Plains Cree: A Grammatical Study - Computer Science Club

46 [TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
WOLFART: PLAINS CREE
But even without this marker, simple conjunct
clauses may express subsequence or purpose; they are
usually introduced by a conjunction like nawac 'it is
better,' e.g., S238-39 . . ., nawac kakwe-wdpamacik.
'you ought to try to see them.'
The simple conjunct is also governed by certain
specific conjunctions such as maywes, pamoyes 'before'
(which may, however, also take the changed con-
junct with preverb ka); tdnika, pitane 'would that!'
etc. Examples: T55p71 maywes pe-sipwehteydhk 'be-
fore we left there'; S8-24 maywes askiy ihtakohk
'before the earth existed'; tdnika kipa takohtet can.
'I wish John would get home soon'; P78-1 pitaneh
pimdtisit! 'May he live!'
5.332. The changed conjunct indicates subordina-
tion in an entirely neutral way. It is the most
versatile, in its syntactic use, of the conjunct modes,
and consequently the most widely used as well.
Initial change may operate on the first syllable of
the verb stem, e.g., S11-31 tekohtet awa kiseyiniw 'when
the old man arrived.' More typically, however, it
affects one of a small set of preverbs (6.521), such as
ki which is changed to kd, e.g., S246-25 eh-pzhtoket,
kd-wdpamdt ohi ka-kih-nipahdt napesisah. 'When she
came in, she saw (3-(3')) the boy (3') whom she had
killed (3-(3')).' The most frequent preverb, e, seems
to be nothing but a "vehicle" for initial change; its
underlying, unchanged form does not occur in Cree.
Impressionistically speaking, the use of e is gaining
at the expense of forms where the stem itself undergoes
initial change. Examples: S41-41 papdmitdcimow,
e-nitonawat 'he crawled about, looking for him';
S41-29 kd-pehtamdn e-nikohteyin 'I heard you chop-
ping'; etc.
The uses of conjunct forms may be grouped into
four basic types. While most of these are found
in all conjunct modes, they are most clearly seen in
the changed conjunct.
Narrative: where main and subordinate clause
show no agreement of referents, e.g., P264-32 mwehci
eh-dpihtd-piponiyik, eh-ati-tipiskdyik, wsadmew wiwa.
'Exactly in the middle of winter (0'), at nightfall
(0'), he asked his wife (3') to go with him (3-(3')).'
Participial: where there is some agreement, between
clauses, of overt or covert referents, e.g., S237-5
k-dyztawihkwakanet wihtikow 'the two-faced Windigo';
P262-27 kitimakisindwdw kd-wi-kakwe-nipahiyek.
'You are pitiable (2p) who mean to try to kill me
(2p-l).'
Substantive: where a clause functions as the adjunct
of a verb, e.g., P2-14 kitahtawe peyak kih-pawdtam (3)
e-wih-kapayit (3') moniyaw-iyiniwa (3') wapiski-
-wiyasah (3'). 'Then at one time a certain man
dreamt (3) that the Canadian (3'), the White Man
(3') would land here (3').'
Focal: where the predication is a particle expression,
e.g., P256-19 namoya eh-ahkosiydn. 'It is not that
I am ill'; S40-4 kZtahtawe wdskahikan kah-otihtahk.
'Presently, he came to a house'; P262-10 tanehki k-oh-
picicik? 'Why have they moved camp?'
5.333. The subjunctive mode expresses a condition,
in a very wide sense. For instance, S62-2 kispin
nipahikawiydni, . . . 'if I am slain (indf-1), .. .';
P8-7 nika-pimitdcimon, pihtokeydnih. 'I shall be
crawling along the ground when I enter the lodge.'
The predication on which a subjunctive clause
depends typically (but not obligatorily) contains an
indication of subsequence (futurity), e.g., P8-10
ekwa ki-nipahiyeko, ka-pakocenindwaw. 'And when
you have slain me, you will (ka) cut me open';
S238-3 takwdmoyani ekotj, omisi itwehkan: 'When
you get there, speak then (delayed imperative) thus.'
Finally, subjunctive clauses are often used for
expressing the time of day (cf. 5.334), e.g., P6-34
hdw, tipiskdkih isko nika-pehon. 'Well, I shall wait
until dark.' But note that besides, say, wdpahki 'in
the morning; tomorrow' we also find the changed
conjunct form e-wdpahk with largely the same
meaning.
5.334. The iterative combines not only the morpho-
logical characteristics of the changed and subjunctive
modes, namely initial change and the suffix /ih/, but
also, it would seem, some of their more salient syn-
tactic features: the changed mode's use in participial
and narrative clauses, and the subjunctive's feature of
conditionality.
Examples: S244-19 mistahi miyweyihtamwak mdna
oki oskinikiwak, minisah miyZcitwawi. 'Those young
men were always very glad when they had berries to
eat'; S8-2 kitahtawe mdna sepwehteci, owikimdkana
wawesiyiwa. 'Then presently, whenever he went
away, his wife dressed up.'
Expressions of season often show the iterative (cf.
5.333), e.g., S253-16 niyipiniyikih 'in summer-time';
S254-2 peponiyikih 'in winter-time, every winter.'
5.34. Imperative Order
There are two subcategories, IMMEDIATE and
DELAYED. Imperative forms are used for commands,
exhortations, etc.
The delayed mode indicates that the command,
exhortation, etc. is to be obeyed not immediately but
at a later point in time. Most typically, it is found
together with a conditional clause, e.g., S254-13
. . ." itdhkan, mayaw wdpamacih; '". . ." do you
then say to him, as soon as you see him.' But it is
by no means restricted to such a context; consider
S247-33 haw, awdsis, oma nawaci; micihkahk oma
otakisih. 'Come, child, roast this (immediate); let
us later eat (delayed) this tripe.'
The marker of the delayed imperative is /Lhk/; it
is followed by the same person markers as are found
in the conjunct order. For Proto Algonquian,
Bloomfield (1946: p. 100) sets up a special "prohibi-
tive" order to which the delayed imperative paradigm
of Cree would correspond.