<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hello again, Dave, Thanks for that cordial greeting in Romanian & English! Your command of Româneşte looks pretty comprehensive to me :)! In answer to your query, I guess my fascination for Lakhotaiyapi all began,(probably) when, as an avid juvenile TV-viewer of the "Mickey Mouse Club", way back in the mid to late 1950's, on a Wednesday ("Anything Can Happen Day"), they had a Lakota kid, (prob. about 9 or 10 years of age,), all bedecked in traditional garb - buckskins, hairpipe breastplate, and impressive feathered war-bonnet (the lot!) ,saying some words in Lakota for us, and telling us about the Oyate's way of life. I can still see his face, & hear him saying : "Lakhota", "washte"; and of course, "thathanka"! :D (I wonder who he was, & what ever became of him? : but perhaps it is better not to know, eh?) My next contact after that, (apart from the usual Hollywood Western-derived "noble/devilish Sioux" stereotypes), would have been at Sydney University's Fisher Library stack, decades later, when one day I unearthed an long-neglected, yellowing original 1939 edition of Father Buechel's Grammar of Lakota. At the time, I was supposed to be studying Ancient Greek & Latin, so I took it back in, making a mental note of its location. Then about 15 years after that, I remembered it & acquired it, via interlibrary loan. (By this time I had transferred to Melbourne, abt. 600 miles south.) Also, Hollywood had "roped me in" again, with "Dances with Wolves", but this time I could actually, for the first time ever, hear Lakhota spoken! I was hooked forever, by the sheer beauty of its sound, and I decided to knuckle down and make a serious effort to learn it. Then came the Information Superhighway...! So, you're doing research on Biloxi, eh? I must say Dave, that I find it unutterably melancholy to hear that a language has become extinct, and that you have nobody to speak it with! In my forebears' language, Irish Gaelic (an Ghaeilge), we have a wistful proverb that translates : "Bitter is the bird, which sings for (or 'to') itself alone." I am interested in all Native American languages, but particularly in the Siouan, Na-Dene, Algonquian & Muskogean families. If I had another lifetime,(alas!) I would probably try to learn something at least about all the Siouan ones! Now regarding Biloxi & Ofo, I do know where I can get my hands on a copy of J.O. Dorsey & J. Swanton's dictionary - guess what?: another library stack! :)) I'd like to learn a little, so then you will have someone to write/speak to, if you like. Dave, could you kindly tell me what that phrase you wrote : (Ąkįxtispeye taneksąye ade) means exactly, and if you have time, how it "deconstructs", grammatically speaking? Would you recommend Einaudi's Grammar (1976)? Toksa ake, Clive. P.S. I must admit, I had never even heard of Rumsien Ohlone - I've just looked it up in Mithun : I notice that she lists a "Rumsey" under the Wintuan family, and a "Rumsen(Runsien)" (Utian-Miwok-Costanoan). Would I be correct it assuming yours to be the latter? Penutian seems to be such a vast family, does it not? P.P.S. How do you say "Hello"/"How are you?"/"I'm well"/"See You" etc. in Biloxi? :) <DIV> <BR><DIV><DIV>On 27/06/2006, at 4:31 AM, David Kaufman wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size="3"><EM>> Hello to Dave also, Bună dimineaÈ›a! Ce mai faceÈ›i? Mă bucur că vă văd : ÃŽncîntat să vă cunosc! Unde aÈ›i învățat romîneÅŸte? Eu am învățat cîteva cuvinte ÅŸi expresii româneÅŸte. Noroc! La revedere! ></EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size="3"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman">G’day Clive! Bine aţi venit la lista! Placere! Am învăţat Româneşte de sine. Adeverat, nu putesc vorbi româneşte foarte bine. </FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">Îmi place limba româna, dar putesc să vorbesc alte limbe latine mult mai bine. </FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman">I'm impressed with your Lakota ability! How did you get interested in Amerindian languages, particularly Siouan? <FONT face="Times New Roman">Ą</FONT>k<FONT face="Times New Roman">į</FONT>xtispeye taneks<FONT face="Times New Roman">ą</FONT><FONT size="2"><FONT size="3">ya ade.</FONT> <FONT size="3">That is,</FONT> </FONT>I'm working on Biloxi, but the problem is there's no one left to speak it with! The other Amerindian language I'm currently involved with is Rumsien Ohlone (Penutian), also unfortunately extinct, helping to transcribe John P. Harrington's voluminous piles of notes on the language.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman">La revedere!</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Dave</FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT><BR><BR><B></B><BLOCKQUOTE class="replbq" style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR>> ________________________________<BR>><BR>> From: <A href="mailto:owner-siouan@lists.colorado.edu">owner-siouan@lists.colorado.edu</A> on behalf of David Kaufman<BR>> Sent: Sun 6/25/2006 1:12 PM<BR>> To: <A href="mailto:siouan@lists.colorado.edu">siouan@lists.colorado.edu</A><BR>> Subject: Re: Yuecetu - Re: A great Polymath<BR>><BR>><BR>> Vreau sa stiu ce întelesul Lakotei.<BR>><BR>> Approximate translation from Rumanian: What's this say?<BR>><BR>> (I know the first is Lakota and the second Hungarian. Would my <BR>> Dakota dictionary be of any help here?)<BR>><BR>> Dave<BR><BR>><BR>> Do you Yahoo!?<BR>> Next-gen email? Have it all with the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta. <BR>> <HTTP:><BR evt="40791/*http://" us.rd.yahoo.com="">> advision.webevents.yahoo.com/handraisers><BR>> <WINMAIL.DAT><BR><BR></WINMAIL.DAT></HTTP:></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><DIV> <BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><HR size="1">Sneak preview the <A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=40762/*http://www.yahoo.com/preview"> all-new Yahoo.com</A>. It's not radically different. Just radically better.</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>