Suwáá: Difference between revisions
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* ''damó'' = his/her/their blood (Navajo bi-) | * ''damó'' = his/her/their blood (Navajo bi-) | ||
* ''wamó'' = his/her/their blood (Navajo yi-) | * ''wamó'' = his/her/their blood (Navajo yi-) | ||
* '' | * ''amó'' = one's blood | ||
* ''chamó'' = our (exc.) blood | * ''chamó'' = our (exc.) blood | ||
* ''yemó'' = our (inc.) blood | * ''yemó'' = our (inc.) blood | ||
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Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: ''Eqsiq damó'' (E. 3-blood) 'Eqsiq's blood'. | Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: ''Eqsiq damó'' (E. 3-blood) 'Eqsiq's blood'. | ||
==== Obviation ==== | |||
Like Navajo, Suwáá shows various levels of animacy in its grammar, with certain nouns taking specific verb forms according to their rank in this animacy hierarchy. For instance, Navajo nouns can be ranked by animacy on a continuum from most animate (a human or lightning) to least animate (an abstraction): | |||
humans/lightning → infants/big animals → midsize animals → small animals → insects → natural forces → inanimate objects/plants → abstractions | |||
Generally, the most animate noun in a sentence must occur first while the noun with lesser animacy occurs second. If both nouns are equal in animacy, then either noun can occur in the first position. So, both example sentences (1) and (2) are correct. The n- prefix on the verb indicates that the 1st noun is the subject and i- indicates that the 2nd noun is the subject. | |||
: ''Upwe unɛń nzoq.'' (1) | |||
: boy girl OBV-look | |||
: 'The boy is looking at the girl.' | |||
: ''Upwe unɛń izoq.'' (2) | |||
: boy girl PROX-look | |||
: 'The girl is being looked at by the boy.' | |||
== Vocabulary == | == Vocabulary == | ||
Purist | Purist | ||