369

PRODUCTIVE REDUPLICATION IN PLAINS CREE

F. Ahenakew and H.C. Wolfart University of Manitoba

In formal and every-day Cree alike, many appear in two ver­ sions: besides a simple form like (la) pimohtew or in Stow there is a second, parallel form (lb) pa-pimoht£w or man-mat ow in which the firstsyllabl e is repeated more or less exactly at the begin­ ning of the stem. Most speakers of the language probably are not even aware that words can come in these two versions, but their parallelism becomes obvious when they are written down, or if you try to state the difference in meaning between the two. These are matters which cannot be ignored in the preparation of a text edition—and most of the examples in this paper were encoun­ tered while we were working on Plains Cree stories from Saskatchewan (Ahenakew) and Alberta (Wolfart). Examples from the firstcollection , waskahikaniwiyiniw-acimowina / Stories of the House People (Ahena­ kew 1983) are identified by "H", and those from the second (unpub­ lished), by "A". All other examples, which are in the same dialect as the "H"-texts, represent the speech of the senior author. The relation between the two "versions of the same " is, of course, not merely a practical matter. Reduplication is a major gram­ matical pattern that is found in many languages. As more and more texts were transcribed, analyzed and translated, we studied a large number of reduplications and found that, in Plains Cree, (i) there are several types of reduplication; (ii) reduplication is not restricted to ; (iii) practically any may be reduplicated. This wealth and diversity are probably the reason why detailed accounts of Algonquian reduplication are rare. John Nichols (whose Ojibwe is one of the exceptions to this rule) puts the prob­ lem into perspective when he says (1980:255) that "full investigation into reduplication requires major lexicographical work." 370 Ahenakew and Wolfart

In this paper, to be sure, we can look only at a small sample of reduplications. We therefore concentrate on fully productive types and simply ignore all frozen reduplications, and the semi-productive types as well (even though they are especially interesting). By using a fairly narrow definition of fully productive reduplication, we hope to establish the focal types first, and then to rely on these as a basis from which to tackle the more problematic cases. Two basic types In studying the basic patterns of Cree reduplication, we mainly draw on verbs since they offer the best choice of examples. The verb stems cited at the beginning illustrate the two basic types of reduplication. They differ in both shape and use. The first, (2a) pa-pimohtew, means 'he was walking along'. Since it has a short in the redu­ plicated , we call this type light reduplication; note that the reduplication vowel is a short /a/ even though the first vowel of the stem is short /i/. In the second example, the vowel of the reduplication syllable is long (and in this example also happens to be the same as the stem vowel); we call this type heavy reduplication. The word (2b) mah-matow means 'he cries off and on' the way a baby cries: not continuously but sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. The same pattern is found with many other stems: (i) light reduplication is used to express an on-going action or state; (ii) heavy reduplication is used for an action or state that is in some way discontmuous or intermittent. The differences between these two types are seen most clearly when the same stem is used for both: (3a) klwike- VAI 'visit' (3b) light: kiwT-Jca-klwikan cl? 'will you be visiting for a whileT (3c) heavy: kiwl-Icah-kTwikan cl? 'will you visit once in a whileT In both these examples, the high-front vowel of the stem is reduplicated by a low vowel: short /a/ and long /a/. This is, in fact, the most common pattern of reduplication: the reduplication syllable consists of the first (C) of the stem followed by a short /a/ for the light type, and by a long /a/ for the heavy type. The long vowel of the reduplication syllable is typically followed by devoicing; the h-like sound of this devoicing is strongest before a stop l Productive Reduplication in Plains Cree 371

(/p, t, c, k/), less clearcut before a nasal (/m, n/) or before /w/, and not audible at all before /s/.1 The quantity and quality of the first vowel of the stem makes no difference at all: as the summary in (4) shows, all three short I'i, a, o/ and all four long vowels /r, e, a, o/ may be reduplicated by either the light or the heavy pattern: (4) reduplication stem-initial first vowel syllable consonant of stem

light: Ca- C i.a.o, T,e,a,<

heavy: Cah- C i,a,o. T,c,a,i When the stem starts with a vowel, a somewhat different pattern appears (and there are some specific problems with stems that begin in short /o/ or long /o/). In general, the reduplication vowels are short /a/ and long /a/, just as with the consonant-initial stems; but the transitional sound that comes between the reduplication vowel and the stem-initial vowel further sets the two types apart: light reduplication has /y/ where heavy reduplication has /h/. For example, (5a) acimo- VAI 'tell; tell a story' (5b) light: av-Scimowak 'they are telling stories right now' (5c) heavy: ah-acimowak 'they tell one story after another'

A third type But how would one describe a situation where people are in the midst of an all-night story-telling session? Well, simply add up the reduplication to create a combined type, as in (5d) aj~ah-5cimowak 'they kept telling stories' The meaning is also a combination of the two types: it is on-going and intermittent at once. The light and heavy reduplication syllables always come in this or­ der, e.g., (6a) pimohte- VAI 'walk along' (6b) light: nipa-pimohtan 'I am walking along' (6c) heavy: nipah-pimohtan 'I walk off and on' (6d) comb.: nipa-pah-pimohtan 'I keep walking (all year round)'

1 Although the phonological status of this [h] remains to be explored more fully, there are, at the very least, strong pedagogical reasons for writing h (except with stems beginning in s). Much the same orthography is used in the texts of Leonard Bloomfield (1030,1034) where "reduplication which leaves the stem unchanged has been separated by a " (1030:6); cf. also Wolfart 1073:66. 372 Ahenakew and Wolfart

When the combined type of reduplication was presented to an ad­ vanced Cree class,2 the Cree-speaking students in the class came up with any number of additional examples; for instance, (7a) pakamahw- VTA 'hit someone, beat someone (sc. drum)' (7b) nipa-pakamahwaw 'I am beating (the drum)—with a rapid, soft beat' (7c) nipah-pakamahwaw 'I beat (the drum)—with a slow, hard beat' (7d) nipa-pah-pakamahwaw 'I keep beating (the drum)—with a slow, hard beat' And again, (8a) mat wehike- VAI 'knock, beat' (8b) nima-matwehikan 'I am knocking, beating fast' (8c) riimah-mat wehikan 'I knock, beat slowly' (8d) nima-mah-matwehikan This last example has two meanings, (i) 'I keep knocking (on a door, or with a hammer) repeatedly' (ii) 'I keep a steady, slow beat' which shows that reduplicated forms may have a general (i) and a specialized (ii) meaning at the same time. The two drumming examples also suggest that the meaning of the heavy type takes precedence when the two types are combined—maybe this is because the heavy syllable is closer to the stem than the light syllable. One more example—mainly for the sound of it: (Oa) mamitoneyiht- VTI 'think about something' (Ob) nima-mamitoneyihte'n (Oc) nimah-mSmitoneyihten (Od) nima-mah-mamitoneyihten These last sets look almost as regular as the -based paradigm tables of the missionaries (and skeptical souls might think that the students got carried away once they had recognized the pattern). But such forms freely occur in sentences, for instance, (10) Jca-Icah-kitowak kapetipisk mostoswak. 'The cattle kept bawling all night.' (11) kap?-ayi ?-a,y-ah-asipayicik nitasikanak. 'My nylons kept coming down all the time.'

2 This class, which was taught by Ahenakew at the University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, during the summer of 1082, included 14 Cree-speaking students. Productive Reduplication in Plains Cree 373

The combined type may not be the favourite form of the literary style, but it is fully productive in ordinary, every-day Cree. Less general patterns of reduplication Reduplication with the syllables (C)a(y)- and (C)ah- along with their combination in (c)a(y)-(c)an- seem to be the only types that are fully productive in Plains Cree. Among the less general patterns, two are most prominent. (i) With a number of stems, the reduplication syllable includes not only the first consonant, but also the first vowel of the stem, CV-; for example,

(12a) p5taw5payi- VAI'have one's belly go up and down I12b) 5-poJi-potawSpayiyit (A) 'his belly was going up and down rhythmically' (ii) If the firstsyllabl e of the stem ends in /s/, this /s/ may also be included in the reduplication syllable, CVs-; for example (with c here representing the cluster /kw/), (13a) kwfskapi- VAI 'turn while sitting' (13b) e-Jcwes-kwSskapit (A) 'he sat there turning back and forth' These two examples are cited mainly as a reminder that there are several further reduplication types which are less than fully productive.3 Semantic patterns The fundamental semantic difference between the two basic types of reduplication has already been suggested, mainly through the examples: (i) light reduplication means on-going; (ii) heavy reduplication means intermittent. Let us now look at some further examples and try to extend and refine the semantic definitions:

3 Their distribution and their semantic properties are to be explored in a separate study which will also discuss some of the phonological aspects of Cree reduplication. 374 Ahenakew and Wolfart

(14a) nokwan- VII 'be visible' (14b) light: na-nokwan 'it is visible from here, right now' (14c) heavy: nah-nokwan 'it is visible off and on' (15a) atoskS- VAI work' (15b) light: nit nv-at osk.5n 'I am working right now' (15c) heavy: nitah-atoskan 'I work from time to time' The continuous, progressive aspect of light reduplication is best il­ lustrated in a larger context: (16) ekos ekwa nikl-pe-Jca-klwikak an Swakw Sna nisis ana, kapEklsik niwa- wltapimaw. (H) 'So he had come to visit me, this uncle of mine, I sat with him all day.' Note the contrast between the progressive meaning of light redupli­ cation in (17a) ekosi ?-klsi-ma-mIcisoyahk... (H) 'So after we had finished eating...' and the intermittent meaning of heavy reduplication in (17b) wS, nimah-minihkwfsinSn 6m fwako. (H) 'Well, we were having a few little drinks of this.' More specifically, the heavy reduplication in this last example has a repetitive sense: one little drink, another, and another, and so on. But the repetition may be less regular: (18a) waskawl- VAI 'move, stir' (18b) wah-waskawTw 'he moves once in a while' This last form would be used, for instance, to describe the movements of someone sleeping fitfully. The repetition may also be quite regular, but stretched out over a very long time: (10a) macl- VAI hunt' (10b) znah-macTw 'he goes hunting (every day)' In short, a great deal always depends on the meaning of the verb that is being reduplicated. But reduplicated stems also have common semantic features that are independent of any particular stem. For the light type, this seems to be the same in all cases: an action or state that is currently in progress. For the heavy type, on the other hand, there are several senses that can be distinguished. With verbs that describe a state rather than an action, heavy redu­ plication may have an intensive function: (20a) katawasisi- VAI 'be beautiful' (20b) g-Jcah-katawasisiyit (A) 'they were very beautiful' Productive Reduplication in Plains Cree 375

The next example shows that it may not always be possible to separate one sense of heavy reduplication from another; in this case, the meaning is both intensive and repetitive: (21a) mocikEyiht- VTI 'have fun with something' (21b) mah-mocikeyihtam (A) 'he was having a great time of it' But a form may also have two senses which are entirely distinct, and only the larger context (or the non-linguistic situation) can tell which of them is meant. In isolation, a form such as (22b) is completely ambiguous: (22a) klwike- VAI 'visit' (22b) Jcan-klwikewak (i) 'they visit from time to time' (ii) 'they visit here and there' As this example shows, the discontinuity expressed by heavy redupli­ cation is not restricted to the dimension of time but applies, as well, to space. The same discontinuity may also be expressed with respect to the members of a group, as in the second sense of (23b): (23a) minah- VTA 'give someone to drink' (23b) roah-iiiiiiahfw maskihkiwapoy kfhtf-aya. (i) 'he gives the elders tea to drink off and on (several pots)' (ii) 'he gives the elders tea to drink (and there are several of them)' In the examples we have seen so far, heavy reduplication has three main senses: (i) 'very' or intensity; (ii) 'over and over' or repetition; (iii) 'now and then, or scattered distribution here and there' in time or space There is also a fourth function that is closely related to the third: when the distribution is not scattered but applied exhaustively to each member of the set. Example (23b), in fact, has yet another meaning: (23b) (iii) 'he gives tea to each of the elders' This distributive sense which is exhaustive rather than scattered is most obvious when it is a small set to which the distribution applies:

(24a) tahkopit- VTA 'tie someone (sc. stone) on' (24b) nika-tah-tahkopitawak asiniyak 6tf niskatihk. (A) 'I shall tie rocks there on my feet.' The reduplication specifies that the handicap is to affect each of the two feet—WTsahkecahk's feet, of course. The distributive function is also particularly clear with particles based on numerals; for instance, 376 Ahenakew and Wolfart

(25a) peyakwan IPC 'the same' (cf. peyak 'one') (25b) pah-peyakwan IPC 'each one the same' (25c) S, mitoni 5-miywasiniyiki oskotakawSwa, pah-pSyakwan mlna. (H) 'Well, their coats were really nice, and both exactly the same. Stylistic function In surveying the productive types of reduplication in Plains Cree, we have combined evidence that comes from introspection and elicitation with examples from running texts that are completely spontaneous. Cree clearly shares in the "exuberantly developed" wealth of redu­ plication patterns which (1921:77) observed among the languages of the world. By concentrating on fully productive patterns, we hope to have taken a first step towards a more comprehensive study of Cree reduplication. The distinction of two basic types (which may be combined into a third) seems fundamental. In one of the Saskatchewan texts, for example, we have a scene where the heavy reduplication of (26a) ah-acimonaniwiw 'there were stories being told' (which here is both repetitive and distributive) contrasts plainly with the progressive meaning of light reduplication in (26b) a.v-apiw 'he was sitting there' and (26c) e-na-nitohtawat 'he was listening to them'; in context: (26d) ah-acimonaniwiw fkota awa aj~apiw awa kiseyiniw awa, awa wist S-na-nitohtawSt 5hi, ... (H) 'there were stories being told and this old man was sitting there, he too was listening to them, ...' Many stories are being told, and by several speakers—and the old man is sitting there and listening throughout. We also found that we cannot always pull apart the different senses of reduplication, and that heavy reduplication, for instance, can be at once repetitive and distributive. In the following sentence, for example, the particle mah-meskoc 'each in turn' is clearly distributive but the verb nimah-mawinehwanan remains ambiguous: (27) mitoni mah-mSskoc mitoni nimah-mawinShwanSn. (H) 'We each took turns challenging him (each/again and again).' While reduplication is extremely common, finally, it is almost never Productive Reduplication in Plains Cree 377

obligatory. We have encountered many sentences, for instance, where it would fitver y well but is simply not there: (28a) a, mitoni ?-(m»h)-miy wasiniyiki oskotakawawa, pah-peyakwan mlna. (H) 'Well, their coats were really nice, and both exactly the same.' (28b) ah-acimowak Ski kSht£-ayak mitoni mah-mSskoc (ah)-Scimowak ... (H) 'The elders were telling stories each in turn they were telling stories ...' As an optional device, then, reduplication plays a major role in Cree style. That this stylistic option is readily actualized is evident in the texts—and in the experience of a Cree speaker who has yet to come across a verb that could not be reduplicated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The research on which this paper is based has variously been supported by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Research Board and the Northern Studies Committee, University of Manitoba, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For comments on an earlier version of this paper we are grateful to Jennifer M. G reensmith.

REFERENCES

Ahenakew, Freda 1083 waskahikaniwiyiniw-acimowina / Stories of the House People. Winnipeg: Uni­ versity of Manitoba Press, [in press]

Bloomfield, Leonard 1030 Sacred Stories of the Sweet Grass Cree. National Museum of Canada Bul­ letin 60. Ottawa. 1034 Plains Cree texts. American Ethnological Society PubUcations 16. New York. Nichols, John D. 1080 Ojibwe Morphology. Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University.

Sapir, Edward 1021 Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace.

Wolfart, H. Christoph 1073 Plains Cree: A Grammatical Study. American Philosophical Society Trans­ actions n.s. 63, pt. 5. Philadelphia. 378 Ahenakew and Wolfart