#western abenaki:reference

[guillemelgat]

Table Vocab:

tawipodi - table

tawipodiagen - tablecloth

wlôganinôkwkil - plate / utensil

napkin - napkin

anasiat - plate

nsakwakw - knife

nimatgwahigan - fork

amkwôn - spoon

kwatsis - cup

ahazasit - glass

potôiia - bottle

siwani-kwatsis - salt shaker

tipwabelinodasis - pepper shaker

sogali-kwat - sugar bowl

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Trees:

anaskemezi - oak

anibi - elm

wawabibagw - poplar

wajoimizi - beech

mahlakws - ash

senomozi - maple

maskwamozi - birch

wdopi - alder

kokokhôakw - fir

saskib - elder

kanozas - willow

môlôdagw - cedar

wigbimizi - basswood

alnisedi - hemlock

pasaakw - red pine

koas - white pine

msazesso - white spruce

mskak - black spruce

pôbnôdageso - tamarac/larch

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VERBS (TA Independent Indicative - Direct Forms) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Forms

The following are the forms for a DEFINITE object, meaning the object is either a pronoun or would be preceded by "the" in English:

n(d)-...-ô = I ... him/her // n(d)-...-ôk - I ... them

k(d)-...-ô = you (sing.) ... him/her // n(d)-...-ôk - you (sing.) ... them

w(d)-...-ô = she/he ... him/her/them

n(d)-...-ôna = we (excl.) ... him/her // n(d)-...-ônawak - we (excl.) ... them

k(d)-...-ôna = we (incl.) ... him/her // k(d)-...-ônawak - we (incl.) ... them

k(d)-...-ôwô = you (pl.) ... him/her // n(d)-...-ôwôk - you (pl.) ... them

w(d)-...-ôwô = they ... him/her/them

**Note that the 3rd person forms have an obviative object, so there's no difference between singular and plural objects.**

These are the forms for an INDEFINITE object, meaning the object would be preceded by "a(n)" in English:

n(d)-...-ô = I ... a(n) ...

k(d)-...-ô = you (sing.) ... a(n) ...

-a = she/he ... a(n) ...

n(d)-...-ôbna = we (excl.) ... a(n) ...

k(d)-...-ôbna = we (incl.) ... a(n) ...

k(d)-...-ôba = you (pl.) ... a(n) ...

-ak = they ... a(n) ...

The indefinite forms do not differentiate between singular and plural objects.

 Examples

Here are examples of the various endings, taken from Joseph Laurent's Abenaki Grammar:

N'wajônô ases = I have the horse

K'wajônô ases = You (sing.) have the horse

W'wajônô asesa = She has the horse

N'wajônôna ases = We (excl.) have the horse

K'wajônôna ases = We (incl.) have the horse

K'wajônôwô ases = You (pl.) have the horse

W'wajônôwô asesa = They have the horse

Here are the plural forms:

N'wajônôk asesak = I have the horses

K'wajônôk asesak = You (sing.) have the horses

W'wajônô asesa = She has the horses

N'wajônônawak asesak = We (excl.) have the horses

K'wajônônawak asesak = We (incl.) have the horses

K'wajônôwôk asesak = You (pl.) have the horses

W'wajônôwô asesa = They have the horses

Here are the indefinite forms:

N'wajônô ases = I have a horse

K'wajônô ases = You (sing.) have a horse

Wajôna asesa = She has a horse

N'wajôbna ases = We (excl.) have a horse

K'wajôbna ases = We (incl.) have a horse

K'wajôba ases = You (pl.) have a horse

Wajônak asesa = They have a horse

Notice that the third person object takes the obviative -a, and there is no difference between the singular and plural forms ("She has the horse" and "She has the horses" are said the same way).

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Fall Vocabulary in Western Abenaki

The Basics

tagwôgw - fall

Skamonkas - September (lit. corn maker moon)

Penibagos - October (lit. leaf falling moon)

Mzatanos - November (lit. freezing river maker moon)

Foliage

abazi - tree

wanibagw - leaf

koas - pine

anaskemezi - oak

anaskemen / wacil - acorn (red/black and white acorn, respectively)

senomozi - maple

askaskwi(gen) - (it is) green

mkwi(gen) - (it is) red

wizôwi(gen) - (it is) yellow

Harvest

kikawôgan - harvest

ki / ahki - field

wasawa - pumpkin

skamon - corn

aples - apple

pata - pie

minôbo - jam

lago - stew

Changing Weather

tkawansen - (it is) cool

wdakiskat - (it is) damp

soglôn - rain

pesgawan - foggy

skweda - fire

wlabeda - (it is nice and) warm

Animals

sips - bird

kokokhas - owl

mkazas - crow

nohama - turkey

wôbtegwa - (wild) goose

madagenilhas - bat

minowiz - cat

Clothes

pitkôzon - coat

potsal - boots

asolkwôn - hat

ahaliljômwkik - gloves

medasal - socks

kalizad - flannel (cloth)

(Inspired by this post)

[guillemelgat]

VERB (TA Independent Indicative - Inverse Forms) - Western Abenaki Grammar

First and Second Person Object Forms

n-...-egw = he/she ... me // n-...-egok = they ... me

k-...-egw = he/she ... you (sing.) // k-...-egok = they ... you (sing.)

n-...-egonna = he/she ... us (excl.) // n-...-egonnawak = they ... us (excl.)

k-...-egonna = he/she ... us (incl.) // k-...-egonnawak = they ... us (incl.)

k-...-egwô =  he/she ... you (pl.) // k-...-egwôk = they ... you (pl.)

 Obviative Subject and Proximate Object Forms

w-...-go(n) = he/she/they (obv.) ... him/her

w-...gonô = he/she/they (obv.) ... them

 Examples

Nd'amisji k'sagamegw = My dog will bite you (sing.)

N'kezalmegok = They love me

N'kezalmegonna = He loves us

N'kezalmegonnawak = They love us

Wd'ihligo = He (obv.) said to him

Wd'ihligonô = He (obv.) said to them

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VERBS (AI Independent Indicative) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Affixes for AI Verbs

nia > n(d)-...

kia > k(d)-...

agma > ...-o/-Ø

niona > n(d)-...-bna

kiona > k(d)-...-bna

kiowô > k(d)-...-ba

agmôwô > ...-oak/-ak

Note that for obviative subjects the agma form adds an -a to the ending (but there is no difference in the agmôwô form). The subject would be obviative if, for example, it was possessed by another person (as in, "Her horse is grey"). The -Ø for the agma form means that there is no suffix added on.

 Example Conjugation

abi = sit

nia > nd'abi

kia > kd'abi

agma > abo(a)

niona > nd'abibna

kiona > kd'abibna

kiowô > kd'abiba

agmôwô > aboak

 Irregular Verbs

Some verbs are irregular, but there are two general categories of verbs to cover these exceptions. The first is verbs that end in -a for all persons, and the second is verbs that end in -ô for first/second persons and -a for third person.

aloka = work

nia > nd'aloka

kia > kd'aloka

agma > aloka

niona > nd'alokabna

kiona > kd'alokabna

kiowô > kd'alokaba

agmôwô > alokak

paiô = come

nia > n'paiô

kia > k'paiô

agma > paia

niona > nd'paiôbna

kiona > kd'paiôbna

kiowô > kd'paiôba

agmôwô > paiak

 Negative Forms

There are also special negative forms for the verb, most of which contain the affix -w, and also doubling/devoicing of consonants, so b turns to pp in the plural forms. Note that the affix is added on before the suffix of the verb, so it looks like it's sandwiched in the middle of the word. The word nda translates as "not" in English. Here is an example conjugation with abi:

nia > nda nd'abiw

kia > nda kd'abiw

agma > nda abiwi(a)

niona > nda nd'abippna

kiona > nda kd'abippna

kiowô > nda kd'abippa

agmôwô > nda abiwiak

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VERBS (Imperative) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Intro

Imperatives in this section include both commands ("Eat your vegetables!") and suggestions ("Let's eat some kale!"). They also include negative commands ("Don't eat that cookie!") and negative suggestions ("Let's not eat too many of those coffee candies!").

 AI Forms

I've put a verb between brackets to give an idea of what each command translates as.

kia > -Ø = [run]!

agma > -j = Let him/her [run]!

kiona > -da = Let us [run]!

kiôwô > -gw = [run (you all)]!

agmôwô > -dij = Let them [run]!

NOTE: There are no purely first person command forms (i.e. no "I" or exclusive "we").

 II Form

The only II forms are for third person subjects, and they are the same:

-ej = Let it/them [dry out]!

 TA Forms

Definite and indefinite forms are the same.

kia > -a = [help him]!

agma > -ôj = Let him/her [help him]!

kiona > -ôda = Let us  [help him]!

kiôwô > -ôgw = [help him] (you all)!

agmôwô > -ôôdij = Let them [help him]!

 TI Forms

Once again, definite and indefinite forms are the same.

kia > -a = [do something]!

agma > -ej = Let him/her [do something]!

kiona > -emoda = Let us [do something]!

kiôwô > -emogw = [do something (you all)]!

agmôwô > -emoodij = Let them [do something]!

 Negative

Negative imperatives use the special particle akwi, which translates to "do not" in commands or "not" in suggestions. Besides this, the forms are the same as the regular imperative forms.

 Examples

AI Forms:

Pidiga! - Come in!

Saossida! - Let's go out!

Kita! - Look!

Micida! - Let's eat!

Okaozemidij! - Let them have a cow!

Abij! - Let her sit!

II Forms:

Wôbigej - Let it/them be white

TA Forms:

Wajônej asesa - Let him have a horse

Wajônôda ases - Let us have a horse

TI Forms:

Wajôna awighigan! - Have a book!

Wajôna awighigan! - Have a book (you all)!

Negative forms:

Akwi okaozemikagw! - Don't have a cow (you all)!

Akwi okaozemida - Let him have no cow

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VERBS - Past Tense

General Rules for Formation

Most forms are made by adding on -b or -za/-ssa at the end of the present tense form. Just as a note: the following forms may or may not apply to all verbs, I sort of took them from some examples given in the paper.

 AI Forms

Affirmative:

nia > n-...-ib

kia > k-...-ib

agma > -ob

niona > n-...-ibenob

kiona > k-...-ibenob

kiowô > k-...-ibôb

agmôwô > -obanik

Negative:

nia > oda n-...-ib

kia > oda k-...-ib

agma > oda ...-iwib

niona > oda n-...-ippenop

kiona > oda k-...-ippenop

kiowô > oda k-...-ippôp

agmôwô > oda ...-iwibanik

 TA Forms

Affirmative indefinite:

nia > n-...-ôb

kia > k-...-ôb

agma > -ab

niona > n-...-ôbenob

kiona > k-...-ôbenob

kiowô > k-...-ôbôb

agmôwô > -abanik

Affirmative definite:

nia > n-...-ôb

kia > k-...-ôb

agma > w-...-ôbani

niona > n-...-ônnôb

kiona > k-...ônnôb

kiowô > k-...-ôwôb

agmôwô > w-...-ôwôbani

Negative definite:

nia > oda n-...-ôwib

kia > oda k-...-ôwib

agma > oda w-...-ôwibani

niona > oda n-...-ôwinnôb

kiona > oda k-...-ôwinnôb

kiowô > oda k-...-ôwiwwôb

agmôwô > oda w-...-ewiwwôbani

 TI Forms

Affirmative indefinite:

nia >  n-...-emob

kia > k-...-emob

agma > -emob

niona > n-...-emebenob

kiona > k-...-emebenob

kiowô > k-...-emebôb

agmôwô > -emobanik

Affirmative definite:

nia > n-...-emenab

kia > k-...-emenab

agma > w-...-emenab

niona > n-...-emenanob

kiona > k-...-emenanob

kiowô > k-...-emenôb

agmôwô > w-...-emenôb

Negative definite:

nia > oda n-...-emowenab

kia > oda k-...-emowenab

agma > oda w-...-emowenab

niona > oda n-...-emownanop

kiona > oda k-...-emownanop

kiowô > oda k-...-emownôp

agmôwô > oda w-...-emownôp

 **NOTE: No negative indefinite forms are given, so I'll have to look more into those to find out how they work. I’ll also need to do this for plural subjects and for first-/second-person subjects.**

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VERBS (Negative TA Independent Indicative - You-Me and Indirect Forms) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Negative Me-on-You Forms

oda k-...-elo = I do not ... you (sing.)

oda k-...-eloppa = I do not ... you (pl.)

oda k-...-eloppena = we do not ... you

 Negative You-on-Me Forms

oda k-...-iw = you (sing.) do not ... me

oda k-...-ippa = you (pl.) do not ... me

oda k-...-ippena = you do not ... us

 Negative Indirect Forms

oda n-...-egowi = he/she does not ... me

oda n-...-egowiak = they do not ... me

oda n-...-egowinna = he/she does not ... us (excl.)

oda n-...-egowinnawak = they do not ... us (excl.)

oda n-...-egowinna = he/she does not ... us (incl.)

oda n-...-egowinnawak = they do not ... us (incl.)

oda k-...-egowi = he/she does not ... you (sing.)

oda k-...-egowiak = they do not ... you (sing.)

oda k-...-egowiwwô = he/she does not ... you (pl.)

oda k-...-egowiwwôk = they do not ... you (pl.)

 Examples

Oda k'kezalmelo = I don't love you (sing.)

Oda k'kezalmegowi = He doesn't love you (sing.)

Oda k'kezalmeloppena = We don't love you

Oda k'kezalmiw = You (sing.) don't love me

Oda k'kezalmegowiwwôk = They don't love you (pl.)

Oda n'kezalmegowinna = He doesn't love us (excl.)

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NOUNS - Western Abenaki Grammar

Grammatical Gender

animate (AN) = referring to people, animals, other living things or powerful things inanimate (IN) = generally referring to lifeless things *NOTE: these distinctions can sometimes be arbitrary/unclear, just as with gender distinctions in most language*   Plural endings

-ak/-ik/-ok/-k = animate -al/-il/-ol/-l = inanimate

Default ending is -ak/-al

kaoz > kaozak = cows

sen > senal = stones

-ik/-il after -d or -t, and these change to -j

agwizid > agwizijik = root vegetables

-ok/-ol after -w, which disappears; also occasionally after -m or -n

wanibagw > wanibagol = leaves

-k/-l after vowels -a or -ô (but NOT -i or -o, which take -ak/-al)

adebakwa > adebakwal = beans

Obviative

When 2 different 3rd person forms (basically any noun that doesn't fall under "I/we/you" in English) appear together in a sentence, one must be marked as obviative or "other", while the other is marked as proximate. The obviative form is generally marked with an -a, is only used for animate nouns, and does not change between singular and plural. More examples will appear in later lessons.

Locative

-k/-ek/-ik = "at/in", ending denoting where something is

senek = at the stone

kpiwik = in the woods

talpodik = at/on the table 

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Words about stuff in the sky:

nanibôssat / pôgwas - moon

pôgwasek - moonlight

alakws - star

kchi alakws - evening/morning star (aka Venus)

kizos - sun

asokw - cloud

soglôn - rain

managwôn - rainbow

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PREVERBS/AUXILIARIES - Western Abenaki Grammar

Abenaki has a special category of verbs called preverbs or auxiliary verbs, which come before the main verb. They are the following four verbs:

wigi - like to/want to

kadi - want to

kizi - can/have already/finished

achwi - must/need to

With these preverbs, the prefix attaches to the preverb instead of the main verb (but the main verb keeps all its suffixes). For example:

N'kadi saossa - I want to go out

Also note the special suffix -ba, which is more or less equivalent to "would" in English. This also attaches on to the preverb:

K'wigiba paiô spiwi nia? - Would you (sing.) like to come with me?

K'wigiba paiôba spiwi nia? - Would you all (pl.) like to come with me?

Note how in the second example the verb (paiô) still takes the ending that corresponds to the plural second person (-ba, which is NOT the same as the -ba at the end of wigi - that's the special suffix meaning "would").

For kadi and kizi, the second person prefix k- can be combined with the k at the beginning of the word, so they can either be written k'kadi/k'kizi or alternatively just kadi/kizi.

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VERBS (Independent Subordinative/Subjunctive) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Intro

The subordinative mood, sometimes called the subjunctive, is used in some types of subordinate clauses (parts of the sentence that aren’t the main clause). For example, here is a clause using the subordinate:

K’okaozemin - That you may have a cow

(At least from what I can tell) the subordinate is very similar to the subjunctive in other languages like Spanish, in that it represents a desire or something uncertain which has (or had) yet to become a reality.

AI Forms

Present affirmative:

nia > n-...-in

kia > k-...-in

agma > -in

niona > n-...-inana

kiona > k-...-inana

kiôwô > k-...-inô

agmôwô > -inô

Present Negative:

nia > oda n-...-iwwen

kia > oda k-...-iwwen

agma > oda ...-iwwen

niona > oda n-...-iwnana

kiona > oda k-...-iwnana

kiôwô > oda k-...-iwnô

agmôwô > oda ...-iwnô

Past Affirmative:

nia > n-...-inaza

kia > k-...-inaza

agma > -inaza

niona > n-...-inanossa

kiona > k-...-inanossa

kiôwô > k-...-inôssa

agmôwô > -inôssa

Past Negative:

nia > oda n-...-iwnaza

kia > oda k-...-iwnaza

agma > oda ...-iwnaza

niona > oda n-...-iwnanossa

kiona > oda k-...-iwnanossa

kiôwô > oda k-...-iwnôssa

agmôwô > oda ...-iwnôssa

 TA Forms (Indefinite)

Present Affirmative:

nia >  n-...-ôn

kia > k-...-ôn

agma > w-...-ôn

niona > n-...-ônana

kiona > k-...-ônana

kiôwô > k-...-ônô

agmôwô > w-...ônô

Present Negative (plausible but unconfirmed):

nia >  n-...-ôwwen

kia > k-...-ôwwen

agma > w-...-ôwwen

niona > n-...-ôwnana

kiona > k-...-ôwnana

kiôwô > k-...ôwnô

agmôwô > w-...ôwnô 

Past Affirmative:

nia >  n-...-ônaza

kia > k-...-ônaza

agma > w-...-ônaza

niona > n-...-ônanossa

kiona > k-...-ônanossa

kiôwô > k-...-ônôssa

agmôwô > w-...ônôssa

Past Negative (plausible but unconfirmed):

nia >  n-...-ôwnaza

kia > k-...-ôwnaza

agma > w-...-ôwnaza

niona > n-...-ôwnanossa

kiona > k-...-ôwnanossa

kiôwô > k-...ôwnôssa

agmôwô > w-...ôwnôssa

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VERBS (Introduction) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Types of Verbs

In Abenaki, it's important to distinguish between two types of verbs, transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs are verbs which have an object, while intransitive verbs don't. A good test to figure out whether a verb is transitive or intransitive is asking, "What do you [verb]?" If the question makes sense, as in, "What do you eat?", then the verb is transitive. If it doesn't, as in, "What do you sit?", then the verbs is intransitive. Another important differentiation in Abenaki is between verbs that apply to animate or inanimate subjects and objects. Combining these two frameworks we get the four main categories of Abenaki verbs:

AI - intransitive verb with an animate subject

II - intransitive verb with an inanimate subject

TA - transitive verb with an animate object

TI - transitive verb with an inanimate object

Note that the animacy of the subject is what matters for intransitive verbs, while it's the animacy of the object that is used for transitive verbs. This will be explained as we get into the verbs themselves.

Most animate intransitive verbs have an inanimate counterpart, and the same is true of transitive verbs. The different endings for these verbs will be discussed in their specific sections.

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VERBS (Order) - Western Abenaki Grammar

Another important concept to understand with Abenaki verbs is order. We'll talk about three types of orders here:

independent - this is the order used in the main clauses of sentences (so basically for the verbs in most sentences), it's used mostly in statements but also some questions

imperative - this is the order used for commands and suggestions

conjunct - this order is used in some dependent clauses (parts of the sentence that aren't a sentence on their own) and in some questions

The most commonly used order is independent, since it's needed for most sentences. You can easily tell if a sentence uses the independent order by the presence of the personal prefixes (nd-/kd-/wd-), which are used only for independent verbs (the reverse is not true - verbs in the independent order do not necessary have to have personal prefixes, so just because there are not prefixes does not mean that the verb is not independent).

Orders are divided into modes, of which the most common is the indicative. These will be discussed later when we get further into verbs, but it’s good to know that they exist.

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The seasons in Western Abenaki featuring pictures of Vermont during each of them:

pebon - winter

sigwan - spring

niben - summer

tagwôgw - autumn