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 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? _________________________________________