Tundra Nenets 5

In the main narrative you’ll see a bunch of superscript ^o’s, whilst in the description section you’ll instead see plenty of ø’s. These vey much represent the same sounds.

I only noticed this discrepancy after scheduling it. At that point, I did not know what Substack allowed superscript letters. Now I do, but I will keep this mismatch as an oddity.

Tab Ed Xewko and her new man have just spent their first day together, and thus far he seems like a perfect gentleman. We left them just after they went to sleep (in different beds, of course). Let’s see what happens after they wake up:

Part 5:

1. Təb^o Yed^o  Xǣw^okor^o s’ay^omta p’ir’e^o. Ŋo^orŋax^oh.

Tab Ed Xewko boiled some tea. They ate.

2. Xasawa xan’eb^ota səwa xasawa ŋǣwi^o.

Apparently the man was a good hunter.

3. Pǣw^os’um’ah n’ana to^o, s’id’a yil’ebc’ə^om xadawi^o.

In the evening he came back; he had killed two reindeer.

4. Xobad’ih tawi^o, yed^o t’er^oko tawi^o mərc’^onta n’ir’ina.

He brought their skins and meats on his shoulders.

5. T’ikawaxəd^o xasawa p’il’iq pon^oh xan’e^o.

After than he went hunting all the time.

6. S’ar’ih xunan^o menakex^oh ŋan’i, narah n’aŋi^o nuwoda p’awi^o.

They lived for a while and then spring appeared in the skies.

7. Xasawada yadə^o yad’eroqmaxəd^onta n’ikadas’^otidaki^o.

The man would get tired after walking.

8. Xasawa maq n’īw^oq: “Xən’ad^o towam’i yexaraəd^om. Xən’ah xǣbc’^odəm’i xən’ad^o xoŋkud^om?”

He said” I don’t know from whence I came. How can I find out whither I should go?”

9. Təb^o Yed^o Xǣw^okor^o maq n’īw^oq: “Tə xən’ah xǣbc’ənt^o yəŋkob^oq waqw^om’ih ŋobt^oh s’ertax^om’ih.”

Tab Ed Xewko replied: “If you have nowhither to go, let us make one bed for the two of us.”

10. T’i ŋob waqw^oh n’in’a xon’os’ətix^oh.

So thereafter they slept in one bed.

11. S’a^oqni^o ŋǣb^ota ŋod^oq pǣw^os’um’ah n’ana xasawada toqmaxəd^onta to^o, s’id’a yil’ebc’ə^om p’il’ibt^oq tad^oŋa.

Every evening when the man came home, he always brought two wild reindeer.

12. Tə^oh təŋi^o pīw^oxəd^o tirabtas’^otida təŋi^o yil’ebc’əyita xoba.

In the summer she dried wild reindeer skins in the fresh summer air.

13. S’a^oqni^o ŋǣb^ota ŋod^oq narah nuwoda p’awi^o.

After a while the spring skies started once again.

For the last sentence, I put aside Nikolaeva’s normal translation for one more literal and poetic.

But this is not what we’ll be exploring in this newsletter.

Instead, we will discuss the Dubitative, which occurs a few times, but we’ll use this example:

8. Xasawa maq n’īwøq:… = He said:…

xasawa is a Noun which means man, but here it can translate as he.

The Tundra Nenets 3^rd Person Pronoun is pida, which can also mean she.

maq is built from two components:

1.       ma       = a Verb which means say.

2.       -q         = the Con-Negative Suffix.

n’īwøq is also built from two components:

1.       n’ī        = a Negative Auxiliary Verb.

2.       =wøq   = the Dubitative Clitic.

What is a Clitic?

I am still not sure. It is different from a Suffix, hence why it is proceeded by an Equal sign as oppose to a humbler dash.

In any case, what does the Dubitative Clitic do?

This takes a little explanation.

First, I must explain the Con-Negative Suffix.

In Tundra Nenets, creating a Negative Sentence requires a combination of the Negative Auxiliary and the Con-Negative.

(You may be familiar with the ne… pas construction found in French. This is a suitable heuristic.)  

Essentially, a Double Negative does not create a Positive. Instead, it is mandatory for creating a Negative.

Here comes the Dubitative Clitic.

When combined with the Negative Auxiliary n’ī, not only does it change the polarity to Positive, but also it creates emphasis.

At deliberate risk of confusing you: a Triple Negative creates a Double Positive.

Here is an example of such another Double Positive Sentence:

Xən’aədəmøh xan’øq? = How can I not go?

xan’øq is the irregular Con-Negative form of the Verb xǣ, which means go.

xən’aədəmøh is built from three components:

1.       xən’aə             = an Interrogative which means how not?

2.       -dəm                = the 1^st Person Singular Subject Suffix.

3.       -h                     = a reduced form of the Dubitative Clitic.

In other newsletters, I would probably write a more literal translation of the sentence to try and help you parse its meaning. Here, I do not think that this is really possible.

Instead, I shall include quickly explore one more example of xən’aə, with which some might have trouble, I imagine.

Xən’aən yaərøq? = How can you not be crying?

yaərøq is the Con-Negative form of the Verb yaər, which means cry.

xən’aən is built from two components:

1.       xən’aə             = how not?

2.       -n                     = the 2^nd Person Singular Subject Suffix.

Thus, xən’aən takes the translation how (can) you not?

I had originally planned to detail another sentence that appears in Nikolaeva’s grammar, but I realised it was far too long, and it might bring tears to the eye.

One day, I would like to have a dedicated enough following that I can regularly make them cry, and be safe in the knowledge that they will greedily return for more.

I am not there yet.

The idea of having that much power is probably a giddier trip than the possession of the selfsame in and of itself.

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