Position WordsIn English, we use words like in, on, under, above, etc. to describe an object's location in relation to something else. We call these prepositions because they come before the word they apply to: on the table, in the house, etc. Kumeyaay has words like this too, but they come after the word they apply to, and so are called postpositions.
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For the most basic spatial relations, 'Iipay Aa uses a set of four suffixes which attach to nouns:
-i/-vi, "at, in"
-lly/-velly, "inside, into" -k/-vek, "from, out of" -m/-vem, "to, with (instrument)" |
'Uunyaavi pehkwii.
'Ewaavi wecham. 'Aawvelly wetom. 'Aaskaylly tuuyull. Nyehattk aashukp. 'Ehaasillyvek neyiw. Matetayem naa. 'Aatimem wenyay. |
He stopped in the road.
She left it at home. He threw it into the fire. She hid it inside a pot. He fell off his horse. They came from the ocean. They went to the mountains. He hunted with a bow. |
For other types of relations, 'Iipay Aa uses a separate word placed after the noun, which we will go through below.
List of Postpositions
'Emaay
'Eyaak 'Ukuwaay 'Uumak 'Uuyuk Emak Eyuk Etuy Helyepay |
Above, on top of, up
At the foot of, at the bottom of Below, underneath, down, inside Outside in back Outside in front Behind, in back of In front of In the middle of Near, close to |
Above and Below
'Emaay: Above, on top, up. As a verb, can also mean "high, tall". As a noun, it can mean "sky, heaven".
'Ukuwaay or kuwaay: Below, under, down. Can also mean "inside" something like a building.
'Eyaak or yaak: At the bottom, at the foot of.
Hattepaach 'ewaa 'emaay pehkwii tuuyuuws.
The coyote is standing on top of the house.
'ewaa 'emaay = on top of the house
'Ehaa 'ukuwaay nyewaayp.
He lived under (inside) the water.
'ehaa 'ukuwaay = under the water
Matetay 'eyaak hemaa tuuyaq.
He was sleeping at the foot of the mountain.
matetay 'eyaak = at the foot of the mountain
Depending on the verb, you can also use these words to describe motion to a location:
Kunyaawvech 'ewily 'emaay wekull.
The jackrabbit climbed on top of the rock.
'ewily 'emaay = (the place) on top of the rock, the object of wekull
'Iikwiichvech hellykaay 'ukuwaay nekehap.
The men got (went in) under the pine tree.
hellykaay 'ukuwaay = under the pine tree, the object of nekehap (pl. of wehap, goes in)
'Ukuwaay or kuwaay: Below, under, down. Can also mean "inside" something like a building.
'Eyaak or yaak: At the bottom, at the foot of.
Hattepaach 'ewaa 'emaay pehkwii tuuyuuws.
The coyote is standing on top of the house.
'ewaa 'emaay = on top of the house
'Ehaa 'ukuwaay nyewaayp.
He lived under (inside) the water.
'ehaa 'ukuwaay = under the water
Matetay 'eyaak hemaa tuuyaq.
He was sleeping at the foot of the mountain.
matetay 'eyaak = at the foot of the mountain
Depending on the verb, you can also use these words to describe motion to a location:
Kunyaawvech 'ewily 'emaay wekull.
The jackrabbit climbed on top of the rock.
'ewily 'emaay = (the place) on top of the rock, the object of wekull
'Iikwiichvech hellykaay 'ukuwaay nekehap.
The men got (went in) under the pine tree.
hellykaay 'ukuwaay = under the pine tree, the object of nekehap (pl. of wehap, goes in)
Adding suffixes to postpositions
It is possible to add suffixes like -m, -i, and -k to postpositions to make the direction of motion more explicit.
Hattepaavech 'ily 'emaayem um.
The coyote looked towards the top of the tree.
'ily 'emaayem = towards to top/top part of the tree
Puy 'ehaa kuwaayvi tewaa.
He sat there under the water.
'ehaa kuwaayvi = under the water (-vi just makes it more clear that he's in there)
Hattepaach 'ewaa kuwaayk weyiw.
The coyote came from underneath the house.
'ewaa kuwaay = under the house, 'ewaa kuwaayk = from under the house
'Elymaam siny 'ewily 'emaayem wekull.
The girl climbed to the top of the rock.
'ewily 'emaay = on top of the rock, 'ewily 'emaayem = to on top of the rock
'Emat kumeyay yaakvi hemaa tewaas.
He was sleeping at the bottom of a cliff.
kumeyay yaakvi = at the foot of the cliff (-vi: the action took place there)
Hattepaavech 'ily 'emaayem um.
The coyote looked towards the top of the tree.
'ily 'emaayem = towards to top/top part of the tree
Puy 'ehaa kuwaayvi tewaa.
He sat there under the water.
'ehaa kuwaayvi = under the water (-vi just makes it more clear that he's in there)
Hattepaach 'ewaa kuwaayk weyiw.
The coyote came from underneath the house.
'ewaa kuwaay = under the house, 'ewaa kuwaayk = from under the house
'Elymaam siny 'ewily 'emaayem wekull.
The girl climbed to the top of the rock.
'ewily 'emaay = on top of the rock, 'ewily 'emaayem = to on top of the rock
'Emat kumeyay yaakvi hemaa tewaas.
He was sleeping at the bottom of a cliff.
kumeyay yaakvi = at the foot of the cliff (-vi: the action took place there)
In front, behind, in the middle
Eyuk: In front
Emak: In back, behind
Etuy: In the middle (etuu + i)
Kaar eyukvi nyii kepehkwih kemaaw!
Don't ever stand in front of a wagon!
'Ewaa emakem wenuw tewaa.
He ran to the back of the house.
'ewaa emak = behind the house, 'ewaa emakem = to behind the house
'Uunyaa etuy nyatuuyiwch, iichaa...
As he was standing in the middle of the road, he thought...
'unyaa etuy = in the middle of the road
Emak: In back, behind
Etuy: In the middle (etuu + i)
Kaar eyukvi nyii kepehkwih kemaaw!
Don't ever stand in front of a wagon!
'Ewaa emakem wenuw tewaa.
He ran to the back of the house.
'ewaa emak = behind the house, 'ewaa emakem = to behind the house
'Uunyaa etuy nyatuuyiwch, iichaa...
As he was standing in the middle of the road, he thought...
'unyaa etuy = in the middle of the road
Outside
'Uuyuk = outside in front
'Uumak = outside in back
'Uuyuk ewaah umaaw, 'uumak ewaas.
It's not out front, it's outside in the back.
If you just want to say "outside" in general, you can just say 'uuyuk.
'Uumak = outside in back
'Uuyuk ewaah umaaw, 'uumak ewaas.
It's not out front, it's outside in the back.
If you just want to say "outside" in general, you can just say 'uuyuk.
Near
Helyepay: Near, close to
'Ewaa helyepay ta'waa.
I was near the house.
'Ewaa helyepay ta'waa.
I was near the house.
The limitation on postpositions
Postpositions like 'emaay and 'ukuwaay can only be used with verbs describing basic direction of motion, such as wekull (goes up) and wehap (goes in). They do not work with verbs describing the manner of motion, such as wenuw (runs) and wettuk (jumps). To describe both where a subject is going and how they got there, you need to combine sentences. For example:
You cannot say, "The jackrabbit ran on top of the rock."
Instead, you say:
Kunyaawvech wenuwch 'ewily 'emaay wekull.
The jackrabbit ran and went up on top of the rock.
Instead of saying, "The men ran underneath the pine tree," you say:
'Iikwiichvech wenaawch hellykaay 'ukuwaay nekehap.
The men ran and got underneath the pine tree.
You cannot say, "The jackrabbit ran on top of the rock."
Instead, you say:
Kunyaawvech wenuwch 'ewily 'emaay wekull.
The jackrabbit ran and went up on top of the rock.
Instead of saying, "The men ran underneath the pine tree," you say:
'Iikwiichvech wenaawch hellykaay 'ukuwaay nekehap.
The men ran and got underneath the pine tree.