A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE ...

(72) Extra-topical background information (Kegg 1991:60-61)
a) Gii-agaasaani azhigwa ogitigaan gaa-o-bashkwashkibidood.
it was small now her garden that she weeded
b) Aanish naa niwiidookawaa gaye niin bangii go imaa;
DM DM I help her also me a little EMPH there
azhigwa onaagoshig gaye gaa-izhi-giizhiitaad, imaa adaawewigamigong
now evening also and so she finished there at the store
biindiged, dibaajimod, dibaajimoyaang gii-kiizhiikamaang gitigaan.
enters tells of we tell of we finished it garden
a) ‘The garden she went to weed was small.
b) Well, I helped her a little there, and then when it was getting to be evening she
finished, went into the store, and said that we had finished the garden.’
In (72), the use of aanish naa appears to help the speaker qualify her own contribution to
her grandmother’s weeding. In other words, by the use of aanish naa, the speaker
appears to be saying: Lest you think I didn’t help my grandmother, you’re wrong,
because I did. The evidence for this comes from (72a) where the speaker explicitly states
that it was her grandmother who went to weed the garden, apparently forgetting to
include her own (the speaker’s) contribution. As a remedy, she uses aanish naa in (72b)
to qualify her statement of her own hard work, albeit a small contribution.
Sometimes, aaniish marks some resolve or determination to do something after a
good reason or motivation to do so has presented itself. Many times, the resolution is the
natural choice among other possibilities. This is illustrated below.
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