OP /the/ vs. /dhaN/ (fwd)

[Rory M Larson]

John wrote:
> I wish the Fletcher & LaFlesche body parts list had articles attached!

With that segue, why don't I start posting the results
I've been getting for these parts?  A couple of months
ago, I started a project of trying to establish the
canonical positional for each of the main body parts
listed in Fletcher & La Flesche for use with our class
in using stative verbs.  We ran out of time, the
students graduated, and we lost our captive audience.
Now I've gone through one short list of body parts
twice with the speakers, once around March, and again
in the last couple of weeks.  The session last night
was shadowed by the recent passing of a very prominent
member of the Omaha community, who was related to both
of our speakers and who had been a major resource and
support for them.  This may have caused the fatigue
factor John mentioned to kick in a bit sooner than
usual.

  ppa'  as 'head', takes =dhoN
        as 'nose', takes =kHe
          (I believe John's Dorsey research indicated
           that 'nose' took =tHe.  In both the March
           and the May session, our speakers, or at
           least the elder one, were definite that
           'nose' took =kHe.)

  noNs^ki'  the head excluding the face; the 'jug' as
            our younger speaker calls it, takes =dhoN,
            or possibly =kHe.

  nitta'    the external ear, or earlobe.  The word
            usually takes =tHe, but the set is usually
            referenced.  My March notes indicate only
            =tHe for both of them.  Last night, the
            speakers uncertainly suggested =kHe for
            a single earlobe.

  noNxi'de  the inner ear in written tradition, or the
            whole ear according to our speakers.
            Perhaps the domain of noNxi'de is expanding
            at the expense of nitta', which is moving
            to the periphery.  This term apparently
            always takes =tHe.

  iNde'     the face proper, excluding the noNs^ki'
            and the ears.  This seems to take =dhoN,
            though I have an optional =kHe listed in
            my March notes.

  ppe'      the forehead, or 'bumper' as our younger
            speaker often calls it.  This takes =kHe,
            as in: Ppe' kHe oNni'e.  "My forehead hurts."

  iNs^ta'   'eye', takes =dhoN at least in the singular.
            Sets of eyes, especially of animals, may take
            =tHe.

  noNz^i'ha  the mane of hair on the human head.  I wasn't
             able to pin this down last night, but in March
             I was told that the positional was normally
             =dhoN, but that it could be =kHe if it was
             long and hanging.

  i'         'mouth', takes =tHe.  I believe =tHe is
             probably the normal classifier for an
             aperture.

  hi'        'tooth' or 'teeth'.  This normally takes kHe,
             in reference to the (linear) row of teeth.
             The positional for a single tooth is less clear.
             In March, I thought we had decided that a single
             tooth was =tHe, but last night after a philosophical
             struggle and a cartoon picture of myself with only
             one snaggle tooth, the speakers held out that even
             a single tooth was still =kHe.

  nu'de      'throat', or more generally 'neck'.  (It seems that
             ppa'hi refers specifically to the back of the neck,
             or nape.)  This seems to take =kHe.

  z^u'ga     'body', takes =kHe.

  moN'ge     'chest'.  I have both =kHe and =tHe in my notes,
             possibly due to a difference between the speakers.
             The elder one seems to prefer =kHe.

  moNse'     'breast'.  My March notes have =tHe (in contrast
             to moN'ze kHe), but last night we came down to =kHe
             after aesthetic objections to the alternate term
             'udder' were heard.

  ni'xa      'belly'.  In March it was =tHe, but last night we
             got =kHe.

  i(N)kHe'di  'shoulders'.  According to our speakers, this is
              the whole contiguous area of the shoulders together
              with the upper back with the shoulder blades.  Their
              conception of it vacillated between singular and
              plural.  Both singular =kHe and set =tHe seem to
              be allowed.  The traditional spelling of this term
              is iNk(H)ede, but our speakers seem to pronounce it
              ikHe'di.  (I'm not sure if the k is aspirated or not.)

  noN'kka     'back'.  According to our speakers, this is the
              back below the shoulder blades, or everything
              between the i(N)kHedi and the ni'de.  This seems to
              take =kHe, though I have an alternate =tHe in my
              March notes.

  a'          'arm'.  One arm is =kHe; both are =tHe.

  noNbe'      'hand'.  In March, this took =tHe whether singular
              or plural, which agrees with Dorsey.  Last night
              a single hand was =kHe, probably due to positional
              burnout.

  noNbe'hi    'finger'.  This seems to take =kHe in the singular,
              or =tHe for the set.

  s^a'ge      'nail'.  Uncertain.  In March, it was =kHe for one
              and =tHe for the set.  Last night, it was =tHe for
              one and =kHe for the line of nails.  Then when I
              tried to mimic one of John's examples from Dorsey
              to see if I could get =ge by subordinating the s^a'ges
              to an intermediate segment, I got: noN'bes^age tHe,
              "set of nails on hands".  Mental note: next time I
              meet with the speakers, move this to the top of the
              list and get a couple of sentences.

  ni'de       'buttocks'.  This seems to be generally =kHe, as in:
              Ni'de kHe winoN'tHe koN'bdha.  "I want to kick you in
              the butt", (spontaneously offered to me once by the
              elder speaker).  There is also an expression for
              spanking someone, however, in which ni'de takes =dhoN.

  z^ega'      the whole (mammalian) leg.  This seems to take =kHe in
              the singular and =tHe for the set.

  z^i'be      the leg, especially the front of the segment between
              knee and ankle.  The speakers said last night that
              z^i'be ttoN'ga kHe meant "the bigger part of the thigh".
              My March notes have =kHe for one and =tHe for the set.

  s^inoN'oNde  'knee'.  This seems to take =dhoN for one knee, and
               =tHe for the set.

  si'          'foot'.  This seems to take =kHe for one foot, and
               =tHe for the set.

  wahi'        'bone'.  A single bone generally takes =kHe.  The
               speakers told me in March that wahi' tHe meant a
               whole skeleton.

  ha'          the skin or hide of an animal.  This seems to take
               =dhoN.

  xiNha'       human skin.  This also seems to take =dhoN.  In general,
               I think =dhoN is used for things like skin, cloth or
               paper.

  noN'oNde     'heart'.  This takes =dhoN.

  pa'xdhu      'nostril'.  This normally takes =tHe, possibly in
               reference to the set.  It was decided last night
               that =kHe was used in the singular.  But when I
               asked for the sentence "My nostril is plugged",
               I was given: Pa'xdhu tHe oNwoN'ske.  I suspect
               that tHe is used even in the singular, and that
               the =kHe derives from positional burnout.

  noNbe's^ka   'fist'.  This seems to take =dhoN, as in:
               NoNbe's^ka dhoN oNttoN'ga, "My fist is big".

  i'ki         'chin'.  This seems to take =tHe, as in:
               I'ki tHe oNhiN's^kube, "My chin is hairy".

  dhe'ta       'navel'.  This seems to take =tHe, as in:
               Dhe'ta tHe oNs^na'be, "My navel is dirty".


Anyway, that's what I have so far.  There is a lot more
uncertainty in this list than we would like, but I hope
John will find it a good start!

Rory