Plains Cree: A Grammatical Study - Computer Science Club

50 WOLFART: PLAINS CREE [TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
quency, they constitute only 4 per cent of all AI
stems. 60
In addition, the stems ending in clusters are as follows:
5.51. Transitive Stems
Approximate percentage
of TI stems
Transitive verb stems end in a non-syllabic or a
cluster of non-syllabics, e.g.,
hk
sk
ht
0.4
7.2
21
TA wdpam- 'see'
st
2.1
pakamahw- 'strike'
nipah- 'kill,' etc.;
5.52. Animate Intransitive Stems
TI wapaht- 'see'
pakamah- 'strike'
sakin- 'seize,' etc.
TA and TI stems are followed by theme signs which
are described in sections 5.42 and 5.71.
Transitive animate (TA) verbs end in the following
single non-syllabics:
Approximate percentage
of TA stems
h 18.3
m 17.2
n 12.5
s 0.07
t 11.9
w 24.6
y
0.35
In addition, the stems ending in clusters are as
follows:
ht
st
hw
mw
pw
spiv
sw SW
Approximate percentage
of TA stems
Transitive inanimate (TI) verbs end in the following
single non-syllabics:
h
n
s
t
0.76
0.07
11.1
0.28
0.07
0.07
2.7
Approximate percentage
of TI stems
20.1
22.7
5.1
21.4
60Consider also Ellis's recent statement (1971: p. 84) that
"most II stems end in /n/ but a few end in one of the vowels
/i, e, a/." A:hile there may of course be dialect differences, a
survey of over 700 II stems shows that vowel stems (in i, o, e, a)
constitute fully two-thirds of all II stems, and that only one-third
are n-stems.
Animate intransitive (AI) verb stems end in a
vowel or n, e.g.
api- 'sit'
wdpamiso- 'see oneself'
tapasi- 'flee'
pimohte- 'walk along'
nipa- 'sleep'
pasiko- 'get up'
pimisin- 'lie.'
The AI stem types follow:
i
0
e
a
o
n
Approximate percentage
of AI stems
29.2
25.4
3.2
27.4
10.9
0.03
3.9
e-stems have stem alternants in e and a. The
alternant in a occurs in the non-third forms of the
independent indicative and throughout the inde-
pendent preterit; the alternant in e occurs elsewhere.
(However, the distribution of the alternants is not
entirely stable. Thus we find S14-3 ayamihdhkan
(AI 2 delayed imperative), and T101-6 atoskdsiw
(diminutive) beside T102pl acoskesiw.)
n-stems have alternants in n and ni. The alternant
in n occurs in the 3 and 3p forms of the independent
and conjunct orders; the alternant with final ni is
found in the first and second person forms of the
conjunct order. All other instances of n followed by i
are indeterminate since the i may reflect the suffix-
initial /e/ or, in the case of imperative or derivational
suffixes with an initial consonant, connective /i/.
That the first and second person forms of the conjunct
order actually have the ni-alternant rather than n
plus connective /i/ follows from two observations:
(1) These forms have the y-alternant of the suffixes
(5.453) which normally occurs after vocalic stems or
suffixes. (2) Lacombe cites parallel sets of forms with
n and ni (pimisindn, pimisiniydn 'that I lie down') and
Ellis (1971: p. 83) actually states the n-form to be
more common in James Bay Cree. Thus, the histori-