ii Verbs
There are four verbs in Tekemak 'Iipay Aa that begin with the particle ii, thought to be the bare form of the verb wii, "says". This ii is uninflected and followed by a regular-looking verb, which may or may not be a valid word on its own. Only this second part of the verb is inflected for person. Here we will go through the four verbs and their meanings.
1. ii way (ii waaych), talks to
Singular:
1. ii 'ay, I talk to him 2. ii may, you talk to him 3. ii way, she talks to him 1st & 2nd person objects: ii nyay, I talk to you, he talks to me ii 'enyemay, you talk to me ii may, he talks to you Plural: 1. ii 'aaych, we talk to him 2. ii maaych, you talk to him 3. ii waaych, they talk to him |
Examples of use: Metaat ii 'ay. I spoke to your father. Nyaapum ii wayches 'iikwichvu. Then she spoke to the man. (From The Flute Player by Ted Couro) |
ii way is the most common of the ii verbs, taking a direct object, either in bare form or with -vu, as the thing being spoken to. As you can see, only the second part of the verb, "way", is inflected for person. "Way" on its own is not its own verb, but looks similar to waayp, speaks. As with all these verbs, the spelling of ii as a separate particle is merely a spelling convention; the two parts of ii way are not to be separated by any other words.
Hypothetically, an imperative and nominal could also be formed, though examples have not been seen in writing:
Ii kay! Talk to him!
Ii kaaych! Talk to him! (said to a group)
Ii kway. The one who talked to him.
Hypothetically, an imperative and nominal could also be formed, though examples have not been seen in writing:
Ii kay! Talk to him!
Ii kaaych! Talk to him! (said to a group)
Ii kway. The one who talked to him.
2. ii wehall, is bothering him
ii 'ehall, I'm bothering him
ii mehall, you're bothering him, he's bothering you
ii wehall, he's bothering her
ii nyehall, I'm bothering you, he's bothering me
ii 'enyemehall, you're bothering me
There is no plural. The dictionary translates this word in the progressive tense, "is bothering". Wehall is not a verb on its own, though it sounds very similar to the verb wehwall "digs". An example sentence provided in the dictionary is:
Ii 'enyekehallh kemaaw! Don't bother me!
ii mehall, you're bothering him, he's bothering you
ii wehall, he's bothering her
ii nyehall, I'm bothering you, he's bothering me
ii 'enyemehall, you're bothering me
There is no plural. The dictionary translates this word in the progressive tense, "is bothering". Wehall is not a verb on its own, though it sounds very similar to the verb wehwall "digs". An example sentence provided in the dictionary is:
Ii 'enyekehallh kemaaw! Don't bother me!
3. ii wenak (ii penak), sits on it
Sg:
1. ii 'enak, I sit on it
2. ii menak, you sit on it
3. ii wenak, he sits on it
Pl:
1. ii 'epenak, we sit on it
2. ii mepenak, you sit on it
3. ii penak, they sit on it
Evidently a combination of ii and wenak (penak), "sits", with the ii implying a transitive action. As you can see, the "wenak" of ii wenak inflects in a perfectly predictable manner identical to the regular verb wenak. We can therefore construct the following forms:
Ii kenak! Sit on it!
'Ilyvu ii kepnak! Sit on the log! (plural, with optional penultimate shwa deletion)
Ii kunak. The one who sat on it.
1. ii 'enak, I sit on it
2. ii menak, you sit on it
3. ii wenak, he sits on it
Pl:
1. ii 'epenak, we sit on it
2. ii mepenak, you sit on it
3. ii penak, they sit on it
Evidently a combination of ii and wenak (penak), "sits", with the ii implying a transitive action. As you can see, the "wenak" of ii wenak inflects in a perfectly predictable manner identical to the regular verb wenak. We can therefore construct the following forms:
Ii kenak! Sit on it!
'Ilyvu ii kepnak! Sit on the log! (plural, with optional penultimate shwa deletion)
Ii kunak. The one who sat on it.
4. ii sekwiiy (ii setuukwiiyp), gives up, quits
Sg.
1. ii 'esekwiiy, I give up
2. ii mesekwiiy, you give up
3. ii sekwiiy, he gives up
Pl.
1. ii 'esetuukwiiyp, we give up
2. ii mesetuukwiiyp, you give up
3. ii setuukwiiyp, they give up
ii sekwiiy is the only verb of this set that is not an explicitly transitive verb. However, one can imagine that this word had a transitive meaning at its origin, like how one can "give oneself up" to something in English. Sekwiiy is not a verb on its own; the most similar verb is sekwiirp, "is tied around the head".
Like with the other ii verbs, we can make an imperative and nominal:
Ii keskwiiy! Give up!
Ii kuskwiiy. The one who gave up.
1. ii 'esekwiiy, I give up
2. ii mesekwiiy, you give up
3. ii sekwiiy, he gives up
Pl.
1. ii 'esetuukwiiyp, we give up
2. ii mesetuukwiiyp, you give up
3. ii setuukwiiyp, they give up
ii sekwiiy is the only verb of this set that is not an explicitly transitive verb. However, one can imagine that this word had a transitive meaning at its origin, like how one can "give oneself up" to something in English. Sekwiiy is not a verb on its own; the most similar verb is sekwiirp, "is tied around the head".
Like with the other ii verbs, we can make an imperative and nominal:
Ii keskwiiy! Give up!
Ii kuskwiiy. The one who gave up.