A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE ...

(82) Position strengthening feature of isa (Clark 1998:8, audio)
a) Miish ige wiindamaagod odigoon iniw dibaakonigewininiwan,
and then also he tells him he says to him that judge
“You are charged to the salt and battery”, inaa giiwenh.
you are charged to the salt and battery he is told apparently
b) Ganawaabamaad iniw dibaakonigewininiwan, “Awenh, gaawiin-sa niin wiikaa
looking at him that judge nuh uh not-DM I ever
zhiiwitaagan gemaa-ge iw waasamoomakakoons ige ingimoodisiin,”
salt or also that battery also I did not steal it
odinaan giiwenh mii ii gaa-initang.
he tells him apparently DP that the way he heard it
a) ‘And also the judge apparently tells him, “You are charged to the salt and
battery.
b) Looking at the judge, he tells him apparently how he heard it, “Nuh uh, I [sa]
never stole any salt or battery.”’
Not having a good command of the English language, the Ojibwe man misinterprets the
judge’s indictment of assault and battery as being an indictment of stealing some salt and
a battery. In (82b), the Ojibwe man accents his denial nuh uh, I never stole any salt or
battery with isa (in this case, clitic -sa). While the propositional content of his denial
forms the basis of his defense, mystery particle isa allows him to make his case against a
charge that he views as ridiculous. In other words, isa appears to allow him to express
the attitude: I would never do such a silly thing, how dare you think that I would do such
a thing, etc. Functionally speaking, isa allows the Ojibwe man to establish his position as
the prevailing view, albeit under a false pretenses.
146