Opening page of "Brave Against the Enemy" (1944)

[Clive Bloomfield]

Here is some more dramatic & colourful  use of Lakhota in a modern  
context by Emil AFRAID-OF-HAWK.
It is the first page of his Lakhotaiyapi translation of the above  
B.I.A. reader, originally written in English by Ann NOLAN CLARK.

As previously, the second English version is certainly not intended  
to "improve" Nolan Clark, (which would be difficult to better, imho,  
as a piece of English writing, in any case) but as an aid to  
comprehension of the precise meaning of E. A-O-H's Lakhota, by  
attempting to approach it as closely as possible.


Thoka Wan Itkokhip Ohitike Kin He (Jan 1944) [Page 5]
=================================================================


Iyechinkala inyanke kin nahanh^ci tanyekel inajin shni han kaslohanye  
kin echunhan Louie Heh^logeca kah^'ol hiyuic'iye.


Nolan Clark text:

"Louie Hollow Horn was out of the car before it had slid to a halting  
stop."


Another translation :

"Before the car had properly come to a halt, and while it was still  
skidding/in a slide, Louie Hollow Horn launched himself out (of it)."


[NOTES:]

I think "shni haN" is prob. here a variant of "shni haNni" [=before].  
[See B-Md. under "haNni", p.78]






Iyechinkala inyanke huinat'age thepthepahe kin nahanh^ci nakiskis,  
najojo, k'oh^k'oh^ hingle kin ichahiya hiyuic'iye.


Nolan Clark :

"He was out of the car before its worn-out brakes had finished their  
protesting groans.

Another translation :

"He hurled himself (from the vehicle) amidst (lit. : intermingled  
with) (a sudden cacophony of) creaking, wheezing & rattling from the  
car's clapped-out brakes."

OR, maybe :

"The car's clapped-out brakes were still creaking, wheezing &  
rattling, as he executed his leap (from the vehicle)."







Atkuku kin huinat'age kin otokhetutan'inshniyan kunsyakel namahehe  
iyeya yanke he shunkthahu wash'aka k'inkhiyapi iyechelya hugmiyanyan  
un kah^apapi kin yutiktitan he.


Nolan Clark :

"His father stamped with doubtful but determined tread on the brake  
pedal and pulled on the wheel as if he were reining a stubborn horse."


Another translation :

"His father sat there pumping the brake-(pedal) in & out, pretending/ 
simulating/feigning total confusion/bewilderment, and (he) kept  
pulling on the steering-wheel, as if it were (the reins) of a stiff- 
necked pack-horse."


[NOTES:]

There are some really tricky vocabulary items there, eh? I found this  
sentence very troublesome, and I don't think I 've got the answers  
either!

E.g. 'kunsyakel' : I'm not sure exactly why the father would be  
'pretending/simulating' anything, at this point?!
Unless 'kunsyakel' here has a weakened sense, meaning not much more  
than : "apparently/seemingly/to outward appearances"?
But of course for that idea we have s'elecheca/s'ele/s'e/sekse.

I translate "otokhetutan'inshniyan" as : "bewilderment/confusion/ 
being unaware what is happening (going on)", on the basis of context  
only. Otherwise I'm unsure.
I note that the expression also occurs, probably as a Stative Verb  
meaning "to be doubtful/unclear", on page 17 (3rd. Paragraph, line 24).

"Doubtful but determined" in Nolan Clark seems a rather cute  
oxymoron, doesn't it! I'm not sure what it means though.

However, it seems evident that "hugmiyanyan un kah^api kin", means,  
as a unit  : "steering wheel" here. "the wheel (hugmiyanyan) by-means- 
of-which (un) they-drive".
I'm not sure why hugmiyan has been reduplicated though.








Hokshila kin takuni aphe shni. Iyechinka inyanke kin etanhan  
hiyuic'iye si kin makha icah^take shni han inyank iyaye s'elecheca.


Nolan Clark :

"The boy did not wait. He was out of the car, running,  almost before  
his feet touched the ground."

Another translation :

"The boy waited for nothing : he hurled himself from the car, (and)  
seemingly, before his feet even touched the ground, he was off &  
running."







Iyechinka inyanke kin lila nakhata sanp iyaya chankhe un inyanke kin  
ehash nahoh^pah^pa nablokaskaska s'e he, na tokhecela kitanh^ci  
iyasni, inchin, hechun shni kinhan ungnaheh^ci akhe iyopteyapi kte  
kin wowash'ake chola iyopta okihi kte shni nachece.


Nolan Clark :

"The over-heated car engine coughed and hiccupped, reluctant to still  
itself lest it might never have the power to start again."

Another translation :

"The car('s engine) had gotten overheated (lit. being hot had gone  
over/beyond), and, as a result, the motor, which seemed to be  
coughing & hiccuping excessively, at last subsided only gradually &  
with difficulty/grudgingly, since if it hadn't been that way (i.e.  
since, without such reluctance), it might probably lack the power to  
(re-)start, had they wished to start it again right away."


[NOTES:]

This sentence is extremely difficult, imho! I have puzzled over it  
often, and still haven't "solved" it to my satisfaction!

A boldly imaginative metaphor, this one. The car's engine seems to  
have become a living thing, endowed with its own volition! I had a  
car like this one once! ;(

The expression "uN inyaNke" seems to mean "motor/engine" : i.e.  
"(means) by which it runs/goes".







Iyechinka inyanke kin hothanka na bu na lila nahunhunsya he kin  
hokshila kin hena iyasni kte aphe shni.
Thanchan zizipelakacha tokhel chinka, oakanyanke hektatanhan aunyan,  
makhata ipsice na oh^'ankhoya makhablu hihila kin opta inyank iyaye.


Nolan Clark :

"The boy had not waited for the noisy motor to die and for the old  
frame to stop its shivering.
He climbed over the back seat, jumped to the ground and started  
sprinting through the thick dust, all with one swing of his thin  
young body."


Another translation :

"The lad didn't wait for the car's loud & noisy rocking to grow still  
(die away). Climbing over the back seat with his slim, supple body,  
he leapt to earth, and set off at a rapid run through the soft  
(yielding?) dust."


[NOTES:]

It seemed to me that "tokhel chiNka" was a phrase descriptive of the  
boy's slim body : i.e. it was (behaved) "as he wished", in other  
words immediately 'responsive to his will', (as a youngster's body  
should be!). Therefore perhaps one might even translate it as : "fit/ 
athletic/supple/lithe"? A guess.

Not sure precisely what that "-kacha" suffix adds to the meaning of  
"zizipela"? Something like "evidently/manifestly" perhaps? [See B&D,  
p.29, Sect. 30]

"oakaNyaNke hektataNhaN" clearly enough means "back-seat".









Lila inyank iyayapi owichawashte kin hecha, inchin hupakshecaya  
hunathipya yankahan chankhe hu glukatin kta khoya un hechun.  
Iyechinka inyanke lazatanhan chanwophiye na wojuha kho okit'eya,  
owinja ophah^te na thiyobleca kho, heyubpi kin iyakanl iye, na  
thunkashitku kin kichi yankapi. Chankhe wakitanh^ci okablaya khuta  
glicu kin he lila owashte.


Nolan Clark :

"It was good to be running, to be stretching his cramped legs. The  
back of the car had been crowded with boxes and bags, bed-rolls and  
tent, besides himself and his grandfather. It was good to be out of  
it, to be free with the wind."

Another translation :

"To be off running was a terrific pleasure, for he had been sitting  
with his legs so doubled-over & cramped that he did so in order to  
stretch them also. He & his grandfather had been seated in the back  
of the car, squeezed in among the boxes & bags, the bedrolls, tents,  
and other packed-up luggage, so that to be at long last getting back  
down (khuta glichu) (onto the ground)  & to have freedom of movement  
(okablaya) again, was really nice! "

[NOTES:]

Wonder why -wicha- patient-pronoun is infixed with owichawashte in  
the first instance, yet not with owashte, in the last?







Hokshila kin unzogin shkishkita wan theca cha un kin hu'ichinajojoya  
inyanke hena lila theca na hena thawa na tokhel hokshila wan  
ha'unkhiyapi kta iyecheca kin ogna wakhoyaka chankhe hena kiksuye.


Nolan Clark :

"As the boy ran his new corduroy trousers whistled to his running,  
reminding him that they were new and they were his, clothing him as a  
boy should be clothed."

Another translation :

"As the boy ran, the new corduroy pants which he wore made a  
whistling sound, as his legs rubbed together, and so he became  
conscious of the fact that they were brand-new, they belonged to him,  
and that he was clad in the style in which a boy should be dressed."


[NOTES:]

"shkishkita" can mean "rough-surfaced; not smooth, or level". Boas &  
Deloria (pp. 28 & 64) give the meaning as "corrugated".
"uNzog^iN shkishkita" might well be "corduroy jeans/pants".

  "huichinajojojya" : Splendid adverb! "legs whistling in contact  
with each other" [-ichi-"together/in contact"], I guess.

Pretty acute observation of minute everyday details, eh!








Pte ole hokshila thawanap'in wan theca cha, pte ole kin tokhel  
nap'inpi s'a kin iyechel thahu kin iyakpehe, chankhe izethun kin  
yumnimnipi s'e he kin nagita lila iyowichakiphi na wicakicilapi kta  
iyecheca ognayan kage.
Lila pte ole hokshila ic'ila wan hecela shni, tkha unsh'unmakeci  
hecha s'elecheca.


Nolan Clark :

"The ends of his new cowboy handkerchief, tied cowboy-fashion around  
his neck, fluttered behind him making a satisfying and a convincing  
shadow.
He not only felt like a cowboy, but he looked like one. At least his  
shadow did."



Another translation :

"The little cowpoke's kerchief had been wrapped around his neck, just  
like the cowboys habitually wore them, in such a way that the loose  
ends, which stood out fluttering as it were (s'e), gave rise to/ 
created the appearance of a very pleasing & credible/convincing  
shadow (behind him).
It wasn't only a case of him considering himself to be a genuine  
cowboy, but as for that other thing (his shadow??), even it had the  
appearance of being one!" (i.e. of being the Genuine Article/the Real  
McCoy).



[NOTES:]

Another fascinating paragraph, fairly bristling with difficulties!
Uncannily sensitive & subtle observation on the part of Ann Nolan  
Clark, also. Must have been a translator's nightmare to "recast" into  
Lakhota!

B&D [pp. 43 & 44 - on Locative-prefix combinations : "i-a; i-o"] list  
a verb "iyápehaN" with the meaning "to wrap around; lit. "to wind on  
against".
The infixed "-k-" looks like a Possessive-Dative form of some  
description.

Can't find that word "izethuN" anywhere, so I suppose one has to try  
and work it out from the context, with some more or less "educated  
guesswork".
Luckily also, we have Nolan Clark's original English to at least  
point us in the right general direction, eh?

"-thuN" seems to be that familiar general Verb-formant, often added  
to roots to form verbs.[See Ingham,"Lakota", 2003, Sect. 4.10.1]

I note the existence of reduplicated adverb "zézeya/zézezeya" [B&D,  
pp.18 & 37] meaning "hanging/dangling/suspended".
There are also roots : "ze" meaning : "it is dangling (v., adv.)" at  
B&D, [p.65 (CV verbs)], and "za" meaning "to stand erect (plants,  
trees)" at B&D [p.31, Sect.32.].
My guess is that it might mean the "loose ends" of the boy's  
kerchief, which "dangle/stick out" from the knot tied at his neck.

"yumnimnipi s'e" : "twirling/swirling/fluttering, as it were/sort of  
fluttering"

I've interpreted "wicakicilapi" [=they believe in it; perh.<wicala  
(?)] to mean something like "believable/credible/convincing-- 
 >"realistic/authentic".
B-Mdict.[s.v., p.372] glosses word : "(v.) to comply; (adj.)  
positive." I wondered whether it might be a misprint for  
"wichakicilapi"<kicila, possibly Poss.-Dative form of  
'kila'=think,esteem; believe in (?).

"uNsh'uNmakeci" seems very mysterious & idiomatic in meaning, and  
Buechel-Manhart's somewhat confusing & laborious entry doesn't appear  
to provide all that much help.
It occurs to me that maybe it might refer to the lad's shadow :  "as  
for that other thing", i.e. the boy's  appearance as a cowboy was so  
credibile that even his shadow had the look of the "Real Thing", the  
"Genuine Article", as we say!


Needless to say, I am well aware that a lot of that is guess-work &  
supposition! :) Any comments from the pros would be most helpful!

Kind regards,

Clive.

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