Lakota Language Forum - Lakȟól’iya Owáakhiye Othí

by **Jan** » December 30th, 2008, 3:34 am

Beginning students of Lakota often struggle to learn how to properly express the meaning of the English verbs SEE, LOOK AT and WATCH.
So I thought it would be worth discussing these verbs here. If you study the New Lakota Dictionary you should be able to figure out how to translate the following sentences:

I saw the man.
I watched the man.
I looked at the man.
Look at the man.

I came to see/look at the man.
I came to watch the man.
Come and look at the man.

I watched the TV last night.
I watched.
I watch over the baby.
Watch out!
I watched him closely.

Anybody interested please post your suggestions and we can discuss them.

Use this format:

English sentence. - Lakota translation

by **Brian** » January 4th, 2009, 8:55 am

I'll just comment on one of these so some others can ring in with their answers

I watch over the baby. - "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋblake." Or perhaps "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋweglake", depending upon the speaker's relationship with the baby.

by **mitchmiye** » January 4th, 2009, 11:48 am

Ohaŋ, I’ll take a stab at a couple of the others...

I saw the man. Wičaša kiŋ waŋbláke.
I watched the man. Wičáša kiŋ wawáŋblake.
I watched TV last night. Haŋhépi wanáskaŋskanyapi kiŋ wawáŋblake.

...hopefully those are correct. I'm unclear on the third "looked at" variation. I look forward to other posts...

Mitch

by **Jan** » January 4th, 2009, 1:19 pm

Oháŋ!
I am going to list all the sentences again this time with the translations that are correct.
So far only two suggested translations were correct so it would be nice to see more people make suggestions. Don't be affraid to make errors, we can all learn from them.

I saw the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ waŋbláke. (Mitch)
I watched the man. --
I looked at the man. --
Look at the man. --

I came to see/look at the man. --
I came to watch the man. --
Come and look at the man. --

I watched the TV last night. --
I watched. --
I watch over the baby. -- "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋblake." (Or perhaps "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋweglake", depending upon the speaker's relationship with the baby.) (Brian)
Watch out! --
I watched him closely. --

Averybody is welcome to give it another try.

by **Jan** » January 4th, 2009, 1:35 pm

mitchmiye wrote:I watched the man. -- Wičáša kiŋ wawáŋblake.
I watched TV last night. -- Haŋhépi wanáskaŋskanyapi kiŋ wawáŋblake.

I will try and explain why the verb wawáŋyaŋkA can't be used this way.

Here is the definition of that verb in NLD: to see things/people, watch what is happening, observe; to be a spectator, onlooker, observer, bystander

Note, that the definition does not include the abbreviations "smth" (something) and "sb" (somebody). This fact means that the verb cannot take an object.
When you say wawáŋblake it always means "I saw people/things" or "I watched people/things". It can't mean anything else and you cannot specify the object (e.g. say "TV" or "the man") because the object will always be "people/things". Basically, all verbs with this wa- prefix have unspecific object "people" or "things".

The wa- prefix is a very specific feature of Lakota grammar and learners who master using it can express themselves very idiomatically.

I hope people find this info useful. You can find more details on this in NLD p. 735, 3.21.

So, perhaps someone can give the sentences with "watch" another try.

----------------

Also, note: ~~wičáša~~ -> wičháša

by **Kostya** » January 5th, 2009, 3:14 am

I saw the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋbláke.
I watched the man. ?Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ablúta.
I looked at the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ektá éwatuŋwe.
Look at the man. Wičháša ki lé ektá étuŋwa yo/ye.

I came to see/look at the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg wahí/waí
I came to watch the man.
Come and look at the man. Ú na wičháša kʼuŋ hé él étuŋwaŋ yo

That's all a can do without a dictionary at hand.
Also: I can't recall the difference between étuŋwÁŋ and ayúta
I used to think that ayúta is essentially étuŋwÁŋ plus some additionaly meaning of steady glancing, "eyeing", "gazing".

Perhaps fluent speakers will clarify the difference between
Wičháša ki lé él éyatuŋwe.
Wičháša ki lé alúta.

by **Gerda** » January 5th, 2009, 4:00 am

Hello Jan and everyone here

This is an interesting task.
I try to understand a little better when wawáŋblake can be said and when not.
I realized that I learn the best by examples. Therefore I ask through examples.
Could it be said this way? I sit before the TV and watch people/things there?

TV itȟókab maŋkíŋ na léčhiya wíŋyaŋ waŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ wawáŋblake.
TV ogná wíŋyaŋ waŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ wawáŋblake.

Gerda

by **Gerda** » January 5th, 2009, 4:16 am

Hello all
It's me again! In the dictionary I found another word to say "to watch". It is the word "ablézA"

Would this be okay?
Wíŋyaŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ awábleze.

Or – by filling in the missing sentence in Kostya's answer:
I watched the man.
Wičháša waŋ awábleze.

A little more different the other sentence:
I came to watch the man.
Wičháša kiŋ awábleza čha él wahí.

Gerda

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 6:47 am

Gerda wrote:
TV itȟókab maŋkíŋ na léčhiya wíŋyaŋ waŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ wawáŋblake.
Gerda

This construction is not grammatical. Because there is an object (I underlined it) and wawáŋyaŋkA cannot take an object.
What you can say using wawáŋyaŋkA is e.g.

TV itȟókab maŋkíŋ na wawáŋblake. - I sat in front of the TV and watched (people/things).
But the object of this sentence is non-specific (people/things) and you can't specify it.

Gerda wrote:TV ogná wíŋyaŋ waŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ wawáŋblake.

This sentence is grammatically correct, but it means "I saw a woman cooking food on TV" not "I watched .... ".

So, the mystery continues. How can we say "I watched the man" ??? More suggestions, please. I can be found in NLD.

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 6:49 am

Gerda wrote:Hello all
Wíŋyaŋ woyúte špáŋyaŋ waŋ awábleze.

This would mean "I noticed a woman cooking food."

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 6:59 am

Kostya Chmielnicki wrote:I saw the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋbláke.

Correct.

Kostya Chmielnicki wrote:I watched the man. ?Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ablúta.

This means
"I looked at the man"

Kostya Chmielnicki wrote:I looked at the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ektá éwatuŋwe.

This means
"I looked at the man and paid attention to him."

Kostya Chmielnicki wrote:Look at the man. Wičháša ki lé ektá étuŋwa yo/ye.

This means
"Look at the man and pay attention to him."

Kostya Chmielnicki wrote:I came to see/look at the man. Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg wahí/waí

The version with wahí is correct.
With waí it would mean "I went to see the man."

Come and look at the man. Ú na wičháša kʼuŋ hé él étuŋwaŋ yo

This means:
"Come and pay attention to the man."

So, can any one search the dictionary a bit more to find out how to say "I watched the man" ?

by **Ali** » January 5th, 2009, 8:34 am

wičháša kiŋ waŋyáŋg nawážiŋ

Al

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 8:43 am

Ali wrote:Wičháša kiŋ waŋyáŋg nawážiŋ.

Háŋ, héčhetu weló.

This is correct.
This is the way to express "I watched the man".

The verb nážiŋ can be replaced with other verbs of continuative nature, such as yaŋká, ȟpáya, yuŋká depending on your position when you were watching.

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 8:52 am

Posting a summary of what you have figured out so far:

I saw the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ hé waŋbláke. (Mitch)
I watched the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg nawážiŋ. (Al)
I looked at the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ablúta.
Look at the man. --

I came to see/look at the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg wahí. (Kostya)
I came to watch the man. --
Come and look at the man. --

I watched the TV last night. --
I watched. --
I watch over the baby. -- "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋblake." (Or "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋweglake") (Brian)
Watch out! -- Waktá yo! (Nina)
I watched him closely. -- (Hé) awáŋyaŋg wakhúwa. (Nina)

Anyone is welcome to make suggestions for the ones missing. All of them CAN be found in NLD.

by **Nina** » January 5th, 2009, 8:57 am

Watch out! -- Waktá yo!

I watched him closely. -- (Hé) awáŋyaŋg wakhúwa

Nina

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 8:59 am

Excelent, I will inserted in the list above.

by **Nina** » January 5th, 2009, 9:27 am

Thank you Jan!

But you missed out

Watch out! -- Waktá yo!

Nina

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 9:29 am

Híŋ. Amíčiktuŋžiŋ yé!

Hé nakúŋ héčhetu čhaŋkhé waŋkál owá éwagnakiŋ kte.

by **Ken** » January 5th, 2009, 9:40 am

Look at the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ él étuŋwaŋ yo.

Ken

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 10:59 am

Ken wrote:Look at the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ él étuŋwaŋ yo.

This is correct, but it is slighly more toward the sense "Look at the man and pay attention to him".
There is another way to say it.

by **Ken** » January 5th, 2009, 11:06 am

Jan wrote:
Ken wrote:Look at the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ él étuŋwaŋ yo.

This is correct, but it is slighly more toward the sense "Look at the man and pay attention to him".
There is another way to say it.

Wičháša kiŋ he waŋyáŋka yo.

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 11:19 am

Ken wrote:Wičháša kiŋ he waŋyáŋka yo.

Háŋ, hé aíyopteya luíyeska na oyáwa. Na hé wašíčuiya "Look at the man" kȟápi.

by **kinajin** » January 5th, 2009, 11:20 am

wičaša kiŋ ayuta yo!

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 12:41 pm

kinajin wrote:wičaša kiŋ ayuta yo!

Háŋ, hé nakúŋ héčhetu weló. Ho čha waŋkál éwagnakiŋ kte ló.
Philámayaye ló.

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 12:55 pm

Ho, eyá waŋná iblámniŋ kta héčha, ičhíŋ Íŋyaŋ Woslál Hé-ta mní na hél wówaši ečhámuŋ kte. Čhaŋkhé tónačhaŋ omákȟaŋ šni na owáakhiye othí kiŋ lé waú kte šni. Čhaŋkhé wablúštaŋ kte:
(I will be unavailable for several days so I want to finish the things here):

Summary of correct tranlations:

I saw the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ hé waŋbláke. (Mitch)
I watched the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg nawážiŋ. (Al)
I looked at the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé ablúta.
Look at the man. -- Wičháša kiŋ hé waŋyáŋka yo. (Ken) / Wičháša kiŋ hé ayúta yo. (Kinajin) (partly also: Wičháša kiŋ hé él étuŋwaŋ yo) (Ken)

I came to see/look at the man. -- Wičháša kʼuŋ hé waŋyáŋg wahí. (Kostya)
I came to watch the man. -- Wičháša kiŋ hé waŋyáŋg maŋkíŋ kta čha wahí. ()
Come and look at the man. -- Ú na wičháša kiŋ hé ayúta/waŋyáŋka yo. ()

I watched the TV last night. -- Haŋhépi wičhítenaškaŋškaŋ waŋyáŋg maŋké. ()
I watched. -- Wawáŋyaŋg maŋké. (This literarily means "I sat watching things/people.")
I watch over the baby. -- "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋblake." (Or "Hokšíčala kiŋ awáŋweglake") (Brian)
Watch out! -- Waktá yo! (Nina)
I watched him closely. -- (Hé) awáŋyaŋg wakhúwa. (Nina)

Thank you all for participation on this exercise, you did a great job and I hope you enjoyed it.
Anyone ready to prepare something similar based on studying subtle nuances of words available in NLD?

Jan

by **Jan** » January 5th, 2009, 1:11 pm

ONe of the things that you could notice in these sentences is how the meaning of waŋyáŋka changes depending on what follows it:

Waŋyáŋg wahí. = I came to see him.
Waŋyáŋg maŋké. = I watched him.

The verb hí expresses finished action while the activity described by yaŋká is continuous. This is what determines the meaning of the preceding waŋyáŋg.

by **kinajin** » January 5th, 2009, 6:37 pm

wičhaša kiŋ ayuta yo!

by **Jan** » January 6th, 2009, 12:12 am

kinajin wrote:wičhaša kiŋ ayuta yo!

Yes, we have already acknowledged this in when you first posted it. And I have inserted it in the list of answers above.
Wašté, wóphila.

by **Wapasika** » January 6th, 2009, 5:12 am

Hau Jan, na uŋmá mitákuyepi kiŋ,

Hó, miš eyá lená etáŋhaŋ čónala ayúŋǧa iblútȟa wačhíŋ :

Jan wrote:
Ken wrote:Look at the man. -- Wičhaša kiŋ él étuŋwaŋ yo.

This is correct, but it is slighly more toward the sense "Look at the man and pay attention to him".
There is another way to say it.

Look at the man - Wičháša kiŋ waŋyáŋka yo!

If I understand right, waŋyáŋkA may have a special sense in the Imperative.

Waŋná lé átayaš slolmíč'ičhiye šni, ho tkȟá toháŋl tákuŋl ayútȟe-amápȟepi čháŋna hé íwapažiŋ owákihi šni sʼelél! :roll:

:

I watched the TV last night - Haŋhépi wičhítenaškaŋškaŋ kiŋ waŋyáŋg maŋké.

Hóčha,mitákuyepi, hená íŋš tok?

Clive.

by **Wapasika** » January 6th, 2009, 7:36 pm

Greetings folks,

Jan wrote:I watched the TV last night. -- Ȟtálehaŋ wičhítenaškaŋškaŋ waŋyáŋg maŋké. ()
Jan

Just a small quibble (Jan was probably in a hurry) :

Isn't 'last night' haŋhépi, rather than ȟtálehaŋ'yesterday'?
But perhaps the latter may also be used in this context for : "yesterday evening"?
If so, not recorded in NLD.

Clive.

P.S. Sorry Kevin - last night I failed to notice at all that you'd already posted one of the correct answers to
"Look at the man!" (Wičháša kiŋ waŋyáŋka yo!).
Bravo, well done! (Sheesh, high time I got my eyes retested!

)

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