A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE ...

BACKGROUND
c) Aazhawakiwenzhiinh gii-izhinikaazo.
Aazhawakiwenzhiinh he was named so
TOPIC 2 BACKGROUND
d) Miish iko waasa, ingii-taamin Gabekanaansing gii-izhi-wiinde.
DM used to far we lived there At the End of the Trail it was named so
TOPIC 3 EVENT
e) Miish a’aw akiwenzii gigizheb onishkaad, babiichiid, aniibiish
DM that old man morning he gets up he puts his shoes on tea
gashkibidood, ziinzibaakwad miinawaa bangii
he ties up sugar and a little
bakwezhiganan, ezhi-bimoondang.
bread and packs it on his back
a) ‘We had a certain old man staying with us.
b) He was the old lady’s brother.
c) His name was Aazhawakiwenzhiinh.
d) We used to live far away at Portage Lake which was called Gabekanaansing ‘At
the End of the Trail’.
e) The old man got up in the morning, put his moccasins on, tied up some tea,
sugar, and a little bread, and packed it on his back.’
The first three lines in (54a-c) bring up the first topic, i.e. the old man; (54d) introduces
the second topic, i.e. that the speaker and the old man used to live at Portage Lake; and
(54e) introduces the third topic, i.e. the old man’s daily travels. Note that the event
structures associated with these topics are not linked by idash, nor by miinawaa (except
clause internally where there is coordination), but by asyndetic connection. Note also
that while the first topic is not accented by idash, the last two topics in (54d,e) are. This
general pattern exhibited in this excerpt prevails through the whole story, and serves as a
major pattern for stories in general.
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