Plains Apache language: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 09:34, 22 February 2020

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The noun bases to which these prefixes can be added are of one of three classes: primary, compound, and nominalized. Primary noun bases are mostly monosyllabic stems such as ''t'èèš'' "charcoal," though a few of them seem to consist of an unidentified prefix and a stem (e.g. ''dèè-éh'' "antelope"), and some others are simply unanalyzable polysyllables, perhaps originally onomatopoeic (e.g. ''ʔą̀ą̀ʔą̀ʔ'' "magpie"). Many of the stem nouns have multiple different forms depending on their morphological context, with an absolute form when unpossessed, an inflected form when possessed, and a combining form in compounds or nominalized phrases. The formation of these is generally irregular, although certain patterns do exist, such as initial ''x'', ''s'', and ''ł'' becoming ''ɣ'', ''z'', and ''l'' when inflected (e.g. ''sàà'' > ''bí-zàà'' "his language") and a final V:h becoming Vʔ (e.g. ''t'ààh'' > ''bí-t'áʔ'' "his feather").

Some stem nouns, especially those referring to body parts, are [[Inalienably possessed noun|inalienably possessed]], i.e. they cannot occur without a possessor prefix (e.g. ''bí-dààh'' "his lips," but not *''dààh''). In these cases the indefinite prefix must be used if one wishes to talk about the object without specifying the possessor (''ʔí-dààh'' "lips"). In order to indicate [[alienable possession]] of these nouns, a second possessor prefix can be attached before the indefinite prefix, yielding forms like ''bí-ʔí-k'àʔ'' "his fat (which comes from the body of something or someone else, but is now in his posessionpossession)" contrasting with ''bí-k'àʔ'' "his fat (which is a part of his own body)." Some of these nouns may change their meaning when preceded by ''ʔí-'', such as ''ʔí-bèʔ'' "milk" versus ''bí-bèʔ'' "her breast"; lastly, some can only take the indefinite prefix, effectively turning them into regular alienably possessed nouns starting with ''ʔí-'' (e.g. ''ʔí-dààh'' "enemy," but ''bí-ʔí-dààh'' "his enemy," not *''bí-dààh'').

The second kind of noun bases are compounds, which are formed from two noun stems and sometimes an enclitic of obscure meaning (e.g. ''bí-déé-kòò'' "his tears," from ''déé'', combining form of "eye," and ''kòò'', combining form of "water"). The third kind of noun bases are nominalized verbs or phrases, which may or may not include some kind of a relative enclitic. Examples include ''dáł-ts'ààh'' "zebra, tiger," from the identical verb meaning "marks are on it," and ''hà-ts'í-ɣą̀ą̀s-é'' "badger," from the verb ''hà-ts'í-ɣą̀ą̀s'' "he scratches out" plus the relative enclitic ''-é'' "he who."