Background

Hikóómayíi is a highly endangered language, spoken with full fluency by a few dozen people (all over the age of 50), plus several hundred individuals (including some adolescents) with passable competency or who are able to understand but not speak it. The form spoken by younger individuals shows a number of simplifications and features heavily influenced by the dominant language of the region, Réĝledh, and such speakers tend to code-switch between Hikóómayíi and Réĝledh (which is understood by all members of the community). The Mosquito story was told by an elderly fluent native speaker, and is representative of "traditional" Hikóómayíi.

Hikóómayíi speakers live in a desert, similar ecologically to the Chihuahuan Desert of North America.

Hikóómayíi is part of the larger Gonyii family, and specifically of the Moose branch. It is phonologically highly divergent from other Moose languages, although grammatically it seems to be more conservative and less innovative than most of its sisters. Phonological changes that have served to make Hikóómayíi highly distinct include:

• *k → ʔ, followed by *l, *t → k
  e.g. *kooli "dog" > ʔááki (cf. cognates: kol, goola, kolɨ, koohe, chuli, kuuri, koyi)

• *p → x (→ s in most contexts)
  e.g. *pohthii "vulture" > sačíí (cf. cognates: pse, vošii, pɨshi, poosii, boshi, həətthii, peesi)

• *ts → h /__i(ː), e(ː)
  e.g. *tsilaa "person" > hkóó (cf. cognates tsla, šalaa, chɨla, tsiraa, silo, ṭṣaa, činõ)

• *w → m /__i(ː)
  e.g. *weeyo "fish hook" > mííya (cf. cognates: wey, geeyo, wiyɨ, eeʔo, wisho, wiə)

• *w → b in a number of environments
  e.g. *aawa "two" > hóobo (cf. cognates: aw, aawa, awə, aaʔa, owa, aava, hõwa)

• *q → w
  e.g. *√qaatsoo "go" > |wóóθáá| (cf. cognates: |qatso|, |kacho|, |ʔaatsoo|, |g(os)u|, |kõnčo|)

• *kk → w~y (depending on environment, and sometimes further → b)
  e.g. *ⁿdaakke "ash tree" > bóóyi (cf. cognates: nnakʸ, naaše, dahkə, raakke, noche, ḍaakkə, gõnča)
  *nahthekko "sage" > nočíwa (cf. cognates: sekʸ, našeko, nasekko, nashecho, naasahkə)
  *hiikk "harrier" > híib (cf. cognates: ekʸ, hihk, hiik, yich, çíìk, hihk)

• *a(ː) and *o(ː) appear to "switch" in most environments (cf. most examples above)

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Unimportant!

Tone

There are two tonemes: high (marked with acute accents: <á>, <áá>) and low/falling, realized as low on short vowels, and falling on long vowels (low tone is unmarked: <a>; while falling is marked with acute+unmarked: <áa>). Hikóómayíi is the only tonal Moose language, and high and falling tones historically derive from stressed vowels. Pre-Hikóómayíi had an iambic stress pattern, with every long vowel stressed as well as every other short vowel counting rightwards from the beginning of the word or the most recent long vowel. At some point after stress was converted to tone, a rule (still productive in modern Hikóómayíi) arose that lowered the tone of any vowel in a closed syllable. Later simplification of many clusters rendered the system somewhat opaque.

In the synchronic underlying representation, three tone categories can be recognized: (a) high tone vowels, (b) low tone vowels, and (c) variable-tone vowels (marked with superscript "H"). High tone vowels surface with high tone unless blocked by a following cluster, word final consonant, or morpheme that always conditions preceding low tone (which are marked with leading <`>). Low tone vowels always surface with low tone. Variable-tone vowels surface as high tone if they are an even number of syllables from the beginning of the word, the most recent long vowel, the most recent underlying high tone vowel, or the most recent surface high tone vowel derived from a variable tone vowel (again, unless blocked by a cluster or `-morpheme).

Phonological Processes

There are several important phonological processes illustrated in the story. One of the most pervasive is penultimate vowel deletion (PVD). PVD deletes penultimate (surface) low tone short vowels. It is blocked (a) when the antepenult is also low tone, (b) when the penult precedes a surface or historical consonant cluster, (c) when the penult is part of one of the aspectual suffixes, and (d) irregularly before certain morphemes, such as the inanimate plural noun suffix.

PVD is illustrated in a number of words in the story, but one recurring example involves the word for "old man." Underlyingly this is //káʔahóow// (including the obviative suffix -`:w). However, the low tone penultimate vowel -a- is deleted by PVD, so this word surfaces throughout the story as kaʔóow (with lowering of the tone of the -á- when preceding a cluster, followed by simplification of the resulting -ʔh- cluster). The underlying penultimate vowel resurfaces when other suffixes are applied that render -a- no longer in the penult: //káʔahó-:wáá// (old.man-pej) = káʔahóówáá (line 54).

Another example, illustrating both the tone rules and PVD, is the term for "mat," which is underlying //saᴴyiᴴhiᴴpaᴴn//. By the tone rules this becomes intermediate //sayíhipán// > //sayíhipan//. By PVD, this then becomes //sayíhpan//, followed by lowering of the tone in the closed syllable, resulting in surface sayihpan (e.g. line 21). Adding a prefix to the stem for "mat" results in a different surface tone arrangement (and blocked PVD due to a high tone penult): //ka-saᴴyiᴴhiᴴpaᴴn// > kasáyihípan "OBV's mat" (line 19).

Other important processes include rules of cluster simplification/modification (for example, ʔ-y over a morpheme boundary surfaces as t, as in //θááwóó-fóóʔ-yóó-yoᴴ// > θááwóófóotóóyo "he grabbed them" (line 56)); resolution of vowel hiatuses through either glottal stop epenthesis or deletion of the second vowel; and the treatment of the morphophoneme // I //, which is deleted in metrically weak position as in (1) below, and in metrically strong position surfaces as í in open syllables ((2) below) and as o in (underlying or surface) closed syllables ((3) below).

(1) //sóó-θIᴴ-ho-θoᴴč-`yóos-yoᴴ// > sóoθhoθočóošyo
"(the other one) said to him"
(e.g. line 25)

(2) //ʔááxi-θIᴴ-ho-sóó-`yóos// > ʔááxiθíhosóoyóos
"(the other one) said it to him"
(line 49)

(3) //sohIᴴk// > sohok
"spring"
(passim)

Grammatical Overview

Animacy

Hikóómayíi nouns are either animate or inanimate. Animate nouns include all humans, animals, and spiritual beings. Inanimate nouns include plants and most non-living objects and abstract concepts. However, there are a handful of notionally inanimate nouns that are treated as grammatically animate, including -fIᴴhaᴴmi- "face," háaská "fire," -hkíí- "penis," koxákíič "arrowhead," -miᴴxiᴴ- "tongue," nop "alcohol," nóósíípan "mescal," spóóhi "seed," šáapó "edible leafy plant," θinišxá "pus," -θoᴴʔííł- "claw," -θoᴴšoᴴ- "finger," and θóóhíí "prickly pear." It's not always clear why these nouns are classified as animate, although some trends are apparent. Many of these unexpected animates can be classified as items with "spiritual power" (alcoholic drinks, fire, arrowheads [which take away life]), items related to generating life (seed, penis), and body parts that either have a clear connection with a person's soul/emotions (face) or are small and highly mobile and have a certain degree of 'agency' (tongue, finger, claw, penis again).

Animacy is instantiated in a number of areas in the grammar. Singular nouns are not overtly marked for animacy, but animate and inanimate nouns have distinct plural suffixes. There are distinct pronouns for animate and inanimate third person (woyóok third singular animate (proximate), ka third singular inanimate, θóó third plural animate (proximate), and θoʔob third plural inanimate). Verbal person cross-referencing also distinguishes (proximate) animate and inanimate third persons (with inanimate merged with obviative third person). Only animate nouns are sensitive to obviative assignment (see below). Inverse marking is determined by a prominence hierarchy in which animate nouns outrank inanimates (see below). Finally, many derivational verb suffixes can only occur with animate or inanimate referents. For example, -θóó ("be quality, be description, be [noun]") forms intransitive verbs with inanimate subjects; -yoᴴč (same meaning) forms intransitive verbs with animate subjects:

(4) |ʔaᴴkiᴴ|-θóó > -ʔakíθóó-
old-be:inan
"(it) is old"

(5) |ʔaᴴkiᴴ|-yoᴴč > -ʔakíyoč-
old-be:an
"(s/he) is old"

Obviation

Animate third persons are also marked as either proximate or obviative. In a given section of discourse, there can only be one proximate animate NP; all other animate NPs are obviative. The proximate NP is generally the most topical participant in the discourse, though there are some specific rules of obviation assignment — for example, in a sentence with a human and an animal participant, the human is always given proximate status; while one animate third person referent possessed by another must be obviative (the possessor can be proximate or obviative, depending on the prior discourse situation). Obviation assignment can be switched (with "proximate" status assigned to a different NP) by restating the newly-proximate NP without obviative marking, though this is not as frequent in Hikóómayíi as in most natlangs which have obviation. There are no obviation switches in this story, in which Mosquito remains proximate throughout, while the old man, as well as any other occasional animate nouns (e.g. "scorpion" in line 22) are marked as obviative.

Obviation, along with switch reference (see below) can be a useful method of clarifying participant reference without using overt pronouns or NPs. Overt NPs and third person pronouns are rare in this story — there are 8 animate third person pronouns (6 proximate, 2 obviative), 8 instances of Mosquito's name, and 10 overt references to the old man (excluding within reports of Mosquito's speech). Most participant reference is instead accomplished through verbal inflections, switch reference marking, and obviation assignment. (By contrast, in the English translation, there are 82 animate third person subject or object pronouns [outside direct speech reports], 15 instances of Mosquito's name, and 19 overt references to the old man.)

Obviation is marked on nouns with the suffix -iw/-`:w. Personal pronouns also distinguish proximate (3sprox woyóok, 3pprox θóó) from obviative (káá). Demonstratives also agree in obviation with the NP they modify (e.g. spa Wíixšííʔasay "(that) Mosquito", line 1; vs spáaw kaʔóow "that (obv) old man (obv)," line 39). Obviatives are marked the same as inanimates in verbal inflection, in opposition to proximate animates.

Number

Nouns are obligatorily marked for singular versus plural number. Singular nouns are unmarked (-Ø) while plural proximate animates suffix -oł/-`:ł and plural inanimates suffix -wos/-šos/-bos. Obviatives are unmarked for number, and the obviative suffix takes the place of the proximate plural suffix. Pronouns and verb inflection also distinguish singular and plural number for most persons (including separate pronouns for 1pl inclusive and 1pl exclusive, though clusivity is not distinguished in verbal inflection). Demonstratives agree in number with the NP they modify (as in span wa-kiθówos "on those rocks", line 32).

A few verbs are lexically specified for the number of their absolutive participant, and expressing the same notion for the opposite number requires use of a different, unrelated verb root. These are primarily verbs involving purposeful motion or handling/manipulating an object. There are 4 examples in the story:

• |háačí| "walk (sg subject)" (lines 2, 18, 46)
  (cf. |šIᴴmIᴴk|, "walk (pl subject)")

• |θaᴴmaᴴk| "run (sg subject)" (lines 8, 54)
  (cf. |ʔaᴴθaᴴ|, "run (pl subject)")

• |xiᴴhIᴴx| "fetch (sg object)" (line 38)
  (cf. |naᴴxáá| "fetch (pl object)")

• |θááwóó| "hold (pl object)" (lines 54, 56)
  (cf. |yaᴴyááxon| "hold (sg object)")

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)

Alignment

As alluded to above, Hikóómayíi shows ergative alignment, since verbs inflect for the absolutive participant (S of intransitive clauses, P of transitive clauses, R of ditransitive clauses). The ergative (A of transitive clauses) is not indexed on the verb.

Additionally, verbs mark a direct/inverse distinction. Hikóómayíi has a prominence hierarchy: 1/2 > 3prox > 3obv > inan, in which the persons to the left are considered more naturally topical than those to their right, and are considered more natural to act upon rightward persons. That is, it's more natural for a proximate third person to act on an obviative than vice versa, and more natural for an SAP (speech act participant = 1st or 2nd person) to act on an inanimate object than vice versa. For verbs in which a lower ranking participant acts upon a higher ranking participant, the inverse prefix θIᴴ- is required. The inverse is used:

1. In monotransitive or ditransitive clauses with:

• An inanimate subject
• An obviative subject and proximate or SAP primary object
• A proximate subject and SAP primary object

2. In ditransitive clauses with:

• An inanimate recipient (=primary object)
• A proximate or SAP theme (=secondary object) and obviative primary object
• An SAP secondary object and proximate primary object

Some examples:

(17a) sóó-|ho|-θoᴴč-yóóna-yoᴴ > sóóhoθočóonyó
tr-say-antps-3obv.real.pfv-mtn (prox→obv = direct)
"(he) said to him(obv) . . ." (e.g. line 23)

(17b) sóó-θIᴴ-|ho|-θoᴴč-`yóos-yoᴴ > sóoθhoθočóošyo
tr-inv-say-antps-3sprox.real.pfv-mtn (obv→prox = inverse)
"(he(obv)) said to him(prox) . . ." (e.g. line 25)

(18a) |ʔííxíí|-yóó-nyó > ʔííxííyóonyó
possess-3inan.real.impfv-stat (SAP→inan = direct)
"(I) have it" (line 26)

(18b) ʔoᴴ-očhó-θIᴴ-|wóóθáá|-sóó-sisa > ʔočhoθwóóθáásóósisa
venit-deont-inv-go-ben-1sg.irreal.pfv (prox→SAP = inverse)
"(he) should have come with me" (line 50)

Note that any transitive verb with an inanimate subject is marked as inverse, even if it also has an intransitive object, as in (19). Inanimate participants are not ranked for prominence with respect to one another ((19) could theoretically also mean "(the trees were not) hanging from (fruits)"), so the inverse in such clauses merely marks the verb as a transitive verb with an inanimate subject.

(19) θIᴴ-|xwíí|-`č-yóó > θwíičóó
inv-hang-loc.applic:inan-3inan.real.impfv (inan.subj = inverse)
"(fruits were not) hanging from them (the trees)" (modified from line 9)

Aspect

Obligatory Aspect Inflection

All fully inflected verbs in Hikóómayíi take a suffix marking person/number/obviativity/animacy of the absolutive (S/P/R), mood/tense (realis, irrealis, or future — see below), and aspect (perfective or imperfective). Perfective (pfv) predicates are prototypically those viewed "externally," with a defined beginning and end, and no focus on internal structure. Imperfective (impfv) predicates are prototypically those viewed "internally," as being in progress or without a clearly defined end point, or with a focus on the event's internal structure. (However, there are a number of complications, some of which are taken up below.)

Further Aspectual Suffixes

The person/TAM suffix can optionally be followed by a further aspectual suffix providing further specification of the verb's aspect. These suffixes are:

• -nyó/-nóyo, stative (stat), which marks states or gnomic statements. The stative can be used with both perfective and imperfective verbs, but is rare with perfectives. See (20a,b) below.
• -oᴴkoᴴ, which with imperfective verbs is progressive (prog), marking an action in progress, and with perfective verbs is durative (dur), marking a completed action that extended over a period of time. See (21a,b) below.
• -oč, which with perfective verbs is completive (complv), indicating a past action carried through to completion, and with imperfective verbs is cessative (cess), which is fairly rare, but focuses on an action as drawing to a close. The cessative does not appear in the story. For the completive see (22) below.
• -yoᴴ, which only occurs with perfectives, is the momentane (mtn), marking a single action of short duration. See (23) below.
• -iᴴšoᴴ, which only occurs with imperfectives, is the inceptive (incept), marking an event that is beginning. See (24) below.
• -poᴴ, which only occurs with imperfectives, can have both iterative (iter) and habitual (habit) connotations, in both cases marking an action or state that occurs repeatedly over a given time frame. See (25a,b) below.

Examples of these aspectual suffixes, from the story:

(20a) wííšáay-šoᴴ-yóó-nyó > wííšáašoyóonyó
water-plentiful-3inan.real.impfv-stat
"there's plenty of water (here)" (stative/gnomic) (line 14)

(20b) |paᴴxaᴴ|-kan-waᴴ-yóóna-nóyo > paxákanwáyóónanóyo
dry-moving.water-become:inan-3inan.real.pfv-stat
"the rivers had become completely dry" (stative perfective) (line 5)

(21a) sayihpaᴴn-|óóčíí|-bon-`f-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴ-θak > sayihpanóóčííbonyóokoθak
mat-sit-applic-detr-3sprox.real.impfv-prog-rep
"he was sitting on his mat, it's said" (progressive) (line 63)

(21b) |kiᴴn|-(x)áá-yóóna-oᴴkoᴴ > kinááyóonkó
lie-loc.applic:an-3inan.real.pfv-dur
"he had lain there [for a long time]" (durative) (line 32)

(22) |skíí|-mθ-yóóna-oč-θak > skíimyóónačθak
complete-mid:inan-3inan.real.pfv-complv-rep
"(the medicine) was finished [being made], it's said" (completive) (line 69)

(23) |šyáp|-`yóos-yoᴴ > šyayóošyo
stand.up-3sprox.real.pfv-mtn
"he stood up" (momentane) (line 75)

(24) ʔáá-|saᴴ+saᴴfaᴴ|-yóó-iᴴšoᴴ > ʔáásasáfayóóšo
twisting-rdp+wriggle-3obv.real.impfv-incept
"it started writhing around" (inceptive) (line 61)

(25a) háám-|si+xí|-haᴴy-yóó-poᴴ > háamsixíhayóópo
every.time-rdp+see-appear.like-3obv.real.impfv-iter
"every time that (he) seemed to see it (a rabbit) . . ." (iterative) (line 47)

(25b) |óóčíí|-íin-poᴴ > hóóčííʔíinpo
sit-1sg.real.impfv-habit
"I sit here (every day)" (habitual) (line 13)

Other Conditions of Aspect Assignment

Certain derivational suffixes, verbal prefixes, and morphosyntactic processes require either perfective or imperfective inflection on the verb, which complicates the imperfective/perfective division as described above.

Derivational suffixes that condition one or the other aspectual inflections include: -:bo "be characterized by property/quality (usually negative)" (+impfv), -θoᴴč antipassive (+impfv), -(x)áá and -waᴴ "acquire condition/quality, become" (+impfv with one exception), and -yaᴴm telic/"accomplish goal" (+pfv). The use of the antipassive suffix to form complement clauses (as mentioned above) also requires that the verb be inflected as imperfective, except for the verb "say" |ho|, which can be (and generally is) perfective.

Verbal prefixes conditioning aspect inflection include: háám- "every time, each time, each instance" (+impfv), ʔIᴴčIᴴ- "try to..." (+pfv means "try and fail"; +impfv is ambiguous as to the success of the attempt), naᴴwóó- "stop" (+pfv), póóʔ- "habitually" (+impfv), and soʔ- iterative/"often, many times, over and over" (+impfv).

Finally, in involved, extended narratives, the imperfective is particularly common (used on verbs that would otherwise be expected to be perfective), as a way of tying subsequent clauses together and providing a sense of immediacy and involvement in the action (not unlike the English "historical present": "So I walk into the store, and there's this guy standing at the counter, and he gives me this weird look . . .", etc.).

Mood

The person/TAM suffixes also mark the predicate's mood, the main opposition being between realis and irrealis. The realis is used for declarative factual statements, negated factual statements, and Wh-questions. The irrealis is used for:

• yes-no questions (no examples in the story)
• conditionals and counterfactuals (no examples in the story)
• hypotheticals/possibility, often in conjunction with the dubitative evidential (see (26a,b) below)
• deontic modality (see 27 below)
• hortatives and certain imperatives (see 28 below)
• counter-factual subordinate clauses, generally some purposives and descriptions of non-existent things (see 29 below)
• possible consequence, marking dispreferred outcomes ("lest X happen, in order that X doesn't occur") (see 30 below)
  
• negated abilitative constructions (see 31 below)

(26a) |ʔoᴴčiᴴ|-sisa-hiᴴ > ʔočísisahi
human.die-1sg.irreal.pfv-dubit
"I may die" (line 6)

(26b) |koᴴmiᴴyiᴴ|-fi-hiᴴ > komíyifihi
come-3pprox.irreal.pfv-dubit
"(I sit here to see if) they might come" (line 13)

(27) očhó-|fáá|-íisa > hočhófááʔíisa
deont-wait.for-1sg.irreal.impfv
"(That's why I said you) should wait for me" (line 65)

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

(29) póóʔ-|kpááni|-(x)áá-síí-poᴴ > póopáánixáásíípo
habit-sleep-loc.applic:an-3inan.irreal.impfv-habit
"(I have no lodge) to sleep in [=in which (I) could sleep]" (line 22)

(30) boł ki ʔayaθ ha+|háačí|-sin-poᴴ > boł ki ʔayaθ haháačísinpó
if neg before rdp+walk(sg)-1sg.irreal.impfv-habit
"Lest I wander about (with no shade) / better than me wandering about (with no shade)" (line 18; "if not yet" = "lest")

(31) ki pxáá-|šyáp|-sin > ki pxáašyasin
neg abilv-stand.up-1sg.irreal.impfv
"I'm not able to stand up" (line 33)

Evidentiality

Hikóómayíi has a limited evidentiality system, consisting of three (partly optional) suffixes which occupy the last slot in the verb and indicate the speaker's source of knowledge for or degree of confidence in the proposition represented by the verb.

The sensory -`šáá (sens) marks knowledge claimed due to sensory experience (generally vision and to a lesser extent smell and hearing, usually not used for taste or touch), but is occasionally used as well in narrative by a narrator to highlight the intense or highly discourse-relevant sensory experience of a main character. It is used this way in the Mosquito story, when Mosquito, after nearly dying in the desert, stumbles on an oasis (lines 8 and 9, see (32) below). The dubitative -hiᴴ (dubit) indicates the speaker is uncertain of the truth value of the statement, and requires irrealis marking (see (26a,b) above). The reportative -θak (rep) marks second-hand information. It is very common in traditional narratives like this one. In the story above it marks the matrix verb of the opening and closing sentence of each paragraph — one criterion for determining paragraph breaks (see (33) below).

(32) sohIᴴk-`č-yóó-nyó-`šáá > sohočóonyošáá
spring-exist:inan-3inan.real.impfv-stat-sens
"there was a spring there, he perceived [emphasizing character's sensory experience]" (line 8)

(33) |čsáá|-xaᴴ-nóó-`yóos-θak > čsááxanóoyóosθak
exit-caus-mid:an-3sprox.real.pfv-rep
"he got banished, it's said" (line 1)

Verbs

Roots and Stems

Verb roots, the large majority of which are one or two syllables, are the uninflected bases upon which the verb word is constructed. They are written throughout this sketch between |single pipes|. Verb stems are the inflectable form of verbs — i.e., they are able to directly take inflectional affixes. Many verb stems consist of roots plus derivational suffixes (though plenty of verb roots can be used as full stems as well). Stems can also include "medials", which are incorporated noun roots or classifiers which precede certain derivational suffixes (see below).

Most verb roots are monomorphemic, but a handful incorporate a derivational suffix. They are considered roots rather than stems in such cases if the portion without the derivational suffix cannot be used without the suffix. For example, the root |šti+ʔxá| "echo" transparently includes the derivational suffix -ʔxá "noise, sound of, sound carries," but since *|šti| on its own is now meaningless, the entire complex is considered a single root.

Medials

Medials follow the verb root and some derivational suffixes, but precede others. The medial slot includes incorporated body part roots (other incorporated noun roots precede the verb stem, in Prefix Slot 2 — see below), as well as classificatory nominal-like roots which serve to specify, in some sense, the absolutive participant of the verb. These medials are:

• =aᴴx= "someone, something," marking indefinite (underlying) absolutives (indef). When representing an indefinite underlying P, the verb is overtly detransitivized. This is illustrated several times in the story, e.g.:
  
  (34) sáá-ʔIᴴfoᴴ-|kičaᴴ|-aᴴx-yiᴴ-`f-maᴴ-`yóo > sáaʔfókičaxyifmayóo
  strong-need.to-eat-indef-tr-detr-by.mouth-3sprox.real.impfv
  "he was desperate for something to eat / he really needed to eat something" (line 30)

• =čIᴴ`čiᴴ= "everything, all of it, entirety, each one," marking actions that apply fully to all individuals comprising the underlying S/P, or to the full extent or amount of the S/P. As with =aᴴx=, when incorporated into transitive verbs, the verb must be detransitivized.
  
  (35) |čiᴴbóó|-čIᴴ`čiᴴ-yoᴴč-wóó-nyó > čibóočíyočwóonyó
  hidden-all.of-be:an-3pprox.real.impfv-stat
  "they (the animals) are all hidden / all of them are hidden" (line 41)
  
  (36) |kičaᴴ|-čI`čiᴴ-yiᴴ-`f-maᴴ-`yóos > kičačíyifmayóos
  eat-all.of-tr-detr-by.mouth-3sprox.real.pfv
  "he ate all of them" (line 54)

• =IᴴmIᴴ= "area, place, location," which essentially marks that the verb describes a specific location.
  
  (37) θíimíí-aᴴnaᴴčiᴴ-IᴴmIᴴ-θóó-yóó > θíimíínačimθóóyóó
  green-good-place-be:inan-3inan.real.impfv
  "it was a green, good place" (line 9)

• =kan= "river, running water," used on verbs describing moving bodies of water.
  
  (38) hoθšó-fap-kan-šóó-yóó-nyó > hoθšófakanšóóyóonyó
  cool-clear-running.water-be:inan-3inan.real.impfv-stat
  "it/there was cool, clear running water" (modified from line 8)

• =yoᴴmoᴴ= "(standing) water, liquid," used on verbs describing liquids in general or non-moving water. (No examples in the story.)

• =xáá= "mental process, thinking, feeling," used with a number of verbs involving emotion and mental processes. It is not productive and is essentially lexicalized with those verbs with which it occurs.
  
  (39) |sp|-xáá-nóó-`yóo > sxáánóoyóo
  bad-mental-mid:an-3sprox.real.impfv
  "he was mistaken/wrong" (line 54)

Levels of Inflection

In most contexts, Hikóómayíi verbs must be fully inflected, meaning they include a person/number/TAM suffix in suffix slot 1 (see below), and can optionally include a following aspectual suffix (slot 2) or evidential suffix (slot 3). By contrast, partially-inflected verbs have restrictions on suffixes. These include:

• Conditional/Temporal verbs (which take the switch-reference (SR) enclitics =drá ss or =čí ds) cannot take aspect suffixes in suffix slot 2.
  • Same subject verbs, with =drá, when used with a conditional meaning, also cannot take a person/number/TAM suffix in slot 1.
  • Temporal verbs, when used to give background information (backgrounded temporal elaboration), cannot take any inflectional suffixes or person-marking prefixes.
• Subordinate verbs (which take the SR enclitics =ok ss or =ko ds) cannot take aspectual (slot 2) or evidential (slot 3) suffixes.
  • Same subject verbs, with =ok also cannot take person/number/TAM (slot 1) marking.
  • However, Subordinate verbs mark negation with the inflectional suffix -woy in slot 4, whereas other verbs are negated with a separate particle, ki.
  
  
  

Inflectional Template

Hikóómayíi verbs are very complex, with up to 21 inflectional prefix slots and 4 inflectional suffix slots. These are listed below, counting from the slot closest to the stem and moving outward (i.e., starting with the rightmost slot for prefixes and moving left, and starting left for suffixes and moving right).

Prefixes

Prefix Slot (P)1 : Reduplication. Reduplication essentially has two primary uses: (a) to indicate a distributive (distribution over space, time, or patients), and (b) to indicate atelic actions (i.e., not oriented toward a goal/end-point). These two senses frequently overlap, and are clearly related. Both senses (distribution over space/time and non-goal-oriented action) can be seen in (40):

(40) oᴴkííθ_P18 - ha_P1 + |háačí| - `yóo_S1 - oᴴkoᴴ_S2 > hokíiθhaháačiyóoko
dur-rdp+walk(sg)-3sprox.real.impfv-prog
"he was wandering about for a long time" (line 2)

Reduplication is used in forming participles (deverbals) as well, but this is a derivational rather than inflectional process. It is also required when the antipassive suffix is used as a true antipassive (in its valence-adjusting use); it is optional but not required when the antipassive suffix is used to form complement clauses.

P2 : Incorporated Noun Root. Most verbs can incorporate an uninflected noun root into P2, which serves to narrow the scope of the verb by referencing the class of patients it applies to. The incorporated noun is generic, non-specific, and non-referential. Incorporation requires that the verb be overtly detransitivized. The discourse uses of incorporation include to form new, more specific verbs (out of N-V compounds), and to background unimportant or generic referents in the discourse. (As alluded to above, incorporated body part roots are treated differently from other incorporated nouns, and they appear as medials, rather than in P2.)

(41)(=11) hkóó_P2 - |fáá|-`b - íin_S1 > hkóófáabíin
person-wait.for-detr-1sg.real.impfv
"I wait for people / I people-wait" (line 13; compare the following clause, "to see if any people might come", expressed with a separate nominal)

P3 : Inverse θIᴴ-. Used when the primary object outranks the subject, or the secondary object outranks the primary object, on the topicality hierarchy. (See above.)

P4 - P11 : "Adjectival Classifiers". (The misuse of the term "classifier" to describe something else has been borrowed from Athabaskan, though not the referent.) These are used in concert with a classificatory medial, and provide a description of the object or notion identified by the medial. Such constructions lack an overt verb root, and their structure is: classifier(s)-medial-be(derivational suffix). For an example of several classifiers, see (37) above. There are 8 prefix slots for classifiers; members of a given slot can't cooccur in the same verb, but members of multiple individual slots can. In order, the slots are:

• P4: Evaluation. aᴴnaᴴčiᴴ- "good"
• P5: Consistency. pIᴴθ- "mushy"; swííθo- "hard"; kitíí- "bumpy/rough"; etc.
• P6: Shape. kaᴴθaᴴ- "round"; po- "broad/flat"; etc.
• P7: Color. hiᴴxaᴴš- "black"; kšoᴴy- "white"; wóóh- "blue"; etc.
• P8: Composition. iᴴθoᴴ- "rocky"; kóohsí- "wet"; mííka- "cloudy/opaque/turbid".
• P9: Temperature. hoθšó- "cold"; ačíí- "hot"; etc.
• P10: Depth. šaᴴwaᴴ- "shallow"; píídríí- "deep [of water]"; kθíin-^+l "deep [of containers, etc.]".
• P11: Size. hiní- "small"; míí- "large."

P12 : Volition. P12 contains the prefixes pxáá- abilitative (abilv), ʔIᴴ`čIᴴ- "try to", and očhó deontive mood (deont), examples of each of which can be found above.

P13: Motion Type. P13 contains the prefixes hčíwo- reversative, ʔoᴴ- venitive (venit, "come and"), and šmoᴴ- andative (andat, "go and"), e.g.:

(42) ʔo_P13 - |kiᴴn|-(x)áá - yóóna_S1 - oč_S2 - θak_S3 > ʔokínááyóónačθak
venit-lie.down-loc.applic:an-3inan.real.pfv-complv-rep
"(he(obv)) came and lay down on it (his mat)" (line 19)

(43) šmoᴴ_P13 - |nóóθ| - yóó_S1 > šmonóoθyóó
andat-find-3inan.real.impfv
"(he) went and found it (a cottonwood tree)" (line 56)

P14 : Misc. Adverbial Notions, including `foᴴ- "slow(ly)"; naᴴwóó- "stop"; skík- "expand, extend"; soᴴfoᴴθ- "jerky motion"; etc.

(44) skík_P14 - |na| - yóó_S1 - nyó_S2 > skinayóonyó
extend-stand-3inan.real.impfv-stat
"they (rocks and dirt) were spread all around" (line 75)

P15 : Restriction, containing čiᴴθIᴴ- "forced to (by external pressure)"; ʔIᴴfoᴴ- "need to, have an internal need to"; and nitóó- "undo."

(45) ʔááxi_P21 - čiᴴθIᴴ_P15 - |kpááni| - íin_S1 - poᴴ_S2 > ʔááxičiθpáániʔíinpo
3.thm-forced.to-sleep-1sg.real.impfv-habit
"I have to sleep with (the scorpions)" (line 24)

P16 : Strength/Emphasis, containing kíífo- "weak(ly)" and sáá- "strong(ly), powerfully; very" often used as a general intensifier, as frequently in the story. An example with both P15 and P16 is (34) above, reproduced as (46):

(46) sáá_P16 - ʔIᴴfoᴴ_P15 - |kičaᴴ|-aᴴx-yiᴴ-`f-maᴴ -`yóo_S1 > sáaʔfókičaxyifmayóo
strong-need.to-eat-indef-tr-detr-by.mouth-3sprox.real.impfv
"he was desperate for something to eat" (line 30)

P17 : "Increasing" ʔóóna-. The sense includes "increasingly, more and more."

(47) ʔóóna_P17 - |wóohpí|-(x)áá - `yóo_S1 > ʔóónawóohpíxáayóo
increasing-angry-become:an-3sprox.real.impfv
"he got angrier and angrier" (line 49)

P18 : Aspectual. The prefixes in P18 also provide aspectual meanings: oᴴkííθ- "for a long time"/durative (dur); póóʔ- habitual (habit); and soʔ- "often, repeatedly, many times, over and over"/iterative/frequentative.

P19 : Quantification. This slot contains háám- "every/each time, each instance, whenever"; íín- "once, one X worth of"; and míín- "twice, two X worth of". An example of both P18 and P19:

(48) háám_P19 - soʔ_P18 - |miᴴxiᴴyaᴴ| - yóó_S1 > háamsoʔmíxiyáyóó
each.time-iter-day.pass-3inan.real.impfv
"every day (lit. every time day passes)" (line 13)

P20 : Reciprocal/Cooperative ʔ-. No examples in the story.

P21 : Theme Prefix and Transitivizer. Two morpheme types occupy this slot: (1) the Theme (Secondary Object) prefixes (see discussion under Alignment above) sná- 1sg, soʔá- 2sg, k- 1pl, čo- 2pl, and ʔááxi- 3rd person; and (2) the all-purpose transitivizing prefix sóó-. The transitivizing prefix derives historically from the third person singular secondary object prefix. The general third person secondary object prefix ʔááxi- in Hikóómayíi is the historical third person plural form. Example (16) (reproduced as (49) below) illustrates the 3rd person secondary object prefix, while (50) illustrates the transitivizing prefix. Example (51) shows the transitivizer as well as a number of other prefixes.

(49)=(16) ʔááxi_P21 - očhó_P12 - θIᴴ_P3 - |nóóθ|-sóó - sisa_S1 > ʔááxičhoθnóoθsóósisa
3.thm-deont-inv-find-ditr(ben)-1sg.irreal.pfv
"(he) should have shown it to me" (line 50)

(50) sóó_P21 - soʔ_P18 - |θííł|-maᴴ - yóó_S1 > sóósoʔθíišmayóó
tr-iter-crumble-by.mouth-3inan.real.impfv
"(he didn't) chew them (lit. crumble them by mouth)" (line 55)

(51) sóó_P21 - soʔ_P18 - ʔáá_P14 - θIᴴ_P3 - šoᴴ_P1 + |šóónaxí|-maᴴ - `yóo_S1 - oᴴkoᴴ_S2 > sóósoʔáaθšóšóónaxímayóoko
tr-iter-twisting-inv-rdp+hit-by.mouth-3sprox.real.impfv-prog
"(it) was twisting around gnawing on him (lit. hitting him by mouth)" (line 61)

Suffixes

In contrast to the wealth of prefixes, there are only four inflectional suffix slots in Hikóómayíi verbs, as well as the switch-reference enclitics which immediately follow all non-matrix verbs. These are:

• S1) Person/Number/TAM suffixes (discussed in various places above). One of these is required on every fully inflected verb, and marks the person (1st, 2nd, third proximate, third obviative/inanimate) and number (singular or plural) of the absolutive participant (S of intransitive, P of transitive, R of ditransitive); the mood (realis, irrealis, or imperative, or future tense); and aspect (perfective or imperfective).
• S2) Aspectual suffixes (discussed under "Further Aspectual Suffixes" above).
• S3) Evidentiality suffixes (discussed under "Evidentiality" above).
• S4) Negative subordinate suffix -woy, used when negating subordinated verbs:
  
  (52) |sxí| - woy_S4 = ok > sxíwoy-ok
  see-neg.subord=ss:subord
  "(he remembered) that (he) hadn't seen (a garden)" (line 30)

Clause Combining

Switch Reference Clitics

The primary means for linking clauses is through the switch-reference (SR) enclitics. This enclitic marks whether the subject of its clause is the same as (SS = same subject) or different from (DS = different subject) the subject of another clause, as well as some indication of the semantic link between the two clauses, although a fair amount is left to context to disambiguate.

Clauses can thus be divided into matrix clauses, which do not take an SR enclitic and are generally sentence-final, and supporting clauses, which take an SR enclitic, and are grammatically dependent on and make explicit reference to another clause in the sentence. Supporting clauses are generally dependents of the immediately following clause, especially clauses in a temporal relationship (in which, following iconic principles, the following clause takes place after the preceding clause), but some Subordinate clauses may follow, or be non-contiguous with, their matrix clause.

In single-clause sentences, obviously, the verb takes no SR marking. In two-clause sentences, one clause is supporting and the other is matrix (again, usually in the order supporting-matrix). But longer sentences are possible, in which each clause is dependent on the following clause, until the final matrix clause at the end of the sentence. (There can only be one matrix clause in a sentence, except for with certain types of apposition to express elaboration or disjunction.) An extreme example from the story is (53) below (the precise semantics and uses of the various SR markers is detailed further below).

(53) "[The pitayas] were delicious and sweet, so he grabbed another handful and gulped it down, and kept eating more and more until he was totally full, then he went off and found a tall cottonwood tree and lay down in the shade under the tree to rest." (line 56)
Čas hinyam sááwóóhaʔówóošóó-yíí ski θááwóófóotóóyo-ʔóó habóyóóθááwóófóotóošyo-ʔóó habóyóočíiθwafábonsífóotóonyó-ʔóó hokíiθóónakičayóópo-ʔóó θas šámanóoyóosoč-ʔóó sa čixíími šmonóoθyóó-ʔóó hníí haxá-čixíí hníí niwó kawáhíis kinááyóóθak-aθ pxáapáániyóoθak.
časemph hinyamvery sáá-wóóha-ʔoᴴwóóy-yóó=yíístrong-sweet-taste-3inan.real.impfv=ds:seq skiagain θááwóó-fóóʔ-yóó-yoᴴ=ʔóóhold(pl.O)-by.hand-3inan.real.pfv-mtn=ss:seq aᴴboᴴyóó-pčííθ-waᴴfaᴴ-bon-siᴴ-fóóʔ-yóóna-yoᴴ=ʔóóquickly-pack-mouth-applic-body.part.incorp-by.hand-3inan.real.pfv-mtn=ss:seq oᴴkííθ-ʔóóna-kičaᴴ-yóó-poᴴ=ʔóódur-increasing-eat-3inan.real.impfv-iter=ss:seq θascompletely ʔIᴴwaᴴmaᴴ-nóó-`yóos-oč=ʔóóbloat-feel-3sprox.real.pfv-complv=ss:seq sathen čixíí-miᴴcottonwood-aug šmoᴴ-nóóθ-yóó=ʔóóandat-find-3inan.real.impfv=ss:seq hnííthere haxá-čixíídel=cottonwood hnííthere niwóat ka-waᴴhííx3inan.poss-shade kiᴴn-(x)áá-yóó-θak=aθlie.down-loc.applic:an-3inan.real.impfv-rep=ss:consq pxáá-kpááni-`yóo-θakabilv-sleep-3sprox.real.impfv-rep

1. They tasted very sweet and then (ds)...
2. He grabbed (another handful) again and then (ss)...
3. He quickly shoved them in his mouth and then (ss)...
4. He kept eating more and more and then (ss)...
5. He felt completely full and then (ss)...
6. He went and found a tall cottonwood and then (ss)...
7. He lay down in the cottonwood's shade and consequently (ss)...
8. He could sleep. (Matrix)

There are 10 SR clitics, 5 Same-Subject and 5 Different-Subject, listed here, which are discussed in detail and exemplified below.

	SS	DS
Subordinate	=ok	=ko
Conditional/Temporal	=drá	=čí
Consequence/Location	=aθ	=om
Sequential	=ʔóó	=yíí
Simultaneous	=fin	=θáá

Subordinate: SS =ok / DS =ko

This set marks:

• Concessives ("X, (al/even-)though Y"), in the structure "Y=subord X". To imply "even though" (the event is realized), the supporting verb is inflected for realis; to imply "even if" (the event is potential), the supporting verb is irrealis. Optionally, the conjunctive particle fbó "however" can appear between the clauses. ((54) below).

• Most commonly, in complement constructions, marking the complement (=supporting) clause. Unlike in many other cases, with complement constructions, the clauses can appear in either order. I.e., to express "X (e.g., I know) that Y", one would say either "Y=subord X" or "X Y=subord". Optionally, the complementizer ʔiwí can appear at the beginning of the complement clause. There are a number of examples in the story; four are provided below in (55). (55a) illustrates the SS form, (55b) the DS form, and (55c) the DS with an irrealis verb.

As noted above, Subordinate verbs cannot take aspect inflection in suffix slot 2 or evidential inflection in suffix slot 3. The SS form =ok also cannot take the person/TAM suffix in slot 1 (see (55a)). In addition, Subordinate verbs mark negation with a verbal suffix -woy (as in (52) above), rather than the separate negative particle ki.

(54) θíimíínačimθóóyóó-ko fbó ʔo ki našíhííyóošáá
θíimíí-aᴴnaᴴčiᴴ-IᴴmIᴴ-θóó-yóó-`šáá=kogreen-good-place-be:inan-3inan.real.impfv-sens=ds:subord fbóhowever ʔofoc kineg naší-híí-yóó-`šááanimal-exist:an-3obv.real.impfv-sens
"...even though it was green and lovely (ds) there were no animals..." (line 9) (DS Subordinate = concessive)

(55a) ʔiwí pxáákičáxinónóoθ-ok košóonsaθočóoθak
ʔiwícompzr pxáá-kičaᴴ-xiᴴn-|nóóθ|-`f=okabilv-eat-nmzr:pat-find-detr=ss:subord |koᴴšóón|-saᴴk-θoᴴč-`yóo-θakthink-tr-antps-3sprox.real.impfv-rep
"He thought that (ss) he could find food" (line 45) (SS Subordinate = complement)

(55b) Spáaw kaʔóow θnóošxáánoxmayóos-ko košóósaθočóoθak.
spa-`:wdem:dist-obv káʔahó-`:wold.man-obv θIᴴ-|nóóy|-xáá-noᴴx-maᴴ-`yóos=koinv-bent-mental-mal-by.mouth-3sprox.real.pfv=ds:subord |koᴴšóón|-sak-θoᴴč-`yóo-θakthink-tr-antps-3sprox.real.impfv-rep
"He thought that (ds) the old man had tricked him" (line 51) (DS Subordinate = complement)

(55c) ... pxáásóomtoθčíin ʔiwí saθsóʔoł komíyifihi-ko
pxáá-|sóomtó|-θoᴴč-íinabilv-know-antps-1sg.real.impfv ʔiwícompzr xaθsoᴴʔ-ołperson-an.pl |koᴴmiᴴyiᴴ|-fi-hiᴴ=kocome-3pprox.irreal.pfv-dubit=ds:subord
"(I wait for people) to find out (ds) whether any people may come" (line 13) (DS Subordinate = complement, irrealis)

In a complement construction, the matrix clause can have scope over multiple supporting clauses — these will all be marked with a Subordinate clitic, with subject (co)reference in each Subordinate supporting clause made to the matrix clause. This can be seen in (56a), which has the structure in (56b), where both supporting clause A and B refer back to the matrix clause, rather than (in the case of clause A) an immediately contiguous clause.

(56a) ʔiwí hočhófáásíí-ko hníí hanáčikičaxin káá ʔááxiθínóoθsóó-ok čas sóoθhoyóos
ʔiwícompzr očhó-|fáá|-síí=ko,deont-wait.for-3obv.irreal.impfv=ds:subord, hnííthere aᴴnaᴴčiᴴ-kičaᴴ-xiᴴngood-eat-nmzr:pat káá3obv ʔááxi-θIᴴ-|nóóθ|-sóó=ok3.thm-inv-find-ben=ss:subord časemph sóó-θIᴴ-|ho|-`yóostr-inv-say-antps-3sprox.real.pfv
"he had said to wait for him to show him where the good food was" (line 57)

(56b)

1. [that (he) should wait for him(obv)]_A=ds:subord
2. [(that he(obv)) shows him the good food]_B=ss:subord
3. [(he(obv)) said to him that:]_MATRIX

Conditional/Temporal: SS =drá / DS =čí

This set marks:

• Conditionals and counterfactuals. For "if X then Y" these have the structure: "X=cond Y". Optionally, the supporting clause may be preceded by boł "if". The supporting clause is irrealis, while the matrix clause can be either irrealis or future — irrealis for counterfactuals, future for regular conditionals. However, when SS =drá is used, its verb does not take person/TAM marking in slot 1. There are no examples of conditionals or counterfactuals in the story, but three invented examples are given below, for SS conditional (57a), DS conditional (57b), and DS counterfactual (57c).

• Temporal elaboration, backgrounded statements situating the action in time. These only appear in DS form with =čí, and take no person/TAM or other inflection. ((58) below.)

Conditional/Temporal verbs cannot take aspectual inflection in slot 2, and SS (conditional) =drá, and DS =čí when used as temporal elaboration do not take person/TAM or evidential inflection either. However, DS Conditional =čí can take evidential (slot 3) and person/TAM (slot 1) inflection, while SS Conditional can take evidential inflection.

(57a) Woyóok wafíxanxá-drá ʔaxačočááʔíim
woyóok3sprox |waᴴfiᴴ|-xaᴴn-xaᴴ=čítopple-tripping-caus=ss:cond |ʔaᴴxač|-yoᴴč-(x)áá-íimdistant-be:an-become:an-1sg.fut.impfv
"If I trip her (ss) I'm going to leave."

(57b) Níí wafíxanxápi-drá ʔaxačočáay
níí1sg |waᴴfiᴴ|-xaᴴn-xaᴴ-pi=drátopple-tripping-caus-3sprox.irreal.pfv=ds:cond |ʔaᴴxač|-yoᴴč-(x)áá-`ydistant-be:an-become:an-3sprox.fut.impfv
"If I trip her (ds) she's going to leave."

(57a) Níí wafíxanxápi-drá ʔaxačočáápi
níí1sg |waᴴfiᴴ|-xaᴴn-xaᴴ-pi=drátopple-tripping-caus-3sprox.irreal.pfv=ds:cond |ʔaᴴxač|-yoᴴč-(x)áá-piᴴdistant-be:an-become:an-3sprox.irreal.impfv
"If I had tripped her (ds) she would have left."

(58) Mixíyačoči-čí θyóómotáwanásóoyóoko
|miᴴxiᴴyaᴴ|-čI`čiᴴ=číday.pass-all.of=ds:temp θIᴴ-yóómotá-waᴴnaᴴ-sóó-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴinv-medicine-produce-ben-3sprox.real.impfv-prog
"All that day (ds), (he(obv)) was making medicine for him(prox)" (line 68)

Consequence/Location: SS =aθ / DS =om

This set marks:

• Consequence, including cause, result, and purpose. "X=consq Y" can thus have implications ranging from "Y because X / because X, Y" and "X, and so/as a result Y" (59a), and "X in order that Y" (59b). Optionally, the conjunctive particle si "thus" can appear before the matrix clause, but this is not common. Note that consequence linkages can frequently also be expressed through use of the simple Sequential SR markers (see below). For the sense of "because," the alternate order of clauses (Y X=consq) is also possible, though uncommon, and requires the adverb h(aʔ)áaʔmi "soon, since, because" at the beginning of the supporting clause. This ordering seems to essentially be an extra elaboration by the speaker to clarify cause, which was not originally planned to be part of the utterance. In any event, it occurs once in the story, see (59c).

• Location. To express "X, where/in the place that Y" one can say "Y=loc X" (as in (60a,b)). The verb in the supporting clause is usually preceded by a locative adverb, híí "here" or hníí "there" (as in (60b)) but doesn't have to be. The notion of "where Y happens" can sometimes also be expressed using a locative participle, but this is a deverbal and cannot mark person or participant coreference, so is avoided in more complex contexts.

• Note that for both (60a) and (60b), either reading (consequence or location) is possible, illustrating a likely context where one of the senses could have led to the other. (From a comparative perspective, the locative meaning is almost certainly the original one; in most other Moose languages this is the cognate morphemes' only meaning, and consequence is indicated through Sequential markers.)

(59a) hinyam soʔsoxwoyóopoθak-aθ čsááxanóoyóosθak
hinyamreally soʔ-|soᴴxIᴴwoᴴ|-`yóo-poᴴ-θak=aθoften-make.mischief-3sprox.real.impfv-iter-rep=ss:consq |čsáá|-xaᴴ-nóó-`yóos-θakexit-caus-mid:an-3sprox.real.pfv-rep
"he was banished (ss) because he caused too much trouble / he caused too much trouble (ss) and so was banished" (line 1) (SS Consequence = cause/reason)

(59b) ... ʔááxihosóósisa-om níí šmokičaxinxihoxbíima
ʔááxi-|ho|-sóó-sisa=om3.thm-say-ditr-1sg.irreal.pfv=ds:consq níí1sg šmoᴴ-kičaᴴ-xiᴴn-|xiᴴhIᴴx|-`b-íimaandat-eat-nmzr:pat-fetch(sg.O)-detr-1sg.fut.pfv=ds:simult,
"Tell me (where the food is) (ds) so that I can go get it" (line 38) (DS Consequence = purpose)

(59c) ʔočíčinóoyóoko, háaʔmi spáaw nohóow kóóha-woyóok θkííxáayóoko-om
|ʔoᴴčiᴴčiᴴ|-nóó-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴ,pain-feel-3sprox.real.impfv-prog, háaʔmisince spa-`:wdem:dist-obv nohó-`:wworm-obv kóóha=woyóokinsv=3sprox |θkíí|-(x)áá-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴ=omexist-loc.applic:an-3sprox.real.impfv-prog=ds:consq
"he was in great pain — since the worm was in him (ds)" (line 68) (DS Consequence = cause [elaboration])

(60a) ... hníí spáaw nohóow θkííxááyóó-om hinyam sááʔočíčinóoyóošo
hnííthere spa-`:wdem:dist-obv nohó-`:wworm-obv |θkíí|-(x)áá-yóó=omexist-loc.applic:an-3inan.real.impfv=ds:loc/consq hinyamvery sáá-|ʔoᴴčiᴴčiᴴ|-nóó-`yóo-iᴴšoᴴstrong-pain-feel-3sprox.real.impfv-incept
"there where the worm was (in his stomach) (ds) he felt a great pain / because the worm was there he felt a great pain" (line 60) (DS, location or cause)

(60b) níí ki ʔííxííyóonyó-aθ skóo-hinka póopáánixáásíípo
níí1sg kineg |ʔííxíí|-yóó-nyó=aθpossess-3inan.real.impfv-stat=ss:loc/consq skóo=n-kainsv=1sg.poss-3inan póóʔ-|kpááni|-(x)áá-síí-poᴴhabit-sleep-loc.applic:an-3inan.irreal.impfv-habit,
"(How come) I have no (house) where I can sleep / ... I have no (house) to (=in order to) sleep there?" (line 22) (SS, location or purpose)

Sequential: SS =ʔóó / DS =yíí

The Sequential marks that the supporting clause takes place prior to the following matrix clause (the order of clauses is strict): to express "X and then Y," one says "X=seq Y". It is primarily used simply to express sequential events, but can also be used for notions of causation and result. (To more strongly emphasize the idea that one event caused or resulted in another, the Consequence SR set would be used.) Examples of SS (61a) and DS (61b) are given below.

(61a) šmomíimómayóonθak-ʔóó šmopáániyóoθak
šmoᴴ-|míimóma|-yóóna-θak=ʔóóandat-drink-3inan.real.pfv-rep=ss:seq šmoᴴ-|kpááni|-`yóo-θakandat-sleep-3sprox.real.impfv-rep
"he drank it (the medicine) and then (ss) went to sleep" (line 69) (SS Sequential)

(61b) ... sčóyiyóonyó-yíí hóómóoʔxáyóonyó
|sčóyi|-yóóna-yoᴴ=yííask-3obv.real.pfv-mtn=ds:seq |óómóo|-ʔxá-yóóna-yoᴴgroan-sound-3obv.real.pfv-mtn
"(he(prox)) asked him(obv) (where the food was) and then (ds) he(obv) groaned" (line 31) (DS Sequential)

Simultaneous: SS =fin / DS =θáá

The Simultaneous marks a supporting clause that occurs at the same time as the matrix clause; this can include states, descriptions, and gnomic statements, which don't have a set/delimited period they occur during. Examples of SS (62a) and DS (62b) are given below.

(62a) sčíkičáxinónóoθyóoko-fin hokíiθhaháačiyóoθak
ʔI`čIᴴ-|kičaᴴ|-xiᴴn-noᴴ+nóóθ-`f-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴ=fintry-eat-nmzr:pat-rdp+find-detr-3sprox.real.impfv-prog=ss:simult oᴴkííθ-ha+|háačí|-`yóo-θakdur-rdp+walk(sg)-3sprox.real.impfv-rep
"he walked around for a long time looking for something to eat / he was looking for something to eat while (ss) walking around" (line 46) (SS Simultaneous)

(62b) θyóómotáwanásóoyóoko-θáá spa wa-sayihpan kinááyóóko
θIᴴ-yóómotá-waᴴnaᴴ-sóó-`yóo-oᴴkoᴴ=θááinv-medicine-produce-ben-3sprox.real.impfv-prog=ds:simult spadem:dist wa=saᴴyiᴴhiᴴpaᴴnsuprs=mat |kiᴴn|-(x)áá-yóó-oᴴkoᴴlie.down-loc.applic:an-3inan.real.impfv-prog
"(he(obv)) made medicine for him(prox) while (ds) (he(prox)) lay on the mat" (line 68) (DS Simultaneous)