Únyöhsatkus Unöhkwëö'

2 "Të'ë kúwá?" u'ki'. "Te'sawênö' n-ís'a?"
"What for?" I said. "Didn't you use to have one of your own?"

3 "Túkës nae, kwá he utâtsö' kwa' khu."
"Yes, but it's broken."

4 "Sô nae ha'tekakôt ëshethahas?" u'kheyaôtô'.
"Whom do you have to talk to?" I asked her.

5 "Shakuyénôs nae ha'tekakôt ëeyínôk."
"I have to call the police."

6 "Shakuyénôs? Nae na'u't nö'ôwë? Ku'yákö nae sôká'?"
"The police? What happened? Did somebody get shot?"

7 "Thë'ë nae shô. Huyêthö únyöhsatkus."
"No. The neighbor planted a watermelon."

8 "Nae uka'ö n-únyöhsatkus akeka'has. Kanuô' khu nekhu ëhsyêthu' kës," u'ki' twakesnye'ö.
"I really like watermelons. But it's hard to grow them around here," I said.

9 "Áyê' nae shô uköhsút nekhu kaehtíyú tahke. Te'tsú' n-únyöhsatkus su'tsi usnúwe' utôní."
"It seems the ground is too fertile. The watermelons are worn out from growing so fast."

10 "Të'ë niuyêthö?" u'kheyaôtô'.
"How did he plant it?" I asked her.

11 "Nê nö'tewatëtae' nö'kê' waashëötë' kaka'ta'. Aké uæhtak kuwánë nö'wö'he't. Ha'tekakôtak shô këëwëë'ke hu'syô. Su'tsi kuwánë. Tyêkwa si hu'wa'së't he këhôte'. Tewathihtö ka'skwææ'shö'ö. Kanyu' waekánât huikê unöhkwëö'ke hukáwé hutihëhtö, ne'hu nô ne' wai wihíak ha'tekakôt shakuyénôs ëeyínôk."
"Last week he staked it to a white oak. Wow, did it ever get big fast. He had to ship it out on a flatcar. It was so big. Suddenly it fell off into the river. It broke up on the rocks. When I saw him paddling down the river on a seed, I thought I had better call the police."

12 "Aké!" u'ki'.
"Aké!" I said.

13 "Ukwényô únë ëkatha'tô' n-ëyötwënu'yák?"
"Now can I borrow your telephone?"

14 "Niyu," u'ki'.
"Alright," I said.

Glossary

ukwényô -- it is possible, can

u- NsP/X prefix, -kweny- something be possible [Stative]

ëkatha'tô' -- I will borrow it

ë- Future prefix, -k- 1sA/A prefix, -atha'tö- borrow something [Simple]

n-ëyötwënu'yák -- telephone

n- short form of ne, ë- Future prefix, -y[ö]- FsA/A prefix, -at- Middle prefix, -wën- word, voice, -u'yak- throw something [Simple]. Literally "people will throw their voice".

tkusnye'ö -- she has said it

t- Cislocative prefix, -ku- FsP/X prefix, t...snye'- say something [Stative]

wa'ákë' -- she said

wa'- Factual prefix, -ak- FsA/Ë prefix [Irregular], -ë- say something [Simple]

të'ë kúwá? -- why? What for?

u'ki' -- I said

u'- Factual prefix, -k- 1sA/I prefix, -ë- say something [Simple]

te'sawênö' -- you didn't use to have one, it didn't used to belong to you

te'- Negative prefix, -s- 2sP/A prefix, -awë- something belongs to someone [Stative Past]

n-ís'a -- you

n- short form of ne, ís'a you

túkës -- really, actually, indeed, yes

nae -- [particle]

kwá he -- however, but

utâtsö' -- it is broken

[u]- NsP/A prefix, -atætsö- something breaks [Stative]

kwa' -- completely, fully, totally

khu -- and, also, too, as well

sô -- who?

nae -- [particle]

ha'tekakôt -- it is necessary, must, have to

ha'te- Translocative + Dualic prefixes, -ka- NsA/X prefix, -köt- do something(?) [Stative]

ëshethahas -- you will talk to them

ë- Future prefix, -she- 2s/3dp/X prefix, -thani- talk to someone [Simple]

u'kheyaôtô' -- I asked her

u'- Factual prefix, -khey- 1s/Fs/A prefix, -aötö- ask someone something [Simple]

shakuyénôs -- police, policeman

shaku- Ms/Fs prefix, -yenö- catch someone or something [Habitual]. Literally "he catches people".

nae -- [particle]

ha'tekakôt -- it is necessary, must, have to

ha'te- Translocative + Dualic prefixes, -ka- NsA/X prefix, -köt- do something(?) [Stative]

ëeyínôk -- I will call him

ë- Future prefix, -hey- 1s/Ms/I prefix, -ínök- call someone [Simple]. We might expect this form to be eénôk, at least in NYMingo.

shakuyénôs -- police, policeman

shaku- Ms/Fs prefix, -yenö- catch someone or something [Habitual]. Literally "he catches people".

nae -- [particle]

na'u't -- what (kind of thing)?

nö'ôwë -- how it happened

nö'- Partitive + Factual prefixes, -aw- NsP/Ë prefix, -ë- something happens [Simple]

ku'yákö -- someone has been shot

ku- FsP/X prefix, -i'yak- shoot something (or someone?) [Stative]. Note that the /i/ at the beginning of the verb base disappears here.

nae -- [particle]

sôká' -- someone, somebody

thë'ë -- no, not

nae -- [particle]

shô -- just, only

huyêthö -- he has planted it

hu- MsP/C prefix, -yëthw- plant something [Stative]

únyöhsatkus -- watermelon

ú- NsP/L prefix, -nyöhs- melon, -atku- something be raw [Habitual]?? Literally "raw melon".

nae -- [particle]

uka'ö -- it is delicious, it tastes good

u- NsP/X prefix, -ka'ö- something tastes good, something is good to eat [Stative]

n-únyöhsatkus -- watermelon

n- short form of ne, ú- NsP/L prefix, -nyöhs- melon, -atku- something be raw [Habitual]?? Literally "raw melon".

akeka'has -- I like to eat it

ake- 1sP/X prefix, -ka'h- like to eat something [Habitual]

kanuô' -- it is hard, difficult

ka- NsA/C prefix, -nuö- something be hard, difficult [Stative]

khu -- and, also, too, as well

nekhu -- [particle]

ëhsyêthu' -- you will plant it

ë- Future prefix, -hs- 2sA/C prefix, -yëthw- plant something [Simple]

kës -- repeatedly?

u'ki' -- I said

u'- Factual prefix, -k- 1sA/I prefix, -ë- say something [Simple]

twakesnye'ö -- I have said it

t- Cislocative prefix, -wake- 1sP/X prefix, t...snye'- say sumething [Stative]

áyê' -- it seems

nae -- [particle]

shô -- just, only

uköhsút -- it is more X, it is Xer

u- NsP/X prefix, -köhs- face, +ut- something stands [Stative]. Literally "it's face is standing"??

nekhu -- [particle]

kaehtíyú -- the soil is good, fertile ground

ka- NsA/C prefix, -heht- ground, soil, dirt, -iyu- something be good, nice [Stative]. Note that the /h/ at the beginning of the incorporated noun base -heht- is weak, and so is dropped when it comes between two vowels.

tahke -- very, much, too much, overly

te'tsú' -- it is worn out

n-únyöhsatkus -- watermelon

n- short form of ne, ú- NsP/L prefix, -nyöhs- melon, -atku- something be raw [Habitual]?? Literally "raw melon".

su'tsi -- so very

usnúwe' -- it is fast

u- NsP/X prefix, -snuw- be fast, quick-moving [Stative]

utôní -- it grows

[u]- NsP/A prefix, -atöni- grow [Stative]

të'ë -- what?

niuyêthö -- how he has planted it

ni- Partitive prefix, -hu- MsP/C prefix, -yëthw- plant something [Stative]. Note that the /h/ of the MsP/C prefix is weak, and so is dropped when it comes between two vowels. Note also that the combination of the particle të'ë and the Partitive prefix on this word yields the meaning how?.

u'kheyaôtô' -- I asked her

u'- Factual prefix, -khey- 1s/Fs/A prefix, -aötö- ask someone something [Simple]

nê -- [particle]

nö'tewatëtae' -- last week?

nö'kê' -- ???

waashëötë' -- he staked it to something??

wa- Factual prefix, -ha- MsA/X prefix, -shëöt- stake something to something else [Simple]. Note that the /h/ of the MsA/X prefix is weak, and so is dropped when it comes between two vowels.

kaka'ta' -- white oak tree

ka- NsA/X prefix, -ka't- white oak tree, -a- Linker Vowel, -' Noun Suffix

aké -- wow, gee, golly, gosh, boy

uæhtak -- after??

kuwánë -- it is big

k- NsA/O prefix [Irregular], -uwanë- something be big [Stative]

nö'wö'he't -- it became that size

nö'- Partitive + Factual prefixes, -w- NsA/A prefix, ni...a'he'- something becomes a particular size [Simple]. Note the regular change of the /a/ at the beginning of the verb base into /ö/.

ha'tekakôtak -- it was necessary, had to

ha'te- Translocative + Dualic prefixes, -ka- NsA/X prefix, -köt- do something(?) [Stative Past]

shô -- just, only

këëwëë'ke -- on the railroad

k[ë]- NsA/I prefix, -iëwë- wire, -ë- Linker Vowel, -'ke Locative Suffix

hu'syô -- he has hauled it

hu- MsP/X prefix, -'sy- haul, pull, drag something [Stative]

su'tsi -- so very

kuwánë -- it is big

k- NsA/O prefix [Irregular], -uwanë- something be big [Stative]

tyêkwa -- sudden;y, all of a sudden

si -- ??

hu'wa'së't -- it fell there

hu'- Translocative + Factual prefixes, -w- NsA/A prefix, -a'së'- something falls [Simple]

he -- where

këhôte' -- the river is (there)

k[ë]- NsA/I prefix, -ih- river, -ö- Linker Vowel, -t- exist [Stative]

tewathihtö -- it has broken apart into pieces

te- Dualic prefix, -w- NsA/A prefix, te...athiht- something breaks apart into pieces [Stative]

ka'skwææ'shö'ö -- rocks, stones

ka- NsA/X prefix, -'skwa- rock, stone, -æ- Linker Vowel, -'- Noun Suffix, -shö'ö Plural Suffix. Note that the /a/ at the end of the noun base is changed into /æ/ before the Linker Vowel /æ/.

kanyu' -- when

waekánât -- I saw him

wa- Factual prefix, -he- 1s/Ms/X prefix, -kánæt- see something?? [Simple]

huikê -- there

unöhkwëö'ke -- on the seed

u- NsP/C prefix, -nöhkwë- seed, -ö- Linker Vowel, -'ke Locative Suffix

hukáwé -- he was paddling

hu- MsP/X prefix, -kawe- to row, paddle [Stative]

hutihëhtö -- he was going downstream

h[u]- MsP/A prefix, -atihëht- go downstream [Stative]

ne'hu -- [particle]

nô -- [particle]

ne' -- [particle]

wai -- [particle]

wihíak -- I thought??

ha'tekakôt -- it is necessary, must, have to

ha'te- Translocative + Dualic prefixes, -ka- NsA/X prefix, -köt- do something(?) [Stative]

shakuyénôs -- police, policeman

shaku- Ms/Fs prefix, -yenö- catch someone or something [Habitual]. Literally "he catches people".

ëeyínôk -- I will call him

ë- Future prefix, -hey- 1s/Ms/I prefix, -ínök- call someone [Simple]. We might expect this form to be eénôk, at least in NYMingo.

aké -- wow, gee, golly, gosh, boy

u'ki' -- I said

u'- Factual prefix, -k- 1sA/I prefix, -ë- say something [Simple]

ukwényô -- it is possible, can

u- NsP/X prefix, -kweny- something be possible [Stative]

únë -- now, at this time

ëkatha'tô' -- I will borrow it

ë- Future prefix, -k- 1sA/A prefix, -atha'tö- borrow something [Simple]

n-ëyötwënu'yák -- telephone

n- short form of ne, ë- Future prefix, -y[ö]- FsA/A prefix, -at- Middle prefix, -wën- word, voice, -u'yak- throw something [Simple]. Literally "people will throw their voice".

niyu -- alright, okay

u'ki' -- I said

u'- Factual prefix, -k- 1sA/I prefix, -ë- say something [Simple]