132 DAKOTA GRAMMAR [MeM0I [vol A xxiii l 



The. forms with prefixed t ( a as subject, followed by a neutral verb, refer always to the 

 owner of the inanimate object, not to the object itself. For animate beings they are referred 

 to the object by addition of the plural pi. 



t'asii'ke luslu'zahe' he is the kind of person who has fleet horses 

 i'asn'ke luslu zahqpi' the horses he has are always fleet 



Ordinarily possession is expressed in the verb (see p. 86). 



mit'a'woyuha many," he stole something belonging to me (among other stolen property) 

 wo'yuha mama'kinu' he stole property from me 

 sq'kak'q' 'ima'kiyayapi' my horses run away 



mit'a'woyuha yuk'e" I am one with property, lit. my property exists; — but t'i'ta'kuye mayu'k'e' relatives 

 exist for me, I have relatives, backing; or 'ota'kuye maki' yuk'e' 



As predicate the forms with t'a are used: 



hena' mit'a'woyuha' those are my possessions 



he' mit'a'c'qntf.pa' that is my pipe (c'qn%'pa k( he' mit'a'wa more idiomatic) 



The forms in t'a'wa emphasize the contrast between what is his (mine, yours, ours) and the 

 property of others, while the forms in t'a designate the contrast between the particular thing 

 possessed by him (me, you, us) and other things belonging to the same person, fa'wa (mit'a'wa, 

 nit'a'wa, i(,ki'fawa) when following a noun has no independent accent. 



mit'a'woyuha k\ waste' ste' my household goods are fine, (but my other property not) 



wo yuha-mit' a wa k\ hena' waste' ste' niy household goods are fine (but yours are not) 



mit'a'sina hini'kte' you shall be the kind of a person who may wear my blanket 



si'na-mit'a^wa k\ wq'zi h\n\ kte you shall wear one of my blankets (not another person's) 



mic'i'ca 42 k% waste' stepi' my children are nice (but other members of my family are not) 



wak'q' heza ,s -mit'a" wa k\ hena' waste' stepi' my children are nice (as compared to those of other families) 



When not followed by an article, demonstrative or numeral, t'a'wa is predicative. 



he mit'a'wa k\ he' the one that is mine that one 



he' mit'a'wa' that is mine 



ta'ku mit'a'wa k\ hena' c'ic'u' whatever is mine I give you 



ta'ku-mit'a"wa k\ he 'au' that, something mine bring here; but tukte'-mit'a s waka c'a which one/mine kind 



of/it being so (which one of mine?) 



When the noun is accompanied by an adjective, the possessive t'a'wa follows the noun and 

 precedes the adjective which also has a secondary accent. 



t'ii'kceya-mit'a^wa wq t'e'ca k'% hleca'he' my new tent is torn 



wi'yq-mit'a\va-waste* k\ waya' zq' my good wife is sick 



wi'yq-mil'a'wa wq waste' k'ti he' waya' zq' my wife a certain one, the good one that one was sick 



When the possessive is preceded by a noun, expressing a genitive relation it has no inde- 

 pendent accent. 



P'ala' ni-t'ama^k'oc'e k% it'i'mahel wana' "qyq'pi, hq'l we were travelling in the country of the Pawnee, 



when 

 wasi'cu-t'asifke white man his horse 



For possessives used idiomatically as names of objects see page 69 

 Nouns beginning in o when preceded by possessive t'a occur in uncontracted and contracted 

 forms t'ao'- and t'o'. The latter expresses a permanent, the former a temporary relation. 



t'ao'wi his earrings, i. e., those he made, or those he happens to wear; — t'o'w\ the earrings he always 

 wears, that are part of him; — i'o'w\ t'ot'o'la his earrings are blue (a nickname); — t'ao'iye his choice 

 of words on a certain occasion; — t'o'iye his utterances peculiar to him; — t'ao'iye siksi'cece' his words 

 are likely to be bad (unkind, obscence, harsh) ; — t'o'iye k\ owo't'qla'; yus-pH'ca' his utterances are 

 (always) upright; they are worthy of acceptance; — t'ao't'iwota an abandoned campsite alotted to 

 him for the time being; — t'o't'iwota his abandoned campsite where he used to live; — t'ao'uye his 

 place or mode of living (provided he is moving about from place to place) ; — t'o'uye his permanent 

 abode 



« c'ica' does not take the prefix t x a, because it expresses child as an inalienable possession, i. e., son or daughter; tcak'q'heta or wak'q'yeia is used 

 by Yankton and Teton, derived from k'qtie'ta weak (Santee). The word is generally misinterpreted by Teton as derived from wak'q' holy. Child 

 in Santeo is sice'ca. 



