'Aashaa peyaach meswiir.
Meswiirvech 'ily wenak tewaa. Nyaapum 'ilyvek waam 'emaayvem weman; 'esuw hemay. Meswiirvech 'emaayvi weman tewaa, tewaa, tewaa. Nyaapum 'esuw hemays; hellyaawch 'ematvi ewaa tewaa. Meswiirvech 'emaayvek rur wii; hellyaawvum weman tuuyiw. Yuupitt hellyaawvu meswiirvech hetuu; puuch 'esuwvu 'ilyvem aakewayk. meswiir small hawk 'ily tree, branch 'emaay the sky rur wii swoops yuupitt suddenly hetuu grabs aakewayk brings back |
Definite Article
Bare nouns such as 'ily can mean "a tree" or "the tree". To clarify that there is a single, specific thing in question, the definite article is used in the form of a suffix after the noun. When these suffixes are added, the thing turns from "a thing" to "the thing".
-vu Basic form, used for the accusative case.
-vech From -ch, nominative form.
-vi From -i, meaning "at, in, on".
-vek From -k, meaning "from".
-velly From -lly, meaning "into, inside".
-vem From -m, meaning "to, with".
See if you can identify the meanings of all the words and suffixes in the following passage:
'Iikwichech 'ewaally wenak tewaa. Nyaapum 'ewaavek chepam 'ehaasillyvem wamp. Hashuupillch 'ehaavi ewaa. 'Iikwichvech hashuupillvu ewuuw. 'Epal achepach. Hashuupillvu 'epalvem wettim. 'Iikwichvech hashuupillvu 'ewaavem tuuyiw. 'Iikwichvech paasinyvem hashuupill kumenyaayvu wesaaw.
A man is sitting inside a house. Then he leaves the house and walks to the ocean. A fish is in the water. The man sees the fish. He takes out a gun. He shoots the fish with the gun. The man brings the fish to the house. The man eats the tasty fish with his wife.
Bare nouns such as 'ily can mean "a tree" or "the tree". To clarify that there is a single, specific thing in question, the definite article is used in the form of a suffix after the noun. When these suffixes are added, the thing turns from "a thing" to "the thing".
-vu Basic form, used for the accusative case.
-vech From -ch, nominative form.
-vi From -i, meaning "at, in, on".
-vek From -k, meaning "from".
-velly From -lly, meaning "into, inside".
-vem From -m, meaning "to, with".
See if you can identify the meanings of all the words and suffixes in the following passage:
'Iikwichech 'ewaally wenak tewaa. Nyaapum 'ewaavek chepam 'ehaasillyvem wamp. Hashuupillch 'ehaavi ewaa. 'Iikwichvech hashuupillvu ewuuw. 'Epal achepach. Hashuupillvu 'epalvem wettim. 'Iikwichvech hashuupillvu 'ewaavem tuuyiw. 'Iikwichvech paasinyvem hashuupill kumenyaayvu wesaaw.
A man is sitting inside a house. Then he leaves the house and walks to the ocean. A fish is in the water. The man sees the fish. He takes out a gun. He shoots the fish with the gun. The man brings the fish to the house. The man eats the tasty fish with his wife.