Tundra Nenets 3

In part 2, we watched astounded as Tab Ed Xewko turned herself into a sledge in order to eavesdrop on the conversation happening therein.

Part 3:

1. N’ab’i m’ak^ona pəl^onadoh so^o.

Talking could be heard in one of the tents.

2. Ŋesoqmax^odəntoh yab’enar^oxaq.

It seemed they had set up the tent and were now drinking.

3. N’ab’i m’ad^oh tuda yəŋkodar^oxa.

There was no fire in the other tent.

4. Təh yolc’^oqmax^odəntoh ŋīsintoh yerw^o mamononta:

After a while they finished drinking and the tent’s owner said:

5. “Xūn’ana ŋan’ih yamtaŋkunaq. Xūn’ana ŋesoqmax^odənaq s’arkadəwaq ŋan’ih n’īwaqm^oq  ŋam^oq. T’edah m’ak^ontaq yat^onədaq!”

Tomorrow we will set off again. When we set up tents tomorrow, we will drink more. Now go to your tent!”

6. S’id’ar’i n’eye ŋudaxəd^o xasawamt’ih s’id’a ŋudaxəd^o m’in^or’e^od’ih.

The two women carried a man by his arms.

7. Ŋobt^oh sulməs’ətid^oq.

They were falling the whole time.

8. M’adəx^oh pont^oh tǣwə^o tənt^oyah m’iwi^o xurumi^om xo^oq.

Before reaching their tent, they found a newly made cargo sledge.

9. Ŋob n’e maq n’īw^oq:

One of the women said:

10. “M’ak^onta tǣw^orawan’ih s’er^o n’ī ŋaq. T’edah t’ikimpoda xǣx^orŋaya, yab’ebcoda xǣx^orŋaya. Tum’ih p’ataw^odawey^o n’īw^oq ŋaq.

“We can’t get him inside the tent. He has to sober up first. We haven’t made a fire yet.

11. Pūna tum’ih p’ataqmax^odən’ih n’īm’im^oq xosayaŋkuq.”

We’ll pick him up when we’ve made a fire.”

12. N’ex^oh xasawamt’ih tənt^oyah m’iwi^o xurumi^oh n’ih yūs’ibtala^od’ih.

The women laid their man onto the newly made cargo sledge.

13. M’at’ih n’ana xəyax^oh tumt’ih p’ataŋax^oh.

They went to the tent and made a fire.

14. N’erd’ena tunt’ih p’aq pəranar^oxa.

The first piece of wood had already burned on their fire.

15. Təb^o Yed^o Xǣw^okor^o yīb’iduli^oq: “N’or^owad^om yanolaraq!”

Tab Ed Xewko started thinking: “I hope I’m not too late!”

16. Təb^o Yed^o Xǣw^okor^o n’ab’i tumant’ih yerta tǣw^oxəwa^o ma: “Xasawamt’ih xosaya^o ŋoq tūt^oŋax^oh.”

When the second load of wood started burning, Tab Ed Xewko thought: “Now they will come to collect their man.”

17. Təb^o Yed^o Xǣw^oko yaw^ona xǣqm’ada n’ī ŋəd’uq.

Tab Ed Xewko moved over the road without being seen.

18. Xən^o xa^oncəd^oh yaw^ona m’iyoqma yəŋku, ŋəmkexərt^o yəŋku.

There were no tracks on the road from the feet of the sledge, nothing.

Has Tab Ed Xewko found her true love?

What will happen when the man wakes up?

Will he even wake up?

Tune in next time to find out what happens.   

Again, let us take the time to appreciate the strangeness of Tundra Nenets. As with Part 2, we will analyse the 6^th sentence:

S’id’ar’i n’eye ŋudaxəd xasawamt’ih s’id’a ŋudaxəd^o m’inør’ed’ih. = The two women carried a man by his arms.

s’id’ar’i is built from two components:

1.       s’id’a               = the number two.

2.       -r’i                   = the Limitative Suffix

n’eye is built from two components:

1.       n’e                  = a Noun which means woman.

3.       -ye                   = the Pejorative Suffix

ŋudaxəd^o is, in both appearances, built from two components:

1.       ŋuda               = a Noun which means hand.

2.       -xəd^o                     = the Ablative Case Suffix.

s’id’a appears again as the Number two, but this time naked and alone.

m’in^or’e^od’ih is built from two components:

1.       m’in^or’e^o                     = a Verb which means bring.

2.       -d’ih                            = the 3^rd Person Dual Subject > Singular Object Portmanteau Suffix.

Here, we will discuss both the Limitative and the Pejorative, both of which are very brief and simple.

The Limitative:

Forms: -r’i; -l’i.

This almost exclusively translates into English as only. For example:

T’uku pedar’ixøna. = Only in this forest.

pedar’ixøna is built from three components:

1.       peda                = a Noun which means forest.

2.       -r’i                   = the Limitative Suffix.

3.       -xøna               = the Locative Case Suffix.

It doesn’t matter where the Limitative Suffix goes, thus:  

T’ukur’i pedaraxøna. = Only in this forest.

pedara is the full form of the Noun forest.

There are some rules governing its usage, but these would take too long to discuss.

The Pejorative

Form: -ye

This typically indicates a negative attitude towards the referent, for example:

T’ikaxəwar n’empoye, sǣdorəxørtə yexara! = What kind of a woman is she, she can’t even sew!

n’empoye is built from three components:

1.       n’e                   = a Noun which means woman.

2.       -mpo               = the Moderative Suffix.

4.       -ye                   = the Pejorative Suffix.

When it combined with the Diminutive, meanwhile, it tends to express sympathy, for example:

Saln’ikø tuwoqmaxəd n’e n’akoc’ayen’i yarøda xənc’e. = My little sister stopped crying when the fat-lamp lit up.

The relevant word is n’akoc’ayen’i, which is built from five components:

1.       n’a                   = a Noun which means companion.

2.       -ko                   = a Diminutive Suffix.

3.       -c’a                  = another Diminutive Suffix.

4.       -ye                   = the Pejorative Suffix.

5.       -n’i                  = the 1^st Person Genitive Suffix (my).

The Noun n’a (companion) is preceded by the Noun n’e (woman), which is where I have derived the translation little sister.

In Nikolaeva’s grammar, the original sentence read little sibling.

Also, it is not uncommon for the Diminutives to combine in that order. You have already come across other examples in the story thus far.           

The Limitative and Pejorative both belong to a class of suffixes which can occur on different classes of words. Others in this class include: Focus; Affirmative; Emphatic; Comparative; Polar and Moderative.

(We discussed the Affirmative in Part 2, for those who are yet to read it.)

Source: Nikolaeva, Irina, A Grammar of Tundra Nenets (De Gruyter: Berlin 2014)