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Blackfoot Grammar
third edition

Although thousands of people in Alberta and Montana speak Blackfoot, an

Algonquian language, their numbers are diminishing and the survival of
Blackfoot is in danger.
Blackfoot Grammar, the companion volume to Blackfoot Dictionary of
Stems, Roots, and Affixes, third edition, provides description and analyses of
the major features of Blackfoot grammar and language structures. The changes
throughout this third edition reflect approaches refined through years of teaching
experience. A new appendix, featuring a lengthy Blackfoot text with interlinear
English translation, has been added, as well as numerous corrections and
additions to every chapter. This third edition of Blackfoot Grammar will be a
welcome resource not only for those who wish to learn the language, but for all
those with an interest in Native Studies and North American linguistics.

donald g. frantz is professor emeritus of Native Studies at the University of

Lethbridge.

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Blackfoot Grammar
THIRD EDITION

Donald G. Frantz

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS

Toronto Buffalo London
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© University of Toronto Press 1991, 2009, 2017
Toronto Buffalo London
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Printed in Canada

ISBN 978-1-4875-0086-3 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-4875-2064-9 (paper)

First Edition 1991

Reprinted in paperback 1997

Second Edition 2009

Third Edition 2017

♾
Printed on acid-free paper.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Frantz, Donald G., author

Blackfoot grammar / Donald G. Frantz. – Third edition.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Includes text in Blackfoot.
ISBN 978-1-4875-0086-3 (cloth). – ISBN 978-1-4875-2064-9 (paper)

1. Siksika language – Grammar. I. Title.

PM2342.F68 2017 497’.3525 C2016-907847-7

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its

publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts
Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

an Ontario government agency

un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

Funded by the Financé par le

Government gouvernement
of Canada du Canada

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Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Preface to the Third Edition ix

Preface to the Second Edition x

Preface to the First Edition xi

Chapter 1 The Blackfoot Alphabet 1

Chapter 2 Some Basics of Noun Inflection 8

Chapter 3 Intransitive Verbs 18

Chapter 4 More on Intransitive Verbs 23

Chapter 5 Some Phonological Rules 28

Chapter 6 Tense and Aspect 33

Chapter 7 Four Verb Stem Types 42

Chapter 8 Transitive Inanimate Verbs 46

Chapter 9 Attached Pronouns 51

Chapter 10 Transitive Animate, Part 1: Direct 56

Chapter 11 Transitive Animate, Part 2: Inverse 61

Chapter 12 Transitive Animate, Part 3: Local Forms 65

Chapter 13 Demonstratives 69
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vi

Chapter 14 Possessives 76

Chapter 15 Allomorphy 84

Chapter 16 Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 90

Chapter 17 Complex Verb Stems, Part 2: Finals 108

Chapter 18 Some Concrete Finals 111

Chapter 19 Other Verb Paradigms 121

Chapter 20 Nominalizations 128

Chapter 21 Questions 146

Chapter 22 Complement Clause Types 156

Chapter 23 Translating from English to Blackfoot 161

Chapter 24 Numbers and Enumeration 164

Appendix A Verb Paradigms 170

Appendix B Phonological Rules 176

Appendix C The Sounds of Blackfoot 180

Appendix D Design of the Blackfoot Alphabet 185

Appendix E Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 187

References 198

Index 200

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Acknowledgements

Research upon which this work is based began in late 1960, so a very large
number of people have had a part in it. I was fortunate that when I began to
study Blackfoot (under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics), Allan
Taylor, more recently of the University of Colorado, but then a doctoral candidate
at the University of California, Berkeley, had already spent a summer of research
on the Blackfoot language in Montana. His generous sharing of his findings got
me off to a comfortable start. Since that time he has contributed to my knowledge
and understanding of Blackfoot structure in various ways, not the least of which
is through his PhD dissertation (Taylor 1969).
Another person who has influenced my view of Blackfoot grammar over a
period of many years and has brought various facts about the language to my
attention is Gregory Thomson. I have benefited repeatedly from his insights, and
his name will be seen in several footnotes.
Shortly before publication of the first edition of the grammar, Eung-Do Cook
of the University of Calgary made helpful suggestions and comments on the
manuscript. I also benefited from suggestions of four anonymous reviewers.
A large number of Blackfoot speakers have provided data and insights over
the years. Those who gave extensive help are Irene Butterfly and Agnes Rider
of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, and Rosie Ayoungman, Matthew Manyguns,
Mike Peacemaker, and Frances and Bona Blackkettle of the Siksika Reserve in
Alberta. During the first fifteen years of my tenure at the University of Lethbridge,
First Nations students and faculty provided data and corrected examples in earlier
drafts of this work. Again, there are far too many to mention all of them here, but
Professor Leroy Little Bear, Martin Heavy Head, Mary Ruth McDougall, Lena
Russell, Norma Russell, Sandra Bruised Head, and Mary Atoa come to mind.
Mary’s corrections of several examples in the book are especially appreciated.
Finally, many non-Native students at the University of Lethbridge have helped
improve this book by asking probing questions about its content. Among those
who have contributed the most in this way are Marguerite Koole and Michelle
Deering.
Peter Pankonin, a former student of my Blackfoot course at the University of
Lethbridge, has made a unique combination of contributions to the third edition
of this book. He took responsibility upon himself to prepare the manuscript for
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publication, putting untold hours into getting the layout perfect, including Index,
page numbers, and especially alignment of examples. In so doing, he noticed
numerous inconsistencies that we were able to correct, many of which depended
on his understanding of Blackfoot grammar. Thanks to him, the entire Grammar
will be more useful to its users.

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Preface to the Third Edition

In addition to a number of minor improvements to the second edition, including

correction of typological errors (in particular, in charts 4 and 5 of Appendix
A), I have expanded chapter 17 on finals, and added Appendix E, an analyzed
Blackfoot text.

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Preface to the Second Edition

In this edition I have added two new chapters and two additional appendices. I
also have done extensive revision of chapter 2, as well as made corrections and
additions to most other chapters. Exercises have been added at the end of several
later chapters.
Since publication of the first edition, there have been two major developments
that bear on this grammar and its use. The first is that as the Blackfoot language
is used less and less, it is changing rapidly, with sub-dialects and idiolects arising
as a result of the lack of feedback from fluent speakers. Changes I have observed
include loss or shortening of many inflectional suffixes, and, probably as a result of
the loss of suffixes, non-use or partial use of the category ‘minor third person’ (see
chapter 2). Also, in the case of reported data from at least one speaker, it appears
that noun inflection marking ‘non-referring/non-particular’ (see chapter 2) is non-
existent, and the referring versus non-referring distinction is marked by presence
versus absence of demonstratives. Nevertheless, I have attempted to keep this
grammar as a description of the Blackfoot language as it was before these more
recent changes appeared. (It is still possible to find speakers whose Blackfoot
is like that spoken in the last half of the twentieth century.) The second recent
development is that other linguists have begun to do research on the language, and
are making contributions to better understanding of the structure of the language.
I only regret that this second development didn’t take place before the first.1

1
  In this regard, I would like to encourage researchers to work with more than one Blackfoot
speaker. Getting two or more speakers together is an ideal way to mitigate the chance that what the
researchers are investigating and describing is the language of a single speaker rather than that of a
community.

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Preface to the First Edition

This work is intended to serve a variety of audiences. So that it may be useful

to laypersons interested in learning, or at least learning about, the Blackfoot
language, the first few chapters are written in a different style from the later,
more technical sounding chapters. But the later chapters build upon facts and
concepts introduced in the early chapters, which, it is hoped, provide a relatively
painless introduction to many of the necessary technical terms utilized in those
later chapters.
Because linguistic concepts are utilized and all description is explicit, this
work can also serve as a reference text for courses on the structure of Blackfoot,
as well as a reference grammar for linguists and others interested in the structure
of the language. Users should be warned, however, that a casual reading of early
chapters will not prepare the reader for later chapters. Basic concepts must be
understood as they are introduced, for later presentations depend upon them. The
experience of students who have used drafts of this work has been that one needs
to continually review previously introduced concepts, terms, and facts, because
knowledge of these is assumed after they have been introduced. Frequent use of
the Index is recommended in this regard.
Near the end of some sections, material will be found in a smaller font size
and labeled ‘Supplemental Material.’ Such material is included for the sake of
completeness, but can be skipped without hindering understanding of later
material.
The language here referred to as ‘Blackfoot’ is that spoken on three Southern
Alberta reserves: Siksiká (aka Blackfoot), centered about one hundred kilometers
east-southeast of Calgary; Blood [aka Kainaa], covering a large area between
Cardston and Lethbridge; and Piikani (aka Peigan) [Aapátohsi-pi(i)kani], west of
Fort MacLeod. It is also spoken on the Blackfeet [Aamskáápipi(i)kani] reservation
in Northwestern Montana.
Blackfoot is a member of the Algonquian language family.

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CHAPTER 1

The Blackfoot Alphabet

The Blackfoot alphabet is designed to be read by native speakers of the language.

Therefore, each letter represents a distinctive sound of the language, and
predictable variations are not indicated because these are automatic for a native
speaker of Blackfoot. For example, vowels are shorter before long (double)
consonants than they are before single consonants, but because this vowel
shortening is predictable (and automatic for native speakers) we still write the
vowel as if it weren’t shortened. Thus the first vowel of nínna ‘my father’ is
shorter and more lax (see Appendix C) than the first vowel of nínaa ‘man,’ though
they are written the same: the presence of the double nn in nínna is enough to
predict the shortening.
While this is the ideal kind of writing system for native speakers of the
language, it requires non-native speakers to learn consciously what is known
subconsciously by those who learned the language as children.
This brief description will try to acquaint the reader with the approximate
sound each letter represents, and give a few details of how sounds are affected by
neighboring sounds.1
The reader who wishes to learn to pronounce Blackfoot correctly must, of
course, hear and mimic the language as spoken by a native speaker.

THE VOWELS

There are three:

a has approximately the quality of a in English father, except before double

consonants, where it has a quality more like the vowel of English cut.
sa ‘no’ ánnia ‘that’s it/okay now’
ámo ‘this’ máttso’kaawa ‘he slept again’

1
Appendix C includes a more technical phonetic description of the sounds of Blackfoot.

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 Blackfoot Grammar

i has a quality which varies from that of the i of English kiss to that of the i
of machine; it always has the latter quality when long (written double—see
below).
ísska ‘pail’ mííni ‘berry’

o has a quality much like the o of English so, except before double consonants,
in which case it has a quality more like the o of woman.
oma ‘that one’ ónni ‘his father’
óki ‘hello/okay now’ sokóttaat ‘spit!’

VOWEL LENGTH (duration) is indicated by writing vowels double when

long. It must be emphasized that by ‘long vowels’ we mean long in quantity (not
quality, as in English phonics). Thus oo represents approximately the same sound
as does o in Blackfoot; the difference is in the amount of time they are sustained.
Compare:
áakokaawa ‘he will rope’
áakookaawa ‘she will sponsor a Sundance’

DIPHTHONGS

ai varies among speakers and from dialect to dialect. Before double consonants
(see below) it is about like the ai of English said:
áínnisiwa ‘he descends/falls’
áíkkiwa ‘he blows a whistle’

Before a glottal stop (written ’ ; see below) or another vowel i it is similar to the ai
of English paid (though on the Siksika Reserve it may sound like the i of English
bite):
áí’poyiwa ‘he speaks’
náíipisstsiwa ‘it is cloth’

In other positions of a word, this diphthong will sound like the ai of English plaid
on the Blood Reserve, but like the ai of English paid on the Siksika Reserve:

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 3

áípiimma ‘he enters’

áípottaawa ‘airplane’

ao is like the aw of dawn (for those English speakers who pronounce the latter
differently than they do Don); to approximate it, pronounce the a of English
father with rounded lips.
áókska’siwa ‘he’s running’
áóttakiwa ‘bartender’
ponokáómitaawa ‘horse’

Before a glottal stop it may sound more like the ou of English out.
ákao’toowa ‘he has arrived’

oi is nearly identical to the oi of coin:

nohkóíksi ‘my sons’ otahkóínattsi ‘yellow’

Before a long consonant, it may sound like the Blackfoot vowel i (see above)
pronounced with rounded lips.
nitáakotoissikópii ‘I will go rest’

PITCH ACCENT, or prominence of a vowel or diphthong, is indicated here by

use of an acute accent over the vowel or diphthong. (An alternative way to indicate
Blackfoot pitch accent is by underlining accented vowels.) The ‘prominence’
mentioned in the preceding sentence consists primarily of a relatively higher
pitch than that of contiguous syllables. Compare the following word pairs:
ápssiwa ‘it’s an arrow’ apssíwa ‘it’s a fig’
aohkííwa ‘it’s water’ áóhkiwa ‘he’s barking’

ákaohkiimiwa ‘he’s married’

akáóhkiimiwa ‘he has many wives’

Because there is a gradual drop in pitch throughout an utterance, an accented

syllable toward the end of a word of several syllables may actually be of lower

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 Blackfoot Grammar

pitch than an unaccented syllable earlier in the word; the accented syllable will
still be relatively higher in pitch as compared with the syllable which follows it,
however, as is kó in the following word:
máátaissikópiiwa ‘he’s not resting’

There are a few words in which the pitch falls noticeably during the pronunciation
of a long vowel; in these cases only the first of the two letters which represent a
long vowel is accented; e.g., áaksoyiwa ‘he will eat.’2 There are also sequences
of a long vowel or diphthong (see below) followed by an accented vowel; these
have a pitch which falls and then rises; e.g., maaáhsi ‘her elder relation’; maoóyi
‘mouth.’

Pitch also falls during an accented vowel or diphthong which is immediately

followed by a glottal stop (see below re glottal stops).
í’ksisakoyi ‘meat’ áí’poyiwa ‘he speaks’

SEMIVOWELS

w and y are glides with much the same quality as English w and y when the latter
occur between vowels, as in aware and yo-yo.
áwaaniiwa ‘he says’ áyo’kaawa ‘he’s sleeping’

(Note that a + y together sound like English eye.)

CONSONANTS

m and n represent sounds virtually the same as the m and n of English:

mamííwa ‘fish’ nínaawa ‘man’

s is similar to the English sound usually represented by the same letter, except
that the Blackfoot s is usually made with the tongue tip up, rather than behind
the lower teeth as English s usually is. (The s of English purser is very much
like the average Blackfoot s).
2
There are also some cases in which the pitch falls through a sequence of three vowels; see
chapter 15, section C.

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 5

sa ‘no’ kiistówa ‘you’ póósiks ‘cats’

p, t, and k of Blackfoot are like their English counterparts except that they do not
have the aspiration (puff of air) which usually follows p, t, and k in English;
because of this non-aspiration, they often sound like b, d, and g to English
speakers. English p, t, and k preceded by s in words such as spin, sting, and
skin are much like the Blackfoot sounds.
poos ‘cat’ takáa ‘who?’ kitsími ‘door’

ts and ks, though written as sequences and thus not requiring additional letters
in the alphabet, are single sound units in the language called affricates. To
produce these sounds, one begins with the tongue position of the sound usually
written with the first letter (t or k), but before it is released the front part of the
tongue assumes the position it normally has for the sound s, so that the t or k
is released into the s.
tsimá ‘where?’ nítsoyi ‘I ate’
ksisóyi ‘teakettle’ níkso’kowaiksi ‘my relatives’

h is a palatal fricative or ‘guttural,’ much like the German sound written as ch.
Like the German sound, it is greatly affected by the preceding vowel so that
after i it is made at the highest point on the roof of the mouth, while after o or
a it is made nearer the back of the roof of the mouth.3
ihkitsíka ‘seven’ óhkotoki ‘stone’ ksááhkoi ‘dirt’

’ is an ‘interruption’ made by momentarily closing the glottis (vocal chords)

tightly, as English speakers do between the oh’s of the expression ‘oh-oh!’ It is
known as a glottal stop.
sa’áíwa ‘duck’ ní’sa ‘my older brother’
apí’siwa ‘coyote’ no’tsísi ‘my hand’

CONSONANT LENGTH (duration) is indicated by writing consonants double;

this simply means that the articulation of such consonants is held a bit longer

3
The letter h is also used for a sound like the h of English hot. It occurs at the start of a few
interjections, e.g., há’ayáa ‘oh-oh!’ Since the palatal fricative occurs only following vowels, there is
no danger of confusion as a result of using the same letter for a different sound in these interjections.

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 Blackfoot Grammar

than it is for those consonants when written singly.4 All consonants except h and
’ occur distinctively long:
kiipíppo ‘one hundred’ ísska ‘pail’
áípottaawa ‘he’s flying’ iyímmit ‘laugh!’
nitákkaawa ‘my friend’ nínna ‘my father’
iksíssiwa ‘he is tough’ soká’pssiwa ‘he is good’

Phonetic Details and Some Spelling Conventions

Given the alphabetic system outlined above, there is a non-arbitrary spelling

for almost every word of Blackfoot. However, in some cases, knowledge of the
makeup of words can influence spelling of otherwise ambiguous sounds and
sound sequences.
A relatively simple case is that of vowels at the end of a word. Since vowels
in this position are generally voiceless, there can be no contrast between short
and long vowels at the end of a word. However, we still write vowels as short or
long in this position based on their length when a suffix is added. For example,
one cannot tell by listening to the word nitáópii ‘I’m staying/sitting’ that the final
vowel is long. We write it as long because its length is observable in forms such
as áópiiwa ‘(s)he is staying/sitting’ and apíít ‘sit!’
Here is another case: Vowel length is difficult, if not impossible, to discern
before a glottal stop. However, if knowledge of the makeup of the word leads one
to expect a long vowel in this position, we write it as such. For example, when
the ‘associated instrument or tool’ suffix -a’tsis is added to a stem ending in a or
aa, we spell the resulting sequence with a long aa. So isttókimaa’tsis ‘drum’ is so
spelled because we know the verb stem isttokimaa ‘drum’ from which it is formed
ends in the vowel a.
A non-arbitrary decision regarding vowel length before h can be made based on
a regular phonetic rule of Blackfoot. If a vowel is voiced before h, it is interpreted
as a long vowel, because only long vowels remain voiced in this position. So we
write nitsíípiihpinnaan ‘we sat/stayed’ with a long ii because the vowel remains
voiced before the h, even though the [i] sound before the h is not noticeably long.
To this we can compare nitsíípihpinnaan ‘we have archery equipment,’ in which
the ih is a completely voiceless syllable (see pronunciation notes at the end of
chapter 3).

4
Most English speakers get a similar effect across word boundaries in English phrases such as
sick cow, in which the phonetic [k] at the end of sick combines with the initial phonetic [k] of cow
to give a long phonetic [k:]; this is quite like the kk of Blackfoot (except that Blackfoot kk lacks the
aspiration of English k — see above.)

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 7

It was stated near the beginning of this chapter that vowels and diphthongs
have a slightly different quality when they are immediately followed by long
consonants. In such a position, Blackfoot a, i, and o sound like the vowels of
English cut, kiss, and bush, respectively. Though not stated earlier, this effect
on vowel and diphthong quality before long consonants is present even if an s
separates the vowel and long consonant. So, for example, the ai of áísttsiiwa
‘it hurts’ sounds like the ai of English said even though the diphthong is not
immediately before the tt. However, the situation is even more complicated than
this: long aa, ii, and oo retain their usual qualities even before long consonants,
though in such a position their duration is reduced. So, for example, if one hears a
vowel like the a of father and it is followed by a long consonant, then that sound
should be spelled aa.

Supplemental Material

A more complex case is the phonetic sequence [oi’ss], which can represent not only oi’ss, but
o’yss and oyss as well. It can represent o’yss because anticipation of the y tongue position during
the glottal stop produces a phonetic diphthong. It can represent oyss because a predictable glottal
stop is heard whenever a semivowel (w or y) or nasal (m or n) is immediately followed by s.
In cases such as this, one must either make an arbitrary choice or be guided by grammatical
analysis of the word involved, if the grammatical makeup of the word is known. In this particular
case, if the sequence [oi’ss] is part of the sequence [ooi’ssini] ‘eating,’ it is analyzable as ooyi, the
vai stem ‘eat,’ plus the suffix hsin, which makes nouns from intransitive verbs. Given the fact
that ihs is generally realized as ss, we spell the word as ooyssini. We do not need to include the
predictable glottal stop, though to do so would not in any sense produce an incorrect spelling.

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CHAPTER 2

Some Basics of Blackfoot Noun Inflection

A. SINGuLAr VS. PLurAL

Consider the following singular and plural pairs of Blackfoot nouns:

Singular English Plural
í’ksisakoyi meat í’ksisakoistsi
ápssiyi arrow ápssiistsi
ómahksíkimiyi lake ómahksíkimiistsi
ni’tómmoyi hill ni’tómmoistsi
ómahksíkskoyi forest ómahksíkskoistsi

Comparing these singular and plural Blackfoot forms, we note that the singulars
all end with yi and the plurals end with istsi. The remainder of each word we
can call the stem. The stem carries the core meaning which is expressed in the
English column; e.g., í’ksisako carries the meaning ‘meat,’ but is not a word by
itself. To be a word, it requires either the suffix yi, which indicates ‘singular’ or
the suffix istsi, which indicates ‘plural.’ (Notice that this differs from the situation
in English, where the stem alone can be used as a word.)

A useful Term: Morpheme

Words are usually made up of indivisible parts to which a meaning or grammatical

function can be assigned; the technical term for such word parts is morpheme.
Thus each of the suffixes identified above is a morpheme, as are the stems to
which they are attached, such as ápssi ‘arrow,’ soyópok ‘leaf,’ and so on. We will
find this term useful in later chapters.

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 9

Now compare the following nouns:

Singular English Plural
paatááki potato paatáákistsi
mo’tokááni head mo’tokáánistsi
mííni berry míínistsi
iitáómio’pi woodpile iitáómio’pistsi
soyópoki leaf soyópokistsi

Removing the plural suffix to leave the stem in each case, we see that the singular
appears to be marked by a suffix i rather than by yi. We further note that these
last four stems all end in consonants, whereas the first group of nouns stems all
end in vowels. We could say that the singular suffix has two shapes, yi and i, used
after vowels and consonants, respectively. But an alternative hypothesis is that y
is lost after consonants. If this hypothesis is never falsified, i.e., we never find y
after a consonant, then rather than say there are two shapes for the singular suffix,
we can say it has the one basic shape yi; the y is then deleted by a phonological
rule which deletes any /y/ that occurs after a consonant. This latter solution is
greatly to be preferred, as it does not make reference to ‘singular’ or to just one
suffix, but states a true generalization about what sound sequences are permitted
in Blackfoot.
Notice the accents of the following examples:
Singular English Plural
matsiníyi tongue matsiníístsi
pootsitsíyi soft ash pootsitsíístsi
aatakóyi previous evening aatakóístsi

Based on the singular, these stems have an accent on the last vowel, and when
the plural suffix is added, the first vowel of the suffix is also accented. This can
be accounted for by another phonological rule: The first vowel of a suffix will be
accented if an immediately preceding vowel is accented. We will call this Accent
Spread.
Consider now noun stems which, based on their singular form, end in long
vowels:

niiítahtaayi river niiítahtaistsi

sísstsiksiiyi short branch sísstsiksiistsi
páyooyi scar páyoistsi
aohkííyi water aohkíístsi

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 Blackfoot Grammar

Notice that in each case the long vowel is apparently shortened in the plural.
We can account for this by positing a third phonological rule: A long vowel is
shortened before a suffix which starts with a vowel, a process we will call Vowel
Shortening.
Now notice that if the long vowel which is shortened carries an accent, as we
see in the stem for ‘water,’ it will be carried over to the vowel of the plural suffix.
This is accounted for nicely if Accent Spread applies after Vowel Shortening. For
example,

aohkíí + istsi → aohkí + istsi → aohkíístsi

The suffixes we have seen for singular and plural are used on only one of two
subclasses of Blackfoot nouns. Here are examples from the other noun subclass:

Singular English Plural

natáyowa lynx natáyoiksi
naató’siwa holy one/sun naató’siiksi
ponokáwa elk ponokáíksi
nínaawa man nínaiksi
kakkóówa pigeon kakkóíksi
mamííwa fish mamííksi
atapííma doll atapíímiksi
póósa cat póósiksi

The suffixes here are wa1 and iksi. A close look at these examples will make it
clear that the rules of Vowel Shortening and Accent Spread apply here as with the
previous class of nouns, as they should, because phonological rules are supposed
to apply across the board. And since the /w/ of the singular sufffix is gone after
consonants, we can generalize the rule which deleted /y/ and now make it a rule
which deletes any semivowel after a consonant; we will now call it Semivowel
Loss.

1
The final vowel of this suffix is rarely audible, and many speakers completely omit the entire
suffix. However, if omitting it leaves a vowel at the end of the word, that vowel remains voiced, unlike
other word-final vowels, which are generally voiceless.
Spelling out this suffix does cause confusion for many new readers if they are familiar with the
generic suffix waa’ which is always voiced (see Frantz 1971, pg. 230).

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B. GrAMMATICAL GENDEr

In popular usage, the term ‘gender’ is associated almost exclusively with sex
categories. This usage corresponds to the fact that English nouns are classified as
masculine, feminine, or neuter, and this classification is reflected in the choice of
singular pronouns he, she, or it. But technically the term ‘gender’ can be applied
to any at least partially arbitrary classification of nouns in the grammatical system
of a language. To make it clear that we are using the term in the technical sense,
we will refer to such noun classification as grammatical gender.
Blackfoot, like other Algonquian languages (such as Cree, Ojibwa, Micmac,
Cheyenne, etc.), classifies noun stems into two groups which are often labeled
animate and inanimate. (In the Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots, and Affixes2
[henceforth, ‘the Dictionary’], animate gender noun stems are labeled nan and
inanimate gender noun stems are labeled nin.) All Blackfoot noun stems belong
to one of these two grammatical gender classes, and this classification is evident
throughout Blackfoot grammar. The two ways of marking singular and plural that
we saw above are the result of this classification. Notice that up to this point, most
of the nouns that take suffixes wa and iksi designate living beings such as animals,
people, and spirits. None of the nouns that take singular and plural suffixes yi and
istsi designate animals, persons, or spirits. But many nouns that do not designate
living beings also belong to the animate gender class, so other than being able
to predict that a noun designating an animal, person, or spirit will belong to the
animate gender class, one must learn the gender class of any noun by hearing it
used in grammatical context, or looking it up in the Dictionary.
It is important to realize that grammatical gender classification says very little
about how people view the world. (E.g., in French the noun la table ‘table’ belongs
to the so-called feminine gender class, but surely the native speaker of French
doesn’t think there is anything feminine about a table.) So the fact that Blackfoot
noun stems such as pokón ‘ball,’ íssk ‘pail,’ and isttoán ‘knife’ are classed with
noun stems such as aakíí ‘woman,’ pookáá ‘child,’ and imitáá ‘dog’ as being of
animate gender should not be construed as an indication that the Blackfoot speaker
thinks of balls, pails, and knives as somehow ‘alive.’ Grammatical gender is a
classification of the noun stems themselves, not of the entities to which they
refer. Nevertheless, as stated above, a person learning Blackfoot can be sure the
words for animals, people, or spirits will be of animate gender. But the gender
of other nouns simply must be memorized (though there are some other natural
groupings which are helpful to recognize; e.g., stems for most metal tools are
of animate gender). Here are a few more noun stems which are unpredictably
animate in gender:

2
Frantz and Russell (2017).

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 Blackfoot Grammar

moápssp ‘eye’ po’táá’tsis ‘stove’

miistsís ‘tree’ katoyís ‘blood clot!’
ksisíís ‘thorn’ mookítsis ‘finger’
kippiaapi ‘crocus’ má’s ‘Indian turnip’
sopókssi ‘dollar’ náíipisstsi ‘cloth’

Non-permanent Consonants

There is a large number of noun stems which have an n or s that is present only
before certain suffixes; a few stems have an m which is present only before the
same suffixes. When listing such stems we will indicate these non-permanent
consonants by the symbols M, N, and S, respectively.3 M, N, and S are lost (i.e.,
do not show up as m, n, and s) before the pluralizers:
Stem Gloss Singular Plural
to’ahsiM ‘sock’ áto’ahsima áto’ahsiiksi
máíipssiM ‘belt’ máíipssimi máíipssiistsi
asóka’siM ‘dress’ asóka’simi asóka’siistsi
pokóN ‘ball’ pokóna pokóíksi
isttoáN ‘knife’ isttoána isttoáíksi
áwanááN ‘rattle’ áwanáána áwaanáíksi
atsikíN ‘shoe’ atsikíni atsikíístsi
moksíS ‘awl’ moksísa moksííksi

C. PArTICuLAr VS. NON-rEfErrING

Sometimes when using a noun, we don’t have in mind a particular item (or group
of items) from the class of things that we name by that noun; just any one (or
bunch) will do. For example, you might send a son or daughter to the store with
the following instructions: ‘Get a loaf of bread, some milk, and a dozen apples.’
You don’t have any particular loaf of bread, carton(s) of milk, or dozen apples in
mind, so the nouns bread, milk, and apples do not refer to any particular items.
Or you may use a noun in such a way that it cannot refer to an actual entity. This
would be true in sentences such as ‘I don’t have any milk,’ or ‘I wish you had
some apples.’ In either case we say that the words bread, milk, and apples are
non-referring.

3
This device is not used in the Dictionary. There stems are listed with such non-permanent
consonants present; one can determine that they are non-permanent by comparing the examples
provided.

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At other times we may wish to refer to a particular item or group of items, as

in these sentences:

‘Give me that loaf of bread.’

‘Your milk is turning sour.’
‘I bought a dozen apples and my family ate them in one day.’

Here, because the speaker has a particular loaf of bread, some particular portion
of milk, and a particular dozen apples in mind, we say that these nouns do refer
because they are particular in reference. The endings on Blackfoot nouns are
determined partly by whether or not the nouns refer. If they are not particular in
reference (i.e., non-referring), a suffix -i is added, and it does not matter whether
the speaker is talking about one or more than one item. So if you say kókkit owai
‘Give me egg(s),’ in which ‘eggs’ has the non-particular suffix, you may get one
or more eggs. Here are other examples of nouns with the non-particular suffix -i;
notice that both animate and inanimate gender nouns take this suffix:
pookáí ‘child(ren)’
í’ksisakoi ‘meat(s)’
ómahksikimii ‘lake(s)’

So far as I am able to determine, nouns which are modified by a demonstrative

(chapter 13) or marked for possessor (chapter 14) are always particular; i.e., they
always refer. Also, I have never seen a noun marked as non-particular as subject
of a sentence.
Noun stems which end in non-permanent consonants M, N, or S (see section B
above) do not retain them before the non-particular suffix i:
Stem English Non-particular form
máíipssiM ‘belt’ máíipssii
isttoáN ‘knife’ isttoáí
mo’tsíS ‘hand/arm’ mo’tsíí

The non-particular and singular particular forms of many inanimate gender nouns
are identical. As seen in section B, inanimate gender nouns which are particular in
reference add a suffix -yi when singular, as in the following examples:
owááyi ‘egg’ nookóówayi ‘my home’

As we have also seen, y is lost after consonants, and what remains of the suffix
-yi is identical in shape to the non-particular suffix -i just discussed. Consequently,
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all inanimate gender stems which end in permanent consonants have singular and
non-particular forms which are not distinguishable; e.g.

óóhkotoki ‘stone (particular singular or non-particular)’

mo’tokááni ‘head (particular singular or non-particular)’

But stems which end in M, N, and S have singular forms which do differ from
their non-particular forms because M, N, and S are retained before the singular
suffix (the y of the singular suffix is lost as after other consonants):
Stem English Singular Non-particular form
asóka’siM ‘jacket’ asóka’simi asóka’sii
atsikíN ‘shoe’ atsikíni atsikíí
mo’tsíS ‘hand/arm’ mo’tsísi mo’tsíí

In summary, if a speaker has no particular referent in mind for a noun, a suffix -i

is added; M, N, and S are not retained before this suffix. Non-particular nouns are
unmarked for number, and never occur as subject of a sentence.

D. MAjOr THIrD PErSON VS. MINOr THIrD PErSON

Have you ever been troubled by the ambiguity in English sentences such as this:
Clyde told his son that he could help him? When we hear such a sentence we
don’t know whether the speaker means for the pronoun he to refer to ‘Clyde’ or
to ‘his son.’
But in Blackfoot, the equivalent sentence would not have this ambiguity,
because Blackfoot would classify ‘Clyde’ and ‘his son’ as grammatically different.
This difference would be reflected in the form of the Blackfoot equivalent of that
he could help him, so we would be able to tell which of these persons is subject
of ‘help.’
Here, roughly, is how it works: when two or more nouns of animate gender
occur in the same sentence, only one of them can be what we will call major
third person;4 the others, if particular in reference (see section C above), must be
demoted to minor third person.5
So if you say e.g., ‘The man killed the deer’ in Blackfoot, either ‘the man’ or
‘the deer’ must be minor third person. When the speaker has a choice, as in this

4
Called ‘proximate’ in most literature on Algonquian languages.
Two or more major third persons are permitted if they are conjoined, as in ‘The man and woman
are dancing’ or ‘I have a dog and a cat.’
5
Called ‘obviative’ in most literature on Algonquian languages.

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 15

example, the noun he chooses to make major third person is thereby made more
prominent in that portion of the discourse.
Minor third person singular is indicated on nouns by another suffix -yi (y is
lost after consonants by Semivowel Loss). Here are four examples. (Subscripted
numerals are used to indicate major third person3 and minor third person4.)
imitááyi ‘dog4’ póósi ‘cat4’
aakííyi ‘woman4’ ísski ‘pail4’

An important generalization to remember is that any animate gender noun

possessed by third person is automatically minor third person; i.e., if an animate
gender noun has a third person (grammatical) possessor,6 there is no choice as to
which noun is demoted; it must be the possessed noun. So each of the following
is minor third person:
ónni ‘his3 father4’ oksísstsi ‘his3 mother4’
otómitaami ‘his3 dog4’ óóhki ‘his3 pail4’

The animate singular suffix -wa discussed in section A is actually the major third
person singular suffix. Here are more examples:
imitááwa ‘dog3’ nínna ‘my father3’
aakííwa ‘woman3’ ísska ‘pail3’
niksíssta ‘my mother3’

We have seen that M, N, and S are retained (as m, n, and s) before -wa; the same
is true before -yi. But remember that the y and w of these suffixes are lost because
they cannot remain after consonants:
pokóN- ‘ball’ pokóna ‘ball3’ pokóni ‘ball4’
moksíS- ‘awl’ moksísa ‘awl3’ moksísi ‘awl4’

The pluralizer -iksi, seen in section B of this chapter, is used for both major third
and minor third person plural. It will be glossed as ‘an.p’ from this point on.

6
Possessive affixes are treated in chapter 14.

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E. Summary of suffixes on nouns

Note: No noun will have more than one of these suffixes at a time.
non-particular/non-referring -i
particular animate inanimate
3 4
sg -wa -yi -yi
pl -iksi -istsi

PLurAL R

‘sage’ ka’ksimóyi

‘berry’ míínistsi mííni

‘tipi’ niitóyisi niitóyiistsi
‘song’ nínihkssini nínihkssii

‘dove’ kakkóówa
‘turnip’ má’siksi

2. Which of the following underlined nouns would necessarily be minor third

person in the equivalent Blackfoot sentence? (Note that ‘dog’ is major third
person in c.)

a. That’s my son; he is chasing his dog.

b. I told your son to bring his friend.
c. That dog3 bit my son on his left leg (inanimate gender).

3. Change the following nouns from major third person singular to minor third
person singular:
a. nínaawa ‘man’ c. nitána ‘my daughter’
b. póósa ‘cat’ d. isttoána ‘knife’

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 17

4. The following is a list of all the morphemes seen in the forms given as a–d of
the preceding exercise; notice that in a list of morphemes, both a form (shape)
and gloss (meaning or function) are provided for each one, and no morpheme is
listed more than once:
nínaa ‘man’ isttoáN ‘knife’
póós ‘cat’ itán ‘daughter’
n- ‘my’ -wa ‘major third person singular (3s)’

What additional morpheme (form and meaning) appears in your answers to

exercise 3?

5. List the morphemes you see in the following words: (Note: List each morpheme
(form and meaning) only once, as was demonstrated in exercise 4.)
póósiksi ‘cats’ nínaiksi ‘men’
kitána ‘your daughter’ nitániksi ‘my daughters’

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CHAPTER 3

Intransitive Verbs

Verbs which occur with a subject but no object are called intransitive verbs. For
example, in English, run, die, and yawn are intransitive; we say that someone (their
subject) does the action described by the verb, but not that (s)he does it to anyone
or anything (an object). On the other hand, hit, kill, love are transitive verbs
because they take objects; i.e., we must hit, kill, or love someone or something.
(We begin to discuss transitive verbs in chapter 7.)

A. PErSON MArKErS

Study these Blackfoot intransitive verb forms carefully:

nitáakahkayi ‘I’m going home.’

kitáakahkayi ‘You’re going home.’
áakahkayiwa ‘He’s going home.’

What portion of the first one indicates that the speaker (‘I’) is the subject? What
portion of the second indicates addressee (‘you’)? And what marks major third
person (‘he’) in the last example?
Blackfoot verbs are marked to indicate the person (i.e., speaker, addressee, or
other) of their subjects. (Each of the examples above is a single word; the portions
nit- and kit- are prefixes, while -wa is a suffix.)1 The remainder of each verb (the
portion common to all three of the verb forms) is the stem.

B. THE CASE Of THE uNEXPECTED S

Look at these examples:

nitsíítsiniki ‘I related (a story).’

kitsíítsiniki ‘You related.’
iitsiníkiwa ‘He related.’

1
We will later refer to these markers interchangeably as person affixes or agreement affixes.

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Can we maintain our idea that nit- and kit- mark ‘speaker’ and ‘addressee’? If
so, we are left with an extra s in these new examples. Perhaps certain verbs take
nits- and kits-, while others take nit- and kit-? But compare the same verb seen
above when it has an intervening prefix á, meaning ‘not an instantaneous event’
(later glossed ‘durative’):

nitáítsiniki ‘I relate/am relating (a story).’

kitáítsiniki ‘You relate/are relating.’
áítsinikiwa ‘He relates/is relating.’

These examples suggest that there is some other reason for the s after nit- and kit-.
Let’s look at just a bit more evidence and then the answer to our problem of the
extra s will be forthcoming:

máátáakahkayiwa(atsiksi)2 ‘He’s not going home.’

Comparing this word to those seen in section A, what part of this word makes it a
negative statement? Now consider the negative of ‘relate’:

máátsitsinikiwa(atsiksi) ‘He didn’t relate [a story].’

There is the ubiquitous s again, this time after the negative prefix maat. Do you
have a suggestion now as to its source?
If you suggested that an s intervenes whenever t is immediately followed by i,
your suggestion is correct. The sequence ti never occurs in Blackfoot; whenever
we would expect ti, we find instead tsi. Thus we have a hard and fast rule of
Blackfoot: t + i becomes tsi.3

C. ‘WE’ (BuT NOT YOu)

Have you ever been put in an awkward position because the person to whom you
were speaking thought you were including him/her when you said we, while in
actuality you were using we in reference only to yourself and someone else? For
example, you might have said to an acquaintance, ‘We are invited to the Joneses
tonight,’ meaning only yourself and your spouse. But the one to whom you are
speaking can interpret the we as including him.
Such a misunderstanding could not arise if you were speaking Blackfoot.
Blackfoot grammar requires a speaker to indicate whether or not the person to

2
The portion atsiksi in parentheses is part of the non-affirmative third person singular suffix,
generally used in negatives and questions involving third person singular as subject or object; see
chapter 21.
3
Recall from chapter 1 that ts represents a complex sound unit called an affricate.

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20 Blackfoot Grammar

whom one is speaking (the addressee) is included in the ‘action.’ So if you want
to say, ‘We are going to their house’ in Blackfoot, there are two options, and you
must choose between them. Notice the different form of the first word in each
example:

1. Nitáakitapoohpinnaan ookóówaawayi.
‘We (not you) will go to their house.’

2. Áakitapaoo’pa ookóówaawayi.
‘We (including you) will go to their house.’

These two types of reference, which English includes in the pronoun we but which
Blackfoot distinguishes, are traditionally termed ‘exclusive we’(speaker and at
least one other, but not the addressee(s)) and ‘inclusive we’ (speaker, addressee,
and perhaps others).

D. YOUsg vs. YOUpl : A USEFUL DISTINCTION

Up until shortly after the time of Shakespeare, English distinguished singular and
plural in its terms for addressees. Thus, in the nominative case, thou was used for
reference to a single addressee, and ye for reference to more than one addressee or
to an addressee and other(s). Some modern American English dialects make this
distinction even now, using the contraction y’all for a plural.
This same distinction is an inescapable part of Blackfoot grammar. Any
reference to the addressee requires a choice between singular and plural. Here are
some examples showing the contrast:
‘yousg’ kiistówa ‘youpl’ kiistówaawa
‘(you) eat!’ ooyít ooyík
‘I know you’ kítssksinoo kítssksinoohpoaawa
‘your mother’ kiksíssta kiksísstoaawa

E. VERBS WITH PLURAL SUBJECTS

Plurality of verb subjects is always marked by suffixes. Compare these singular

and plural forms of the verb meaning ‘eat.’ (The suffixes will be identified in the
next chapter.)

nitáóoyi ‘I’m eating.’

nitáóoyihpinnaana ‘We (exclusive) are eating.’
áóoyo’pa ‘We (inclusive) are eating.’

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Chapter 3: Intransitive Verbs 21

kitáóoyi ‘You (singular) are eating.’

kitáóoyihpoaawa ‘You (plural) are eating.’

áóoyiwa ‘He is eating.’4

áóoyiyaawa ‘They are eating.’

Pronunciation Notes

1. Blackfoot vowels at the end of words are usually voiceless (softly whispered).

2. A short (single) vowel is voiceless before the palatal fricative h; in fact, the
vowel and the h are pronounced simultaneously.5

3. Before ss and before voiceless vowels (produced by the ‘rules’ in pronunciation

notes 1 and 2), y and w are pronounced with a (predictable) glottal stop; i.e.,
the vocal chords briefly interrupt the air flow during any y or w which is
followed by a voiceless vowel.6

EXERCISES

1. Add the missing prefixes; remember the rule for ‘unexpected s’:

áyo’kaa ‘Yousg are sleeping’

á’po’taki ‘I worked.’
ipásskaa ‘I danced.’
ínihki ‘Yousg sang.’

2. For the following sentences and phrases, indicate whether the English we, us,
or our is inclusive (includes addressee) or exclusive:

a. Let’s go to town.
b. Hey, sis, (our) mom is calling.

4
  Though I list the meaning ‘he’ for most singular animate third persons, ‘she’ or ‘it’ might be
more appropriate translations at times; see chapter 2, section A.
5
  As Greg Thomson (personal communication) points out, because the palatal fricative h always
assimilates to the place and rounding features of the preceding vowel, it is more accurate to say that
short vowels are dropped before h, leaving the h with their features, including syllabicity.
6
  Because this interruption at the glottis is totally predictable, it need not be represented in the
spelling of such sequences because the glottal stop does not remain in environments where the fol-
lowing vowel is voiced, as it would if the glottal stop were an integral part of the morpheme involved.

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22 Blackfoot Grammar

c. Give that to us!

d. Dear, our daughter is still not home (husband to wife).
e. ‘Our Father …, hallowed be thy name’ (the Lord’s prayer).

3. For the following sentences, indicate whether the you in a and b, and the
addressee in c and d, is more likely kiistówa (singular) or kiistówaawa (plural):

a. Did you know that our (inclusive) son just left?

b. I saw you embracing (each other).
c. ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel’ (Matthew 28:19).
d. Please marry me!

4. Translate the following into English. (For verb endings, see section E of this
chapter. For verb stems, see section B and exercise 1.) Note: Translate verbs that
do not have the durative prefix á- as past tense in this exercise.

a. nitáyo’kaahpinnaana
b. kitá’po’takihpoaawa
c. kitsipásskaahpoaawa
d. nitsínihkihpinnaana
e. áyo’kaayaawa
f. iitsiníkio’pa

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CHAPTER 4

More on Intransitive Verbs

A. AGREEMENT

What’s wrong with these English sentences?1

(a) *The horses runs fast.

(b) *My son play piano.
(c) *We prefers ice cream.

In the present tense, an English verb with a third person singular subject must
have the suffix -s. If it is missing when there is a third person singular subject as in
(b), a native speaker of English rejects the sentence as ungrammatical (incorrect).
And if the -s is added to a verb when the subject is not third person singular, as in
(a) and (c), the resultant sentence is equally bad.
Requirements of this kind are termed agreement. Blackfoot has extensive
agreement requirements. The person affixes seen on verbs in the previous chapter
must, of course, agree with whatever noun is subject. For example, consider (d),
shown with a morpheme-by-morpheme analysis:2
(d) Ííksspitaawa nohkówa. ‘My son is tall.’
iik-sspitaa-wa n-ohkó-wa
very-tall-sg my-son-3s

Here the verb has third person singular suffix -wa, in agreement with the major
third person singular noun as subject. If the subject were plural, requiring a
different suffix on the noun, a plural suffix would be required on the verb also, as
in (e):

1
  An asterisk marks an ungrammatical sentence.
2
  Unlike English, Blackfoot doesn’t require the subject of a sentence to precede the verb.

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24 Blackfoot Grammar

(e) Ííksspitaayi nohkóíksi. ‘My sons are tall.’

iik-sspitaa-yi n-ohkó-iksi
very-tall-pl my-son-an.p

Similarly, if the subject is minor third person (4), still other suffixes are required
on the verb:
(f) Ííksspitaayini ohkóyi. ‘His son is tall.’
iik-sspitaa-yini ohkó-yI
very-tall-4s his:son-4s

(g) Ííksspitaayi ohkóíksi. ‘His sons are tall.’

iik-sspitaa-yi ohkó-iksi
very-tall-pl his:son-an.p

When ‘speaker’ or ‘addressee’ is the subject there is usually no separate word

to indicate that fact. However, it is convenient to think of there being speaker or
addressee entities present as subject at a more abstract level; this permits us to
explain the corresponding person affixes on the verb as agreement. For example,
in this sentence,
(h) Nitáakahkayi. ‘I’m going home.’
nit-áak-ahkayi
I-will-go^home

in which the verb has person prefix nit-, we can say that nit- agrees with the
subject ‘speaker,’ even though there is no actual separate word as subject.
If a speaker’s or addressee’s involvement is to be emphasized, then independent
pronouns may be used, as in the next two examples:

(i) Kiistówa, kitsíítsiniki. ‘You related (a story).’

(j) Niistówa, nitáakahkayi. ‘I am going home.’

In such cases we can simply say that emphasis of this type is expressed by using
an actual word to refer to the abstract speaker or addressee as subject. (The full set
of such independent pronouns will be presented in section G of chapter 14.) The
required agreement between the pronoun and the verb is already taken care of by
our general statements for other nouns as subject.

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Chapter 4: More on Intransitive Verbs 25

There are no verb agreement affixes for non-particular (non-referring) nouns, so

a noun must be grammatically particular in order to be the subject of a Blackfoot
verb.3 In cases where the subject does not refer, and hence where one might
expect a non-particular noun, one finds instead a singular or plural noun, as in the
next two examples:

(k) Aakííwa áwaasai’niwa. ‘(Some) woman was crying.’
(l) Saahkómaapiiksi áwaawahkaayaawa.4 ‘(Some) boys are playing’

B. SUMMARY OF VERB AFFIXES5

Here is a chart of intransitive verb agreement affixes, all of which have been
exemplified above. The following abbreviations are used from this point on: 1 =
first person (speaker); 2 = second person (addressee); 3 = major third person; 4 =
minor third person; 21 = inclusive ‘we.’
subject no. → singular plural
subject person ↓
1 nit- ‘I’ nit-…-hpinnaan(a)6 ‘we(excl)’
2 kit- ‘yousg’ kit-…-hpoaawa ‘you(pl)’
217 — -o’p(a) ‘we(incl)’
3 -wa ‘he/she’ -yi ‘they’
4 -yini ‘he/she’ -yi ‘they’

C. PREDICATE ADJECTIVE = VERB

The Blackfoot equivalent of what is usually called a ‘predicate adjective’ in

English is simply an intransitive verb. A few examples should clarify what is
meant here:

nitsspítaa ‘I’m tall.’

sspitááwa ‘He is tall.’
kitssoká’pssi ‘You are nice.’

3
  We can call this the Referring Subject Constraint.
4
  The ending on the verb here includes an attached pronoun. These will be explained in chapter 9.
5
  So far we have introduced only the person affixes used on verbs found in independent clauses.
Chapter 19 will discuss use of other sets of person affixes for verbs.
6
  The final a of -hpinnaana and -o’pa is a predictable addition after an otherwise word-final con-
sonant, rather than part of these morphemes per se.
7
  The 21 form is occasionally used for unspecified subject, as, e.g., in itáíhpiyo’pa ‘There’s
dancing going on there.’

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26 Blackfoot Grammar

soká’pssiwa ‘He is good/nice.’

soká’piiwa ‘It is good.’
siksinááttsiwa ‘It [inanimate] is black.’
siksináámma ‘It [animate] is black.’
síkimiwa ‘He [animal] is black.’

Notice that for most of these verbs there are different stem shapes depending on
whether the subject is of animate gender or inanimate gender; e.g., soká’pii ‘good’
is a stem used with inanimate gender subjects, while soká’pssi ‘good’ is used
only with animate gender subjects. (See chapter 7.) There are also stems which
are used exclusively with certain semantic classes; e.g., sikimi ‘black’ is used
only of animals [excluding people]. There are many other such restrictions on
stems of this type which any fluent speaker of Blackfoot will have to know. (The
Dictionary will usually provide such information.)

D. PREDICATE NOMINATIVE = VERB

As we shall see in section F of chapter 18, intransitive verbs derived from nouns
by addition of the suffix -yi are the functional equivalent of so-called ‘predicate
nominatives’ in English. Note the following verbs, the stems of which are derived
from the noun stems beside them:
noun stem verb form gloss
aakíí nítaakiiyihpinnaan ‘We are women.’
(n)ínaa kitáaksinayi ‘You will be chief.’

If the subject of such verbs is third person, the derivational suffix yi is not used in
independent clauses (though it is used in the other paradigms, presented in chapter
19). That the noun stems are here functioning as verb stems is evident in that the
usual verb affixes are used:
noun stem verb form gloss
(n)ínaa áaksinaawa ‘He will be chief.’
aakíí aakííyaawa ‘They are women.’
atsikíN atsikíniaawa ‘They are shoes.’

E. METEOROLOGICAL VERBS

Blackfoot sentences describing weather conditions make use of verbs also. While
semantically such verbs really have no subject, they occur with the third person
singular suffix -wa. Here are several examples:

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Chapter 4: More on Intransitive Verbs 27

Ksiistoyííwa. ‘It’s hot.’

Áísootaawa. ‘It’s raining.’
Áakohpotaawa. ‘It’s going to snow.’
Ííksstoyiiwa. ‘It’s very cold.’
Áísopowa. ‘It’s windy.’
Iiyíkssopowa. ‘It’s very windy.’

EXERCISES

1. Add the correct verb affixes (recall that subscript4 indicates minor third person):

a. Niistówa, _____áakitsiniki. ‘I will tell a story.’

b. Kiistówa, _____áóoyi. ‘You are eating.’
c. Áóoyi_____ nohkóíksi. ‘My sons are eating.’
d. Kiistónnoona, áakahkay_____. ‘We (inclusive) will go home.’
e. Áakahkayi_____ ónni. ‘His3s father4s will go home.’

2. Given the (a) sentences in Blackfoot, translate the (b) sentences into English.

a. Áyo’kaawa. ‘She is sleeping.’ b. Nitáyo’kaa. ‘__________________.’

a. Nitáókska’si. ‘I run.’ b. Kitáókska’si. ‘_________________.’
a. Áínihkiwa. ‘She is singing’ b. Áínihkio’pa. ‘_________________.’
a. Kitáíssikópii. ‘You are resting’ b. Nitáíssikópiihpinnaan. ‘__________
_______________________________’

3. Given the (a) sentences, translate the (b) sentences into Blackfoot. (Pay close
attention to the subscripts.)

a. Nitáísínaaki. ‘I write.’
b. __________________. ‘You2p write.’
a. Áókstakiwa nohkówa. ‘My son is reading.’
b. ____________________. ‘My sons are reading.’
a. Á’pistotakiyi nínaiksi. ‘(The) men built.’
b. _________________. ‘We1p built.’

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CHAPTER 5

Some Phonological Rules

In chapter 3, section B, we discovered that whenever Blackfoot t precedes an i,

the result is tsi. Such regular and predictable results of combining morphemes
into words can be described by phonological [Link] will need several such
rules in what follows. Each rule will be given a descriptive name and stated in an
explicit form called a rewrite rule. Each rewrite rule conforms to the following
format:

A → B / X_Y

This is to be read as: ‘A is realized as B in the environment of a preceding X and

a following Y.’ In any given rule, the X or Y (or both) may be unspecified; i.e.,
the preceding or following environment may be irrelevant and consequently not
mentioned in the rule.
Let’s now see how the rule regarding the ‘unexpected s’ would be stated:

t-Affrication

t → ts / _i

In this rule, the i after the blank corresponds to the Y in the rule format. The
preceding environment is irrelevant to the rule, so there is nothing corresponding
to X of the format.
We have already observed the effect of the next two rules. In chapter 2, section
B, we learned that long vowels are shortened before any suffix which starts with
a vowel; e.g., nínaa + iksi → nínaiksi ‘men.’ This is expressed by the following
rule:

Vowel Shortening

Vi: → Vi / _ + V

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Chapter 5: Some Phonological Rules 29

Here V indicates any vowel, the colon (:) is used to indicate vowel length, and the
plus (+) indicates a morpheme boundary.1 The subscripts on the two V’s indicate
that these two V’s are of the same quality; i.e., only the length of the vowel is
affected by this rule.2
Also in chapter 2, we observed that y and w are lost after consonants; e.g.,
óóhkotok + yi → óóhkotoki ‘rock’ and póós + wa → póósa ‘cat.’ The following
formulates this rule:

Semivowel Loss

G → Ø / C_, where C ≠ ’

In this rule ‘G’ (for ‘glide’) represents semivowels, and ‘Ø’ is the null or ‘zero’
symbol; ‘C’ = consonant. The statement after the rule limits the preceding
environment to consonants other than the glottal stop; i.e., semivowels are
not lost after ’ (as the following examples show: Áwa’yiwa ‘She’s pointing.’;
Káta’yimmíwaatsiksi? ‘Did she laugh?’).
The need for the next two rules will be seen when we form plurals of verb
stems ending in si. Observe the following:

(a) nitáókska’si ‘I run.’

(b) nitáókska’sspinnaan ‘We1p run.’
(c) áókska’so’pa ‘We21 run.’

Based on what we have seen in earlier chapters (see chart in section B of chapter
4), we would have expected the latter two forms to be made up of the following
parts:

(b´) nit + á + okska’si + hpinnaan

(c´) á + okska’si + o’pa

But in (b), the sequence si + h is realized as ss, according to the following rule:

Postsibilation

ih → s / s_, where i is short

And in (c), the sequence si + o is realized as so, according to the next rule:

1
  This is necessary to permit the existence of long vowels before short vowels within a morpheme;
i.e., we want the rule to apply only when two morphemes are combined.
2 
  A more elegant formulation of the rule is possible if vowel length is represented as a feature of
vowels: V → [-long] / _+V

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30 Blackfoot Grammar

i-Absorption

i → Ø / s_V, where i is short and unaccented, and V ≠ i or I

Note that according to the condition on the rule the i is not ‘absorbed’ if the
following vowel is i or I.3
The effects of the next phonological rule to be introduced are seen by comparing
the following forms:

(d) nitáakahkayi ‘I’m going home.’

(e) áakahkayo’pa ‘We21 are going home.’

Given (d), we would expect (e) to have the form áak+ahkayi+o’pa. The loss of the
vowel i is due to the following rule:4

i-Loss

i → Ø / V1y_V2, where i is short and unaccented, and V2 ≠ i or I

In chapter 2 the singular and plural of ponoká ‘elk’ were given as ponokáwa and
ponokáíksi, respectively. The stem has an inherent accent on its third vowel, as
seen in the singular. We observed that in the plural, the third syllable is accented
throughout; i.e., the accent of the á spreads to the i of the suffix. We called this
Accent Spread. We saw that it applies not only for the vowel combinations a + i
and a + o, which are generally pronounced as single sounds (see the section on
diphthongs in chapter 1), but also of o + i, i + i, a + a, and o + o. For example,
the inherent accent of kakkóó ‘dove’ spreads to the vowel of the plural suffix
in kakkóíksi. Similarly, the plural of mo’tsíS ‘hand’ is mo’tsíístsi. The same
phenomenon is observed in the combination of the durative prefix á with any verb
stem which begins with a vowel. For example, see (a)–(c) above; notice that the
accent of the á has spread to the o of the stem. Here is a formulation of the rule:

Accent Spread

V → [+accent] / V + _
[+accent]

That is, a vowel at the start of a morpheme is accented if the preceding vowel is
accented.

  See chapter 6, section B, regarding the I (called ‘breaking I’) mentioned in this and the next rule.
3

  For some speakers, i-Loss is accompanied by lengthening of V1 if V1 = i. For such speakers,

4

áókstaki+yi+aawa ‘they count,’ e.g., would be realized as áókstakiiyaawa.

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Chapter 5: Some Phonological Rules 31

RULE INTERACTION

Before closing this chapter, it is important to point out that there can be interaction
between rules, such that the required environment for one rule can exist as the
result of another rule; this is known as a feeding relation between rules. For
example, the s which results from t-Affrication (t-A) can serve as the environment
for Postsibilation (P-s):

t-A P-s
(f) nit + ihpiyi → nitsihpiyi → nítsspiyi ‘I danced.’

So t-Affrication feeds Postsibilation. In general, we assume that rules interact

such that there is maximal feeding; exceptions must be stated explicitly. Example
(g) shows the interaction of three rules: Semivowel Loss, t-Affrication, and
i-Absorption:

(g) mohkát + yi + aawa → mohkáti + aawa

→ mohkátsi + aawa → mohkátsaawa ‘They are feet.’

When the application of one rule prevents another rule from applying, this is
referred to as a bleeding relation between rules. In general, we assume that rules
interact such that there is minimal bleeding, and exceptions must be stated. (In
chapter 14 (section B, fn. 5) we will see examples in which the very nature of
pairs of rules precludes the application of both rules; consequently, which rule
bleeds the other must be stated.)

Supplemental Material

The reader may have noted that i-Absorption and i-Loss are very similar. Yet as they stand they
cannot be combined into a single rule, for i-Loss requires a preceding vowel and i-Absorption
does not. However, the major purpose of the requirement that the y in i-Loss be preceded by a
vowel is to assure that when the sequence yiV follows a consonant, as in miin + yi + aawa ‘they
are berries,’ the y is lost by Semivowel Loss, and the i remains. If the applicational precedence of
Semivowel Loss were otherwise assured (by a statement that Semivowel Loss bleeds i-Loss), then
i-Loss could be stated without requiring the presence of a vowel before the y. This would allow
collapsing of i-Loss and i-Absorption into one rule, call it i-Drop: i → Ø / {y,s}_V, where V ≠ i or I.
However, this course of action is not attractive, because y and s do not form a natural class, and
the two rules, i-Absorption and i-Loss, seem to describe separate phenomena. The latter is evident
in the case of speakers for whom i-Loss, but not i-Absorption, is accompanied by lengthening of
a preceding i; see footnote 4. So i-Absorption and i-Loss are kept as separate rules in this work.

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32 Blackfoot Grammar

EXERCISES

1. The stem for ‘sleep’ is yo’kaa. (See exercise 2 of chapter 4.) When the prefix á
(to be discussed in chapter 6) is added, the result is the ‘durative’ stem, which
usually translates as ‘be sleeping.’ How would ‘we21 are sleeping’ (durative) be
written? What phonological rule applies?

2. The stem for ‘count/read’ is okstaki; ‘she is counting’ is áókstakiwa, and

includes the durative prefix. What phonological rule has applied in this word?

3. Given: nitáókska’si ‘I run/I’m running,’ and nitókska’si ‘I ran.’ Observe that

here, as with many Blackfoot verbs, removal of the durative prefix á results
in a past tense translation into English. We saw in exercise 2 of chapter 4 that
‘she is singing’ is áínihkiwa. How would you write ‘I sang’ in Blackfoot? What
phonological rule applies?

4. Given: áó’tsisiiwa ‘she smokes (tobacco).’ How would ‘we21 are smoking’ be
written? Besides Accent Spread, two phonological rules apply, and in a certain
order. What are they? (Remember that double vowels represent long vowels.)

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CHAPTER 6

Tense and Aspect

A. PRELUDE: TENSE VS. ASPECT

To begin this chapter, we will discuss the definitions of the terms ‘tense’ and
‘aspect,’ using examples from English even though tense and aspect categories of
Blackfoot do not find an exact match in English.
Tense can be described roughly as an indication of the time of an event or
process relative to the time of the utterance of the sentence in which tense is
indicated. For example, in the sentence Bill ran to the store, the past tense of the
verb run indicates that Bill’s running took place prior to the time at which the
speaker is uttering the sentence. Similarly, in Bill will run to the store, the use of
the auxiliary verb will indicates that the speaker expects the event to take place
subsequent to the time at which the sentence is uttered, i.e., in the future. Aspect,
on the other hand, involves indication of the degree of completion of an event or
process at the time of the utterance or relative to some specified reference point
in time.1
Aspect in English is indicated in combination with tense. For example, in Bill
is running, the use of the auxiliary verb be plus the suffix ing on run indicates
that Bill’s running is going on (uncompleted) at the time of the utterance. The
fact that this continuous aspect is relative to the time of the utterance is signaled
by the use of a present tense form (is) of the verb be. This becomes evident when
we compare the following sentence with a past tense form of the verb be: Bill
was running when I saw him yesterday; notice that here the continuous aspect is
described relative to the point in time when the event was observed.
In Blackfoot, tense and aspect are indicated by prefixes which are part of
verb stems. That is, they combine with simpler stems to form complex stems.
Consequently, tense or aspect prefixes never precede person agreement prefixes.

1
  Discussion of tense and aspect requires division of verbs into at least three types: those which
describe processes, those which describe events (processes which naturally or conventionally reach
an end point), and those which describe states. Discussion in this chapter will be limited primarily to
indication of tense and aspect on process and eventive verbs.

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34 Blackfoot Grammar

B. FUTURE TENSE

Future tense in Blackfoot is marked by prefix yáak-,2 as seen in the following

examples:3
(a) Oma saahkómaapiwa áaka’po’takiwa. ‘The boy will work.’
om-wa saahkómaapi-wa yáak-a’po’taki-wa
that-3s boy-3s fut-work-3s

(b) Nitáakitsiniki. ‘I will tell a story.’

nit-yáak-itsiniki
1-fut-relate

(c) Kitáaksipii. ‘You will enter.’

kit-yáak-Ipii
2-fut-enter

The s following the future prefix in (c) requires some discussion. The initial
vowel of stem ipii ‘enter,’ unlike the initial vowel of itsiniki ‘tell a story,’ always
causes a preceding k to be replaced by the affricate ks.4 We will speak of this
phenomenon as breaking of k, and of the i which is involved as a breaking i. For
any morpheme which begins with i we need to know whether that i is a breaking
i or not; if it is a breaking i, then if it immediately follows a morpheme ending in
k we know that the k will be replaced by ks.5 To distinguish between a breaking i
and a non-breaking i in this book, we will represent the former with a capital I and
the latter with i. In a listing of the stems for ‘enter’ and ‘tell a story,’ the former
would begin with I as it does in the morpheme-by-morpheme representation in
(c) above. And to the phonological rules presented thus far we add the following:

2
  Because of Semivowel Loss (introduced in the preceding chapter, and revised in chapter 14) the
y of this morpheme will show up only after a morpheme which ends in a vowel (as in (r) below) or
glottal stop.
3
  From this point on, where it seems useful, an interlinear, morpheme-by-morpheme analysis of
examples will be included, even though in some cases that analysis will involve grammatical devices
which are not discussed until later.
4
  Remember that in the Blackfoot alphabet, ks is a digraph representing the complex phoneme
/ks/ (see chapter 1).
5
  For this reason, nearly every morpheme listed in the Dictionary which begins with i is accom-
panied by a diagnostic example in which the i in question is preceded by a morpheme ending in k.
  There are other ways in which a breaking i affects its environment differently from a non-break-
ing i. See Phonological Rules 2 and 3 in Appendix B.

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Chapter 6: Tense and Aspect 35

Breaking

k → ks / _I

The representation which involves I versus i is more abstract than the usual
spelling system for Blackfoot; in the latter, both I and i are represented by i
because they are realized (pronounced) as the same sound. In addition to the rule
of Breaking, we need a rule which indicates that the difference between these two
vowels is neutralized at the level of pronunciation:

Neutralization

I→i

In addition to future prefix yáak, there is a related prefix áyaak ‘imminent future’
([Link]):6
(d) Nitáyaakihpiyi. ‘I’m about to dance.’
nit-áyaak-ihpiyi
[Link]-dance

(e) Anná pookááwa áyaakasai’niwa. ‘That child is about to cry.’

ann-wa pookáá-wa áyaak-wa:sai’ni-wa7
that-3s child-3s [Link]-cry-3s

C. DURATIVE ASPECT

The description of an event or process can include indication that it is viewed,

whenever it occurred, as ongoing or continuous by use of prefix á ‘durative.’8

(f) Nóko’siksi áyimmiyaawa. ‘My kids laugh/are laughing.’

n-oko’s-iksi á-yImmi-yi-aawa
1-offspring-an.p dur-laugh-pl-PRO9

6
  It is conceivable that this is a combination of the durative prefix (see below) and the future prefix,
but since not all speakers distinguish yáak- and áyaak-, such an analysis is difficult to defend.
7
  See section B of chapter 15 regarding the vowel a:.
8
  Dunham (2007, 2008) points out that because this prefix can describe both continuous and habit-
ual aspect, it more closely fits what is generally described as ‘imperfective’ in aspect studies.
9
  See chapter 9 regarding PRO.

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36 Blackfoot Grammar

(g) Omiksi pookáíksi áwaawahkaayaawa. ‘Those children are playing.’

om-iksi pookáá-iksi á-wa:wahkaa-yi-aawa
that-an.p child-an.p dur-play-pl-PRO

Prefixes which end in a form diphthongs10 with a following i or o, and the inherent
accent of the durative prefix is realized on the diphthong; but since the diphthongs
are spelled as a sequence of two vowels, the accent is indicated on both, as seen in
(h) and (i). The rule of Accent Spread (chapter 5) accounts for this.
(h) Omá síípisttoowa áípottaawa. ‘The owl is flying.’
om-wa síípisttoo-wa á-Ipottaa-wa
that-3s owl-3s dur-fly-3s

(i) Nitáókska’si. ‘I run./I’m running.’

nit-á-okska’si
1-dur-run

For verb stems which begin with the prefix a’p ‘around, about,’ the durative prefix
is placed after the a’p.11
(j) Nitá’pao’taki. ‘I work.’
nit-a’p-a-o’taki
1-PREF-dur-work

Durative aspect may be used with future tense, as seen in (k):

(k) Apinákosi áakaokska’so’pa. ‘Tomorrow we21 will be running.’
Apinákosi yáak-a-okska’si-o’pa
tomorrow fut-dur-run-21

Supplemental Material

Though it is not transcribed as such in this book, the vowel of the durative is probably long when in

10
  See chapter 1.
11
  The combination of a’p with other stems often is a ‘frozen’ form which is not currently
recognized as a combination of morphemes. E.g. a’po’taki ‘work,’ seen in (j), is analyzable as a’p +
o’taki ‘take,’ but the meaning of the combination is not predictable from the meanings of the parts. In
such cases a’p will be glossed simply ‘PREF’ and the remainder of the stem will be glossed with the
meaning of the combination.

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Chapter 6: Tense and Aspect 37

the first syllable of a word, when preceded only by a person agreement prefix, or preceded by the
vowel i; see the discussion of ‘variable length’ vowels in chapter 15. The apparent inherent accent
of this morpheme in the same positions might then be the result of its underlying length, because
accent assignment rules, though poorly understood, are clearly sensitive to syllable structure,
including length of vowels.
Also, this morpheme apparently begins with y when preceded by a morpheme which ends in a
glottal stop; see example (j) of chapter 21, section A.

D. PERFECTIVE ASPECT

Indication that an event is completed, or that a process has terminated before the
present or other specified reference point in time,12 is indicated by means of prefix
ákaa, as seen in the following:
(l) Anníksi aakííkoaiksi ákaayo’kaayaawa. ‘Those girls have slept.’
ann-iksi aakííkoaN-iksi ákaa-yo’kaa-yi-aawa
that-an.p girl-an.p perf-sleep-pl-PRO

(m) Amo nínaawa ákaa’paistotakiwa. náápioyii.13

amo nínaa-wa ákaa-a’p-a-istotaki-wa náápioyiS-i
This man-3s perf-PREF-dur-make(AI) house-nonpartic
‘This man has built a house.’

The perfective prefix has the form shown above only when at the beginning of
a word. If preceded by another prefix, it has the variant form Ikáá-, as seen in
(n)–(p);
(n) Anná saahkómaapiiwa máátsikáíhpiyiwa. ‘The boy hasn’t danced.’
ann-wa saahkómaapii-wa máát-Ikáá-ihpiyi-wa
that-3s boy-3s neg-perf-dance-3s

12
  With verbs describing states, the perfective indicates that the subject is fully in the state
described; i.e., it can be understood as completion of an inchoative process.
13
  The stem for ‘build’ here also has the durative prefix, possibly to indicate it is the building
process which is completed. In testing such combinations, I find that if I remove the durative from
a verb such as that in (m), the hearer consistently interprets the combination (ákaa + a’p) as the
future (áak + a’p). Interestingly, if either the non-initial or the past form of the perfective is used,
eliminating the similarity to the future forms, then the durative is not needed: nikáá’pistotaki ‘I built
(something).’; ííka’pistotakiwa ‘He built (something).’

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38 Blackfoot Grammar

(o) Nikáó’toohpinnaan. ‘We have arrived.’

n-Ikáá-o’too-hpinnaan
1-perf-arrive-1p

(p) Kikááyimmi. ‘You have laughed.’

k-Ikáá-yImmi
2-perf-laugh

The last two examples require discussion. Based on what has been presented thus
far, the reader should be wondering why (o) and (p) do not begin with nit and
kit. Simply stated, certain morphemes select a short form of preceding person
agreement prefixes nit-, kit-, and ot-;14 the corresponding short variants are n-, k-,
and w-. One must learn which morphemes, like Ikáá, select the short forms of
these agreement prefixes. Also, since the non-initial form of the perfective prefix
is shown to start with breaking I, we need to account for the fact that the second
person prefix k is not ‘broken’ in (p). It turns out that the k of the second person
prefix is always impervious to Breaking.
The perfective prefix may be used with the future tense prefix, as seen in (q)
and (r); note that the relative order of these prefixes is significant:
(q) Apinákosi. áaksikáóka’pihtsiiyiwa. ‘Tomorrow it will have spoiled.’
apinákosi yáak-Ikáá-oka’pihtsiiyi-wa
tomorrow fut-perf-spoil(II)-sg

(r) Ákaayáakaniiwa. ‘He will be saying that.’/

ákaa-yáak-wa:nii-wa ‘He’s ready to say that.’
perf-fut-say-3s

(s) Nikáakahkayi. ‘I’m going home (right now)’/

n-Ikaa-áak-ahkayi ‘I fully intend to go home.’
1-perf-fut-go^home

The use of the perfective in examples (r) and (s) indicate that the combination of
perf + fut can reflect certainty of the speaker.

14
  The third person prefix ot will be seen in later chapters.

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Chapter 6: Tense and Aspect 39

E. Sentences which translate as PAST TENSE in English

It is not clear that the phenomenon discussed here should be labeled a tense, let
alone ‘past’ tense. As will be seen, in some cases it is actually the absence of
any aspect morpheme. However, I will speak about this phenomenon as ‘past
tense,’ because it generally is observed in sentences which translate as past tense
in English.15
This is the most complicated part of discussion of tense and aspect because
it involves the area of greatest irregularity in Blackfoot: morpheme-initial
variation. Consequently, the presentation here will be incomplete and somewhat
oversimplified. (Morpheme-initial variation will be discussed more fully in
chapter 15.)
Past tense is realized in several variant forms, depending upon the following
factors: the presence vs absence of an agreement prefix, properties of the first
morpheme of the stem, and, when competing forms exist, preference or dialect
of the speaker.
Past tense may be realized as any of the following (examples will follow as
(t)–(z´)):

1. Simple absence of both the durative aspect and future prefixes, often with
placement of accent on a syllable that otherwise would not be accented;16

2. Replacement of a stem-initial vowel by ii, or, if the stem begins in a

consonant, addition of an ii, usually long, before that consonant;17

3. For a small subset of stems beginning with sV or ICV (where C and V stand
for any consonant and vowel), replacement of this initial sequence by sayV
or CayV, respectively; this is possible only in word-initial position, i.e.,

15
  If the intended audience were primarily linguists, I might use a term such as ‘preterite,’ but I
think the label ‘past tense’ serves well so long as it is clear that I am not using the term in a technical
sense.
  Greg Thomson (personal communication) claims that the absence of the imperfective prefix
(called ‘durative’ in this grammar) with dynamic verbs constitutes a zero morpheme signifying perfec-
tive. Given his analysis and terminology, what is labeled as ‘perfective’ in this grammar would better
be labeled ‘completive.’
  Note that the ‘durative’ and perfective aspect prefixes are not mutually exclusive:
áíkaitayoohkimaawa ‘She would already be waiting there.’
á-Ikaa-it-a-yoohkimaa-wa
dur-perf-there-dur-wait-3s
  Note also that more than one durative prefix may be used, each one having scope over the
remainder of the stem.
16
  It is not yet clear whether the accent placement in such cases is a function of the past tense
itself, or a consequence of the absence of any prefix with inherent accent.
17
  This means of marking past tense is never used with stems beginning with a’p or w.

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40 Blackfoot Grammar

when no prefix precedes the stem. We will refer to this process as initial
change. (Initial change is also found in some imperative forms and a few
nominalized verbs.)18

4. In the Siksika Reserve dialect only, there is a fourth way of marking past
tense on stems, but only in word-initial position (and hence cannot be used
if there is a person prefix): Add prefix ná.19 This seems to function as a
variant of (1) in cases where no person prefix is called for.20

For most verbs, more than one of these ‘past tense’ realizations is acceptable on
some forms from the agreement paradigm.
Here are examples of various past tense forms, identified in square brackets as
to whether they illustrate type 1, 2, 3, or 4. Notice that for many verbs there are
two or three acceptable forms which translate as past tense:

(t) Nitókska’si [1]/Nitsííkska’si [2]. ‘I ran.’

(u) Nohkówa ííkska’siwa [2]/náókska’siwa [4]. ‘My son ran.’

(v) Oma píítaawa ipóttaawa [1]/payóttaawa [3] náípottaawa [4].

‘The eagle flew.’

(w) Kitána aasáí’niwa [1]. ‘Your daughter cried.’

(x) Amo aakííwa iihpómmaawa [2] ónnikii. ‘This woman bought milk.’

(y) Nítsspiyihpinnaan [1]. ‘We danced.’

The past tense morpheme is usually realized on the first syllable of the verb after
the agreement prefix, if any. If it appears with perfective aspect, the perfective
prefix is affected:

18
  Some of the cases of initial ii described in (2) are apparently also cognate with the process
known as initial change in other Algonquian languages (see Taylor 1967), but in this description we
will reserve the term for the process described in (3).
19
  None of the speakers at Siksika with whom I conversed or worked from 1961 to 1977 ever used
this means of marking past tense with verbs beginning with a’p. However, some speakers now do,
according to data reported by other linguists.
20
  Many years ago, Greg Thomson pointed out (personal communication) the practical function
of na- ; it allows speakers to avoid the area of greatest irregularity in Blackfoot verbs: word-initial
allomorphy (see section A of chapter 15).
  Speakers with whom I worked in the 1960s considered the use of na- to be ‘slang,’ a term they
commonly applied to emerging grammatical phenomena and lexical innovation. This explains why it
never occurs in textual material elicited at that time.

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Chapter 6: Tense and Aspect 41

(z) Oma imitááwa ííkáóoyiwa [2]. ‘That dog had eaten.’

Notice also that the non-initial variant of the perfective prefix is used, suggesting
that at least with regard to variant selection, the past tense morpheme is a prefix.
This can also account for the fact that although the perfective prefix otherwise
selects the short form of the person agreement prefixes, the past tense does not;
hence ‘past’ plus ‘perfective’ selects the long form:

(z´) Kitsííkaokstoohpoaawáyi [2]. ‘You (pl) had read it.’

EXERCISES

Note: All verb stems and noun phrases needed for the following exercises can be
found in the current chapter.

[Link] the following into Blackfoot, using the future tense morphemes:

(a) Your daughter is about to run.

(b) (The) owls will fly.

(c) I will build a house. [Note: Prefix a’p ‘around, about’ is part of the stem for
‘build/make.’ See example (m) above.]

[Link] the following, using the durative aspect morpheme:

(a) This woman is laughing.

(b) My kids are sleeping.

(c) I am telling a story.

[Link] the following, using the perfective aspect morpheme:

(a) We1p have run.

(b) This man has told a story.

(c) You2s have flown.

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CHAPTER 7

Four Verb Stem Types

A. SYNTAX

Constraints on the way words combine into larger constructions such as phrases,
clauses, and sentences, are referred to as syntactic constraints or rules of syntax.
Such rules describe requirements which must be met when words are combined,
such as their grammatical class, morphological makeup, and their relative order.
We have already seen in chapter 4 that verbs must agree with their subjects;
this is an example of a morphosyntactic constraint, for it restricts what the
morphological makeup of the verb can be, based on the nominal (noun or noun
phrase) as its subject.
Although there will be no chapter specifically devoted to syntax in this book,
and the word syntax will not appear often, rules of syntax will be met in just about
every chapter. The remainder of this chapter deals with three syntactic topics.

B. VERB STEM TYPES and STEM AGREEMENT

In chapter 4, section C, we saw that Blackfoot intransitive verb stems which take
animate gender subjects usually have different shapes than stems which take
inanimate gender subjects. The examples are repeated here:

soká’pssiwa ‘He is good/nice.’

soká’piiwa ‘It[inanimate] is good.’
siksinámma ‘It[animate] is black.’
siksináttsiwa ‘It[inanimate] is black.’

We describe this situation by saying that the verb subcategory ‘Intransitive

Verb’ is further subcategorized according to the grammatical gender of the
subject. Following traditional Algonquianist terminology, we will refer to the
two subcategories of intransitive verb stems as Animate Intransitive (AI) and
Inanimate Intransitive (II). There are also two subcategories of transitive verbs.
(Recall that transitive verbs take objects.) The two subcategories of transitive
verbs are distinguished according to whether their objects are animate or inanimate

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Chapter 7: Four Verb Stem Types 43

gender, and are referred to as Transitive Animate (TA) and Transitive Inanimate
(TI).1 The selection of verb stem type according to gender of the subject or object
is often referred to as stem agreement. From this point on, we will use this term
when referring to choice of verb stem. (The phrase verb agreement will then
refer to inflectional agreement, as elaborated in the following section.)
In summary, the two parameters of verb subcategorization, namely transitivity
and gender, combine to produce four stem types:
Animate Inanimate
Intransitive AI II
Transitive TA TI

In the Dictionary, the four types of verb stems are labeled as vai, vii, vta, and vti.
For example, compare the four stems which translate ‘burst’:

ipakksskaa vai; ipákksi vii; ipakkssk vta; ipakksski vti

C. INFLECTIONAL AGREEMENT

We have seen in previous chapters (especially chapter 4) that intransitive verbs

take affixes which must agree with the subjects of the verbs to which they are
attached. The agreement affixes which occur on intransitive verbs of independent
clauses were summarized in section B of chapter 4. The set of affixes presented
there is for AI verbs. The affixes found on II verbs are a subset of the AI affixes,
limited to two by the fact that the only inanimate gender categories are singular
and plural; i.e., the set of II agreement affixes has only singular and plural forms,
and these are identical to the 3s and 3p suffixes for AI verbs given in section B
of chapter 4.
Blackfoot transitive verbs take affixes which agree with their subjects and their
objects. Notice that the following four sentences all have different verb forms as
a consequence of the fact that no two have the same combination of subject and
object:

(a) Niistówa, nitohpómmatoohpa amoyi náápioyisi.

‘I bought this house.’

1
  All transitive verbs of Blackfoot require subjects, the referents for which must be capable of
acting intentionally. Consequently, transitive verbs are not subcategorized in terms of gender of their
subject, since such referents automatically belong to the animate gender class. We will see in chapters
8 (last section) and 12 (section D) how Blackfoot expresses things like ‘A shoe broke the glass’ and
‘The stick hit me.’

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44 Blackfoot Grammar

b) Kiistówa, kitohpómmatoohpa amoyi náápioyisi.

‘You bought this house.’

(c) Niistówa, nitohpómmatoohpi amo(i)stsi náápioyiistsi.

‘I bought these houses.’

(d) Kiistówa, kitohpómmatoohpi amo(i)stsi náápioyiistsi.

‘You bought these houses.’

The verbs in these examples are transitive inanimate (TI). The full set of agreement
forms for TI verbs in independent clauses will be given in the next chapter. The
agreement forms for transitive animate (TA) verbs in independent clauses will be
presented in chapters 10, 11, and 12.

D. OBJECTS THAT DON’T COUNT

If an object is either unspecified as in (e) and (f), or non-particular in reference

(see chapter 2, section C) as in (g) and (h), it does not qualify as a primary
syntactic object, and the verb of which it is the logical object will be inflectionally
intransitive. Consequently, the verbs of (e)–(h) are AI rather than TI; compare the
verb of (e) and (g) to the TI form in (a) above:

(e) Nítohpommaa. ‘I purchased (something unspecified).’

(f) Áwaaniiwa. ‘He’s saying (something).’

(g) Nítohpommaa náápioyii. ‘I made a house-purchase.’

(h) Áóoyiyaawa owáí. ‘They are eating egg(s).’

Objects with which verbs do not agree will be referred to as secondary objects.

Supplemental Material

We have seen that there are two criteria for determining the transitivity of verbs in Blackfoot:
syntactic and morphological. Syntactic transitivity is the ability to occur with an object, while
morphological transitivity is the ability to show inflectional agreement with an object. Where these
two criteria conflict, we will use the prefix para- to modify the syntactic category of the verb. AI
verbs which may occur with a non-particular object will be referred to as paratransitive, because
they may occur with objects but do not agree with those objects.
There are also two types of TA verbs. Some TA verbs may occur with two syntactic objects, but
the verb will show inflectional agreement with only one of them, which we will call the primary
object Such verbs can then be referred to as paraditransitive verbs, because although they are
syntactically ditransitive (take two objects), they are inflectionally (mono)transitive, since they

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Chapter 7: Four Verb Stem Types 45

show inflectional agreement with only the primary object. The other object, which we will call the
secondary object, may be either particular or non-particular in reference. We will have reason to
make use of these new terms, paratransitive and paraditransitive, in chapter 20.

EXERCISE

If one were translating the following sentences into Blackfoot, would the
Blackfoot verb stem required be II, AI, TI, or TA? (If you are uncertain about the
grammatical gender of the nouns involved, see chapter 2.)

1. I’m working.

2. The tipi is old.

3. He’s eating the meat.

4. I found the pail.

5. We bought fish (non-particular).

6. The horse is eating.

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CHAPTER 8

Transitive Inanimate Verbs

To this point, we have illustrated primarily intransitive verbs. Here are some
examples of a transitive verb, specifically one which occurs with inanimate
gender primary objects:

(a) Ikóónima nohkówa ómi niitóyisi. ‘My son took down that tipi.’
(b) Ikóónimi kohkóíksi ánni nitsiksíkkokóówayi.
‘Your sons took my tent down.’

The first word in each of these sentences is a transitive inanimate (TI) verb. Notice
that the verb of (a) ends in a, which is from wa, with the w removed by the (by
now familiar) rule Semivowel Loss. The verb of (b) ends in i, from yi. The two
suffixes agree with the person and number of the subjects: ‘3s’ in (a), and ‘3p’ in
(b).
A complete set of agreement forms for a verb is called a paradigm. Observe
the following paradigm for the TI verb stem ikooni ‘take down (gently).’ It is
divided here into two portions; the first is used with a singular object and the
second with a plural object.

Singular Object Forms

Subject
number → singular plural
person ↓
1 nitsííkooniihpa nitsííkooniihpinnaana
2 kitsííkooniihpa kitsííkooniihpoaawa
21 —
ikóónii’pa
3 ikóónima ikóónimi
4 ikóónimini ikóónimi

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Chapter 8: Transitive Inanimate Verbs 47

Plural Object Forms

Subject
number → singular plural
person ↓
1 nitsííkooniihpi nitsííkooniihpinnaani
2 kitsííkooniihpi kitsííkooniihpoaayi
21 —
ikóónii’pi
3 ikóónima ikóónimi
4 ikóónimini ikóónimi

There are several noteworthy aspects of this paradigm. First, as will be even more
obvious when the affixes of this paradigm are listed separately below, there is
a great deal of similarity between this paradigm and the AI paradigm given in
section B of chapter 4. Second, comparing the singular object forms with the
plural object forms, we see that if the subject is 3 or 4 the two sets of forms are
the same (i.e., number of the object is not indicated in the verb) whereas forms
with other subjects end in a (from -wa) if the object is singular and with i (from
-yi) if the object is plural. Third, the forms with 3 or 4 as subject form a subset in
another regard, as well; they have im where the others have iihp. This is true for
all TI verbs, though many have oom and oohp in place of im and iihp.1 Because all
TI verbs show this hp ~ m2 variation in the independent paradigm, we will refer to
this portion as a TI theme suffix. All speakers find ’p in place of hp to be perfectly
acceptable in this paradigm.
Here are more sentences utilizing forms from the above paradigm:

(c) Ikóónii’pi ómistsi ksíkkokóówaistsi. ‘We21 took those tents down.’

/‘Those tents were taken down.’

(d) Áaksikoonii’pa oyísi. ‘We21 will take down his lodge.’

(e) Nikáíkooniihpinnaani noyíístsi. ‘We1p have taken down our lodges.’

1
  TI stems are listed in the Dictionary as ending in i, ii, or oo. The length of the vowel is relevant
in other than the independent paradigm.
2
  For a great many speakers, this is hp ~ mm. So, for example, the verb of (a) above will frequently
be heard as ikóónimma.

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 Blackfoot Grammar

THE TI THEME SuffIXES AND AGrEEMENT AffIXES

Subject
number → singular plural
person ↓
1 nit-...-hp nit-...-hpinnaan
2 kit-...-hp kit-...-hpoaa
21/unspec3 —
-’p
3 -mwa -myi
4 -myini -myi

The following points require explanation or bear repeating:

1. Theme suffix hp in this paradigm may be replaced by ’p.

2. Theme suffixes hp and ’p in this paradigm lengthen a preceding short vowel.

3. Theme suffix m in the 3 and 4 portions of this paradigm shortens a preceding

long ii.4

4. Semivowel Loss eliminates the w and y of the 3 and 4 forms;5 see chapter 5.

5. To these affixes are added -wa if the object is singular or -yi if the object is
plural, unless the subject is 3 or 4; in the latter cases number of the object is
not indicated in the verb due to the following general constraints of Blackfoot:
Verbs can show agreement with only one third person nominal, and animate
gender takes precedence over inanimate gender when there is a choice.

TI WITH NON-VOLITIONAL LOGICAL SuBjECT

In general, the subject of a transitive verb in Blackfoot is presupposed to be capable

of exercising will. Unless the speaker wishes to convey that presupposition, he or
she must use an alternate strategy. So, for example, even though isttoáN ‘knife’ is
of animate gender, it cannot normally serve as subject of a transitive verb, and the

3
  The 21 form is also used for unspecified subject, as seen in the second translation of (c) above,
which can be more literally translated ‘Unspecified took those tents down.’
4
  Though there are a few apparent exceptions in the Dictionary; e.g., TI verbs ohpattsii ‘collide
with bodily’ and sta’toksii ‘split (wood)’; note áakssta’toksiimáyi ‘He will split it.’
5
  Those semivowels are included in the chart so that the similarity between the TI and AI
paradigms will be more evident.

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 49

following sentence is unacceptable:6

(f) *Oma isttoána ikahksínima annistsi ikkstsíksiistsi.

‘That knife cut off those branches.’

Instead of translating such sentences literally, Blackfoot makes use of the

unspecified subject form of the verb (the same as the 21 subject form); the
(unwillful) involvement of the logical subject is expressed by use of the linking
prefix iiht ‘means’ (see section 4 of chapter 16), as seen in the following example:

(g) Oma isttoána iihtsíkahksinii’pi. annistsi ikkstsíksiistsi.

that knife-3s means-cut(TI)-pl those branch-in.p
‘The knife cut off those branches.’

A more literal translation of (g) is ‘By means of the knife, the branches were cut
off.’

EXErCISES

1. Comparing the chart of TI affixes above with that in section B of chapter 4, list
the ways in which the TI paradigm differs from the AI paradigm.

2. Add the correct TI affixes to the verbs in the following sentences. (The verb
stem is in first position in each sentence given, except for (j), where it is in
second position.)

a. áakohpommatoo amo nínaawa omi napayíni.

‘The man will buy that bread.’

b. áakohpommatoo omistsi ápssiistsi.

‘I will buy those arrows.’

c. áakohpommatoo amoyi sóópa’tsisi.

‘We21 will buy this chair.’

d. áóowatoo omistsi ókonokistsi.

‘You2p are eating those saskatoons.’

6
  Unless in a context in which the knife is personified, in which case the volitional requirement
can be met.

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50 Blackfoot Grammar

e. áyoohtsi anniksi aakííksi omi nínihkssini.

‘Those women hear the song.’

f. áókstoo nóko’siksi omistsi náápioyiistsi.

‘My kids are counting those houses.’

g. áápiksii oma pookááwa omistsi óóhkotokistsi.

‘That kid threw those rocks.’

h. máátakohkottsipikkstsi ohkóyi amoyi í’ksisakoyi.

‘His son can’t chew this meat.’

i. iini kookóówayi.
‘We1p saw your house.’

j. omi ápssiyi áwa’yihkihtsi nookóówayi.

‘That arrow is pointing at my house.’

[Hint: See discussion of examples (f) and (g) above.]

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CHAPTER 9

Attached Pronouns

Certain third person suffixes appear to have a longer form than those listed in the
charts given so far. For example, the charts list -yi as ‘3p,’ yet at the end of section
A of chapter 4 the following example was given; note the highlighted portion:

(a) Saahkómaapiiksi áwaawahkaayaawa. ‘(Some) boys are playing.’

But if the subject saahkómaapiiksi is placed after the verb rather than before it, we
see the suffix –yi on the verb:

(b) Áwaawahkaayi saahkómaapiiksi. ‘(Some) boys are playing.’

Only the form with yaawa is acceptable if there is no overt noun or noun phrase
as subject in the clause:

(c) Áwaawahkaayaawa. ‘They are playing.’

It seems that the ‘long’ form is required if a noun with which it agrees does not
follow the verb. This suggests an analysis in which the longer form of the 3p
ending involves a third person pronoun aawa which attaches to the end of the
verb,1 immediately after the suffix -yi. (The i of -yi is lost in (a) and (c) according
to the rule called i-Loss; see chapter 5.)
The above example involved a pronoun as subject of an AI verb; here is an
example of the pronoun aawa as object of a TI verb:
(d) Nitohpómmatoo’piaawa. ‘I bought them.’
nit-ohpommatoo-’p-yi-aawa
1-buy(TI)-theme-pl-PRO

1
  Such pronouns are commonly known as enclitic pronouns.

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52 Blackfoot Grammar

Note that because the plural (pl) suffix -yi in (d) follows a consonant, i-Loss does
not apply; Semivowel Loss applies and the i of -yi shows up.
There is also an attached pronoun for third person singular, but it is used
only when there is another third person in the immediate context, though not
necessarily in the same sentence. We will refer to this pronoun as the Distinct
Third Person (DTP) pronoun. Here are some examples:
(e) Nohkówa áakohpommatoomáyi.
n-ohkó-wa yáak-ohpommatoo-m-wa-áyi
1-son-3s fut-buy(TI)-theme-3s-PRO
‘My son will buy it.’

(f) Ánna aakííwa óomi á’pao’takiyináyi.

ann-wa aakííwa w-óom-yI a’pao’taki-yini-áyi
that-3s woman-3s 3-husband-4s work(dur)-4s-PRO
‘That woman’s husband is working.’

(g) Otsáápioyisi, ksikksinááttsiwáyi.

ot-IáápioyiS-yi ksikksinááttsi-wa-áyi
3-house-in.s2 white-sg-PRO
‘His house is white.’

The pronoun in these examples is evidently áyi, and if the segment preceding this
pronoun is a vowel, that vowel is deleted.
There are plural DTP pronouns as well; one for animate gender nominals and
the other for inanimate gender nominals; these are aiksi and aistsi, respectively.
These require deletion of a preceding a (as in (h) and (l)), and also require deletion
of a preceding i if it in turn is preceded by m or n (as in (k)). Here are several
examples:
(h) Nohkówa áakohpommatoomaistsi.
n-ohkó-wa yáak-ohpommatoo-m-wa-aistsi
1-son-3s fut-buy(TI)-theme-3s-PRO
‘My son will buy them.’

2
  ‘in.s’ in morpheme-by-morpheme glosses abbreviates ‘inanimate singular.’

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Chapter 9: Attached Pronouns 53

(i) Otsáápioyiistsi ksikksináttsiyaistsi.

ot-IáápioyiS-istsi ksikksinattsi-yi-aistsi
3-house-ip white-pl-PRO
‘His houses are white.’

(j) Óko’siksi áyo’kaayaiksi.

w-óko’s-iksi á-Io’kaa-yi-aiksi
3-offspring-an.p dur-sleep-pl-PRO
‘His kids are sleeping.’

(k) Anni óomi á’pistotsiminaistsi.

ann-yI w-óom-yI á’pistotsi-m-yini-aistsi
that-4s 3-husband-4s make(TI)-theme-4s-PRO
‘Her husband made them.’
(l) Anna pookááwa iinoyííwaiksi.
ann-wa pookáá-wa iino-yii-wa-aiksi
that-3s child-3s past:see-dir-3s-PRO
‘That child saw them (anim).’

Attached pronouns can bear grammatical relations other than subject or object.
Here are examples as destinational Goal, Instrument, and Location:3
(m) Nitákkawa itápsskonakiwaiksi.
n-itákka-wa itap-sskonaki-wa-aiksi
1-friend-3s toward-shoot-3s-PRO
‘My friend shot at them (anim).’

(n) Kitána iihtáóoyiwáyi.

k-itán-wa iiht-á-ooyi-wa-áyi
2-daughter-3s instr-dur-eat(AI)-3s-PRO
‘Your daughter is eating with it.’

3
  See section D.4 of chapter 16 for discussion of how these relations are indicated in Blackfoot.

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54 Blackfoot Grammar

(o) Oma aakííkoana itohkítopiiwaistsi.

om-wa akííkoaN-wa it-ohkit-opii-wa-aistsi
that-3s girl-3s there-upon-sit-3s-PRO
‘That girl sat on them (inan).’

Two pronouns may be attached to a verb, but the two must be different. The
constraints involved in such cases are fairly complex,4 but the following rules
cover most circumstances:

1. At least one of the two pronouns must reference the subject or primary
object.

2. If one of two pronouns is subject or primary object and the other is not
subject or primary object, the pronoun as subject or primary object is
closest to the stem.

3. If one pronoun is major third person (3) and the other is minor third person
(4), the 3 pronoun precedes the 4 pronoun (no matter which is subject).

4. The two pronouns must not be identical. In cases where two identical
pronouns are called for, only one will be present.

Here are examples with two pronouns:

(p) Nohkóíksi áakohpommatoomiaawaistsi.
n-ohkó-iksi yáak-ohpommatoo-m-yi-aawa-aistsi
1-son-an.p fut-buy(TI)-theme-pl-PRO-PRO
‘My sons will buy them.’
(q) Anni otáni, itohkítopiiyináyaiksi.
ann-yI w-itan-yI it-ohkit-opii-yini-áyi-aiksi
that-4s 3-da.-4s there-on-sit-4s-PRO-PRO
‘His daughter, she sat on them (anim).’

SUMMARY

If a nominal bearing a grammatical relation in a clause does not follow the verb
of that clause, and that nominal is not major third person singular, then a pronoun

4
  See Fox and Frantz (1979) for details.

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Chapter 9: Attached Pronouns 55

must take its place after the verb and be attached to the verb.5 There are two kinds
of third person pronouns which are necessarily attached to verbs: the non-DTP
plural pronoun aawa and the three DTP pronouns listed below. The DTP pronouns
require deletion of a preceding vowel in certain cases.

Distinct Third Person Pronouns

sg [Link], [Link]
-áyi -aiksi -aistsi

Supplemental Material

There are what could be called non-affirmative pronouns as well. These will be discussed briefly in
chapter 21. For now, we simply list them as atsiksi ‘3s/in.s,’ aiksaawa ‘3p/4p,’ and aistsaawa ‘ip.’

5
  There are examples in section D.3 of chapter 20 in which DTP pronouns are attached to
nominalized verbs.

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CHAPTER 10

Transitive Animate Part 1: Direct

A. INTRODUCTION

As explained in chapter 7, a TA verb agrees with its subject and with its animate
gender primary object. The large number of person and number combinations of
subject and primary object results in an extensive paradigm of forms, but most of
these include affixes which we have already encountered above. In this chapter
we look at a relatively straightforward portion of the TA paradigm; later we will
build upon this in chapters 11 and 12. The entire TA paradigm is presented in
chart form in Appendix A.

B. 1s/2s SUBJECT WITH 3/4 OBJECT

Consider the following sentences:

(a) Nitsikákomimmawa nitána. ‘I love my daughter.’

(b) Nitsikákomimmayi nitániksi. ‘I love my daughters.’
(c) Kitsikákomimmawa nitána. ‘You2s love my daughter.’
(d) Kitsikákomimmayi nitániksi. ‘You love my daughters.’
(e) Nitsikákomimmayini otáni. ‘I love his daughter.’
(f) Nitsikákomimmayi otániksi. ‘I love his daughters.’

Comparing (a)–(f) and noting the highlighted affixes, it seems there is nothing
new to learn in this portion of the TA paradigm, for these same affixes are used in
the AI and TI paradigms. But when these forms are compared to the remainder of
the paradigm, especially in chapters 11 and 12, we will see that more is involved
here than simply adding prefixes which agree with the subject and suffixes which
agree with the primary object. In particular, we will see in section E that the
stem for ‘love’ in these examples is ikakomimm,1 and the a which precedes the
highlighted suffixes in (a)–(f) is a morpheme (‘direct’ theme suffix).
1
  The verb stem for ‘love’ (wa:komimm), like many verb stems in Blackfoot, seldom is used
without the intensifier prefix ik; consequently, that prefix when used on such verbs is of virtually no
semantic effect.

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Chapter 10: Transitive Animate Direct 57

C. 1 AND 2 PLURAL AFFIXES

Consider (g) and (h):

(g) Nitsikákomimmannaani kitániksi. ‘We1p love your daughters.’
(h) Kitsikákomimmawaayi nitániksi. ‘You2p love my daughters.’

These sentences show that the TA verb uses suffixes to mark first and second
person plural which are nearly identical to affixes seen earlier (see section B of
chapter 4). They differ in that the pluralizers here lack the hp, which appears on
the 1p and 2p suffixes whenever they are used on a verb which does not also have
a third person as subject or primary object. Other predictable variation in the
verb pluralizer shape is as follows: The 1p suffix is innaan after a consonant, but
usually just nnaan after a vowel. If nothing other than a clitic pronoun is attached,
the 2p suffix is oaawa (see e.g., (b) of chapter 12), but is usually oaa otherwise (as
in (h));2 furthermore, when the 2p suffix is preceded by a vowel, the o is replaced
by w according to a regular phonological rule, which also accounts for i and y
alternations:3

Desyllabification

{i → y, o → w} / V_V, where the i and o do not carry accent.

As was also seen in the TI paradigm of chapter 8, the pluralizers for first and
second person precede suffixes for third person.

D. 21 AND UNSPECIFIED SUBJECT

The agreement affixes for 21 as subject do double duty in that they are also used
when the speaker does not wish to specify a subject. Observe the following:

(i) Ikákomimmawa kitána

‘We21 love your daughter.’/
‘Your daughter is loved.’

(j) Ikákomimmayi kitániksi. ‘We21 love your daughters.’/

‘Your daughters are loved.’
2
  Forms in which -oaawa is followed by a suffix other than a pronoun are also relatively common,
but as free variants of forms in which -oaa appears.
3
  There are apparent counter-examples to this rule as a consequence of the convention which
spells long vowels as a sequence of two like vowels. For example, ákáóoyiwa ‘he has eaten’ appears
to have an o between two vowels, but in its underlying form the second syllable of this word is a
sequence of just two vowels: a and long oo.

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58 Blackfoot Grammar

(k) Ikákomimmayini otáni. ‘We21 love her daughter.’/

‘Her daughter is loved.’

Notice that these 21/unspecified subject forms with third person object differ
from the 1s and 2s subject forms (a)–(e) in lacking person prefixes.

E. 3 SUBJECT WITH 4 PRIMARY OBJECT

Recall that only one animate gender third person may be major third person (3);
any others must be demoted to 4. (See section D of chapter 2.) So if both the
subject and an object of a TA verb are third persons, one must be demoted. Here
we will deal with the case in which a primary object is demoted; i.e., 3 subject
with a 4 object. (4 subject with a 3 primary object will be dealt with in the next
chapter.) This requires a new suffix in place of the a which follows the stem in
(a)–(k).4 It has two forms: -yii and -ii. -yii is used with stems which end in a vowel
other than a, and -ii is used elsewhere. Examples:

(l) Ikákomimmiiwa nohkówa kitáni. ‘My son loves your daughter.’

(m) Isspómmoyiiwa aakííkoana póósi. ‘The girl helped the cat.’

(n) Iisínaiiwa nínaawa pookááyi. ‘The man took a picture of the child.’

Such TA forms, i.e., forms for which both subject and primary object are third
person, show number agreement with their subjects but not with their objects.
Compare (o) and (p) with (l). Notice that pluralizing the subject ‘son’ affects the
verb inflection, but pluralizing the object ‘daughter’ does not:

(o) Ikákomimmiiyi nohkóíksi kitáni. ‘My sons love your daughter.’

(p) Ikákomimmiiwa nohkówa kitániksi. ‘My son loves your daughters.’

The same suffix -yii ~ ii is used when a minor third person is subject and another
minor third person5 is primary object. In such cases as well, the verbs show
number agreement with their subjects but not with their primary objects. Compare
(q) with (r) and (s):

4
  In the next chapter we will refer to these suffixes as ‘direct (dir) theme’ suffixes.
5
  Indicated as a 5 in paradigm 3 of Appendix A.

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Chapter 10: Transitive Animate Direct 59

(q) Iisínaiiyini anna nínaawa ohkóyi pookááyi.

iisína-ii-yini ann-wa nínaa-wa w-ohkó-yI pookáá-yi
picture(TA)-dir-4s that-3s man-3s 3-son-4s child-4s
‘The man’s son took a picture of the child.’

(r) Iisínaiiyi anna nínaawa ohkóíksi pookááyi.

iisína-ii-yi ann-wa nínaa-wa w-ohkó-iksi pookáá-yi
picture(TA)-dir-pl that-3s man-3s 3-son-4p child-4s
‘The man’s sons took a picture of the child.’

(s) Iisínaiiyini anna nínaawa ohkóyi pookáíksi.

iisína-ii-yini ann-wa nínaa-wa w-ohkó-yI pookáá-iksi
past:picture(TA)-dir-4s that-3s man-3s 3-son-4s child-an.p
‘The man’s son took a picture of the children.’

EXERCISE

Add the correct TA agreement affixes to the verbs of the following sentences. (The
verb is the first word in each example.) Be sure to add a theme suffix (either a or
ii ~ yii), as seen in (a)–(p), to the stems given below before adding the agreement
affixes. Alternatively, consult paradigm 3 of Appendix A for the correct theme
suffix and agreement affixes.

1. áísspommo nohkóíksi.
‘You2s help my sons.’

2. yiimat anna aakííkoana ónni.

‘We1p imitated the girl’s father.’

3. itsit saahkómaapiwa.
‘I caught up to the boy.’

4. ohpopaat i’naksípokaiksi.
‘You2p held the babies on your laps.’

5. inakat pokóna.
‘We21 rolled the ball./The ball was rolled.’

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60 Blackfoot Grammar

6. áakohtookisat aakííkoana ohsíssi.

‘The girl will ask her younger sibling to translate (for her).’

7. innissko pookáíksi imitáíksi.

‘The kids chased off the dogs.

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CHAPTER 11

Transitive Animate Part 2: Inverse

A. DIRECT VS. INVERSE THEME

In the previous chapter we saw examples such as (a) and (b):

(a) Nitsikákomimmawa nitána. ‘I love my daughter.’

(b) Nitsikákomimmayi nitániksi. ‘I love my daughters.’

Now compare the following examples; note the highlighted portion:

(c) Nitsikákomimmoka nitána. ‘My daughter loves me.’

(d) Nitsikákomimmoki nitániksi. ‘My daughters love me.’

Given that the verbs of (c) and (d) end in suffixes wa and yi (with the semivowels
lost after a consonant), these sentences differ from their (a) and (b) counterparts
only in that the verb stems of (c) and (d) end in ok, while the verb stems of (a)
and (b) end in a. The portion of verb stems under discussion is referred to as the
theme suffix. The suffix a of (a) and (b) is known as the direct theme suffix (dir),
and the suffix ok of (c) and (d) as the inverse theme suffix (inv). Verbs with first
or second person subject and third person object are direct, while those with third
person subject and first or second person object are inverse.
The ii ~ yii suffix added to stems with 3 as subject and 4 as object (seen in the
preceding chapter) can also be considered a direct theme suffix.
Here are some more sentences containing inverse forms; note that they utilize
the same affixes (highlighted) for person and number that we saw on the direct
verb forms in the previous chapter:

(e) Kitsikákomimmoka nitána. ‘My daughter loves you2s.’

(f) Kitsikákomimmoki nitániksi. ‘My daughters love you2s.’
(g) Nitsikákomimmokini otáni. ‘His daughter loves me.’
(h) Nitsikákomimmoki otániksi. ‘His daughters love me.’
(i) Nitsikákomimmokinnaani kitániksi. ‘Your daughters love us1p.’
(j) Kitsikákomimmokoaayi kitániksi. ‘Your daughters love you2p.’
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62 Blackfoot Grammar

B. 4 SUBJECT WITH 3 OBJECT

Verbs with minor third person subject and major third person object are inverse
as well:

(k) Otsikákomimmoka nohkówa otáni. ‘Her daughter loves my son.’

(l) Otsikákomimmokoaayi nohkóíksi otáni. ‘Her daughter loves my sons.’
(m) Otsikákomimmoka nohkówa otániksi. ‘Her daughters love my son.’

There are two important things to notice about verbs with this combination
of subject and object. First, these are the only verb forms in any Independent
paradigm which have a prefix that indicates third person, and in which oaa(wa)yi
rather than just yi marks ‘3p.’ Second, although the prefix ot and the inverse
theme suffix are found together only with the 4:3 person combination,1 these
forms have no affixes which agree with the minor third person. They agree only
with the major third person; note that number of ‘daughter’ is not reflected in the
verbs of (k)–(m).

C. SUMMARY OF TA AFFIX POSITIONS

In addition to the theme suffix just discussed, and which we will consider to be
part of the stem of TA verbs, there are three agreement affix positions, which we
will refer to as AGR1, AGR2, and AGR3. AGR1 is a prefix and the other two
are suffixes, with AGR2 preceding AGR3 if both are present. These facts can be
summarized in the following ‘formula’ for the TA verb (TAV):

TAV = AGR1 + STEM + AGR2 + AGR3

Here are lists of the AGR affixes arranged in columns under their respective
positions of occurrence:2
AGR1 AGR2 AGR3
-kit- ‘2’ -(i)nnaan ‘1p’ -wa ‘3s’
nit- ‘1’ -oaa(wa) ‘2p’ -yi ‘3p/4p’
ot- ‘3’ -oaa(wa) ‘3p’ -yini ‘4s’

1
  There are also forms in the TA independent paradigm that are used when a minor third person
(4) is the primary object and the subject is another minor third person (5) which is outranked by the
object. These also use the prefix ot, and differ from the forms exemplified in (k)–(m) in that they have
suffix yini. See paradigm 3 of Appendix A.
2
  See section C of chapter 10 regarding the parenthesized portions of these affixes.

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Chapter 11: Transitive Animate Inverse 63

No one of the AGR positions must be filled in all TA verbs, but no TA independent
verbs occur without at least one of them containing an affix. Also, only one of
the affixes in a column may occur in any given verb. As we shall see, there are
precedence relations within each set, in the sense that if agreement generalizations
call for more than one affix from a given set, the actually occurring affix is
determined by rule. In the chart above, the affixes in each set are arranged so that
an affix has priority over those below it in the same set.

D. VARIANT SHAPES OF THE INVERSE SUFFIX

In all of the examples above, the inverse theme suffix has the shape ok. However
it also takes two other forms in verbs of independent clauses, depending upon the
preceding segment. If the preceding segment is a t, then this t plus the inverse
suffix are together realized as a long kk,3 as illustrated in (n). Compare the direct
form (o):

(n) Nitsínakakka. ‘He rolled me.’

(o) Nitsínakatawa. ‘I rolled him.’

If the preceding segment is an i, the inverse suffix is ook, as seen in (p):

(p) Nitáwayákiooka. ‘He hit me.’

This latter form of the inverse suffix is called for even if the preceding i is deleted
by i-Absorption, as it is in (q), or by i-Loss, as it is in (r):4
(q) Nitókskoihtsooka. ‘He covered me (with a blanket).’
nit-okskoihtsi-ook-wa
1-cover(TA)-inv-3s

(r) Nitsíípohkisstoyooka. ‘He shaved me.’

nit-IIpohkisstoyi-ook-wa
1-pst:shave(TA)-inv-3s

Elsewhere the inverse suffix has the form ok.5

3
  This gemination is included as phonological rule 1 in Appendix B.
4
  The o of this suffix is one of the variable-length vowels to be discussed in chapter 15, and can
be represented as o: .
5
  There are at least two other morphemes which have variants involving o: ~ Ø. When such
morphemes appear in paradigm charts in Appendix A, they are represented as beginning with O.

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64 Blackfoot Grammar

EXERCISE

Add the correct TA agreement affixes to the verbs of the following sentences.
(The verb is the first word in each example.) First, be sure to add the correct
theme suffix (direct or inverse) to the verb stems provided. Alternatively, consult
paradigm 3 of Appendix A for the correct theme suffix and agreement affixes.

1. áísspommo nohkóíksi. ‘My sons help you2s.’

2. yiimat anna aakííkoana ónni. ‘The girl’s father imitated me.’

3. itsit saahkómaapiwa. ‘The boy caught up to me.’

4. aawayáki nisskána omiksi saahkómaapiiksi.

‘Those boys hit my younger sibling3s.’
(Notice that nisskána ‘my younger sibling’ has the major third person
singular suffix.)

5. iipohkisstoyi nitákkaiksi. ‘My friends shaved me.’

6. áakohtookisat aakííkoana ohsíssi.

‘Her younger sibling4s will ask the girl3s to translate (for her).’

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CHAPTER 12

Transitive Animate Part 3: Local Forms

A. FIRST PERSON SUBJECT WITH SECOND PERSON OBJECT

So far, all of the TA forms we have discussed involved third person as either
subject or object. In this chapter we look at TA forms which do not involve an
overt third person as either subject or object.

(a) Kitsikákomimmo. ‘I love you2s.’

(b) Kitsikákomimmohpoaawa. ‘I love you2p.’

In chapters 10 and 11 we saw that if first or second person is subject or object,

the verb prefix reflects that fact. But the verbs we are considering in this and the
next sections have both first and second person involved, one as subject and the
other as object. At the end of chapter 11 we listed three agreement affix positions
for TA verbs and said that only one affix could be in each position at a time. So
if rules call for more than one, there must be a precedence rule that determines
which has priority. We see in (a) and (b) that second person ‘wins out’ over first
person in that the AGR11 prefix is kit, which we have seen to agree with second
person. Following the stem ikakomimm in (a) is a theme suffix o which serves
the dual purpose of indicating that first person is involved and that first person is
subject; the latter function of the suffix will be more evident when further forms
are presented in the next section. Comparing (b) we see that the same second
person pluralizer seen in AI verbs is in the AGR2 position. Next we pluralize first
person to get (c):2

(c) Kitsikákomimmohpinnaana. ‘We1p love you2s/2p.’

As the reader might have expected, the same 1p suffix seen in AI verbs is in the
AGR2 position. But notice that the English translation indicates that this form will
also be used if both first and second person are plural. This shows us that 1p has

1
  See section C of chapter 11.
  The final a in (c), like the final a mentioned in footnote 6 of chapter 4, is present only to prevent
2

a word from ending in a consonant.

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66 Blackfoot Grammar

priority over 2p where the AGR2 position is concerned; the presence of the 1p
suffix makes it impossible to indicate 2p. That is, the obligatory absence of a 2p
suffix in (c) precludes any indication of the number of second person.
The o of the 1 subject with 2 object (1:2) forms is long after stems which end
in i; so it too is one of the variable-length vowels to be discussed in chapter 15. In
the charts of Appendix A this vowel is represented by o:.

B. SECOND PERSON SUBJECT WITH FIRST PERSON OBJECT

(d) Kitsikákomimmoki. ‘You2s love me.’

(e) Kitsikákomimmokihpoaawa. ‘You2p love me.’
(f) Kitsikákomimmokihpinnaana. ‘You2s/2p love us1p.’

Comparing these forms to those in section A, we observe that these have -oki
where (a)-(c) have -o. The ok portion is evidently the inverse theme suffix
introduced in chapter 11;3 the remaining i serves to indicate that the other person
involved is first person.
The presence of the inverse theme suffix in (d)–(f) can be accounted for
by concluding that in the Blackfoot direct vs inverse system, first person
outranks second person. The -o of the 1:2 forms in (a)–(c) must then be seen
to simultaneously serve as a direct theme suffix and as indicator of first person
involvement, as stated in section A. Discussion of the plural suffixes of (a)–(c)
applies without change to (d)–(f).

C. UNSPECIFIED SUBJECT WITH FIRST OR SECOND PERSON

OBJECT

(g) Kitsikákomimmokoo(wa). ‘You2s are loved.’

(h) Nitsikákomimmokoo(wa). ‘I am loved.’

Sentences (g) and (h) have TA forms which are used when the subject (the ‘lover’
in this case) is unspecified (but assumed to be sentient). They involve the inverse
theme suffix plus an additional oo. As problematic as this oo is for analysis, the
situation is even more complex, as we see when we add the plural forms in (i)–(k):

(i) Kitsikákomimmotsspoaawa. ‘You2p are loved.’

kit-ikakomimm-oti-hpoaawa
(j) Nitsikákomimmotsspinnaan(a). ‘We1p are loved.’
nit-ikakomimm-oti-hpinnaan

  It has exactly the same variant shapes in the same environments described in chapter 11.
3

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Chapter 12: Transitive Animate Local Forms 67

(k) Ikákomimmotsspa. ‘We21 are loved.’

ikakomimm-oti-hpa

In (i) and (j) we see the 1p and 2p suffixes hpinnaan and hpoaawa, as we might
expect, but in place of the inverse theme suffix ok and the suffix oo, we find -ot
+ i. (Postsibilation accounts for the ss; see chapter 5.) And the marking of 21 by
-hpa in (k) is unique in the TA independent paradigm.
Like the o of the inverse suffix -ok, the o of -ot is null after stems which end in
t, as in (l); otherwise it is realized as o:. Compare (i) and (m).
(l) Áyiimattsspa. ‘We21 are being imitated.’
á-yiimat-tsi-hpa
dur-imitate(TA)-inverse-21

(m) Kitáakai’stamattsootsspoaawa. ‘You2p will be instructed.’

kit-yáak-wai’stamattsi-o:tsi-hpoaawa
2-fut-instruct(TA)-inverse-2p

D. TA WITH NON-VOLITIONAL LOGICAL SUBJECT

As explained in section C of chapter 8, Blackfoot transitive verbs normally have

subjects which are capable of exercising a will.4 So if the logical subject of a
TA verb does not meet that requirement, the following strategy is followed: an
unspecified subject form of the TA verb is used (see preceding section and section
D of chapter 10), and the involvement of the logical subject is indicated by use
of the prefix iiht ~ oht ~ omoht ‘means’ (see section 4 of chapter 16). This has
the consequence that such sentences are ambiguous, for they are then open to
an interpretation in which an unspecified animate subject is involved and the
intended non-volitional logical subject is simply a means or instrument and not
the logical subject at all. Note the two meanings given for the following example:
(n) Amo isttoána nomohtsipohkisstoyookoo(wa).
amo isttoáN-wa n-omoht-Ipohkisstoyi-ook-oo-wa
this knife-3s 1-means-shave(TA)-inv-unspec-sg
‘This knife shaved me.’/‘I was shaved with this knife.’

4
  Some speakers allow a non-volitional stimulus as subject of a TA verb with an experiencer as
object: Nítsskíi’tsooka óómi ataksáaksini. ‘That box frightened me.’ (From Greg Thomson, personal
communication.)

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68 Blackfoot Grammar

If the object of such a verb is third person, the unspecified subject form (section
D of chapter 10) is the same as the TA form with 21 as subject, so the resultant
sentence is multiply ambiguous:
(o) Anni miistsísi iihtawayákiaawa imitááwa.
ann-yi miistsíS-y iiht-wa:wayáki-a:-wa imitáá-wa
that-in.s knife-3s means-hit(TA)-dir-3s dog-3s
That stick hit the dog.’/‘The dog was hit with that stick.’/
‘We21 hit the dog with that stick.’

EXERCISE

Translate the following into Blackfoot:

(Note: All necessary verb stems may be found in chapters 10, 11, and 12.)

1. I have helped you2p.

2. I will shave you2s.

3. You2s are imitating me.

4. We1p were photographed (verb stem is sina).

5. We21 will be instructed.

6. I was covered (with a blanket).

7. That knife shaved you2p.

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CHAPTER 13

Demonstratives

There are five demonstrative stems to which numerous suffixes may be added.
In this chapter we will deal primarily with the basic stems and their inflectional
forms.

A. THE BASIC STEMS

Each demonstrative stem carries information regarding proximity of its referent(s)

to the speaker, as well as proximity or presumed familiarity of its referent(s) to the
addressee. Here are the basic stems and an indication of the proximity information
they carry:

amo proximity to speaker but not to addressee

om proximity to neither speaker nor addressee
anno proximity to the speaker
and proximity or familiarity to the addressee
ann proximity or familiarity to the addressee
but no proximity to the speaker
am proximity and familiarity to the speaker

Corresponding to each of the five stems given above are what Taylor (1978) calls
‘diminutives’; these are, respectively, amssto, omsst, annssto, annsst, and amsst.1
They are used for referents which the speaker views with pathos or affection:
generally old persons and children.

B. USES

Demonstratives may be used alone as free pronouns as in (a)–(d), or as modifiers

of nouns as in (e)–(j). In either case they take the same inflectional suffixes
(highlighted in (a)–(d)) seen on nouns in earlier chapters, except that after amo

1
  The position of an apparent diminutive suffix sst in these stems supports Taylor’s analysis of
demonstratives amo and anno as including a suffix o. However, because of difficulty in assigning a
consistent meaning or function to the latter suffix, I am of the opinion that the present under-analysis
is more practical for the intended audience of these chapters.

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70 Blackfoot Grammar

and anno there are two irregularities: the animate singular suffix is null (as in
(g)), and the initial i of suffixes such as -iksi and -istsi is lost (as in (b)), though
occasionally the initial i of -istsi may be heard after these stems, as in (e) and (j).
(a) Amoyi nítohpommatoo’pa.
amo-yi nit-ohpommatoo-’p-wa
this-in.s 1-buy(TI)-theme-sg
‘I bought this (inan).’

(b) Áaksowatayi ámoksi.

yáak-Iowat-a:-yi amo-ksi
fut-eat(TA)-dir-pl this-an.p
‘We21 will eat these (anim).’

(c) Nohkówa nítohkokka anni.

n-ohkó-wa nit-ohkot-k-wa ann-yI
1-son-3s 1-give(TA)-inv-3s that-in.s/4s
‘My son gave me that (inan or 4).’

(d) Omistsi ííkssoka’piiyaawa.

om-istsi iik-soka’pii-yi-aawa
that-ip very-good(II)-pl-PRO
‘Those (inan) are good.’

Of course when demonstratives modify nouns their inflectional suffixes must

agree with those of the modified noun, as in (e)–(j). For example, in (e) both the
demonstrative glossed ‘this’ and the noun for ‘berry’ have the inanimate plural
(‘ip’) suffix istsi:
(e) Amo(i)stsi míínistsi iikááhsiiyaawa.
amo-istsi míín-istsi iik-aahsii-yi-aawa
this-ip berry-ip very-good-pl-PRO
‘These berries are good.’

(f) Nítsskiitatoo’pi annistsi mí’kskapayinistsi.

nit-ihkiitatoo-’p-yi ann-istsi mí’ksk-apayin-istsi
1-bake(TI)-theme-pl that-ip hard-bread-ip
‘I baked those crackers.’

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Chapter 13: Demonstratives 71

(g) Amo ní’sa ikákomimmiiwa anni kissísi.

amo n-i’s-wa ikakomimm-ii-wa ann-yI k-iihsís-yI
this [Link]-3s love-dir-3s that-4s [Link]-4s
‘My brother loves your little sister.’

(h) Anni otánoaawayi áóoyo’siyináyi.

ann-yI w-itán-oaawa-yI á-ooyo’si-yini-áyi
that-4s 3-daughter-3p-4s dur-cook-4s-PRO
‘Their daughter cooks.’

(i) Annááhka Sámahka áako’toowa.

ann-wa-hka Sam-wa-hka yáak-o’too-wa
that-3s-invs Sam-3s-invs fut-arrive-3s
‘Sam will arrive.’

(j) Annó(í)stsi miistákistsi, nitsítokooyi.

anno-istsi miistak-istsi nit-it-okooyi
this-ip mountain-ip 1-there-dwell
‘Here in these mountains, I live.’

As can be observed in (g)–(i), Blackfoot, unlike English, often uses demonstratives

to modify kin terms and proper nouns.2

C. ACCENT ON DEMONSTRATIVES

Either syllable of a demonstrative may be accented, depending upon factors

which are not as yet fully understood by this investigator. However, these factors
do seem to include the following:

1. Whether or not the demonstrative is being used in the first mention of its
referent in the current discourse.

2. With amo, om, ann, and am, accent on the first syllable may emphasize
the proximity features which distinguish these basic stems. E.g., a speaker
may accent the first syllable of omiksi in order to emphasize the lack of
proximity to the speaker and addressee of its referents (Taylor 1978).

2
  ‘invs’ in the gloss for (i) abbreviates ‘invisible.’ See section E below regarding the suffix so
glossed.

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72 Blackfoot Grammar

D. ACCENT AND LENGTH

Although accent and length are independent features of vowels elsewhere in the
language, in the demonstrative stems the accented vowel is always lengthened,
except before the long consonant of ann and anno. However, because this length
is automatic in demonstratives, it has not always been indicated in their spelling
here.

E. SOME POST-INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES

There are at least four suffixes which may be attached to inflected demonstratives
(and accompanying nouns). The four are listed here with their central meanings
(and abbreviations for later glosses):3

-ma ‘stationary’ (stat)

-ya ‘moving, but not toward speaker’ (movg)4
-hka ‘not visible to the speaker’5 (invs)6
-ka ‘proximity information in the demonstrative is relative
to location of the speaker or addressee at a time other
than the time of the speech act’ (o.t.)

Examples follow:
(k) Amoma miistsísa áakitohkitopiiyináyi.
amo-ma miistsíS-wa yáak-it-ohkit-opii-yini-áyi
this-stat tree-3s fut-there-upon-sit-4s-PRO
‘He will sit on this tree.’

  The meanings for all but the last are from Taylor (1978).
3

  This gloss is in need of revision. If motion is involved in the meaning of this suffix, it is not
4

necessarily taking place at the time of the speech act, as example (l) shows, or even at the time of the
process, event, or state being described.
5
  According to Greg Thomson (personal communication) the apparent use of this suffix to mark
words referring to entities which are not visible is a consequence of the discourse function of this
suffix, which has to do with saliency.
6
  Placing this suffix after the 4s suffix shows that the latter is /yI/ rather than /yi/: ann + yI + hka
→ annísska ‘that one4.’ See phonological rule 3 ‘x-Sibilation’ in Appendix B.

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Chapter 13: Demonstratives 73

(l) Amoya áyo’kaawa iipánna’poowa.

amo-ya á-yo’kaa-wa iipann-a’p-oo-wa
this-movg dur-sleep-sg overnight-about-go-3s
‘This sleeping one was going about all night.’

(m) Annáá annááhka kínnahka?

ann-wa ann-wa-hka k-ínn-wa-hka
where-3s that-3s-invs 2-father-3s-invs
‘Where is your father?’

(n) Áó’tahkayiiniki, amííka nookóówayika,

a’-o’tahkayi-iniki am-yi-ka n-ookóówa-yi-ka
[Link]-1s(subj)7 this-in.s-o.t. 1-home-in.s-o.t.

nitáaka’páísoksistotsii’pa.
nit-yáak-a’p-á-sok-Istotsi-’p-wa
1-fut-PREF-dur-well-build(TI)-theme-3s
‘When I get home, I’ll fix my house up.’

(o) Aámoksika isttsííksinai’kokaiksika.

amo-ksi-ka isttsííksina-i’kokaa-iksi-ka
this-an.p-o.t. snake-paint^lodge-3p-o.t.8
‘The ones who (used) snake-painted lodges here’

In certain cases demonstratives with these suffixes have a specialized use or

meaning. In particular, note the following:

annóóma ‘around here’ annohka ‘now’

annama ‘the late (i.e., deceased) ...’ annííhka ‘before’

F. POSITION OF DEMONSTRATIVES AS MODIFIERS

Demonstratives always precede the nouns which they modify (their Heads), as
seen above in (e)–(j). With rare exceptions,9 the only thing which can separate a
demonstrative from its Head is a nominalized verb10 which also modifies the same

7
  ‘subj’ abbreviates subjunctive; see chapter 19.
8
  The symbol ‘^’ is used to connect multiword glosses of single Blackfoot morphemes.
9
  Exceptions I have found, such as the following, all involve possessors:
(i) áámoyihka nínaawa ookówayihka ‘that [man’s house]’
10
  The examples provided here will be intransitive verb stems inflected as nouns; such nouns

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74 Blackfoot Grammar

Head. Examples are (p) and (q):

(p) oma áyo’kaawa nínaawa ‘that sleeping man’/

‘that man who is sleeping’

(q) omiksi áínihkiiksi aakííkoaksi ‘those singing girls’

G. VERBALIZED DEMONSTRATIVES

There are what Uhlenbeck (1938.78) calls ‘verbalized demonstratives’ which

are used in equative and existential clauses without a verb. These are marked
by suffixes (a)yi and (a)o’k(a), which are added after inflectional and post-
inflectional suffixes (if present, as in (t), (x), and (y)). While these two suffixes
lead to English translations containing the verb ‘be,’ they do not usually take
verbal suffixes, though exceptions are found in Uhlenbeck 1938 (see (y) and (z)
below).

(r) áámao’ka ama nitohkíímaan ‘That one is my wife.’

(s) niistówao’ka ‘I’m the one.’
(t) niistówakao’ka ‘I’m the one.’
(u) áánnayao’ka náápi ‘That one is Naapi.’
(v) áánniksayi nitáakohpommayaawa ‘Those are the ones I’ll help.’
(w) ki áánnohkayi kitáakanistoohpoaawa, …
‘and now it is that I will say to you…’
(x) ki ánnimayi nitáakitsoyi ‘That’s where/when I will eat.’
(y) ki áámoksimao’kiaawa [Uh. 81] ‘…and here they were.’
(z) amsstoyao’kinayi [Uh. 82] ‘This one was near.’

always reference the underlying subject of the verb. Nominalization processes will be discussed in
chapter 20.

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EXERCISES

1. Given: amo ponokáómitaawa ‘this horse’ (near speaker)

Translate: ‘those horses’ (near addressee).

2. Given: omistsi míínistsi ‘those berries’ (not near addressee)

Translate: ‘this berry’ (near speaker).

3. Given: example (a) of section B above

Translate: ‘I bought those’ (near addressee).

4. Given: example (c) of section B above

Translate: ‘My sons gave me these’ (near speaker and addressee).

5. Given: examples (g) and (h) of section B above

Translate: ‘Those (near addressee) my brothers are cooking.’

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CHAPTER 14

Possessives

Possessed nouns are marked for person and number of their possessors, by affixes
which we will call possessive affixes. In addition, and following any possessive
suffixes, are the usual inflectional suffixes expected on nouns and summarized
in section E of chapter 2. Below are some examples, with the possessive affixes
highlighted; observe that they are much like the agreement affixes seen on verbs
in earlier chapters; the major differences are that ‘inclusive our’ (21) is marked
by a combination of the second person prefix (kit ~ k) and a new suffix (i)nnoon,1
a third person possessor calls for a new prefix ot ~ w, and the third person plural
possessive suffix is oaawa. (The full paradigm of possessive affixes will be
presented in section E.)

(a) niksíssta ‘my mother’

(b) niksísstsinnaana ‘our1p mother’
(c) kiksísstsinnooniksi ‘our21 mothers’
(d) kitákkaannoona ‘our21 friend’
(e) anna nínaawa otohkáksaakini ‘the man’s axe’
(f) nitómitaamiksi ‘my dogs’

There are various properties of nouns with regard to possession which can be seen
to subclassify them, including whether possessive inflection is obligatory (i.e.,
whether the noun never occurs without possessive inflection), whether the noun
requires a suffix (i)m before possessive affixes may be added, and in the case of
simplex noun stems, whether it selects the short or long person prefixes.2 We will
divide nouns into three classes with regard to optionality/necessity of possessive
inflection. These are presented in sections A–C.

1
  The initial i of this suffix is present after consonants and o. Some speakers replace it by o after
consonants.
2
  Another property which most other analysts utilize in classification is whether the noun has an
(apparent) m prefix when no other person prefix is present. But see section D.

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Chapter 14: Possessives 77

A. OPTIONALLY POSSESSED STEMS

Here is the set of possessive forms of ohkáksaakin3 ‘axe,’ arranged by person and
number of the possessor (the possessive affixes are highlighted); note that these
all involve the ‘long’ prefixes nit-, kit-, or ot-:
1s nitohkáksaakina ‘my axe’ 1p nitohkáksaakininnaana ‘our axe’
21 kitohkáksaakininnoona ‘our axe’
2s kitohkáksaakina ‘your axe’ 2p kitohkáksaakinoaawawa ‘your axe’
3s otohkáksaakini ‘his axe’ 3p otohkáksaakinoaawayi ‘their axe’

Nouns marked by the possessive affixes alone are not complete words. Like
other nouns, they must be followed by one of the nominal suffixes described in
chapter 2. All of these forms just listed end in a ‘3s’ or i because ohkáksaakin is
an animate4 gender noun and so the singular has suffix –wa ‘3s’ or –yi ‘4s.’ Were
these referring to more than one axe, they would of course have suffix –iksi ‘an.p’
instead.
As usual, the first morpheme of a stem determines whether the short or long
person prefixes are used; ohkáksaakin ‘axe’ selects the long prefixes and (as
seen in (a)) iksísst ‘mother’ (obligatorily possessed, see below) selects the short
prefixes. Here are additional examples of optionally possessed nouns which select
the long prefixes:

(g) otsístotoohsiists ‘her clothes’

(h) nitsísttokimaa’tsisi ‘my drum’

B. OBLIGATORILY POSSESSED STEMS

(a)–(d) above are examples with obligatorily possessed stems; these are nouns
which never occur without the possessive affixes.5 In the Dictionary they are
designated as nar and nir. They are inherently relational in that they necessarily
reference two parties: one is the primary referent of the noun stem itself, and the
other, which we will call the relatee, is the party or parties to which the primary
referent bears the expressed relation. For example, the stem inn ‘father’ expresses
a relation between two parties; consequently, it requires reference to the one who
is father as primary referent, and to the one or more relatee(s) (i.e., his offspring)
3
  See the next chapter regarding the oh of ‘axe.’
4
  Field notes from the 1960s indicate that this noun was inanimate gender, as treated in the first
and second editions of this Grammar. However, more recent elicitation indicates that it has been
reclassified as animate gender, perhaps because contemporary axe heads are all steel.
5
  Such stems are sometimes called ‘inalienably possessed.’

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 Blackfoot Grammar

to whom the primary referent is father. Here are some other relational stems, with
indication of primary referent and relatee:

rel. stem gloss primary referent relatee

iksisst mother one who is mother offspring
ohko son one who is son parent
itan daughter one who is daughter parent
i’s older brother one who is older bro. sibling
ookoowa home dwelling dweller
ota’s mount horse rider/owner

For such relational nouns, the possessive affixes reference the relatee. Most
such stems use the short form of the person agreement prefixes (unless some
other morpheme which calls for the long form is first prefixed to the stem). Here
are examples used in sentences; the possessive affixes are highlighted in the
morpheme glosses:
(i) Kiksísstsinnooniksi áyo’kaayaawa.
k-iksisst-innoon-iksi á-Io’kaa-yi-aawa
2-mother-21-an.p dur-sleep-pl-PRO
‘Our21 mothers are sleeping.’

(j) Amo aakííkoana oksísstsi áyo’kaayináyi.

amo aakiikoaN-wa w-iksisst-yi á-Io’kaa-yini-áyi
this girl-3s 3-mother-4s dur-sleep-4s-PRO
‘This girl’s mother is sleeping.’

(k) Nomohtó’too anná nínaawa ookóówayi.

n-omoht-o’too ann-wa ninaa-wa w-ookoowa-yi
1-source-arrive that-3s man-3s 3-home-in.s
‘I came from the man’s house.’

In (j) we see that a prefix w plus the initial vowel i of the stem are realized as o.
This is the result of the following phonological rule:

Coalescence

w + i(:) → o

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 79

The i in the rule may be either long or short, as the notation i(:) is intended to
indicate.
In (k), the prefix w is not realized in the pronounced form, because a glide
cannot remain at the beginning of words in Blackfoot. This is accounted for by
generalizing Semivowel Loss so that it applies in word-initial position as well as
after consonants:

Semivowel Loss (revised)

G → Ø / {#,C}_, where ‘#’ indicates a word boundary6

C. DErIVED rELATIONAL STEMS

Example (f) is an obligatorily possessed stem derived from a noun stem which
otherwise cannot take the possessive affixes. Such relational nouns are formed
by addition of -(i)m (glossed ‘poss’ in examples below). This suffix has slightly
different realizations with different stems, and the actual form it takes does not
seem to be completely predictable. It generally has the form -im if the stem to
which the suffix is added ends in a consonant: nitóóhkotokimi ‘my rock’; but
with at least one consonant final stem, the i is inexplicably long: nitohpóósiima
‘my cat.’7 When added to a stem which ends in a short vowel, the suffix either has
the form -im, as seen in nitsisttsiksípokoimi8 ‘my salt,’ or the stem-final vowel is
lengthened and the suffix is -m, as in nitápotskinaama ‘my cow.’ When added to
a stem which ends in a long vowel, the suffix is simply -m.9
These stems utilize the possessive affixes, which agree with the relatee as in
section B above, but in general they use the long form of the person agreement
prefixes (unless some other morpheme which calls for the short form is first
prefixed to the stem). Here are more examples:10
(l) Nitómitaama áóhkiwa. ‘My dog is barking.’
nit-omitaa-m-wa á-ohki-wa
1-dog-poss-3s dur-bark-3s

6
Obviously, this rule does not bleed the rule Coalescence, which was introduced just above.
7
The oh at the beginning of the stem for ‘cat’ is part of the non-initial variant of this stem; see
chapter 15.
8
There is considerable inter-speaker or dialectal variation here.
9
One apparent exception is seen in nitsínaima ‘my boss.’ However, the stem Inaa ‘leader/chief’
has an allomorph with a short a when followed by any derivational suffix.
10
The form of ‘dog’ seen in (l) has the non-initial variant of this stem; see chapter 15.

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80 Blackfoot Grammar

(m) Kitápotskinaamoaawaiksi áóhkomiiyaawa.

kit-ápotskina-:m-oaawa-iksi á-ohkomii-yi-aawa
2-cow-poss-2p-an.p dur-call-pl-PRO
‘Your2p cows are mooing.’

D. INITIAL NASAL LOSS AND BODY PART NOUNS

As will be seen in chapter 15, one of the most common variations in the shape
of Blackfoot morphemes is the loss of an initial nasal when preceded by another
morpheme in the same word; in fact, there are very few morphemes in Blackfoot
which retain an initial nasal when not in word-initial position. So when most stems
which begin with nasal-initial morphemes take possessive prefixes, the nasal is
dropped: compare niistsíípisskaani ‘fence’ and kitsistsíípisskaani ‘your fence.’ In
the first form there is an initial n which is part of the stem, but in the second form
with possessive prefix kit, the stem lacks this n. (The first vowel of the stem of
‘fence’ is long only when it is in the first syllable of a word; see chapter 15 for a
brief discussion of such vowel length variation.) Here is an example with initial
m: mí’sohpsskiiwa ‘muskrat,’ nitsí’sohpsskiima ‘my muskrat.’
The majority of Blackfoot stems for body parts have an initial m. As just
described, that m will be present only if no prefix precedes these stems. This gives
rise to paradigms such as the following:11
(n) móókoani ‘stomach’ (o) mo’tsísi ‘hand’
nóókoani ‘my stomach’ no’tsísi ‘my hand’
kóókoani ‘your stomach’ ko’tsísi ‘your hand’
óókoani ‘his stomach’ o’tsísi ‘his hand’12

Such paradigms give the initial m the appearance of a prefix, which has led most
analysts to consider it a marker of unspecified possessor (often called ‘indefinite’
possessor)13 However, any prefix, not just a person prefix, eliminates the initial
m, as seen in (p) and (q). This, plus the fact that several nouns which are not
obligatorily possessed have an initial m only if no prefix precedes the stem (see
the stem for ‘muskrat’ in the preceding paragraph for an example), favors the
analysis presented here.

11
  Observe that the third person prefix w, in the words for ‘his stomach’ and ‘his hand,’ results in
absence of the m even though the w itself is eliminated by Semivowel Loss.
12
  Forms of o’tsiS ‘hand’ with ‘2p’ or ‘3p’ demonstrate that Desyllabification (of the o in oaawa) is
prevented from applying (i.e., is bled) by i-Absorption, rather than vice versa, or else o’tsówaawaistsi
‘their hands’ would be *o’tsíwaawaistsi from w + o’tsí + oaawa + istsi.
13
  See Frantz and Creighton (1982) for discussion and references.

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Chapter 14: Possessives 81

(p) i’náko’tsisi ‘small hand’ (q) kitsi’náko’tsisi ‘your small hand’

E. THE POSSESSIVE AFFIX PARADIGM

person of number of ‘possessor’
‘possessor’ ↓ sg pl
1 n-/nit-... n-/nit-...-(i)nnaan14
21 — k-/kit-...-(i)nnoon
2 k-/kit-... k-/kit-...-oaawa
3 w-/ot-... w-/ot-...-oaawa
4 w-/ot-...(wa) w-/ot-...-oaawa

The third person prefix w- is replaced by m- before stems beginning in a, as

illustrated in (r):
(r) Anni maaáhsi ákao’tooyináyi.
ann-yI m-aaáhs-yI ákaa-o’too-yini-áyi
that-4s [Link]-4s perf-arrive-4s-PRO
‘His elder relation has arrived’

(s) Matsííksi. ‘His trousers’

m-atsí-iksi
3-trouser-an.p

As stated earlier, in addition to the possessive affixes, the possessed noun will
carry the appropriate suffixes for its own gender, person (3 or 4), and number.
(Remember that any animate gender noun possessed by 3 or 4 is necessarily 4.)

Here are possessive paradigms for itán ‘daughter’ and ookóówa ‘dwelling’:
nitána ‘my daughter’ nitáninnaana ‘our1p daughter’
kitáninnoona ‘our21 daughter’
kitána ‘your2s daughter’ kitánoaawawa ‘your2p daughter’
otáni ‘his3 daughter’ otánoaawayi ‘their daughter’
otánayi ‘his4 daughter’ otánoaawayi ‘their daughter’
(cf. ‘daughters’: nitániksi ‘my daughters,’ nitáninnaaniksi ‘our daughters’)

14
  The (i) of (i)nnaan and (i)nnoon is not present after stems ending in i, a, w, or y.

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82 Blackfoot Grammar

nookóówayi ‘my home’ nookóówannaani ‘our1p home’

kookóówannooni ‘our21 home’
kookóówayi ‘your2s home’ kookóówawaawayi ‘your2p home’
ookóówayi ‘his3 home’ ookóówawaawayi ‘their home’
ookóówa(wa)yi ‘his4 home’ ookóówawaawayi ‘their home’
(cf. ‘homes’: ookóówaistsi ‘his homes’; kookóówannoonistsi ‘our21homes’)

F. NOUNS AS POSSESSORS

A noun as possessor is positioned before the noun which it modifies, as seen in (t):

(t) oma nínaawa ohkóyi ‘that man’s son’

If the possessed noun is also modified by a demonstrative,15 that demonstrative

will follow the noun as possessor; note the position of omiksi in (u):

(u) amo nínna omiksi óta’siksi ‘my father’s horses’

The demonstrative omiksi ‘those’ modifies óta’siksi ‘his horses,’ while amo ‘this’
modifies nínna ‘my father.’

G. THE INDEPENDENT PRONOUN PARADIGM

The independent pronouns mentioned in section A of chapter 4 are possessed

forms of an animate gender stem iistó. They are presented here, utilizing the same
person and number abbreviations as were used in the earlier possessive paradigms.

person of number of ‘possessor’

‘possessor’ ↓ sg pl
1 niistówa niistónnaana
21 — kiistónnoona
2 kiistówa kiistówaawa
3 ostóyi ostówaawayi

Notice that these pronouns seem to have the 3s suffix wa and the 4s suffix yi as
would any animate gender noun. Even the non-third person pronouns will have
the wa suffix replaced by a yi suffix when they are used in clauses involving

15
  See chapter 13 on demonstratives.

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Chapter 14: Possessives 83

another animate gender noun, unless the pronoun functions as subject.16 Observe
the following examples:

(v) Niistóyi, nitsinóóka annááhka nohkówahka.

‘My son saw me.’

(w) Oma nitákkaawa nómohtsistsinikooka kiistóyi.

‘My friend told me about you.’

(x) Anniksi pookáíksi iihtsspíyiyaawa niistónnaani.

‘The children danced for us.’

In (v), the emphatic pronoun niistóyi has the suffix yi, apparently because of the
presence of the third person ‘my son’ as subject. In (w), kiistóyi is an ‘oblique’
argument of the verb, linked by the prefix omoht ‘source/means’ (see section D.4
of chapter 16). The presence of the third person subject ‘my friend’ apparently
requires the suffix yi on the pronoun. Similarly in (x), niistónnaani is linked by
another variant (iiht) of the same prefix in a verb with a third person subject.

EXERCISES

1. Given: Translate:

a. niksíssta ‘my mother’ ‘our21 mothers’

b. otohpóósiimi ‘his cat’ ‘our1p cat’
c. nohkátsi ‘my foot’ ‘your2p feet’
d. katsiníwaawaistsi ‘your2p tongues’ ‘their tongues’
e. kóta’sa ‘your2s mount’ ‘his4s mount’
f. amo póósa ‘this cat’ ‘this cat’s feet’

2. Given the following verb stems: inihki ‘sing’ (AI), okska’si ‘run’ (AI), and
ohkoono ‘find’ (TA). Translate a.–[Link] Blackfoot:

a. Their mother is singing.

b. Our1p mounts will run.
c. The man3’s mother4 has found his dog5.

16
  The pronoun is not classed as minor third person syntactically, or else the verb in (v), e.g.,
would be iinoyííwa; i.e., inflected as having a minor third person object.

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CHAPTER 15

Allomorphy

As alluded to in chapter 6, one of the few areas of irregularity in Blackfoot is the

variation in shape of morphemes. By ‘irregularity’ I mean variation other than
that which is accounted for by regular phonological rules such as those presented
in chapter 5.1 Such irregular variation is referred to as ‘allomorphy,’ and the
variant shapes of a single morpheme are called allomorphs of that morpheme.
For Blackfoot, most of this variation is at the beginning of morphemes.

A. MORPHEME-INITIAL VARIATION

Initial variation can be grouped into several subtypes. Being aware of the most
common types is very valuable when attempting to find a morpheme in the
Dictionary, for often not all the variants are listed as entries.

Ø ~ I2

A very large group of noun and verb roots which begin with a consonant when in
word-initial position have an allomorph which begins with I if another morpheme
is prefixed.3 Here are some examples:4
pookááwa ‘child’ i’naksípokaawa5 ‘infant’
náámayi ‘bow’ sahksináámayi ‘short bow’
pi’kssííwa ‘bird’ ómahksipi’kssiiwa ‘big bird/turkey’
Píít! ‘Enter!’ Áaksipiimma. ‘She will enter.’
Passkáát! ‘Dance!’ Áípasskaayaawa. ‘They are dancing.’

1
  That is, post-lexical phonological rules. Much of the variation seen below would be accounted
for in current theory by lexical phonological rules.
2
  The symbol ‘~’ is used to join variants of a single morpheme.
3
  The added vowel is sometimes referred to as ‘connective I.’ Note that it is a breaking I.
4
  The situation has recently become even more complicated than the grouping presented here.
E.g., for some speakers consulted on the Blood reserve, piitaa ‘eagle’ is Ipiitaa after omahk- ‘big’ but
ohpiitaa after ksikk- ‘white.’
5
  See the discussion of Breaking in section A of chapter 6.

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Such morphemes are entered in the Dictionary under their consonant-initial

allomorph if they are nouns, but under i otherwise.

Supplemental Material

A small subset of such roots loses a vowel after the first consonant, and that consonant assimilates
to the following consonant to produce a long consonant:

ponokáwa ‘elk’ siksínnokawa ‘black elk’

kiipó ‘ten’ kiipíppo ‘one hundred’
kipitáaakiiwa ‘old woman’ poksíppitáaakiiwa ‘little old woman’
See Thomson (1978) for discussion.

Ø ~ oh

Another large group of morphemes which begin with a consonant when in word-
initial position has initial oh when a prefix is added. Here are a few examples:
kiááyowa ‘bear’ sikohkiááyowa ‘black bear’
póósa ‘cat’ ómahkohpoosa ‘big cat’
kitsími ‘doorway’ i’nákohkitsimi ‘small doorway’
Po’kíi(y)óót! ‘Follow!’ Áakohpo’kii(y)oowa. ‘She will follow.’
Kókkit! ‘Give it to me!’ Nítohkokkáyi. ‘He gave it to me.’
pokítapíwa ‘small person’ ííkohpokitapiwa ‘very small person’

These morphemes are also entered in the Dictionary under their consonant-initial
allomorph if they are nouns, but with the oh present otherwise (though some
prefixes are listed under their consonant-initial allomorph).

{m,n} ~ Ø

As stated in chapter 14, most morphemes which begin in a nasal (m or n) when in

word-initial position lack this nasal when a prefix is added. Examples:
natáyowa ‘lynx’ ómahkatayowa ‘mountain lion’
má’sa ‘Indian turnip’ ómahka’sa ‘turnip’
nínaawa ‘man’ omahkínaawa ‘old man’
mo’tsísi ‘hand/arm’ ko’tsísi ‘your hand/arm’
Ninihkít! ‘Sing!’ Áaksinihkiyaawa. ‘They will sing.’
Mo’takít! ‘take (it)!’ Nitó’taki. ‘I took (it).’

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86 Blackfoot Grammar

These morphemes are entered in the Dictionary with the initial nasal present
unless they are verbs, in which case they are listed without the nasal.
Other fairly common alternations include the following:

i ~ o, a ~ o, and combinations of these with the nasal-loss alternation exhibited

above. Observe the following pairs:
imitááwa ‘dog’ sikómitaawa ‘black dog’
Akstakít ‘Count!’ Áakokstakiwa ‘She will count.’
mamííwa ‘fish’ ksikkomííwa ‘white fish’
manistsíyi ‘travois’ isttsikónistsiyi ‘sled’
akááni ‘roping’ Nitáakokaa ‘I will rope.’

Unless they are verb stems or roots, such morphemes are listed in the Dictionary
in their word-initial form.6

B. VARIABLE-LENGTH VOWELS

The next alternation to be discussed in this chapter is not strictly limited to

morpheme-initial position, but it is observed only in the first syllable of a
morpheme. As first described by Taylor (1969), in addition to vowels which are
always short and vowels which are always long, there are vowels which are either
short or long depending upon their environment.

Here are examples with waanii ~ wanii ‘say’:

(a) Áániiwa ‘He said.’

(b) Áwaaniiwa ‘He says.’
(c) Nitáánii ~ Nitánii ‘I said.’
(d) Nimáátaniihpa ‘I didn’t say.’

Such vowels of variable length are always long if they are:

1. in the first syllable of a word, as in (a).7

6
  A very few stems have an apparent prefix w added before possessive prefixes (chapter 14) are
added. E.g., compare nottoána ‘my knife’ to isttoána ‘knife’ and innísttoana ‘long knife.’ I take the
form of ‘knife’ without a prefix to be IttoáN (see the rule s-Insertion in Appendix B.), and the first o of
nottoána to be the result of Coalescence.
7
  Occasionally such a vowel may be heard as short, but only if unaccented; e.g., aaníít ~ aníít ‘say
(something)!’

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Chapter 15: Allomorphy 87

2. preceded by a semivowel, in the same morpheme, that is not deleted by

Semivowel Loss (see chapter 5), as in (b).8

3. preceded by the vowel i, as in (f) below. Length conditioned by the presence

of the vowel i is present even if the i is deleted by i-Loss or i-Absorption.

If the only syllable preceding a variable length vowel is a person prefix (nit-, kit-,
ot-), then the vowel may be either long or short, as in (c). In all other environments,
variable length vowels are short, as in (d) and (e).
The direct theme suffix seen in chapter 10 is a variable length vowel; in (e) it
is short, but in (f) it is long:

(e) Nitsikákomimmawa ‘I love her.’

(f) Nitá’kiaawa ‘I hit him.’

Variable length vowels will sometimes be listed as a:, o:, and i:.

C. MORPHEME-FINAL ALLOMORPHY

Irregular variation at the end of morphemes is far less common, but certain
patterns can be identified.

Non-permanent Consonants

The variation seen in chapter 2 at the end of nouns and abbreviated with symbols
M, N, and S is the most frequently encountered. A general statement about the
realization of these abstract segments can be made:

M, N, and S are realized as m, n, and s, respectively, unless followed by a suffix

which begins with a vowel, in which case they are realized as Ø (i.e., null).

Here is an example of N before the glottal stop of the diminutive suffix:

aakííkoaN + ’s + wa = aakííkoan’sa ‘poor little girl’

Not only nouns exhibit such variation. There are a few intransitive verbs which
exhibit an mm ~ Ø alternation, and the forms with mm are precisely those with
semivowel-initial suffixes. Here are some examples:

8
  It is a bit of a paradox that this allomorphy rule must make reference to the application of a
phonological rule. This can be avoided only by writing the environment for Semivowel Loss into the
rule for vowel length as follows: ‘Such vowels are long if preceded by a semivowel which is itself not
preceded by a consonant other than ’.’

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88 Blackfoot Grammar

(g) áótsimma ‘He swims.’ cf. áótso’pa ‘We21 swim.’

á-otsiM:-wa á-otsiM:-o’pa
dur-swim-3s dur-swim-21

(h) áaksipiimmináyi ‘She4 will enter.’ cf. kitáaksipii ‘You2s will enter.’
áak-IpiiM:-yini-áyi kit-yáak-IpiiM:
fut-enter-4s-PRO 2-fut-enter

This variation may be abbreviated by use of the symbol M:, as has been done in
the morpheme-by-morpheme representation.
In the Dictionary, noun stems are listed with non-permanent consonants
present, while verb stems are listed without the non-permanent mm.

Semivowel Alternation

Another somewhat unusual morpheme-final variation is that seen in the following

pairs of words:

(i) Kaayínnit! ‘Hold it open!’

Kaawáí’piksit! ‘Open it!’

(j) iikitsiyinaamma ‘It looks high quality.’

iikítsiwa’pssiwa9 ‘It is of good quality.’

The alternation is between y and w; i.e., the roots involved, kaay ~ kaaw ‘open’ and
itsiy ~ itsiw ‘good quality,’ end in a semivowel, but the quality of the semivowel
is determined by the initial vowel of the following morpheme.10 If the following
vowel is i or I, then the semivowel is y; otherwise, the semivowel is w.
In the Dictionary, such morphemes are listed as ending with a period (.).

Diphthongization

A number of stems ending in i, ii, or oo replace this i, ii, or oo with the diphthong
ao before the 21 suffix; observe the following:

9
  The sequence Ciwa will often sound like Co(w)a. Call this fast speech rule ‘Coalescence 2.’
10
  In current terminology, these morphemes end in a glide which is ‘underspecified.’

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Chapter 15: Allomorphy 89

(l) Itapáóo’pa. ‘We21 went there.’ cf. Itapóówa. ‘He went there.’
(m) Itáópaoo’pa. ‘We21 stay there.’ cf. Itáópiiwa. ‘He stays there.’
(n) Áakomáópaoo’pa.‘We21 will quiet cf. Áakomáópiiyaawa.‘They will quiet
down.’ down.’
(o) Iipiksáóo’pa. ‘We21 hit cf. Iipiksííwa. ‘He hit (s.t.).’
(something).’

This diphthongization is not limited to the suffix -o’p of the independent paradigm.
It also takes place with the 21 suffixes of the Conjunctive and Subjunctive
paradigms; see chapter 19 and Appendix A regarding these paradigms.

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CHAPTER 16

Complex Verb Stems, Part I

One of the most salient features of Blackfoot is the complexity of its verb stems.
Many morphemes, the closest equivalents of which are separate words in most
other languages, are part of the verb in Blackfoot. These include negatives,
quantifiers, intensifiers, all kinds of adverbials, and many, many others, including
numerous morphemes which would be main or auxiliary verbs in other languages.
In this chapter we will illustrate only a few of the morphemes which can make up
complex stems. We will concentrate on morphemes (most of which are classed
as ‘adjuncts’ [adt] or verb roots [vrt] in the Dictionary) that do not determine
the syntactic category of the stems of which they are a part; morphemes which
do determine the syntactic category of the stems of which they are a part are
discussed in chapters 17 and 18.

A. NEGATION

The negative prefix has five distinct forms; these occur in complementary
distribution, as follows:

máát- ~ Imá:t-

Used in verbs of independent clauses, if no prefix other than a person prefix

precedes it in the verb:1
Máátomáyo’kaawaiksaawa. ‘They aren’t asleep yet.’
máát-oma-Io’kaa-waiksaawa
neg-yet-sleep-3p(nonaffirm)

Nimáátáóoyihpa. ‘I’m not eating.’

n-Imáát-a-ooyi-hpa
1-neg-dur-eat-nonaffirm

1
  Negated verbs of independent clauses generally occur with non-affirmative suffixes, discussed
further in chapter 21. In the examples at hand, the non-affirmative affixes are -waiksaawa ‘3p’ and
-hpa ‘1s/2s.’

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 91

kátá’- ~ Ikátá’-

Used in verbs of the Unreal2 paradigms (in contrary-to-fact clauses), if no prefix

other than a person prefix precedes it in the verb:3
Kátá’yo’kaawahtopiyaawa, áaksstaayaawa mááhksoyssaawa.
kátá’-yo’kaa-wahtopi-yi-aawa yáak-sstaa-yi-aawa m-ááhk-Ioyi-hsi-aawa
neg-sleep-unreal-pl-PRO fut-want-pl-PRO 3-might-eat-conj-PRO4
‘If they weren’t asleep, they’d want to eat.’

Nikátáí’naayihtopi, nitáakssakiaopii.
n-Ikátá’-Inaa-yi-htopi nit-yáak-saki-a-opii
1-neg-chief-be-unreal 1-fut-still-dur-stay
‘Were I not a chief, I’d still be home.’

This last example requires presentation of an additional phonological rule. The

negative prefix is listed as kátá’-, but the glottal stop of this prefix is positioned
before the first consonant of the stem Inaayi ‘be a chief.’ This is a result of the
following rule, which moves a morpheme-final glottal stop over a following
vowel to the next consonant:

Glottal Metathesis

’ + V → V’ / _C

miin- ~ piin-5

Used in imperative verb forms if not preceded by any other prefixes. (The
variation between miin- and piin- is totally free.)
Miinasáí’nit./Piinasáí’nit. ‘Don’t cry!’
miin-wa:sai’ni-t
neg-cry-2s(imper)

2
  See chapter 19, section D.
3
  kátá’- is also used as an interrogative prefix in independent clauses, and as a negative prefix on
nominalized verbs.
4
  New abbreviations in this section: ‘conj’ and ‘subj’ indicate affixes from the Conjunctive and
Subjunctive paradigms, respectively (see chapter 19).
5
  The vowel of this prefix is not always long.

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92 Blackfoot Grammar

Miinohkókkit./Piinohkókkit ‘Don’t give it to me!’

miin-ohkot-k-i-t
neg-give(TA)-inv-1-2s(imper)

Miinítstsiisi kitáánistawaaway ámohka.

miin-itstsi-isi kit-wa:nIt-a:-oaaw-wa-yi amo-hka
neg-be(TI)-sg(subj) 2-say^to-dir-2p-3s-EXISTL6 this-rel
‘Let there be no one you tell this to.’

sta’-

Used only when preceded by the non-factive prefixes ááhk and á:k.7
Kitsííksstato kááhksstai’pottaahsi. ‘I want you to not fly.’
kit-iiksstat-o: k-ááhk-sta’-Ipottaa-hsi
2-want(TA)-1:2 2-might-neg-fly-conj

Kítssíímo, kááksstai’ssakssi. ‘I forbid you to go out.’

kit-siim-o: k-áák-sta’-sa:ksi-hsi
2-forbid(TA)-1:2 2-might-neg-exit-conj

say- ~ saw-

This variant of the verbal negator occurs elsewhere; i.e., in all environments other
than those described above. It exhibits semivowel alternation (see chapter 15);
i.e., it is say- if the following morpheme begins with i or I; elsewhere the prefix
is saw-.
Nitáakito’too sawomáóoyisaawa. ‘I’ll arrive before they eat.’
nit-yáak-it-o’too saw-oma-ooyi-si-aawa
1-fut-then-arrive neg-yet-eat-3(subj)-PRO

Áakssayinakowa. ‘It will be invisible.’

yáak-say-Inako-wa
fut-neg-visible-sg

  EXISTL = existential
6

  sta’- is also used as an interrogative prefix, evidently as a non-initial variant of káta’- (see note
7

above regarding káta’-): Áakstao’ohkaaniiwa? ‘Will she say (something)?’ See chapter 20.

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 93

Kítssksiniihpa nítssawáóoyssi. ‘You know I’m not eating.’

kit-ssksini-hp-wa nit-saw-a-ooyi-hsi
2-know(TI)-theme-sg 1-neg-dur-eat-conj

Áakssawahkayiwaatsiksi. ‘Will she not go home?’

yáak-saw-wa:hkayi-waatsiksi
fut-neg-go^home-3s(nonaffirm)

Ikkámssawohkokkiiniki nitáakahkayi. ‘If you don’t give it to

ikkám-saw-ohkot-kiiniki nit-yáak-wa:hkayi me, I’ll go home.’
if-neg-give(TA)-2:1(subj) 1-fut-go^home

The last five examples point out the need for a phonological rule to account for the
frequent lengthening of morpheme-initial s when preceded by a morpheme which
ends in a consonant other than a glottal stop.8 We will call this s-Connection a
because we need a different rule (s-Connection b) for those cases in which the
preceding morpheme ends in a vowel:

s-Connection a

s → ss / C + _, where C ≠’

The next example, in which onawa is followed by s, illustrates the need for
s-Connection b:
Kítohkottssksiniihpa áísawonawaissikópaoo’ssi.
kit-ohkott-ssksini-hp-wa á-saw-onawa-ssikópao-o’ssi9
2-able-know(TI)-theme-sg dur-neg-ever-rest-21(conj)
‘You should know we21 never rest.’

s-Connection b

Ø → i / V(’) +_s, where V ≠ i

8
  This lengthening of s after consonants, when it is clearly audible, serves to distinguish t + s and
k + s from the affricates ts and ks.
9
  See chapter 15, section C regarding ‘diphthongization’ of the stem ssikópii ‘rest.’

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B. QUANTIFIERS

ohkan(a)- ~ kan(a)- ‘all’10

Óómiksi pookáíksi áóhkanasai’niyaawa. ‘Those kids are all cryers.’
om-iksi pookáá-iksi á-ohkan-wa:sai’ni-yi-aawa
that-an.p child-an.p dur-all-cry-pl-PRO

Nitohkanáóhpommatoo’piaawa. ‘I bought all of them.’

nit-ohkana-ohpommatoo-’p-yi-aawa
1-all-buy(TI)-theme-pl-PRO

Nitohkanáóhpommatoo’pinnaaniaawa.
nit-ohkana-ohpommatoo-’p-innaan-yi-aawa
1-all-buy(TI)-theme-1p-pl-PRO
‘We all bought them.’/‘We bought all of them.’11

Iihkanáyo’kaayaawa. ‘They all slept.’

iihkana-Io’kaa-yi-aawa
past:all-sleep-pl-PRO

The form kan(a)- is found primarily on nouns:

kanáítapiwa ‘all people’
kana-itapi-wa
all-person-3s

wayák- ‘both/two’
Nitáyákohpommatoo’piaawa. ‘I bought both of them.’
nit-wayák-ohpommatoo-’p-yi-aawa
1-both-buy(TI)-theme-pl-PRO

10
  It may be that we are dealing here with two closely related prefixes which differ in form only
in that one ends in an a and the other does not. Compare the first example to the following sentence:
Óómiksi pookáíksi áóhkanawaasai’niyaawa. ‘Those kids all are capable of crying.’
om-iksi pookáá-iksi á-ohkana-wa:sai’ni-yi-aawa
that-an.p child-an.p dur-all-cry-pl-PRO
Or perhaps the extra a is the durative in this example.
11
  Note that the ‘all’ may quantify the plural subject or the plural object.

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 95

Nitáyákohpommatoo’pinnaaniaawa.
nit-wayák-ohpommatoo’p-innaan-yi-aawa
1-both-buy(TI)-1p-pl-PRO
‘We both bought them.’/‘We bought both of them.’12

Áyákaisttsiistomiyaawa. ‘They are both sick.’

wayák-a-isttsiistomi-yi-aawa
two-dur-sick(AI)-pl-PRO

C. VERBAL PREFIXES

These are prefixes the equivalents of which in most other languages would be
verbs which take embedded clauses, as in the English translations below. Here
are a few of the many such prefixes. (As stated in the introduction to this chapter,
none of these determine the syntactic category of the stem of which they are a
part.)

ohkott- ‘able’
Kítohkottá’po’taki. ‘You were able to work.’
kit-ohkott-a’po’taki
2-able-work

Nimáátakohkottahkayihpa. ‘I can’t go home.’

n-imáát-yak13-ohkott-wa:hkayi-hpa
1-neg-fut-able-go^home-nonaffirm

ssáak- ‘try’
Áíssáaka’po’takiwa. ‘He’s trying to work.’
á-ssáak-a’po’taki-wa
dur-try-work-3s

12
  Again, note that ‘both’ may quantify the plural subject or the plural object.
13
  The future prefix, if that is what we have here, has a short vowel in this position.

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96 Blackfoot Grammar

yaahs- ‘like/enjoy / be pleased by’

Nitáyaahsoyi. ‘I like to eat.’
nit-á-yaahs-Ioyi
1-dur-like-eat

Iksistt- ‘finish’
Nikáíksisttsoyi. ‘I’ve finished eating.’
n-ikáá-Iksisst-Ioyi
1-perf-finish-eat

mato- ~ oto- ‘go to do ...’

Iitóómiihkaawa. ‘He went fishing.’
iito-omii-hkaa-wa
past:go-fish-acquire-3s

Áakotaapinniiwa a’písiyi. ‘He will go adjust the rope.’

yáak-oto-apinn-ii-wa a’písi-yI
fut-go-adjust(TA)-dir-3s rope-4s

The immediately preceding example indicates the need for yet another phonological
rule. Whenever a morpheme which ends in o is followed by a morpheme which
begins with a, the o is replaced by a, as expressed in the following rule:14

o-Replacement

o → a / _+a, where +a is not a suffix

Note the condition stating that this rule does not apply if the a is part of a suffix,15
as in the following example:

14
  For a large number of speakers, the o is deleted rather than replaced by a. For such speakers, ‘He
will go adjust ...’ would be Áakotapinniiwa ...
15
  Though it apparently does apply before a final (see chapter 17):
nit-itap-oo+at-a:-wa → nitsitapáaatawa ‘I approached him.’
1-toward-go-TA-dir-3s

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Nítohpommoawa. ‘I bought (something) for him.’

nit-ohpomm-o-a:-wa
1-buy-ben(TA)-dir-3s
Here are two more examples of prefix mato- ~ oto-:
Áakotóooyo’pa. ‘Let’s go eat.’
yáak-oto-ooyi-o’pa
fut-go-eat-21

Matóooyit. ‘Go eat!’

mato-ooyi-t
go-eat-2s(imp)

Supplemental Material

The last two examples above illustrate a phonological rule which creates a falling pitch accent.
Whenever a morpheme which ends in a vowel is followed by a morpheme which begins with a
long vowel or diphthong (see chapter 1), a falling pitch is superimposed on the resultant vowel
sequence. If the first vowel and the second vowel are identical, as in the preceding two examples,
the pitch falls throughout the sequence. If the first and second vowel form a diphthong, accents are
written over both the first vowel and the first vowel symbol of the long vowel:

Máátomáíiniitsiwaatsiksi. ‘He hasn’t drowned yet.’

maat-oma-iiniitsi-waatsiksi
neg-yet-drown(AI)-3s:nonaffirm

Áípoináóokatakiwa. ‘She’s beading frantically.’

á-Ipoina-ookataki-wa
á-Ipoina-ookataki-wa

However, if the first vowel is i and the second vowel is not ii, the falling pitch accent is assigned
to the long vowel, whether or not the i is subsequently lost:16

aapániáakiiwa ‘butterfly-woman’
aapáni-aakii-wa
butterfly-woman-3s

16
  In addition to the expected loss of i after s (by i-Absorption) and after y (by i-Loss), there is for
many speakers loss of i in these circumstances after n. For example, piikáni + aakii ‘Peigan woman’
may be either piikániáakii or piikánáakii.

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paahtsáakiiwa ‘mistaken-woman’
paahtsi-aakii-wa
mistake-woman-3s

The following examples demonstrate that this rule is not bled by o-Replacement:

niipáaakiiwa ‘upright woman’

niipo-aakii-wa
upright-woman-3s

otahkáaokayiiwa ‘robin’
otahko-aokayii-wa
orange-breast-3s

ohko- ‘have for ...’

Nítohkóooyi. ‘I’ve got something to eat.’
nit-ohko-ooyi
1-have^for-eat(AI)

Nítohkaa’po’taki ‘I’ve got a job.’

nit-ohko-a’po’taki
1-have^for-work

Nikáóhkaayáámoyí’poyi ‘I’ve got a joke (to tell).’

n-ikáá-ohko-ayaamoyi’poyi
1-perf-have^for-tell^joke(AI)

D. ADVERBIAL PREFIXES

1. Manner

Ikkina- ‘gently/easy’
Nitsikkínaiksiinoka. ‘She touched me gently.’
nit-Ikkina-Iksiin-o:k-wa
1-gently-touch(TA)-inv-3s

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Ikkináí’poyit! ‘Speak slowly/clearly!’

Ikkina-I’poyi-t
gently-dur-speak-2s(imper)

iiyik- ‘strong/hard’
Kitsííyika’po’taki. ‘You worked hard.’
kit-iiyik-a’po’taki
2-hard-work

Iiyíkssopowa. ‘It’s very windy.’

iiyik-sopoo-wa
hard-wind-sg

póína- ~ Ipoina- ‘nuisance/frenetic/erratic’

Áípoináóoyiwa. ‘He’s eating frantically.’
á-Ipoina-ooyi-wa
dur-frantic-eat-3s

Póínáóhkomatakiwa. ‘He drives recklessly.’

póína-ohkomataki-wa
reckless-drive-3s

Póínaa’pssiwa. ‘He’s a nuisance.’

póína-a’pssi-wa
nuisance-be(AI)-3s

sok- ‘well/good’
Kitsikáísoka’po’taki. ‘You work very well.’
kit-ik-á-sok-a’po’taki
2-very-dur-good-work

Máátáísokímohsiwaatsiksi. ‘He’s not feeling well.’

máát-á-sok-imohsi-waatsiksi
neg-dur-good-feel-3s(nonaffirm)

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Iíkssoka’pssiyaawa. ‘They are good.’

iik-sok-a’pssi-yi-aawa
very-good-be(AI)-pl-PRO

niit- ~ a:nist- ‘manner’

This prefix acts as a variable, with a range of semantic values which includes the
manner prefixes illustrated above. It is used in questions asking about manner
(see chapter 21) and a type of nominalization (Conjunctive Nominals; see chapter
20). As will be seen in the following examples, this morpheme selects the short
person prefixes.17
niitáí’poyo’pi ‘the way one speaks’
niit-á-I’poyi-o’p-yi
how-dur-speak-21:CN-in.s

kaanistáóoyihpi ‘the way you eat’

k-aanist-á-ooyi-hp-yi
2-how-dur-eat-CN-in.s

niitáótso’pi ‘how one swims / how we21 swim’

niit-á-otsi-o’p-yi
how-dur-swim-21:CN-in.s

maanistáípasskaahpoaawaistsi ‘the ways they dance’

m-aanist-á-Ipasskaa-hp-oaawa-istsi
3-how-dur-dance-CN-3p-ip

ohs- ‘spaced apart’

Kitohsááatohpinnaan. We kept our distance from you.
kit-ohs-ááat-o:hpinnaan
2-spaced-approach-1p:2

17
  CN abbreviates Conjunctive Nominal.

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2. Degree

i:k- ‘very’ (breaking I)

Iiksíksistoyiwa. ‘It’s very hot.’
I:k-iksistoyi-wa
very-hot-sg

sska’- ‘extraordinarily’
(I)sskáí’soka’piiwa. ‘It’s extraordinarily good.’
sska’-sok-a’pii-wa
extra-good-be(II)-sg

sstónnat- ‘extremely’ (literally ‘dangerously’)

(I)sstónnatsstoyiiwa. ‘It’s extremely cold.’
sstónnat-sstoyii-wa
extreme-be^cold(II)-sg

3. Rate

Ikkam- ‘fast/quickly’
Áaksíkkamokska’siwa. ‘He will run fast.’
yáak-Ikkam-okska’si-wa
fut-fast-run-3s

Ikkamítsinikookit. ‘Tell me about it quickly!’

Ikkam-itsiniko-o:kit
quick-relate(TA)-2s:1s(imper)

iitsiksist- ‘slow(ly)’
Iítsiksistokska’siwa. ‘He runs slowly.’
iitsiksist-okska’si-wa
slow-run-3s

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4. Linkers

These are prefixes which indicate the oblique grammatical relation of some
nominal in the clause; they generally serve the same function as prepositions in
English, except that because they are in the verb rather than adjacent to the related
nominal, the hearer (or reader) must sometimes infer from context which nominal
they link.18

omohp- ~ iihp- ~ ohp- ‘associative’

The first variant of this prefix immediately follows person prefixes, the second
variant occurs in word-initial position, and the third elsewhere.19
Napayíni nomohpiówatoo’pa ómihka í’ksisakoyihka.
napayín-i n-omohp-Iowatoo-’p-wa om-yi-hka í’ksisako-yi-hka
bread-nonpartic 1-assoc-eat(TI)-theme-3s that-in.s-invs meat-in.s-invs
‘I ate the meat with bread.’

Áakohpinnisiyaawa omi sináákia’tsisi.

yáak-ohp-innisi-yi-aawa om-yi sináákia’tsiS-yi
fut-assoc-fall-pl-PRO that-in.s book-in.s
‘They will fall with that book.’

omoht- ~ iiht- ~ oht- ‘instrument(instr)/means/source/content/path’

The three variants of this prefix have a distribution parallel to the variants of the
previous linker.
Iihtáwayáakiaawa miistsíi. ‘He was hit with/by a stick.’
iiht-wa:wayáaki-a:-wa miistsíS-i
instr-hit(TA)-dir-3s stick-nonpartic

Nitáakohtahkayi áípottaawa. ‘I’ll go home by plane.’

nit-yáak-oht-wa:hkayi áípottaa-wa
1-fut-means-go^home plane-3s

18
  Linkers are often called ‘relative roots’ by Algonquianists.
19
  For some speakers the first variant has the form imohp-, and for still others it is o’ohp- or oohp.
The same idiolectal variation is found in the first syllable of the next linker to be presented.

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 103

Nomohtó’too Lethbridge. ‘I came from Lethbridge.’

n-omoht-o’too L.
1-source-arrive

Nómohtsitsinikooka kiistóyi. ‘He told me (a story) about you.’

n-omoht-itsiniko-o:k-wa kiistóyi
1-content-tell(TA)-inv-3s 2s(PRO)

Iihtawááwahkaayaawa omíma niítahtaayi.

iiht-a-wa:wahkaa-yi-aawa om-yi-ma niítahtaa-yi
along-dur-walk-pl-PRO that-in.s-stat river-in.s
‘They are walking along the river.’

ohtahtsiwa- ‘in place of/ in the stead of’

Nohkówa otákkaayi iihtahtsówáóowatsiiwa20omi áaattsistaayi.
n-ohkó-wa w-itákkaa-yI iihtahtsiwa-oowat-ii-wa áaattsistaa-yI
1-son-3s 3-partner-4s past:in^place^of-eat(TA)-dir-3s that-4s rabbit-4s
‘My son in place of his partner ate the rabbit.’

The remainder of the linkers to be listed, in addition to their linking function, add
directional or spatial information. The first two occur in verbs which describe
motion, or at least imply change of location, and indicate the direction of that
motion or movement. The other may occur in just about any verb.

itap- ‘toward’
Nitáakitapoo kookóówayi. ‘I’ll go to your place.’
nit-yáak-itap-oo k-ookóówa-yi
1-fut-toward-go 2-home-in.s

While no overt nominal is linked by the following directional prefix, it is grouped

here because it can be viewed as linking location of the speaker:

20
  Coalescence 2 accounts for the o in the third syllable of this verb. See footnote 9 of chapter 15.

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104 Blackfoot Grammar

poohsap- ~ Ipoohsap- ‘toward location of the speaker’

Póóhsapoot! ‘Come here!’
póóhsap-oo-t
toward^spkr-go-2s(imper)

Áaksipoohsapokska’siwa. ‘He’ll run toward me.’

yáak-Ipoohsap-okska’si-wa
fut-toward^spkr-run-3s

it- ~ ist-21 ‘there’

Itáóoyiwa nookóówayi. ‘He eats at my place.’
it-a-ooyi-wa n-ookóówa-yi
there-dur-eat(AI)-3s 1-home-in.s

Ánni istópiit! ‘Sit there!’

ann-yi ist-opii-t
that-in.s there-sit-2s(imper)

5. Aspect

There are additional prefixes which fit under the label ‘aspect,’ as that term is
defined in chapter 6. Here are a few:

saaki- ~ saki-22 ‘still’

Saakiáítapiiwa. ‘She’s still living.’
saaki-á-itapii(yi)-wa
still-dur-live-3s

Nimáátssakiáíssksiniihpa. ‘I don’t remember.’

n-imáát-saki-á-ssksini-hp-wa
1-neg-still-dur-know(TI)-theme-in.s

  The second variant apparently is used only in imperatives.

21

  See section B of chapter 15 regarding this variation in vowel length.

22

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 105

omá- ~ iimá- ‘yet’

Kikátao’máóoyihpa23 ‘Did you eat yet?’
k-Ikáta’-omá-ooyi-hpa
2-interrog-yet-eat-nonaffirm

Iimáítsskaayaawa. ‘They’re fighting yet.’

iimá-itsskaa-yi-aawa
yet-fight-pl-PRO

á’- ‘inchoative’ (‘has just come about’)24

Nitáó’mai’taki. ‘Now I’m convinced.’
nit-á’-omai’taki
1-incho-believe (cf. Nitáómai’taki. ‘I believe.’)

Áí’too’toowa nááto’kaayi. ‘It’s two o’clock.’

a’-it-o’too-wa naato’kaayi
incho-there-arrive-in.s two

6. Non-linking Locationals

The following locational prefixes might, in view of their meaning, appear to be

linkers, but notice that if a nominal is linked in these examples, there is a linker
it- ~ ist- ‘there’ in the verb.

ípsst- ‘inside’
Itsípsstsoyo’pa omí ksikkokóówayi. ‘We ate inside the tent.’
it-ipsst-Ioyi-o’pa om-yi ksikkokóówa-yi
there-inside-eat(AI)-21 that-in.s tent-in.s

23
  Many speakers regularly reduce the sequence kikáta’- to kíta’-, so this will commonly be heard
as kítao’máóoyihpa.
24
  Greg Thomson (personal communication) finds that one discourse function of this prefix is to
indicate that the event expected at that point in the discourse did indeed occur.

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106 Blackfoot Grammar

ohkit- ‘upon’
Istohkítsstoota omi akssíni. ‘Put it on the bed!’
ist-ohkit-ihtoo-t om-yi akihsíN-yi
there-upon-put(TI)-2s(imper) that-in.s bed-in.s

Matsíwohkitopiiwa.25 ‘He is a rider of a fine horse.’

matsíw-ohkit-opii-wa
fine-upon-sit-3s

miistap- ~ yIIstap- ‘away’

Iyíístapokska’siwa. ‘He ran away.’
i-yÍÍstap-okska’si-wa
past-away-run-3s

Áaksiistapsskoyiiwáyi. ‘She will chase him away.’

yáak-yIIstap-ssko-yii-wa-áyi
fut-away-chase(TA)-dir-3s-pro

The next example might also seem to involve linking of a nominal, but the
nominal annoma ‘here’ is the object of a transitive verb:
Míístapáaatoot annóóma! ‘Go away from here!’
míístap-áaatoo-t annoma
away-go(TI)-2s(imper) here

EXERCISES

1. Given the vai stem okska’si ‘run’ :

a. Use the correct adjunct from section A of this chapter to translate ‘We21 did
not run.’

b. Use an adjunct from section B to translate ‘We1p all ran.’

25
  Usually pronounced [matsówohkitopiiw]; see Coalescence 2 in footnote 9 of chapter 15. ohkit
+ opii is an idiom for ‘ride (a horse).’

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Chapter 16: Complex Verb Stems, Part 1 107

c. Use adjuncts from section C to translate the following:

(1) ‘They are trying to run.’

(2) ‘I like to run.’

(3) ‘You2p are able to run.’

d. Use adjuncts from section D to translate the following:

(1) ‘You2s run well.’

(2) ‘He runs fast.’

(3) ‘I ran from Lethbridge.’

2. Still using the stem okska’si, translate the following, combining appropriate
adjuncts:

a. ‘We1p didn’t all run fast.’

b. ‘I like to try to run fast.’

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CHAPTER 17

Complex Verb Stems, Part 2: Finals

As alluded to in chapter 16, there are morphemes in complex stems which

determine the syntactic category of the stem of which they are a part. We will
designate as the Head of a stem that portion which determines the syntactic
category of the entire stem. Because these are generally referred to as finals in
Algonquian studies,1 they will be referred to by that term here. The relevant
syntactic categories determined by verb finals are primarily the four stem types
discussed in chapter 7; i.e., transitive animate (TA), transitive inanimate (TI),
animate intransitive (AI), and inanimate intransitive (II).
It will be useful to distinguish simplex verb stems, which consist of root plus
final, and complex verb stems, which are made up of a stem (which itself may
be complex) plus any or all of the following: preverbal elements such as those
discussed in chapter 16, medials (which follow a root and usually refer to body
parts), and finals. In each complex stem, the rightmost final is the Head.
There are two broad classes of verb finals: abstract finals, which only
minimally affect the meaning of the stem to which they are added, and concrete
finals, which contribute significantly to the meaning of the stem. The remainder
of this chapter will touch on the former type. Abstract finals, unlike concrete
finals (chapter 18), are not ‘productive’; i.e., they cannot be used freely to make
up new stems. This means that which finals go with which roots is not predictable,
and so the stems which have these finals must be learned as a whole.
Consider the verb stems of the following three sentences; finals are in bold
print:

(a) Nitá-ooy-i (paatáki). ‘I’m eating (potatoes).’

(b) Nitá-oow-atoo’pi amostsi paatákistsi. ‘I’m eating these potatoes.’

(c) Nitá-oow-atawa amo pi’kssííwa. ‘I’m eating this chicken.’

1
See Bloomfield (1946, p. 104).

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The portion (here preceded and followed by hyphens for ease of exposition)
common to all of these stems is a verb root.2 Only a few verb roots can alone
serve as a verb stem;3 most, like that above, must occur with a final. The stems
in (a)–(c) differ from each other in that they end in different finals (highlighted).4
And as was stated above, the final determines the syntactic category of the stem.
So the final in (a) determines that the verb stem is AI; consequently that stem
occurs in an intransitive clause; i.e., one with no object unless that object is non-
particular (recall from section C of chapter 7 that objects which are non-particular
in reference do not count as objects for purposes of verb transitivity in Blackfoot).
Likewise, the finals in (b) and (c) determine that the stems of these two examples
are TA and TI, respectively, and occur in transitive clauses.
There are many roots which, like the one in (a)–(c), can occur with different
finals. Here is another set of three sentences with verbs that share a common root,
but this particular root selects different finals to form AI, TI, and TA stems:

(d) Kitá-omai’t-akihpoaawa. ‘You2p believe.’

(e) Kitá-omai’t-oo’poaawa. ‘You2p believe it.’
(f) Kitá-omai’t-oawaayi kóko’soaawaiksi. ‘You2p believe your kids.’

The six finals seen in (a)–(f) above are all very common, and there are many other
verb finals which are found in numerous stems.
Stems do not always occur in triples, like the preceding two sets. Many roots
occur with only one or two different finals.
Here are some verb stem sets exhibiting some of the many common finals
(finals are in bold print). The first three sets, like those above, are made up of AI,
TI, and TA stems:

(g) Anna pookááwa áókstakiwa. ‘The child is counting/reading.’

(h) Anna pookááwa áókstooma omistsi paatákistsi.
‘The child is counting those potatoes.’
(i) Anna pookááwa áóksiyiiwa omiksi pi’kssííksi.
‘The child is counting those birds.’

(j) Nitánii. ‘I said (something).’

(k) Nitánistoo’pa. ‘I said it.’
(l) Nitánistaawa. ‘I told him.’

2
The root in these cases exhibits semivowel alternation (see chapter 15); i.e., it is ooy ~ oow.
3
Even for these, it is useful to say that they have ‘zero’ (null) finals.
4
As can be seen by comparing even the few sets of finals in this chapter, many finals can them-
selves be further analyzed into what can be termed pre-finals and finals. It may be possible to consider
medials (mentioned near the start of this chapter) and pre-finals to be filling the same slot in verb
stems.

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110 Blackfoot Grammar

(m) Kitáísínaaki ‘You are drawing.’

(n) Kitáísínaii’pa ‘You are drawing it.’
(o) Kitáísínaoka5 ‘He is taking your picture.’

The next sets are AI/II pairs:

(p) Soká’pssiwa ‘She is good.’

(q) Soká’piiwa ‘It is good.’

(r) Náaiyaawa ‘They (anim) are six (i.e., there are six of them.)’
(s) Náaoyaawa ‘They (inan) are six.’

(t) Itsimímma6 ‘He stinks.’

(u) Itsímówa ‘It stinks.’

The next three sets involve what are known as instrumental finals, because they
indicate the instrument (usually a body part) involved. In these, the instrument is
the mouth.

Iisinípiiwáyi ‘He licked him.’ (TA)

Iisínihtsimáyi. ‘He licked it.’ (TI)
Iisínihtakiwa.7 ‘He licked (something).’ (AI)

Nítssiksipawa ‘I bit him.’ (TA)

Nítssikstsiihpa ‘I bit it.’ (TI)
Nitssíkstaki ‘I bit (something).’ (AI)

Kitsipakksipawa ‘You burst him with your teeth.’ (TA)

Kitsipakkstsiihpa ‘You burst it with your teeth.’ (TI)
Kitsipakkstaki ‘You burst (something) with your teeth.’ (AI)

The next set has a body part medial (sski ‘face’), as well as the instrumental final
seen in the two previous sets.

Anna póósa iisínsskipiiwáyi. ‘The cat licked her face.’ (TA)

Áísinsskihtsimáyi. ‘She licked the face of it.’ (TI)
Áísinsskihtakiwa. ‘She licks faces.’ (AI)

5
  This stem has a zero final.
6
  The mm is from M:; see section C of chapter 15.
7
  Note that the AI final a:ki is added to the TI final less the portion ii, which is common to a great
many TI stems.

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CHAPTER 18

Some Concrete Finals

This chapter describes the formation of complex stems in which the Head is a
derivational suffix; i.e., a suffix which changes the syntactic category of the stem
to which it is added. As with the finals discussed in the previous chapter, the
relevant syntactic categories are TA, TI, AI, and II, but some finals also govern
the potential for occurrence with unlinked1 nominals.

Underlying Versus Surface Grammatical Relations

For purposes of this discussion, the underlying (logical) subject or object of a

derived stem is the nominal which would have been subject or object of that stem
were the derivational suffix not present. The surface subject or object of a stem is
that for which that stem (whether basic or derived) is subcategorized (see section
B of chapter 7).

A. CAUSATIVE VERB STEMS

There are two suffixes, áttsi and pi ~ ipi, which derive causative verb stems
from other verb stems.2 These suffixes are added to intransitive stems, never to
transitive stems. The derived causative stem is transitive (unless the subject of
the underlying non-causative verb is non-particular or unspecified; see below).
Causative stems are used in clauses in which the causer is subject and the causee,
which in all cases is understood as the subject of the underlying non-causative
clause, is the primary object. For example, in (a), first person singular is the causer,
and hence subject, and ‘my daughter’ is the causee, and hence primary object.

1
  See section D.4 of chapter 16 regarding linkers.
2
  There is another suffix which, in the examples available to me, is added to meteorological verbs
to form AI verbs:
  (i) Isopómsstaawa ‘He made the wind blow.’
  (ii) Nitáakssotamsstaa ‘I’ll make it rain.’
And here is another similar causative:
  (iii) Stamokamo’tsstooka ‘Make it straight!’

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112 Blackfoot Grammar

(a) Nítsspiyáttsaawa nitána. ‘I made my daughter dance.’

nit-ihpiyi-áttsi-a:-wa n-itán-wa
1-dance(AI)-cause-dir-3s my-da-3s

Here are more examples of the two causative suffixes:

(b) Kitsó’kááttsaayaawa. ‘You put them to sleep.’
kit-Io’kaa-áttsi-a:-yi-aawa
2-sleep(AI)-cause-dir-pl-PRO

(c) Nitáókska’síípiooka. ‘He makes me run.’

nit-á-okska’si-ipi-o:k-wa
1-dur-run(AI)-cause-inv-3s

(d) Kítso’káápiaayaawa. ‘You put them to sleep.’3

kit-Io’kaa-pi-a:-yi-aawa
2-sleep(AI)-cause-dir-pl-PRO

The limitation that these two causative suffixes are added to intransitive stems is
a morphological property of the causative suffixes themselves, not a consequence
of their meaning or the meaning of the stems to which they are attached. So they
may be used whether or not the underlying non-causative clause has an object.
However, if there is an underlying object, it will be a surface secondary object:
(e) Nítohpommááttsaawa nohkówa omííksi ápotsskinaiksi.
nit-ohpommaa-áttsi-a:-wa n-ohkó-wa om-iksi ápotskina-iksi
1-buy(AI)-cause-dir-3s my-son-3s that-an.p cow-an.p
‘I made my son buy those cows.’

Notice that the verb agrees with ‘son3s’ as primary object, not with the underlying
object, ‘those cows4p,’ which is the surface secondary object.

3
  When asked to differentiate (b) from (d), speakers told me that the causation referred to in (d) is
more direct. For example, you would use (d) if the subject rocked babies to sleep.

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Supplemental Material

If the underlying subject of the stem is non-particular or unspecified, in which case it cannot
be a surface primary object (see section C of chapter 7), the causative verb stem must be made
intransitive by addition of the final a:ki,4 which forms AI verbs:

(f) Nítohpommááttsaaki (aakííkoai) napayíni.

nit-ohpommaa-áttsi-a:ki (aakííkoaN-i) napayín-i
1-buy(AI)-cause-fin(AI) (girl-nonpartic) bread-nonpartic
‘I caused (girl) buying of bread.’

We stated above that the causative finals are always added to intransitive stems. While this is
true, the stem to which they are added is not always the usual intransitive stem. For example, the
regular AI stem for ‘beckon, make signs’ is a’psstaki; yet the stem to which the causative suffixes
are added is a’psstoyi, as seen in (g) and (h):

(g) A’psstoyáttsiyiiwáyi. ‘He made him talk sign language.

a’psstoyi-áttsi-yii-wa-áyi
make^signs-cause-3:4-3s-PRO

(h) A’psstoyíípiyiiwáyi ‘He made him talk sign language.’

a’psstoyi-ipi-yii-wa-áyi
make^signs-cause-3:4-3s-PRO

B. BENEFACTIVE VERB STEMS

Transitive stems which have a benefactee as primary object are derived from other
stems by addition of one of two suffixes: -o and –mo ~ -omo. Though the facts
are complicated (see Taylor (1969, section 670 and 694)), the following rough
summary of their distribution may be of value.
The first of the two benefactive suffixes (-o) seems to be added to verb roots;
compare the following non-benefactive and benefactive sentence pairs:
(j) 1. Iihpómmaawa ónnikii. ‘He bought milk.’
iihpomm-aa-wa ónnikiS-i
buy-AI-3s milk-nonpartic

2. Iihpómmoyiiwáyi ónnikii. ‘He bought milk for her.’

iihpomm-o-yii-wa-ayi ónnikiS-i
buy-ben(TA)-dir-3s-PRO milk-nonpartic

4
  Also seen in (d), (g), (m), and (x) of chapter 17.

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114 Blackfoot Grammar

(k) 1. Nítsskiitatoo’piaawa. ‘I baked them.’

nit-ihkiit-watoo-’p-yi-aawa
1-bake-TI-theme-pl-PRO

2. Nítsskiitoawaistsi nitána. ‘I baked them for

nit-ihkiit-o-a:-wa-aistsi n-itán-wa my daughter.’
1-bake-ben(TA)-dir-3s-PRO 1-daughter-3s

For all benefactives, an underlying object (if any) will be the surface secondary
object. So the pronoun for the baked items, which is the primary object in (k.1), is
the secondary object in (k.2).
The suffix -mo ~ -omo is usually added to transitive stems (mo after vowels,
omo after consonants); in particular, it is added to what generally appear to be TA
stems, as illustrated in the following examples of TA and benefactive pairs:
(l) 1 Kóta’siksi nitsííyissksipistayaawa.
k-ota’s-iksi nit-ii-yIssksipist-a:-yi-aawa
2-mount-an.p 1-past-tie^up(TA)-dir-pl-PRO
‘I tied up your horses.’

2 Nitsííyissksipistomoawa nitákkaawa óta’siksi.

nit-ii-yIssksipist-omo-a:-wa n-itákkaa-wa w-óta’s-iksi
1-past-tie-ben(TA)-dir-3s 1-partner-3s 3-mount-an.p
‘I tied up his horses for my partner.’

Observe that in (l.1) the being which is tied up is the primary object, while in (l.2)
it is the secondary object.
(m) 1. Anna ponokáwa kitáaksinnootatawaatsiksi?
ann-wa ponoká-wa kit-yáak-Innootat-a:-waatsiksi
that-3s elk-3s 2-fut-butcher(TA)-dir-3s(nonaffirm)
‘Will you butcher that elk?’

2. Kitáaksinnootatomookihpaatsiksi?
kit-yáak-Innootat-omo-o:k-i-hp-waatsiksi
2-fut-butcher-ben(TA)-inv-2:1-nonaffirm-PRO
‘Will you butcher him for me?’

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Supplemental Material

There are many cases where the suffix –mo ~ omo is added to other than the TA stem. E.g., in
the following example, it is added to the AI stem, less what looks like the AI final aa; but we
cannot say -omo is added to a root in this case, for the corresponding TA stem (sstaahka), which
presumably is based on the same root, lacks the ht portion, as seen in (n.3):

(n) 1. Áísstaahkahtaawa ‘She is nursing.’

á-sstaahkahtaa-w
dur-suckle(AI)-3s

2. Nitsstááhkahtomooka nítsssitsimaani. ‘She nursed my baby for me.’

nit-sstaahkaht-omo-o:k-wa nit-ssitsimaan-yI
1-suckle-ben(TA)-inv-3s 1-baby-4s

3. Nitsstááhkaoka ‘She nursed me.’

nit-sstaahka-o:k-wa
1-suckle(TA)-inv-3s

And it is not clear what stem the benefactive suffix is attached to in (o.3); compare the stems of
(o.1) and (o.2):

(o) 1 Nitáaksipíiksaawa. ‘I will chop it (animate gender).’

nit-yáak-IpíikI-a:-wa
1-fut-chop(TA)-dir-3s

2. Nitáaksipíiksii’pa. ‘I will chop it (inanimate gender).’

nit-yáak-IpíikII-’p-wa
1-fut-chop(TI)-theme-3s

3. Kitáaksipíiksóomoo. I will chop (wood) for you.’

C. ACCOMPANIMENT VERB STEMS

Another final which, like the causative finals of section A, is always added to an
intransitive verb stem, is the accompaniment suffix -:m. (The colon here represents
the fact that this suffix causes lengthening of a preceding short vowel.) Unique to
this final,5 however, is that it requires preverbal element ohpok- on the same verb.
The resulting stem is transitive animate, and both its subject and primary object
5
  I am assuming that the suffix -:m seen here should not be identified with the TA final -m seen in
stems such as i’tsskaam ‘fight’(TA); cf. i’tsskaa ‘fight’(AI).

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116 Blackfoot Grammar

are understood as logical subjects of the underlying verb. For example, to animate
intransitive stem a’po’taki ‘work’ there corresponds TA stem ohpoka’po’takiim
‘work with.’ So in the following example, both the surface subject nitána and the
surface primary object nohkóyi are understood as participating in some work, but
the sentence additionally includes the information that nitána has initiated the
accompaniment of nohkóyi in the work.6
(p) Nitána iihpoká’po’takiimiiwa nohkóyi.
n-itán-wa iihpok-a’po’taki-:m-ii-wa n-ohko-yi
1-daughter-3s past:accomp-work(AI)-TA-3:4-3s 1-son-4s
‘My daughter worked with my son.’

Here are more examples of this construction:

(q) Nítohpokohto’toomaw amá nitohkíímaana Omahkoyisi.

nit-ohpok-oht-o’too-:m-a:-wa am-wa nit-ohkiimaan-wa omahk-oyiS-yi
1-accomp-source-arrive-TA-dir-3s this-3s 1-wife-3s big-lodge-in.s
‘I arrived from Edmonton with my wife.’

(r) Nítohpokihpiyiimoka oma aakííkoana.

nit-ohpok-ihpiyi-:m-o:k-wa om-wa aakiikoaN-wa
1-accomp-dance-TA-inv-3s that-3s girl-3s
‘That girl danced with me.’

An underlying object of the verb will be a surface secondary object, as illustrated

in (s), where omi áaattsistaayi is the secondary object:
(s) Anna nohkówa, nítohpoksoyiimawa omi áaattsistaayi.
ann-wa n-ohko-wa nit-ohpok-Ioyi-:m-a:-wa om-yi áaattsistaa-yi
that-3s 1-son-3s 1-accomp-eat-TA-dir-3s that-4s rabbit-4s
‘I ate that rabbit with my son.’

D. REFLEXIVE VERB STEMS

Addition of final -o:hsi to TA stems produces AI stems which describe actions in

which the subject of the resultant AI verb is understood as both underlying subject
and underlying primary object. (See section B of chapter 15 regarding variable

6
  Actually, the situation is not this clear. The motivation for choosing which member of the set
understood as underlying subject to make the surface subject is as subtle as the choice made by
English speakers utilizing the English equivalents of such Blackfoot sentences.

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Chapter 18: Some Concrete Finals 117

length vowels such as o:.) For example, the subject of (t) is understood as both the
one who did the shooting and the one who was shot:
(t) Isskonákatohsiwa. ‘He shot himself.’
i-sskonákat-o:hsi-wa
past-shoot(TA)-refl(AI)-3s

Here are more examples:

(u) Nitáínoohsspinnaan. ‘We1p see ourselves.’
nit-á-Ino-o:hsi-hpinnaan
1-dur-see(TA)-refl(AI)-1p

(v) Oma imitááwa siiksípohsiwa. ‘That dog bit himself.’

om-wa imitáá-wa siiksip-o:hsi-wa
that-3s dog-3s past:bite(TA)-refl(AI)-3s

(w) Sstsipísoohsit! ‘Punish (whip) yourself!’

sstsipísi-o:hsi-t
whip(TA)-refl(AI)-2s(imper)

E. RECIPROCAL VERB STEMS

Addition of the final -o:tsiiyi ~ -tsiiyi to TA stems forms AI stems which describe
reciprocal action between members of a set as subject. (The variant without initial
o: occurs after stems ending in t.) So, for example, each of the horses mentioned
in (x) is understood to both bite and be bitten by at least one of the other horses.7
(x) Omiksi ponokáómitaiksi áísiksipotsiiyiyaawa.
om-iksi ponokáómitaa-iksi á-siksip-o:tsiiyi-yi-aawa
that-an.p horse-an.p dur-bite(TA)-recipr(AI)-pl-PRO
‘Those horses are biting each other.’

(y) Anniksi kitómitaamiksi áíssáaksi’nittsiiyiyaawa.

ann-iksi kit-omitaam-iksi á-ssáak-I’nit-tsiiyi-yi-aawa
those-an.p 2-dog-an.p dur-try-kill(TA)-recipr(AI)-pl-PRO
‘Your dogs are trying to kill each other.’
7
  If the set of horses is large, the statement can be hyperbolic; i.e., not every horse need bite and
be bitten.

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118 Blackfoot Grammar

There is also a TA reciprocal final -o:tsiim ~ -tsiim, used apparently when the
speaker wishes to ascribe responsibility for initiating the reciprocal action to one
party, which is then the subject of the TA verb:
(z) Otáwáa’psskattsiimoka nohkówa ómi nínaayi.
ot-á-wáa’psskat-tsiim-ok-wa n-ohkó-wa om-yI nínaa-yI
3-dur-bet(TA)-recipr(TA)-inv-3s 1-son-3s that-4s man-4s
‘That man4s is betting my son3s.’

F. DENOMINAL VERBS

There are finals which form verbs when added to noun stems.8 Five are presented
here.

-wa’si ‘become, turn into’

Aakííkoana’siwa. ‘She turned into a girl.’
aakiikoaN-wa’si-wa
girl-become-3s

nítohkiááyowa’si ‘I became enraged.’ (lit: I became a bear)

nit-ohkiááyo-wa’si
1-bear-become

-hkaa ~ -Ihkaa ‘acquire’

Iimííhkaayaawa. ‘They fished.’ (lit: acquired fish)
iimii-hkaa-yi-aawa
past:fish-acqu(AI)-pl-PRO

Nitsináánsskaa. ‘I got something.’

nit-inaan-Ihkaa
1-possession-acqu(AI)

Nitsíítsikiihkaa. ‘I got shoes.’

nit-iitsitsikiN-Ihkaa
1-past:shoe-acqu(AI)

8
  If the finals are viewed as verbs, then the noun stems can be considered to be incorporated in
the verb stem.

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Chapter 18: Some Concrete Finals 119

-hko ~ -Ihko ‘provide for’

This is the transitive animate counterpart to the preceding final.

Nitsináánsskoayaawa. ‘I got something for them.’
nit-inaan-Ihko-a:-yi-aawa
1-possession-provide(TA)-dir-pl-PRO

-yi ~ Ø ‘be’

As stated in section D of chapter 4, the null allomorph of this suffix is used only
with a third person subject in an independent clause.
Kitáínayihpoááwa? ‘Are you chiefs?’
kit-á- Ina9-yi-hpoaawa
2-dur-chief-be-2p(nonaffirm)

Nínaawa. ‘He is a man/chief.’

nínaa-Ø-wa
man/chief-be-3s

Ikkamínayisi, nomohtsííksipisatsi’taki. ‘If he’s a chief, I’m amazed.’

ikkam-Ina-yi-si n-omoht-iik-Ipisatsi’taki
if-chief-be-3(subj) 1-means-very-amazed

-yi ~ Ø ‘have/be in relation to’

Nítohkoyi. ‘I have a son.’
nit-ohko-yi

Nitsíítani. ‘I have a daughter.’

Inníwa. ‘He has a father.’
I’síwa. ‘He has an older brother.’

9
  The stems for ‘chief’ and ‘man’ both have allomorphs which end in a short vowel when
followed by a non-null derivational suffix.

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120 Blackfoot Grammar

Íssksisíwa oma atapííma. ‘That doll has a nose.’

issksisíS+Ø+wa10
nose-have-3s

Some kin terms have a different non-initial form when verbalized with this final:
Nitónni. ‘I have a father.’ (cf. inníwa above)
Nitó’si. ‘I have an older brother.’ (cf. i’síwa above)

The following construction may involve the same final:

Nitáísttsisspi ‘I have a headache.’
Nit-á-isttsii-ssp-yi
1-dur-hurt-head-have

EXERCISE

With the help of the Blackfoot Dictionary and chapter 23, translate the following
into Blackfoot:

1. That teacher made us21 jump.

2. I will tether your horses for you.

3. Your daughter will read with my son.

4. My mother almost cured herself.

5. Those students help each other.

6. They all have mothers.

10
  Evidently, this derivatioinal suffix ‘have’ is Ø after non-permanent S, and the S is unrealized
in this enviroment.

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CHAPTER 19

Other Verb Paradigms

The verb paradigms which have been presented thus far are used only in
independent (main) clauses. This chapter describes verb forms used in subordinate
clauses (sections A and B) and in commands (section C).
There are two sets of verb paradigms used in subordinate clauses, the
Conjunctive1 and the Subjunctive. As will be illustrated below, which of these
two sets of paradigms is used in a dependent clause is determined by the content
of that clause, the Subjunctive appearing in what can be characterized as clauses
which are ‘presumptive’ or ‘conditional’ in meaning.
The Conjunctive paradigm set is the simpler of the two to describe in that it is
closely related formally to the set of verb paradigms in independent clauses, which
have been presented in earlier chapters. Roughly, the Conjunctive paradigms
differ from the corresponding Independent paradigms by the presence of an hs
and a suffix yi. The hs immediately follows the verb stem in AI and II stems; in TA
and TI verbs it follows the theme suffix. The suffix yi is last in the verb, preceded
by any agreement suffixes. Another significant difference is that third person is
marked by a prefix ot ~ w.
The Subjunctive paradigms show more extensive differences from the
Independent paradigms, including the lack of person prefixes.
Each paradigm from each set is exemplified in the next two sections of this
chapter. The complete paradigms are presented in Appendix A.

A. THE CONJUNCTIVE PARADIGMS

Clauses which call for verb forms from this set are the following:2

1. Temporal clauses of past occurrence; note that the verb contains prefix á’,
glossed ‘inchoat(ive)’:

1
  Called the Conjunct in earlier works such as Frantz (1971).
2
  ‘conj’ abbreviates ‘Conjunctive.’

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122 Blackfoot Grammar

(a) Áyo’kaawa nitáí’to’toohsi.

á-Io’kaa-wa nit-á’-it-o’too-hs-yi
dur-sleep(AI)-3s 1-inchoat-there-arrive(AI)-conj-conj
‘He was asleep when I got there.’

(b) Nitáísskskammawa kitá’waawayákiyssi.

nit-á-sskskamm-a:-wa kit-á’-wa:wayaki-yi-hs-yi
1-dur-watch(TA)-dir-3s 2-inchoat-hit(TA)-inv-conj-conj
‘I was watching over her when she hit you.’

2. Purpose clauses: the Conjunctive verb includes prefix ááhk ‘non-factive’

(glossed ‘might’ in examples),3 and the verb of the independent clause in such
cases usually includes the ‘means/source’ oblique linker iiht- ~ oht- ~ -omoht)
[see chapter 16]:
(c) Nomohtó’too kááhksspommookssoaayi.
n-omoht-o’too k-ááhk-sspommo-o:k-i-hs-oaa-yi
1-source-arrive(AI) 2-might-help(TA)-inv-1-conj-2p-conj
‘I came for you2p to help me.’

(d) Kitáakohtsstsisóóhpa kááhkitáóhpommaahsi?

kit-yáak-oht-ihtsisoo-hpa k-ááhk-it-á-ohpommaa-hs-yi
2-fut-source-go^town-nonaff 2-might-there-dur-buy(AI)-conj-conj
‘Are you going to town to shop?’

3. Embedded clauses

a. As subject:
(e) Ííkssoka’piiwa otáísootaahsi. ‘It’s good that
i:k-soka’pii-wa ot-á-sootaa-hs-yi it is raining.’
very-good(II)-sg 3-dur-rain(II)-conj-conj

3
  The prefix ááhk ‘non-factive’ appears here with the short allomorphs of the person agreement
prefixes (see chapter 6, section D). For many speakers, this morpheme selects the long allomorphs.

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Chapter 19: Other Verb Paradigms 123

b. As primary object:
(f) Nítssksinii’pa kitsówatoohsoaayi. ‘I know you ate it.’
nit-ssksini-’p-wa kit-Iowatoo-hs-oaa-yi
1-know(TI)-theme-in.s 2-eat(TI)-conj-2p-conj

c. As secondary object:
(g) Nitánikkoowa kitsikákomimmahsi nitána.
nit-wa:nIt-k-oowa kit-i:k-akomimm-a:-hs-yi n-itán-wa
1-tell(TA)-inv-unspec 2-very-love(TA)-dir-conj-conj 1-da.-3s
‘I was told that you love my daughter.’

(h) Iimáí’takiyaawa kitá’pistotsi’si ámoyi.

iimai’taki-yi-aawa kit-á’pistotsi-’s-yi amo-yi
pst:believe(AI)-pl-PRO 2-make(TI)-conj-conj this-in.s4
‘They believed that you made this.’

d. As complement of ‘want’; observe that ááhk is used here also:4

(i) Nitsíksstaa nááhksoyssi. ‘I want to eat.’
nit-i:k-sstaa n-ááhk-Ioyi-hs-yi
1-very-want(AI) 1-might-eat(AI)-conj-conj

e. As linked oblique, especially as non-suppositional cause of a main clause

consequent; observe that in (j) and (k) the consequent contains the ‘source/
means’ oblique linker:
(j) Nitsíkohtaahsí’taki kikáó’toohsi.
nit-i:k-oht-yaahs-i’taki k-ikáá-o’too-hs-yi
1-very-source-good-feel(AI) 2-perf-arrive(AI)-conj-conj
‘I’m glad that you have arrived.’

4
  More examples may be found in section C of chapter 22.

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124 Blackfoot Grammar

(k) Iihtokí’takiyaawa nikáóowatoohsinnaani

iiht-ok-i’taki-yi-aawa n-ikáá-oowatoo-hs-innaan-yi
source-bad-feel-pl-PRO 1-perf-eat(TI)-conj-1p-conj
otsskíítaanoaawaistsska. ‘They are angry because
ot-ihkiitaa-n-oaawa-istsi-hka we have eaten their pastries.’
3-bake(AI)-nom-3p-ip-invs

B. THE SUBJUNCTIVE PARADIGMS

Clauses which call for verb forms from this set are the following:5

1. Suppositional antecedent (an ‘if’ clause) for a consequent expressed as the main
clause; the Subjunctive verb in such clauses will usually have prefix ikkam ‘if’:
(l) Ikkamáyo’kainoainiki, nitáakahkayi.
ikkam-á-yo’kaa-inoainiki nit-yáak-wa:hkayi
if-dur-sleep(AI)-2p(subj) 1-fut-go^home
‘If you2p are sleeping, I’ll go home.’

(m) Ikkamínimmiinnaaniki, nitáaksowatoo’pinnaana.

ikkam-Ini-mmiinnaaniki nit-yáak-Iowatoo-’p-innaan-wa
if-see(TI)-1p(subj) 1-fut-eat(TI)-theme-1p-in.s
‘If we see it, we’ll eat it.’
(n) Ikkámssawohkókkiiniki, annáhka nínnahka
ikkam-saw-ohkot-kiiniki ann-wa-hka n-inn-wa-hka
if-neg-give-2s:1p(subj) this-3s-invs 1-fa-3s-invs
áakssko’tsimáyi. ‘If you don’t give it to me,
yáak-ssk-o’tsi-m-wa-áyi my father will take it back.’
fut-back-take-theme-3s-PRO

2. Temporal (‘when’) clauses which refer to the future; most make use of the
inchoative prefix a’ in the subordinate clause, and the time linker it in the main
clause:

5
  New abbreviations here include ‘subj’ for Subjunctive.

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Chapter 19: Other Verb Paradigms 125

(o) Áó’tooyiniki áakitsoyo’pa.

a’-o’too-yiniki6 yáak-it-Ioyi-o’pa
incho-arrive(AI)-1s/2s(subj) fut-then-eat(AI)-21
‘When you/I arrive, (then) we’ll eat.’

(p) Ai’sóótaasi, áakitsipiimmiaawa.

a’-sootaa-si7 yáak-it-IpiiM:-yi-aawa
incho-rain(II)-in.s(subj) fut-then-enter-pl-PRO
‘When it rains, they will go in.’

Iterative temporal antecedent clauses make use of preverb ihkan ~ kan ‘all,’ and if
the main clause verb describes a process, it has the durative prefix:
(q) Kanáísootaasi, itáípiimma. ‘Whenever it rains,
kan-á-isootaa-si it-á-IpiiM:-wa he goes in.’
all-dur-rain(II)-3s(subj) then-dur-enter-3s

C. THE IMPERATIVE PARADIGMS

These are verb forms used to tell someone to do something. The force of such
commands can be softened by use of preverbs such as noohk-, kipp-, and stam-, all
of which are difficult to assign a gloss to. In their use with imperatives, however,
these preverbs are near functional equivalents to English please.
Because the subject of all imperative forms is second person, there are singular
and plural forms in each paradigm. The AI and TI forms end in -t if the subject is
singular (2s) or in -k if the subject is plural (2p). There are no person prefixes in
any imperative paradigm. Here are AI and TI examples:
singular addressee plural addressee
(r) Ooyít! Ooyík! ‘Eat!’
ooyi-t ooyi-k
eat (AI)-2s(imp) eat(AI)-2p(imp)

6
  Two glottal stops together (as a result of Glottal Metathesis) are reduced to one. See Appendix B,
where this is captured by Glottal Reduction.
7
  s-Connection, which would insert an i before the s of the suffix si, does not apply. Evidently this
insertion is blocked before suffixes; see the revised version of s-Connection b in Appendix B.

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126 Blackfoot Grammar

singular addressee plural addressee

(s) Stámssohksi’poyit! Stámssohksi’poyik! ‘Go on, speak
stam-sohk-I’poyi-t stam-sohk-I’poyi-k loudly!’
just-loud-speak(AI)-2s(imp) just-loud-speak(AI)-2p(imp)

(t) Noohkohpómmatoot! Noohkohpómmatook! ‘Please buy it!’

noohk-ohpommatoo-t noohk-ohpommatoo-k
please-buy(TI)-2s(imp) please-buy(TI)-2p(imp)

The TA imperative paradigm has more forms, for it must show agreement with
person of the object. (See Appendix A.6.) As in the other TA paradigms, if the
object is first person plural, number of the second person subject cannot be shown
(w). Number of a third person object is not reflected (unless an attached pronoun
is present, of course). The suffixes used with a third person object lengthen a
preceding short vowel (v).
singular addressee plural addressee
(u) Noohkohkókkit! Noohkohkókkik ‘Please give it
noohk-ohkot-Okit noohk-ohkot-Okik to me!’
please-give(TA)-2s:1(imp) please-give(TA)-2p:1(imp)

(v) Ma’tóós! Ma’tóók! ‘Take it! (anim)’

ma’to-:s ma’to-:k
take(TA)-2s:3(imp) take(TA)-2p:3(imp)

(w) Kippsspómmookinnaan! ‘Please help us!’

kipp-sspommo-Ok-innaan
please-help(TA)-inv-1p

D. THE UNREAL PARADIGMS

The unreal paradigms, used in counterfactual and hypothetical subordinate

clauses, and often in the accompanying main clause as well, are essentially the
same as the independent paradigms with the addition of markers. These markers
follow the corresponding independent form in its entirety, save for 3, 4, and 3rd
plural suffixes. The markers are -opi, -htopi, -ohtopi, or -wahtopi, depending
upon position in the paradigm.8 Here are some examples:

  I have found differences among speakers, even from the same reserve, in the shape of these
8

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Chapter 19: Other Verb Paradigms 127

(x) Nitsítssáyoyihtopi, nitáaksoyi ánnohka. ‘If I hadn’t eaten then,

nit-it-say-Ioyi-htopi nit-áak-Ioyi annohka I’d eat now.’
1-then-neg-eat-unreal 1-fut-eat now

(y) Kátá’yo’kaawahtopiyaawa, áaksstaayaawa

kátá’-yo’kaa-wahtopi-yi-aawa yáak-sstaa-yi-aawa
neg-sleep-unreal-pl-PRO fut-want-pl-PRO
mááhksoyssaawa. ‘If they weren’t asleep,
m-ááhk-Ioyi-hsi-aawa they’d want to eat.’
3-might-eat-conj-PRO

(z) Nikkámináanatao’topi. ‘How I should like to own him!’9

n-ikkam-inaanat-a:-o’topi
1-if-own(TA)-dir-unreal

EXERCISE

With the help of the Blackfoot Dictionary, and chapter 23, translate the following
into Blackfoot:

1. I was working when you arrived.

2. I have arrived (in order) to greet you.

3. It is amazing [that] you2s love me.

4. I don’t believe [that] your son will buy a horse.

5. My son wants to go to town.

6. I am happy to see you2s (= I am happy that I see you2s.)

7. If you2s see my son, tell him [that] I went to work.

8. When you2p get to town, buy meat.

forms.
9
  From Uhlenbeck (1938, p. 171). This example shows that the unreal can be used with ikkam-
to function as an optative/wish.

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CHAPTER 20

Nominalizations

There are at least five ways of forming noun stems from verb stems. These
will be presented here as: 1. Reclassification; 2. Abstract nominalization; 3.
Instrument nominalization; 4. Conjunctive nominalization; 5. Transitive theme
nominalization. In section F we will illustrate their use in complete sentences,
showing that most such nominals are the functional equivalent of English relative
clauses.

A. RECLASSIFICATION

An intransitive verb stem may be used as a noun stem which references the subject
of the underlying verb. For example the AI stem áyo’kaa ‘sleep’ can serve as a
noun stem meaning ‘one who sleeps.’ Such stems may be complex; in fact, all
except stative stems apparently have a tense or aspect prefix—this particular stem
has the durative prefix á—and may have any number of other morphemes. Here
is a noun utilizing the just-mentioned durative stem for ‘sleep’:
omiksi áyo’kaiksi ‘those sleeping ones’
om-iksi á-Io’kaa-iksi
that-an.p dur-sleep(AI)-an.p

As evidence that we are in fact dealing with a noun, observe that áyo’kaiksi has
the plural inflectional suffix iksi, which, as we have seen in chapter 2, is used for
animate gender nouns.
Here are further examples of reclassification; the first two contain the simplex
stem for ‘sleep’ as in the previous example; they also include additional prefixes
in the stem. (Note: Because -wa ‘3s’ is used on both nouns and verbs, singulars of
these nominals are often homophonous with a verb form.)
ánniksi áakso’kaiksi ‘those who will sleep’
ann-iksi áak-Io’kaa-iksi
that-an.p fut-sleep(AI)-an.p

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 129

oma áíssáakso’kaawa ‘that one who is trying to sleep’

om-wa á-ssáak-Io’kaa-wa
that-3s dur-try-sleep(AI)-3s

áíssksinimáa’tstohkiiksi ‘teachers’
á-ssksinimáa’tstohki-iksi
dur-teach(AI)-an.p

stoyíístsi ‘winters’
sstoyíí-istsi
cold-in.p

káta’yáípasskaawa ‘non-dancer’
káta’-yá-ipasskaa(AI)-wa
neg-dur-dance-3s

anna áóttakiwa ‘the bartender’

ann-wa á-ottaki-wa
that-3s dur-serve^drink(AI)-3s

anni iyó’kaayi ‘the one4s who slept’

ann-yI i-Io’kaa-yI
that-4s past-sleep(AI)-4s

Note that in the following example the logical object of the underlying verb is
included:
omiksi ííkaayaokstakiiksi sináákia’tsii ‘those who have
om-iksi ííkaa-ya-okstaki-iksi sináákia’tsiS-i read books’
that-an.p past:perf-dur(?)-read(AI)-an.p book-nonpartic

B. ABSTRACT NOMINALIZATION

Noun stems are formed from intransitive verbs by addition of n ~ hsiN (glossed
as ‘nom’ in the examples to follow); the first allomorph is used with stems ending
in -aa, and the second allomorph with other verbs. Such noun stems either refer
abstractly to the state or process described by the underlying verb, or in the case
of processes which generally result in a product, to the product of that process.

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130 Blackfoot Grammar

For example, when such a noun is formed from the AI verb stem okstaki ‘read,’
the resultant noun stem okstakssiN means ‘reading.’ If the same suffix is added to
sinaaki ‘make an image/write/draw,’ the resultant noun will mean either ‘writing/
drawing’ (the processes) or ‘written document/picture’ (the products).
Here are examples of nouns formed from aa-final verb stems:
o’kááni ‘sleep (n.)’
o’kaa-n-yi
sleep-nom-in.s

passkááni ‘dance (n.)/dancing’

passkaa-n-yi
dance-nom-in.s

sootááni ‘rain (n.)’

sootaa-n-yi
rain-nom-in.s

isamáá’pawaawahkaanistsi ‘long (in time) walks’

isamo-a’p-a-wa:wahkaa-n-istsi
long^time-about-dur-walk-nom-ip

Examples with other verb stems; note that the third and fourth examples differ
only in gender, showing that not all abstract nominals are of inanimate gender:
piókska’ssini ‘a long run’
pi-okska’si-hsiN-yi1
far-run-nom-in.s

ikkamókstakssini ‘fast reading’

ikkam-okstaki-hsiN-yi
fast-read-nom-in.s

sináákssiiksi ‘photos/pictures’2
sinaaki-hsiN-iksi
make^image(AI)-nom-an.p

1
  This example illustrates that if ih is in a position where both Presibilation and Postsibilation are
applicable, neither applies and we get only a long ss. This is accounted for in Appendix B as ih-Loss.
2
  This noun will be of inanimate gender if the object pictured is normally represented by an inan-
imate gender noun.

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 131

sináákssiistsi ‘writings’
sinaaki-hsiN-istsi
make^image(AI)-nom-ip

The subject of the underlying verb may be indicated as a possessor:

nitsskíítaanistsi ‘my baked goods’
nit-ihkiitaa-n-istsi
1-bake(AI)-nom-ip

nitsí’nikkssinnaana ‘our1p kill’

nit-i’nikk-ihsiN-nnaan-wa
1-kill(AI)-nom-1p-3s

nóko’sa otsíkkamokska’ssini ‘my child’s fast running’

n-oko’s-wa ot-ikkam-okska’si-hsiN-yi
1-offspring-3s 3-fast-run-nom-in.s

kitáakopissinnoonistsi ‘the places we21 will stay’

kit-yáak-opii-hsiN-nnoon-istsi
2-fut-stay(AI)-nom-21-ip

kitsipásskaaninnooni ‘our21 dancing’

kit-ipasskaa-n-innoon-yi
2-dance-nom-21-in.s

C. ASSOCIATED INSTRUMENT NOMINALIZATION

Nouns which name instruments commonly associated with processes described

by specific verbs are readily formed from those verbs. The most productive way
of doing this will be illustrated in section D.3. The current section presents an
apparently old and less productive way of forming such nouns: addition of the
suffix a’tsiS to AI stems, as seen in the following examples:
sináákia’tsisi ‘book’
sinááki-a’tsiS-yi
make^image(AI)-instr-in.s

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isttókimaa’tsiistsi ‘drums’
isttokimaa-a’tsiS-istsi
drum(AI)-instr-ip

sisóya’tsiiksi ‘scissors’
sisoyi-a’tsiS-iksi
cut^in^strips(AI)-instr-an.p

kaahtsá’tsiistsi ‘playing cards’

kaahtsi-a’tsiS-istsi
gamble(AI)-instr-ip

oohkóyimaa’tsisa ‘lid’
yoohkoyimaa-a’tsiS-wa
cover(AI)-instr-3s

Possessive affixes with such nouns indicate possession or ownership, not the
subject of the underlying verb:
nitokáa’tsisi ‘my lariat’
nit-okaa-a’tsiS-yi
1-snare(AI)-instr-in.s

kitsísttókimaa’tsinnooni ‘our21 drum’

kit-isttokimaa-a’tsiS-innoon-yi
2-drum(AI)-instr-21-in.s

D. CONJUNCTIVE NOMINALS

Nominal expressions are formed from both transitive and intransitive verbs by
addition of affixes nearly identical to those of the Conjunctive paradigms (see
chapter 19 and Appendix A); they differ from corresponding Conjunctive verb
affixes in two ways:

1. Where the latter have -hs or -’s, the nominals have -hp (-o’p in place of the
-’s of 21 forms).3

3
  To utilize the TA Conjunctive Verb chart in Appendix A to form Conjunctive nominals, one
must ‘undo’ the effects of Presibilation; i.e., certain ss clusters must be recognized as coming from

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 133

2. They lack the yi suffix which marks all Conjunctive verb forms.

The affixes indicate the person and number of the underlying subject, and, in the
case of transitive verbs, of the underlying primary object as well. It is probably
more realistic to speak of this phenomenon as clause nominalization, for not only
do the verbs agree with subject and object, but all other elements which normally
accompany verbs in clauses may be present with Conjunctive Nominals (CN).
That we are dealing with nominalization here is evident, however, in that the
verbs of such clauses occur with nominal suffixes after the Conjunctive affixes, as
will be seen in examples below. Note that while most such nominals are classified
as inanimate in grammatical gender, many formed from verbs containing the
‘instrument/means’ prefix (see below) are of animate grammatical gender.
The semantic reference (meaning) of Conjunctive Nominals is determined by
makeup of the stem and the syntactic class of the underlying verb. The relevant
factors are listed and exemplified in sections D.1–4

D.1 Stems Containing a Linker

If the verb’s stem-initial morpheme is a linker (see section D.4 of chapter 16),
the nominal refers to the linked argument. The following examples are grouped
according to the linker involved.

Locational Nominals

These utilize it- ~ iit- ‘there’:

otsítaniihpi ‘where/when he said (something)’
ot-it-wa:nii-hp-yi
3-there-say(AI)-CN-in.s

otsítohkitáópiihpi ‘what he’s sitting on’

ot-it-ohkit-á-opii-hp-yi
3-there-upon-dur-sit(AI)-CN-in.s

iitáóoyo’pi ‘where one eats/restaurant’

iit-á-ooyi-o’p-yi
there-dur-eat(AI)-21:CN-in.s

underlying ihs.

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134 Blackfoot Grammar

iitáísóooyo’pi ‘table (what one eats upon)’

iit-á-iso-ooyi-o’p-yi
there-dur-on-eat(AI)-21:CN-in.s

iitáíssiiststakio’pi ‘where one washes clothes/laundry’

iit-á-ssiiststaki-o’p-yi
there-dur-wash(AI)-21:CN-in.s

iitáíssáakio’pi ‘where one washes dishes/sink’

iit-á-ssáaki-o’p-yi
there-dur-wipe(AI)-21:CN-in.s

kitsítáóoyihpoaawayi ‘where you2p eat/your restaurant’

kit-it-á-ooyi-hp-oaawa-yi
2-there-dur-eat(AI)-CN-2p-in.s

The preceding examples all involve intransitive verb stems. The following are
transitive:
omistsi kitsítsinoohpistsi ‘the places I saw you’
om-istsi kit-it-Ino-o-hp-istsi
that-ip 2-there-see(TA)-1:2-CN-ip

nitsítohkoonihpi ‘where I found it’

nit-it-ohkooni-hp-yi
1-there-find(TI)-CN-in.s

Temporal Nominals

These utilize a linker it- ~ iit- ‘when,’ which is homophonous with the location
linker:
otsíto’toohpiaawa ‘when they arrived’
ot-it-o’too-hp-yi-aawa
3-when-arrive(AI)-CN-pl-PRO

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 135

otsítaissikópiihpi ‘when he rests’

ot-it-a-ssikópii(AI)-hp-yi
3-when-dur-rest-CN-in.s

iitáóhkohtao’pi ‘November/when one gathers firewood’

iit-á-ohkohtaa(AI)-o’p-yi
when-dur-get^wood-21:CN-in.s

Instrumental Nominals

These involve the ‘instrument/means’ prefix omoht- ~ iiht- ~ oht-. Verb stems
containing this linker are used extensively to construct vocabulary for items
newly introduced to the culture:
iihtáóoyo’pa ‘fork/what one eats with’
iiht-á-ooyi-o’p-wa
instr-dur-eat(AI)-21:CN-3s

iihtáí’poyo’pa ‘telephone/what one speaks with’

iiht-á-I’poyi-o’p-wa
instr-dur-speak(AI)-21:CN-3s

iihtáóhpommao’pa ‘money/what one buys with’

iiht-á-ohpommaa-o’p-wa
instr-dur-buy(AI)-21:CN-3s

iihtáípissapio’pa ‘telescope/what one sees afar with’

iiht-á-ipi-ssapi(AI)-o’p-wa
instr-dur-far-look-21:CN-3s

Because such nominals can become conventional names for items, i.e., a kind
of idiom, it is not too surprising that a given construction can refer to more than
one entity, and with these two meanings, be assigned to two gender classes. For
example, when the following construction serves as the idiom for ‘dish cloth,’ it
is of animate gender. However, when it has its literal meaning it is assigned to the
inanimate gender class.

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136 Blackfoot Grammar

iihtáíssáakio’pa ‘dish cloth’ (anim)

iihtáíssáakio’pi ‘what one wipes something with’ (inan)

Instrumental Conjunctive Nominals may have other than ‘21/unspecified’ as the

underlying subject:4
nómohtáóoyihpa ‘what I eat with/my fork’
n-omoht-á-ooyi(AI)-hp-wa
1-instr-dur-eat-CN-3s

nomohtsíniihpi ‘what I saw it with’

n-omoht-Inii-hp-yi
1-instr-see(TI)-CN-in.s

ómohtoki’takihpi ‘the cause of his anger’

w-omoht-ok-i’taki(AI)-hp-yi
3-means-bad-feel-CN-in.s

komohtáí’poyihpa ‘your telephone’

k-omoht-a-I’poyi(AI)-hp-wa
2-instr-dur-speak-CN-3s

Other Linker Nominals

otsítapoohpistsi ‘places he went’
ot-itap-oo-hp-istsi
3-toward-go(AI)-CN-ip

otohpióyihpi napayíni ‘what he ate the bread with’

ot-ohp-Ioyi-hp-yi napayín-yi
3-assoc-eat(AI)-CN-in.s bread-in.s

4
  Observe that although, as stated above, many conjunctive nominals are idioms, it is the
construction pattern with certain verbs that is an idiom, and not individual lexical items. If we were
dealing here with individual lexical items as idioms, we would expect that the means of indicating
possession of such items would follow the patterns seen in chapter 14, rather than what is shown here.

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 137

nítohtahtsówaokska’sspa ‘the one in place of whom I ran’

nit-ohtahtsiwa-okska’si-hp-wa
1-in^place^of-run(AI)-CN-3s

D.2 Manner Nominals

If the verb’s stem-initial morpheme is the abstract manner prefix niit- ~ aanist- (see
section D.1 of chapter 16), the nominal refers to the manner of the predication, as
illustrated in the following examples:
maanistániihpi ‘the way he said (something)’
m-aanist-wa:nii-hp-yi
3-how-say(AI)-CN-is

kaanistáóoyihpi ‘the way you eat’

k-aanist-á-ooyi-hp-yi
2-how-dur-eat(AI)-CN-in.s

naanistáótsspi ‘the way I swim’

n-aanist-á-otsi-hp-yi
1-how-dur-swim(AI)-CN-in.s

niitáótso’pi ‘the way one swims’

niit-á-otsi-o’p-yi
how-dur-swim(AI)-21:CN-in.s

maanistáípasskaahpoaawayi ‘the way they dance’

m-aanist-á-Ipasskaa-hp-oaawa-yi
3-how-dur-dance(AI)-CN-3p-in.s

naanistákomimmihpi ‘the way he/she loves me’

n-aanist-akomimm-yi-hp-yi
1-how-love(TA)-inv:3-CN-in.s

omi kaanistákomimmokihpi ‘the way you love me’

om-yi k-aanist-akomimm-oki-hp-yi
that-in.s 2-how-love-inv:1-CN-in.s

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D.3 Other Conjunctive Nominals

If the stem does not contain a linker or the abstract manner prefix, the reference of
the nominal depends upon the syntactic class of the verb stem.

Paratransitive

If the verb stem is paratransitive5 the resultant nominal refers to the (secondary)
object of the underlying verb:6
iiyó’pi ‘what we21 ate’
iiyi-o’p-yi
past:eat-21:CN-in.s

otáániihpoaawaistsi ‘things they said’

ot-wa:nii-hp-oaawa-istsi
3-say(AI)-CN-3p-ip

Other Intransitive

In the case of other intransitive verbs (what might be called ‘true’ intransitives)
the resultant nominal refers to the ‘fact that’ the predication takes (or has taken)
place:
ánnohka otsó’kaahpi, ‘now that he’s asleep’
annohka ot-Io’kaa-hp-yi
now 3-sleep-CN-in.s

ánnohka áí’sawayo’kao’pi, ‘now that we21 are not sleeping’

annohka á’-saw-a-Io’kaa-o’p-yi
now inchoat-neg-dur-sleep-21:CN-in.s

nitsó’kaahpi ‘... that I slept’

nit-Io’kaa-hp-yi
1-sleep-CN-in.s

5
Paratransitive verbs are AI verbs which may occur with non-particular or unspecified objects;
see section C of chapter 7.
6
Evidently, such Conjunctive Nominals are not possible with paratransitive stems ending in aa-;
such stems take suffix -n (the nominalizer seen in section B above?) instead of hp. For example, one
speaker rejected otsskíítaahpoaawaistsi ‘the goods they baked’ and preferred otsskíítaanoaawaistsi.

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iikská’so’pi ‘... that we21 ran’

iikska’si-o’p-yi
past:run-21:CN-in.s

nitókska’sspi ‘... that I ran’

nit-okska’si-hp-yi
1-run-CN-in.s

Transitive Inanimate

Conjunctive Nominals of TI verbs without a linker or the abstract manner prefix

refer to the object of the underlying verb:
kitáóowatoohpistsi ‘the things you eat’
kit-á-oowatoo-hp-istsi
2-dur-eat(TI)-CN-ip

otáánistoohpoaawaistsi ‘the things they said’

ot-wa:nistoo-hp-oaawa-istsi
3-say(TI)-CN-3p-ip

Paraditransitive

Conjunctive Nominals of paraditransitive7 verbs without a linker or the abstract

manner prefix refer to the secondary object of the underlying verb:
otsíísoahpiáyi ‘what he fed him’
ot-yiiso-a-hp-yi-áyi
3-feed-dir-CN-in.s-PRO

nitáakanistahpi ‘what I will tell him’

nit-áak-wa:nIt-a-hp-yi
1-fut-say(TA)-dir-CN-in.s

kitánikkihpoaayi ‘what you2p told me’

kit-wa:nIt-ki-hp-oaa-yi
2-say(TA)-inv:1-2p-in.s

7
See supplemental material of section D of chapter 7.

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140 Blackfoot Grammar

iihkótahpi ‘what was given to him’

iihkot-a:-hp-yi
past:give(TA)-dir-CN-in.s

omiksi nítohpommááttsaahpiksi nohkówa

om-iksi nit-ohpommaa-áttsi-a:-hp-iksi n-ohkó-wa
that-an.p 1-buy(AI)-cause(TA)-dir-CN-an.p 1-son-3s
‘those which I made my son buy’
otohpómmoahpiáyi ‘what he bought for her’
ot-ohpomm-o-a:-hp-yi-áyi
3-buy-ben(TA)-dir-CN-in.s-PRO

Monotransitive

For monotransitive TA verbs (i.e., those which do not take secondary objects) the
Conjunctive Nominal refers to the ‘fact that’ the predication takes (or has taken)
place:
kitsikákomimmokihpi ‘that you love me’
kit-ikakomimm-Oki-hp-yi
2-love(TA)-inv:1-CN-in.s

E. TRANSITIVE THEME NOMINALIZATION

This section deals with nominals formed from transitive verb stems plus a theme
suffix.

E.1 TI Theme Nominals

TI stem + m = noun refering to subject of the underlying verb:

omiksi iihpómmatoomiksi anni í’ksisakoyi
om-iksi iihpommatoo-m-iksi ann-yi i’ksisako-yi
that-an.p past:buy(TI)-theme-an.p that-in.s meat-in.s
‘those who bought that meat’

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 141

anna ákaisínaima amoyi ‘the one who drew this’

ann-wa ákaa-sinai-m-wa amo-yi
that-3s perf-draw(TI)-theme-3s this-in.s

For this construction, the subject of the underlying verb can only be third person,
and the noun is inflected for number only.

E.2 TA Direct Theme Nominals

TA stem + a: = noun referring to the primary object of the underlying verb

(‘the one whom the subject VERBs’)

This construction is possible only for subject and object combinations which
would call for the direct theme suffix (see chapter 10). The resultant noun is
inflected to agree with the subject of the underlying verb. The agreement affixes
here and in E.3 are essentially those from the possessive paradigm (see chapter
14), except that ‘agreement’ with 21 is null; i.e., the absence of affixes indicates
21. (Note: Here again, because -wa ‘3s’ is used on both nouns and verbs, singulars
are often homophonous with a verb form, as indicated in parentheses.) Here are
several such nominals, all but the last of two of which contain TA stem Ino ‘see’:

nitsíínoannaana ‘the one we1p saw’ (= ‘We1p saw him.’)

nitsíínoannaaniksi ‘the ones we1p saw’
iinoáwa ‘the one we21 saw’ (= We21 saw him.’)
iinoáíksi ‘the ones we21 saw’
otsíínoayi ‘the one4s he3ssaw’
otohpokóomaiksi ‘the ones4p he3s accompanied’
áíssksinimáa’tsaiksi ‘the ones taught/students’

TA stem + yii = noun referring to the subject of the underlying verb8

(‘the one who VERBs’)

For this construction, the subject of the underlying verb can only be third person,
and the underlying object need not be specified. The noun is inflected for number
and for the underlying object (if specified) by means of possessive affixes.

8
  I have found only a few examples of this construction, and am successful only about one-third
of the time in attempting to create additional acceptable examples. Further research is needed to
determine the subclass of TA verbs which can serve as the base for this construction.

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142 Blackfoot Grammar

anniksi i’nitsííksi ‘the killers (of someone/something)’

anniksi i’nitsííksi kitómitaama ‘the killers of your dog’
omiksi iihpokóomiiksi ‘those companions (of someone)’
amo issámmiiwa ‘this one who looked at (someone)’
anniksi kitssámmiinnooniksi ‘those who looked at us21’

E.3 TA Inverse Theme Nominals

TA stem + Ok = noun referring to subject of the underlying verb

(‘the one who VERBs the object’)

This construction is possible only for subject and object combinations which would
call for the inverse theme suffix (see chapter 11). The resultant noun is inflected
to agree with the object of the underlying verb. (Note: Here again, because -wa
‘3s’ is used on both nouns and verbs, singulars are often homophonous with a verb
form, as indicated in parentheses below.) Here are several such nominals:

nitsíínooka ‘the one who saw me’ (= ‘He saw me.’)

nitsíínookiksi ‘the ones who saw me’
nitsíínookinnaana ‘the one who saw us1p’ (= ‘He saw us.’)
iinóókiwa ‘the one who saw us21’ (= ‘He saw us.’)
otsíínookiksi ‘the ones4p who saw him3s’
otsíínookoaawayi ‘the one4s who saw them3p’
otsí’nikkiksi ‘the ones4p who killed him3s’
otohpokóomokoaawaiksi ‘the ones4p who accompanied them3p’

F. RELATIVE CLAUSES

Clauses which modify a noun are relatively rare in Blackfoot. It is perhaps a

typological characteristic of the language that ‘free relatives’ are used to the near
exclusion of relative clauses which modify a noun.9 In any case, relative clauses
utilize most of the nominals presented in the preceding sections of this chapter.
(In the examples which follow, the type of nominalization will be indicated by
reference, in square brackets at the end of the noun stem gloss, to a section number
of the current chapter.) We begin with a few of the somewhat rare examples of
relative clauses which modify a noun. In most such cases, the relative clause
follows the noun, though if the relative clause is a single word, it may occur
before the noun, as in the third example:

9
  Though in most cases the ‘free’ relative clause is accompanied by a demonstrative which could
conceivably be considered to be a pronoun modified by the relative clause; see section B of chapter 13
regarding demonstratives as pronouns.

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Chapter 20: Nominalizations 143

Oma nínaawa áyo’kaawa áyo’kaawa.

om-wa ninaa-wa áyo’kaawa n-oom-wa
that-3s man-3s dur-sleep[A]-3s 1-husb-3s
‘That man who is sleeping is my husband.’

Omiksi aakííkoaiksi áínihkiiksi áyaakahkayiyaawa.

om-iksi aakííkoaN-iksi á-Inihki-iksi áyaak-wa:hkayi-yi-aawa
that-an.p girl-an.p dur-sing[A]-an.p fut-go^home-pl-PRO
‘Those girls who are singing are on their way home.’

Nítssksinoayi anniksi ikkááyiiks saahkómaapiiksi.

nit-ssksino-a:-yi ann-iksi ikkaayi-iksi saahkómaapi-iksi
1-know(TA)-dir-pl that-an.p run^fast[A]-an.p boy-an.p
‘I know those boys who are fast runners.’

The next two examples are sentences found in Uhlenbeck (1938) and have been
reelicited. The suffix glossed ‘rel’ is what Uhlenbeck calls the ‘relative’ suffix.
It is frequently found in relative clause constructions, though on the Head noun
and demonstrative as well as on the nominal in the relative clause. (It is not clear
whether or not this suffix should be identified with the post-inflectional suffix
-hka seen in section E of chapter 13.)
Annistssk anákimaa’tsiistssk nitsinííhpistssk ómahkoyaawa.
ann-istsi-hk anakimaa’tsiS-istsi-hk nit-inii-hp-istsi-hk omahko-yi-aawa
that-ip-rel lamp-ip-rel 1-see(TI)-CN[D.3]-ip-rel big(II)-pl-PRO
‘Those lamps which I saw are big.’

Ki tókskamma omíksska ponokáíksska

ki tokskaM:-wa om-iksi-hka ponoká-iksi-hka
and one(AI)-3s that-an.p-rel elk-4p-rel
áyiistapokska’siiksska iihpókiiyoowa. ‘And one followed those elk
á-yiistap-okska’si-iksi-hka iihpokiiyoo-wa that were running away.’
dur-away-run[A]- an.p-rel follow(AI)-3s

The next example has a relative clause which is ‘extraposed’ to the end of the
sentence, away from its demonstrative.

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Ámi nitáakita’kaa Isapómahksika otsítsstsiihpi.

am-yi nit-yáak-it-wa’kaa Isapómahksik-wa ot-it-ihtsii-hp-yi
here-in.s 1-fut-there-entrench Crowfoot-3s 3-there-lie-CN[D.3]-in.s
‘Here I will entrench, where Crowfoot lies (buried).’

As stated above, examples of relative clauses could be constructed with nearly

all of the nominalizations presented in this chapter. Here is a sampling, all in
complete sentences, of such clauses without a Head noun.
Omiksi áíkkaayiskatsiiksi ííkssoksistómiyaawa.
om-iksi á-ikkaayiskatsi-iksi iik-sok-Istom-i-yi-aawa
that-an.p dur-race[A]-an.p very-good-body-have(AI)-pl-PRO
‘Those racers have good bodies.’

Iihtaníkkit omistsi kitáakopissinnoonistsi.

iiht-wa:nIt-k-i-t om-istsi kit-áak-opii-hsiN-nnoon-istsi
of-say(TA)-inv-1-2s(imper) that-ip 2-fut-stay-nom[B]-21-ip
‘Tell me about the places we will be staying!’

Nimáátssksinoaayi omiksi komohtsíístapáaataiksi.

n-Imaat-ssksino-a:-yi om-iksi -omoht-yIIstap-oo-at-a:-iksi
1-neg-know(TA)-dir-pl that-an.p 2-from-away-go-fin(TA)-dir[E.2]-an.p
‘I don’t know those you went away from.’

Omá nohkówa omíksi otáyiskai’tataiksi

om-wa n-ohkó-wa om-iksi ot-á-yiskai’tat-a:-iksi
that-3s 1-son-3s that-an.p 3-dur-throw^at(TA)-dir[E.2]-an.p
maki’takiyaiksi. ‘The ones my son was throwing at
mak-i’taki-yi-aiksi were really angry.’
bad-feel-pl-PRO

Ami otsíínihkatsimakki otsítssonao’sskipoka.

am-yi ot-iinihkatsimat-k-yi ot-it-sonao’sskip-Ok-wa
that-4s 3-past:name(TA)-inv[E.3]-4s 3-then-kiss(TA)-inv-3s
‘The one who named him then kissed him.’

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Annahka nitohkíímaanahka máátamíwaatsiksi annahka

ann-wa nit-ohkiimaan-wa-hka máát-wa:mi-waatsi(iksi) ann-wa-hka
that-3s-invs 1-wife-3s-invs neg-be-3s:nonaffirm that-3s-rel
iihpómmatoomaahka annihka í’ksisakoyihka mísstamiwa.
iihpommatoo-m-wa-hka ann-yi-hka i’ksisako-yi-hka misst-wa:mi-wa
past:buy-theme[E.1]-3s-rel that-in.s-rel meat-in.s-invs unk-have^identity-3s
‘My wife is not the one who bought the meat; it was some (unknown) person.’

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CHAPTER 21

Questions

For every language there are two broad functional types of questions, often
referred to as ‘yes/no’ questions, which ask for confirmation or denial of the
truth of a proposition, and ‘content’ questions, which ask for other information.
Sections A and B deal with these two types in Blackfoot.

A. YES/NO QUESTIONS

These make use of what we will refer to as non-affirmative endings, either alone,
as in (a)–(g), or with an interrogative prefix as seen in (h)–(p). The interrogative
prefixes are the same as two of the negative prefixes seen in section A of chapter
16: káta’ ~ Ikáta’ and sta’. The non-affirmative endings are described below.

(a) Áóoyo’síwaatsiksi? ‘Is she cooking?’

á-ooyo’si-waatsiksi
dur-cook(AI)-sg:nonaffirm

(b) Áyo’kááwaiksaawa? ‘Are they sleeping?’

á-yo’kaa-waiksaawa
dur-sleep-3p:nonaffirm

(c) Kítssksinoáwaatsiksi? ‘Do you2s know her?

kit-ssksino-a:-waatsiksi
2-know(TA)-dir-sg:nonaffirm

(d) Kitsikákomimmokihpa? ‘Do you2s love me?’

kit-Ikakomimm-Ok-i-hpa
2-love-inv-1-nonaffirm

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Chapter 21: Questions 147

(e) Kitáaksstsisoohpoááwa? ‘Are you2p going to town?’

kit-áak-sstsisoo-hpoaawa
2-fut-go^to^town-2p

(f) Áaksoyó’pa? ‘Will we21 eat?’

áak-Ioyi-o’pa
fut-eat(AI)-21

(g) Áaksowatóó’paistsaawa? ‘Will we21 eat them(inan)?’

áak-Iowatoo-’p-waistsaawa
fut-eat(TI)-theme(21)-ip:nonaffirm

(h) Káta’yáyo’kááwaiksaawa? ‘Are they sleeping?’

káta’-yá-yo’kaa-waiksaawa
interrog-dur-sleep-3p:nonaffirm

(i) Kátao’kska’síwaatsiksi? ‘Did he run?’

káta’-okska’si-waatsiksi
interrog-run-sg:nonaffirm

(j) Kikáta’yáaka’po’takihpa? ‘Will you work?’1

k-Ikáta’-yáak-a’p-o’taki-hpa
2-interrog-fut-PREF-work-nonaffirm

(k) Kikátai’nóókaiksaawa? ‘Did they see you?’

k-Ikáta’-Ino-o:k-waiksaawa
2-interrog-see(TA)-inv-3p:nonaffirm

(l) Kikátai’ihpiyihpoááwa?2 ‘Did you21 dance?’

k-Ikáta’-ihpiyi-hpoaawa
2-interrog-dance-2p

1
  The sequences of prefixes n or k plus Ikáta’ are usually reduced to níta’ and kíta’, so (j)–(m)
would normally be heard as Kíta’yáaka’po’takihpa?, Kítai’nóókaiksaawa?, Kítai’ihpiyihpoááwa?,
and Kíta’yáakohkottsspommóóhpa?, respectively.
2
  See Vowel Epenthesis in Appendix B regarding the extra vowel i in the third syllable of this
verb.

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148 Blackfoot Grammar

(m) Kikáta’yáakohkottsspommóóhpa? ‘Can I help you?’

k-Ikáta’-yáak-ohkott-sspommo-o-hpa
2-interrog-fut-able-help(TA)-1:2-nonaffirm

(n) Kátai’sootááwaatsiksi? ‘Is it raining?’

káta’-sootaa-waatsiksi
interrog-rain(II)-sg:nonaffirm

(o) Kitáaksstao’ohkottsspommóóhpa? ‘Can I help you?’

kit-áak-sta’-ohkott-sspommo-o-hpa
2-fut-interrog-able-help(TA)-1:2-nonaffirm

(p) Ááhkssta’yaomanííwaatsiksi? ‘Might he be telling the

aahk-sta’-ya-omanii-waatsiksi truth?’
might-interrog-dur-be^true-sg:nonaffirm

The Non-affirmative Endings

1. If the subject or primary object of the verb is third person, then one of the
following is used according to the gender and number of that subject or object:

-waatsiksi ‘animate or inanimate singular (sg)’

[see (a), (c), (i), (n), (p) above].
-waistsaawa ‘inanimate plural’ [see (g) above].
-waiksaawa ‘animate plural’ [see (b), (h), (k) above].

In addition, the final vowel of the verb stem (theme suffix in TA verbs) is accented
[(a-c), (g-i), (k), (n), (p) above].

2. If neither the subject nor primary object is third person, the following are true:

a) -hpa is added if plural suffixes are not called for, i.e., if neither the subject
nor primary object is 1p, 21, or 2p (as in (d), (j) and (o));

b) the word has an additional accent on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable3,

as in (e), (f), (l), (m), and (o) (unless it is a short vowel plus h, in which case
that syllable is voiceless and so can not carry accent, as in (d) and (j));

  And the verb does not end in an enclitic pronoun (see below under Supplemental Material).
3

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Chapter 21: Questions 149

c) the final vowel of the word (a in every case) is voiced (in contrast to the
usual situation in which word-final vowels are voiceless); see (d–f), (j–m), and
(o).

Supplemental Material

Based upon their form when the third person subject or primary object nominal follows the verb,
the third person non-affirmative endings should be viewed as made up of a suffix plus pronominal
enclitic. That is, the same reasoning that led to description of aawa, áyi, aiksi, and aistsi as
pronouns in chapter 9 also leads us to recognize these non-affirmative pronouns:4

-atsiksi ‘3s/in.s’
-aiksaawa ‘an.p’
-aistsaawa ‘ip’

When these pronouns are not present in questions, the final vowel of the verb is usually voiced.
Compare the following to examples (a), (b), and (g) of section A above:

(q) Áóoyo’síwa kitána? ‘Is your daughter cooking?’

(r) Áyo’kááwa kóko’siksi? ‘Are your kids asleep?’
(s) Áaksowatóó’pa omistsi? ‘Are we21gonna eat those(inan)?’

Observe that the suffix wa in examples such as (q)–(s) (and also (f) below) cannot be identified
with the wa previously glossed as ‘3s,’ because it can reflect a plural nominal, as in (r) and (s). This
wa evidently should be glossed as ‘3:nonaffirm.’

B. CONTENT QUESTIONS

These can be viewed as requests to supply a value for a variable in an otherwise

complete proposition. For example, asking ‘Who did you see?’ in English
is equivalent to saying ‘I am presupposing that you saw someone; tell me the
identity of that someone.’ In this example, someone is the variable for which the
speaker wants a value supplied. Similarly, ‘How do you feel?’ asks for the value
of a variable describing manner.
The following is a sampling of content questions in Blackfoot, arranged
according to the class of variables for which a value is requested. Many of these
utilize nominalizations described in the preceding chapter. In particular, (a)–(c),
(e), (f), and (h)–(j) utilize a nominalized verb to describe the variable for which
referential identity is requested.
Verbs in content questions frequently, but not always, carry the non-affirmative
endings described above.

4
  These enclitics are also used on the interrogative pronoun takaa:
takáaatsiksi ‘Who is she?’
takáaiksaawa ‘Who are they?’

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150 Blackfoot Grammar

1. Participant as Subject or Object

1.a. Human
(a) Takáa/Tahkáa áwaasai’níwa? ‘Who is crying?’
takáa/tahkáa á-wa:sai’ni-wa (more lit: ‘who (is) the crier?’)
who dur-cry-3s

(b) Tsikáa áínoyííwa? ‘Whom4 does he3 see?’

tsikáa á-Ino-yii-wa (lit: who (is) the one he sees?)
who:4 dur-see(TA)-dir-3s

(c) Takáa anníksska i’nitsííksska kitómitaami?

takáa ann-iksi-hka I’nits-ii-iksi-hka kit-omitaam-yI
who that-an.p-invs kill(TA)-dir-an.p-invs 2-dog-4s
‘Who are the killers of your dog?’

1.b. Non-human Animate Gender

(d) Tsá anistápssíwaatsiksi? ‘What is it?’
tsá anistapssi-waatsiksi
what be(AI)-sg:nonaffirm

(e) Tsá anistápssíwa annáhka kitohpómmatawahka?

tsá anistapssi-wa ann-wa-hka kit-ohpommat-a:-wa-hka
what be(AI)-3:nonaffirm that-3s-invs 2-buy(TA)-dir-3s-invs
‘What did you buy?’ (more lit: ‘What is it that you bought?’)

(f) Tsá anistápssíwa ánniksi áyo’kaiksi?

tsá anistapssi-wa5 ann-iksi á-Io’kaa-iksi
what be(AI)-3:nonaffirm that-an.p dur-sleep-an.p
‘What are they that are sleeping?’

5
  See Supplemental Material of section A regarding -wa as plural.

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Chapter 21: Questions 151

1.c. Inanimate Gender

(g) Tsá anistápííwaatsiksi? ‘What is it?’
tsá anistapii-waatsiksi
what be(II)-sg:nonaffirm

There are two ways to question the identity of an inanimate gender variable.
The most common way uses the II verb stem anistapii ‘be’ seen in the previous
example:
(h) Tsá anistápííwa annííhka kitohpómmatoohpihka?
tsá anistapii-wa ann-yi-hka it-ohpommatoo-hp-yi-hka
what be(II)-3:nonaffirm that-in.s-rel 2-buy(TI)-CN-in.s-rel
‘What did you buy?’ (more lit: ‘What is it that you bought?’)

The other way uses a question word ááhsa ‘what?’:

(i) Ááhsa annííhka kitohpómmatoohpihka? ‘What did you buy?’
ááhsa ann-yi-hka kit-ohpommatoo-hp-yi-hka
what that-in.s-rel 2-buy(TI)-CN-in.s-rel

2. Participant as Possessor
(j) Takáa otápotskinááma kitsí’nitawa? ‘Whose cow did you kill?’
takáa ot-apotskinaam-wa kit-I’nit-a-wa
who 3-cow-3s 2-kill-dir-3s

Notice that even though ‘cow’ is marked as possessed by third person in (j), it
is not demoted to minor third person as predicted by the rule stated in section
D of chapter 2. Presumably this is because the identity of the possessor is not
established, and could even be the speaker or the addressee.

3. Oblique Nominal

If the variable being questioned is in an oblique relation, it is described by a

verb with non-affirmative ending (rather than a Conjunctive Nominal as one
might expect in view of the preceding content questions); the appropriate linker6
will be present in the verb, and the appropriate question word will appear at the
beginning of the sentence. In addition to the question words takáa, tsikáa, and

6
  See chapter 16, section D.4.

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152 Blackfoot Grammar

ááhsa, as well as tsá plus anistapii or anistapssi seen in the examples of 1 above,
there is a particular question word tsimá for locational obliques, and an additional
verb stem anistsii for questions about time. Examples follow:
(k) Ááhsa kómohto’tóóhpa? ‘Why did you come?’
ááhsa k-omoht-o’too-hpa (‘What [is it that] you came for?’)
what 2-means-arrive-nonaffirm

(l) Tsá anistápiiwa(atsiksi) kómohto’tóóhpa?

tsá anistapii-waatsiksi k-omoht-o’too-hpa
what be(II)-sg:nonaffirm 2-means-arrive-nonaffirm
‘Why did you come?/By what means did you come?’

(m) Tsimá komohto’tóóhpa? ‘Where did you come from?’

tsimá k-omoht-o’too-hpa
where 2-from-arrive-nonaffirm

(n) Tsimá kitsítokooyihpa? ‘Where do you live?’

tsimá kit-it-okooyi-hpa
where 2-there-dwell-nonaffirm

(o) Tsimá kitáakitapóóhpa? ‘Where are you going?’

tsimá kit-áak-itap-oo-hpa
where 2-fut-to-go-nonaffirm

(p) Tsá anistsííyi kitsítsoyihpoááwa? ‘When did you2p eat?’

tsá anistsii-yi kit-it-Ioyi-hpoaawa
what be^time-? 2-then-eat(AI)-2p:nonaffirm

Observe that ‘when’ questions concerning the past, as in (p), use verb suffix -yi
(glossed ‘?’ because its origin is unknown to me),7 while those about the future, as
in (q), use a Subjunctive affix.
(q) Tsá anistsíísi kitáaksoyihpoááwa? ‘When will you2p eat?’
tsá anistsii-si kit-áak-Ioyi-hpoaawa
what be^time-sg(subj) 2-fut-eat(AI)-2p:nonaffirm

7
  It is conceivable that it is the same mysterious suffix mentioned in note 2 of chapter 24.

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Chapter 21: Questions 153

To inquire about the location of a human nominal, anna is used:8

(r) Anná kitohkíímaana? ‘Where is your wife?’
ann-wa kit-ohkiimaan-wa
that-3s 2-wife-3s

(s) Annáatsiksi Tsaani? ‘Where’s John?’

ann-waatsiksi Tsaani
that-sg:nonaffirm John

Though this is apparently a specialized use of the demonstrative ann, it evidently

functions as a verb, at least in so far as it may take a non-affirmative ending, as
seen in (s); however, it does not agree with the human nominal in number, as (t)
shows:
(t) Annáatsiksi kóko’siksi? ‘Where are your kids?’
ann-waatsiksi k-óko’s-iksi
that-sg:nonaffirm 2-offspr-an.p

The accompanying nominal may itself have a demonstrative.9

(u) Anná annáhka kóomahka? ‘Where’s your husband?’
ann-wa ann-wa-hka k-óom-wa-hka
that-3s that-3s-invs 2-husband-3s-invs

Questions about amounts make use of tsá plus a verb with root niitsi.
(v) Tsá niitsówa katsikíístsi? ‘How many shoes
tsá niitso-wa k-atsikiN-istsi do you have?’
what be^number(II)-nonaffirm 2-shoe-ip

(w) Tsá niitsímma kóta’siksi? ‘How many horses

tsá niitsiM:-wa k-ota’s-iksi do you have?’
what be^number(AI)-nonaffirm 2-mount-an.p

8
  In such questions, ann is more often than not reduced to n. So, for example, (s) below will
normally be heard as Náátsiksi Tsaani?
9
  In fact, several years ago, fluent speakers from the Blood Reserve insisted that sentences such
as (r) and (s) are incomplete without one.

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154 Blackfoot Grammar

(x) Tsá niitsíítapiyiwa kóko’siksi? ‘How many kids

tsá niitsiitapiyi-wa k-oko’s-iksi do you have?’
what be^no.(person)(AI)-nonaffirm 2-offspr-an.p

Questions asking about manner utilize tsá plus the manner prefix niit- ~ a:nist-:
(y) Tsá niitá’pao’takíwaatsiksi?
tsá niit-a’p-a-o’taki-waatsiksi
what manner-PREF-dur-work-sg:nonaffirm
‘How does she work?’/‘What kind of work does she do?

(z) Tsá kaanistaopííhpa? ‘How are you?’

tsá k-a:nist-a-opii-hpa (more lit: ‘How are you staying?’)
what 2-manner-dur-stay-nonaffirm

‘Why’ questions can be formed utilizing prefix máak ~ Imaak, in addition to the
method seen in (k) and (l) above.
Máakssawahkayíwaatsiksi? ‘Why didn’t she go home?’
máak-saw-wa:hkayi-waatsiksi
why-neg-go^home-sg:nonaffirm

EXERCISES

A. Based on section A of this chapter, translate the following into Blackfoot:

1. Are you about to eat?

2. Are those dogs barking at me?

B. Based on section B of this chapter, translate the following into Blackfoot:

1. What are they (animate)?

2. Whose horse will you buy?

3. Why are you crying?

4. Where did you sleep?

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Chapter 21: Questions 155

5. When will you go home?

6. Where is the teacher?

7. How many cows do you have?

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CHAPTER 22

Complement Clause Types

Chapter 19 discussed verb paradigms of subordinate clauses. In this chapter we

take a more functional approach, organizing subordinate clauses according to a
system of classification that is more semantically based. As will be seen, this
results in classes of complements which have some structural unity as well.

A. EMBEDDED ‘QUESTIONS’

1. Yes/No Sub-type

The verb of an embedded yes/no question in Blackfoot has inflectional affixes

from the Subjunctive paradigm (chapter 19), and has the dubitative prefix ikkám-
(glossed ‘if’). There is no surface similarity to actual questions; in fact embedded
yes/no questions are identical in form to conditional clauses (see section B.1 of
chapter 19).
(a) Nohkówa nitáánikka ikkámssistsikooyiniki.
n-ohko-wa nit-wa:nIt-k-wa ikkám-sistsikoo-yiniki
1-son-3s 1-say(TA)-inv-3s if-tire-1s(subj)
‘My son asked me (lit: ‘said to me’) if I was tired.’

(b) Áánistsisa1 ikkámáakaaistoosi.

wa:nIt-is ikkám-áak-waaistoo-si
say-2s:3(imper) if-fut-come-3(subj)
‘Ask (lit: ‘tell’) him if he will come.’

1
  The final a of áánistsisa is not part of any morpheme per se, but is optionally added to any word
which would otherwise end in a consonant.

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Chapter 22: Complement Clause Types 157

(c) Áakssksinoyiiwa ohkóyi ikkamá’pao’takisáyi.

áak-ssksino-yii-wa w-ohko-yi ikkám-a’p-a-o’taki-s-áyi
fut-know(TA)-dir-3s 3-son-4s if-PREF-dur-work-3/4(subj)-PRO
‘He knows whether (or not) his son is working.’2

2. Content Sub-type

Examples (d) and (e) illustrate embedded ‘questions’ dealing with the identity
of subject or animate object of the complement verb. In such cases, as opposed
to those we will deal with next, we find a demonstrative followed by the kind of
nominalization we called Reclassification (d) and Inverse Theme nominalization
(e) in chapter 20. Also, note that the accompanying independent verb is inflected
to agree with the person whose identity is at issue (this makes (d) ambiguous; it
can also mean ‘I know (am acquainted with) the one who is coming’).
(d) Nítssksinoawa annááhka áwáaistóówahka.
nit-ssksino-a:-wa ann-wa-hka á-wa:istoo-wa-hka
1-know(TA)-dir-3s that-3s-rel dur-come-3s-rel
‘I know who is coming.’

(e) Nitáakohkoissksinoawa annááhka nitáwaayákiookahka.

nit-áak-ohkoissksino-a:-wa ann-wa-hka nit-á-wa:yáki-Ok-wa-hka
1-fut-find^out-dir-3s that-3s-rel 1-dur-hit(TA)-inv-3s-rel
‘I’ll find out who hit me.’

Examples (f) and (g) below deal with a ‘value’ or identity that is neither subject
nor animate primary object of the complement verb. (The thing bought could
be animate, and it is the logical object of the verb ‘buy,’ but the underlying
verb in these examples is morphologically intransitive; i.e., it is paratransitive—
see chapter 7.) In such cases, nominalized verbs (chapter 20) are used in the
complement; and again, they are the same type used in relative clauses. Example
(f) has an ‘abstract’ nominalization, and (g) has a Conjunctive Nominal.
(f) Nítssksiniihpa annííhka nohkówa otohpómmaanihka.
nit-ssksini-hp-wa ann-yi-hka n-ohk-wa ot-ohpommaa-n-yi-hka
1-know(TI)-theme-3s that-in.s-rel 1-son-3s 3-buy(AI)-nom/conj-in.s-rel
‘I know what my son bought.’

2
  This example is of special interest because the main verb (‘know’) is inflected to agree with the
subject of the complement; i.e., the complement subject is ‘copied’ as object of the main verb. This is a
common process in Blackfoot syntax, and is not limited to subjects; see Frantz (1978, 1979, and 1980).

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(g) Nítssksinoawa nohkówa maanístohpommaahpi.

nit-ssksino-a:-wa n-ohk-wa m-aanist-ohpommaa-hp-yi
1-know(TA)-dir-3s 1-son-3s 3-manner-buy(AI)-CN-in.s
‘I know {what my son bought/how he purchased}.’

In (h) we again find the complement verb in the Conjunctive Nominal form, in
this case referring to the non-instigative cause for the dancing by virtue of the
presence of the linker (glossed ‘means’) that would be present in the corresponding
independent verb; compare nomohtsspíyi nitsi’táámssi ‘I danced because I was
happy.’
(h) Nítssksiniihpa komohtsspíyihpi. ‘I know why you danced.’
nit-ssksini-hp-wa k-omoht-ihpiyi-hp-yi
1-know(TI)-theme-sg 2-means-dance-conj-in.s

B. EMBEDDED ‘COMMANDS’

As we see in (i), such complements in Blackfoot have verbs inflected with affixes
from the Conjunctive paradigm plus a prefix ááhk (glossed ‘might’), which in
some contexts seems to mean ‘perhaps’ or ‘non-factive.’ This combination of
ááhk and conjunct inflection is also found in purpose clauses (see section A.2 of
chapter 19) and, as we shall see in the next section, in embedded ‘wishes.’
(i) Nitáánistawa mááhksoyssi. ‘I told him to eat.’
nit-wa:nist-a:-wa m-ááhk-Ioyi-hsi
1-say(TA)-dir-3s 3-might-eat(AI)-conj

(j) Nitsíkamanistomoawa mááhka’po’takssi. ‘I asked for a job

nit-Ikamanist-omo-a:-wa m-ááhk-a’po’taki-hsi for him.’
1-ask-ben(TA)-dir-3s 3-might-work-conj

C. EMBEDDED ‘WISHES’
(k) Nohkówa íksstaawa nááhkahkayssi.
n-ohko-wa Iksstaa-wa Iksstaa-wa n-ááhk-wa:hkayi-hsi
1-son-3s want(AI)-3s want(AI)-3s 1-might-go^home-conj
‘My son wants me to go home.’

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(l) Nohkówa nitsíksstakka nááhkahkayssi.

n-ohko-wa nit-Iksstat-k-wa n-ááhk-wa:hkayi-hsi
1-son-3s 1-want(TA)-inv-3s 1-might-go^home-conj
‘My son wants me to go home.’

(m) Nitáíksimsstaa nitohkíímaana mááhka’pao’takssi.

nit-á-Iksimsstaa nit-ohkiimaan-wa m-ááhk-a’p-a-o’taki-hsi
1-dur-think(AI) 1-wife-3s 3-might-PRE-dur-work-conj
‘I’m thinking of (anticipating) my wife working.’

(n) Nitáíksimsstatawa nitohkíímaana mááhka’pao’takssi.

nit-á-Iksimsstat-a:-wa nit-ohkiimaan-wa m-ááhk-a’p-a-o’taki-hsi
1-dur-think(TA)-dir-3s 1-wife-3s 3-might-PRE-dur-work-conj
‘I’m thinking of (anticipating) my wife working.’

Examples (k) and (l) are synonymous, as are (m) and (n); the second member of
each pair differs only in that the complement subject is ‘copied’ as matrix object
(see Supplementary Material in section A.1). More important for our purposes
here, the complement verb has the non-factive prefix ááhk and inflectional affixes
from the Conjunctive paradigm.
Examples (o) and (p) both have Conjunctive Nominal endings instead of just
Conjunctive endings on the complement verb, suggesting that such complements
don’t belong with the embedded ‘wishes’ in our classification. Examples (o) and
(p) differ in that in (o) the complement is subject of ‘hard,’ while in (p) ‘dried
meats’ is subject of ‘hard.’
(o) Iiksíyikowa ááhkanistsipikksstsiihpi káyiistsi.
iik-Iyiko-wa ááhk-a:nist-Ipikkssti-hp-yi kayi-istsi
very-hard(II)-sg might-manner-chew(TI)-CN-in.s dried^meat-ip
‘It’s hard to chew dried meat.’

(p) Káyiistsi iiksíyikoyi ááhkanistsipikksstsiihpi.

kayi-istsi iik-Iyiko-yi ááhk-a:nist-Ipikkssti-hp-yi
dried^meat-ip very-hard(II)-pl might-manner-chew(TI)-CN-in.s
‘Dried meats are hard to chew.’

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D. EMBEDDED ‘STATEMENTS’

‘Indirect quotes’ such as in the complement of (q), while relatively rare in

Blackfoot (direct quotes are much more common), use Conjunctive verb forms:

(q) Nitohkánikkoo(w) kitohkáa’po’takssi.

nit-ohk-wa:nIt-Okoo(wa) kit-ohko-a’po’taki-hsi
1-contrary-say^to-x:1/2 2-have^for-work-conj
‘But I was told that you have a job.’

The verb omai’tsi ‘believe’ also takes Conjunctive verbs in its complements:
(r) Kitohkíímaana áómai’tsima kitssáyssi.
kit-ohkiimaan-wa á-omai’tsi-m-wa kit-sayi-hsi
2-wife-3s dur-believe(TI)-th-sg 2-lie-conj
‘Your wife believes that you lied.’

The verb ssksini ‘know’ generally takes Conjunctive verbs in its complements:3
(s) Nitáíssksinimáa’tsaiksi ssksinímiaaw
nit-á-ssksinimáa’tsi-a:-iksi ssksini-m-yi-aawa
1-dur-teach-dir-an.p know(TI)-th-pl-PRO
nitáaksspommoahsaawa. ‘My students know
nit-áak-sspommo-a:-hsi-aawa that I will help them.’
1-fut-help-dir-conj^pl-PRO

3
  But not in ‘embedded questions’; see (c), (d), (f), and (g) above.

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CHAPTER 23

Translating from English to Blackfoot

The following is a checklist which can be used as a guide for exercises in this
book which require translating from English into Blackfoot. Of course, following
these steps will never guarantee an idiomatic Blackfoot language output, but will
at least help the student of Blackfoot take all rules and most irregularities into
account.

Important reminder: When selecting stems from the Dictionary during the
translation process, do not rely entirely on information in the English Index of the
Dictionary, but use the Index to guide you to the correct entry in the Blackfoot-
English portion.

1. Select noun stems needed to translate the Head of subject (S), primary object
(PO), or other relation from the Dictionary (or material provided).

If a noun stem ends in m, n, or s, check its plural form to see if the stem-final
consonant is a ‘permanent’ consonant or not (chapter 2, section B).

If you anticipate, or determine in a later step below, that a prefix will be needed
for the noun, return to the Dictionary to examine examples in the Dictionary
entry and make a note of the non-initial form of the stem (i.e., the form the
stem has when it is not at the beginning of the word).

2. Place appropriate demonstrative stems (chapter 13) before nouns.

Since English distinguishes only ‘near’ and ‘not-near,’ there will usually be
more than one Blackfoot demonstrative stem that is a correct choice, unless the
sentence being translated is in context.

3. Select the verb stem from the Dictionary (or from materials provided) which
most closely expresses the meaning of the English verb.

Be sure to get a stem with the correct transitivity and gender for its context
(chapter 7). Often the required stem will be listed only at the end of an entry as

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162 Blackfoot Grammar

a related stem (Rel. stem). To reduce the need for pronouns (chapter 9), place
the verb first in the clause.

If a verb stem begins in i, check the future form in the Dictionary to see if the
stem-initial i is a ‘breaking i’ (section B of chapter 6).

(Advanced: See chapter 18 if a derived verb stem using one of the concrete
finals (Causative, Benefactive, Reflexive, Reciprocal, Accompaniment,
Transformative, or one of the Denominalizers) is called for.)

4. Add ‘preverbal’ elements to the verb stem as appropriate for the meaning (e.g.,
(i)maat- ‘negative,’ ohkott- ‘able,’ iiht- ~ oht- ~ omoht- ‘means/source’) (chapter
16).

5. Add tense or aspect prefixes as required to match the meaning of the English
sentence as closely as possible (chapter 6).

This includes: using ákaa- ~ Ikaa- ‘perfective’ if the English verb phrase
includes a form of have as auxiliary verb; using áak- ‘future’ if English uses
will as an auxiliary verb; and using á- ‘durative’ if an event or process is
viewed as ongoing (usually progressive or repetitive). Durative is seldom used
with verbs that describe states.

6. Add possessive affixes to possessed nouns (chapter 14).

Rule of thumb: Most body part and relational stems take the short person
prefixes. (Remember: The short prefix for ‘3’ is w- ~ m-, the latter before a .)

7. Add singular, plural, or non-particular suffixes to nouns, as appropriate for

meaning and gender (chapter 2).

Be sure to make nouns minor third person (‘4’) where required.

8. Make demonstratives agree with their Head nouns (chapter 13).

9. If the verb is in an independent clause, add verb inflectional agreement affixes

from an Independent paradigm (chapters 4, 8–12, and Appendix A).

Rule of thumb: Most simplex verb stems take the long person prefixes. (But
remember that the perfective prefix takes the short person prefixes.)

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Chapter 23: Translating from English to Blackfoot 163

10. If the verb is not in an independent clause, choose inflectional agreement

affixes from Imperative, Conjunctive, or Subjunctive paradigms in Appendix A
as appropriate (see chapter 19).

11. Apply allomorphy and phonological rules (chapter 15 and Appendix B).

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CHAPTER 24

Numbers and Enumeration

Stating quantities of items is done by use of intransitive verbs. Here again, there
are two types of intransitive verbs, depending upon the grammatical gender of
the subject. For naming integers, the II stem alone is used. Here are the II and AI
stems for ‘be 1’ to ‘be 10’:1
integer II stem AI Stem
1 ni’tókska ni’tókskaM:
2 nááto’ka nááto’kaM:
3 niiwókska niiwókskaM:
4 niisó niisoyím
5 nisitó nisitsí
6 náao náai
7 ihkitsíka ihkitsíkaM:
8 náániso náánisoyim
9 piihkssó piihkssí
10 kiipó kiip

Notice that members of each pair share a common root. To these verb stems will
be added the usual verb affixes. So in independent clauses, the verbs for ‘be one’
will have suffix wa (unless the subject is minor third person) and those for the
others will have suffix yi. Here are some examples:

1
  There are obsolescing, alternate forms for the first four II stems which can be used in enumerating.
They are nisí, nátohka, ni(iy)ó’ka, and nisó.

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Chapter 24: Numbers and Enumeration 165

(a) ni’tókskawa ‘There is one (inan.).

(b) ni’tókskamma ‘There is one (an.).
(c) niiwókskayi nookówaistsi ‘My houses are three.’
(d) niiwókskammi nóóhkiksi ‘My pails are three/I have three pails.’
(e) nááto’kammi omiksi ‘There are two apples.’
ápasstammiinammiksi
(f) nítsowatayi anniksisska ‘I ate those two apples.’
nááto’kammiksi
ápasstammiinammiksi
(g) nítsoyi nááto’kammi ‘I ate two apples.’
ápasstammiinammi2
(h) nítsskonaki nááto’kammi ‘I shot two elk.’
ponokáyi
(i) nítohpommaa ni’tókska(w) ‘I bought one dress.’
asóka’simi

Like most other morphemes of Blackfoot, the numeral roots have a different
shape when not in word-initial position. Here are the initial and non-initial forms
of the roots of the stems listed above:
1 ni’tókska ~ i’tókska
2 nááto’ka ~ istó’ka
3 niiwókska ~ iiwókska
4 niisó ~ iisó
5 nisit(o) ~ isit(o)
6 náa ~ áa
7 ihkitsík ~ ohkitsík(a)
8 náániso ~ áániso
9 piihkssí ~ Ipiihkssí
10 kiip ~ ipp

2
  Note that the verbs ‘eat,’ ‘buy,’ and ‘shoot’ in (g)–(i) are intransitive, so any noun as Head of
the object would have to be non-referring (see section D of chapter 7). But the suffix on the nouns in
(g)–(i) has the underlying shape -yi rather than -i, and I don’t know how to gloss it. It can’t be the ‘3p’
verbal suffix, for it is used in (i) where only one dress is referred to. My current hypothesis is that the
-yi in these cases is an existential suffix.

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166 Blackfoot Grammar

Ordinals

Though some forms are problematical,3 the numeral roots are used to form the
closest equivalent to English ordinals. Here are some examples:
(j) Omohtsistó’kaahpi iihtó’tai’piwa. ‘He came in second.’
(k) Omohtsóókskááhpi iihtó’tai’piwa. ‘He came in third.’
(l) Omohtsisóóhpi nómohto’tai’pi ‘I came in fourth.’
(m) Omohtsisitóóhpi kómohto’tai’pi ‘You came in fifth.’
(n) Omohtohkitsikaahpi iihtó’tai’piwa. ‘He came in seventh.’
(o) Omohtanisoohpi iihtó’tai’piwa. ‘He came in eighth.’

There is an alternate strategy for ordinals in which the numerals are used with a
suffix i:
(p) Niisóí nómohto’tai’pi. ‘I came in fourth.’
(q) Nááoi iihtó’tai’piwa. ‘He came in sixth.’

Prefix Numeral Forms

There are also prefix forms of numbers (called ‘adjuncts’ in the Dictionary), some
of which are identical, or nearly identical, to the roots of the numeral verbs. Here
they are, listed in both their initial and non-initial forms:
1 ni’t- ~ i’t-
2 naat- ~ ist-
3 nii. ~ ii.-4
4 niis- ~ iis-
5 nisit- ~ isit-
6 náa- ~ áa-
7 ihkitsiki- ~ ohkitsiki-
8 naanisi- ~ aanisí-
9 piihkssí- ~ Ipiihkssí-
10 kiip- ~ ipp-

3
  Note that the last vowel of the roots is lengthened. The form for ‘third’ is puzzling, as there is no
vestige of the w from the root.

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Chapter 24: Numbers and Enumeration 167

Uses of the Numeral Prefixes

These prefix forms are used in all numbers above 10, the formation of which
will be described below. They also function as quantifier prefixes in many other
complex verb stems, including those used to state numbers of people, years,
days, and dollars:

Where persons are being numbered, the numeral prefixes4 are used with the stem
itapi ‘be person(s).’ For example:
(r) náátsitapiyi nóko’siksi ‘I have two kids.’
(s) náánisiitapiyaawa ‘There are eight persons.’

When numbering dollars, the numeral prefixes are used with ohtoo’p ‘cost’:5
(t) náaohtoo’pa ‘It cost six (dollars).’

When numbering years, the numeral prefixes are used with sstoyiimi ‘have
winters’:6
(u) ákaohkitsikisstoyiimiwa anna nitána
ákaa-ohkitsiki-sstoyiimi-wa ann-wa n-itán-wa
perf-seven-have^years-3s that-3s 1-daughter-3s
‘My daughter is seven.’

Days are numbered sequentially using ooni ‘be day’:7

(v) áii’sooniwa ‘It is the fourth day.’

To form a noun numbering days, the numeral prefixes are attached to iksistsiko
‘day’ :
(w) niisóíksistsikoyi ‘four days’

4
  With itapi the verb root for three is used instead of the prefix: nii(w)ókskaitapiyaaw ‘there are
three persons.’
5
  With this stem, both two and three are expressed by the numeral roots rather than the prefixes.
6
  With this stem also, both two and three are expressed by the numeral roots rather than the pre-
fixes.
7
  With this stem, one, two, and three are expressed by the numeral roots rather than the prefixes.

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 Blackfoot Grammar

Here is an example of what I called the numeral stem for ‘two’ as part of a complex
verb stem:
(x) nitsíísto’kiisoka’sskaa ‘I acquired two dresses.’
nit-PST-isto’ki-soka’si-hkaa
1-PST-two-dress-acquire(AI)

formation of Multiple Tens

Multiples of ten (decades) are made up of the numeral prefixes plus the non-initial
numeral root ipp ‘ten’: Here are the decades from twenty to one hundred; I will
give the II stem, which as stated above, is the form used as the name of a number:
20 náátsippo
30 niiyíppo
40 niisíppo
50 nisitsíppo
60 náaippo
70 ihkitsíppo
80 náánisippo
90 piihkssíppo
100 kiipíppo

Numbers Between the Decades

Numbers between the decades are expressed by the name of the decade followed
by a numeral prefix attached to stem ikópoto, which must mean something like
‘more than the decade.’8 Here are the words for eleven through nineteen:
11 (kiipó) nii’tsikópoto
12 (kiipó) náátsikopoto
13 (kiipó) niiyíkopoto
14 (kiipó) niisíkopoto
15 (kiipó) nisitsíkopoto
16 (kiipó) náaikopoto
17 (kiipó) ihkitsíkiikopoto
18 (kiipó) náánisiikopoto
19 (kiipó) piihkssííkopoto

8
This stem seems to have a long t in the Siksiká and Amsskáápipikani dialects.

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 169

The kiipo is in parentheses because it is rarely used with the ikopoto forms; i.e., if
ikopoto forms are not preceded by another of the decades, it is assumed that they
are between ten and twenty.
One can now easily construct the numbers between the other decades; just use
the decade followed by the ikopoto forms. Here are some examples:
21 náátsippo nii’tsikópoto
35 niiyíppo nisitsíkopoto
87 náánisippo ihkitsíkiikopoto

Numbers Above One Hundred

As described above, adding the -ikopoto forms to kiipíppo gives numbers between
100 and 110; thus, e.g., kiipíppo ihkitsíkiikopoto is the name of 107,9 kiipíppo
kiipó ihkitsíkiikopoto is the name of 117. Here are more examples of hundreds:
260 náátsikiipippo náaippo
754 ihkitsíkiipippo nisitsíppo niisíkopoto

Numbers Above One Thousand

The stem for ‘thousand’ is ómahksikiipíppo, literally ‘big 100.’ Here are some
examples:
1028 ómahksikiipíppo náátsippo náánisikopotto
1228 ómahksikiipippo náátsikiipippo náátsippo náánisikopoto
3462 niiwókskáómahksikiipíppo niisíkiipíppo náaippo náátsikopoto

9
However, some speakers use the single digit numbers after 100, which would give kiipíppo
ihkitsíka for 107. For these speakers, kiipíppo ihkitsíkiikopoto expresses 117 rather than 107.

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Appendix A: Verb Paradigms

1. INTrANSITIVE VErB PArADIGMS

Subject number → singular plural
person ↓
Independent 1 nit- nit-…-hpinnaan
2 kit- kit-…-hpoaawa
21 -o’pa
3 -wa -yi
4 -yini -yi

Conjunctive 1 nit-…-hsi nit-…-hsinnaani

2 kit-…-hsi kit-…-hsoaayi
21 -hsi
3,4 ot-…-hsi ot-…-hsi

Subjunctive 1 -iniki -innaaniki

2 -iniki -inoainiki
21 -o’ki
3,4 -si -si

Unreal1 1 nit…-htopi nit…-hpinnaanopi

2 kit…-htopi kit…-hpoaawopi
21 -o’topi
3 -wahtopi -wahtopiyi
4 -wahtopiyini -wahtopiyi

Imperative -t -k

1
The 3 and 4 forms in Uhlenbeck (1938, p. 170) lack the aht portion of the suffixes shown here.

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 171

2. TrANSITIVE INANIMATE VErB PArADIGMS2

Subject number → singular plural
person ↓
Independent 1 nit-…hp nit-…-hpinnaan
2 kit-…hp kit-…-hpoaa
21 -’p
3 -ma -mi
4 -mini -mi

Conjunctive 1 nit-…-hsi nit-…-hsinnaani

2 kit-…-hsi kit-…-hsoaayi
21 -hsi
3,42 ot-…-hsi ot-…-hsi

Subjunctive 1 -mmiiniki -mmiinnainiki

2 -mmiiniki -mmiinoainiki
21 -i’ki
3,4 -isi -isi

Unreal3 1 nit…-htopi nit…-hpinnaan(oht)opi

2 kit…-htopi kit…-hpoaaw(oht)opi
21 -’pohtopi
3 -mahtopi -mahtopiyi
4 -mahtopiyini -mahtopiyi

Imperative -t -k

The 1 and 2 forms in the Independent add -wa if the object is singular or -yi if
the object is plural.

2
May be -’si after stems ending in i.
3
The 3 and 4 forms in Uhlenbeck (1938, pg. 170) lack the aht portion of the suffixes shown here

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 1p

3. TrANSITIVE ANIMATE VErB INDEPENDENT PArADIGM
PO → 1s 2s 2p 21 3s 3p 4s 4p 5
Subj.

→
kit- kit- nit- nit- nit- nit-
1s -o: -o:hpoaaw -a:wa -a:yi -a:yini -a:yi
kit- kit- nit- nit- nit- nit-
1p -o:hpinnaan -o:hpinnaan -a:nnaana -a:nnaani -a:nnaanini -a:nnaani
kit- kit- kit- kit- kit- kit-
2s -Oki -Okihpinnaan -a:wa -a:yi -a:yini -a:yi
kit- kit- kit- kit- kit- kit-
2p -Okihpoaaw -Okihpinnaan -a:waawa -a:waayi -a:waayini -a:waayi

21 -a:wa -a:yi -a:yini -a:yi

nit- nit- kit- kit-
x -Okoo -Otsspinnaan -Okoo -Otsspoaaw -Otssp -a:wa -a:yi -a:yini -a:yi
nit- nit- kit- kit-
3s -Oka -Okinnaana -Oka -Okoaawa -Okiwa -yiiwa -yiiwa
nit- nit- kit- kit-
3p -Oki -Okinnaani -Oki -Okoaayi -Okiyi -yiiyi -yiiyi
nit- nit- kit- kit- ot- ot-
4s -Okini -Okinnaanini -Okini -Okoaayini -Okiyini -Oka -Okoaayi -yiiyini

Blackfoot Grammar
nit- nit- kit- kit- ot- ot-
4p -Oki -Okinnaani -Oki -Okoaayi -Okiyi -Oka -Okoaayi -yiiyi
ot- ot-
5 -Okini -Okoaayini

Note: In this and the following charts, ‘x’ in the subject column represents ‘unspecified’; see section D of chapters 10 and 12. See
section D of chapters 11 and 12 regarding realization of O. See section B of chapter 15 regarding variable length vowels a: and o:.
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 4. TrANSITIVE ANIMATE VErB CONjuNCTIVE PArADIGM

PO → 1s 1p 2s 2p 21 3s/3p 4s 4p
Subj.
→
1s kit- kit- nit- nit- nit-
-o:hsi -o:hsoaayi -a:hsi -a:hsini -a:hsi

1p kit- kit- nit- nit- nit-

-o:hsinnaani -o:hsinnaani -a:hsinnaani -a:hsinnaanini -a:hsinnaani

2s kit- kit- kit- kit- kit-

-Okssi -Okssinnaani -a:hsi -a:hsini -a:hsi

kit- kit- kit- kit- kit-

2p
-Okssoaayi -Okssinnaani -a:hsoaayi -a:hsoaayini -a:hsoaayi

21
-a:hsi -a:hsini -a:hsi

x nit- nit- kit- kit-

-Okoohsi -Otssinnaani -Okoohsi -Otssoaayi -Otssi -a:hsi -a:hsini -a:hsi

3s/3p nit- nit- kit- kit- ot- ot- ot-

-yssi -yssinnaani -yssi -yssoaayi -Okssi -a:hsi -a:hsi

4s/4p ot- ot-

-yssi -yssi

Note: Stem-final t is dropped before TA Conjunctive suffixes which start with yss (all from yihs).

173
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5. TrANSITIVE ANIMATE VErB SuBjuNCTIVE PArADIGM
PO → 1s 1p 2s 2p 21 3s 3p 4s/4p
Subj.

→
1s -iniki -inoainiki -a:iniki -a:iniki

1p -innaaniki -innaaniki -a:innaaniki -a:innaaniki

2s -Okiiniki -Okinnaaniki -a:iniki -a:iniki

2p -Okiinoainiki -Okinnaaniki -a:inoainiki -a:inoainiki

21 -a:hki -a:hki

x -Okoiniki -Okoinnaaniki -Okoiniki -Okoinoainiki -Otsski -a:hki -a:hki

3s/3p -Otsiiniki -Otsiinnaaniki -Otsiiniki -Otsiinoainiki -Okisi -a:si

4s/4p
-Otsiiniki -Otsiinoainiki

Blackfoot Grammar
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 175

6. TrANSITIVE ANIMATE VErB IMPErATIVE PArADIGM

Primary Object → 1s 1p 3
Subject ↓
2s -Okit -Okinnaan -(i)s*
2p -Okik -Okinnaan -ok

* This suffix has the form is only after a consonant; otherwise it is s, but requires
that the preceeding vowel be lengthened if not already long.

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Appendix B: Phonological Rules

1 GEMINATION C1 → C2 / _+ C2
where C1 and C2 are stops.
nitánIt + k + wa → nitánIkk + wa (8.,15.→ nitánikka) ‘He told me.’

2. s - INSERTION Ø → s / I_t
nitánItawa → nitánIstawa (8.→ nitánistawa) ‘I told him.’

3. x - SIBILATION h → ss / I_
ann+yIhka → annyIsska (8.,15.→ annísska) ‘that one4s(rel)’
Ihk + wa → Issk + wa (8.,15.→ ísska) ‘pail’
(cf. w + Ihk + yi 5.,15.→ óhki ‘his pail’)

4. s - CONNECTION a. Ø → s / C +_s
nit + siksipawa → nítssiksipawa ‘I bit him.’
nit + ssikópii → nítsssikópii ‘I rested.’

s - CONNECTION b. Ø → i / V(’) +_s,

where s is not part of an inflectional suffix.
á + sínaakiwa → áisínaakiwa (26.→ áísínaakiwa) ‘He writes.’
nikáá + ssikópii → nikáá + issikópii (10.,26. → nikáíssikópii)
‘I have rested.’
káta’ + simiwa → káta’+isimiwa (20.→ kátai’simíwa?) ‘Did she drink?’

5. o - rEPLACEMENT4 o → a / _+a, where +a is not an inflectional suffix.

áakoto + apinniiwa → áakotaapinniiwa ‘He will go adjust it.’

6. COALESCENCE wi(:) → o
w + ínni → ónni ‘his father’
w + iihsíssi → ohsíssi ‘her younger sibling’

7. BREAKING k → ks / _I
áak + Ipiimma → áaksIpiimma (8.→ áaksipiimma) ‘She will enter.’

8. NEUTRALIZATION I → i
áaksIpiimma →áaksipiimma ‘She will enter.’

4
For many speakers (perhaps a large percentage), the o of this rule is deleted rather than being
replaced by a. The rule for such speakers is as follows: o → Ø / _+a

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Appendix B: Phonological Rules 177

9. DESYLLABIFICATION { i → y, o → w } / V+_V
Constraint: the i and o are unaccented
kitsí’powata + oaawa → kitsí’powatawaawa
‘You2p spoke harshly of/to him.’
(á + Io’kaa + wa 8.→) áio’kaawa → áyo’kaawa ‘She sleeps.’

10. VOWEL SHORTENING Vi: → Vi / _+V

áyo’kaa + o’pa →áyo’kao’pa ‘We21 sleep.’
imitáá + iksi → imitáiksi (26.→ imitáíksi) ‘dogs’

11. i - LOSS5 i → Ø / Vy_{a,o}

áyo’kaa + yi + aawa →áyo’kaayaawa ‘They sleep.’
áíhpiyi + o’pa →áíhpiyo’pa ‘We21 dance.’

12. i - ABSORPTION i → Ø / s_{a,o}

áókska’si + o’pa → áókska’so’pa ‘We21 run.’
(nit + Ioyi 8,19.→) nitsioyi → nítsoyi ‘I ate.’

13. ih - LOSS ih → Ø / s_s

otokska’si + hsi → otókska’ssi ‘that he ran’

14. PRESIBILATION6 {ihs → ss , iihs → iss}

otá’po’taki + hsi →otá’po’takssi ‘that he worked’
pii + hsini →pissini ‘entering’

15. SEMIVOWEL LOSS G → Ø / {#, C}_ , where C is not ’

yaatóót →aatóót ‘howl!’
waaníít →aaníít ‘say (something)!’
w + óko’si →óko’si ‘his child’
áak + yaatoowa →áakaatoowa ‘She will howl.’
nit+waanii →nitáánii ‘I said (something).’
(cf. kikáta’ + waaniihpa →kikáta’waaniihpa ‘Are you saying [something]?’)

16. Semivowel Reduction G → Ø / _ + G

kitanistawaaw + yináyi → kitánistawaayináyi ‘you2p said to him4s’

5
  For some speakers, i-Loss is accompanied by lengthening of the preceding V if that V is also
an i; e.g., áókstaki+yi+aawa → áókstakiiyaawa.
6
  For a large sub-dialect on the Blood Reserve, this process is generalized to the following:
ih → s, and iihs → is.
  At the other extreme, there are also a few speakers for whom Presibilation is not applicable at
all in careful speech.

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178 Blackfoot Grammar

17. y - REDUCTION7 iyi → ii / C_y

áíhpiyi + yináyi →áíhpiiyináyi ‘She4 dances.’

18. POSTSIBILATION ih → s / s_
nitáókska’si + hpinnaan → nitáókska’sspinnaan ‘We1p run.’

19. t - AFFRICATION t → ts / _i
nit + it + itsiniki → nitsítsitsiniki ‘Then I told a story.’

20. GLOTTAL METATHESIS ’+Vi → Vi’ / _C , whether Vi is long or short

á’ + omai’takiwa → áo’mai’takiwa (26.→ áó’mai’takiwa) ‘Now he believes.’
(káta’ + sspitaawa 3.b.→) káta’ + isspitaawa →kátai’sspitááwa? ‘Is he tall?’

21. GLOTTAL LOSS ’ → Ø / VV:_C

(káta’ + ookaawaatsi 20.→) kátaoo’k...→ kátaookaawaatsi
‘Did she sponsor a Sundance?’
[NB: V: must be an underlyingly long V, not a variable length V]

22. GLOTTAL ASSIMILATION Vi’ → Vi: / _(s)C: , where C is not s

(káta’ + ottakiwaatsi 19. →) kátao’tt...→ kátaoottakiwaatsi
‘Is he a bartender?’
(á’ + isttohkohpiy’ssi 19. →) ái’sttohk... (26.→ áísttohkohpiy’ssi)
‘when he fell down’

23. GLOTTAL REDUCTION ’ → Ø / _{’, h}

(á’ + o’tooyiniki 20.→) áo’’tooyiniki → áo’tooyiniki
(26.→ áó’tooyiniki) ‘when you arrive’

24. VOWEL EPENTHESIS8 Ø → Vi / Vi’_h

(káta’ + ohto’toowa 20. →) kátao’hto’toowa → kátao’ohto’toowa
‘Did he arrive from there?’

25. sss - SHORTENING sss → ss / _C

(nit + ssksinoawa 4a.→) nitsssksinoawa → nítssksinoawa ‘I know him.’

7
  Some speakers maintain the first y, at least in careful speech, so it is generally indicated in
written Blackfoot materials, including the examples in this book.
8
  In place of this rule, some speakers have the following rule: ’ → Ø / _h. For such speakers,
‘Did he arrive from there?’ would be Kátaohto’toowa.

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Appendix B: Phonological Rules 179

V
26. ACCENT SPREAD V → [+accent] / [+accent] +_

á + okska’siwa → áókska’siwa ‘She runs.’
atsikí+ istsi → atsikíístsi ‘shoes’
(kakkóó + iksi 10.→) kakkó+iksi → kakkóíksi ‘pigeons’

INTERACTION CONSTRAINTS

Rules apply for maximal ‘feeding’ and minimal ‘bleeding’ except that:

6 (Coalescence) bleeds 10 (V-Shortening), 14 (Presibilation),

and 15 (Semi-V Loss);

12 (i-Absorption) bleeds 9 (Desyllabification);

1 (Gemination) bleeds 2 (s-Insertion);

9 (Desyllabification) bleeds 26 (Accent Spread),

but does not bleed nor feed any other rules;

15 (Semi-V Loss) does not feed 7 (Breaking).

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Appendix C: The Sounds of Blackfoot

Here is an introduction to the sounds of Blackfoot for those wanting a bit more
technical phonetic description. So as to be of benefit to those without any
background in phonetics, it is framed in an introduction to speech sounds in
general.

1. SOME PARAMETERS OF SPEECH SOUND PRODUCTION

Voicing

As air flows from the lungs to the mouth and nose, it passes through the larynx
(‘voice box’) where the glottis (‘vocal chords’) may be nearly closed and tensed
so that the cartilages at the opening vibrate, imposing an audio signal on the air
stream. Sounds made without this glottal vibration are said to be voiceless. A good
contrast between voiced and voiceless sounds in English is found in the pair lazy
and lacy. The z of lazy represents a voiced sound, while the c of lacy represents
a voiceless sound. There are no such contrasts in Blackfoot, but voicing is an
important feature nevertheless. (See Generalizations for Blackfoot, below.)

Shape of the Oral Cavity

The quality (timbre) of vowels and semivowels is determined by the complex

patterns of the audio signal carried by the air flow leaving the mouth. As stated
above, an audio signal is imposed on the air flow as it passes through the larynx.
The oral cavity acts as a filter which more readily passes certain harmonics of this
audio signal; the shape of the oral cavity determines which harmonics are passed
and which are attenuated. The primary determinant for the shape of the oral cavity
is the position of the tongue. It is common to describe vowels with respect to the
location of the highest point on the tongue. For example, the vowel of English me
is produced with the blade of the tongue high and to the front of the mouth, so
it is described as a high, front vowel. Blackfoot has the following vowels: high
front [i], low front [æ], low central [a], mid to high back [o], and low back (which
I will represent here as [ɔ]). These are similar to English vowels as follows: [i] is
like the vowel of English she; the vowel [æ] is that of English at; [a] is the first
vowel of father; Blackfoot [o] is about half way between the vowels of go and
do, and like those vowels, involves lip rounding; Blackfoot [ɔ] is rounded also;
it is like the sound spelled aw in dawn for speakers of English who pronounce
this differently than they pronounce don. (This description of these vowels is
simplified, in the sense that their basic quality has been described. The vowels
[i], [æ], and [a] have predictable variants in well-defined environments, as will be
described below under Generalizations for Blackfoot.)
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Appendix C: The Sounds of Blackfoot 181

The shape of the oral cavity is also the determining factor for the quality of
semivowels. These are like vowels except for their duration and consequently
their position in the syllable: semivowels involve a gliding movement of the
tongue into and out of a high front or high back position. They are never the
nucleus of syllables, always occurring next to vowels. Blackfoot has a high front
semivowel [y] and a high back semivowel [w]. Like the back vowel [o], the lips
are rounded for [w].

Point of Air Flow Constriction in the Mouth

The description of consonants makes reference to the point in the mouth where
the air flow is constricted, such as at the lips, or at various points along the roof
of the mouth as the tongue touches it. These points are sometimes referred to as
‘points of articulation.’ The important points for Blackfoot are the lips, alveolar
ridge (behind the teeth), the front portion of the palate, and the velum (‘soft
palate’). Consonants articulated at these points are described as labial, alveolar,
palatal, and velar, respectively.

Degree of Air Flow Constriction in the Mouth

Air flow in the mouth may be completely blocked, as in stops and nasals (see
below), or constricted to the extent that the air being forced through makes a
noise; the latter sounds are called fricatives. Vowels (see above) are produced
with virtually no constriction in the mouth.

Velic Status (open or closed)

The velic is a valve at the back of the roof of the mouth. It may be open, allowing
air to flow through the nasal passage, or closed.

Glottis Status

Blackfoot uses the glottis as an additional point of constriction; as we will see, a

complete closure after a vowel counts as a consonant.

2. CLASSES OF CONSONANTS

It is useful to recognize groups of sounds which have features in common, because

this allows us to make generalizations about those groups, as we will see just
below and when describing phonological rules.

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182 Blackfoot Grammar

Stops

When there is complete blockage of air flow in the mouth and the velic is closed
so no air can escape through the nasal passage, as soon as the air pressure in the
mouth matches the air pressure from the lungs air flow completely stops. E.g., if
the lips are closed and the velic is closed, the air flow is halted as pressure builds
up behind the lips. The resulting consonant is called a labial stop. Blackfoot has
labial [p], alveolar [t], and velar [k] stops. A constriction at the glottis (represented
here as [ʔ]) is also considered a stop (glottal stop), even though the closure is not
in the mouth.

Nasals

If there is an oral closure but the velic remains open, then the entire air flow will
be via the nasal passage. The point of closure in the mouth is still significant,
however, because shape of the oral cavity will affect the quality (timbre) of the
sound as it does for vowels (see below), especially if they are voiced, as they
almost always are. Blackfoot has labial [m] and alveolar [n] nasals.

Fricatives

The oral closure is not complete, and air being forced through produces noise.
The velic is closed; otherwise the pressure in the mouth could not be great enough
to force air through the oral constriction. Blackfoot has an alveolar fricative [s],
similar to the sound represented by s in English horse. Blackfoot also has a velar
fricative [x]; it is about like the ‘gutteral’ sound usually represented by ch in
German.

Affricates

If the closure for a stop is not opened abruptly and completely, but rather the
closure is only partially opened so as to allow air to pass through with difficulty,
then the release will be heard as a fricative. The resulting complex sound is called
an affricate. Blackfoot has two affricates. One [ts] is at the alveolar ridge, and
sounds like the ts in the English word cats. The other affricate [ks] begins with a
velar closure, but during the release there is a partial closure at the alveolar ridge,
so that it sounds similar to the sound written x in box.

3. DEFINITIONS

stop = air flow blocked (glottal closure, or oral closure with velic closed).

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Appendix C: The Sounds of Blackfoot 183

nasal = oral closure and velic open.

fricative = friction noise as air flows through a constriction and velic closed.

affricate = stop with fricative release.

vowel = sound produced by resonance within the oral cavity; occurs as the
nucleus of a syllable.

semivowel = glide of tongue into a high front or back position; occurs as part
of a syllable margin.

4. GENERALIZATIONS FOR BLACKFOOT

Stops, fricatives, and affricates are voiceless and unaspirated.

Nasals are voiced.

Vowels are voiced and non-nasalized (i.e., the velic is closed).

Semivowels are voiced and non-nasalized.

Predictable Variation:

[a] is higher (central) if it is both short and followed by a long consonant.

[i] is lax if it is both short and in a closed syllable.

[æ] is higher and tense (like French é) when it precedes the glottal stop [ʔ],
higher and lax (like the e of English bet) before a long consonant, and long
otherwise.

[o] is usually higher and lax (like the vowel of English put) before a long
consonant.

[ɔ] is more clearly a diphthong (like ow in English cow) before a glottal stop.

Unaccented vowels are usually voiceless at the end of a word.

Velar consonants ([x,k,ks]) are palatal if immediately preceded by a front vowel.

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184 Blackfoot Grammar

Short vowels combine with a following palato-velar fricative <h> to form a

voiceless syllable that combines both the friction of the <h> and the quality of
the vowel.

5. NON-ENGLISH DISTINCTIONS IN BLACKFOOT

Accent

Blackfoot has a non-predictable pitch accent. That is, every polysyllabic Blackfoot
word has at least one syllable with distinctively high pitch.

Vowel Length

Blackfoot vowels are either long or short, and this length is distinctive.

Consonant Length

All Blackfoot consonants except [x] and [ʔ] are either long or short, and this
length is distinctive.

Other Contrasts with English:

There is much less aspiration, if any, of stops in Blackfoot, than there is with
English stops.

Blackfoot [o] does not end in a glide.

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Appendix D: Design of the Blackfoot Alphabet

Appendix C describes the distinctive sounds of Blackfoot and their variants. Here
we describe choices made in design of the alphabetic writing system, which was
made the official writing system of the Siksiká, Kainai, and Piikáni Reserves in
Canada in 1975. It uses only 13 letters, all of which are on standard keyboards.
These letters, combined with accenting or underlining of stressed vowels, represent
all and only those sound distinctions which are necessary to unambiguously spell
any Blackfoot word. It is important to note that while all of the letters used are
in the English alphabet, they don’t represent sounds that are exactly the same as
the English sounds that usually correspond to those letters. The number of letters
is based on an analysis of the Blackfoot sound system according to linguistic
principles; the particular shape of the letters was determined by two practical
considerations: ease of transfer of reading skills, for readers of Blackfoot, to
English, and vice-versa; and to simplify printing of materials in Blackfoot.

The letters chosen to represent the twelve distinctive consonants of Blackfoot are
all on every standard keyboard.

The choice to represent the nasal sounds [m] and [n] with m and n was made for
obvious reasons.

The choices made to symbolize other consonants were a bit less obvious, but
again there was an attempt to look for at least some similarity between Blackfoot
sounds and English sounds.

Because Blackfoot stops [p], [t], and [k] have the same points of articulation as
the English sounds most often represented by p, t, and k, respectively, the same
three letters were chosen for the Blackfoot alphabet.
s s
For the affricates [t ] and [k ], it might have been wise to choose a unitary symbol
for each of them, but for simplicity of representation these are spelled ts and ks ,
utilizing letters that are already part of the Blackfoot alphabet.

Because the Blackfoot alveolar fricative is similar to the English sound most
commonly represented by s, that letter was chosen for the Blackfoot consonant.

English has no velar fricative like Blackfoot [x], but since Blackfoot would
have no need for the letter h other than at the beginning of certain expletives,
and Blackfoot [x] occurs only after vowels, the letter h was chosen to represent
Blackfoot [x], even though there is very little similarity between Blackfoot [x]
and English sounds written with h.
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186 Blackfoot Grammar

For the glottal stop [ʔ], the letter ’ (apostrophe) was chosen, as it is not used
otherwise in Blackfoot writing.

For the semivowels [y] and [w], letters y and w were the obvious choices.

Deciding on what symbols to use for Blackfoot vowels was very difficult. Trying
to match vowels up with English letters is nearly impossible, because English
vowel letters do not even come close to consistently representing the distinctive
vowel sounds of English. For example, note the different sounds represented by o
in the following English words: no, on, of, woman, women, symbol. Consequently
we decided to stick with the phonetic symbols (used in Appendix C) for [i], [a],
and [o]:

For the high front vowel, the letter i is used.

For the low central vowel, a is used.

For the mid back vowel, o is used.

For the low front vowel [æ] and low back vowel [ɔ], a different solution was
arrived at based on study of the grammar of Blackfoot. It was observed that
every time one expects the sequences ai or ao, based on parsing of words made
up of meaningful parts, we find instead [æ] or [ɔ], respectively. This calls for
interpretation of these two low vowels as sequences; accordingly, [æ] is spelled ai
and [ɔ] is spelled ao in the Blackfoot writing system, using vowel letters that are
needed independently.

Distinctively long consonants and long vowels are written double, e.g., mm, kk,
aa, ii.

Vowels with distinctively higher pitch (pitch accent) are written with an acute
accent over the vowel: í, á, ó.

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text

I have added comments in square brackets, Comments about which noun is

proximate (major third person) versus obviative (minor third person) are in
bold print. Abbreviations are generally the same as those used throughout the
Grammar.

Events described herein are said to have taken place in 1843. Story recorded
as told by Jack Bigeye of the Siksika reserve in 1965. Retold the same year by
Matthew ManyGuns after listening to the recording by JBE.

[JBE started out with typical; Óki, kitáakitsinikoohpoaawa, níkso’koaw.

“Hello, I’m going to tell you a story, my kinfolk”]

1. Oki. Isskóóhtsik áí’tsinikatoo’pistsi

oki isskooht-ika a’-itsinikatoo-’p-istsi
okay in^past-ot perf2-relate(TI)-CN-in.p
máátsito’táípoyó’paatsaaw [pronoun refers to ‘stories’?
máát-it-o’t-a-ipoyi-o’p-waatsi-aawa It’s not in JBE version]
neg-then-near-dur-stand-21-nonaff-PRO
Okay, in the old days, when stories were told, we weren’t there for them

2 ááhkohtsitawaakohkootsiiyo’s [would expect the pronoun

ááhk-ohts-it-a-waakohko-o:tsiiyi-o’si here]
might-content-then-dur-argue(TA)-recip-21(conj)
to argue about them

3. Ámohka áánistayiihka “íkasskini.” [note: -yiihk ‘nar,’ used

amo-hka wa:nIt-a:-yiihka íkasskini throughout the story. JBE used
it less than half as much.]
this-rel say^to-dir-nar-3s lowhorn
This one was named “Lowhorn.”

4 ááhksiksskaniotowoohkááyiihka [only example of ‘morning’ in

ááhk-Iksskani-otowoohkaa-yiihk-wa a verb that I’ve seen. JBE had
‘sotámotowoohkaa ksisskanáótonni.’]
might-morning-go^get^animal-nar-3s
He was going to get his horse in the morning.

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188 Blackfoot Grammar

5 Sáakioohtá’pawaawahkaayiihka,
sáaki-ooht-á’p-a-waawahkaa-yiihk-wa [independent verb form]
still-along-PREF-dur-go-nar-3s
While he was still on his way,

6. támssookito’tsistapikkssiyiihkini [‘rabbit’ is obviative]

(so)tám-sook-it-o’t-istápikkssi-yiihk-yini
then-sudden-there-near-seek^shelter-nar-4s
omi áattsistaayi ohkátsistsi.
om-yI áattsistaa-yI w-ohkát-istsi
that-4s rabbit-4s 3-foot-in.p
a rabbit suddenly arrived between his feet.

7. (Otá’passkookiihka omí omahksísttsiipanikimmi.)

ot-a’p-a-ssko-Ok-yiihk-wa om-yI omahksísttsiipanikimm-yi
3-around-dur-chase-inv-nar-3s that-4s hawk-4s
(He was being pursued by a hawk.) [unnecessary here; not in JBE’s telling]

8. Otánikkiihkáyi “Áyo nisáa.

Ot-ánIt-Ok-yiihk-áyi Áyo nisáa
3-say-inv-nar-DTP hey sibl(voc.)
Nikáyiksípoinaohkoyi [obv. subject, prox. object.]
N-íkaa-yik-Ipoinaohkoyi [perfective aspect with stative verb]
1-perf-very-distressed
He told him, “Hey brother. I’m very much in distress.

9. Pinanístapaoot!”
pin-anistapa-oo-t
neg-aside-go-2s(imp)
Don’t step aside.”

10. Ki omá omahksísttsiipanikimma spóóhtamao’kiihka.

ki om-wa omahkIttsiipanikimm-wa spóóht-wa-ma-o’k-yiihk-wa
& that-3s hawk-3s up-3s-stat-VBLZR-nar-3s
[ki often marks start of new obviation span] [‘hawk’ now proximate]
There was a Cooper’s Hawk up above.

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 189

[JBE had Omahksísttsiipanikimma spóóhtsima ánnamao’kiihka,

omahkIttsiipanikimm-wa spóhtsi-ma ánn-wa-ma-o’k-yiihk-wa
hawk-3s up-stat that-3s-stat-VBLZR-nar-3s]

11. Áínnaanistsííyiihka Íkasskiniyi, “Áyo nohkóyí,

á-inn-wa:nIt-íí-yiihk-wa íkasskini-yI ayo n-ohkó-yí
dur-down-say(TA)-dir-nar-3s I.-4s hey 1-son-voc
ánistápaoot! Nitáakítsowataw.
ánistáp-oo-t nit-áak-it-Iowat-a:-wa
aside-go-2s(imp) 1-fut-there-eat(TA)-dir-3s
It said to Lowhorn, “Hey, son, step aside! Then I will eat him.

12. Nikááyiksisamáa’psskoaw.”
n-Ikaa-yik-Isamo-a’pssko-a:-wa
1-perf-very-long^time-chase-dir-3s
I’ve been chasing him a long time.” [‘rabbit’ prox.]

13. Kiomá áattsistaaw, itomátaniiyiihka,

ki om-wa áattsistaa-wa it-omat-wa:nii-yiihk-wa
& that-3s rabbit-3s then-start-say-nar-3s
Then the rabbit started to say,

“Ayo nisáa nikááyiksisamáa’psskooka, [JBE: had isayi in

ayo nisaa n-ikaa-yik-Isamo-a’pssko-Ok-wa place of nisáa]
hey sibl 1-perf-very-long^time-chase-inv-3s
“Hey brother, He has been chasing me a long time,

14. ómahkáíksskanáótonni. Nikáísawaikííhtooka.

omahka-iksskanáótonni n-iká-saw-a-ikííhtó-Ok-wa
whole-morning 1-perf-neg-dur-do^to-inv-3s
the whole morning. He has not been able to do anything to me.

Oki nohkóyí, kitáaksikimmo

oki n-ohkó-yí kit-áak-Ikimm-o:
hey 1-son-voc 2-fut-empower-1s:2s
Son, I’ll give you power.

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190 Blackfoot Grammar

15. (pototsóóhsi...) kitáaka’paisitokokska’satoo’pi.”

pototsoohsiN-istsi kit-áak-a’p-a-sitok-okska’satoo-’p-yi
trail(?)-[Link] 2-fut-around-dur-mid-run(TI)-th-in.p
You will be able to run trails freely.”

16. Noohkáttohtsitó’tániiyiihka omá omahksísttsiipanikimma

noohkátt-ohtsitó’t-wa:nii-yiihk-wa om-wa omahksísttsiipanikimm-wa
also-in^turn-say-nar-3s that-3s hawk-3s [‘hawk’ prox.]
Then the hawk, in turn, said,

17. “Aa, ááhsaa kááhká’pa’pistotóóki?”

aa, ááhsaa k-ááhk-á’p-a’p-istot-o-Oki
So what 2-might-around-PREF-make/do-BEN-2s:1s
“What might you do for me?”

18. Ki, itanííyiihka íkasskiniw, “Aa, oki, kitáaksiisoo.”

ki it-wa:nii-yiihk-wa Ikasskini-wa aa oki kit-áak-Yiiso-o:
& then-say-nar-3s Lowhorn-3s yes okay 2-fut-feed-1s:2s
Then Lowhorn said, “Okay, I’ll feed you.” [‘Ikasskini’ proximate again]

19. Ki, omí áattsistaayi sotámo’toyiiyiihka,

ki om-yi áattsistaa-yi sotam-o’to-yii-yiihk-wa
& that-4s rabbit-4s next-take-dir-nar-3s
ki iitotóyiksatsiiyiihkáyi.
ki iit-oto-yiksat-ii-yiihk-wa-áyi
& past:then-go^to-hide-dir-3s-DTP
Then he took the rabbit and went to hide him.

20. Mísstanistapiihpi otsíísoahpi omahksísttsiipanikimmi

misst-wa:nistapii-hp-yi ot-Yiiso-a:-hp-yi omahksísttsiipanikimm-yI
unknown-be(II)-CN-in.s 3-feed-dir-CN-in.s hawk-4s
It’s not known what he fed the hawk.

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 191

21. Ki, otsítsikimmookiihka omí áattsistaayi

ki ot-it-Ikimmo-Ok-yiihk-wa om-yi áattsistaa-yi
& 3-then-empower-inv-nar-3s that-4s rabbit-4s
kimi omahksístsiipanikimi
ki om-yi omahksístsiipanikim-yi
& that-4s hawk-4s
And then he was given power by the rabbit and the hawk.

22. Ki, ónni, aanistáyiihkini “máttsistáó’ohkiááyo”,

ki w-inn-yi wa:nIt-a:-yiihk-yini mattsista’-ohkiááyo
& 3-father-4s say(TA)-dir-nar-4s repeat-bear
otsítanikkiihkáyi,
ot-it-wa:nIt-k-yiihk-wa-áyi
3rd-then-say(TA)-inv-nar-3s-DTP
Now, his father, named “repeat-bear,” then told him,

24. “Tsíkki, ó-ó-ómi istotoyó’kaat sspahkóyi”

tsikki óm-yi ist-oto-Yo’kaa-t isspa:hko-yi
son(voc) that-in.s there-go-sleep-2s(imp) highland-in.s
“Son, wa-a-ay over there, go there to sleep on the hill.”

25. Stámitotoyo’kááyiihka Íkasskiniwa omíím sspahkóyim.

sotam-it-oto-Yo’kaa-yiihk-wa I.-wa om-yi-ma isspa:hko-yi-ma
then-there-go-sleep-nar-3s I.-3s [Link] highland-in.s-stat
So he went there to sleep on the hill.

26. Tsááhtaaw ááhkáí’tanístsooniyííhkaahtao’tsiks

tsaahtaaw ááhk-a’-it-a:nistsi-ooni-yiihk-waahtao’tsiksi
perhaps might-perf2-there-manner-be^day-nar-nonaff(?)
It is not known how many days he was there,

27. kiamóhka áóhkomiwahka iitáíksiisttamma.

ki amo-hka á-ohkomi-wa-hka iit-á-iksiisttaM:-wa
& this-rel dur-utter-3s-rel past:there-dur-thunder(?)-3s
and here/now thunder roared.

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192 Blackfoot Grammar

28. “A’áya, nohkówa ááhksíkao’kaasataawa,”

a’aya n-ohko-wa ááhk-Ikao’kaasat-a:-wa
oh 1-son-3s might-be^lightning^struck-dir-3s
áá’nííyiihkini ónni.
wa:nii-yiihk-yini w-inn-yI
say-nar-4s 3-father-4s
“Oh, my son might have been struck by lightning,” said his father.

29. Ki, kiomí otákkááyi á’nistsííyiihk[ini],

ki ki om-yI w-itákkaa-yI wa:nIt-ii-yiihk-yini
& that-4s 3-pal-4s say^to-dir-nar-4s
“Kitákkaawa stapomááhkaat!”
k-itákkaa-wa istap-omaahkaa-t
2-pal-3s to-run-2s(imp)
He told his pal, “Go to your pal.”

30. Ki, kiáí’tapomaahkaayiihka otákkaayi.

ki ki a’-itap-omaahkaa-yiihk-wa w-itakkaa-yI [new prox.]
& & perf2-to-go-nar-3s 3-pal-4s
He went to his pal.

31. Áistohkoyiiyiihka omí otákkaayi

wáistohko-yii-yiihk-wa om-yI w-itakkaa-yI
be^close^to-dir-nar-3s that-4s 3-pal-4s
Ikasskiniyi otsítanikkiihkáyi,
I.-yi ot-it-anIt-Ok-yiihk-wa-áyi
I.-4s 3rd-then-tell-nar-3s-DTP
When he got to his pal Ikasskini he was told,

32. “Ayo napí! Ánnimayi koot,

ayo napí ann-yi-ma-yi ssikoo-t
hey pal(voc) there-in.s-stat-VBLZR stop-2s(imp)
kááhksstsiysskooki”
k-ááhk-sstsiyssko-o:ki
2-might-make^sweatlodge^for-2s:1s
“Hey pal. Stop right there and put up a sweatlodge for me.”

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 193

33. Stamsskómaahkááyiihkini otákkaayi. [obv. forced by possession]

sotam-ssk-omaahkaa-yiihk-yini w-itákkaa-yi
next-back-go-nar-4s 3-pal-4s
So then his pal went back.

34. Anni, áwaaniiw,

ann-yi á-wa:nii-wa [‘pal’ prox.]
that-in.s dur-say-3s
There he was saying,

35. “Nitákkaaw ááhksstsiysskoayiihk.”

n-itakkaa-wa ááhk-sstsiyssko-a:-yiihk-wa [ááhk- marks a
1-partner-3s might-make^sweatlodge^for-dir-nar-3s desire here]

“My pal wants a sweatlodge made for him.”

36. Ki, sotámsstsiysskóayiihk Íkasskiniwa.

ki sotam-sstsiyssko-a:-yiihk-wa íkasskini-wa
& so-make^sweatlodge^for-dir-nar-3s íkasskini-3s [new prox.]
So a sweatlodge was made for Lowhorn.

37. Stáma’paisiíyiihka. Ki, itssóoyiihka Sááhkimaahsini.

sotam-a’paisii-yiihk-wa ki it-sóo-yiihk-wa Sááhkimaahsini
so-time^pass-nar-sg & there-go^to^war-3s Sááhkimaahsini
Time went by. Then he went to war at Sááhkimaahsini.

38. Stamito’tóoyiihka, itsinímmiihkiaaw,

sotam-it-o’too-yiihk-wa it-inii-mm-yiihk-yi-aawa
then-there-arrive-nar-3s there-see(TI)-th-nar-pl-PRO
ómistsi moyísiihki[aaw].
om-istsi moyíS-yiihk-yi-aawa
that-in.p lodge-nar-pl-PRO
When he arrived there, they saw some lodges.

39. ki Itanííyiihka, “Saahsíwa. Ááhkonitápohtowáoo’piaaw.”

ki it-wa:nii-yiihk-wa saahsi-wa ááhk-on-itap-ohtowaoo-o’p-yi-aawa
& then-say-nar-3s Sarcee-3s might-immed-to-approach-21-3p-PRO
He said, “They are Sarcee. Let’s approach them.”

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194 Blackfoot Grammar

40. Ki, omííksi stsíkiiksi otohpokóomiiksi

ki om-iksi stsíki-iksi ot-ohpok-oo-m-yii-iksi
& that-an.p other-an.p 3-with-go-TA-dir(nom)-an.p
stamanííyiihkiaaw,
sotam-wa:nii-yiihk-yi-aawa
then-say-nar-3p-PRO
But others of his companions said,

41. “A’yá, Assináw.” Ki, stámomatapóoyiihki

a’ya assiná-wa ki sotam-omatap-oo-yiihk-yi
oh-oh, Cree-3s & then-start-go-nar-pl
omííksi atohká’taaniksi
om-iksi atohká’taa-n-iksi
that-3p scout-nom-an.p
“Oh-oh, they are Cree.” So the scouts started to go.

42. Stámitssáópiiyiihkiaaw omí niítahtayi.

sotam-it-sa-opii-yiihk-yi-aawa om-yi niítahta-yi
then-there-outside-stay-nar-3p-PRO that-in.s river-in.s
They were camping by the river.

43. Ki itssómo’siyiihki omííksi Assináakiiksi,

ki it-somo’si-yiihk-yi om-iksi assina-aakii-iksi
& there-fetch^water-nar-pl that-an.p Cree^wom.-an.p
ki iitssítsipssatsiiyiihkiaawaiksi.
ki iit-sitsipssat-ii-yiihk-yi-aawa-aiksi
& past:then-there-talk^with-dir-nar-3p-PRO-DTPan.p
The Cree women were getting water, and conversed with them.

43. Ki omíksi Assináakiiksi itámssokanííyiihki[aawa],

ki om-iksi Assina-aakii-iks itam-sok-wa:nii-yiihk-yi-aawa
& that-an.p Cree-woman-an.p then-loud-say-nar-3p-PRO
“Ówáhwáa, aestám!”
Ówáhwáa, aestám
Hey come^here[Cree]
Then those Cree women suddenly yelled, “Hey, come here!”

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 195

45. Otsítohkoissksinookoaayiihkiaaw Assináyi,

ot-it-ohkoissksino-o:k-oaa-yiihk-yi-aawa assina-yi
3rd-there-find^out-inv-3p-nar-pl-PRO Cree-4s
ki itaksínaa’yiihkiaaw. [new prox.]
ki it-aksina’-a:-yiihk-yi-aawa
& there-surround-dir-nar-pl-PRO
The Crees found out that they were there and surrounded them.

46. Sotámomó’tsaayiihki amóksi otohpokóomiiksi. [major

sotam-omo’tsi-a:-yiihk-yi amo-iksi ot-ohpokoom-yii-iksi character
proximate]
then-defeat-dir-nar-pl this-an.p 3rd-accompany-dir-an.p
His companions were defeated.

47. Ki oostóyi, ni’tokámotaayiihka.

ki w-iistó-yI ni’t-okamotaa-yiihk-wa
& 3-self-4s one-survive-nar-3s
And as for him, he was the only one left.

48. Itáaksskonakatayiihka omahkáíksistsikoyi,

itáak-skonakat-a:-yiihk-wa omahka-iksistsiko-yi
repeatedly-shoot-dir-nar-3s entire-day-in.s
He was being shot at all day.

49. kii iikákaoksistotakiyiihka Íkasskiniwa.

ki ikaa-oksistotaki-yiihk-wa Íkasskini-wa
& past:perf-be^destructive-nar-3s Í.-3s
He did a lot of damage

50. Óki, ki ikiá’yai’nitáyiihka Íkasskiniwa.

oki ki ikia’-ya-i’nit-a:-yiihk-wa Íkasskini-wa
okay & finally-dur(?)-kill-dir-nar-3s lowhorn-3s
Well, finally Lowhorn was killed.

51. Ki ómahkao’kiihka omá assináw á’yiistapsskóoyiihka.

ki om-wa-hka-o’k-yiihk-wa om-wa assiná-wa a’-yiistap-ssk-oo-yiihk-wa
& that-3s-rel-VBLZR-nar-3s that-3s Cree-3s perf2-away-back-go-nar-3s
And the Crees went away, back on their way.

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196 Blackfoot Grammar

52. Omííksi Assináíkoaiksi, itáínihkihtsimiihkiaaw.

om-iksi assiná-ikoaN-iksi it-a-Inihkihtsi-m-yiihk-yi-aawa
that-3p Cree-male-an. p then-dur-sing(TI)-th-nar-3p-PRO
Íkasskiniyi otsínihkssiistsi.
Íkasskini-yI ot-Inihki-hsiN-istsi.
Ikasskini-4s 3rd-sing-nom-in.p
Those Crees, they were singing Lowhorn’s song.

53. Iitámssookotamistsipatakkáyaayiyiihka omá kiááyow. [new

iitam-sook-o’tam-istsipatakkáyaayi-yiihk-wa om-wa kiááyo-wa prox.]
then-sudden-over^hill-run^along-nar-3s that-3s bear-3s
Unexpectedly a bear came over the hill.

54. Ikákai’nitsiiyiihka Assináyi.

iik-áka-i’nit-yii-yiihk-wa assiná-yi.
very-many-kill-dir-nar-3s Cree-existl.
He killed a lot of the Crees.

55. Otsítanikkoaayiihkiaaw stsíki assináyi,

ot-ít-anIt-Ok-oaa-yiihk-yi-aawa stsík-yI assiná-yI,
3rd-then-tell-inv-3p-nar-3p-PRO other-4s Cree-4s
“Mináttsinihkitsika!”
Mi:n-átt-Inihkihtsi-k
neg-again-sing(TI)-2p(imp)
They were told by the other Crees, “Don’t sing it anymore!”

56. Sotámattomatapóoyiihkiaaw, ki
sotam-att-omatap-oo-yiihk-yi-aawa ki
then-again-start-go-nar-3p-PRO &
máttsitomatánihkihtsimiihkiaaw íkasskini otsínihkssiistsi.
matt-it-omat-a-Inihkihtsi-m-yiihk-yi-aawa Íkasskini-yi ot-inihki-hsiN-istsi
again-then-start-dur-sing(TI)-theme-nar-3p-PRO Lowhorn-4s 3rd-sing-nom-in.p
So they went on their way, but again started singing Lowhorn’s songs.

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Appendix E: Ikasskini: Analyzed Blackfoot Text 197

57. Támssookatto’tamistsipatakkáayiyiihka stámika. [new prox.]

(so)tám-sook-att-o’tam-istsipatakkaayi-yiihk-wa stámik-wa
then-sudden-again-over^hill-run^along-nar-3s steer-3s
Again, a bison bull suddenly came over the hill.

58. Otsikáttakaístotookowááyiihkiaawayi.
ot-ik-átt-aka-ístoto-Ok-oaa-yiihk-yi-aaw-ayi
3rd-very-again-many-do^to-inv-3p-nar-3p-PRO-DTP
Very many of them were killed by him.

59. Á’yi! Ikohtáókohkooyimmiihkiaaw [new prox.]

á’yi ik-oht-á-ók-ohkooyimm-iihk-yi-aawa
oh! very-means-dur-bad-endure-nar-3p-PRO
Oh my! They went through a lot of bad times
otáínihkihtsissaaw íkasskiniyi otsínihkssiistsi.
ot-a-Inihkihti-hsi-aawa I.-yI ot-Inihk-hsiN-istsi
3-dur-sing-conj-PRO I.-4s 3-sing-nom-in.p
Ikiáí’taomaopiyiihkiaaw.
ikia’-it-ya-omaopi-yiihk-yi-aawa
finally-then-dur-cease-nar-3p-PRO
because of singing Lowhorn’s songs. Finally, they ceased [singing them].

60. kiánnimayi, iihkakótsiiwa. [standard formula for

ki ann-yi-ma-yi iihkakotsii-wa story ending]
& there-in.s-stat-VBLZR pst:terminate-sg
The end. There it is, it stopped (boiling).

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references

Bloomfield, Leonard. 1946. Algonquian. Harry Hoijer, ed., Linguistic Structures

of Native America. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology 6, pp. 85-129.

Dunham, Joel. 2007. The ‘durative’ in Blackfoot: Understanding imperfectivity.

In Amy Rose Deal (ed.), Proceedings of SULA 4: Semantics of Under-
Represented Languages in the Americas. University of Massachusetts
Occasional Papers in Linguistics 35, pp. 49-60.

Dunham, Joel. 2008. A unified analysis of the habitual and in-progress readings
of á in Blackfoot. Unpublished manuscript (Qualifying Paper), University of
British Columbia.

Fox, Jacinta, and D. Frantz. 1979. Blackfoot clitic pronouns. William Cowan, ed.,
Papers of the Tenth Algonquian Conference, 152-166. Ottawa.

Frantz, D. G. 1971. Toward a generative grammar of Blackfoot. Summer Institute

of Linguistics PLRF #34. Norman, Okla.

Frantz, D. G. 1978. Copying from complements in Blackfoot. Eung-Do Cook and

Jonathan Kaye, eds., Linguistic Studies of Native Canada, 89-110. Vancouver:
UBC Press.

Frantz, D. G. 1979. Multiple dependency in Blackfoot. Proceedings of the Fifth

Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistic Society, 77-80. Berkeley.

Frantz, D. G. 1980. Ascensions to subject in Blackfoot. Proceedings of the Sixth

Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 293-299. Berkeley.

Frantz, D. G., and Eugene Creighton. 1982. The indefinite possessor prefix
in Blackfoot. William Cowan, ed., Papers of the Thirteenth Algonquian
Conference, 137-142. Ottawa.

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 199

Frantz, D. G., and Norma J. Russell. 1989. Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots,
and Affixes. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Frantz, D. G., and Norma J. Russell. 1995. Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots,
and Affixes. Second Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Frantz, D. G., and Norma J. Russell. 2017. Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots
and Affixes. Third Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Taylor, Allan R. 1967. Initial change in Blackfoot. Contributions to Anthropology:

Linguistics I, Bulletin 214 of National Museum of Canada, 147-156. Ottawa.

Taylor, Allan R. 1969. A Grammar of Blackfoot. Unpublished PhD dissertation,

University of California, Berkeley.

Taylor, Allan R. 1978. Deictics in Algonkian. Ms. Paper read at 83rd annual
meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Los Angeles.

Thomson, Gregory. 1978. The origin of Blackfoot geminate stops and nasals. In
Eung-Do Cook and Jonathan Kaye, eds., Linguistic Studies of Native Canada,
[Link]: UBC Press.

Uhlenbeck, C. C. 1938. A Concise Blackfoot Grammar. Amsterdam: North

Holland Publishing Co.

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INDEX

abstract finals, 108 Blackfoot alphabet, 34

abstract manner prefix, 137 bleeding of rules, 31, 179
abstract nominalization, 129, 157 body part nouns, 80, 110
accent, 3, 186 Breaking, 33, 34–35, 162
falling pitch, 3, 97 breaking i, 33, 34, 38, 84, 162
accent assignment rules, 37 causative verb stems, 103
accent on demonstratives, 71 clause as object, 123
Accent Spread, 9, 30, 179 clause as subject, 122
accompaniment suffix, 115 clause nominalization, 133
acute accent, 3, 186 Coalescence, 78, 176
addressee, 18, 69 complements, 156, 158
adjuncts, 90, 166 complex stems, 33, 90, 108, 112
adverbial prefixes, 98 complex verb stems, 90, 108, 167
adverbials, 90 concrete finals, 108, 111, 162
affricates, 5, 93, 182, 185 Conjunctive Nominals, 100, 132, 136,
AGR, 62 138
agreement, 18, 23–25, 33, 37, 39–40, Conjunctive verb paradigms, 121, 160,
42–43, 46, 48, 57, 62, 76, 78, 170
121–122, 126, 141, 162 consonant length, 5, 184
agreement affixes, 18, 25, 43, 48, 141, content questions, 149
162 copied nominal from complement,
AI, 42 157, 159
allomorphs, 84, 119 demonstrative stems, 69, 72, 161
alphabet, 1, 5, 185 demonstratives as free pronouns, 69
alphabet, Blackfoot, 1, 185 denominal verbs, 118
animate gender, 11, 13, 26, 42, 48 derivational suffix, 26, 79, 111, 119
Animate Intransitive, 42 derived relational stems, 79
antecedent, 124–125 Desyllabification, 57, 80, 177, 179
aspect, 33, 104, 128, 162 Dictionary, 11, 26, 34, 43, 47, 84, 90,
associated instrument nominalization, 161, 166, 199
131 diminutives, 69
associative, 102 diphthongization, 88
benefactive suffixes, 113 diphthongs, 2, 7, 36
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Index 201

dir, 58, 61 imminent future, 35

direct theme, 58, 61, 66, 87, 141 imperative verb forms, 91, 125, 163
Distinct Third Person (DTP) pronoun, inanimate gender, 11, 13, 26, 42, 46,
52, 55 48
DTP pronouns, 52, 55 Inanimate Intransitive, 42, 108
DTP pronouns, plural, 55 inclusive we, 20
Dunham, 35, 198 incorporation
Durative, 19, 30, 35, 94, 125, 162, noun incorporation, 118
198 ‘indefinite’ possessor, 80
embedded ‘commands,’ 158 independent pronouns, 24, 82
embedded ‘questions,’ 156 indirect quotes, 160
embedded ‘statements,’ 160 inflectional agreement, 43–44, 162
embedded ‘wishes,’ 158 initial change, 40, 199
embedded clauses, 95, 122 initial variation, 39, 84
enclitic pronouns, 51 Instrument nominalization, 128, 131
equative clauses, 74 instrumental finals, 110
exclusive we, 20 Instrumental Nominals, 135
existential clauses, 74 Interaction Constraints, 179
experiencer as object, 67 interlinear analysis, 34
extraposition, 143 intransitive verbs, 7, 18, 23, 26, 43,
falling pitch accent, 3, 97 87, 129, 132, 138, 164
feeding of rules, 31, 179 inv, 61
finals, 108, 111, 115, 118, 162 inverse theme, 61, 66, 412, 157
free relatives, 142 invs, 71–72
future tense, 34, 36, 38 linker nominals, 136
Gemination, 63, 176, 179 Linkers, 102, 105
Glottal Assimilation, 178 linking prefix, 49
Glottal Loss, 178 locational nominals, 133
Glottal Metathesis, 91, 125, 178 logical object, 44, 129, 157
Glottal Reduction, 125, 178 logical subject, 48, 67, 115
glottal stop, 2, 5–6, 21, 87, 91, 182 major third person, 14, 18, 23, 25, 54,
glottal stop, predictable, 7, 21 58, 62, 187
glottis as a point of constriction, Manner Nominals, 137
181–182 meteorological verbs, 26, 111
Grammatical Gender, 11, 42, 133, minor third person, 14, 24, 54, 58, 62,
164 83, 151, 162, 164, 187
Head, 73, 108, 111, 161 morpheme, 8, 17, 28
Head of a stem, 108 morphosyntactic constraint, 42
i-Absorption, 30, 63, 80, 87, 97, 177 naming integers, 164
ih-Loss, 130, 177 nasal loss, initial, 80
II, 42, 108 negation, 90
i-Loss, 30, 51–52, 63, 87, 97, 177 Neutralization, 35, 176

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202 Blackfoot Grammar

non-affirmative endings, 19, 90, 146, possessive affix paradigm, 81

148, 151, 153 possessive affixes, 76–79, 132, 141,
non-particular, 13, 16, 25, 44, 109, 162
111, 113, 138, 162 possessor, position of noun as, 82
non-particular object, 44 post-inflectional suffixes, 72, 74
non-permanent consonants, 12, 87–88 Postsibilation, 29, 31, 67, 130, 178
non-referring, 12, 16, 25, 165 predicate adjective, 25
non-volitional subject of transitive predicate nominatives, 26
verbs, 48, 67 Presibilation, 130, 132, 177, 179
noun stem, 9, 11–13, 26, 76, 79, 88, primary object, 44–46, 54, 56–58,
118, 128, 161 111–116, 123, 133, 141, 148–149,
noun subclasses, 10 157, 161
numbers and enumeration, 164 primary referent, 77–78
numeral prefixes, 167–168 pronoun, 11, 14, 20, 24, 51–55, 57,
numeral roots, 165–167 69, 82–83, 114, 126, 142, 148–149,
object, 18–19, 42–48, 51, 53–54, 162, 187, 198
56–58, 61–62, 65–68, 83, 94, 106, proximate, 14, 187
109, 111–116, 123, 126, 129, 133, purpose clauses, 122, 158
138–142, 148–150, 157, 159, 161, quantifiers, 90, 94
171, 175 questions, 19, 100, 146, 156
object, primary, 44, 46, 54, 56–58, 62, reciprocal, 117–118, 162
111–116, 123, 133, 141, 148–149, Reclassification, 128, 157
157, 161 Referring Subject Constraint, 25
obligatorily possessed stems, 77, 79 reflexive verb, 116
obviative, 14, 187 relational stems, 78–79, 162
ordinals, 166 relative clauses, 128, 142, 144, 157
o-Replacement, 96, 98, 176 relative roots, 102
paradigm, 46 rule interaction, 31
paraditransitive, 45, 139 s-Connection, 93, 125, 176
paratransitive, 44, 138, 157 secondary object, 44–45, 112, 114,
particular, 12–14, 16, 25 116, 123, 139–140
past tense, 33, 39–41 Semivowel Loss, 10, 15, 29, 31, 34,
perfective, 37–41, 162, 188 46, 48, 52, 79–80, 87, 177
person affixes, 18, 23–25 Semivowel Loss, revised, 79
phonetic description, 180 Semivowel Reduction, 177
phonological rule, 9–10, 29, 57, 78, semivowels, 4
91, 93, 96 short agreement prefixes, 41, 78, 122
phonological rules, 29, 35, 84, 163, simplex verb stems, 108, 162
177 singular noun, 8, 23, 25
pitch accent, 3, 97, 184, 186 s-Insertion, 86, 176, 179
plural noun, 8, 25 sss-Shortening, 178
points of articulation, 181, 185 stem, 8

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Index 203

stem agreement, 42–43 Transitive Animate, 43, 56, 61, 65,

subject, 13–14, 18–20, 23–26, 37, 108, 115, 119, 172–175
42–43, 46–49, 51, 53–54, 56–58, Transitive Animate verb inflection, 56
61–62, 65–68, 83, 94–95, 111–119, transitive theme nominalization, 128,
122, 125–126, 128, 131–133, 136, 140
140–142, 148–150, 157, 159, 161, transitive verbs, 17–18, 42–43, 67,
164 133
subject, referring, 25 underlying object, 112, 114, 116, 141
subject, unspecified, 25, 48–49, 58- underlying primary object, 116, 133
7–58, 66–68, 111, 113, 136 underlying subject, 74, 113, 116, 133,
Subjunctive verb paradigms, 73, 89, 136
91, 121, 124, 156, 163, 170–171, unreal paradigms, 126
174 unspecified object, 44, 138
syntax, 42, 157 unspecified subject, 25, 48–49, 57–58,
TA, 43 66–68, 111, 113, 136
TA affix positions, 62 variable length vowels, 87
TA Direct Theme Nominals, 141 verb agreement, 25, 43
TA Inverse Theme Nominals, 142 verb agreement affixes, intransitive,
TA paradigm, 56, 126 25
t-Affrication, 28, 31, 178 verb root, 84, 90, 109
temporal clauses, 121 verbal prefixes, 95
temporal nominals, 134 verbalized demonstratives, 74
tense, 33 voiceless vowels, 21
theme, 47–48, 51–54, 56, 61–63, Vowel Epenthesis, 147, 178
70,73 vowel length, 2, 6, 29, 80, 87, 184
theme suffix, 47–48, 56, 61–64, Vowel Shortening, 1, 10, 28, 177
66–67, 87, 121, 140–142, 148 vowels, 1, 180–186
theme, TI, 47–48 x-Sibilation, 72, 176
TI, 43 yes/no questions, 146, 156
TI Theme Nominals, 140 you(sg) vs. you(pl), 20
Transitive Inanimate, 43–44, 46, 108, y-Reduction, 178
139, 171 zero final, 110
Transitive Inanimate (TI), 43

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