Osage

[carolyn quintero]

Carolyn's comments:

        I can't tell who wrote the message below.  I'm having trouble
following the Osage, since 'follow' in Osage is odha'ha when referring to
physically trailing after someone or something, or respecting certain
'teachings' such as Christian precepts.  The other 'follow' that I know of
is otxaN', often reduplicated otxaN'txaN, with its variant okxaN' and
okxaN'kxaN and even otkxaN.  This one is found in expressions such as 'next
chief', 'the following one'.
         I also show accent on o- in the instance of  in o'kxaNkxai which
the speaker says means 'generation after generation'.   As Osage is wont to
do, this word lost the nasality of the second a.

        The Osage male declarative is no longer present in today's Osage
(unfortunately) as near as I can tell.  At least I've never heard it.

Carolyn


Message text written by INTERNET:siouan at lists.colorado.edu
>The Osage for 'to follow' is opha.  This is one of the stems where
Omaha-Ponca have h for ph.  The Omaha plural is =i.  The Osage plural is
=pi.  I believe the analog of the Omaha =hau (earlier =ha) male
declarative is =a, in Osage, and that this merges with =pi as =pa.  The
older Omaha-Ponca female declarative is =he.  Osage =e also merges with
the plural =pi, as =pe.  From this I reconstruct *opha=p=e as the Osage
equivalent of uha=i=hau.  This is not attested, as far as I know, and
presumably does not exist.