Koasati (Coushatta) Language Project
20. Waliihiska? Are you running?
| Naason sanchi? | What are you doing? |
|
| hiicha? | is he/she looking? |
|
| Ishiicha? | Are you looking? | |
| talwa? | is he/she singing? | |
| Tachilwa? | Are you singing? | |
| hatchaali? | is he/she standing? | |
| Hatchaachi? | Are you standing? | |
| chokkooli? | is he/she sitting? | |
| Chokkoochi? | Are you sitting? | |
| lataafka? | is he/she kicking it? | |
| Lataafhiska? | Are you kicking it? | |
| naanosi | little boy | |
| Naanosik naksofon chayaahli? | Where is the little boy walking? | |
| waliika? | is he/she running? | |
| Waliihiska? | Are you running? |
Breaking it down:
Depending on the verb, ‘you’ is expressed with a prefix, an infix, or a suffix. A prefix is something attached to the front of a word; an infix is attached in the middle, and a suffix is attached at the end of a word:
| hiicha? is he/she looking? | ishiicha? are you looking? =PREFIX |
| talwa? is he/she singing? | tachilwa? are you singing? =INFIX |
| haali? is he/she standing? | hatchaachi? are you standing? =SUFFIX |
Here are some very common patterns:
a) Drop -li and add -chi:
| hatchaali? is he/she standing? | hatchaachi? are you standing? =SUFFIX |
| chokkooli? is he/she sitting? | chokkoochi? are you sitting? |
A few verbs differ just a little in dropping i and adding -chi:
| hopooni? is he/she cooking? | hoponchi? are you cooking? |
| saami? is he/she doing it? | sanchi? are you doing it? |
b) Drop -ka or -ko and add -hiska:
| waliika? is he/she running? | waliihiska? are you running? |
| lataafka? is he/she kicking it? | lataafhiska? are you kicking it? |
| iisko? is he/she drinking? | iishiska? are you drinking? |
c) Only a few dozen verbs take prefixes:
| hiicha? is he/she looking? | ishiicha? are you looking? |
| noochi? is he/she sleeping? | isnoochi? are you sleeping? |
| haalo? is he/she listening? | ishaalo? are you listening? |
d) The infixing pattern is common with verbs like the following:
| talwa? is he/she singing? | tachilwa? are you singing? |
| ohompa? is he/she eating? | ohochimpa? are you eating? |
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