animate wa-

[Rory M Larson]

Dakotan wicha- implies animate plural patient,
like English "them".  Does it also imply that
the topic it refers to is specific, definite,
known to the listener, rather than indefinite
or hypothetical?  (I recall that waN and waN'z^i
in Lakhota make that distinction.)  If I use
wicha-, does it imply that I am referring to
a particular, known set of animate beings, or
could I also use it to refer to 'folks in general'?


Linda wrote:
> I find at least two examples in Boas and Deloria
> (1941:53) where wa- has animate reference:
>
> wao'hola   'to be respectful to persons, things'
> wao'kiya   'to help people'

This wa- might be referring to 'people in general',
but might it not as well be referring to the
quality or practice of being respectful or helpful,
without any particular object of interest?  (I'm
thinking of John's suggestion that wa- serves to
background the object of a transitive verb, so as
to emphasize the activity rather than the object
of a particular action.)

Rory