Transitivity

All verb roots in Hikóómayíi are inherently either transitive or intransitive (none are inherently ditransitive). Obviously, intransitive roots have one associated participant (S), while transitive roots have two (A and P). Many intransitive roots can be directly inflected for the person of S, without further modification:

(6) |kpááni|_intr-si-oᴴkoᴴ > kpáánisiko
rest-2sg.irreal.impfv-prog
"may you rest" (line 15)

Likewise, most transitive roots can be directly inflected for the person of P (the absolutive) without further modification:

(7) |sxí|_tr-yóóna-θak > sxíyóonθak
see-3inan.real.pfv-rep
"(he) saw that, it's said" (line 7)

In order to use a [-TR] root transitively, or a [+TR] root intransitively (or either root ditransitively), the root must be overtly derived to create a new stem with the appropriate valence/transitivity level — there are no ambitransitive verbs in Hikóómayíi. There are a range of derivational affixes which can accomplish this; to a large extent which one(s) are used with which root are lexically-determined. The most common include the transitivizing prefix sóó-, the transitivizing suffixes -saᴴk (generally derives verbs with inanimate objects) and -yiᴴ (generally verbs with animate objects), the detransitivizer  -`b/-`f, the antipassive -θoᴴč, reflexive -niᴴ, middles -mθ and -nóó, and causative -xaᴴ, as well as several applicatives (see below).

Some examples from the story:

(8) |fčán|_tr + nóó_mid=tr>intr -íin > fčanóóʔíin
rescue-mid:an-1sg.real.impfv
"I'm saved" (line 8)

(9) |mi+míimóma|_tr + θoᴴč_{antps=tr>intr} -si-oᴴkoᴴ > mimíimómaθočsikó
rdp+drink-antps-2sg.irreal.impfv-prog
"may you drink (demoted, unspecified object(s))" (line 15)

(10) sóó_tr=intr>tr + |kóók|_intr -xáá-yóó > sóókóoxááyóó
tr-hear-mental-3obv.real.impfv
"(he didn't) listen to him(obv)" (line 44)

Use of various valence adjusting affixes is obligatory in many contexts, including when incorporating a noun root into the verb (by default such derived verbs contain detr -`b/-`f ((11) below), unless the incorporated root is a body part and the possessor is coreferential with the verb's subject, in which case the suffix is -si ((12) below)); and in forming complement clauses (the matrix verb takes the antipassive suffix -θoᴴč ((13) below), even when the underived matrix verb is intransitive, as in (14)). Because a verb must be overtly detransitivized in order to incorporate a noun, intransitive verbs must first be transitivized before being detransitivized ((15) below). There are however exceptions to this rule, always involving incorporated body parts.

(11) hkóó-|fáá|_tr-`b-íin > hkóófáabíin
person-wait.for-detr-1sg.real.impfv
"I wait for people (lit. I people-wait)" (line 13)

(12) |hóóxíí|_tr-xííč-siᴴ-`yóo > hóóxííxíičsiyóo
crack.open-eye-body.part.incorp(detr)-3sprox.real.impfv
"he woke up (lit. he eye-opened)" (line 29)

(13) pxáá-|sóomtó|_tr-θoᴴč-íin > pxáásóomtoθčíin
abilv-know-antps-1sg.real.impfv
"I am able to know that . . ." (line 13)

(14) |ho|_intr-θoᴴč-`yóos-yoᴴ > hoθočóošyo
say-antps-3sprox.real.pfv-mtn
"he said: . . ." (line 8)

(15) aᴴboᴴyóó-wííšáay-|θáá|_intr-maᴴ-yiᴴ-`f-`yóo > habóyóówííšáašθáámayifyóo
fast-water-scoop-by.mouth-tr-detr-3sprox.real.impfv
"he guzzled down the water (lit. he quickly water-scooped with his mouth)" (line 17)

Ditransitive verbs have three arguments — A, R, and T — rather than one or two. Hikóómayíi is a secundative language, meaning it treats the R(ecipient) the same as the P of (mono)transitive verbs. These are primary objects and are indexed on the verb through the person/number/TAM suffix. The T(heme) of ditransitives is a secondary object and is marked separately from primary objects. Secondary objects: (a) take the instrumental suffix -as/-sa on the NP, if it is overtly expressed, and (b) are marked on the verb through person/number Theme prefixes (glossed thm in the story). (Several notionally "monotransitive" verbs that involve extreme lack of control by the A participant, or that are related to emotion/experience, take a secondary object rather than a primary object, and the subject is treated as an absolutive, and marked on the verb. There are no examples of this in the story.)

Ditransitive verbs in Hikóómayíi include prototypical verbs involving transfer of items ("give X to Y," "toss X to Y," etc.), as well as many others, including a number with benefactive meaning ("mix X into Y," "pluck X off of Y," "sing X to Y," "slide X off of Y," "guard X for Y," "add X to Y as a spice/seasoning," etc.). The main ditransitivizing suffix is -sóó, but some verbs use the malefactive suffix -noᴴx or instrumental/general applicative -bon instead. An example from the story:

(16) ʔááxi-očhó-θIᴴ-|nóóθ|_tr-sóó-sisa > ʔááxičhoθnóoθsóósisa
3.thm-deont-inv-find-ditr(ben)-1sg.irreal.pfv
"(he) should have shown it to me" (line 50)