french grammar

[Pat Warren]

Has anyone ever seen the french lakota grammar by Slim Batteux?

It's listed on amazon.fr. Last time I tried I wasn't able to get it through
ILL and it's been over a year (at least) since the library at the U of MN
ordered it, but it still hasn't shown.

I'd really like to see if it's good or not. 318 pages seems like a decent
size for a grammar. Is it original work or a translation of something else?
Is it accurate? Does anyone know him?

Here's what is on the author's personal web page about the book (english
translation in parentheses is mine):


>>>>

> Je parle Sioux/Lakota

(I speak Sioux/Lakota)

> Published by Editions du Rocher (Nuage Rouge)
> "Les Sioux ont du sang français dans les veines"

(The Sioux have French blood in their veins.)

> La langue Sioux se compose de trois dialectes : le Dakota, le Lakota et
le Nakota. Le Lakota est le plus répandu. C'est la deuxième langue
amérindienne après le Navajo.

(The Sioux language is composed of three dialects: the Dakota, Lakota, and
Nakota. The Lakota is the most widespread. It's the second american indian
language after Navajo.)

> L'alphabet Sioux est le même que le nôtre. Il ne manque que 6 lettres :
d,f,q,r,v et x. Ils utilisent des petits signes supplémentaires au-dessus
de certaines lettres. Cela change le son. Les phrases sont composées à
l'envers. Par exemple, si vous dites:'Chaque jour, cette femme va à la
ville' en lakota, ça donne : 'Jour chaque, femme la cette ville vers va'

(The Sioux alphabet is the same as ours. There are only six letters
missing: d,f,q,r,v, and x. They use extra little symbols above certain
letters. That changes their sound. Sentences are put together backwards.
For example, if you say "every day this woman goes to town" in lakota, you
get "day every woman the this town to goes.")

> Au début c'est une gymnastique qui n'est pas facile à apprendre.
L'avantage du lakota c'est qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup de temps. le passé est
signalé par un petit mot avant le verbe.

(At the start this is a trick that's not easy to learn. The advantage of
lakota is that there aren't a lot of tenses. The past is marked by a small
word before the verb.)

> Il faut savoir que tous les Sioux ont du sang français dans les veines.
Tout simplement parce que les Français qui ont peuplé la Louisiane, ont
sympathisé avec les Sioux. Ces derniers les ont bien accueillis parce
qu'ils venaient faire du troc. Et non pas leur voler leurs terres.

(It must be known that the Sioux have French blood in their veins. It's
just because the french that settled Louisiana got along with the Sioux.
The latter welcomed them because they came to trade. And not to steal their
land.)

>>>>>
http://www.1212.com/a/batteux/slim.html

I'm also curious about the comment that "The Sioux have French blood in
their veins". That seems like a very...complex...thing to say.

Thanks in advance,
Patrick