Plains Cree: A Grammatical Study - Computer Science Club

18 WOLFART: PLAINS CREE
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
second possibility seems to be preferred in conversa-
tional style, but there is a great deal of variation in
this matter and the details of stylistic variation are
yet to be explored.
It may safely be said, however, that focus changes
are frequent, i.e. that spans are relatively brief. This
is not true, however, in at least one text (Bloomfield,
1930: text 10) which in its entirety constitutes only
one span; i.e., it has constant focus assignment
throughout.
2.221. The machinery of obviation combined with
that of the possession paradigm of nouns may provide
full cross-reference. Examples:
P 98-38 ohi napewah kd-nipahdyit
that man(3') kill (TA 3'-(3'))
owikimakaniyiwah itohtahew.
his(3') wife(3') take there(TA 3-(3'))
'He took to that place that man who had slain his
(own) wife';
the crucial cross-reference is that of the possessor of
owikimdkaniyiwah 'his own wife' which is marked as
3' by the prefix-suffix combination o- -iyi-.
S 36-39 . . . ekwa e-mzcisot, wisahkecdhkwa
then eat(AI 3) Wisahkecahk(3')
e-kimotamawdt onawaczwiniyiwa.
rob(TA 3-(3')) his(3') roast(Op)
. . . then he ate, robbing Wisahkecahk of his
roasts';
i.e., Wisahkecahk's roasts: o- -iyi-. Contrast
S 37-1 namoya kiskeyihtam asay
not know(TI 3) already
eh-kitamwdyit oniskima.
eat up(TA 3'-(3')) his(3) goose(3')
'He did not know that the other had already eaten
his geese.'
i.e., the geese belonging to the first-mentioned person,
indexed by o- as proximate third, and not the eater
(3').
2.222. Change of focus (11) may be indicated, even
within a sentence, simply by indexing different
referents with the same obviation category, e.g.,
T 55p35 ninayomaw e-sakihak,
carry(TA 1-3) love(TA 1-3)
nikdwiy e-mamitoneyimak
my mother(3) think about(TA 1-3)
e-wz-petamawak.
want to bring it to him(TA 1-3)
'I carried it (sc. a kettle(3)) on my back, I prized it,
[I I thought of my mother and wanted to bring it
to her.'
P 98-11 piyisk kahkiyaw awiyak
finally all someone (3p)
miyweyihtamwak; |1 mina ayahciyiniwah nisto
be glad(TI 3p) also Blackfoot(3') three
eh-nipahat, awa ndpesis, I
kill(TA 3-(3')) this(3) boy(3)
miyweyihtamwak ok dyisiyiniwak, . . .
be glad(TI 3p) these(3p) people(3p)
'Finally everyone was glad; 11 also because this boy
had slain three Blackfoot, II those people were
glad,
2.223. Change of focus (11) may be indicated by
the same referent being assigned to different obviation
categories, e.g.,
T125-1 ekwa anihi ostesa, ||
and these (3') his(3) brothers(3')
ekonik esa ki-wiwiwak;
these thus marry(AI 3p)
'And his brothers, 1] they had married';
T10pl17 ekwa mina mana anihi
and this(3')
k-acimdt 1] kayds
tell about him(TA 3-(3')) long ago
anihi soniydwa.
this (3') money (3')
ka-kz-kimotit
steal (AI 3)
'And then he told about this one [1 who long ago
stole this money.'
T 58pl9 sdsay kd-kwdskwwewepchomiht
already knock up(TA indf-3')
ohi ocemisisa; 1[ mitoni ispimihk
this(3') his(3) horse(3') really in the air
kwdskwewepahok awa misatim.
knock up(TA (3')-3) this(3) horse(3)
'Already his little horse had been knocked up into
the air; 1I really high up he (buffalo) knocked this
horse.'
T 58p9 konta -pehtakosit; 11 oma
just be heard (AI 3)
ka-pehtakosiyit e-itdpit . . .
be heard (AI 3') look around (AI 3)
'he (buffalo) just made a big noise; 1] when he
(buffalo) made a big noise, he (man) looked
around . . .'
2.224. When several obviative referents are in-
volved, word order may provide some clues; in the