550 Da~ota Verbs Preface
Da~ota Alphabet,
IT
Sounds, and Orthography
Conjugation Forms
5
7
Conjugated VerbsA-Z
11
Da~ota-English/Wasicu
Word List
145
English/Wasicu-Da~ota
Word List
161
Appendix "Verbs" excerpt from John P. Williamson, An English-Dakota Dictionary (1902)
177
Preface Centuries of pressures and incentives to speak English have severely reduced the number of speakers of tribal languages in the United States and Canada. Numerous native languages are on the verge of disappearing with their last elderly speakers, and many others are not far behind. Fewer and fewer D~ota people-most in Minnesota, Canada, North and South Dakota, northern Nebraska, and northeastern Montana-speak their language at home. In Minnesota's four D~ota communities, less than thirty elders whose first language was D~ota are alive today. Perhaps 6,000 others in the region can converse in the language or speak on some level. In D~ota communities and in the larger population, the language nevertheless remains a strong symbol of identity. But loss oflanguage can mean loss of cultural knowledge. The D~ota language offers access to a different-a D~ota reality. For this reason, the language is again being taught to young children and high school and college students and in community settings. D~ota is different from English in both grammar and vocabulary. It has sounds and letters that are unfamiliar. Where English may label things with different words, D~ota may use a single term -or vice versa. Words that are adjectives in English may be verbs in D~ota. Verbs are the heart of our language. Because D~ota was spoken, not written, very few word and grammar books are available to learners. That is why we have compiled and conjugated this list of 550 common and not so common verbs. We invite speakers to submit new verbs to us so that we will one day have a book of 1,000 D~ota verbs. Please send information to Neil McKay, Department of American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota, 2 Scott Hall, 72 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (
[email protected]). Students of the D~ota language, we hope you will find that this book of verbs helps your journey. Always remember that the best way to learn D~ota is to visit with a speaker. Hena owas Da~ota iapi okihipi ki1J wopida ta1Jka u1Jkeniciyapi do. Ho hecetu!
Harlan LaFontaine ($u1Jkmanitu Hota1Jka)
Neil McKay ((;a1Jtemaza )
South Dakota Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux
North Dakota Spirit Lake D~ota
ix
Introduction This book of verbs is created for students of the D~ota language. It will help them see the patterns in D~ota verb conjugation and make D~ota easier to use in everyday conversation. Although there is no magic formula for mastering D~ota, we have frequently seen how focus on verbs translates into an immediate gain in a student's ability to speak. When a student learns how to modify or conjugate the verb to clarify who is doing the action, patterns of verb change emerge and become familiar over time. When listening to a speaker, the student will know what is being said by how the verb is conjugated. Each of the 550 verbs in this book have been conjugated -some fully, some partially. Seven basic forms are given for each verb so that students can use the examples to conjugate other words. D~ota speakers were consulted about these 550 verbs to ensure proper translation and interpretation. As with all languages, dialectical differences emerge, and one word may have more than one interpretation depending on the community origin of the speaker. The D~ota language has several dialects. The one used in this book is Minnesota D~ota. Each tiospaye (family group) and community have different ways of saying and pronouncing certain words and phrases, but we all speak the same language. We are the Oceti SakowiIJ (Seven Council Fires), made up of the D~ota, N~ota and L~ota. Da~ota
Bdew~aIJtUIJwaIJ Walipe~ute
WalipetuIJwaIJ SisitUIJwaIJ
Dwellers of the Spirit Lake (Holy Lake, Sacred Lake) Shooters Among the Leaves Dwellers Among the Leaves Dwellers of the Fishing Grounds
Na~ota
IhaIJktuIJwaIJ IhaIJktuIJwaIJna
Dwellers at the End Little Dwellers on the End
La~ota
TituIJwaIJ
Dwellers of the Prairie
3
550
DA~OTA
VERBS
Students interested in additional D~ota language assistance will find helpful the following reprints of nineteenth -century books published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press: Stephen R. Riggs, A Dakota-English Dictionary Stephen R. Riggs, Dakota Grammar with Texts and Ethnography John P. Williarnson, An English-Dakota Dictionary. (Williamson's notes on verbs are reprinted in this book's appendix.)
4
Da~ota Alphabet,
Sounds, and Orthography
This book's Dals:ota orthography, or way of representing the language's sounds in written symbols, was created and is used at the University of Minnesota to help students with their pronunciation of written text. This orthography is one of many used by the N a~ota, La~ota and Dals:ota speakers. The alphabet should be repeated frequently so that students can easily enunciate each sound as best as possible. All written forms of Da~ota are good for learning the language. The Dals:ota language has eight vowels: a alJ e
iI) o u
ulJ Absent from Dals:ota are these English consonants: f, j, 1, q, r, v, and x.
a aIJ
b c 't
c' d e
g g h Ii 1
Pronounced a alJ ba ca 'ta c'a da e ga ga ha Iia
Sound as in wash a as in wash, but nasal as in boy ch sound, but soft (unaspirated), almost like a j ch sound, but hard (aspirated), as in chalk and chop ch sound with a pause (glottal stop) before a vowel as in dog as a in stay guttural g sound only used when k is contracted, ex., walJyalJka to wayag as in help guttural h like ch in German (machen) as in pizza
5
550
DA~OTA
i.g k I.< k' m n
ig ka I.
