Thursday, March 16, 2017

UNIT 1: ɯ̀r “Spring” Lesson 3: “Quska”


Aims: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to talk about Ket household items using locative postpositions and expressions for “to (not) be there”

Story: You have just made friends with a family of Ket people living on the shores of the Yenisei river.  You met them while they were setting up their spring encampment.  Now that their birchbark teepee is set up, they invite you in.  Inside the air is smoky and warm.  You can distinguish a few important items belonging to the family, not least among them the family’s guardian spirit dolls.

U:: əkŋna qu's qà aqtas!
Kətdum: E’.  Quska usam.
U:: Quska akus
usaŋ?
Kətdum: Quska etna
hojaŋ usaŋ.
U:: Kire hojaŋ akus?
Kətdum: Kire lә:q haj sujad.  Ture Dahani
ŋda qa’d, haj kire ap usans.
U:: Tune akus?
Kətdum
: Tune ətna allel haj daŋgols.  Uk quska allel tam daŋgols usaŋ?
U:: Ap quska allel tam daŋgols bənsaŋ.

Grammar
1.      Locative: Ket locative suffix is produced by adding the suffix -ka to a noun, regardless of gender or number.  Therefore, we can make constructions like quska “in the tent” or hɯssejka “in the forest”.
2.      Stating the presence of nouns: Ket uses the phrase-final usaŋ and bənsaŋ to state presence or lack of a noun.  Thus, we can produce sentences like Quska tɯ'n usaŋ/bənsaŋ “In the tent there is/is not a kettle.”
3.      We ask and answer “where” questions by putting “where?” and “here/there” after the noun.  So, I can say “Ap təgol biseŋ?  Uk təgol kiseŋ/qaséŋ” “Where is my tall birchbark container?  Your tall birchbark container is here/over there”

Vocabulary
Household Items
Allel
Female guardian spirit doll
Daŋgols
Male guardian spirit doll (less common)
Hojaŋ
Things
Lә:q
Furs, Pelts
Sujad
Clothing
Oŋnes
Bed (made of skins)
Usans
Blanket (literally “warming one”)
Təjol
Tall Birchbark Container
ɯgedj
Wide Birchbark Container
Kojel
Pan
Tɯ’n
Kettle
Sɯ’k
Kneading Trough
Bo’q
Fire
U:l
Water
Adjectives
U:s
Warm
A:ŋ
Hot
Ta’j
Cold
Other
Tam
or
                                 
Exercises:
Translate:
1.      Uk kəla biseŋ?  Bu se:ska. ___________________________________

2.      Buŋna kə'd biseŋ?  Bu:ŋ hɯssejqa. _______________________________________

3.      Quska allel bənsaŋ. ____________________________________

4.      Qare u:l usam. __________________________________________

5.      Tɯnka a:ŋ u:l usaŋ. __________________________________________

6.      Qu’s hɯssejka? Bə:n, qu’s se:ska. _______________________________________

7.      Qare uk sɯ’k? Bə:n, qane ap amda sɯ’k.______________________________________________________

8.      Kire usans u:sam. ________________________________

Answer.

9.      Kətdum haj Dahaniŋda quska akus usaŋ? _____________________________________________


10.   Quska tajam tam usam? _________________________________________