syntactic problem with Siouan applicatives

Rankin, Robert L rankin at ku.edu
Wed Dec 5 21:50:35 UTC 2001


>Take the word chaga 'ice; for ice to form, freeze'.  There is also
achaga 'to become ice upon', to use Buechel's definition.  My recollection
(I can't find my notes at the moment) is that if you use this with a
personal pronoun, that pronoun is the object of the locative: amachaga
'ice formed on me (e.g. my eyebrows)',

Fascinating.  And to think I used to believe that Siouan languages were
"real" languages. My immediate reaction, then, is to wonder how one would
say "I turned to ice on it."  If not amachaga, then what?

Bob



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