5. Possession with am-, chim-, etc. |

Koasati (Coushatta) Language Project

5. Possession with am-, chim-, etc.

You can use am- 'my', chim- 'your', etc. with many words to show possession:

aapo		grandmother
amaapo		my grandmother
chimaapo		your grandmother
imaapo		his/her grandmother
komaapo		our grandmother
hachimaapo		your (2+) grandmother

iisa		house
amiisa		my house
chimiisa		your house
imiisa		his/her house
komiisa		our house
hachimiisa		your (2+) house

ifa		dog
amifa		my dog
chimifa		your dog
imifa		his/her dog
komifa		our dog
hachimifa		your (2+) dog

Breaking it down:

These prefixes end in m before words beginning with vowels or before words beginning with b, p, or m. The prefixes may change their shape depending on the word that follows. Before t, n, th, and ch, you get an-, chin-, etc.:

toknaawa		money
antoknaawa		my money
chintoknaawa		your money
intoknaawa		his/her money
kontoknaawa		our money
hachintoknaawa		your (2+) money

Before h, you get aa-, chii-, etc.:

honno		dress
aahonno		my dress
chiihonno		your dress
iihonno		his/her dress
koohonno		our dress
hachiihonno		your (2+) dress

Before s, some people have an-,chin-, etc. and some people (DS, GR) have aa-, chii-, etc.:

sokcha		bag
ansokcha, aasokcha		my bag
chinsokcha, chiisokcha		your bag
insokcha, iisokcha		his/her bag
konsokcha, koosokcha		our bag
hachinsokcha, hachiisokcha		your (2+) bag

Before w, m changes to w. For some speakers (ES, JS, NF, BL), the vowel is nasal:

waaka		cow
awwaaka, awwaaka		my cow
chiwwaaka, chiwwaaka		your cow
iwwaaka, iwwaaka		his/her cow
kowwaaka, kowwaaka		our cow
hachiwwaaka, hachiwwaaka		your (2+) cow

Before l, some people (RW, JL, MJ, LP, JH) have al-, chil-, etc. and some people (ES, JS, NF, BL) have an-, chin-, etc.:

lopi		liver
allopi, anlopi		my liver
chillopi, chinlopi		your liver
illopi, inlopi		his/her liver
kollopi, konlopi		our liver
hachillopi, hachinlopi		your (2+) liver

Before y, some people (RW, JL, MJ, LP, JH) have ai-, chiy-, etc. and some people (ES, JS, NF, BL) have an-,chin-, etc.:

yanasa		buffalo
aiyanasa, anyanasa		my buffalo
chiyyanasa, chinyanasa		your buffalo
iyyanasa, inyanasa		his/her buffalo
koiyanasa, konyanasa		our buffalo
hachiyyanasa, hachinyanasa		your (2+) buffalo

A few words are always possessed. The word imokla 'friend' is like that. You can say amokla 'my friend' or imokla 'his/her friend', but *okla by itself isn't a word.