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 Dahaniŋda 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.
Kətdum: E’. Quska usam.
U:: Quska akus usaŋ?
Kətdum: Quska etna hojaŋ usaŋ.
U:: Kire hojaŋ akus?
Kətdum: Kire lә:q haj sujad. Ture Dahaniŋda 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? _________________________________________
