Experiencer Verb (Re: Different /e/ phonemes in Siouan?)

Koontz John E John.Koontz at colorado.edu
Fri Aug 15 20:09:40 UTC 2003


On Fri, 15 Aug 2003, Rory M Larson wrote:
> I'm not familiar with the word ishkoNshkoN, and I may have
> gotten it wrong.  What I worked out with her, after some
> negotiation, was:
>
>   1s:  hE ama' oNnoN'shkoNshkoN
>
>   2s:  hE ama' dhinoN'shkoNshkoN
>
>   3s:  hE ama' noNshkoN'shkoN
>
> If this is right, it should be an active verb describing
> the activities of the (all-too) proximate lice with respect
> to a hapless patient.  I took the instrumental prefix to be
> noN- 'by foot', and I supposed the verb root to be
> shkoN 'to move'.  The reduplication of this root would
> indicate the massive plurality of the lice, and the
> sentence would then mean: 'The lice are running about
> all over the place with respect to [the patient]'.

Yeah, given the inflection it turns into a transitive verb, with lice as
agent and the afflicted person as the patient 'the lice foot-move one here
and there'.  Oh well.



More information about the Siouan mailing list