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Coeur d'Alene (Cœur d'Alène, Snchitsu’umshtsn) is a Salishan language. It was spoken by only two of the 80 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States in 1999.[2] It is considered an endangered language. However, as of 2014, two elders in their 90s remain who grew up with Cœur d'Alène as their first language, and the use of the language is spreading among all age groups.[3]
Coeur d'Alene | |
---|---|
Snchitsu’umshtsn | |
Native to | United States of America |
Region | northern Idaho |
Ethnicity | Coeur d'Alene people |
Native speakers | 4 (2007)[1] |
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | crd |
Glottolog | coeu1236 |
ELP | Coeur d'Alene |
Coeur d'Alene is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
The Coeur d'Alene Names-Places Project visits geographic sites on the reservation recording video, audio, and still photos of Tribal elders who describe the site in both English and Coeur d'Alene languages.[4]
The Coeur d'Alene Tribal Language Program and elders have actively promoted the use of the language,[5][6] and have created computer sounds that use Snchitsu’umshtsn phrases.[7] Radio station KWIS FM 88.3 in Plummer, Idaho offers programming to preserve the Snchitsu’umshtsn language.[3][8]
Lawrence Nicodemus, "a retired judge and former tribal council member," [3] became a scholar of the language. He had worked with linguist Gladys Reichard in his youth, and went on to create a grammar, dictionary, and instructional materials. Nicodemus taught language classes until his death at age 94. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe's language program has "taught classes and worked with the language department to record more than 2,000 hours of audio and video."[3] Classes are also available at North Idaho College.
There are three different orthographies, giving the interpretations of previous scholarly works. Coeur d'Alene examples have been taken from the works of Nicodemus et al.[9] as well as from the COLRC website.[10]
Salishan/LPO | Nicodemus/Bitar | Reichard | English examples | Coeur d'Alene examples[9] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicodemus | Translation | ||||
a | a | a | father | ansh | angel |
e | e | ä, ê | yes | esel | two |
I | i | i | machine | hsil | five |
o | o | ɔ | law | hoy | Quit it! |
u | u | u | Jupiter | upen | ten |
ə | no form | ᴇ,ι, ụ | sofa | ||
p | p | p | spill | pipe’ | father |
pʼ | pʼ | pʼ | sp’it’m | bitterroot | |
b | b | b | boy | bins | beans |
m | m | m | mom | mus | four |
mʼ | ʼm | mʼ | |||
w | w | w | wagon | wi’ | he/she shouted |
wʼ | ʼw | wʼ | s'wa’ | cougar | |
t | t | t | star | sti’m | what |
tʼ | tʼ | tʼ | t'ish | sugar | |
d | d | d | dog | tmidus | tomatoes |
n | n | n | now | nune' | mother |
nʼ | ʼn | nʼ | 'nitshn | hotel | |
s | s | s | sun | sikwe’ | water |
c | ts | ts | tsitsi fly | tsunchtm | seven |
cʼ | tsʼ | ts’ | ts’or | salt/sour | |
š | sh | c | shell | shenn | he/she worked |
ǰ | j | dj | jar | lejp | he/she was stabbed |
č | ch | tc | church | chche’ye’ | mother’s mother |
čʼ | ch’ | tc’ | |||
y | y | y | yard | speyiy | enjoyment |
yʼ | ʼy | yʼ | 'yitsh | sleeping [Noun] | |
ɡʷ | ɡw, ɡu | ɡw, ɡu | linguist | Gwich | he/she saw |
kʷ | kw, k, ku, ko | kʷ, ku | queen | skwitstm | morning |
kʼʷ | kʼw, kʼu, kʼo | kʼʷ, kʼu, kʼụ | |||
xʷ | khw, khu, kho | xʷ, xu | *tsetkhw | house | |
q | q | q | qine’ | father’s mother | |
q’ | q’ | q’ | |||
qʷ | qw, qu, qo | qʷ | ‘oqws | she/she drank | |
qʼʷ | q’w, qʼu, qʼo | qʼʷ, qʼu | *sq’wtu | Cataldo | |
x̣ | qh | x̣ | |||
x̣ʷ | qhw, qhu, qho | x̣ʷ | *qhwatqhwat | duck | |
l | l | l | like | lut | no/not |
lʼ | ʼl | lʼ | |||
ɬ | ł | ł | |||
r | r | r | far | Sharshart | difficult |
rʼ | ʼr | rʼ | |||
ʕ | (, ) | R | st(in | antelope | |
ʕʼ | ʼ(, ʼ) | Rʼ | '(ewp | it dripped | |
ʕʷ | (w, (u | rʷ | (wi(lsh | he/she vomited | |
ʕʼʷ | ʼ(w, uʼ( | ṛʼʷ | |||
ʔ | ʼ | ʼ | uh-uh | tso'ot | he/she sobbed |
h | h | h | hen | hiskwist | my name |
Notes on writing systems
In Coeur d'Alene, there are eleven places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatoalveolar, lateral, labiovelar, uvular, labio-uvular, coronal pharyngeal, pharyngeal, labiopharyngeal, and laryngeal.[11][12] Doak identifies six manners of articulation: plain and glottalized voiceless stops and affricates, voiced stops and affricate, voiceless fricatives, and plain and glottalized resonants.[12][13][14][17]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | sibilant | lateral | labial | plain | labial | plain | labial | |||||
Stop | tenuis | p | t | t͡s ⟨c⟩ | t͡ʃ ⟨č⟩ | kʷ | q | qʷ | ʔ | |||
ejective | pʼ | tʼ | t͡sʼ ⟨cʼ⟩ | t͡ʃʼ ⟨čʼ⟩ | kʷʼ | qʼ | qʷʼ | |||||
voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ ⟨ǰ⟩ | ɡʷ | ||||||||
Fricative | s | ɬ ⟨ł⟩ | ʃ ⟨š⟩ | xʷ | χ ⟨x̣⟩ | χʷ ⟨x̣ʷ⟩ | h | |||||
Sonorant | plain | m | n | l | j ⟨y⟩ | w | ʕ | ʕʷ | ||||
glottalized | ˀm | ˀn | lˀ | jˀ ⟨yʼ⟩ | wˀ | ʕˀ | ʕʷˀ | |||||
Rhotic | plain | r | ||||||||||
glottalized | rˀ |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid | e[a] | (ə)[b] | o |
Low | a |
Coeur d'Alene is a morphosyntactically polysynthetic language. In Coeur d'Alene, a full clause can be expressed by affixing pronominal arguments and morphemes expressing aspect, transitivity and tense onto one verb stem (Doak,[13] 1997, p. 38). These affixes are discussed below.
The basic format of an intransitive thought as Doak[12] identifies can be found below:
Subject – Aspect – Root |
The intransitive subjects of Coeur d'Alene appear as clitics (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 53), and their forms as well as examples from Doak (1997,[12] p. 53-54) are found below:
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st Person Nom. | čn | č |
2nd Person Nom. | kʷu | kʷup |
3rd Person Abs. | Ø (null) | Ø (null) (-ilš) |
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person |
čngʷič čngʷič ‘I saw.’
|
čgʷič čgʷič ‘We saw.’
|
2nd person |
kʷugʷič kʷugʷič ‘You saw.’
|
kʷupgʷič kʷupgʷič ‘You folks saw.’
|
3rd person |
gʷič gʷič ‘He saw.’
|
gʷič(ilš) gʷič(ilš) ‘They saw.’
|
To clarify, the parentheses used around the suffix, -ilš, are meant to show that it is optional. This 3rd person plural, optional morpheme is used to give clarity that something within the sentence has plurality, whether it is the subject or the object is a matter of context. To illustrate this more clearly, Doak (1997,[12] p. 59) gives the example:
(1)
ʔácqʔəmstusilš
ʔacqɛʔ
go.out
-m
-m
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-s
-3.ERG
-ilš
-PL
ʔacqɛʔ -m -st(u) -Ø -s -ilš
go.out -m -CAUS.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG -PL
‘He took them out.’/ ‘They took it out.’ / ‘They took them out.’
There are three determiners and one oblique marker that help specify participants by joining clauses and their main predicates. Doak (1997,[12] p. 46-48).
Det | label | example |
---|---|---|
xʷε | det₁ | examples 2,3,4 |
cε | det₂ | example 4 |
ɬε | det₃ | example 1 |
ʔε | oblique | example 3 |
As a general rule, adjuncts that are introduced with a determiner specify the absolutive, accusative and nominative pronominal arguments, while both the determiner and oblique marker introduce ergative arguments. When an indefinite participant is not indicated on the predicate, the oblique alone is used to indicate this participant. — Doak (1997,[12] p. vii)
Examples:
(1)
ɬuʔ
prox₃
niʔt̓εk̓ʷus
lay.in.fire
ɬa
det₃
stqʷíl̇k̇ʷup
fire
ɬuʔ niʔt̓εk̓ʷus ɬa stqʷíl̇k̇ʷup
prox₃ lay.in.fire det₃ fire
He lay in the fire.
(2)
ni
Q
kʷup
you.folks
ʔáccqεʔ
go.out.PL
xʷε
det₁
Lynn
Lynn
hiɬ
CONN
kʷu
you
ʔε
person
ni kʷup ʔáccqεʔ xʷε Lynn hiɬ kʷu ʔε
Q you.folks go.out.PL det₁ Lynn CONN you person
Did you go out with Lynn?
(3)
xεmínčs
he.likes
xʷε
det₁
čεsčšípnc
he.will.chase.it
xʷε
det₁
ʔε
OBL
sčíčεʔ
horse
xεmínčs xʷε čεsčšípnc xʷε ʔε sčíčεʔ
he.likes det₁ he.will.chase.it det₁ OBL horse
The horse likes to chase.
(4)
xʷε
det₁
ʔε
OBL
núnεʔs
their.mother
hiɬ
and
cε
det₂
pípεʔs…
their.father…
xʷε ʔε núnεʔs hiɬ cε pípεʔs…
det₁ OBL their.mother and det₂ their.father…
Their mother and their father ...
The construction of a transitive sentence in Coeur d'Alene[12] is:
Aspect – Root – Transitivizer – Object – Subject |
There are three types of transitives in Coeur d'Alene: simple, causative, and applicative. The different transitivizers in Coeur d'Alene are listed below as described by Bischoff (2011,[17] p. 27 modified).
Transitivizing Morphemes | |
---|---|
Simple | -t |
-nt | |
Causative | -st(u) |
Applicative | -łt |
-tułt | |
-š(i)t |
The lone -t (-t) and the directive transitivizer -nt (-dt) are the most commonly used in Coeur d'Alene (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 27). Doak (1997,[12] p. 115) suggests that these two are alternative forms of one another with the lone -t appearing before a limited number of roots. The person markers that follow these forms are the same in function and form: agent subjects and patient objects. Most often, these transitivizers indicate that the subject is an agent in control of his or her actions (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 27).
(1)
t'ápncɛs
√t'áp
√shoot
-nt
-DIR.TR
-sɛ
-1.ACC
-s
-3.ERG
√t'áp -nt -sɛ -s
√shoot -DIR.TR -1.ACC -3.ERG
He shot me.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 114)
(2)
číłtəm
√číł
√give
-t
-TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-m
-NTE
√číł -t -Ø -m
√give -TR -3.ABS -NTE
'He was given it.' (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 28) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
The causative transitivizer -st(u) (-ct) has three primary functions. It is used to indicate customary aspect, causative construction where the subject causes something or someone to be something, and topical object construction (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 124). A unique set of m-initial objects for first and second person singular replace the s-initial morphemes when the construction is with a causative -st(u) transitivizer (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 29).
(1)
ʔɛcɡʷíčstmit
ʔɛc-
cust-
√ɡʷíč
√see
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mi
-2.ACC
-t
-1PL.ERG
ʔɛc- √ɡʷíč -st(u) -mi -t
cust- √see -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -1PL.ERG
'We see you.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 126)
(2)
čicxʷúystmɛs
čic-
DIR-
√xʷuy
√go
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mɛ(l)
-1.ACC
-s
-3.ERG
čic- √xʷuy -st(u) -mɛ(l) -s
DIR- √go -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -3.ERG
'He took me there.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 125-126)
Applicative transitivizers introduce a third participant into the argument structure, and alter the role of the object. This means the participant represented by the object person marking morpheme serves as a possessor or dative with the possessor applicative transitivizer -łt (-pra) and as a beneficiary or dative with the benefactive transitivizer -š(i)t (-bt). There is also a third, much less frequent, applicative -tułt. can also indicate a dative construction, indicating the object to which something is given. It is also worthwhile to note that third person arguments are only understood from context because Coeur d'Alene only marks two arguments on the predicate using person marking morphemes (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 30).
In transitive constructions with the possessor applicative -łt (-pra), the object marking on the predicate indicates the possessor, rather than the possessed, such as in Examples 1a and 1b below. In some cases, as in Example 1c below, -łt (-pra) serves to indicate a dative construction. In these cases, the role of the object shifts to dative (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 30-31).
(1a)
q'ʷíc'łcn
√q'ʷíc’
√fill
-łt
-POSS.APL.TR
-si
-2.ACC
-n
-1.ERG
√q'ʷíc’ -łt -si -n
√fill -POSS.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
'I filled it for you.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 144)
(1b)
cúnmɛʔɬcn
√cúnmɛʔ
√teach
-łt
-POSS.APL.TR
-si
-2.ACC
-n
-1.ERG
√cúnmɛʔ -łt -si -n
√teach -POSS.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
'I showed you how it's done.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 150)
(1c)
kʼʷnɛʔcuúʼcunmʼɛyʼłtɛlis
kʼʷnɛʔ
soon
√cunmɛy+CVC
√teach+REDUP<aug>
-łt
-POSS.APL.TR
-ɛlis
-1PL.ACC
-s
-3.ERG
kʼʷnɛʔ √cunmɛy+CVC -łt -ɛlis -s
soon {√teach+REDUP<aug>} -POSS.APL.TR -1PL.ACC -3.ERG
'He will show us [how to do it].' ('He will teach 'x' to us.') (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 31; Doak,[12] 1997, p. 149)
In constructions with the benefactive applicative -š(i)t (-bt), the argument indicated by the ergative is agent and that by accusative/absolutive the beneficiary. The benefactive applicative may also function to characterize an object as a recipient (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 31).
(1)
nkʷínšicn
√nkʷín
√sing
-šit
-BEN.APL.TR
-si
-2.ACC
-n
-1.ERG
√nkʷín -šit -si -n
√sing -BEN.APL.TR -2.ACC -1.ERG
'I sang to you.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 156)
The dative applicative -tułt is very rare, and the role of this applicative is uncertain other than that it introduces another participant into a sentence structure (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 157). The only examples Doak[12] gives only occur with third person or non-topic ergative person marking morphemes (Bischoff,[17] 2011, p. 32).
(1)
támtułc
√tám
√scorch
-tułt
-DAT.APL.TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-s
-3.ERG
√tám -tułt -Ø -s
√scorch -DAT.APL.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG
'He burned it for somebody.' (Doak,[12] 1997, p. 159)
Below are the transitive object morphemes, which appear as suffixes. The 3rd person is null. The following examples are taken from Doak (1997,[12] p. 55-64).
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st Person Acc. | -sɛ(l)/-mɛ(l) | -ɛl(i) |
2nd Person Acc. | -si/-mi | -ulm(i) |
3rd Person Abs. | Ø (null) | Ø (null) (-ilš) |
Notes on Transitive Objects
(1a)
c’úw’ncɛlm
√c’uw’
√hit
-nt
-DIR.TR
-sɛl
-1.ACC
-m
-NTE
√c’uw’ -nt -sɛl -m
√hit -DIR.TR -1.ACC -NTE
'I got hit.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1b)
púlustmɛlm
√pulut
√kill
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mɛl
-1.ACC
-m
-NTE
√pulut -st(u) -mɛl -m
√kill -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -NTE
'I got killed.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1c)
číłšitɛlit
√čił
√give
-šit
-bt
-ɛli
-1PL.ACC
-t
-NTE
√čił -šit -ɛli -t
√give -bt -1PL.ACC -NTE
'We were given some.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1d)
c’úw’ncis
√c’uw’
√hit
-nt
-DIR.TR
-si
-2.ACC
-s
-3erg
√c’uw’ -nt -si -s
√hit -DIR.TR -2.ACC -3erg
'He hit you.'[12]
(1e)
púlustmit
√pulut
√kill
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mi
-2.ACC
-t
-NTE
√pulut -st(u) -mi -t
√kill -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -NTE
'You got killed.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1f)
miʔmiʔšítulmit
√mɛy’+CVC
√know+{CVC}
-šit
-bt
-ulmi
-2PL.ACC
-t
-NTE
√mɛy’+CVC -šit -ulmi -t
√know+{CVC} -bt -2PL.ACC -NTE
'You folks were told stories.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1g)
miʔmiʔšítmɛt
√mɛy’+CVC
√know+{CVC}
-šit
-bt
-Ø
-3.ABS
-mɛt
-1PL.ERG
√mɛy’+CVC -šit -Ø -mɛt
√know+{CVC} -bt -3.ABS -1PL.ERG
'We told him stories.'[12]
(1h)
číɬšitmilš
√čiɬ
√give
-šit
-bt
-Ø
-3.ABS
-m
-NTE
-ilš
-3PL
√čiɬ -šit -Ø -m -ilš
√give -bt -3.ABS -NTE -3PL
'They were given some.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
There is also a second set of transitive objects in Coeur d'Alene also appear as suffixes, which Doak[12] identifies as non-topic ergative objects (NTE). Following examples from Doak (1997,[12] p. 57-63)
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st NTE | -m | -t |
2nd NTE | -t | -t |
3rd NTE | -m | -m (-ilš) |
(1a)
púlustmɛlm
√pulut
√kill
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mɛl
-1.ACC
-m
-NTE
√pulut -st(u) -mɛl -m
√kill -CAUS.TR -1.ACC -NTE
'I got killed.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1b)
číɬšitɛlit
√čiɬ
√give
-šit
-bt
-ɛli
-1PL.ACC
-t
-NTE
√čiɬ -šit -ɛli -t
√give -bt -1PL.ACC -NTE
'We were given some.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1c)
púlustmit
√pulut
√kill
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-mi
-2.ACC
-t
-NTE
√pulut -st(u) -mi -t
√kill -CAUS.TR -2.ACC -NTE
'You got killed.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(1d)
cúnmɛʔntɛlit
√cun
√point
√mey
√know
-nt
-DIR.TR
-ɛli
-2PL.ACC
-t
-NTE
√cun √mey -nt -ɛli -t
√point √know -DIR.TR -2PL.ACC -NTE
'We were taught.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
'He got hit on the side.'[12]
(1f)
číɬšitmilš
√čiɬ
√give
-šit
-bt
-Ø
-3.ABS
-m
-NTE
-ilš
-3PL
√čiɬ -šit -Ø -m -ilš
√give -bt -3.ABS -NTE -3PL
'They were given some.'[12] Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
The transitive subjects of Ergative case also appear as suffixes in Coeur d'Alene, and examples from Doak (1997,[12] p. 56-63) are given below.
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st Person Erg. | -n | -(mɛ)t |
2nd Person Erg. | -xʷ | -p |
3rd Person Erg. | -s | -s (-ilš) |
NTE | -m/-t | -t/-m |
(1a)
t’ápn
√t’ap
√shoot
-nt
-DIR.TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-n
-1.ERG
√t’ap -nt -Ø -n
√shoot -DIR.TR -3.ABS -1.ERG
'I shot him.'[12]
(1b)
máqʷəntmɛt
√maqʷ
√stack
-nt
-DIR.TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-mɛt
-1PL.ERG
√maqʷ -nt -Ø -mɛt
√stack -DIR.TR -3.ABS -1PL.ERG
'We piled up rocks, sacks of wheat.'[12]
(1c)
q’ʷíc’ɬcɛxʷ
√q’ʷic’
√fill
-ɬt
-POSS.APL.TR
-sɛl
-1.ACC
-xʷ
-2.ERG
√q’ʷic’ -ɬt -sɛl -xʷ
√fill -POSS.APL.TR -1.ACC -2.ERG
'You filled it for me.'[12]
(1d)
q’ʷíc’ɬcɛlp
√q’ʷic’
√fill
-ɬt
-POSS.APL.TR
-sɛl
-1.ACC
-p
-2PL.ERG
√q’ʷic’ -ɬt -sɛl -p
√fill -POSS.APL.TR -1.ACC -2PL.ERG
'You folks filled it for me.'[12]
(1e)
c’úw’ncis
√c’uw’
√hit
-nt
-DIR.TR
-si
-2acc
-s
-3.ERG
√c’uw’ -nt -si -s
√hit -DIR.TR -2acc -3.ERG
'He hit you.'[12]
(1f)
ʔácqʔəmstusilš
√ʔacqɛʔ
√go.out
-m
-m
-st(u)
-CAUS.TR
-Ø
-3.ABS
-s
-3.ERG
-ilš
-PL
√ʔacqɛʔ -m -st(u) -Ø -s -ilš
√go.out -m -CAUS.TR -3.ABS -3.ERG -PL
'He took them out.'/ 'They took it out.' / 'They took them out.'[12]
Genitive structures are used to create possessives in Coeur d'Alene (Doak 1997,[12] p. 169). Examples below are taken from Doak (1997,[12] p. 69-71).
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st Person Gen. | hn- | -ɛt |
2nd Person Gen. | in- | -mp |
3rd Person Gen. | -s | -s (-ilš) |
(1a)
histíʔ
hn-
1.GEN-
stiʔ
thing
hn- stiʔ
1.GEN- thing
'It's mine.'[12]
(1b)
cɛtxʷɛt
cɛtxʷ
house
-ɛt
-1PL.GEN
cɛtxʷ -ɛt
house -1PL.GEN
'It's our house.'[12]
(1c)
istíʔ
in-
2.GEN-
stiʔ
thing
in- stiʔ
2.GEN- thing
'It's yours.'[12]
(1d)
cɛtxʷmp
cɛtxʷ
house
-mp
-2PL.GEN
cɛtxʷ -mp
house -2PL.GEN
'It's your (pl.) house.'[12]
(1e)
stiʔs
stiʔ
thing
-s
-3.GEN
stiʔ -s
thing -3.GEN
'It's his/hers.'[12]
(1f)
stíʔsilš
stiʔ
thing
-s
-3.GEN
-ilš
-3PL
stiʔ -s -ilš
thing -3.GEN -3PL
'It's theirs.'[12]
Predicate Pronominal forms may stand alone as predicates or may serve as emphatic adjuncts. The forms are constructed as intransitive predicates with morphology and unanalyzable roots used nowhere else, and examples are given below (Doak, 1997,[12] p. 72-73).
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | čn ʔɛngʷt | č lípust |
2nd person | kʷu ʔɛngʷt | kʷup lípust |
3rd person | cɛnil | cənílilš |
There are three aspects in Coeur d'Alene. The first is the completive, which has no morpheme marker. The completive aspect refers to an action that was completed in the past (Bischoff, 2011,[17] p. 22; Reichard, 1938,[18] p. 574).
(1)
čn mílʼxʷ
čn-
1.NOM-
Ø-
COMP-
√mílxʷ
√smoke
čn- Ø- √mílxʷ
1.NOM- COMP- √smoke
'I smoked.' (Doak, 1997,[12] p. 83)
The second is the customary aspect, characterized by the prefix morpheme, ʔɛc- (Doak, 1997,[12] p. 85).
(2)
čʔɛcʼkʼʷúl’
č-
1PL.NOM-
ʔɛc-
CUS-
√kʼʷúl
√work
č- ʔɛc- √kʼʷúl
1PL.NOM- CUS- √work
'We work.' (Doak, 1997,[12] p. 85)
The third aspect is the continuative, indicated by the prefix morpheme y’c-.
(3)
čiʔcɡʷíčəm
čn-
1.NOM
y’c-
CONT-
√ɡʷíč
√see
čn- y’c- √ɡʷíč
1.NOM CONT- √see
'I am seeing.' (Doak 1997,[12] p. 106)
In addition to aspect in Coeur d'Alene, there is evidence of realis and irrealis. Realis and irrealis marks a distinction between time that the speaker can directly perceive through his or her own knowledge or senses (realis) and that which is conjectured known of hypothetically, distantly, or by hearsay (irrealis). Only examples of irrealis are attested in Coeur d'Alene (Doak 1997,[13] p. 188).
Irrealis is indicated in the same way as an aspect marker, by a particle occurring before the verb. The irrealis particle is nεʔ. There are no examples of both an aspect marker and irrealis occurring in the same predicate (Doak 1997, [13] p. 189).
(1)
nεʔ uɬčicʔʔεĺəĺ xʷε inú…..
nεʔ
IRR
uɬ-čic
again-LOC
√ʔεĺ+C₂
√move+NCR
xʷε
det₁
in
2.GEN
√nunεʔ
√mother
nεʔ uɬ-čic √ʔεĺ+C₂ xʷε in √nunεʔ
IRR again-LOC √move+NCR det₁ 2.GEN √mother
"When your mom gets back ..." (Doak 1997, [13]p. 188.) Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);
(2)
nεʔ ʔεkʷústmεt xʷε q̀ʷadəlqs
nεʔ
IRR
√ʔεkʷun-stu-ø-mεt
√say-CAUS.TR-3.ABS-1PL.ERG
xʷε
det
√q̀ʷεd=alqs
√black=clothes
nεʔ √ʔεkʷun-stu-ø-mεt xʷε √q̀ʷεd=alqs
IRR √say-CAUS.TR-3.ABS-1PL.ERG det √black=clothes
"We'll tell the black robes" [or monks] (Doak 1997,[13] p. 189.)
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TR:transitivizer DIR:directive POSS:possessor