp] two days. In one of these is a man of the Catfish gens whose wife is of the Bear gens. They have four children, who are indicated by the four small catfish. In the other canoe is a man of the Eagle gens whose wife is of the Wolf gens. Short lines indicated that they also have four children. An abundance of food is shown by the marks around the fire in the two tipis" (Densmore 1929, p. 178).
At first glance, Fig. 1 may look like some kind of picture or artwork. In fact, such messages are commonly mistaken for artwork (for a good discussion of this, and an analysis of various Native American pictographic systems, see Martineau 1973). Artwork can convey powerful messages, but artists have other concerns as well, such as composition, aesthetics, color, and medium. In Nawajbigokwe's example, it is clear that the most important aspect is the message. It is clearly an
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/writingsyst.html (2 of 5)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Writing example of writing. Many of the symbols used in this example are highly abstract, and could only be interpreted if one was familiar with the customary use of the symbols. 4. WRITING SYSTEMS DEVELOPED BY MISSIONARIES [top]
During the mid 1800's, Christian missionaries began to develop writing systems for Native American languages which would enable them to translate Christian literature, hymns and prayers. The missionary systems developed for Potawatomi were alphabets, which used letters from the Roman Alphabet to represent Potawatomi sounds. The first two alphabets were developed by Jotham Meeker, and Johnston Lykins.
From the 1830's to the 1860's two Jesuits, Fr. Christian Hoecken and Fr. Maurice Gailland, were missionaries to the St. Mary's band of Potawatomi (the combined Prairie and Citizen's Bands). These missionaries developed a writing system that was taught as a syllabary. As you can see from Fig. 2 below, there are different symbols (letters) for consonants and vowels, but they are written in groups of two letters, where each group represents a single syllable. This system came to be known as the "ba-be- bi-bo-bu" syllabary.
Fig. 1 Fr. Ch. Hoecken's Potawatomi Syllabary
The syllabary was taught using the standard set of syllables in Fig. 1. However, this set of symbols does not represent all of the Potawatomi sounds. This omission was corrected somewhat in practice, because in written documents we find tch for ch, ch for sh, j for zh, and dj for j. A far bigger problem results from using conventional English or French spellings to represent Potawatomi sounds. The letters a, e, i, o were used for both 'short' and 'long' vowel sounds as they are in English, and one frequently finds
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/writingsyst.html (3 of 5)2007.01.26. 23:36:57 Writing French spellings such as oui used for Potawatomi wi. These spellings must have seemed very odd and awkward to native speakers. 5. THE TRADITIONAL WRITING SYSTEM [top]
Around the same time that these writing systems were being developed and used, a very popular system known as "Traditional Writing", was developed by Neshnabék. No one knows who first developed the Traditional Writing System, which eventually came to be used by the Ottawa, Potawatomi, Fox, Sauk, Kickapoo and even Winnebago! As early as the 1830's, it was reported to be in use by the Ottawa (Walker, xxxx), and by the 1870's it was being used in the Fox and Potawatomi communities. Huron Smith reports that the Potawatomi version was devised around 1878 by Joe Ellick, a Wisconsin Potawatomi, "so that absent members of the tribe could write home to their people" (Smith, 1933). The Traditional system, like the missionary systems, assigns letters from Roman alphabet to Potawatomi sounds. In Fig. 3 , you can see that in the Traditional system, there are letters for 12 consonants, and four vowels. Let us compare this system to the Pedagogical Writing system, which uses one symbol for each phoneme. In the Traditional system, there is one symbol for each strong/weak pair of consonants. So, for example, the sounds written b and p in the Pedagogical system are written using a single letter l in the Traditional system. With the vowels, i, a and o are used for phonemes i, a and o, however Traditional e is used for the two phonemes: é and e. For fluent speakers, this ambiguity is rarely a problem. There are enough cues from the context to readily tell what the word is. Other innovations include using q for kw and gw, and g for the colloquial pronunciation of n before g. There was no symbol used for the glottal stop, perhaps a carryover from English orthography, which does not have a symbol for glottal stops (in English, the location of glottal stops is predictable).
Phoneme Traditional System (written using the Pedagogical System)
Consonants b l p
d t t
j tt ch
g k k
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gw q kw
z s s
zh sh sh
m m n n g n followed by g w w y y (not marked) ' Vowels i i e é e e a a o o
6. THE PEDAGOGICAL WRITING SYSTEM [top]
The Pedagogical writing system was developed in the 1970's by a team of linguists, native speakers and second language experts at the Wisconsin Native American Languages Program (WNALP). This system, which we will be using throughout these grammatical discussions, is a tool for teachers and students of Potawatomi as a second language. This writing system was intended to be used for teaching Potawatomi to people who do not speak it as a first language. For this reason, each meaningful sound, or phoneme, is represented by one symbol. For an introduction to this writing system, read Potawatomi Sounds.
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4. SOUND RULES
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1. Vowel Deletion 1.1. Why
1. VOWEL DELETION [top]
There are various kinds of vowel alternations in Potawatomi. One kind of alternation, called initial change, signifies a change in meaning. The vowel alternation we will look at here does not in itself change the meaning of a word. However, the alternation is only apparent when you compare different inflected forms of a stem.
To see this, compare the following sets of words (the stem is in boldface, affixes are in plain type). The first set shows inflections for the noun, bkwézhgen 'bread', the second set shows inflections for the verb bmosé 'he walks, he is walking':
nbekwézhgenem 'my bread' gbekwézhgenem 'your bread' bkwézhgen 'bread'
nbemsé 'I walk, I am walking' gbemsé 'you walk, you are walking' bmosé 'he walks, he is walking'
On the face of things, it appears that when the n- 'my' or g- 'your' is added, an e occurs after the first consonant of the stem. With bmosé, the o is lost when the n- prefix is added, and an e appears in the first syllable. These types of alternations are very common in Potawatomi.
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Although from a linguistic perspective the process of vowel deletion is very regular, it may appear to the casual observer (and language learner) to be irregular. And in fact, learning which forms alternate and how is largely a matter of drilling. However, some insight into the process may be an aid to language learners, so it will be described here.
The only phonemes which undergo this vowel deletion are e and o. e will always delete under the right conditions, but only some o's will. Therefore, in this discussion we will write
The rules of short vowel deletion are:
1. In any sequence of two or more short vowels (that is
2. An
3. An
This process is illustrated below with the form
< b E kw é zh E g E n > 1 L 1 (2)
When the word is pronounced, all the odd numbered vowels are deleted, so we are left with a form like this:
< b kw é zh g E n > or, bkwézhgen. Now observe what happens when we make the noun possessive by adding the 1st person prefix
< n E - b E kw é zh E g E n - E m >
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When pronounced, the odd vowels are deleted like this:
< n - b E kw é zh g E n - E m > or, nbekwézhgenem, 'my bread.'
The source of the apparent vowel alternation is really the addition of prefixes and suffixes which add extra
Here is another example with
< g E = b E m O s é > 1 2 3 (L)
Which would be pronounced gbemsé. If we put it in the third person, however, we do not add a prefix:
< b E m O s é w > 1 2 (L) resulting in bmosé. Instead, the suffix <-w> is added for 3rd person. This <-w> does not show up in the final form of the word. It was there historically, but is not spoken today. The <-w> suffix originally protected a final short vowel from deleting, which is still the case today. For example, compare nde- chikaz 'I am playing from
1.1. WHY
At first glance, there is no apparent motivation for why e's and only some o's should delete. However the process makes sense when it is put into an historical perspective.
Historically, proto-Potawatomi vowels looked more like modern Ojibwe vowels, with a both a long and short vowel series:
LONG: a: o: i: e:
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SHORT a o i
Over time, the short vowels /a/ and /i/ merged to become what is written as Potawatomi e (actually schwa). Long /a:/, /i:/, and /e:/ remained the same, and are now written respectively as a, i and é. Potawatomi o however, is the result of the merging of long /o:/ and short /o/:
Vowel Changes Over Time
In Odawa today (also a dialect of Ojibwe), the short vowels /a/, /o/ and /i/ are subject to a vowel deletion process like that in Potawatomi. The vowels in Potawatomi which are subject to deletion are precicely those phonemes which contain the old short vowels, namely /e/ and those instances of /o/ which correspond historically to short /o/.
So, for those with a knowledge of Ojibwe, it is fairly easy to predict which o's will delete in Potawatomi- generally those which correspond to short /o/ in cognate Ojibwe forms.
1.2. WORDS WITH "HIDDEN" INITIAL SHORT VOWELS [top]
There are many words which have a short vowel in their first syllable. From our perspective, these words do not obey the principles of vowel deletion, because first syllables are counted as odd, and should have their short vowels deleted. Some examples of these apparent anomalies are as follows:
nene 'man' 'person, neshnabé Native American' 'he pegdon throws something'
Historically, these words began with initial short vowels. Witness the Ojibwe cognates:
Potawatomi Ojibwe nene inini neshnabé anishinaabe pegdon apagidoon
If we write these words using arrow notation, you can see all the hidden short vowels:
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nene
1.3. A NOTE ON PERSONAL PREFIXES [top]
Because vowel deletion creates extra word forms that must be learned, and because there are many exceptions to the process (as noted above) there is a tendency in Potawatomi, as well as related dialects, to reduce these alternations. One way that many modern speakers do this is by changing the form of the personal prefixes
So, although short vowel alternation has been largely regularized by modern speakers, we have described how it works because many older speakers still use it quite consistantly, and consider it to be more 'conservative' speech.
2. STRESS [top]
This section will address the assignment of main and secondary word stress in Potawatomi.
2.1. WORD STRESS [top]
1. The rules of Potawatomi stress are as follows:
a. Odd numbered syllables are stressed, counting from the end of a word (so final syllables always are stressed). b. The third syllable from the end of the word receives the main (strongest) stress. c. In words of two syllables, the first syllable will receive stress if the second vowel contains
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Examples of words from one to five syllables in length taken from two recorded stories are given below (no words longer than five syllables were available). Normally we do not write stress, but we will in the following examples for purposes of explanation. Main stress is indicated by a single stress mark (') before the stressed syllable. Secondary stress is indicated by double stress mark ('') before the stressed syllable.
2. In words of one syllable, that syllable is stressed:
'jag 'all' 'byé 'he comes' 'nyéw 'four' 'zhyad 'if he comes' 'na (emphatic particle) 'ngom 'today'
3. In words of two syllables where the second syllable is not
bmo'séd 'if he walks' zhe 'na (emphatic particle group) wab'mad 'if he sees him' ja'yég 'everyone' da'wéd 'if he sells' ne'ko 'used to' ke'dod 'if he says' ked'wig 'they say'
4. In words of two syllables where the second syllable contains an
'anwe 'okay' 'ngodeg 'once' 'ngyében 'my late mother' 'bkwézhgen 'bread' 'ode 'this' 'yawen 'it is' 'datbeg 'leaf' 'mijem 'food' 'bégezh 'I wish' 'yayen 'he (obviative) stays in one place' 'ibe 'there' 'nene 'man'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/soundprocesses.html (6 of 8)2007.01.26. 23:36:58 Sound Rules 5. In words of three syllables or more, the third syllable from the end receives the main (strongest) stress, and the final syllable receives secondary (weaker) stress. The second syllable is not stressed:
'wisne''si 'he doesn't eat' (without negative jo) 'wabo''zo 'rabbit' 'yakwno''gé 'he is sick' 'giwsé''wad 'if they hunt' 'wgeshke''ton 'he is able to do something' 'nbwache''wéd 'if he visits' 'nmed se ''na 'I don't know' (particle group) 'neshna''bé 'person' 'Wabi''no 'Wabeno' 'Meshe''gen 'Michigan' 'shobyé''nad 'if he paints him' 'bgeshke''nod 'if he is rotten' 'gnewan''wé 'he has a long tail'
6. In words of more than three syllables, the three-syllable stress rules still apply, however odd- numbered syllables beyond that (counting from the end of the word) will continue to receive secondary stress (so the fifth, seventh, ninth syllable from the end, and so on):
Four syllable words:
mshke'kiwne''ne 'doctor' mik'chéwi''wen 'work' dé'bande''jig 'the ones that love each other' ya'yajmo''wad 'if they tell about something' gne'wanwé''deg 'he supposedly has a short tail' shke'jimé''yeg 'later on'
Five syllable words:
''zhenka'dana''deg 'it is supposedly called' ''gshketo'sina''wa 'they can not make it' ''gagta'nago''yen 'crocodile (obviative)'
2.2. NOTATION AND STRESS [top]
In these modules, we will be using a hyphen to separate of certain prefixes or groups of prefixes from the rest of the word, and in some kinds of compound words. The part of the word that comes before the hyphen acts as its own word with respect to stress. On the other side of the hyphen, it is as if a new word has begun and the stress rules must apply again.
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Nwi-nawkwé-wisnewen. 'We will eat lunch.' 'Nwi-naw'kwé-'wisne''wen.
2.3. PARTICLES AND PARTICLE GROUPS [top]
Many particles behave differently from other words with respect to stress. For example, the question particle ne is never stressed. It 'leans', so to speak, on the word that comes before it: it is said very quickly after the first word in the sentence, almost as if it were part of that word, but it does not affect the stress of that word. Another particle like this is je 'but, however'. There are also groups of particles which are stressed as if they were one word. Here are some examples of particle groups:
zhe 'na (pause, emphasis) 'nmed se ''na 'I don't know'
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5. GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES
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1.Introduction 2. Nominal Categories 2.1. Person 2.1.1. Inclusive and Exclusive 'we' 2.1.2. Obviation 2.2. Number 2.3. Animacy (Gender) 2.4. Obviation 2.5. Other Categories [more on this subject soon] 2.5.1. Possessed [more on this subject soon] 2.5.2. Diminutive [more on this subject soon] 2.5.3. Pejoritive [more on this subject soon] 2.5.4. Locative [more on this subject soon] 2.5.5. Vocative [more on this subject soon] 2.5.6. Preterite [more on this subject soon] 3 Verbal Categories 3.1 Transitivity 3.2 Order 3.2.1 Independent 3.2.2 Conjunct 3.2.3 Imperative 3.3 Mode 3.3.1 Indicative 3.3.2 Negative 3.3.3 Preterite 3.3.4 Dubitative 3.3.5 Negative Preterite 3.3.6 Negative Dubitative 3.4 Tense
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Words in Potawatomi inflect for several GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES. 2. NOMINAL CATEGORIES [top]
2.1. PERSON [top]
The grammatical category PERSON refers to the role of each participant being talked about from the perspective of the speaker. When referring to himself or herself, the speaker uses the FIRST PERSON ('I', 'we'). When referring to the addressee the speaker uses SECOND PERSON ('you', 'you (pl.)'). THIRD PERSON ('he', 'she', 'it', they') is used when the speaker is referring to neither himself/herself or the addressee. Let us look at how this works in the English pronoun system. For example, a speaker, talking about what he ate for supper might say 'I ate a bowl of stew' (first person). But if that person asked someone else what they had for supper, he would use 'you' as in 'What did you eat?' (second person). Then if he asked someone what somebody else had for supper, he would say say 'What did he eat for supper?' (third person). The person being talked about changes in each sentence, from 'I' (first person) to 'you' (second person) to 'he' (third person).
2.1.1. INCLUSIVE AND EXCLUSIVE 'WE'
You may be familiar with the concepts of first, second and third person from studying English. However, unlike English, Potawatomi (and other Algonquian languages) further divide the categories of first and third person. In the first person, plural 'we' is divided into a 'we' that includes the addressee (the INCLUSIVE 'we') and a 'we' that excludes the addressee (the EXCLUSIVE 'we').
These pronouns are similar to the ones we have in English, except for the two different kinds of 'we'. Ninan is called the exclusive we (because it excludes the addressee) and ginan is called the inclusive (because it includes the addressee). The difference between the inclusive and exclusive we are illustrated in the following diagrams (all the stick people in the circles make up the 'we'):
Ginan includes the people in the big and/or little oval:
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Figure 5.1 ginan (inclusive 'we')
Ninan includes only the people in this oval:
Figure 5.2 ninan (exclusive 'we')
2.1.2. OBVIATION [top]
Within the third person, there is a distinction known as OBVIATION. Obviation shows up many places in Potawatomi grammar: in nouns, verbs and pronouns. Its purpose is to distinguish two animate third persons. Generally, the most important or topical third person becomes the PROXIMATE, and any other third person becomes OBVIATIVE. With pronouns, there are separate forms for obviatives. With nouns
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/gcats.html (3 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:36:59 Grammatical Categories and verbs, obviation shows up as a suffix. Certain close contexts require that for every two third person animates one will be obviative. So possessed animate nouns are obviative, and in the case of transitive verbs, either the subject or the object (or indirect object in the case of ditransitives) must be obviative. In discourse, the use of obviation is a stylistic device which can be manipulated by the speaker.
2.2. NUMBER [top]
The grammatical category NUMBER refers to the quantity of a participant. Things like objects, people, and animals can occur singly, in pairs, in groups of three, or in large groups and even masses. Many languages have forms of nouns that indicate one object (singular) or more than one (plural). Some languages even have a category for pairs of things (like eyes)! In Potawatomi, the numbers are SINGULAR and PLURAL. For example, nemosh 'dog' is singular, nemoshek 'dogs' is plural. Many objects that occur in undifferentiated masses are refered to by the singular. This is true of both English and Potawatom, as in mnomen 'rice' or mbob 'soup'.
2.3. ANIMACY (GENDER) [top]
Those who are familiar with French, Spanish, or German, will probably have learned something about GENDER. Gender is one way things (nouns) are classified in language. For example, French has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter, which make a difference in how words inflect. However, as anyone who has had to memorize the gender of French nouns will know, its not always easy to predict the grammatical gender of a noun. Take for example French la porte 'the door (feminine)'. For the French speaker, there is no apparent reason why a door should be feminine. In this way, gender systems can be partially or largely arbitrary. Potawatomi also uses gender to classify nouns, and the effects of this classification are widespread in the grammar. Unlike French, the Potawatomi gender system is not based on a division into masculine, feminine, or neuter, but is based on ANIMACY. The word 'animacy' means 'living' or 'possessing life.' All nouns fall into one of two categories: ANIMATE and INANIMATE. The animate category includes people, animals, plants, spirits, things of spiritual nature, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as most things in the natural world. The inanimate category includes (mostly) everything else. Below are some examples from both categories:
Animate Inanimate nene 'man' myéw 'road' kwé 'woman' waséchgen 'window' gizes 'sun, month' dopwen 'table' jigwé 'thunder' mzen'egen 'paper, book' séma 'tobacco' wigwam 'house' mko 'bear' wiwkwan 'hat' wabozo 'rabbit' kojés 'bean'
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Although this classification is fairly straightforward, animacy of a noun is sometimes hard to predict. To illustrate this point, try the following exercise: if asked to say whether the following words were animate or inanimate, what would you say? (cover up the right-hand column while you guess):
Potawatomi English Animacy Word Gloss 'car' (when dabyan animate being driven) 'car' (when dabyan not being inanimate driven) bnakwan 'comb' inanimate mdamen 'corn' animate mnomen 'wild rice' inanimate mkom 'ice' animate bigjésgo 'dead wood' inanimate 'blade of mishgo inanimate grass, hay' mteg 'tree' animate mteg 'wood' inanimate mtegos 'stick' inanimate kek 'kettle' animate wnagas 'cup' inanimate zénba 'ribbon' animate biskewagen 'jacket' inanimate nanisigneji 'glove' animate nnej 'my hand' inanimate nshkezh 'my nail' animate zibe 'river' inanimate mbes 'lake' animate
So, while in most cases, animacy is predictable, in some cases it appears not to be. The set of nouns that don't seem to obey the general rule simply must be memorized.
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2.4. OTHER CATEGORIES [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.1. POSSESSED [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.2. DIMINUTIVE [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.3. PEJORATIVE [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.4. LOCATIVE [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.5. VOCATIVE [top]
[more on this subject soon]
2.5.6. PRETERITE [top]
[more on this subject soon] 3. VERBAL CATEGORIES [top]
Potawatomi has both transitive and intransitive verb stems. order, mode, and tense.
3.1 TRANSITIVITY [top]
Participants have various 'tasks' in a sentence. Some participants are subjects. In the following sentences, Mary is the subject:
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1. Gkéndasod o Mani. Mary is knowledgable.
2. Mani gi-odanké. Mary went to town.
3. Wgi-wabman Mani ni Mbiliyen. Mary saw Billy.
4. Mkekos wgi-minan Mani ni Mbiliyen. Mary gave Billy a small box.
The SUBJECT is the main participant in a sentence. In sentence (1), Mary is the person described by the predicate 'is knowlegable'. In the other three sentences, she is the one 'going to town', 'seeing' and 'giving'. She is the 'doer'. In sentence (3) there is another participant, Billy. Billy is the one Mary sees. Billy is the DIRECT OBJECT of the sentence, the one that is acted upon. In sentence (4), there are three participants: Mary, the subject; the small box, the object; and Billy, the INDIRECT OBJECT. Only a few verbs (called DITRANSITIVE verbs) like 'give', 'send', that involve the transfer of objects between people have indirect objects. Indirect objects are indirectly associated with the action. In English, they are often preceded by a preposition, like 'to' as in: Mary gave a small box to Billy (sometimes the preposition is omitted, as in 'Mary gave Billy a small box').
Potawatomi verbs inflect for the presence or absence of a direct object. A verb that has only a subject and no object is called INTRANSITIVE. A verb that has a subject and a direct object is called TRANSITIVE. The name 'transitive' is easy to remember if you think of a verb as transferring something between the subject and direct object. Transitive verbs inflect for the animacy of the direct object. Intransitive verbs inflect for the animacy of the subject. These parameters result in the following standard division of Algonquian verbs into four main categories of inflection, or paradigms: TRANSITIVE ANIMATE (TA), TRANSITIVE INANIMATE (TI), ANIMATE INTRANSITIVE (AI), and INANIMATE INTRANSITIVE (II):
Intransitive Transitive Animate AI TA Inanimate II TI Table 5-1 Transitivity
The class of TA verbs also includes the ditransitives. Ditransitive verbs inflect for the animacy of the indirect object.
3.2. ORDER [top]
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There are three verbal orders: independent, conjunct, and imperative.
3.2.1. INDEPENDENT [top]
The independent order is used in most statements and in yes/no questions (which take the particle ne).
3.2.2. CONJUNCT [top]
The conjuct order is the form of subordinate verbs. There is also a common negative construction that uses the conjunct. The conjuct is also the basis for participles (which in addition have initial change).
3.2.3. IMPERATIVE [top]
The imperative is the form for commands and prohibitions.
3.3. MODE [top]
Mode is a category of inflection which describes the mood or attitude of a speaker towards what he or she is saying. Each verbal order has a set of modes. Modes of the independent order are: indicative, negative, preterite, dubitative, negative preterite, and negative dubitative. Modes of the conjunct order are indicative, preterite, and dubitative. Modes of the imperative order are the imperative and prohibative.
3.3.1. INDICATIVE [top]
The indicative mode is the basic form of an assertion or yes/no question. It is found in both the independent and conjunct modes.
Nwabma. 'I see him' Gwabma ne? 'Do you see him?' wabmeg if I see him
[É-mnadénjegéd], mno-ye. She.is.respectful she.is.well CC.FCT-be.respectful\AI=3C well-be\AI=NEG=3I Because she is respectful she lives well.
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The negative mode is translated by 'not', and so indicates the reverse of the indicative. The negative is always used with the particle 'jo' or another negative particle which comes before the verb:
Jo nwabmasi. 'I don't see him.'
The negative mode exists only in the independent order. The conjunct order, rather than using a negative suffix, uses the preverb bwa- for negation. There also exists a form of the negative which uses the particle jo plus the conjunct mode (without the preverb bwa-).
3.3.3. PRETERITE [top]
The preterite expresses something that happened habitually in the past, often used with the particle 'neko':
Neko nwabmaben. 'I used to see him'
Used with the past tense, the preterite expresses an anticipated action that did not occur. For example:
Ngi-zhyaben, nda-gi-mikchéwi je. 'I was going to come, but I had to work.
3.3.4. DUBITATIVE [top]
In the present tense, the dubitative mode expresses doubt. It is frequently used with the particle gnebej 'maybe'.
Gnebej nwabmadeg. 'Maybe I'm seeing him.'
In the past tense, the dubitative expresses an inference:
Ngi-nwabmadeg. 'I must have seen him.'
3.3.5. NEGATIVE PRETERITE [top]
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/gcats.html (9 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:36:59 Grammatical Categories Jo nwabmasiben. 'I didn't used to see him.'
3.3.6. NEGATIVE DUBITATIVE [top]
In the present tense, the dubitative expresses doubt. It is frequently used with the particle gnebej 'maybe':
Jo gnebej nwabmasideg. 'I might not see him.'
In the past tense, the dubitative expresses an inference:
Jo ngi-wabmasideg. 'I must not have seen him.'
3.4 TENSE [top]
Verbs inflect for past and future tense (present tense is not marked on the verb). Tense is marked by preverbs. The tense preverbs are:
(no present prefix) tense gi- past tense future wi- tense, intentional future ge- tense
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8. THE INFLECTION OF NOUNS
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1. Introduction 2. Animacy 3. Inflected forms 3.1. Plural 3.2. Possessive 3.2.1 Dependent Noun Stems 3.3. Obviative 3.4. Locative 3.5. Diminutive 3.6. Pejorative 3.7. Vocative 4. Combining Inflectional Endings 5. Noun Stem Classes 5.1. Classifying Stems by Their Beginnings 5.1.1. Stems That Begin with a Strong Vowel 5.1.2. Stems That Begin with
1. INTRODUCTION [top]
This chapter describes how nouns in Potawatomi inflect. Lets begin by considering the following sets of words:
dopwen 'table' dopwenen 'tables' nde-dopwen 'my table' dopwenek 'on, at, next to the table' dopwenés 'small table' dopwenesh 'ol' table, darned table'
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wdabyan 'car' wdabyanek 'cars' (being driven) nde-wdabyan 'my car' wde-wdabyanen 'his car' wdabyanek 'on, at, next to the car' wdabyanés 'little car' wdabyanesh 'ol' car, darned car'
These are all different forms that nouns can take. These forms (or declensions) are known by the six names below:
Singular (bare form of noun) '(noun)' Plural '(noun)s, more than one (noun)' Possessive 'my, your, our... (noun)' Obviative 'his, her, their (animate noun)' Locative 'on, at, next to a / the (noun)' Diminutive 'small (noun)' Pejorative 'darned (noun)'
As you can see, most of these forms involve a suffix, and one form, the possessive, takes a prefix (these are underlined and in boldface in the examples above). Each of these forms will be dealt with in detail below. First, however, we must discuss the primary division of nouns into two categories. 2. ANIMACY [top]
All nouns fall into one of two big categories, or classes: ANIMATE and INANIMATE. The animate category includes people, animals, plants, spirits, things of spiritual nature, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as most things in the natural world. The inanimate category includes everything else. Below are some examples from both categories:
ANIMATES: INANIMATES: nene 'man' myéw 'road' kwé 'woman' waséchgen 'window' gizes 'sun, month' dopwen 'table' jigwé 'thunder' mzen'egen 'paper, book' séma 'tobacco' wigwam 'house'
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mko 'bear' wiwkwan 'hat' wabozo 'rabbit' kojés 'bean'
Although this classification is fairly straightforward, there are a number of things which one might not guess are animate. To illustrate this point, try the following exercise: if asked to say whether the following words were animate or inanimate, what would you say? (cover up the right-hand column while you guess):
dabyan 'car' animate bnakwan 'comb' inanimate mdamen 'corn' animate mkom 'ice' animate bigjésgo 'dead wood' inanimate mishgo 'blade of grass, hay' inanimate mteg 'tree' animate mtegos 'stick' inanimate kek 'kettle' animate émkwan 'spoon' animate koman 'knife' inanimate zibe 'river' inanimate mbes 'lake' animate
Whether a noun is grammatically animate or inanimate makes a difference on the kind of plural ending it takes, as we will see just below. 3. INFLECTED FORMS [top]
3.1. PLURAL [top]
Look below at the plural forms of the nouns given just above:
ANIMATES: dabyanek 'cars' mdamnek 'ears of corn' mkomik 'pieces of ice' mtegok 'trees' kekok 'kettles' émkwanek 'spoons'
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mbesek 'lakes'
INANIMATES: bnakwanen 'combs' bigjésgwén 'pieces of dead wood' mishgoyen 'grass, hay' mtegosen 'sticks' komanen 'knives' zibin 'rivers'
All of the animate nouns take a plural suffix that ends in -k. However the inanimate plural suffix ends with an -n. Therefore, if you do not know if a noun is animate or inanimate, look at the plural form of the noun. The plural form is a standard part of a noun's dictionary entry. Besides just a -k or an -n, these noun plurals also seem to add some kind of vowel, or w or y. These differences all depend on the ending of the noun stem the plural suffix attaches to.
3.2. POSSESSIVE [top]
Possessive forms are used to show ownership of something. The possessive form must be used with some nouns, but for most nouns this is not the case. Most possessed nouns take a special suffix <-Em> which is attached directly after the noun. If the noun ends in a vowel, the form of this suffix is /-m/. If the noun ends in a consonant, the suffix will be /-em/:
Ends in a consonant: migwen 'feather' nmigwnem 'my feather' Ends in a vowel: mko 'bear' nmekom 'my bear'
Although most possessed nouns take this suffix, there are some that do not. There is no rule of thumb for which do and which do not; this must be learned for each noun. For this reason, the possessed form is listed in the dictionary for each (non-dependent) noun.
Besides the <-Em> suffix, there are seven other prefix/suffix combinations which are used to distinguish the possessor. These suffix/prefix combinations are very similar to the pronoun forms, as you can see in the table below (where "stem" stands for any noun stem):
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Pronoun: Translation: Possessive Affixes: nin I n- (stem) gin you g- (stem) win he, she, it w- (stem) ninan we (excl.) n- (stem) -nan ginan we (incl.) g- (stem) -nan ginwa you (pl.) g- (stem) -wa winwa they w- (stem) -wa
Notice that of the two 'we' forms, the one that includes 'you' has a prefix which starts with g-, just like the second person pronouns gin 'you' and ginwa 'you (pl.).' If 'you' are not included in 'we,' the form of the possessive prefix is n-, just like the beginning of the first person form nin 'I.' If both the speaker and hearer are being talked about, the prefix for the hearer 'you' or g- will always show up rather than the prefix for the speaker 'I' or n-. This is one way Potawatomi grammar places a priority of second person over first person. This primacy of the second person is also very important in the inflection of verbs.
As our first example, take the noun bnakwan
Morphophonemic Form Potawatomi Word English Gloss
The n-, g-, and w- prefixes we will call SHORT PERSONAL PREFIXES. There is a second set of prefixes which fluent speakers also commonly use that end in -de. We will call these the 'long personal prefixes'. These are nde- 'first person', gde- 'second person', and wde- 'third person'. For example, the following would be as acceptible as the examples with
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Morphophonemic Form Potawatomi Word English Gloss
3.2.1 DEPENDENT NOUN STEMS [top]
Grammatically, dependent nouns are those nouns which must occur in the possessed form. This class generally consists of those things which are inalienably possessed: terms for kin and parts of the body, although there are some kin and body part terms which are not dependent. There are a few other nouns which fall into the dependent class, such as a couple of words for pets, nouns with the prefix ij- 'fellow' and the word for 'arrow'nib/nwib. For a list of these terms, see Parts of Speech: Dependent Nouns.
The following are the forms for all persons, using the examples of consonant final <#gwEs> 'son' and <#ita> 'brother-in-law':
Person: Ends in a consonant: Ends in a vowel: my ngwes nita your ggwes gita his / her / its wgwesen witan our (incl.) ngwesnan nitanan our (excl.) ggwesnan gitanan your (pl.) ggweswa gitawa their wgweswan witawan
All dependent nouns take the short person prefixes, and cannot take the possessive suffix . Also note that because the stems <#gwEs> 'son' and <#ita> 'brother-in-law' are animate, the third person forms require the obviative suffix
3.3. OBVIATIVE [top]
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One context where obviation is required is possession. When one animate third person grammatically possesses another, the possessor will be the proximate and the possessed will be the obviative. The obviative suffix <-En> is -en if the noun stem ends in a consonant:
Mani wdodabyanen Mary's car(s) Mbili wgwesen Billy's son(s)
If the noun stem ends in a vowel, the obviative suffix is -n:
wdeséman 'his/her tobacco' wdesémawan 'their tobacco'
A noun that is in the obviative form cannot take a plural suffix, so obviatives are ambiguous as to plurality.
3.4. LOCATIVE [top]
Locative forms are used to show location with respect to the noun. The locative suffix is <-Eg>, so it will show up as -ek if the noun it attaches to ends in a consonant, and -k if it ends in a vowel:
odan 'town' odanek 'in town' mbes 'lake' mbesek 'in, at, near the lake' kadi 'skillet' kadik 'on, in, near the skillet'
With animate nouns, the locative form is the same as the plural form.
3.5. DIMINUTIVE [top]
Diminutives are used to describe a small version of the bare noun. The form of the diminutive suffix is - és, or -s if the noun ends in a vowel:
dé'men 'strawberry' dé'menés 'little strawberry' zibiwé 'river' zibiwés 'little river' bnéshi 'bird' bnéshis 'little bird'
3.6. PEJORATIVE [top]
A pejorative form is used to describe a noun in a belittling or disparaging way. We gloss this as 'darned'
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dabyan 'car' dabyanesh 'darned car' mko 'bear' mkoyesh 'darned bear' kadi 'skillet' kadiyesh 'darned skillet'
3.7. VOCATIVE [top]
There is a special form used particularly with words for kin called the VOCATIVE. This is merely the form used when addressing that person. Therefore, in a dictionary, this form would be a special grammatical entry found under the listings for common kin terms. Some examples are:
Néné! 'Mom!' Dédé! 'Dad!' Noko! 'Grandma!' Mesho'! 'Grandpa!'
4. COMBINING INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS [top]
We can combine many suffixes together to get different meanings, however there is a specific order that the suffixes occur in, and some suffixes cannot occur with others. Take as an example the following :
ndE- Odabyan -és -Em -Esh -Eg my car DIM POSS PEJ LOC/PL
After the weak vowels drop: ndodabyanésmeshek. If a person ever said so long a word, it would mean either 'on my darned little car' or 'on my darned little cars.' If we make the possessor plural we get:
ndE- Odabyan -és -Em -Esh -Em -Enan -Eg my car DIM POSS PEJ POSS 1 PL LOC/PL
After the short vowels drop: ndodabyanésmeshmenanek. (Note that the possessive suffix is repeated before the addition of the plural subject suffix <-Enan>. It is unclear at this point whether this is an error or not)
Which could mean either:
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Most of the time, however, nouns don't have so many suffixes. These words do illustrate an important point though; that the suffixes occur in a specific order. For example, the following words would be incorrectly formed (we will mark incorrect forms with an asterisk):
Noun stems can be divided into classes based on how they inflect. We will classify them here in two different ways: what kind of sound they begin with, and what kind of sound they end with.
5.1. CLASSIFYING NOUN STEMS BY THEIR BEGINNINGS [top]
There are several classes of noun stems which require slightly different forms of the personal prefixes. These are: "vowel-initial" stems, w-stems, y-stems, and long-prefix stems.
5.1.1. STEMS THAT BEGIN WITH A STRONG VOWEL [top]
Stems that begin with a strong vowel take only the long prefixes:
Morphophonemic Form Potawatomi Word English Gloss
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5.1.2. STEMS THAT BEGIN WITH
Some nouns that appear to begin with a consonant in casual speech actually begin with a w-. You can hear this w- in careful speech. Here are a few examples:
Morphophonemic Careful Gloss Fast Form Speech Speech
Words like this use the long prefixes, however the final vowel of the prefix usually combines with the initial w- of the noun stem to give the prefixes ndo-, gdo- and wdo-:
Morphophonemic English Potawatomi Word Form Gloss
5.1.3. STEMS THAT BEGIN WITH
Stems that begin with /y/ can take several kinds of personal prefixes:
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Potawatomi Word English Gloss nde-yankobjegen 'my great-grandparent, my great-grandchild' nyankobjegen 'my great-grandparent, my great-grandchild' ndankobjegen 'my great-grandparent, my great-grandchild'
The first example uses a long prefix, the second the short prefix, but the third example, which is the most conservative form, uses nd= which is prefixed directly to the stem without the y.
5.1.4. STEMS THAT TAKE LONG PERSONAL PREFIXES [top]
Some stems can only take the long set of prefixes. These can take a prefix directly on the stem (as in the first example) or as a separate prefix (as in the second example). The first example is the most conservative form:
Morphophonemic Potawatomi Word English Gloss Form
The historical explanation for this is these stems used to begin with a weak vowel (you can see this in the morphophonemic form). This weak vowel required the prefix nd= which was prefixed directly to the stem. However, over time, the initial weak vowel was lost in all forms except the possesed form. In fact, you can still see these initial short vowels if you look at cognates dialects of Ojibwe. Now the older prefixed form with nd= exists along side the newer form with nde-. You can easily recognize these stems if there is a short vowel in the first syllable. This vowel does not delete because of the original initial weak vowel.
5.2. CLASSIFYING NOUN STEMS BY THEIR ENDINGS [top]
So far we have used only two types of nouns in our examples; those that end in a consonant, and those that end in a strong vowel. However, there are several classes of noun stems which take a special ending before they are suffixed. These classes, as well as noun stems which end in a vowel or consonant, are listed in the following table for ease of reference. If you know one form of the noun, it is fairly easy to use this table to predict what the others will be. Because in most cases the singular form of the noun does not show an ending, it is useful to memorize the plural form with the singular to cue yourself as to the other endings the noun takes (memorizing the plural form is necessary anyhow, since that is how to
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Stem Examples Plural Poss. Dim. Loc. Pej. Class ends in a mko vowel (V- zibiwé -k /-n -m -s -k -yesh stems)
ends in a gigoz consonant bnakwan -ek / -en -em -és -ek -esh (C-stems)
-gen / -ken wnagen -ek / -en -em -gas -ak -esh
mbes #é ndé' -ék / -én -em (?) -és -ek -yesh
-osh / kek -oyesh / #o mak -ok / -on -om -os -ok -wesh
bnéshi -yek / - #y jedmo yen -yem -s -yek -yesh
bné -(y)ek / (#y) kadi -(y)en -(y)em -s -(y)ek -(y)esh
-is / dkeb -yék/ -és / #yé seb -yén -im -ik -yesh -yés
-wék/ -wén/ #wé/#o mteg -om -os -ok -wesh -ok/ -on
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9. THE INFLECTION OF VERBS
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1. Introduction 2. The Independent Order 2.1. Personal Prefixes 2.2. AI Verbs 2.3. TI Verbs 2.4. II Verbs 2.5. TA Verbs 2.5.1. The Animacy Hierarchy 2.5.2. Themes 2.5.2.1. Exceptions 2.5.3. Personal Suffixes 3. The Conjunct Order [More on this subject soon] 3.1. Initial Change in the Conjunct and Participle 4. The Imperative Order [More on this subject soon] 5. Modes of the Independent and Conjunct [More on this subject soon] 6. Stem Classes 6.1. AI Stems 6.1.1. Stem Classes for Prefixation 6.1.1.1. C Stem 6.1.1.2.
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1. INTRODUCTION [top]
Verbal inflection is one of the more complex aspects of Potawatomi grammar, and one of the most important. The prefixes and suffixes on verbs relate the participants of the sentence. Without them, it would be difficult to know who was doing what in a sentence. But inflection also tells us other information: how the verb is situated in time (tense, the preterite mode) the speaker's attitude about what he/she is saying (the dubitative and preterite modes) and negation (the negative).
This chapter provides an outline of the inflection of the four primary kinds of verbs: AI, II, TI and TA. The discussion will be divided into sections on the different inflectional orders: the independent, the conjunct and the imperative. 2. THE INDEPENDENT ORDER [top]
The independent order is characterized by requiring personal prefixes and suffixes on AI, TI and TA verbs.
2.1. PERSONAL PREFIXES [top]
The personal prefixes that independent verbs take are the same as those found on possessed nouns: n- or nde- for first person, g- or gde- for second person and w- or wde- for third person. Compare the inflection of the possessed noun bnakwan (N) 'comb' with the inflection of the TI verb wabdek 'see s.t.':
Possessed forms of bnakwan 'comb' nbenakwanem nde-bnakwanem 'my comb'
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gbenakwanem gde-bnakwanem 'your comb' wbenakwanem wde-bnakwanem 'his/her/its comb' nbenakwanmenan nde-bnakwanmenan 'our (excl.) comb' gbenakwanmenan gde-bnakwanmenan 'our (incl.) comb' gbenakwanmewa gde-bnakwanmewa 'your (pl.) comb' wbenakwanmewa wde-bnakwanmewa 'their comb'
Forms of wabdek 'see s.t.' nwabdan nde-wabdan 'I see it.' gwabdan gde-wabdan 'You see it.' (w)wabdan wde-wabdan 'He / she sees it.' nwabdamen nde-wabdamen 'We (excl.) see it.' gwabdamen gde-wabdamen 'We (incl.) see it.' gwabdam gde-wabdam 'You (pl.) see it.' (w)wabdanawa wde-wabdanawa 'They see it.'
2.2. AI VERBS [top]
As intransitive verbs, AI verbs inflect only for a subject. We will begin by looking at the inflection of majit 'leave'. We call the class of verbs that inflect like majit 'strong vowel stems' (or V stems for short) because they end in a strong vowel that remains the same throughout the paradigm:
Forms of majit 'leave'
nmaji 'I leave.' gmaji 'You leave.' maji 'He / she leaves.' majin 'He (obv.) leaves.' nmajimen 'We (excl.) leave.' gmajimen 'We (incl.) leave.' gmajim 'You (pl.) leave.' majik 'They leave.'
Notice that there is no personal prefix on third person forms. This is only the case with AI verbs. TI and TA verbs require third person prefixes. There is an historical explanation for this, which is given under
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Suffix: Use: first, second, (nothing) third person singular -n obviative first -men person plural second -m person plural third -k person plural
2.3. TI VERBS [top]
TI verbs are transitive, and inflect for both a subject and an object. In this case, the subject is animate and the object is inanimate. For an example, we will take wabdek 'see s.t.'. This chart shows the use of long prefixes, although short prefixes could also be used:
Forms of wabdek 'see s.t.' nde-wabdan 'I see it.' gde-wabdan 'You see it.' wde-wabdan 'He / she sees it.' nde-wabdamen 'We (excl.) see it.' gde-wabdamen 'We (incl.) see it.' gde-wabdam 'You (pl.) see it.' wde-wabdanawa 'They see it.'
Now let us take a closer look at the suffixes of this verb:
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Potawatomi Word Suffixes Gloss nde-wabdan -a -n 'I see it.' gde-wabdan -a -n 'You see it.' wde-wabdan -a -n 'He / she sees it.' nde-wabdamen -a -men 'We (excl.) see it.' gde-wabdamen -a -men 'We (incl.) see it.' gde-wabdam -a -m 'You (pl.) see it.' wde-wabdanawa -a -nawa 'They see it.'
The vowel a that can be found on every form is called a THEME. TI verbs that have this vowel are called A-THEME TIs. The other endings are fairly straightforward, with the endings for first person plural and second person plural being very similar to those of AI verbs. After the theme, the remaining endings are:
Suffix: Use: -n singular first -men person plural second -m person plural third -nawa person plural
Besides a-Theme TIs, there is also a large class of O-THEME TIs. Instead of the theme vowel being a, it is o. The other suffixes are the same:
Potawatomi Word Suffixes Gloss nde-byédon -o -n 'I see it.' gde-byédon -o -n 'You see it.' wde-byédon -o -n 'He / she sees it.' nde-byédomen -o -men 'We (excl.) see it.' gde-byédomen -o -men 'We (incl.) see it.'
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gde-byédom -o -m 'You (pl.) see it.' wde-byédonawa -o -nawa 'They see it.'
Singular subject forms of TI verbs can also optionally inflect for a plural object. The suffix for a plural object is -en (or -n, after a vowel), which folllows the other suffixes:
Potawatomi Word Suffixes Gloss nde-wabdanen -a -n -en 'I see them.' gde-wabdanen -a -n -en 'You see them.' wde-wabdanen -a -n -en 'He / she sees them.' nde-wabdamen -a -men 'We (excl.) see it / them.' gde-wabdamen -a -men 'We (incl.) see it / them.' gde-wabdam -a -m 'You (pl.) see it / them.' wde-wabdanawan -a -nawa -n 'They see them.'
The first and second person plural subject TI forms are actually ambigous as to whether there is a singular or plural object.
2.4. II VERBS [top]
II verbs are intransitive, and have an inanimate subject. The number of inflections required for II verbs is quite small. Take as an example wawyéyak 'be round':
Forms of wawyéyak 'be round'
wawyéya 'It is round.' wawyéyanen 'It (obv.) is round.' wawyéyadon 'They are round.'
The endings are:
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Suffix: Use: (nothing) singular -nen obviative -don plural
The endings will vary slightly from these depending on the class of the stem.
2.5. TA VERBS [top]
TA verbs are transitive, and inflect for both a subject and object. However, because both the subject and object are animate, these verbs need to indicate the person of the object as well as the subject. This could potentially result in lots of different prefixes and suffixes, but (fortunately for us language learners) Potawatomi is methodical and economical. The means this economy is accomplished is through the use of the ANIMACY HIERARCHY and the use of THEMES.
2.5.1. ANIMACY HIERARCHY [top]
The animacy hierarchy is a scale which shows how first, second, and third persons are ranked with respect to the grammar. On the scale, the highest ranking person is second person, then first person, then third person, and then obviative:
This hierarchy determines which personal prefix shows up on a verb. Comparing both the subject and object of a verb, whichever is highest in rank on the person hierarchy determines the prefix. Let us examine some verbs to see how this works:
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Person Verb Gloss Prefix Ranking 'You see gwabem you > me g- me.' 'He sees nwabmeg me > he n- me.' 'You see gwabma you > him g- him.' 'He sees he > him wwabman w- him (obv.).' (obv.)
2.5.2THEMES [top]
Themes are suffixes. They are attached directly to the stem, before any other suffixes:
There are four themes: <-a>, <-En>, <-EgO> or nothing (no theme suffix). These can be categorized based on the following dimensions: DIRECT vs. INVERSE and LOCAL vs. NON-LOCAL. Direct and inverse refer to the Animacy hierarchy. If the subject is higher than the object on the animacy hierarchy, the theme will be direct. If the object is higher than the subject on the animacy hierarchy, the theme will be inverse. Local and non-local refer to the presence of a third person. If the subject and object are both first or second person then the theme will be local. If either the subject or object is a third person, the theme will be non-local. The table below shows the categorization of themes based on these dimensions:
Direct Inverse Local (no suffix) <-En> Non-local <-a> <-EgO>
Let us look some examples of themes. The theme is underlined.
Direct, local: (no theme suffix):
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss
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Gwabem.
Direct, non-local: <-a>
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Nwabma.
Inverse, local: <-En>
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmen.
Inverse, non-local: <-EgO>
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmek.
2.5.2.1. EXCEPTIONS [top]
There are two exceptions to watch out for because they have an irregular theme:
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmego.
This theme is different from the inverse, non-local /-EgO/ because of the final vowel of the theme. /- EgO/ ends in a weak /O/ which means it will drop at the end of a word, and reduce inside of words. But in the 'we (excl.) - you' forms, the theme ends in a strong vowel that does not drop or reduce. It was probably originally the passive suffix <-Ego>. This theme may either be a recent innovation, or may be
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2.5.3. PERSONAL SUFFIXES [top]
The theme suffix is followed by personal suffixes. There are several of these. Because the definitions of these suffixes are rather complicated, do not worry about memorizing them, unless it is helpful to you. It will probably be easier to memorize them from the verb chart.
<-EmEn> meaning 'we' with direct, non-local verbs:
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Nwabmamen.
<-Enan> meaning 'we' with indirect, non-local verbs:
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Nwabmegwnan.
<-Em> meaning 'you (pl.)' with local verbs:
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmem.
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Except: <-EyEmEn/ 'you/you (pl.) _____ us':
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmeyemen.
<-wa> 'you (pl.)' or 'they/them' as highest ranking with non-local verbs:
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Gwabmegwa.
Two suffixes /-Eg/ and /-En/ always come after the other person suffixes, and are not used together. If there is an obviative, /-Eg/ will not be used.
/-Eg/ meaning 'they/them':
Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss Nwabmegok.
/-En/ meaning 'obviative':
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Potawatomi Word Morphophonemic Form Gloss (W)wabman.
3. THE CONJUNCT ORDER [top]
Conjunct order verbs take suffixes, but no prefixes. This means the suffix alone tells you about the subject and object.
[More on this subject soon. For now, refer to the verb paradigm charts]
3.1. INITIAL CHANGE IN THE CONJUNCT AND PARTICIPLE [top]
Some situations require a special form of the conjunct known as the CHANGED CONJUNCT. This form of the conjunct differs slightly from the regular or PLAIN CONJUCT. In the changed conjunct, the first vowel undergoes a change to another vowel. If the first vowel in the word is ,
PLAIN CONJUNCT CHANGED CONJUNCT
Here are some examples:
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Plain Gloss Changed Conjunct Gloss Morphophonemic Form Conjunct 'if he picks 'the one who minkét mankét
4. THE IMPERATIVE ORDER [top]
[More on this subject soon. For now, refer to the verb paradigm charts]
5. MODES OF THE INDEPENDENT AND CONJUNCT [top]
[More on this subject soon. For now, refer to the verb paradigm charts]
6. STEM CLASSES [top]
There are several classes of stems that require special inflections. These are described below for each of the primary verb types.
6.1. AI STEMS [top]
6.1.1. STEM CLASSES FOR PREFIXATION [top]
The following AI stem types take slightly different sets of personal prefixes.
6.1.1.1. C STEMS [top]
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Subject Short Prefix Long Prefix
nin nmaji nde-maji gin gmaji gde-maji win maji(wak) maji(wak) win (obv.) majin majin ninan nmajimen nde-majimen ginan gmajimen gde-majimen ginwa gmajim gde-majim winwa majik majik
maji 'he/she is leaving'
6.1.1.2
Subject Long Prefix Combined Prefix
nin nde-wjanda ndojanda gin gde-wjanda gdojanda win wjanda(wak) wjanda(wak) win (obv.) wjandan wjandan ninan nde-wjandamen ndojandamen ginan gde-wjandamen gdojandamen ginwa gde-wjandam gdojandam
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winwa wjandak wjandak
wjanda 'he/she is cooking' (N)
Another verb with a W Stem is wdemé 'he/she is smoking'.
6.1.1.3.
Subject Long Prefix Short Prefix Combined Prefix
nin nde-yaknoga nyaknoga ndaknoga gin gde-yaknoga gyaknoga gdaknoga win yaknogé(wak) yaknogé(wak) yaknogé(wak) win (obv.) yaknogén yaknogén yaknogén ninan nde-yaknogamen nyaknogamen ndaknogamen ginan gde-yaknogamen gyaknogamen gdaknogamen ginwa gde-yaknogam gyaknogam gdaknogam winwa yaknogék yaknogék yaknogék
yaknogé 'he/she is sick'
Another verb with a y Stem is yayéno 'he/she is laughing.'
6.1.1.4 WEAK VOWEL STEMS [top]
Some stems can only take a combined prefix. These will look (and sound) to you just like the long set of personal prefixes. However, they are different. Verbs like néndem in the table below at one time began with a weak vowel. The weak vowel only shows up today when a prefix is added. The way you will recognize a weak vowel stem is it will only take the prefixes nd= and gd=, and not the short prefix set.
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Subject Combined Prefix
nin ndenéndem gin gdenéndem win néndem(wak) win (obv.) néndemwin ninan ndenéndemen ginan gdenéndemen ginwa gdenéndam winwa néndemwik
néndem 'he/she thinks thus'
Another verb with a Weak Vowel Stem is dnekmegze 'he/she is playing.'
6.1.2. STEM CLASSES FOR SUFFIXATION [top]
6.1.2.1. V STEMS [top]
V Stems end in a strong vowel. An example is maji 'he/she is leaving'. Note that the vowel i at the end of the stem does not change throughout the paradigm:
Subject Verb Form
nin nmaji gin gmaji win maji(wak) win (obv.) majin ninan nmajimen ginan gmajimen ginwa gmajim winwa majik
6.1.2.2.
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Subject Verb Form Prefix Stem Suffixes
nin ndenéndem nd= enéndem gin gdenéndem gd= enéndem win néndem(wak) néndem -(wak) win (obv.) majin néndem -win ninan ndenéndemen nd= enéndem -men ginan gdenéndemen gd= enéndem -men ginwa gdenéndam gd= enéndam -m winwa néndemwik néndem -wik
Another variant of
Subject Verb Form Prefix Stem Suffixes
nin ndenéndesin nd= enénde -sin gin gdenéndesin gd= enénde -sin win néndesin nénde -sin win (obv.) néndemsin ? néndem -sin ninan ndenéndesimen nd= enénde -simen ginan gdenéndesimen gd= enénde -simen ginwa gdenéndesim gd= enénde -sim winwa néndesik nénde -sik
Other negative modes of the independent, such as the negative preterite, and negative dubitative, optionally drop the final /m/ of
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In the conjunct,
Subject Verb Form Stem Suffixes
nin néndeman néndem -an gin néndemen néndem -en win néndek nénde -k win (obv.) néndemwin néndem -win ninan néndemgo néndem -go ginan néndemak néndem -ak ginwa néndemék néndem -ék winwa néndemwat néndem -wat
As a group, /dem/ Stems are easy to remember, because they have meanings that have to do with thought or emotion.
6.1.2.3. STEMS [top]
Subject Verb Form Prefix Stem Suffixes
nin nde-bya nde- bya gin gde-bya gde- bya win byé(wak) byé win (obv.) byén ? byé -n ninan nde-byamen nde- bya -men ginan gde-byamen gde- bya -men ginwa gde-byam gde- bya -m winwa byék byé -k
Notice that the stem ends in a in first and second persons, but ends in é in third persons. In the conjunct, only the
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Other examples of stems are nbé 'he/she is sleeping', wdemé 'he/she is smoking' and yakwnogé 'he/she is sick'.
6.1.2.4. WEAK VOWEL STEMS [top]
Weak Vowel Stems end in
6.1.2.4.1.
Look at the following paradigm for dnekmegze 'he/she is playing' (S). Ignore the changes inside the stem. Rather look at the underlined vowels:
Subject Inflected Form
nin ndenkemges gin gdenkemges win dnekmegze(wak) win (obv.) dnekmegzin ninan ndenkemgezmen ginan gdenkemgezmen ginwa gdenkemgezem winwa dnekmegzik
Notice that in the third persons, there is a vowel after the z/s (recall the z is pronounced like s at the end of the word). All of the first and second person forms do not have a vowel after the z/s. In the 'he' form, the vowel is e, but in the obviative and 'they' form the vowel is i. Another stem like this is mwe 'he/she is crying' (look only at the short set of prefixes though: with the prefixed long set, mwe only has two short vowels and is therefore a short stem
6.1.2.4.2.
Like
Subject Inflected Form
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nin nde-chikas gin gde-chikas win chikazo/chikazwak win (obv.) chikazwin ninan nde-chikazmen ginan gde-chikazmen ginwa gde-chikazom winwa chikazwik
6.1.2.4.3.
Subject Inflected Form
nin njibdep gin gjibdep win jibdebe/jibdebwak win (obv.) jibdebwin ninan njibdebmen ginan gjibdebmen ginwa gjibdebem winwa jibdebwik
6.1.2.4.4.
[More on this subject soon]
6.2. TI STEMS [top]
There are two kinds of TI stems: Stems and
6.3. II STEMS [top]
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II stems fall into three main types for the purposes of inflection, depending on the last sound of the stem: vowel stems (V Stems),
6.3.1. V STEMS [top]
Take the verb wawyéya 'it is round' for example:
Forms of wawyéya 'it is round'
Wawyéya. 'It is round.' Wawyéyanen. 'It (obv.) is round.' Wawyéyadon. 'They are round.'
The endings for vowel stems are:
Suffix: Use: (nothing) singular <-nEn> obviative <-don> plural
6.3.2. AUGMENTED V STEMS [top]
II vowel stems are unique in that they can take an extra suffix,
Wawyéya. 'It is round.' Wawyéyamget. 'It is round.'
The augment is added directly after the stem, before any other suffixes:
Wawyéyamgedon. 'They (inan.) are round.' Wawyéyamgedben. 'It was round.'
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The combined endings for a V Stem that has an augment are:
Suffix: Use: <- singular mEgEd> <- mEgEd - obviative En> <- mEgEd - plural on>
For example:
Forms of wawyéyamget 'it is round'
Wawyéyamget. 'It is round.' Wawyéyamgeden. 'It (obv.) is round.' Wawyéyamgedon. 'They are round.'
6.3.4.
Forms of waben 'it is morning'
Waben. 'It is morning.' Wabnene. 'It (obv.) is morning.' Wabnon. 'They (inan.) are mornings.'
The suffixes for
Suffix: Use: (nothing) singular <-EnE> obviative <-on> plural
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6.3.5.
Forms of wenet 'it is good'
Wenet 'It is good.' Wendene. 'It (obv.) is good.' Wendon. / Wendenon. 'They (inan.) are good.'
The suffixes for
Suffix: Use: (nothing) singular <-EnE> obviative <-on>, plural
6.4. TA STEMS [top]
[More on this subject soon]
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11. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
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1. Introduction 1.1. Plain Conjunct vs. Changed Conjunct 1.2. Use of the Preverb é- 1.3. Use of Particles 1.4. Order of Clauses 1.5. Tense Copying 2. Adverbial Clause Types 2.1. Reason and Purpose Clauses 2.1.1. Reason Clauses 2.1.2. Purpose Clauses 2.2. Conditional Clauses 2.2.1. Hypothetical Conditional 2.2.2. Counterfactual Conditional 2.2.3. Concessive Conditional 2.3. Concessive 2.4. Iterative 2.5. Universal 2.6. Temporal 2.7. Durative 2.8. Time-Cause 3. Summary Table of Adverbial Clause Types
1. INTRODUCTION [top]
Adverbial clauses modify main clauses similar to the way adverbs modify verbs. There are many different types of adverbial clauses in Potawatomi that supply different kinds of information, such as a time, purpose, result, cause, or concession. Since adverbial clauses are generally dependent clauses, adverbial clause verbs are in the conjunct order. Apart from this structural similarity, however, there are important differences including 1) whether the adverbial clause verb is in the plain or changed conjunct, 2) which particles are appropriate and 3) syntactic differences such as word order and the use of tense. These are each described below:
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1.1. PLAIN CONJUNCT VS. CHANGED CONJUNCT [top]
While most all adverbial clause verbs are in the conjunct order, some occur in the plain conjunct, others in the changed conjunct. The primary means of determining this comes from the use of the preverb é-. If this preverb is actually a changed form (which others have argued), then all verbs with this preverb are in the changed conjunct. Other evidence comes from the use of other changed forms within the same adverbial clause type, such as the use of ga- alongside the use of é- in iterative clauses (that I am not yet convinced by this evidence can be seen elsewhere in my gloss of é- as FCT 'factive' and not CC.FCT). Two types of adverbial clause occur exclusively in the plain conjunct: the counterfactual conditional, and the temporal. 1.2. USE OF THE PREVERB É [top]
Many adverbial clause types require the preverb é-. This preverb is given the grammatical gloss 'factive' (FCT) which means that the dependent verb is presupposed to be true. For example, in the English sentence 'While I was sleeping it started to snow' we can assume that 'I was sleeping' is a true statement. The same holds true for the phrase 'it was raining' in the sentence 'I didn't go because it was raining.' Hypothetical sentences offer an example of a dependent verb which is not necessarily true. Consider the sentence: 'If he studies hard, he will pass the exam.' We cannot assume from this statement that 'he will study hard.' Rather, he may or he may not. This kind of verb does not have the factive preverb é- in Potawatomi.
Note: We have previously seen this preverb used in complement clauses when a speaker is fairly sure about the event described by the dependent verb taking place. The similarity between this use and the use of é- in adverbial phrases is in both cases the speaker is expressing his assumptions about the reality or truth of those events described by the verb. Later we will see that the use of é- is very common in traditional narratives as well. 1.3. USE OF PARTICLES [top]
Many adverbial clause types occur optionally with particles. Different adverbial clause types occur with different sets of particles, so they will be listed under each type. 1.4. ORDER OF CLAUSES [top]
The order of the main and adverbial clauses is flexible, however the typical order is that the adverbial
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(More on this subject later--needs further elicitation) As we have seen with complement clauses, the tense of the dependent clause is sometimes indicated relative to the tense of the main clause. This is called tense copying. Some adverbial clauses require tense copying, for some it is optional, and with other adverbial clauses, there is no tense copying. 2. ADVERBIAL CLAUSE TYPES [top]
Each subsection below includes set of examples and a chart of the primary differences in word formation (morphology) and sentence formation (syntax). These differences are also listed in the Summary Table at the end of this chapter for ease of reference and comparison. 2.2. REASON AND PURPOSE CLAUSES [top]
Reason and Purpose clauses are very similar in meaning. Both give explanations for the events described by the main verb. Because purpose clauses state the motivation for performing a particular action, the event described by the dependent verb is always in the future. Both reason and purpose clauses require the preverb é-. Examples are given below, with brackets around the adverbial clauses:
2.2.1. REASON CLAUSES [top]
Morphology: order: changed conjunct preverbs: é- Syntax typical clause adverbial > main order: particles: tense copying:
[É-mnadénjegét], mno-ye
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é - mEnadénEjegé -Ed mEnO- EyE FCT- be.respectful\AI -3C good- be.in.a.place\AI Because she is respectful, she lives well. (00011)
[Jo wika é-wi-bkenagéyan], jo nda-zhyasi. jo wika é- wi- bEkEnagé -yan jo nE- da- Ezhya/é -si not never FCT- FUT- win\AI -1C not 1- MOD- go\AI -NEG Because I never win, I shouldn't go. (00012)
Jo gi-zhyési [é-gi-yakwnogat]. jo gi- Ezhya/é -si é- gi- YakOnoga/é -Ed not PST- go\AI -NEG FCT- PST- be.sick\AI -3C He didn't come because he was sick. (00013)
Note that sentences containing reason clauses may also be formed by using an independent verb in both the main and adverbial clause. Although the adverbial clause is still subordinate in meaning to the main clause, it looks just like a main clause because of its independent verb.
[Jo wika nbeknagési], jo nda-zhyasi. jo wika nE- bEkEnagé -si jo nE- da- Ezhya/é -si not never 1- win\AI -NEG not 1- MOD- go\AI -NEG I never win, so I shouldn't go. (00014)
2.2.2. PURPOSE CLAUSES [top]
Morphology: order: changed conjunct é-wi- (purpose clauses are always in preverbs: the future with respect to the main clause) Syntax typical clause order: main > adverbial
particles: tense copying:
Odanek nwi-zhya [wisnewen é-wi-gishnedoyan]. odan -Eg nE- wi- Ezhya/é wisEnEwEn é - wi- gishEnEd -o -yan
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town -LOC 1- FUT- go\AI food FCT- FUT- buy.s.t\TI -OBJ -1C I am going to town in order to buy food. (00015)
Ggezhép ngi-bya [é-wi-binchegéyan]. gEgEzhéb nE- gi- bya/é é - wi- binEchEgé -yan early 1- PST- come FCT- FUT- clean.things\AI -1C I came early in order to clean. (00016) 2.3. CONDITIONAL CLAUSES [top]
Conditional sentences have to do with relationships of cause and effect. There are three types which will be discussed below: the hypothetical, the counterfactual and the concessive conditional.
2.3.1. HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL [top]
A common conditional sentence takes the form of 'if X then Y.' This kind of sentence is known as a 'hypothetical conditional.' The adverbial clause is the 'if' clause, and the main clause is the 'then' clause. For example, in the sentence 'If you clean your room (then) you can go out and play' the phrase 'if you clean your room is the adverbial clause and '(then) you can go out and play' is the main clause. The truth of the main clause is dependent on the condition of the adverbial clause being true.
Morphology: plain conjunct or optionally the order: changed conjunct in the dubitative mode preverbs: Syntax typical clause adverbial > main order: particles: gishpen 'if' tense copying:
[Gishpen bonik], jo nda-zhyasi. gishpEn boni -Eg jo nE- da- Ezhya/é -si if snow\II -OC not 1- MOD- go\AI -NEG If it snows, I shouldn't go. (00017)
[Bonimgek], jo wi nda-zhyasi.
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boni -mEgEg jo wi nE- da- Ezhya/é -si snow\II -AUG.OC not EMPH 1- MOD- go\AI -NEG If it snows, I shouldn't go. (00018)
[Zagech zhyayen], gizho'on. zagEj Ezhya/é -yEn gizho'o -En outside go\AI -2C dress.warmly\AI -2IMP If you go outside, dress warmly. (00019)
[Zagech wa-zhyawnén], gizho'on. zagEj CC.wi- Ezhya/é -wEnén gizho'o -En outside FUT- go\AI -DUB.12C dress.warmly\AI -2IMP If you (sic.) go outside, dress warmly. (00020)
Gishpen bonimgek, nwi-we-zhoshk'o. gishpEn boni -mEgEg nE- wi- wE- zhoshk'o if snow\II -AUG.OC 1- FUT- go.and- go.sledding\AI If it's snowing, I'll go sledding. (00021)
2.3.2. COUNTERFACTUAL CONDITIONAL [top]
Another kind of conditional sentence is the counterfactual conditional. This sentence takes the form of 'if X were true, then Y.' The situation described by the if-clause is not true, or contrary-to-fact.
Morphology: plain conjunct order:
preverbs: Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: gishpen 'if' tense copying:
[Wika bwa-bkenagéyan], jo nda-zhyasi. wika bwa- bEkEnagé -yan jo nE- da- Ezhya/é -si never NEG- win\AI -1C not 1- MOD- go\AI -NEG If I never won, I wouldn't go. (00022)
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[Gishpen bonimgek], nda-zhoshk'o. gishpEn boni -mEgEg nE- da- zhoshEk'o if snow\II -AUG.OC 1- MOD- go.sledding\AI If it were snowing, I would be sledding. (00023)
[Gishpen gi-bonimgek], nda-gi-we-zhoshk'o. gishpEn gi- boni -mEgEg nE- da- gi- wE- zhoshk'o if PST- snow\II -AUG.OC 1- MOD- PST- go.and- go.sledding\AI If it had snowed, I would have gone sledding. (00024)
2.3.3. CONCESSIVE CONDITIONAL [top]
A third kind of conditional is the concessive conditional. Like other conditionals, concessive conditionals have to do with relationships of causes or conditions and their effects. However in concessive conditional sentences, a situation occurs which is contrary to our expectations of cause and effect: the main clause presents a situation which occurs regardless of the fact that the situation described by the adverbial clause takes place.
Morphology: plain conjunct order:
preverbs: Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: anwe 'although' tense copying:
Anwe zhe penojéwet, mbwaka. anwE EzhE EpEnojéw -Ed nEbwaka/é although EMPH be.a.child\AI -3C be.wise\AI Even if she is young, she is nevertheless wise. (00025) 2.4. CONCESSIVE [top]
Concessive clauses are similar in meaning to concessive conditional clauses in that the main clause
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Morphology: changed conjunct order:
preverbs: é- Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: anwe 'although' tense copying:
[Anwe zhe é-penojéwet], mbwaka. anwE EzhE é - EpEnojéw -Ed nEbwaka/é although EMPH FCT- be.a.child\AI -3C be.wise\AI Even though she is young, she is nevertheless wise. (00026)
[É-ne-pich-bozyan], nge-gnonen. é - nE- pij- boz -yan nE- gE- gEnon -En FCT- start.to- while- take.a.ride\AI -1C 1- FUT- call.s.o\TA -INV Even though I'll be driving, I'll call you. (00027) 2.5. ITERATIVE [top]
Iterative phrases present a situation which regularly co-occurs with another, presented by the main clause. The difference between the choice of é- / ga- as preverbs here is not clear.
Morphology: changed conjunct order:
preverbs: é- / ga- Syntax
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typical clause order: adverbial > main
neko 'used to' optional with past particles: tense in main clause
tense copying:
[É-gish-wisnet], neko mbé. é - gizh- wisEn -Ed nEko nEba\é FCT- finish- eat\AI -3C used.to sleep.AI Whenever she finished eating she used to sleep. (00028)
[Ga-gish-wisnet], neko gi-mbé. CC.gi- gizh- wisEn -Ed nEko gi- nEba\é PST- finish- eat\AI -3C used.to PST- sleep.AI Whenever she finished eating she slept. (00029)
[É-gi-gmeyak], gi-zhoshkwa. é - gi- gEmEya -Eg gi- zhoshkwa FCT- PST- rain\II -OC PST- be.slippery\II Whenever it rained, it was slippery. (00030)
[Ga-gmeyagwén], zhoshkwadek. CC.gi- gEmEya -gwén zhoshkwa -dEg PST- rain\II -DUB.OC be.slippery\II -DUB Whenever it rained, it was slippery. (00031) 2.6. UNIVERSAL [top]
Like sentences containing iterative phrases, universals link two situations as regularly co-occuring, but imply a relationship of cause-and-effect between them. The 'cause' is presented by the universal clause, the 'effect' by the main clause.
Morphology: changed conjunct order:
preverbs: é- Syntax
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typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: tense copying:
É-gmeyak, zhoshkwa. é - gEmEya -Eg zhoshkwa FCT- rain\II -OC be.slippery\II Whenever it rains, it is slippery. (00032) 2.7. TEMPORAL [top]
Temporal adverbial clauses situate the main verb as occurring before, after or at the same time as the verb in the dependent clause.
Morphology: plain conjunct order:
gizh- 'finish', preverbs: ga- if the event is completed
Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
bwamshe 'before' particles:
tense copying:
[Odanek bwamshe zhyayan], nge-wjanda. odan -Eg bwamEshE Ezhya/é -yan nE- gE- Ojanda town -LOC before go\AI -1C 1- FUT- cook\AI Before I go to town, I'll cook. (00033)
[Odanek gish-zhyayan], nge-wjanda. odan -Eg gizh- Ezhya/é -yan nE- gE- Ojanda
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town -LOC finish- go\AI -1C 1- FUT- cook\AI After I go to town, I'll cook. (00034)
[Odanek zhyayan], wisnewen nda-gishnedon. odan -Eg Ezhya/é -yan wisEnEwEn nE- da- gishEnEd -o -En town -LOC go\AI -1C food 1- MOD- buy.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I When I go to town, I can buy food. (00035) 2.8. DURATIVE [top]
Durative clauses are like temporal clauses where the two events happen at the same time. However with duratives, the main clause describes an event which takes place while the activity or state described by the adverbial clause is ongoing.
Morphology: changed conjunct order:
é- preverbs:
Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: tense copying:
[Odanek é-gi-bme-yeyan], Wén gi-binchegé. odan -Eg é- gi- bEmE- EyE -yan wén gi- binEchEgé town -LOC FCT- PST- during- be.in.a.place\AI -1C Wayne PST- clean. things\AI While I was in town, Wayne cleaned. (00036)
[É-mbayan], gi-wép-boni. é - nEba/é -yan gi- wéb- boni FCT- sleep\AI -1C PST- start.to- snow\II While I was sleeping, it started to snow. (00037) 2.9. TIME-CAUSE [top]
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Time-cause clauses are formed like duratives and similar to duratives in meaning: the two events co- occur in time. However, these clauses have the additional meaning of cause-and-effect, since events that coincide in time often do have a cause-and effect relationship.
Morphology: changed conjunct order:
é- preverbs:
Syntax typical clause order: adverbial > main
particles: tense copying:
Note: with two or more verbs in the adverbial clause, any one verb can take the é- preverb, as in the next example:
[É-gkénmek ga-nshkadzet], ngi-ne-maji. é - gEkénEm -EgO CC.gi- nEshkadEzE -Ed nE- gi- nE- maji FCT- know.s.o\TA -INV PST- be.angry\AI -3C 1- PST- start.to- leave\AI When I realized he was angry, I left. (00038) 3. TABLE OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSE TYPES [top]
Common Typical Tense (Optional) Clause Order Preverbs Copying Particles Order
changed main > Purpose conjunct é-wi- adv.
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changed adv. > Reason conjunct é- main
plain conjunct (or Hypothetical changed gishpen adv. > Conditional conjunct 'if' main in the dubitative)
Counterfactual plain gishpen adv. > Conditional conjunct 'if' main
Concessive plain anwe adv. > Conditional conjunct 'although' main
changed anwe adv. > Concessive conjunct é- 'although' main
changed adv. > Iterative conjunct é- / ga- main
plain adv. > Universal conjunct é- main
plain adv. > Temporal conjunct main
changed adv. > Durative conjunct é- main
changed adv. > Time-Cause conjunct é- main
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12. COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
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1. Introduction 2. Complement Clause Types 2.1. Embedded Sentences 2.2. Embedded Yes-No Questions 2.3. Embedded Content Questions 3. Reporting What Someone Else Has Said 4. Relationship Between Independent and Dependent Clauses 4.1. Relative Order of Independent and Dependent Clauses 4.2. Tense Inflection of the Dependent Verb 4.3. Inflection of the Independent Verb 5. Summary 6. List of Complement-Taking Verbs
1. INTRODUCTION [top]
Complement clauses can be thought of as a type of sentence or question embedded in a larger sentence. We will illustrate this first in English. Consider the following pairs of sentences:
1a) Mary will buy the car. 1b) I think [that Mary will buy the car].
2a) He will come. 2b) Wayne says [that he will come].
3a) Will it snow? 3b) I wonder [if it will snow].
4a) Is he coming? 4b) Do you know [whether he is coming]?
5a) Where is he going? 5b) Do you know [where he is going]?
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6a) How is she doing? 6b) Do you know [how she is doing]?
In each pair, the first sentence is embedded as a dependent complement clause in the second. In (1b) and (2b), the complement clause is an embedded sentence. In (3b) and (4b), the complement clause is an embedded yes-no question (that is, a question whose response is 'yes' or 'no'). In (5b) and (6b), the complement clause isan embedded Wh-question (that is a question beginning with who, what, where, when, why or how). Notice that when a sentence is embedded, as in (1b) or (2b) it does not change except that it is introduced by the word 'that.' Embedded yes-no questions undergo more changes: the clause is introduced by either 'if' or 'whether,' and the order of the subject and verb changes (so from 'is he' in (4a) to 'he is' in the embedded clause of (4b)). The order of the subject and verb also changes in embedded Wh-questions. In Potawatomi too, as we will see, a verb in a dependent clause does not usually look the same as it would in an independent clause.
Let us begin by comparing some Potawatomi dependent and independent verbs. Compare the following pairs of sentences:
7a) Mani wi-gishnenan niw dabyanen. mani wi- gishEnEn -a -En niw Odabyan -En Mary FUT- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -OBV that.OBV car -OBV Mary will buy the car. (00039)
7b) Ndenéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw dabyanen. nEd- Enénd -a -En mani é- wi- gishEnEn -a -Ed niw Odabyan -En 1- think.thus.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I Mary - FUT- buy.s.o\TA -DIR - 3C that.OBV car -OBV I think that Mary will buy the car. (00040)
8a) Wi-byé. He will come.
8b) Wén kedo é-wi-byat. wén EkEdO é- wi- bya/é -Ed Wayne say\AI FCT- FUT- come -3C Wayne says that he will come. (00042)
9a)
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Wi-byé ne? Will he come?
9b) Ggekénma ne anaké wa-byat? gE- gEkénEm -a nE anaké CC.wi- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q whether FUT- come -3C Do you know whether he will come? (00044) 10a) Mikchéwimged ne? Does it work?
10b) Ggekénma ne da-je-mikjéwimgek? gE- gEkénEm -a nE da-jE- mikEjéwi -mEgEg 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q MOD- work\AI -AUG.OC Do you know if it works? (00046)
In the (a) examples above, the verb (in brackets) is in the independent order. In the (b) examples, the same verb appears in a dependent clause in the changed conjunct order. Also, the question particle ne does not appear within embedded yes-no questions, as in the examples in (9) and (10). However, non- embedded Wh-questions (in 11a) and embedded Wh-questions (11b) show no difference in their verbs:
11a) Ni je [ézh-bmadzed]?
11b) Ggekénma ne ézh-bmadzet? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.EzhE- bEmadEzE -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q thus- live\AI -3C Do you know how she is doing? (00048)
The reason for this is content question particles, like ni je 'what, how,' act as if they were themselves independent verbs, so that the verb that follows must be dependent, and in the conjunct order. 2. COMPLEMENT CLAUSE TYPES [top]
2.1. EMBEDDED SENTENCES [top]
Complements which are embedded sentences always begin with one of two sets of prefixes; either é- or
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (3 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses da-je-. Let us begin by looking at the second set da-je-. This is used to convey the idea that the action described by the verb might take place, or that it ought to take place. In the sense of 'might' da-je- conveys the notion of possibility and in the sense of 'ought', that of obligation. We gloss these prefixes with 'MOD' which stands for 'modal'--a linguistic term which refers to both of these senses. These two senses are illustrated in the following examples, first possibility in (12) and then obligation in (13):
12) Ndenéndan Mani da-je-gishnenat niw dabyanen. nEd- Enénd -a -En mani da-jE- gishEnEn -a -Ed niw Odabyan -En 1- think.thus.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary MOD- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -3C that.OBV car -OBV I think that Mary might buy the car. (00049) 13) Mani wgi-mikwéndan da-je-gishnenat niw dabyanen. mani wE- gi- mikwénEd -a -En da-jE- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary 3- PST- remember.s.t\TI -OBJ -OBV MOD- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that. OBV car -OBV Mary remembered that she ought to buy the car. (00050)
On the other hand, the prefix é- is used when there is no sense of obligation, or when the speaker is fairly sure of the event described by the dependent verb taking place:
14) Ndenéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw dabyanen. nEd- Enénd -a -En mani é- wi- gishEnEn -a -Ed niw Odabyan -En 1- think.thus.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I Mary - FUT- buy.s.o\TA -DIR - 3C that.OBV car -OBV I think that Mary will buy the car. (00040) 2.2. EMBEDDED YES-NO QUESTIONS [top]
Yes-no question complements in Potawatomi can be divided into two groups, each of which use two different complement types. These take different verb forms and different particles. We have tried to capture this distinction in the translations of these clauses. The first clause type which uses the prefix set da-je- we translate with the conjunction 'if':
15) Nmet zhe na da-je-bonimgek. nEmEd EzhE na da-jE- boni -mEgEg I.don't.know EMPH EMPH MOD- snow\II -AUG.OC I don't know if it will snow. (00051)
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This clause type can optionally take the particle gishpen, 'if:'
16) Ggekéndan ne da-je-byat? gE- gEkénd -a -En nE da-jE- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.t\TI -OBJ -2/0I Q MOD- come -3C Do you know if he will come? (00052) 17) Ggekéndan ne gishpen da-je-byad?
Both: Do you know if he will come?
The complement type which uses a conjunct verb in the dubitative mode we translate using the conjunction 'whether':
18) Ggekénma ne wa-byagwén? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.wi- bya/é -gwén 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q FUT- come -DUB.3C Do you know if he will come? (00053) and optionally occurs with the particle anaké 'or, whether':
19) Ggekénma ne anaké wa-byagwén? gE- gEkénEm -a nE anaké CC.wi- bya/é -gwén 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q whether FUT- come -DUB.3C Do you know whether he will come? (00054)
Note that in English, regardless of whether a person says 'if' or 'whether' the complement that follows (in italics) is the same :
Do you know if he will come? Do you know whether (or not) he will come?
If anaké is used, then the conjunct verb does not have to be in the dubitative mode. Rather, it can be in the plain indicative:
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20) Ggekénma ne anaké wa-byat? gE- gEkénEm -a nE anaké CC.wi- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q whether FUT- come -3C Do you know whether he will come? (00055)
Notice, however, that without anaké, the conjunct indicative can mean something very different:
21) Ggekénma ne wa-byad? Do you know who will come? 2.3. EMBEDDED CONTENT QUESTIONS [top]
Wh-question complements do not require any special verbal mode, nor do they occur with any particular particle. However all of these verbs contain relative roots, which are underlined in the examples below and glossed with the phrase 'a certain...'. Wh-question complements are in the changed conjunct order:
22) Ggekénma ne ézh-bmadzet? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.EzhE- bEmadEzE -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q thus- live\AI -3C Do you know how he is doing? (00056) 23) Ggekénma ne ézhyat? gE- gEkénEm -a nE Ezhya/é -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q go\AI -3C Do you know where he is going? (00057) 24) Ggekénma ne wéch-majit? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.wEjE- maji -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q the.reason.why- leave\AI -3C Do you know why he is leaving? (00058) 3. REPORTING WHAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS SAID [top]
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There are several verbs such as 'say' 'tell' or 'report' or 'ask' which are used to report speech, whether it is one's own speech as in 'I told him to go.' or that of another: 'He said you should go.' Clauses which contain reported speech are complement clauses, and can be either embedded sentences (26), yes-no questions (27) or content questions (28):
Embedded sentence: He said [that he was going]. Embedded yes-no question: He asked [if you were going]. Embedded content question: He asked [where you were going].
Reported speech can either be indirectly quoted, as in the the examples just given, or directly quoted. Compare the English examples below; the (a) examples use indirect quotation, and the (b) examples use direct quotation:
25a) I told him to go. 25b) I told him, "Go!"
26a) He said (that) he would go. 26b) He said, "I will go."
Notice that there are many differences between the (a) and (b) examples. First of all, in the (a) examples, there are special words (called complementizers) like 'to,' and 'that.' Secondly, the tense of the dependent verbs is not necessarily the same: 'would go' is a kind of past tense. 'Will go' is a future tense. Thirdly, the subject in direct speech must change to reflect who is speaking: the subject of the dependent verb in (26a) is 'he,' but in (26b) it is 'I.'
In Potawatomi, there are also many differences between direct and indirectly reported speech. In indirect speech, verb is dependent, and in the changed conjunct, as in (27). In direct speech, the verb is in the independent mode, even though it is a complement clause of the independent verb kedo:
27) Wén gi-kedo [é-byat]. wén gi- EkEdO é - bya/é -Ed Wayne PST- say\AI FCT- come -3C Wayne said that he came. (00060) 28) ["Nwi-bya"], kedo Wén. Wayne said ['I will come'].
In Potawatomi, the subject of the complement clause also changes in the two kinds of reported speech: in (27) the subject is 'he' and in (28) the subject is 'I.' This shift of subjects simply reflects that the person reporting the speech is taking the perspective of the person who originally said it. There is also a
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (7 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses difference in the use of tense in direct and reported speech, however this will be discussed under 'Tense Inflection of the Dependent Verb'. 4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT CLAUSES [top]
Now that we have discussed the different verb forms and particles used with each type of dependent clause, let us look at the relationship between independent and dependent clauses. The independent- dependent clause relationship is reflected in the sentence as a whole in three main ways: the relative order of the clauses, subject copying and tense copying. We will discuss each of these in turn. 4.1. RELATIVE ORDER OF INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT CLAUSES [top]
In sentences which contain a dependent complement clause, there is a certain amount of freedom in which clause a speaker puts first. However, the usual order is independent clause before dependent clause. This is the case in almost all of the examples we have given up to this point. We illustrate this more fully with the following examples, where the dependent clauses are in brackets:
29) Ndenéndan Mani [é-wi-gishnenat niw dabyanen]. nEd- Enénd -a -En mani é- wi- gishEnEn -a -Ed niw Odabyan -En 1- think.thus.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I Mary - FUT- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -3C that.OBV car -OBV I think [that Mary will buy the car]. (00040)
30) Wén kedo [é-wi-byat]. wén EkEdO é- wi- bya/é -Ed Wayne say\AI FCT- FUT- come -3C Wayne says [that he will come].(00042) 31) Ggekénma ne [anaké wa-byat]? gE- gEkénEm -a nE anaké CC.wi- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q whether FUT- come -3C Do you know [whether he will come]? (00044) 32)
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Ggekénma ne [da-je-mikjéwimgek]? gE- gEkénEm -a nE da-jE- mikEjéwi -mEgEg 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q MOD- work\AI -AUG.OC Do you know [if it works]? (00046) 33) Ggekénma ne [ézh-bmadzet]? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.EzhE- bEmadEzE -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q thus- live\AI -3C Do you know [how she is doing]? (00048)
The only exception to this is order is directly reported speech. Look again at examples (27) and (28), reproduced below:
34) Wén kedo [é-wi-byat]. wén EkEdO é- wi- bya/é -Ed Wayne say\AI FCT- FUT- come -3C Wayne says [that he will come]. (00042) 35) ["Nwi-bya,"] kedo Wén. Wayne said ['I will come].'
In example (34), the information in the dependent clause (in brackets) is reported as indirect speech, and follows the independent clause. In example (35), the same information is reported as direct speech, but the dependent clause (again, in brackets) precedes the independent clause. Other instances of direct reported speech follow this pattern. 4.2. TENSE INFLECTION OF THE DEPENDENT VERB [top]
With nearly all sentences which contain complement clauses, the tense of the dependent clause is indicated relative to the tense of the independent clause. Consider the following example:
36) Wén gi-kedo é-byad. Wayne said that he came.
This is an example of indirect reported speech. Here the independent verb is in the past tense, but there is no tense prefix on the dependent verb. The verb é-byat appears to be in the present tense, but its
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (9 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses translation is 'he came,' which is in the past tense. The reason for this is that the tense of the independent verb is carried over to the dependent verb-so there is no need to indicate past tense twice. Now note what happens to the translation when both the independent and dependent clauses have a past tense prefix:
37) 'Wén gi-kedo é-gi-byat. wén gi- EkEdO é - gi- bya/é -Ed Wayne PST- say\AI FCT- PST- come -3C Wayne said that he had come. (00061)
Now the dependent verb is interpreted as occuring before the event described by the independent verb 'say' takes place. If we put the dependent verb into the future tense, the translation is not 'will come' but 'would come':
38) Wén gi-kedo é-wi-byat. wén gi- EkEdO é - wi- bya/é -Ed Wayne PST- say\AI FCT- FUT- come -3C Wayne said that he would come. (00062) 4.3. INFLECTION OF THE INDEPENDENT VERB [top]
As a general rule, an independent verb that takes a complement inflects as if it had an inanimate object, or no object at all. This means that a TI or AI verb may be used. For example, both of the following are grammatically correct:
39) Ndenéndem Mani é-wi-gishnedot. nEd- EnéndEm mani é - wi- gishEnEd -o -Ed 1- think.thus\AI Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0C I think that Mary will buy it. (00063) 40) Ndenéndan Mani é-wi-gishnedot. nEd- Enénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEd -o -Ed 1- think.thus.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0C
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (10 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses I think that Mary will buy it. (00064)
If the subject of the dependent verb is animate, as it is the case with 'Mary' in the example above, the independent verb may optionally inflect for an animate object. This means the independent verb could also be a TA, as in the following example:
41) Ndenénma Mani é-wi-gishnedot. nEd- EnénEm -a mani é - wi- gishEnEd -o -Ed 1- think.thus.of.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0C I think that Mary will buy it. (00065)
Some types of complement clauses do not allow this to take place. One such type is embedded Wh- questions. For example the following is a correct sentence:
42) Ggekénma ne wa-byat? gE- gEkénEm -a nE CC.wi- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.o\TA -DIR Q FUT- come -3C Do you know who will come? (00066)
But the example below is incorrect:
43) * Ggekéndan ne wa-byat? gE- gEkénd -a -En nE CC.wi- bya/é -Ed 2- know.s.t\TI -OBJ -2/0I Q FUT- come -3C Do you know who will come? (00067)
There is another set of verbs which require the independent verb to inflect for an animate object, if there is one. We will call these verbs of perception because they have to do with our senses of sight, hearing, touch and so on (a list of these verbs is included in the table at the end of this module). The following example, with a TA independent verb, is correct:
44) Ngi-wabma Mani é-gishnenat niw dabyanen. nE- gi- wabEm -a mani é - gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- see.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car - OBV
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (11 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses I saw Mary buying the car. (00068)
But the example below, with a TI independent verb, is incorrect:
45) * Ngi-wabdan Mani é-gishnenat niw dabyanen. nE- gi- wabEd -a -En mani é - gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- see.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I saw Mary buying the car. (00069) . 5 SUMMARY [top]
There are three types of dependent complement clauses: embedded sentences, embedded yes-no questions, and embedded Wh-questions. All complement clauses except those containing direct reported speech are in the changed conjunct. Embedded sentences have the prefix é- unless they indicate a sense of possibility, or obligation, when da-je- is used instead. Embedded yes-no questions use the prefix da- je- with the conjunct verb optionally in the dubitative mode, and optionally with the particle gishpen 'if.' The sense of 'whether' is conveyed by the conjunct verb in the dubitative mode with the optional particle anaké 'or, whether.' If anaké is used, the verb may be in the conjunct indicative. Embedded content questions are made by using relative roots. All complement clauses with the exception of directly reported speech tend to follow the independent clause. Tense on the dependent verb is relative to the tense of the independent verb. If the dependent clause has an animate subject, the independent verb may optionally inflect as a TA verb, with the exceptions of embedded content questions and verbs of perception, which must inflect as a TA if the dependent clause has an animate subject 6. LIST OF COMPLEMENT-TAKING VERBS [top]
Verbs of saying: kedot (ai) 'say''yajmod (ai) 'tell ' yajdot (ti) 'tell of s.t. to s.o.' widmat (ta) 'tell s.o. s.t.' wawidmat (ta) 'promise s.o. s.t.' natewat (ta) 'ask s.o. s.t.'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (12 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses Wén kedo wdabyanen é-gi-gishnenat o Mani. wén EkEdO Odabyan -En é - gi- gishEnEn -ad ow mani Wayne say\AI car -OBV FCT- PST- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.AN Mary Wayne said that Mary bought a car. (00070)
"Wdabyanen wgi-gishnenan o Mani," kedo Wén. Odabyan -En wE- gi- gishEnEn -a -En ow mani EkEdO wén car -OBV 3- PST- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -3/3'I that.AN Mary say\AI Wayne "Mary bought a car," said Wayne. (00071)
Wén wgi-yajdan "Wdabyanen wgi-gishnenan o Mani." wén wE- gi- yajEd -a -En Odabyan -En wE- gi- gishEnEn -a -En ow mani Wayne 3- PST- tell.of.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I car -OBV 3- PST- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -3/3'I that.AN Mary Wayne reported, "Mary bought a car." (00072)
Wén ngi-widmak "Wdabyanen wgi-gishnenan o Mani." wén nE- gi- widEmEw -ag Odabyan -En wE- gi- gishEnEn -a -En ow mani Wayne 1- PST- tell.s.o\TA -3/1I car -OBV 3- PST- buy.s.o\TA -DIR -3/3'I that.AN Mary Wayne told me, "Mary bought a car." (00073)
Mani wgi-wawidmak wdabyanen é-wi-gishnenat. mani wE- gi- DUP.widEmEw -ag Odabyan -En é - wi- gishEnEn -ad Mary 3- PST- promise.s.o\TA -3/1I car -OBV FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C Mary promised me to buy a car. (00074)
Ngi-natewa Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- natEw -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- ask.s.o.\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I asked Mary to buy the car. (00075) Verbs of belief:
débwétek (ai) 'believe' débwéwéndek (ti) 'believe in s.t.' débwéwénmat (ta) 'believe in s.o.' néndek (ai) 'think a certain way' néndek (ti) 'think a certain way of s.t.' nénmat (ta) 'think a certain way of s.o.'
Nde-débwétan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nEdE- débwét -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- believe.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (13 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses I believe that Mary will buy the car. (00076) Verbs of doubt: yawnéyéndek (ai) 'not believe' (not elicited) yagwnéyéndek (ti) 'not believe of s.t.' yagwnéyénmat (ta) 'not believe of s.o.'
Ndagwnéyéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nEd- Yagwnéyénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- not.believe.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I don't believe that Mary will buy the car. (00078) Verbs of pretending: zhewébzikazot (ai) 'pretend to be thus' wyézh'at (ai) 'fool' wyézhmat (ta) 'fool s.o.' (into thinking)
Mani gi-zhewébzikazo é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani gi- EzhEwébzikazO é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary PST- pretend.to.be.thus\AI FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV Mary pretended that she would buy the car. (00079)
Ngi-wyézhmek Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- wyézhm -EgO mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- fool.s.o\TA -INV Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV Mary fooled me into thinking that she would buy the car. (00080) Verbs of emotion:
gisadéndek (ai) 'be sorry' *gisadéndek (ti) 'be sorry about s.t.' gisadenmat (ta) 'be sorry about s.o.' myanéndek (ai) 'be sad' myanéndek (ti) 'be sad about s.t.' myanénmat (ta) 'be sad about s.o.' *mnwéndek (ai) 'be glad' *mnwéndek (ti) 'be glad about s.t.' *mnwénmat (ta) 'be glad about s.o.'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (14 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses gshkonwézet (ai) 'be surprised' gshkonwéndek (ti) 'be surprised at s.t.' gshkonwénmat (ta) 'be surprised at s.o.' nshkadzet (ai) 'be angry' nshkadéndek (ai) 'be angry' nshkadéndek (ti) 'be angry about s.t.' nshkadénmat (ta) 'be angry about s.o.'
Ngi-gisadéndan Mani é-gi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- gisadénd -a -En mani é - gi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- be.sorry.about.s.t\TI -OBJ -OBJ Mary FCT- PST- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm sorry that Mary bought the car. (00081)
Ngi-myanéndan Mani é-gi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- myanénd -a -En mani é - gi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- be.sad.about.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- PST- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm sad about Mary buying the car. (00082)
Nmenwéndan Mani é-gi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- mEnwénd -a -En mani é - gi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- be.glad.about.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- PST- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm glad that Mary bought the car. (not elicited) (00083) Ngi-gshkonwéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- gEshkOnwénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- be.surprised.at.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm surprised that Mary is going to buy the car. (00084) Nde-nshkadéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nEdE- nEshkadénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- be.angry.about.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm angry that Mary is going to buy the car. (00085) Verbs o f knowing:
gkéndek (ti) 'know s.t.' gkénmat (ta) 'know s.o.' mkek (ti) 'discover s.t. mkewat (ta) 'discover s.o.' minawéndek (ai) 'realize' minawéndek (ti) 'realize s.t.' minawénmat (ta) 'realize of s.o.' mikwéndek (ai) 'find out' mikwéndek (ti) 'find out about s.t.'
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (15 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses mikwéndemat (ta) 'find out about s.o.' wnéndek (ai) 'forget' wnéndek (ti) 'forget s.t.' wnénmat (ta) 'forget s.o.' napwék (ai) 'dream' napwadek (ti) 'dream of s.t.' napwanat (ta) 'dream of s.o.' nabjegét (ai) 'see things' nabdek (ti) 'see s.t.' nabmat (ta) 'see s.o.' nodagét (ai) 'hear things' nodek (ti) 'hear s.t.' nodwat (ta) 'hear s.o.'
Ngekéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gEkénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- know.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I know that Mary will buy the car. (00086)
Ngi-mkan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- mk -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- discover.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I discovered that Mary will buy the car. (00087)
Ngi-minawéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- minawénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- realize.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I realized that mary would buy the car. (00088)
Ngi-wnéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- Onénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- forget.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I forgot that Mary would buy the car. (00089)
Ngi-napwadan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- napwad -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- dream.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I dreamed Mary was going to buy the car. (00090)
Ngi-nabdan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- nabEd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- see.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I saw that Mary would buy the car. (00091)
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (16 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses Ngi-nodan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- nod -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- hear.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I heard that Mary would buy the car. (00092) Verbs of fearing: gwtek (ti) 'fear, be afraidof s.t.' gwsat (ta) 'fear, be afraidof s.o.' *wdeténdek (ti) 'worry about s.t.' wdeténmat (ta) 'worry about s.o.' nagazet (ai) 'be anxious'
Ngwetan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gwEt -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- fear.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm afraid that Mary will buy the car. (00093)
Ndodténma Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nEd- OdEténEm -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- be.worried.about.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm worried that Mary will buy the car. (00094)
Nnagas Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- nagazE mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- be.anxious\AI Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I'm anxious that Mary is going to buy the car.(00095) Verbs of desiring: ndewéndek (ai) 'desire, want' ndewéndek (ti) 'desire, want s.t.' ndewénmat (ta) 'desire, want s.o.'
Nnedwéndan Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- nEdwénd -a -En mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- want.s.t\TI -OBJ -1/0I Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I want Mary to buy the car. (00096) Verbs of manipulation:
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/complement.html (17 of 20)2007.01.26. 23:37:07 Complement Clauses wikwzomat (ta) 'persuade s.o.' yanme'at (ta) 'threaten s.o.' widmewat (ta) 'tell s.o. to do s.t.' bgednat (ta) 'let s.o. do s.t.' ndojgét (ai) 'request things'
Ngi-wikwzoma Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- wikOzOm -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- persuade.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I persuaded Mary to buy the car. (00097)
Ngi-yanme'a Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- YanEmE' -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- threaten.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I threatened Mary into buying the car. (00098)
Ngi-widmewa Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- widEmEw -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- tell.s.o\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I told Mary to buy the car. (00099)
Ngi-bgedna Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- bEgEdEn -a mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- let.s.o.do.s.t\TA -DIR Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I let Mary buy the car. (00100)
Ngi-ndojgé Mani é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. nE- gi- nEdODEgé mani é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En 1- PST- ask.for.things\AI Mary FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I requested that Mary buy the car. (00101) Verbs of ability/achievement: gshketot (ti) 'be able to do s.t.' gshke'at (ta) 'be able to do s.t. (with respect to s.o.'
Mani wgeshketon é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani wE- gEshEkEt -o -En é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary 3- be.able.to.do.s.t\TI -OBJ -3/0I FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV Mary can buy the car. (00102) Verbs of avoidance/failure:
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zhagwénmot (ai) 'avoid doing s.t.' yanwéwzet (ai) 'fail to do s.t.'
Mani gi-zhagwénmo é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani gi- zhagwénEmO é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary PST- avoid.doing.s.t\AI FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV Mary avoided buying the car. (00103)
Mani gi-yanwéwze é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani gi- YanwéwEzE é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary PST- fail.to.do.s.t\AI FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV Mary failed to buy the car. (00104) Verbs of perception:
*wabdek (ti) 'see s.t.' wabmat (ta) 'see s.o.' *wawabdek (ti) 'watch s.t.' wawabmat (ta) 'watch s.o.' *nodek (ti) 'hear s.t.' nodwat (ta) 'hear s.o.' *mosh'ek (ti) 'feel s.t.' mosh'at (ta) 'feel s.o.'
Mani ngi-wabma é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani nE- gi- wabEm -a é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary 1- PST- see.s.o\TA -DIR FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I saw Mary buy the car. (00105)
Mani ngi-wawabma é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani nE- gi- DUP.wabEm -a é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary 1- PST- watch.s.o\TA -DIR FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I watched Mary buy the car. (00106)
Mani ngi-nodwa é-wi-gishnenat niw wdabyanen. mani nE- gi- nod -wa é - wi- gishEnEn -ad niw Odabyan -En Mary 1- PST- hear.s.t\TI -3PL FCT- FUT- buy.s.o\TA -3/0C that.OBV car -OBV I heard Mary (in the other room) buying the car. (00107) home | reference | PLSC | forum | grammar topics
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16. ADVERSATIVES
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1. Introduction 2. Semantic Opposition Adversatives 2.1. Use of the Particle Je 2.2. No Particle 3. Denial-of-Expectation AdversativesS 3.1. Use of the Particle Group Nesh Je 3.2. Use of the Particle Group Je Wi Zhe 3.3. Use of the Particle Group Wi Zhe 3.4. No Particle 4. Preventative Adversatives 5. The Particles Ma and Se 6. Summary Table
1. INTRODUCTION [top]
Adversatives are complex sentences whose co-ordinate clauses contrast with each other in meaning. As this is a very rich grammatical topic, the discussion here will merely provide a preliminary analysis. Let us begin our survey by illustrating the various types of adversatives as they are expressed in English. Consider the following sentences:
1) John is coming, but I am leaving. 2) John is rich, but he is not stingy. 3) John would come, but he's sick.
In each sentence, there are two clauses which are separated by a comma and the conjunction 'but'. In sentence (1), the relationship between the two clauses is simply one of contrast. The two clauses have a very similar syntactic structure, which makes the contrast between 'John' and 'I' on the one hand, and 'coming' and 'leaving' on the other stand out very well. We call this a SEMANTIC OPPOSITION adversative. In sentence (2), the two clauses have a different kind of contrast relationship. If the speaker assumes that that rich people are stingy, then 'John' in the sentence goes against this assumption: John is
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/adversative.html (1 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:37:08 Adversatives not stingy. We call this a DENIAL-OF-EXPECTATION adversative, because the relationship of the two clauses goes against the expectations of the speaker. Sentence (3) demonstrates a yet another type. The first clause 'John would come' is hypothetical; the word 'would' tells us that John is, in fact, not coming. The reason he is not coming is given in the second clause: 'he is sick.' We call this a PREVENTATIVE adversative, since the situation in one clause prevents the situation of the other clause from taking place (for more on the typology of adversatives and the use of these terms see Lakoff 1971 and Shopen 1985).
We find that while languages have the need to express these different kinds of adversative relationship, they do so in different ways. In English, one conjunction 'but' can indicate all these different senses (along with other words or phrases which can take the place of 'but', for example: 'yet,' 'however,' or 'on the other hand'). Let us now turn to Potawatomi, which unlike English, has a variety of particles that are used for different kinds of adversative constructions.
Consider the following sentences which each have two clauses which are joined by a particle (underlined). The particles (or groups of particles) je, nesh je, and je wi zhe, are all translated with the English conjunction 'but'. Notice that the particle groups all have have in common the particle je, which shows the closeness of their meanings. Like many particles, je has a particular location, even when it is part of a particle group: it always is the second word in the clause. The sentences below show the use of these particles. Notice that the second clause always contains the particle or particle group:
Njan wi-byéwak, nin je nwi-maji. njan wi- bya/é -wag nin jE nE- wi- maji John FUT- come -3I I.EMPH but 1- FUT- leave\AI John is coming, but I am leaving. (00109)
Gkadze o Njan, nesh je mno-zhewébze. gEkadEzE ow njan nEzh jE mEnO- EzhEwébEzE be.rich\AI that.AN John contrarily but good- be.in.a.certain.state\AI John is rich, but he is good.
Wdodabyane, pené je wi zhe bmosé. wEd- OdabyanE pEné jE wi EzhE bEmOsé 3- have.a.car\AI always but EMPH EMPH walk\AI She has a car, but she walks everywhere. (00122)
Besides sentences with conjunctions, there are some sentences that have no conjunction that are still translated as adversatives, as with the sentence below. Although there is no particle that is used as a conjunction, there is a slight pause and dip in the intonation that marks where the first clause ends and the second clause begins:
Jo abje mbwakasi; wéwéne zhedé'é.
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jo abEjE nEbwaka/é -si wéwénE EzhEdé'a/é not very be.wise\AI -NEG correct think\AI He isn't very clever, but he has common sense. (00124)
Now let us look at how these particles are used with the various types of adversatives. 2. SEMANTIC OPPOSITION [top]
In semantic opposition adversatives, the relationship between the two clauses is one of opposition in meaning. The parts of the clauses in contrast are similar in topic and grammatical form (in the sentences below the contrasted elements are underlined):
Njan wi-byéwak, nin je nwi-maji. njan wi- bya/é -wag nin jE nE- wi- maji John FUT- come -3I I.EMPH but 1- FUT- leave\AI John is coming, but I am leaving. (00109) Chicago ngi-zhya, jo Detroit ngi-zhyasi. Chicago nE- gi- Ezhya/é jo Detroit nE- gi- Ezhya/é -si Chicago 1- PST- go\AI not Detroit 1- PST- go\AI -NEG I went to Chicago, but not Detroit. (00110)
Marie ngi-byéna, jo je Mary. Marie nE- gi- byéN -a jo jE Mary Marie 1- PST- bring.s.o\TA -DIR not but Mary I brought Marie, but not Mary. (00111) 2.1 USE OF THE PARTICLE JE [top]
One very common way of expressing that a contrast exists between two clauses is to use the particle je. Notice in the following sentences that je always comes in the second clause, and is the second word of that clause.
Njan wi-byéwak, nin je nwi-maji. njan wi- bya/é -wag nin jE nE- wi- maji John FUT- come -3I I.EMPH but 1- FUT- leave\AI John is coming, but I am leaving. (00109) Wi-byéwak, nwi-maji je. wi- bya/é -wag nE- wi- maji jE FUT- come -3I 1- FUT- leave\AI but
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He is coming, but I am going. (00112)
John wi-byé, jo je nin. John wi- bya/é jo jE nin John FUT- come not but I.EMPH John is coming, but I am not. (00113)
2.2 NO PARTICLE [top]
Another way to express a contrast between the two phrases is to simply put them side by side, without the particle je. This is also common in English. As you can see in the English translation below, the 'but' is replaced by punctuation-the semicolon. This means that the 'but' is implied by context and the speaker's intonation; not by a conjunction. We use the same punctuation convention in Potawatomi:
Jo Marie ngi-byénasi; Mary ngi-byéna. jo nE- gi- byéN -a -si nE- gi- byéN -a not 1- PST- bring.s.o\TA -DIR -NEG 1- PST- bring.s.o\TA -DIR I didn't bring Marie; I brought Mary. (00114)
If there is no particle je, and the sentence contains a negative, the negative jo must be followed by an emphatic particle like wi :
Mbwaka Njem, jo wi mjigwé'genet. nEbwaka/é njEm jo wi mEjigwé'EgEn -Ed be.wise\AI Jim not EMPH be.stubborn\AI -3C Jim is clever, but not stubborn. (00115)
Marie ngi-byéna, jo wi Mary. Marie nE- gi- byéN -a jo wi Mary Marie 1- PST- bring.s.o\TA -DIR not EMPH Mary I brought Marie, not Mary. (00116) 3. DENIAL-OF-EXPECTATION SENTENCES [top]
Denial-of-expectation sentences commonly use several particle groups, including nesh je, je wi zhe, and wi zhe. These particles all imply a stronger contrast than simply using je alone, partly through the use of
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/adversative.html (4 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:37:08 Adversatives emphatic particles like wi and zhe. 3.1. USE OF THE PARTICLE GROUP NESH JE [top]
Denial-of-expectation sentences commonly use the particle group nesh je. We translate this as 'but' although the sense is a little stronger; closer to 'however' or 'on the contrary':
Nwi-odankénaben, nesh je nE- wi- odanEké -nabEn nEzh jE 1- FUT- go.to.town -PRET.1I contrarily but
nmeno-zhewébzesi. nE- mEnO- EzhEwébEzE -si 1- good- have.happen.to.one.a.certain.way\AI -NEG
I was going to go to town, but I'm not well. (00117)
Nesh je is a particle group, and even though each particle is given a separate gloss, the group as a whole should be translated with 'but'. It is ungrammatical to use nesh alone to mean 'but'.
In denial-of-expectation adversatives, there is an implied assumption set up by the first clause. For example, in the following sentence, the speaker is expressing an assumption that wealth and goodness don't usually apply to the same person:
Gkadze o Njan, nesh je mno-zhewébze. gEkadEzE ow njan nEzh jE mEnO- EzhEwébEzE be.rich\AI that.AN John contrarily but good- be.in.a.certain.state\AI John is rich, but he is good. (00118)
With a contrast sentence, the speaker does not express this kind of assumption. In the next example, there is no assumption that wisdom has anything to do with stubbornness. The clauses are merely being contrasted, and je is the appropriate conjunction. The second clause is almost said as an afterthought:
Mbwaka Njem; mjigwé'gen je yawe. nEbwaka/é njEm mEjigwé'EgEn jE YawE be.wise\AI Jim be.stubborn\AI but be.a.certain.thing\AI Jim is wise, but he is stubborn. (00119)
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3.2. USE OF THE PARTICLE GROUP JE WI ZHE [top]
Another particle group, je wi zhe, can be used wherever nesh je is used. This group comes after the first word in the phrase, so je is still the second word of the clause.
Wdodabyane, pené je wi zhe bmosé. wEd- OdabyanE pEné jE wi EzhE bEmOsé 3- have.a.car\AI always but EMPH EMPH walk\AI She has a car, but she walks everywhere. (00122)
Wshkege, mbwaka je wi zhe. OshkEgE nEbwaka/é jE wi EzhE be.young\AI be.wise\AI but EMPH EMPH She is young, but wise. (00123) 3.3. USE OF THE PARTICLE GROUP WI ZHE [top]
The particle group wi zhe can be used where nesh je and je wi zhe are used. There is a slight difference in meaning: in the two sentences below the contrast in the first sentence with je wi zhe is a little stronger than in the second sentence that has wi zhe:
Njan jo wi-zhyasi, nin je wi zhe nwi-zhya. njan jo wi- Ezhya/é -si nin jE wi EzhE nE- wi- Ezhya/é John not FUT- go\AI -NEG I.EMPH but EMPH EMPH 1- FUT- go\AI John is not going, but I am. (00127)
Njan jo wi-zhyasi, nin wi zhe nwi-zhya. njan jo wi- Ezhya/é -si nin wi EzhE nE- wi- Ezhya/é John not FUT- go\AI -NEG I.EMPH EMPH EMPH 1- FUT- go\AI John is not going, but I am. (00128)
3.4. NO PARTICLE [top]
As with semantic opposition adversatives, denial-of-expectation adversatives may not use a conjunction
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/adversative.html (6 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:37:08 Adversatives at all, but may simply rely on context and our knowledge of the world to supply the intended contrast. The clauses are simply spoken in sequence. Again, we use a semicolon to show the relationship between the clauses that would be understood from context, and from the speaker's intonation.
Jo abje mbwakasi; wéwéne zhedé'é. jo abEjE nEbwaka/é -si wéwénE EzhEdé'a/é not very be.wise\AI -NEG correct think\AI He isn't very clever, but he has common sense. (00124)
However, there is a slight difference between using nesh je (or je wi zhe) and omitting it. The sentence below with nesh je carries a stronger, more emphatic sense of 'but' than the sentence that does not have a particle (The context in the second sentence is 'John is not going' along with the expectation that 'I am not going'. Since it is the case that 'I am going', the sentence is contrary-to-expectation.):
Gkadze o Njan, nesh je mno-zhewébzet. gEkadEzE ow njan nEzh jE mEnO- EzhEwébEzE -Ed be.rich\AI that.AN John contrarily but good- be.in.a.certain.state\AI - 3C John is rich, bt he's good. (00125)
Gkadze o Njan; mno-zhewébze. gEkadEzE ow njan mEnO- EzhEwébEzE be.rich\AI that.AN John good- be.in.a.certain.state\AI John is rich, but he's good. (00126)
If you leave je wi zhe or wi zhe out of the previous sentences entirely, the meaning changes:
Jo wi-zhyasi; nin nwi-zhya. jo wi- Ezhya/é -si nin nE- wi- Ezhya/é not FUT- go\AI -NEG I.EMPH 1- FUT- go\AI He's not going; I am. (00129)
The translation of this sentence is now closer to 'I'm going instead of him.' 4. PREVENTATIVE ADVERSATIVES [top]
In preventative adversatives one the second clause contains a reason that prevents the event in the other clause from taking place. In the next sentence, the first clause is hypothetical: 'I was going to go to town
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/adversative.html (7 of 10)2007.01.26. 23:37:08 Adversatives (but in fact I did not)'. The second clause gives the reason 'I'm not well.'
Nwi-odankénaben, nesh je nE- wi- odanEké -nabEn nEzh jE 1- FUT- go.to.town -PRET.1I contrarily but
nmeno-zhewébzesi. nE- mEnO- EzhEwébEzE -si 1- good- have.happen.to.one.a.certain.way\AI -NEG
I was going to go to town, but I'm not well. (00117)
With these sentences, either je or nesh je/je wi zhe may be used. The next two sentences show how je and nesh je can be interchanged. The only difference is that the sentence with nesh je would be translated with a little more emphatic 'but':
Da-zhyé Sam, nesh je yakwnogé. da- Ezhya/é nEzh jE YakOnoga/é MOD- go\AI contrarily but be.sick\AI Sam would come, but he's sick. (00130)
Da-zhyé Sam, yakwnogé je. da- Ezhya/é YakOnoga/é jE MOD- go\AI be.sick\AI but Sam would come, but he's sick. (00131) 5. THE PARTICLES MA AND SE [top]
There are two other particles, ma and se that have adversative uses. We list here what we currently know about these uses.
Unlike the other particles and particle groups discussed here, ma and se can occur in main clauses that aren't co-ordinated. The translation is something between a weak adversative and an emphatic:
Nin se wi zhe ngi-zhya. nin sE wi EzhE nE- gi- Ezhya/é I.EMPH EMPH EMPH EMPH 1- PST- go\AI But I went. (00182)
Note the following ungrammatical sentence with je:
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* Nin je wi zhe ngi-zhya. nin jE wi EzhE nE- gi- Ezhya/é I.EMPH but EMPH EMPH 1- PST- go\AI But I went. (00181) I ma zhe. iw ma EzhE that.INAN but EMPH It must be. (00183)
Nin ma ndebénma o. nin ma nE- dEbénEm -a ow I.EMPH but 1- own.s.o\TA -DIR that.AN I'm (emphasis) the owner. (00192)
Se seems to be the weaker of the two:
Nin se ndeket. nin sE nEdE- EkEdO I.EMPH EMPH 1- say\AI I say that. (00195)
Nin ma ndeket. nin ma nEdE- EkEdO I.EMPH but 1- say\AI I'm (emphasis) the one saying it. (00196)
Se is often used in particle groups with wi and wi zhe:
"Wénpenet se wi i da-je-zhyat weyé gaméyek." wénEpEn -Ed sE wi iw da-jE- Ezhya/é -Ed wEyé gaméyEg easy\II -OI EMPH EMPH that.INAN MOD- go\AI -3C someone across.the.river "It's easy if somebody wanted to go across." (MD102694:020) Nin se wi zhe ngi-zhya. nin sE wi EzhE nE- gi- Ezhya/é I.EMPH EMPH EMPH EMPH 1- PST- go\AI But I went. (00182)
Se and ma have much more freedom of position within the clause in comparison to other adversatives:
Byédon i gdenen ma.
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byéd -o -En iw gEdE- En -En ma bring.s.t\TI -OBJ -OBV that.INAN 2- say.to.s.o\TA -INV but I told (emphasis) you to bring it. (sounding peeved) (00198)
While se can be used in second clause of adversatives, ma cannot:
Pené ma bmosé, wdodabyane se wi zhe. pEné ma bEmOsé wEd- OdabyanE sE wi EzhE always but walk\AI 3- have.a.car\AI EMPH EMPH EMPH She always walks, although she has a car. (00179) * Pené bmosé, wdodabyane ma. pEné bEmOsé wEd- OdabyanE ma always walk\AI 3- have.a.car\AI but She always walks, but she has a car. (00178) 6. SUMMARY TABLE [top]
The Table below contains a summary of the different particles that are used with the different types of adversatives. Note that each particle or particle group can be used with different kinds of adversatives. While this means that any given particle is potentially ambiguous, in reality, there is little confusion. As with everything else in language, the listener must rely on context and background knowledge to fully determine the meaning. However, as is also the case with each particle or particle group, there are sentences where its use would be ungrammatical: je is not used with denial-of-expectation sentences, and nesh je / je wi zhe / wi zhe are not used with semantic-opposition sentences. This discussion will therefore be more useful as a guide to usage, rather than interpretation.
ADVERSATIVE TYPE: SEMANTIC DENIAL-OF- PREVENTATIVE PARTICLES OPPOSITION EXPECTATION je x x nesh je x x je wi zhe x x wi zhe x x no particle x x x
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VERB PARADIGM CHARTS
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[This section is under construction. Links to some pages are provided.]
The table below contains links to all the major verb paradigms. The links labeled "chart" contain tables of recently elicited forms. The links labeled "Hockett" compare recently elicited forms to those published by Hockett in IJAL. You can also access these links from the "chart" pages. Links labeled "comments" provide a text description of the paradigmatic affixes, as well as comments on differences with respect to Hockett's forms.
INDEPENDENT ORDER AI II TI TA
chart chart chart chart INDICATIVE Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett
chart chart chart chart PRETERITE Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett
DUBITATIVE chart chart chart chart
chart chart chart chart NEGATIVE Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett
chart chart chart chart NEGATIVE PRETERITE Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett
NEGATIVE DUBITATIVE chart chart chart chart
CONJUNCT ORDER
AI AI II II TI TI TA TA Participle Participle Participle Participle
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chart chart chart chart chart chart chart chart INDICATIVE Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett Hockett
chart chart chart PRETERITE NA NA NA NA NA Hockett Hockett Hockett
DUBITATIVE chart NA chart NA chart NA NA NA
IMPERATIVE ORDER
AI TI TA
chart chart chart IMPERATIVE Hockett Hockett Hockett
chart chart chart PROHIBATIVE Hockett Hockett Hockett
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AI Independent Indicative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmaji I ndenéndem You gmaji You gdenéndem He maji He néndem(wak) He (obv.) majin He (obv.) néndemwin We (excl.) nmajimen We (excl.) ndenéndemen We (incl.) gmajimen We (incl.) gdenéndemen You (pl.) gmajimen You (pl.) gdenéndam They majik They néndemwik
Compare with Hockett's forms
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II Independent Indicative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéya wawyéyamget It (obv.) wawyéyanen wawyéyamgeden They wawyéyadon wawyéyamgedon
/n/ Stem
It waben It (obv.) wabnene ? They wabnon
/d/ Stem
It wenet It (obv.) wendene ? They wendon, wendenon
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indindii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:14 Independent Indicative TA
TA Independent Indicative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X gwabmen nwabma nwabman ? You gwabem X gwabma gwabman ? He nwabmek gwabmek X wabman Obviative nwabmek ?? gwabmek ?? wabmek X We (excl.) X nwabmego nwabmamen nwabmamen We (incl.) X X gwabmamen gwabmamen You (pl.) gwabmem X gwabmawa gwabmawa They nwabmegok gwabmegok X wabmawan
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X gwabmenem nwabmak You gwabmeymen X X gwabmak He nwabmegnan gwabmegnan gwabmegwa X Obviative nwabmegnan ?? gwabmegnan ?? gwabmegwa ?? wabmegwan We (excl.) X X gwabmegom nwabmamen We (incl.) X X X gwabmamen You (pl.) gwabmeymen X X gwabmawak They nwabmegnanek gwabmegnanek gwabmegwak X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmagon gwabmagon wabmagon wabmagnen They nwabmagnen gwabmagnen wabmagnen wabmagnen
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Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagmen gwabmagmen gwabmagom wabmagnawa They nwabmagmenen gwabmagmenen gwabmagmen wabmagnawan
Compare with Hockett's forms
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TI Independent Indicative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdan nwabdanen You gwabdan gwabdanen He wwabdan wwabdanen He (obv.) wwabdan wwabdanen We (excl.) nwabdamen nwabdamen We (incl.) gwabdamen gwabdamen You (pl.) gwabdam gwabdam They wwabdanawa wwabdanawan
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédon nbyédonen You gbyédon gbyédonen He wbyédon wbyédonen He (obv.) wbyédon wbyédonen We (excl.) nbyédomen nbyédomen We (incl.) gbyédomen gbyédomen You (pl.) gbyédom gbyédom They wbyédonawa wbyédonawan
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indindti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:15 Independent Preterite AI
AI Independent Preterite
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmajinaben I ndenéndemnaben You gmajinaben You gdenéndemnaben He majinaben, majiwagben He néndemnaben He (obv.) majinabninen He (obv.) néndemwiben We (excl.) nmajimnaben We (excl.) ndenéndemnaben We (incl.) gmajimnaben We (incl.) gdenéndemnaben You (pl.) gmajimwaben You (pl.) gdenéndemwaben They maji(wa)bni(ne)k They néndembnin(ek)
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indpretai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:15 Independent Preterite II
II Independent Preterite
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyaben wawyéyamgedben It (obv.) wawyéyanneben wawyéyamgedniben / wawyéyamgednenben They wawyéyabninen wawyéyamgedbeninen
/n/ Stem
It wabnoben It (obv.) wabnonneben They wabnobninen
/d/ Stem
It wendoben It (obv.) wendonniben They wendonbninen
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indpretii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:15 Independent Preterite TA
TA Independent Preterite
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X gwabmenaben nwabmaben nwabmagbeninen ? You NA X gwabmaben gwabmagbeninen ? He nwabmegben gwabmegben X wabmagbeninen Obviative nwabmegben ?? gwabmegben ?? wabmegbeninen X We (excl.) X gwabmenmenwaben nwabmamnaben nwabmamnaben We (incl.) X X gwabmamnaben gwabmamnaben You (pl.) gwabmemwaben X gwabmamwaben gwabmamwaben They nwabmegbeninek gwabmegbeninek X wabmamwabeninen
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X gwabmennemwaben ? nwabmabeni(ne)k You gwabmemnaben X X gwabmabeni(ne)k He nwabmegmenaben gwabmegmenaben gwabmegwaben X Obviative nwabmegmenaben ?? gwabmegmenaben ?? gwabmegwaben ?? wabmegwabeninen We (excl.) X X gwabmenmenwaben NA We (incl.) X X X NA You (pl.) gwabmemnaben X X gwabmamwabeni(ne)k They nwabmegwmenabeni(ne)k gwabmegwmenabeni(ne)k gwabmegwabeni(ne)k X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmagben gwabmagben wabmagben wabmagbenin They nwabmagbeninen gwabmagbeninen wabmagbeninen wabmagbeninen
Inanimate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagmenaben gwabmagmenaben NA wabmagnawaben They nwabmagmenabeninen gwabmagmenabeninen gwabmagombeninen wabmagnawabeninen
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indpretta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:15 Independent Preterite TI
TI Independent Preterite
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdanaben nwabdanabnin You gwabdanaben gwabdanabnin He wwabdanaben wwabdanabnin He (obv.) wwabdanaben wwabdanabnin We (excl.) nwabdamnaben nwabdamnabnin We (incl.) gwabdamnaben gwabdamnabnin You (pl.) gwabdamnaben gwabdamwabnin They wwabdamwaben wwabdamwabnin
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédonaben nbyédonabnin You gbyédonaben gbyédonabnin He wbyédonaben wbyédonabnin He (obv.) NA NA We (excl.) nbyédomnaben nbyédomnabnin We (incl.) gbyédomnaben gbyédomnabnin You (pl.) gbyédomwaben gbyédomnabnin They wbyédonawaben wbyédomwabnin
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indpretti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:16 Independent Dubitative AI
AI Independent Dubitative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmajinadek I ndenéndemnadek You gmajinadek You gdenéndemnadek He majidek He néndemnadek He (obv.) majidgénen He (obv.) néndemnadgénen We (excl.) nmajimnadek We (excl.) ndenéndemnadek We (incl.) gmajimnadek We (incl.) gdenéndemnadek You (pl.) gmajimwadek You (pl.) gdenéndemwadek They maji(wa)dgének They néndemdgé(ne)k ?
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II Independent Dubitative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyadek wawyéyamgedek It (obv.) wawyéyandek wawyéyamgednidek / wawyéyamgednendek They wawyéyadgénen wawyéyamgedgénen
/n/ Stem
It wabnodek It (obv.) wabnonnedek They wabnondek
/d/ Stem
It wendek It (obv.) wendonnidek They wendon(ni)dgénen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/inddubii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:16 Independent Dubitative TA
TA Independent Dubitative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X gwabmenadek ? nwabmadek nwabmadegénen ? You ? X gwabmadek gwabmadegénen ? He nwabmedek ? gwabmedek ? X wabmadegénen Obviative nwabmedek ?? gwabmedek ?? wabmegodegénen X We (excl.) X gwabmenmenwadek ? nwabmanadek nwabmanadek We (incl.) X X gwabmanadek gwabmanadek You (pl.) gwabmemdek X ? ? They nwabmegodegének gwabmegodegének X wabmawadegén
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X ? nwabmadegék You gwabmeymnadek X X gwabmadegék He nwabmegomnadek gwabmegomnadek gwabmegwadek X Obviative nwabmegomnadek ?? gwabmegomnadek ?? gwabmegwadek ?? wabmegwadegénen We (excl.) X X gwabmenmenwadek ? ? We (incl.) X X X ? You (pl.) gwabmeymnadek X X gwabmawadegének They nwabmegonadegéninek gwabmegonadegéninek gwabmegowadegéninek X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmagdek gwabmagdek wabmagdek wabmagdegénen They nwabmagdegénen gwabmagdegénen wabmagdegénen wabmagdegénen
Inanimate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagmenadek gwabmagmenadek NA wabmagnawadek They nwabmagmenadegénen gwabmagwmenadegénen gwabmagwmewadegénen wabmagnawadegénen
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TI Independent Dubitative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdanadek nwabdanadgénen You gwabdanadek gwabdanadgénen He wwabdanadek wwabdanadgénen He (obv.) wwabdanadek wwabdanadgénen We (excl.) nwabdamnadek nwabdamnadgénen We (incl.) gwabdamnadek gwabdamnadgénen You (pl.) gwabdamwadek gwabdamwadgénen They wwabdanadgének ? wwabdamwadgénen
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédonadek nbyédonadgénen You gbyédonadek gbyédonadgénen He wbyédonadek wbyédonadgénen He (obv.) wbyédonadek wbyédonadgénen We (excl.) nbyédomnadek nbyédomnadgénen We (incl.) gbyédomnadek gbyédomnadgénen You (pl.) gbyédomwadek gbyédomwadgénen They wbyédonawadek wbyédonawadgénen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/inddubti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:16 Independent Negative AI
AI Independent Negative
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Vowel Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmajisi I ndenéndesi(n) You gmajisi You gdenéndesi(n) He majisi He néndesi(n) He (obv.) majisin He (obv.) néndemsin We (excl.) nmajisimen We (excl.) ndenéndesimen We (incl.) gmajisimen We (incl.) gdenéndesimen You (pl.) gmajisim You (pl.) gdenéndesim They majisik They néndesig
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative II
II Independent Negative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon It (obv.) wawyéyasnonen wawyéyamgesnonen They wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon
/n/ Stem
It wabsenon It (obv.) wabsenen They wabsenon
/d/ Stem
It wendesnon It (obv.) wensenen They wendesnon
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative TA
TA Independent Negative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X gwabmesno ? nwabmasi (nwabmasin) You gwabmesi X gwabmasi (gwabmasin) He nwabmegsi gwabmegsi X wabmasin Obviative nwabmegsi ? gwabmegsi ? wabmegsin X We (excl.) X nwabmegosi nwabmasimen nwabmasimen We (incl.) X X gwabmasimen gwabmasimen You (pl.) gwabmesim X gwabmasiwa gwabmasiwa They nwabmegsik ? gwabmegsik ? X wabmasiwan
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X gwabmesnonem nwabmasik You gwabmesimen X X gwabmasik He nwabmegsinan gwabmegsinan gwabmegsiwa X Obviative nwabmegsinan ? gwabmegsinan ? gwabmegsiwa ? wabmegsiwan We (excl.) X X gwabmegosim nwabmasimen We (incl.) X X X gwabmasimen You (pl.) gwabmesimen X X gwabmasiwak They nwabmegsinanek gwabmegsinanek gwabmegsiwak X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmag(o)sin gwabmag(o)sin wabmag(o)sin wabmagsinen They nwabmagsinen gwabmagsinen wabmagsinen wabmagsinen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegta.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative TA
Inanimate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagsimen gwabmagsimen gwabmagosim wabmagsinawa They NA NA NA wabmagsinawan
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegta.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative TI
TI Independent Negative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdasin nwabdasinen You gwabdasin gwabdasinen He wwabdasin wwabdasinen He (obv.) wwabdasin wwabdasinen We (excl.) nwabdasimen nwabdasimen We (incl.) gwabdasimen gwabdasimen You (pl.) gwabdasim wwabdasim They wwabdasinawa wwabdasinawan
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédosin nbyédosinen You gbyédosin gbyédosinen He wbyédosin wbyédosinen He (obv.) wbyédosin wbyédosinen We (excl.) nbyédosimen nbyédosimen We (incl.) gbyédosimen gbyédosimen You (pl.) gbyédosim gbyédosim They wbyédosinawa wbyédosinawan
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative Preterite AI
AI Independent Negative Preterite
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Vowel Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmajisinaben I ndenénde(m)sinaben You gmajisinaben You gdenénde(m)sinaben He majisinaben He nénde(m)sinaben He (obv.) majisinabninen He (obv.) nénde(m)sibnin(en) We (excl.) nmajisimnaben We (excl.) ndenénde(m)sinaben We (incl.) gmajisimnaben We (incl.) gdenénde(m)sinaben You (pl.) gmajisimwaben You (pl.) gdenénde(m)simwaben They majisiwabni(ne)k They nénde(m)sinawaben ?
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegpretai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:17 Independent Negative Preterite II
II Independent Negative Preterite
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyasnoben wawyéyamgesnoben It (obv.) wawyéyasnonben wawyéyamgesniben They wawyéyasnobninen wawyéyamgesnobeninen
/n/ Stem
It wabsenoben, wabnosiben It (obv.) wabsenonneben, wabnosinneben They wabsenobninen, wabnosibninen
/d/ Stem
It wensenoben, wendesnoben It (obv.) wendesniben, wendesnibninen They wendesnonben
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegpretii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:18 Independent Negative Preterite TA
TA Independent Negative Preterite
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X NA nwabmasiben nwabmasiben You gwabmesi(na)ben X gwabmasiben gwabmasiben He nwabmegwsiben gwabmegwsiben X wabmasibeninen Obviative nwabmegwsiben ?? gwabmegwsiben ?? wabmegwsibeninen X We (excl.) X gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasi(m)naben nwabmasi(m)naben We (incl.) X X gwabmasi(m)naben gwabmasi(m)naben You (pl.) gwabmesim(wa)ben X gwabmasimwaben gwabmasimwaben They nwabmegwsibeninek gwabmegwsibeninek X wabmasimwabeninen
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X gwabmesno(nmen)waben ? nwabmasibenik gwabmeymsinaben / You gwabmesimnaben X X gwabmasibenik
He nwabmegwsimnaben gwabmegwsimnaben gwabmegwsiwaben X Obviative nwabmegwsimnaben ?? gwabmegwsimnaben ?? gwabmegwsiwaben ?? wabmegwasibeninen We (excl.) X X gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasi(m)naben We (incl.) X X X gwabmasi(m)naben gwabmeymsinaben / You (pl.) gwabmesimnaben X X gwabmasimwabeninek
They nwabmegwsimnabeninek gwabmegwsimnabeninek gwabmegwsiwabeninek X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmagwsiben gwabmagwsiben wabmagwsiben wabmagwsibeninen They nwabmagwsibeninen gwabmagwsibeninen wabmagwsibeninen wabmagwsibeninen
Inanimate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagsimnaben gwabmagsimnaben gwabmagsimwaben wabmagsinawaben They nwabmagsimnabeninen gwabmagsimnabeninen gwabmagsimwabeninen ? wabmagsinawabeninen
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegpretta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:18 Independent Negative Preterite TI
TI Independent Negative Preterite
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdesinaben nwabdesinabnin You gwabdesinaben gwabdesinabnin He wwabdesinaben wwabdesinabnin He (obv.) wwabdesinaben wwabdesinabnin We (excl.) nwabdesimnaben nwabdesimnabnin We (incl.) gwabdesimnaben gwabdesimnabnin You (pl.) gwabdesimwaben gwabdesimwabnin They wwabdesinawaben wwabdesinawabnin
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédosinaben nbyédosinabnin You gbyédosinaben gbyédosinabnin He wbyédosinaben wbyédosinabnin He (obv.) wbyédosinaben wbyédosinabnin We (excl.) nbyédosimnaben nbyédosimnabnin We (incl.) gbyédosimnaben gbyédosimnabnin You (pl.) gbyédosimwaben gbyédosimwabnin They wbyédosinawaben wbyédosinawabnin
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegpretti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:18 Independent Negative Dubitative AI
AI Independent Negative Dubitative
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Vowel Stem /dEm/ Stem
I nmajisinadek I ndenénde(m)sinadek You gmajisinadek You gdenénde(m)sinadek He majisidek He nénde(m)sinadek He (obv.) majisidgénen He (obv.) nénde(m)sindgénen We (excl.) nmajisimnadek We (excl.) ndenénde(m)sinadek We (incl.) gmajisimnadek We (incl.) gdenénde(m)sinadek You (pl.) gmajisimwadek You (pl.) gdenénde(m)simwadek They majisidgé(ne)k They nénde(m)sinawadek ?
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegdubai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:18 Independent Negative Dubitative II
II Independent Negative Dubitative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyasidek wawyéyamgesnodek It (obv.) wawyéyasnondek wawyéyamgesnidek They wawyéyasnodgénen wawyéyamgesnodgénen
/n/ Stem
It wabnosidek / wabsenodek It (obv.) wabnosinnedek / wabsenonnedek They wabnosidegénen / wabsenondek
/d/ Stem
It wensenodek It (obv.) wendesnidek They wendesnodgénen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegdubii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:18 Independent Negative Dubitative TA
TA Independent Negative Dubitative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X gwabmesinadek nwabmasidek nwabmasidek You gwabmesidek X gwabmasidek gwabmasidek He nwabmegwsidek gwabmegwsidek X wabmadegénen Obviative nwabmegwsidek ?? gwabmegwsidek ?? wabmegwsidgénen ?? X We (excl.) X gwabmegosidek nwabmasi(m)nadek NA We (incl.) X X gwabmasi(m)nadek NA You (pl.) gwabmesimdek X gwabmesimwadek gwabmasimwadek They nwabmegwsidgének gwabmegwsidgének X wabmasimwadgénen
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X gwabmesnowadek nwabmasidgének You gwabmeymsinadek X X gwabmasidgének He nwabmegwsimnadek ? gwabmegwsimnadek ? gwabmegwsiwadek X Obviative nwabmegwsimnadek ?? gwabmegwsimnadek ?? gwabmegwsiwadek wabmegowasidgénen We (excl.) X X gwabmegosiwadek nwabmasimnadek We (incl.) X X X gwabmasimnadek You (pl.) gwabmeymsinadek X X gwabmasimwadgének They nwabmegwsi(m)nadgének gwabmegwsi(m)nadgének gwabmegwsiwadgének X
Inanimate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative It nwabmagwsidek gwabmagwsidek wabmagwsidek wabmagwsidgénen They nwabmagwsidgénen gwabmagwsidgénen wabmagwsidgénen wabmagwsidgénen
Inanimate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them It nwabmagwsimnadek gwabmagwsimnadek gwabmagwsimwadek wabmagwsidgénen They nwabmagwsimnadgénen gwabmagwsimnadgénen gwabmagwsimwadgénen wabmagwsinawadgénen ?
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegdubta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:19 Independent Negative Dubitative TI
TI Independent Negative Dubitative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It Them I nwabdesinadek nwabdesinadgénen You gwabdesinadek gwabdesinadgénen He wwabdesinadek wwabdesinadgénen He (obv.) wwabdesinadek wwabdesinadgénen We (excl.) nwabdesimnadek nwabdesimnadgénen We (incl.) gwabdesimnadek gwabdesimnadgénen You (pl.) gwabdesimwadek gwabdesimwadgénen They wwabdesinadek ? wwabdesinawadgénen ?
/o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédosinadek nbyédosinadgénen You gbyédosinadek gbyédosinadgénen He wbyédosinadek wbyédosinadgénen He wbyédosinadek wbyédosinadgénen (obv.) We nbyédosimnadek nbyédosimnadgénen (excl.) We gbyédosimnadek gbyédosimnadgénen (incl.) You gbyédosimwadek gbyédosimwadgénen (pl.) They wbyédosinawadek wbyédosinawadgénen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/indnegdubti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:19 Potawatomi Language
AI Independent Indicative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem /dEm/ Stem
nmaji ndenéndem I nmaji I ndenéndem
gmaji gdenéndem You gmaji You gdenéndem
maji néndem (wak) (wak) He maji He néndem (wak) (wak)
majin néndemwin He (obv.) majin He (obv.) ?
nmajimen ndenéndemen We (excl.) nmajimen We (excl.) ndenéndamen
gmajimen gdenéndemen We (incl.) gmajimen We (incl.) gdenéndamen
gmajim gdenéndam You (pl.) gmajim You (pl.) gdenéndam
majik néndemwik They majik They néndemwik
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:19 Potawatomi Language
II Independent Indicative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are supplied where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem
-augment +augment wawyéya wawyéyamget It wawyéya wawyéyamget
wawyéyanen wawyéyamgeden It (obv.) wawyéyanen wawyéyamgeden
wawyéyadon wawyéyamgedon They wawyéyadon wawyéyamgedon
/n/ Stem
waben It waben
wabnene ? It (obv.) wabnen
wabnon They wabnon
/d/ Stem
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindii.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:19 Potawatomi Language
wenet It wenet
wendene ? It (obv.) wenden, wendenen
wendon, wendenon They wendon
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindii.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:19 Potawatomi Language
TA Independent Indicative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Note he does not cite forms for verbs with an inanimate subject. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system. Obviative forms with a first or second person subject, and first person plural forms with a third person object are extrapolated from the text. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative gwabmen nwabma nwabman ? I X gwabmen nwabma nwabman
gwabem gwabma gwabman ? You gwabem X gwabma gwabman
nwabmek gwabmek wabman He nwabmek gwabmek X wabman
wabmek Obviative nwabmek ? gwabmek ? wabmegon X
gwabmego nwabmamen nwabmamen We (excl.) X gwabmenmen nwabmamen nwabmamen
gwabmamen gwabmamen We (incl.) X X gwabmamen gwabmamen
gwabmem gwabmawa gwabmawan ? You (pl.) gwabmem X gwabmawa gwabmawan
nwabmegok gwabmegok wabmawan ? They nwabmegok gwabmegok X wabmawan
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindta.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them gwabmenem nwabmak I X X gwabmenem nwabmak
gwabmeymen gwabmak You gwabmeymen X X gwabmak
nwabmegnan gwabmegnan gwabmegwa He nwabmegnan gwabmegnan gwabmegwa X
wabmegwan Obviative nwabmegnan ? gwabmegnan ? gwabmegwa ? wabmegwan
gwabmegom nwabmamen We (excl.) X X gwabmenmen nwabmamen
gwabmamen We (incl.) X X X gwabmamen
gwabmeymen gwabmawak You (pl.) gwabmeymen X X gwabmawak
nwabmegnanek gwabmegnanek gwabmegwak They nwabmegnanek gwabmegnanek gwabmegwak X
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindta.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
TI Independent Indicative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. These forms are also extrapolated from his text, as a chart was not given. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
/a/ Theme Stem
It Them nwabdan nwabdanen I nwabdan nwabdanen
gwabdan gwabdanen You gwabdan gwabdanen
wabdan wabdanen He wabdan wabdanen
wabdan wabdanen He (obv.) wabdan wabdanen
nwabdamen nwabdamen We (excl.) nwabdamen nwabdamen
gwabdamen gwabdamen We (incl.) gwabdamen gwabdamen
gwabdam gwabdam You (pl.) gwabdanawa gwabdanawan
wabdanawa wabdanawan They wabdanawa wabdanawan
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindti.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language /o/ Theme Stem
It Them nbyédon nbyédonen I nbyédon nbyédonen
gbyédon gbyédonen You gbyédon gbyédonen
wbyédon wbyédonen He wbyédon wbyédonen
wbyédon wbyédonen He (obv.) wbyédon wbyédonen
nbyédomen nbyédomen We (excl.) nbyédomen nbyédomen
gbyédomen gbyédomen We (incl.) gbyédomen gbyédomen
gbyédom gbyédom You (pl.) gbyédonawa gbyédonawan
wbyédonawa wbyédonawan They wbyédonawa wbyédonawan
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindindti.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
AI Independent Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem /dEm/ Stem
nmajinaben ndenéndemnaben I nmajinaben I ndenéndanaben
gmajinaben gdenéndemnaben You gmajinaben You gdenéndanaben
majinaben, néndemnaben majiwagben He néndemben He majiben néndemwiben majinabninen néndembeninen He (obv.) He (obv.) majinabeninen (?)
nmajimnaben ndenéndemnaben We (excl.) nmajimnaben We (excl.) ndenéndamnaben
gmajimnaben gdenéndemnaben We (incl.) gmajimnaben We (incl.) gdenéndamnaben
gmajimwaben gdenéndemwaben You (pl.) gmajimwaben You (pl.) gdenéndamwaben
maji(wa)bni(ne)k néndembnin(eg) They majibeninek They néndembeninek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
II Independent Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are supplied where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem
-augment +augment wawyéyaben wawyéyamgedben It wawyéyaben wawyéyamgedben
wawyéyamgedniben, wawyéyanneben wawyéyamgednenben It (obv.) wawyéyanneben wawyéyamgedniben
wawyéyabninen wawyéyamgedbeninen They wawyéyabeninen wawyéyamgedbeninen
/n/ Stem
wabnoben It wabnoben
wabnonneben It (obv.) wabneniben
wabnobninen They wabnobeninen
/d/ Stem
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretii.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
wendoben It wendoben
wendonniben It (obv.) wendenniben
wendonbninen They wendobeninen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretii.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
TA Independent Preterite
home | reference | PLSC | forum | grammar topics | verb paradigms
Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Note he does not cite forms for verbs with an inanimate subject. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system. Obviative forms with a first or second person subject, and first person plural forms with a third person object are extrapolated from the text. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative gwabmenaben nwabmaben (nwabmagbninen) I X gwabmenaben nwabmaben nwabmabeninen
? gwabmaben (gwabmagbninen) You gwabmenaben X gwabmaben gwabmabeninen
nwabmegben gwabmegben wabmagbninen He nwabmegben gwabmegben X wabmabeninen
wabmegbeninen Obviative nwabmegben* gwabmegben* wabmegbeninen X
gwabmenmenwaben nwabmamnaben nwabmamnaben We (excl.) X gwabmenmenwaben nwabmamnaben nwabmamnaben
gwabmamnaben gwabmamnaben We (incl.) X X gwabmamnaben gwabmamnaben
gwabmemwaben gwabmamwaben gwabmamwaben You (pl.) gwabmemwaben X gwabmamwaben gwabmamwabeninen
nwabmegbeninek gwabmegbeninek wabmamwabeninen They nwabmegbeninek gwabmegbeninek X wabmamwabeninen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretta.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them gwabmennemwaben ? nwabmabeni(ne)k I X X gwabmennemwaben nwabmabeninek
gwabmemnaben gwabmabeni(ne)k You gwabmemnaben X X gwabmabeninek
nwabmegmenaben gwabmegmenaben gwabmegwaben He nwabmegmenaben gwabmegmnaben gwabmegwaben X
wabmegwabeninen Obviative nwabmegwmenaben* gwabmegwmenaben* gwabmegwaben* wabmegwabeninen
gwabmenmenwaben We (excl.) X X gwabmenmenwaben ?
We (incl.) X X X ? gwabmamwabeni(ne) gwabmemnaben k You (pl.) gwabmemnaben X X gwabmamwabeninek
nwabmegmenabeni gwabmegmenabeni gwabmegwabeni(ne)k (ne)k (ne)k They gwabmegwabeninek X nwabmegmenabeninek gwabmegmenabeninek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretta.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:20 Potawatomi Language
TI Independent Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. These forms are also extrapolated from his text, as a chart was not given. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
/a/ Theme Stem
It Them nwabdanaben nwabdanabnin I nwabdanaben nwabdanabeninen
gwabdanaben gwabdanabnin You gwabdanaben gwabdanabeninen
wabdanaben wabdanabnin He wabdanaben wabdanabeninen
wabdanaben wabdanabnin Obv. wabdanaben wabdanabeninen
wabdamnaben nwabdamnabnin We (excl.) wabdamnaben nwabdamnabeninen
gwabdamnaben gwabdamnabnin We (incl.) gwabdamnaben gwabdamnabeninen
gwabdamwaben gwabdamwabnin You (pl.) gwabdanawaben gwabdanawabeninen
wabdanawaben wabdanawabnin They wabdanawaben wabdanawabeninen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretti.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language /o/ Theme Stem
It Them nbyédonaben nbyédonabnin I nbyédonaben nbyédonabeninen
gbyédonaben gbyédonabnin You gbyédonaben gbyédonabeninen
wbyédonaben wbyédonabnin He wbyédonaben wbyédonabeninen
? ? Obv. wbyédonaben wbyédonabeninen
nbyédomnaben nbyédomnabnin We (excl.) nbyédomnaben nbyédomnabeninen
gbyédomnaben gbyédomnabnin We (incl.) gbyédomnaben gbyédomnabeninen
gbyédomwaben gbyédomnabnin You (pl.) gbyédonawaben gbyédonawabeninen
wbyédonawaben wbyédomwabnin They wbyédonawaben wbyédomwabeninen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindpretti.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language
AI Independent Negative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. These forms are also extrapolated from his text, as a chart was not given. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Vowel Stem /dEm/ Stem
nmajisi ndenéndesi(n) I nmajisi I ndenéndesi
gmajisi gdenéndesi(n) You gmajisi You gdenéndesi
majisi néndesi(n) (wak) He néndesi He majisi (wak) néndemsin He (obv.) ? majisin He (obv.) majisin ndenéndesimen We (excl.) ndenéndesimen nmajisimen We (excl.) nmajisimen gdenéndesimen We (incl.) gdenéndesimen gmajisimen We (incl.) gmajisimen gdenéndesim You (pl.) gdenéndesim gmajisim You (pl.) gmajisim néndesik They néndesik majisik They majisik
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language
II Independent Negative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are supplied where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem
-augment +augment wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon It wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon
wawyéyasnonen wawyéyamgesnonen It (obv.) wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnonen
wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon They wawyéyasnon wawyéyamgesnon
/n/ Stem
wabsenon It wabsenon
wabsenen It (obv.) wabsenon
wabsenon They wabsenon
/d/ Stem
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegii.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language
wendesnon It wendesnon
wensenen It (obv.) wendesnon
wendesnon They wendesnon
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegii.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language
TA Independent Negative
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Note he does not cite forms for verbs with an inanimate subject. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system. Obviative forms with a first or second person subject, and first person plural forms with a third person object are extrapolated from the text. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative gwabmesno ? nwabmasi (nwabmasin) I X gwabmesnon nwabmasi nwabmasin
gwabmesi gwabmasi (gwabmasin) You gwabmesi X gwabmasi gwabmasin
nwabmegsi gwabmegsi wabmasin He nwabmegsi gwabmegsi X wabmasin
wabmegsin Obviative nwabmegsi* gwabmegsi* wabmegsin X
gwabmegosi nwabmasimen nwabmasimen We (excl.) X gwabmesnonmen nwabmasimen nwabmasimen
gwabmasimen gwabmasimen We (incl.) X X gwabmasimen gwabmasimen
gwabmesim gwabmasiwa gwabmasiwa You (pl.) gwamesim X gwabmasiwa gwabmasiwan
nwabmegsik ? gwabmegsik ? wabmasiwan They nwabmegsik gwabmegsik X wabmasiwan
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegta.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them gwabmesnonem nwabmasik I X X gwabmesnonem nwabmasik
gwabmesimen gwabmasik You gwabmesimen X X gwabmasik
nwabmegsinan gwabmegsinan gwabmegsiwa He nwabmegsinan gwabmegsinan gwabmegsiwa X
wabmegsiwan Obviative nwabmegsinan* gwabmegsinan* gwabmegsiwa* wabmegsiwan
gwabmegosim nwabmasimen We (excl.) X X gwabmesnonmen nwabmasimen
gwabmasimen We (incl.) X X X gwabmasimen
gwabmesimen gwabmasiwak You (pl.) gwabmesimen X X gwabmasiwak
nwabmegsinanek gwabmegsinanek gwabmegsiwak They nwabmegsinanek gwabmegsinanek gwabmegsiwak X
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegta.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:21 Potawatomi Language
AI Independent Negative Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. These forms are also extrapolated from his text, as a chart was not given. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Vowel Stem /dEm/ Stem
nmajisinaben ndenénde(m)sinaben I nmajisinaben I ndenéndesinaben
gmajisinaben gdenénde(m)sinaben You gmajisinaben You gdenéndesinaben
majisinaben nénde(m)sinaben majisiben, néndesiben He He majisiwiben néndesiwiben
majisinabninen nénde(m)sibnin(en) majisibeninen, néndesibeninen ? He (obv.) He (obv.) majisiwibeninen néndesiwibeninen
nmajisimnaben ndenénde(m)sinaben We (excl.) nmajisimnaben We (excl.) ndenéndesimnaben
gmajisimnaben gdenénde(m)sinaben We (incl.) gmajisimnaben We (incl.) gdenéndesimnaben
gmajisimwaben gdenénde(m) You (pl.) gmajisimwaben simwaben You (pl.) gdenéndesimwaben majisiwabni(ne)k majisibeninek, nénde(m)sinawaben ? They majisiwibeninek néndesibeninek They néndesiwibeninek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretai.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretai.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
II Independent Negative Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are supplied where necessary to match those elicited. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
V Stem
-augment +augment wawyéyasnoben wawyéyamgesnoben It wawyéyasnoben wawyéyamgesnoben
wawyéyasnonben wawyéyamgesniben It (obv.) wawyéyasnoben wawyéyamgesnoben
wawyéyasnobninen wawyéyamgesnobeninen They wawyéyasnobeninen wawyéyamgesnobeninen
/n/ Stem
wabsenoben, wabnosiben It wabsenoben
wabsenonneben, wabnosinneben It (obv.) wabsenoben
wabsenobninen, wabnosibninen They wabsenobeninen
/d/ Stem
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretii.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
wensenoben, wendesnoben It wensenoben
wendesniben, wendesnibninen It (obv.) wensenoben
wendesnonben They wensenobeninen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretii.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
TA Independent Negative Preterite
home | reference | PLSC | forum | grammar topics | verb paradigms
Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Note he does not cite forms for verbs with an inanimate subject. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system. Obviative forms with a first or second person subject, and first person plural forms with a third person object are extrapolated from the text. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative ? nwabmasiben nwabmasiben I X gwabmesnonnaben nwabmasiben nwabmasibeninen
gwabmesi(na)ben gwabmasiben gwabmasiben You gwabmesinaben X gwabmasiben gwabmasibeninen
nwabmegsiben gwabmegsiben wabmasibeninen He nwabmegsiben gwabmegsiben X wabmasibeninen
wabmegsibeninen Obviative nwabmegsiben* gwabmegsiben* wabmegsibeninen X
gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasi(m)naben nwabmasi(m)naben We (excl.) X gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasimnaben nwabmasimnaben
gwabmasi(m)naben gwabmasi(m)naben We (incl.) X X gwabmasimnaben gwabmasimnaben
gwabmesim(wa)ben gwabmasimwaben gwabmasimwaben You (pl.) gwabmesimwaben X gwabmasimwaben gwabmasimwabeninen
nwabmegsibeninek gwabmegsibeninek wabmasimwabeninen They nwabmegsibeninek gwabmegsibeninek X wabmasimwabeninen
Animate Subject, Plural Object
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretta.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them gwabmesno(nmen) nwabmasibeni(ne)k waben ? I X X nwabmasibeninek gwabmesnonnemwaben
gwabmeymsinaben / gwabmasibeni(ne)k gwabmesimnaben You X X gwabmasibeninek gwabmesimnaben
nwabmegsimnaben gwabmegsimnaben gwabmegsiwaben He nwabmegsimnaben gwabmegsimnaben gwabmegsiwaben X
wabmegwasibeninen Obviative nwabmegsimnaben* gwabmegsimnaben* gwabmegsiwaben* wabmegwasibeninen
gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasi(m)naben We (excl.) X X gwabmesnonmenwaben nwabmasimnaben
gwabmasi(m)naben We (incl.) X X X gwabmasimnaben
gwabmeymsinaben / gwabmasimwabeni gwabmesimnaben (ne)k You (pl.) X X gwabmesimnaben gwabmasimwabeninek
nwabmegsimnabeninek gwabmegsimnabeninek gwabmegsiwabeninek They nwabmegsimnabeninek gwabmegsimnabeninek gwabmegsiwabeninek X
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretta.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language
TI Independent Negative Preterite
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Hockett's forms are cited below each word in blue type. Examples are transliterated into the Pedagogical writing system, and stems are changed where necessary to match those elicited. These forms are also extrapolated from his text, as a chart was not given. Differences are highlighted in yellow.
/a/ Theme Stem
It Them nwabdesinaben nwabdesinabnin I nwabdesinaben nwabdesinabnin gwabdesinaben gwabdesinabnin You gwabdesinaben gwabdesinabnin wabdesinaben wabdesinabnin He wabdesinaben wabdesinabnin wabdesinaben wabdesinabnin He (obv.) wabdesinaben wabdesinabnin nwabdesimnaben nwabdesimnabnin We (excl.) nwabdesimnaben nwabdesimnabnin gwabdesimnaben gwabdesimnabnin We (incl.) gwabdesimnaben gwabdesimnabnin gwabdesimwaben gwabdesimwabnin You (pl.) gwabdesimwaben gwabdesimwabnin wabdesinawaben wabdesinawabnin They wabdesinawaben wabdesinawabnin
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretti.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Potawatomi Language /o/ Theme Stem
It Them I nbyédosinaben nbyédosinabnin You gbyédosinaben gbyédosinabnin He wbyédosinaben wbyédosinabnin He (obv.) wbyédosinaben wbyédosinabnin We (excl.) nbyédosimnaben nbyédosimnabnin We (incl.) gbyédosimnaben gbyédosimnabnin You (pl.) gbyédosimwaben gbyédosimwabnin They wbyédosinawaben wbyédosinawabnin
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/hoindnegpretti.html (2 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:46:22 Conjunct Indicative AI
AI Conjunct Indicative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I majiyan I néndeman You majiyen You néndemen He majit He néndek Obv. majinet Obv. néndemwin We (excl.) majiygo We (excl.) néndemgo We (incl.) majiyak We (incl.) néndemak You (pl.) majiyék You (pl.) néndamék They majiwat They néndemwat
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjindai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct (Participle) Indicative AI
AI Conjunct (Participle) Indicative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I majiyan I énéndeman You majiyen You énéndemen He majit He énéndek Obv. majinjen Obv. énéndenjen We (excl.) majiygo We (excl.) énéndemgo We (incl.) majiyak We (incl.) énéndemak You (pl.) majiyék You (pl.) énéndamék They majijek They énéndegek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpartindai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct Indicative II
II Conjunct Indicative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyak wawyéyamgek It (obv.) wawyéyagen NA They wawyéyagek wawyéyamgek
/n/ Stem
It wabek It (obv.) wabnenek They wabek
/d/ Stem
It wenek It (obv.) wendenek They wenek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjindii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct (Participle) Indicative II
II Conjunct (Participle) Indicative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It NA NA Obv. NA NA They NA NA
/n/ Stem
It NA Obv. NA They NA
/d/ Stem
It wéwnek Obv. NA They wéwneggen
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpartindii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct Indicative TA
TA Conjunct Indicative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obviative I X wabmenan wabmek wabmek ? You wabmeyen X wabmet wabmet ? He wabmet wabmegwyen X wabman Obviative wabmet wabmegwyen ? wabmegot X We (excl.) X wabmenak wabmegot wabmayak We (incl.) X X wabmat NA You (pl.) wabmeyék X wabmék wabmayék They wabmewat wabmegwa X wabmawat
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X wabmengo wabmegwa You wabmeyak X X wabmedwa He wabmeymet wabmenek wabmenék X Obviative wabmeymet wabmenek wabmegwyék ? wabmegwat We (excl.) X X wabmenak wabmego We (incl.) X X X wabmat ? You (pl.) wabmeyak X X wabmegwa They wabmeymet wabmenek wabmegoyék X
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjindta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct (Participle) Indicative TA
TA Conjunct (Participle) Indicative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me You Him Obv. I X wabmenan wabmek wabmek ? You wabmeyen X wabmet wabmet ? He wabmet wabmegwyen X wabman Obv. NA NA wabmegojen X We (excl.) X wabmenak wabmegot wabmayak We (incl.) X X wabmat NA You (pl.) wabmeyék X wabmék wabmayék They wabmejek wabmegwa X wabmajek
Animate Subject, Plural Object
Us (excl.) Us (incl.) You (pl.) Them I X X wabmengo wabmegwa You wabmeyak X X wabmedwa He wabmeymet wabmenek wabmenék X Obv. NA NA NA wabmegowan We (excl.) X X wabmenak wabmego We (incl.) X X X wabmat ? You (pl.) wabmeyak X X wabmegwa They wabmeymet wabmenek wabmegoyék X
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpartindta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:23 Conjunct Indicative TI
TI Conjunct Indicative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It/Them I wabdeman You wabdemen He wabdek Obv. wabdemnet We (excl.) wabdemgo We (incl.) wabdemak You (pl.) wabdemék They wabdemwat
/o/ Theme Stem
It/Them I byédoyan You byédoyen He byédot Obv. byédonet We (excl.) byédoygo We (incl.) byédoyak You (pl.) byédoyék They byédowat
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjindti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct (Participle) Indicative TI
TI Conjunct (Participle) Indicative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It/Them I wabdeman You wabdemen He wabdek Obv. wabdek ?? We (excl.) wabdemgo We (incl.) wabdemak You (pl.) wabdemék They wabdegek ?
/o/ Theme Stem
It/Them I byédoyan You byédoyen He byédojen Obv. byédonet We (excl.) byédoygo We (incl.) byédoyak You (pl.) byédoyék They byédojek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpartindti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct Preterite AI
AI Conjunct Preterite
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I majiyaban I néndemaban You majiyben You néndemben He majibet He néndegben He (obv.) majinbet He (obv.) néndemwibnin We (excl.) majigoben We (excl.) néndemgoben We (incl.) majiyagben We (incl.) néndemagben You (pl.) majiyégben You (pl.) néndamégben They majiwabet They néndemwabet
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpretai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct Preterite II
II Conjunct Preterite
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyagben wawyéyamgeben It (obv.) wawyéyagben NA They wawyéyagbninen wawyéyamgebnin
/n/ Stem
It wabgeben It (obv.) wabnenegben ? They wabnobninen
/d/ Stem
It wengeben It (obv.) wendengeben They wengeben
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpretii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct Preterite TI
TI Conjunct Preterite
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/a/ Theme Stem
It/Them I wabdemaban You wabdemben He wabdegben Obv. wabdemnebet We (excl.) wabdemegben ?? We (incl.) wabdemagben You (pl.) wabdemégben They wabdemwabet
/o/ Theme Stem
It/Them I byédoyaban You byédoyben He byédobet Obv. byédonbet We (excl.) byédoygoben We (incl.) byédoyagben You (pl.) byédoyégben They byédowabet
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjpretti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct Dubitative AI
AI Conjunct Dubitative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
I majiyanén I NA You majiynén You NA He majigw(n)én He NA He (obv.) majiwnén He (obv.) NA We (excl.) majigwén We (excl.) NA We (incl.) majiwnén We (incl.) NA You (pl.) majiwégwén You (pl.) NA They majiwagwén They NA
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjdubai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:24 Conjunct Dubitative II
II Conjunct Dubitative
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V Stem
-augment +augment It wawyéyagwén wawyéyamgegwén It (obv.) NA NA They NA wawyéyamgegwén
/n/ Stem
It wabgegwén It (obv.) wabnengwén They NA
/d/ Stem
It wendegwén It (obv.) wendengwén They wendegwén
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjdubii.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Conjunct Dubitative TI
TI Conjunct Dubitative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It/Them I wabdemanén You wabdemnén He wabdemgwén Obv. wabdemnegwén ?? We (excl.) wabdemagwén We (incl.) wabdemagwnén You (pl.) wabdemwégwén They wabdemwagwén
/o/ Theme Stem
It/Them I byédowanén You byédonén He byédogwén Obv. byédongwén We (excl.) byédoyagwnén ? We (incl.) byédoyagwén You (pl.) byédoyégwén They byédowagwén
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/conjdubti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Imperative AI
AI Imperative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
You majin You nénden You (pl.) majik You (pl.) néndek
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/imperai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Imperative TA
TA Imperative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me Him Obv. Us Them You wabmeshen wabem, wabmesh NA wabmeshnak wabem, wabmesh You (pl.) wabmeshek wabmek NA wabmeshnak wabmek
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/imperta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Imperative TI
TI Imperative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It / Them You wabden You (pl.) wabdek
/o/ Theme Stem
It / Them You byédon You (pl.) byédok
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/imperti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Prohibative AI
AI Prohibative
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V Stem /dEm/ Stem
You majikén You néndekén You (pl.) majikék You (pl.) néndekék
Compare with Hockett's forms
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/prohibai.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Prohibative TA
TA Prohibative
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Animate Subject, Singular Object
Me Him Obv. Us Them wabmeshikén, wabmakén, wabmakén, You wabmeshiken wabmaken NA wabmeshikak wabmaken
You (pl.) wabmeshikék wabmakék NA wabmeshikak wabmakék
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/prohibta.html2007.01.26. 23:46:25 Prohibative TI
TI Prohibative
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/a/ Theme Stem
It / Them You wabdekén You (pl.) wabdekék
/o/ Theme Stem
It / Them You byédokén You (pl.) byédokék
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/prohibti.html2007.01.26. 23:46:26 Note on Paradigms and Attrition
A Note on Paradigms and Attrition
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A substantial amount of time in early fieldwork sessions was devoted to eliciting the very complex set of paradigmatic affixes. The reason for doing so is that understanding Potawatomi verbs is central to understanding Potawatomi grammar. My purpose in writing this note of caution is not so much for learners of Potawatomi, who probably won't encounter the problematic forms discussed here (or at least will probably not encounter problems as a result of the problematic forms). The real caution is in using these forms as data for theoretical arguments. The verbal system of Algonquian languages, particularly that of Potawatomi, has drawn a considerable amount of attention in linguistics ever since Charles Hockett published a modern theoretical description in the 1940's. More recently, Potawatomi has frequently figured in arguments for various theories of morphology (if a morphological theory can describe the complexity of Potawatomi, it should be able to handle anything!). While certain paradigms, such as the independent and conjunct indicative are quite reliable, others should be viewed with healthy suspicion, due to the likelihood of a variety of potential kinds of errors.
Probably the greatest source of error is the elicitation process itself. Ideally, these verb forms would be culled from recorded texts and naturally occuring discourse. While recorded texts exist, the storytelling mode of the texts favors the use of the conjunct. And one would also need to have a much larger body of texts in order to complete the paradigms, especially the less common conjunct dubitative and preterite modes. The other possibility, collecting forms from natural discourse, is not a very realistic option, due to the fact that there aren't many fluent speakers, or opportunities to record all (or even mostly) Potawatomi conversation. Elicitation, in this context, consists of asking for combinations of various persons and modes using a single verb stem, which allows us to see inflectional patterns. While very convenient, it is also a very difficult and exhausting mental exercise, especially considering the complexity of the forms. I tried to reduce the potential for error both by taking frequent "brain breaks", to rest or work on other language puzzles, and by limiting the length of elicitation sessions to about two hours.
Another source of error results from forms that have a combination of greater complexity, low natural frequency of occurence and (perhaps consequently) borderline obsolescence. While I have tried to be as comprehensive as possible, many of the forms included here are considered uncommon, if not obsolete. This is particularly true of the conjunct preterite and more so of the conjunct dubitative. That Hockett only had a few dubitative forms, and therefore did not include a description of them, seems indicative of its infrequent use even in the 1940's. Today, it is possible (and common) to avoid use of morphologically complex forms by using paraphrastic combinations of verb plus particle, the particle bearing the burden of morphological endings. This is often the dominant strategy of less fluent speakers. This creates a difficulty when eliciting uncommon forms. Given a partial paradigm, it is not difficult to come up with plausible forms. In some cases, this may have led to over-regularizing endings. I have
file:///D|/My%20Documents/anishinaabe/TRIBES/languages/potawatomi/caution.html (1 of 2)2007.01.26. 23:47:17 Note on Paradigms and Attrition tried to reduce the impact of these "best guesses" by signaling them with "?", or "??" if we were especially dubious. I have also tried to limit the number of occurences of this type of error cross- checking forms with two very fluent elders at different sittings.
A NOTE ON PARADIGMS AND ATTRITION
The most common modes found in conversation and storytelling today are the indicative and negative. Many of the other modes described here are no longer fully in use. The preterite, dubitative, negative preterite and negative dubitative modes are frequently replaced by particles. In each case, the particle was optionally used with the inflected verb. The independent paradigm seems to be faring better than the conjunct. The preterite and dubitative modes of the independent are still used, whereas the conjunct dubitative is remembered only in part today. Also, for some speakers, the inverse forms of the conjunct are being replaced by passives.
The verb paradigm charts include what we know of these paradigms by way of establishing a record for future generations. It is only by looking at old records and comparing Potawatomi with other related languages that we know some of these forms ever existed. Many fluent speakers today only have a limited knowledge of them, but the fact that they know of them to any extent suggests the paradigms could not have become obsolete very long ago. Although these changes are partially due to the natural evolution of a language over time, they are likely largely due to the fact that there are few fluent speakers left and many forms are being forgotten. Considering the size of the paradigms, it stands to reason that a speech community must to be fairly rigorous in order to maintain a common knowledge of so many forms.
There are probably several other minor modes which have a restricted usage. We have encountered only one so far, which is the humiliative. Although its usage is very rare today, we have evidence that it was in use in the 1800's. Today, it may only appear in idiomatic expressions. This form of the verb is apparently used to humble oneself: Ndengatoshen zhonyames. 'I'm wasting what little money I have.'
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