44 0 869KB
Nivacle ´
Grammar
LYLE CAMPBELL LUIS DÍAZ FERNANDO ÁNGEL
Nivaclé Grammar
This page intentionally left blank.
Nivaclé Grammar
Lyle Campbell, Luis Díaz, and Fernando Ángel
The University of Utah Press Salt Lake City
Copyright © 2020 by The University of Utah Press. All rights reserved. The Defiance House Man colophon is a registered trademark of The University of Utah Press. It is based on a four-foot-tall Ancient Puebloan pictograph (late PIII) near Glen Canyon, Utah. CIP data for this book is available at https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com /pub/?id=cip_data_block_viewer&lccn=2020005349 Errata and further information on this and other titles available online at UofUpress.com Printed and bound in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Figures, Maps, and Tables xxi Acknowledgments xxiii Abbreviations Used in This Volume xxv Chapter 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. The language and its speakers 1 1.3. The classification of Nivaclé 4 1.4. Varieties (dialects) of Nivaclé 5 1.4.1. Some distinguishing features of the dialects 8 1.4.2. Differences within the Arribeño dialect 8 1.5. The socio-cultural setting 10 1.6. Procedures, methodology, and fieldwork 11 1.7. Typological overview 12 1.8. Previous linguistic documentation of Nivaclé 15 1.9. Guidelines for user 21 Chapter 2 Phonology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2.1. Introduction 27 2.2. Phoneme inventory and orthography used in this grammar 27 2.2.1. Stress 33 2.2.2. Unusual and unresolved matters involving stress and seemingly long vowels 34 2.2.3. Orthographic 7 for glottal stop 35 2.2.4. The interpretation of /V7C/ sequences 35 2.3. Other Orthographies 37 2.4. Minimal pairs and near minimal pairs 37 2.5. Principal allophones 44 2.5.1. w → β /__ i, e, a 44 2.5.2. Velar backing: velar → uvular (post-velar) / __ ô, e, i and /i, e, ô __ # 45 2.5.3. Allophones of velar fricative /j/ 48 2.5.4. Allophones of /e/ 48 2.6. Phonological processes 49 2.6.1. Glide loss 49 2.6.1.1. y-loss 49 w-loss 50 2.6.1.2. 2.6.2. Deaffrication of final ts 50 2.6.3. Vowel deletion: V → Ø / VC1__C2+V (C1 ≠ C2) 51 2.6.4. Loss of glottal stop: 7 → Ø / V __CV 52
Pronouns, Demonstratives, and Quantifiers 199
(150)
ta7 t’ajô7ôj na-wa7 yukuwe-k lha-n-cha7aj what all nis-pl.nhum bread-pl 2act-hither-bring ‘how many breads did you bring?’ (¿cuántos panes trajiste?)
(151)
ta7 t’ajô7j-esh ka7 a7-mônlha7a=ne=7e what all-val irr.conj 2spc-alive=here=loc ‘until when will you stay?’, ‘how long will you stay?’ (¿hasta cuándo te quedás?)
4.3.11.4. ta7 lha7ya7ash ‘why?’ (phonetically [ta lhay7ya7ash]) This is based on ta7 ‘what?’ + lha7ya7ash ‘because, why, the manner of ’, literally ‘what manner?’ Some examples are: (152)
ta7 lha7ya7ash ti7 lh-ap=7in* what why conj 2act-cry=emph ‘why are you crying?’ (¿por qué llorás?) (*phonetically [lhap’in])
(153)
ta7 lha7ya7ash ti7 lha-snatesh what why conj 2act-do ‘why did you do that?’ (¿por qué lo hacés/hiciste?)
(154)
ta7 lha7ya7ash ti7 lha-n-cha7aj na7 what why conj 2act-hither-bring vis wat-k’isjayanach* npos-notebook ‘why did you bring the notebook?’ (¿por qué trajiste el cuaderno?) (*wat-k’is-ja-yan-ach [npos-mark-lig-vblz-nmlz] ‘notebook’)
4.3.12. Negative demonstratives The negative demonstratives are constructed of am ‘no’ (or ôm in some dialects, 2.7.5.) with a form of the pa7 rep demonstrative root cliticized to it. (See 9.6. for consideration of negation generally.) am=pa, ôm=pa ôm=pa jum ôm=pa ja7=lhech ôm=pa yi-klô7 kuwayu am=pa-pu, ôm=pa-pu ôm=pa-pu yikles=a
[no=rep] ‘there is/are no, doesn’t exist, is not there’ (no hay, no existe) [no=rep emphatic] ‘there definitely is/are none!’ (¡no hay!, ¡cierto que no hay!) [no=rep nvis=t hat] ‘he/she is not here’ (no está) [no=rep 1pos-clf horse] ‘I don’t have a horse, I have no horse’ (no tengo caballo) [no=rep-pl.hum] ‘they are not here, there is/are no, do not exist’ (said of people) (no están, no hay [de personas]) [no=rep- pl.hum 1pos.children] ‘I don’t have any children, I have no children’ (no tengo hijos)
200 Chapter 4
am=pa-wa an=lha-pa, ôn=lha-pa an=lha-pa lha-mimi=7a
[no=rep-pl.nhum] ‘there is/are no (said of non- humans), do not exist’ (no están, no hay [de cosas o animales]) [no=fem-rep] ‘there is no (said of feminine nouns), does not exist’ (no hay [de sustantivos femininos]), no existe, no está) [no=fem-rep 3pos-mother=n eg] ‘he/she doesn’t have a mother, has no mother’ (no tiene madre)
(155)
e7em ti7 ôm=pa ka-n te7ej because conj no=r ep irr.conj-3subo 3act.hit ‘because there is nothing to shoot [while hunting]’ (porque no hay nada para acertar)
(156)
nôke-7esh ôm=pa-pu ka-n n-i7is here-val no=rep-pl.hum irr.conj-3subo refl-mark ‘now there isn’t anybody that gets tatooed’ (ahora no hay los que se tatuan)
(157)
ôm=pa-wa yi-kfhiy-is=a no=rep-pl.nhum 1pos-shoe-pl=n eg ‘I don’t have shoes, I have no shoes’ (no tengo zapatos)
ôm=7e [no=loc] (158)
‘he/she is not here’ (no está, [la persona] no está)
kan7ut j-ôk-taj=e y* ja7 yi-kutsfha taj ti7 yesterday 1act-go-irr=a way nvis 1pos-companion but conj ôm=7e no=loc ‘yesterday I went to my friend, but he/she wasn’t there’ (ayer fuí a mi amigo pero no estaba) (*-taj ‘irrealis’ [irr] here in its ‘frustrative’ sense [see 6.10.3.4.])
4.3.13. Indefinite pronouns The several sorts of indefinite pronouns in Nivaclé are illustrated in the following examples. (159)
n-ôm=7 in ka7t’aj pa-pi7 there.is rep-pl.hum 3act.hither-arrive=emph ‘some (people) arrived’ (algunos llegaron) (literally ‘there are those that came’)
(160)
ka7t’aj pa-pi7 pa7 ni-cha7aj there.is rep-pl.hum 3act. hither-bring rep ‘some brought honey’ (algunos trajeron la miel)
shinwo7 honey
Pronouns, Demonstratives, and Quantifiers 201
(161)
pa7=naá, [rep=something], pa7=naá=7 in [rep=something=e mph] ‘something, anything’ (cualquier cosa, algo)
(162)
ko7os-taj=a ka7 na-n-cha7aj pa7=naá luck-irr=sbjv irr.comp 3subo-hither-bring rep=something ‘hopefully he’ll/she’ll bring something’ (‘oh may he/she bring something’) (ojalá traiga algo)
(163)
yi-tô7y-esh pa7=naá 3stat-know-val rep=something ‘computer’ (computadora) (literally ‘it knows anything’ [sabe cualquier cosa])
(164)
pe7=em ‘that there, something that is heard (but not seen)’ (algo que se oye [pero no se ve, p. ej. se oye de lejos]) (pe7=e m < pa7=em) (see 4.3.10.4.)
(165)
me7=ey pa7 a-tata, pe7=em! 2imp.go=away rep 2pos-father, rep=heard! ‘go to your father; there he is (he is heard)!’ (¡andá a tu papá, ahí está [se oye]!)
pa7=a = 7 elh
[rep=neg=pl.excl] ‘stop!, quiet!, enough!’ (¡basta!, ¡quieto!)
Indefinite pronominal forms often appear in plural form in utterances, especially in questions. Some examples are: (166)
jayu? she=pa-pu7* ta-wo7i=ch’e28 what=rep-pl.hum 3act-accompany-xtend pros ‘who will go with me?’ (¿quién quiere ir conmigo?) (*shepapu7 or shepapi7, both are good) (repeated from example (86) above)
(167)
ka7aj pa-pu7 lhech=7e? there.is rep-pl.hum that=loc ‘is someone there?’ (¿hay alguién?, ¿alguién está ahí?)
Negative indefinite pronouns and related forms ôm=pa, am=pa [no=rep] ‘no one, nobody, nothing, there is/are not’ (nadie, nada, no hay) ôm=pa-pu, am=pa-pu7 [no=rep-pl.hum] ‘no one, nobody’ (168)
ôm=pa-pu ka-n n-ôm no=rep-pl.hum irr.conj-3subo hither-arrive ‘no one arrived/came, nobody is coming’ (nadie llega/llegó, nadie viene/ vino)
202 Chapter 4
(169)
ôm=pa-pu ka-n wo7 no=rep-pl.hum irr.conj-3subo fish ‘nobody is fishing, no one fishes’ (ningún/nadie pesca) (literally, ‘there is no one that fishes’)
(170)
an=lha-pa yi-peso=7a no=fem-rep 1pos-money=neg ‘I don’t have any money, I have no money’ (no tengo nada de dinero)
(171)
an=lha-pa ka7 we7lha=7a=ch’e no=fem-rep rem one=neg=xtend ‘I don’t have a cent’ (no tengo ni un centavo)
ni7-we7lha=7a ni7-we7lha=7a-7esh
[neg-one=neg] ‘no one, nobody’ (ninguno) [neg-one=neg-val] ‘never’ (nunca, ni una vez)
(172)
ni7-we7lha=7a lh-pa7 ôkjeklô ka-n wo7oy neg-one=neg fem-rep woman irr.conj-3subo seek yi7klô-y wood-pl ‘no woman/not any woman is going to look for firewood’ (ninguna mujer va a buscar leña)
(173)
ni7-we7lha=7a pa-pu7 ka-n t-e7esh neg-one=neg rep-pl.hum irr.conj-3subo 3act.vblz-say/want ka-n wo7 irr.conj-3subo fish ‘nobody wants to fish’ (ninguno quiere pescar) (literally ‘[there is] nobody that he/she wants that he/she fishes’)
(174)
ni7=lhech=a na7 José, ni7=lhech=a shta lha7 María neg=that=neg vis José neg=that=neg also fem María ‘neither José nor María’ (ni José, ni María) (literally ‘not Jose, not also María’)
4.4. QUANTIFIERS 4.4.1. ‘all’ (todos, todo) lhakôm=7a lhakôm=7a na-pi7=lhech (175)
[all=c mpl] ‘all’ (todo, todos) [all=cmpl vis-pl.hum=that] ‘all of them’ (todos ellos)
lhakôm=7a ti7 nôj=7e7 all=cmpl conj 3act.end=loc ‘everything ran out, they all ran out (ended)’ (se acabaron todos)
Pronouns, Demonstratives, and Quantifiers 203
(176)
a-n-jut=yiy lhakôm=7a 2imp-hither-give=1dat all=comp ‘give me all (of it)!, give it all to me!’ (¡dáme todo!)
(177)
lhutsjayech yich=7 in* lhakôm=7a na-pi7 all=cmpl vis-pl.hum girl.pl 3act.go=emph ‘all the girls left’ (todas las chicas salieron) (*phonetically [yich’in]) ‘all (the whole number of)’ (todos)
t’ajô7ôj
pi7klô ya-pjôklô7-lha t’a-pjô7klô7-lha kats’i-pjôklô7-lha
‘whole, entire, all’ (entero) [1pos-totality-xtrac] ‘everything that I have, all my things’ [3pos-totality-xtrac] ‘everything, all, everything he/she/ it owns’ 1pl.pos-totality-xtrac] ‘everything that we [incl] have, all our things’
4.4.2. ‘each, every’ (cada) we7lha ts’iwe7e
‘each one, every one’ (cada uno) (literally ‘one they’)
(178)
we7lha a-n-chaj-e7elh=yiy 2imp-hither-bring-pl.excl=t o.me one ‘bring me each one’ (traeme cada uno)
ts’iwe7e they
(179)
we7lha ts’iwe7e na-pi7 niwakle yi-kôjôy-esh ka7 one they vis-pl.hum man 3stat-catch-val rem sajech fish ‘each one of the men caught a fish’ (cada uno de los hombres pilló un pescado)
(180)
ja-wa7 we7lha ts’iwe7e wat-fhin ja-jut=ey 1act-give=away nvis-pl.nhum one they npos-sweet na-pi7 lhutsjayech vis-pl.hum girl.pl ‘I gave a candy to each girl’ (dí un caramelo a cada muchacha)
4.4.3. ‘much, many’29 uj-esh (181)
[big-val] ‘[it is] much, too much, very large, more than’ (demasiado grande, muy, más que). ka-pi7=lhech uj-esh ti7 tsakla7ay=s ha7ne rem-pl.hum=t hat big-val conj poor=pl ‘they are very poor’ (literally ‘they are big that [they are] poor’)
204 Chapter 4
uj=ji (182)
[big=intens] ‘much’ uj=ji na-wa7 t-atash big=intens vis-pl.nhum npos-food ‘much food’ (mucha comida)
akloj akloj na-wa7 sajech (183)
‘much, many, a lot’ (bastante, mucho, bastantes, muchos) [many vis-pl.nhum fish] ‘many fish’ (muchos pescados)
yinkô7ôp akloj na-wa7 ajôyej nô-ke this-dem year much vis-pl.nhum mistol.fruit ‘this year there are many mistol fruits’ (este año hay muchos mistoles)
Interestingly, Nivaclé also has a construction with the verb tifh- ‘to end, run out, finish’ that serves the meaning of ‘all, entire, every’, as seen in the following: (184)
na7 towôk tifh-esh na7 yinkô7ôp ti7 tsej vis river end-val vis year conj much ‘the river rises all year/the whole year’ (literally ‘the river ends the year when/while/because/as/that it is strong’) (el río crece todo el año [durante todo el año])
(185)
na7 towôk tifh-esh ka-wa7 yinkôp-es ti7 tsej conj much vis river end-val rem-pl.nhum year-pl ‘the river rose much all those years/those whole years’ (literally, ‘the river ended the years when/while/because/as/that it grew much’) (el río crece mucho todos los años/cada año)
4.4.4. ‘few, some, a little’30 ni7-akloj=a, na7-akloj=a
[neg-much=neg] ‘few’ (pocos) (literally ‘not much/ not many’)
(186)
na7-akloj=a na-pi7 neg-many=n eg vis-pl.hum ‘few arrived’ (pocos llegaron)
n-ôm=ey 3act.hither-arrive=away
(187)
ke7elh* yinkô7ôp na7-akloj=a ka-wa7 ajôyej other year neg-many=neg rem-pl.nhum mistol.fruit ‘last year there were few mistol fruits’ (el año pasado había pocos mistoles) (*ke7elh 2-leave.behind pros=emph.” Conj 3act-say I am going to leave you behind.” And the rhea said te voy a dejar atrás.” Y dijo el suri “shta-n ujun160 yi7in,” pa7 yi-tsjulh=ch’e “1pl.imp-race soon,” conj 3act-count=x tend “let’s race right now,” and he counted, saying “vamos a hacer carrera enseguida,” y contó, dijo que n-ôm-taj=ey=7in 3act.hither-arrive-irr=away=emph
lh-pa7 fem-rep
wônjôlhôj rhea
lhôn say
lhôn say
lhôn say
pu7ja7na, three,
lhôn say
lhôn say
“jech “yes
lhapesh past
ti7 conj
pa7 conj
ti7 conj
lhapesh past
yijô7 cierto
pa7 rep
t’e dub
lha7 fem
ya7-pôtsej, 1spc-fast
pa7 rep
wônjôlhôj rhea
yi-t’esh 3act-say
lhôn say
“ka7 “irr.conj
shn-ôk=7in,” 1pl.act-go=e mph”
Texts 585
“when ‘three’ comes (when it gets to “three”), we’ll go,” “cuando llegue ‘tres’, nos vamos,” pa7 y-ôm=ey=jop lhôn lh-pa7 conj 3act-arrive=a way=b eside say fem-rep and “three” came (he counted to “three”), and y “tres” llegó, y wa-kumaj=wati=ch’e lhôn; 3act-run=recip=xtend say; they ran; but that tick corrieron; pero esa garrapata
wo7oy conj
lhôn say
t’-eklet=7ey161 lhôn lha-wôj=7e 3act.vblz-jump=a way say 3pos-side=loc jumped onto the edge of the rhea’s eye. saltó a la orilla del ojo del suri. Wo7oy lhôn pa7=lhech wônjôlhôj Then say rep=that rhea Then that rhea looked behind him, Entonces ese suri miró hacia atrás de él,
pu7ja7na, three,
lh-pa7=lhech fem-rep=that
lh-pa7 fem-rep
pa7 t’-eklet=ey163 conj 3act.vblz-jump=a way the tick jumped off. And the saltó la garrapata. Y dijo la
y-owalh=ch’e=7en 3act-look=xtend=emph
y-ôj=7e 3stat-end=l oc
lhôn say
fhech’ataj tick
lh-tôsej 3pos-eye
yi-t’esh=a lhôn ka7 ni7-toj=a=7e7m=a 3act-say=cmpl say irr.conj neg-far=neg=3dat=neg saying that the tick was near him (not far from him), dijo que le estaba cerquita la garrapata (no lejos de él), ti7 y-u7je=7ey162 pa7 conj 3act-be.near=away rep when he was near the finish line, cuando acercaba a la línea final,
pa7 conj
lh-pa7 fem-rep
pa7 rep
pa7 rep
lha-yshiwô, 3pos-behind,
lh=pa7 fem-rep
fhech’ataj, tick,
chi7-y-i7s=ey nper-3stat-mark=a way
fhech’ataj. tick.
Pa7 And
yi-t’esh 3act-say
fhech’ataj “a-7wan, ya7-pôtsej. Lhts-apun-taj=7in nalhche, tick 2imp-see 1spc-fast. 2>1-despise-irr=e mph while.ago, tick said “see, I am fast. You looked down on me a little while ago, now garrapata, “mirá que yo soy ligero. Vos me despreciaste hace rato, ahora k’a-wô7ôm.” 1>2-leave.behind.” I have beat you.” te he ganado (te dejé atrás).”
wônjôlhôj. rhea.
lhôn say
nôke-7esh this-val
lh-pa7 fem-rep
586 Chapter 11
Lhech t’-ôjôj=k’e. That 3pos-voice/sound=x tend That is the tale. (That’s all.) Eso es la voz. (Ese es todo.) Notes 1. tem indicates a hesitation, like hmmm, uh, um in English or este for hesitation in Spanish. It is often times lengthened, like temm(m). It also appears frequently with certain conjunctions where its function is not precisely for hesitation. In the Nivaclé texts it is generally left untranslated. 2. batará: k’ô7ô ‘batará’ (a bird species) in English is the ‘giant antshrike’, though most will not know that name; its scientific name is Batara cinerea argentina. It is common in Nivaclé oral literature to tell of an earlier time when various birds and other animals were human. 3. lhôn is a reportative, meaning ‘it is said’, ‘they say’, part of the Nivaclé evidential system. It indicates that the speaker does not know this from firsthand experience; it is quite common in narratives about the past. It is usually not translated directly in Nivaclé texts. 4. The k’ô7ô ‘batará’ (‘giant antshrike’, a bird) is masculine in Nivaclé and there is no gender confusion when it is characterized as a man in the story. However, batará is feminine in Spanish, hence instances of la batará ‘the [fem] batará’ and aquella batará ‘that [fem] batará’, clearly feminine in gender in the Spanish translation, may seem somewhat in conflict with its anthropomorphized role in the story as a “man,” who has a “wife.” 5. na-n lh-junash [vis-rel 3pos-like/equal.to/character] also means ‘for example’, also ‘like, similar to, same as’. 6. paykiyô is a cactus species, long and thin. 7. jutsaj ‘carancho’ (Polyborus plancus (Falconidae)) (sometimes translated as ‘caracara’ in English) ‘carion-eating hawk-like bird’. 8. naw7elh //na-wa-7elh// [vis-pl.nhum=pl.exc] ‘others’. 9. na-n lh-junash [vis-rel 3pos-like/equal.to/character] means ‘for example’, also ‘like, similar to’. 10. k’afhok ‘black vulture’ (Coragyps atratus foetens (Cathartidae)). 11. paw7elh //pa-wa-7elh// [rep-pl.nhum-pl.excl]. 12. ka7alh is actually //ka7=a lh// (based on ka7 rem); the last syllable bears stress (it is not a case of //ka7lh// [ká7alh] with stress on only the first vowel after the echo vowel is added). Following lh>, but continue to spell it as speaker preferences, we do not write this as 2-arrive-caus] ‘I caught you, I capture you by hand’. 32. ja-jut=7ay, phonetically [jajut’ay]. 33. nijô7ts-iway, uncertain word. It begins with ni- negation [neg] or with n- [3stat], and seems to have the suffix -iway ‘a kind of ’ (see 3.6.2.39.); cf. n-ijôt’aj [3stat-be.in.condition] ‘he/she/it is in condidtion, is fat’ (cf. Seelwische 2016:67). 34. The structure and meaning of this word are uncertain. It may have the sense of ‘foreign/alien’, i.e., ‘belonging to someone else’ (ajeno), the thing that did not belong to him [the knife]. 35. awuktsej ‘white-lipped peccary’ (quimilero) (Tayassu pecarí). 36. yo7nis ‘pampas fox’ (zorro) (Lycalopex gymnocercus) 37. n-a-7apey=7e [2neg-hear=loc] ‘you don’t hear’, expression of surprise, ‘you’re not supposed to be (not heard to be) a hunter’. (Analysis and meaning uncertain.) 38. lhawchejenaj ‘hunter’; lha-w-cheje-naj [3pos-posb-prey-agent.of] (cf. cheje ‘hunted animal’ [presa] -naj ‘agent of action’ [nmlz]). 39. na-n lh-junash [vis-rel 3pos-like] ‘for example’. 40. ni7-na-t-kajôyshay [neg-3subo-vblz-be.intelligent/correct] together also means ‘fool’. 41. ts’ô7=ô m, ts’a7=ô m [slow?=n eg] ‘scarely, finally, bit by bit’ (apenas, por fin, poco a poco); analysis uncertain. 42. yich=7in [3act.go=emph], phonetically [yich’in] ‘he/she/it is going’. 43. y-ôje7ch=7esh [y-ôje7ch’esh] ‘he was skinning it with it’ (cf. y-ôje7ech ‘he/she skins it’). 44. y-ôje7ch-7esh=sha7ne [yôje7ch’esha7ne] ‘he was skinning them with it’. 45. jokônôjô ‘collared peccary, javelina’ (rosillo) (Pecari tajacu (Tayasuidae)). 46. ja-ta-chiy=7a=ch’e [1act-refl-serve=sbjv=xtend] is uncertain in form and translation. Speakers translated this in Spanish as obsequiándote ‘giving you (serving you)’. From its morphology it appears to mean ‘I direct myself to’. In context, it seems to mean ‘I came to ask’ (vine a pedir). The verb root //-chi7y// means ‘to ask for, to address, to pay attention to’. 47. nô7ôk=lha=7a [3stat.appear=extr=cmpl]: the meaning of this form is not straightforward. The root nô7ôk means ‘to appear, to be known’; nô7ôk=lha means ‘really, to be known, to be famous’. Speakers translate nô7ôk=lha=7a as ‘va a asegurar’ (he’s going to assure). 48. shtatônôychi, uncertain analysis, probably: shta-ta-nôy-chi [1pl.excl-refl-hither-go.ahead-assoc]. Note Seelwishe (1990a:181) has , from ‘to come in company with’ (venir en compañía de), derived from (//nô7ôychi//) ‘acompañar’ (Seelwische 2016:97). 49. kôp’um: //ka-pi-7um// [rem-pl.hum-7um] ‘those ones’. 50. y-ôje7ch=7elh [3act-skin=pl.excl] ‘they skinned it’ [yôje7ch’elh]; cf. y-ôje7ech ‘he skins it’. 51. Yi-waklh-it-esh [3act-ready-caus-val] ‘he/she finished it’; cf. wakalh ‘ripe, ready, done’. 52. Meaning uncertain; the verb -juyjat means ‘to direct, to order, to post’. Speakers suggest also the translation ‘unfortunately’ (lastimosamente); it is derived from //juy-jat// [to.leave-caus]. 53. Here, -taj irr has its ‘frustrative’ function. 54. ‘Ornate hawk-eagle’ (Spizaetus ornatus (Accipitridae)). 55. môjôktsi ‘tuco-tuco’, a small mole-like rodent (Genus Ctenomys (Ctenomyidae)). 56. ja-jut=7ay, phonetically [ja-jut’ay]. 57. paw7elh //pa-wa-7elh// [rep-pl.nhum-7elh pl.excl] ‘others’. 58. Although ni-n-washan=e7em is negative in form (and should mean ‘not permit, impede’), speakers affirm that in this context its meaning is ‘permit’, ‘not impede’. 59. //yi-jut=7ay//, phonetically [yijut’ay]. 60. //ni-s uy= = a// [neg-angry=n eg=s bjv, where nisuya appears now to be lexicalized (frozen from a 7 its former origins as a negative adjective), so that it can now take the additional =7a sbjv/neg). 61. lh-ja7ya ‘his/her spouse who does not yet have children. 62. lh-ch’akfha ‘his/her spouse who has children.
588 Chapter 11
63. Teius oculatus 64. ka-n yôy=ch’e: meaning uncertain; cf. yôy=ch’e ‘be invulnerable’. It is based on the root yô7ôy ‘to have skill, to want, to like’. Possibly in this context it may mean that he has nothing that he wants (to have). Native speakers, however, translate it as ‘there is nothing that works for him’ (no hay nada que le sirve). 65. Why y-ômj=ey with /j/ and not y-ôm=ey is not clear. 66. t’unaj ‘strength’, derived from /t’un-aj/ [hard-abstr.nmlz]. 67. n-at=7e [3stat-fall=loc] ‘he fell’, phonetically [nat’e]. 68. The word for ‘anaconda’, yiklataj, is similar to the word for ‘stick, wood, tree’, yi7klô7, and this may involve a play on words, that he stepped on what he took to be a ‘stick’ but it was an anaconda. Yiklataj appears to bear the suffix -taj ‘similar to’, which derives many animal names from the names of other things similar to them. However, yikla (or yiklaj or yikla7) is not an attested root, but this part of the word for ‘anaconda’ is phonetically similar to the root for ‘stick’. Yiklataj is perhaps related to yi-klat [3act-stink] ‘he/she/it stinks, is rotten’ + -aj ‘abstract nominalization’ [nmlz], roughly ‘stinking one’—anacondas have a strong bad smell. There are two species of anaconda in the region, Eunectes murinus and Eunectes notaeus, both yiklataj in Nivacle. 69. ka7 here is an example of the demonstrative rem which refers to going across and out of the field of vision, rather than its more usual occurrence with nouns referring to dead things or things no longer in existence. 70. A-w7ojey: it is not clear why this form has a /w/, based on a7- ‘2spc’ and ojey ‘lazy, useless’. It may be related in some way to w- ‘posb’ (possessible) (see 3.6.1.5.). 71. akô7ya: neither the form nor the meaning is clear. Speakers translate it as ‘tu compañero, socio’ (your companion, partner), but the word and that translation may involve errors. (Speakers have translated kufhani, a word that means ‘rival, opponent’, as socio in Spanish (whose normal meaning is ‘partner, associate’). Cf. kôwfha ‘enemy, opponent’, possibly what was intended here. 72. ni-n-kont’aj [neg-3subo-have.strength] ‘weak, does not have the strength’. 73. Cultural note: it is believed that one gets stronger by being stabbed, repeatedly letting blood; here the batará gets stronger from being stabbed by the anaconda with his lh-te7ech ‘his pointed bone for stabbing to let blood’, because the anaconda had pity on him. 74. ne7elhcha //na7-elh-cha// [vis-pl.excl-sep] ‘other’. 75. Cultural note: when the tree is cut down, the honey is all along in the trunk of the tree, looking like an anaconda: cf. yiklataj ‘anaconda’, and yiklata-way ‘anaconda-like’ (name of this kind of honey)’. 76. yiktsu7uk ‘white silk floss tree’ (yuchán, palo borracho) (Chorisia insignis). 77. afhtech ‘leather bag for honey, liquids’. 78. yi-n-esh=7e [3act-place-val=loc] ‘he/she places it on/at’; the verb root is -an ‘to place, put’. 79. lhapesh ‘eariler, before, in the past’ is glossed here just ‘past’, but that is to be understood as a temporal adverb and not an indication of past tense—Nivaclé has no grammatical tense marking. As for the form of lhapesh itself, it appears to have the -esh ‘valency increasing’ [val] suffix that temporal adverbs can bear (see 7.2.3.); Seelwische (2016:78) has lhapa ‘already’ (ya); our corpus does not have this, but does have lhapa7 ‘at least’. It is probable that lhapesh is based on this (lhapa+-esh → lhapesh). 80. nôke ‘this here’, ‘here’; //nô-ke// [vis-dem]. There are many cases of nôke in this and other texts; its internal structure is not shown in the glosses, glossed rather just as ‘this’ or ‘here’. 81. ye=7e, variant of yi=7e [3act.be.at=loc] ‘he/she/it is at’. 82. //lhech=7e// [lhech’e]. There are many instances of lhech=7e in this text; all are phonetically [lhech’e]. 83. //yich=7in// [yich’in]. 84. k’akjô ‘armadillo species (quirquincho) (Tolypeutes matacus). 85. awuktsej ‘white-lipped peccary’ (quimilero) (Tayassu pecari). 86. paw7elh ‘others’ //pa-wa-7elh// [rep-pl.nhum-pl.excl]. 87. yiktsu7uk ‘white silk floss tree’ (yuchán, palo borracho) (Chorisia insignis (Ceiba insignis)). 88. Chagua (called chaguar in other regions of Argentina, called caraguatá in Paraguay) is a yucca-like plant of the Bromeliaceae family whose fibers are processed and made into thread for weaving. 89. yi-snatesh ‘he/she makes/builds/constructs it’ appears to be based on a verb root -snat + -esh ‘valency increasing’ [val]; however in our corpus, -snat never appears without -esh; it appears to be treated as just /-snatesh/ with no recognition of any suffix. 90. Note that they ground the meat and mixed it with chagua and ate it in balls of this.