Massimiliano - Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin)

[księżycowy]

I've decided that, as long as I'm working somewhat steadily on Czech and Japanese at all times, I'll indulge any other wanderlusts pretty much at will.

Would any of those wanderlust be NAILs?

[johnklepac]

I've decided that, as long as I'm working somewhat steadily on Czech and Japanese at all times, I'll indulge any other wanderlusts pretty much at will.

Would any of those wanderlust be NAILs?

Lately, yeah, actually. The fact that I've been watching Dead Man over the past couple of days hasn't done anything but aggravate the situation.

[księżycowy]

Can't say I've seen the film. But if it makes you want to study a NAIL, then I'm all for it!

Feel free to start a thread if you decide on a language.

*Sorry Massimiliano, you can have your thread back now.*

[Massimiliano B]

I haven't seen your posts. What is "Dead man"? A movie?

Now I'm not working on it. I have no time . I hope I will post here something in the future!

Do it!

I hope I will do.

[Massimiliano B]

The part of a language I like the most is the verbal system. The one of Ojibwe is astonishingly complicated, and this makes Ojibwe one of the first languages in my own list of «best languages of the world»!


There are various classes of verbs. The first is the VAI verb class (I already posted something about VAI verbs, but I need now to refresh my memory).
VAI means Verbs Animate Intransitive. These verbs have an animate subject and no object (that's the meaning of Intransitive):

nindizhaa = I go
gidizhaa = you go
izhaa = s/he goes
nindizhaamin = we (exc) go
gidizhaamin = we (ins) go
gidizhaam = you pl. go
izhaawag = they go



Personal prefixes have the following forms:

ni- before w, n, m;
nin- before d, g, j, z, zh;
nim- before b;
nind- before any vowel;

gi- before any consonant;
gid- before any vowel.



The second is the VII verb class. VII means Verb Inanimate Intransitive:

waawiyeyaa – it is round
waabishkaa – it is white
michaa – it is big
inaande – it is of such color
bizhishigwaa – it is empty

The subject of these verbs is grammatically inanimate. They have no first and second person singular or plural, because they are obviously animate!

If the subject is plural, add the suffix -wan to the verb:

michaawan - they are big


Many verbs which refers to wheather conditions are VII verbs:

gimiwan - it is raining
zoogipon - it is snowing
zaagaate - it is sunny
gizhaate - it is hot
gisinaa - it is cold
noodin - it is windy
waaban - "it is dawn"


There are other two verb classes. I will study them soon.

[Massimiliano B]

Hi!

This time I'll deal with VTA verbs. VTA means Verb Transitive Animate, that is the subject is an animate noun, the verb is transitive ( = it has an object), and the object is an animate noun. That is, someone does something to someone or something animate.

Here is the list of forms of the indicative positive VTA verb waabam "to see somebody":

http://weshki.atwebpages.com/verbs/vta_A_indic.html

I'm trying to understand the first set (with "I" as subject):

I see myself - niwaabamidiz
I see you (sing.) - giwaabamin
I see him - niwaabamaa
I see you (pl.) - giwaabamininim
I see them - niwaabamaag

While in English "I" precedes always the verb, in Ojibwe this is not always true. In fact, I deduce, from the examples above, that only when the object is a third person singular (him) or plural (them) or it is the same as the subject (myself), then the prefix ni- is used as first person singular subject. In the other cases, different kinds of affixes are used. Specifically, the suffix -in ("I") is used in relation to a second person singular object (gi-), while the suffix -ininim ("I") in relation to a second person plural object (gi-).
Thus, the suffix -idiz means "myself" (or x-self), -aa indicates the third person singular object (him/her) and -aag is the third person plural object (them).

I've just tried to guess from the intricate puzzle I see above. I'm not sure I'm right. Further investigations are needed.

[Massimiliano B]

Taken from here:

http://weshki.atwebpages.com/verbs/vta_A_indic.html


Here is the second set - subject: you (singular)

you (singl.) see me - giwaabam
you (singl.) see yourself - giwaabamidiz
you (singl.) see him - giwaabamaa
you (singl.) see us (excl.) - giwaabamimin
you (singl.) see them - giwaabamaag


Gi- means you-singular. It is always put at the beginning of the verb.

The first singular object "me" is unmarked.

-idiz indicates the "x-self".

-aa is "him/her".

-imin means "us" exclusive (i.e. "without you who are speaking") .

-aag means "them".

[Massimiliano B]

I still have an interest in the Ojibwe language, so I've decided to resuscitate this thread.

gawaji means he/she is cold

When the stem of the verb ends in -i, the -i is dropped in the first and second person singular:

ningawaj = I am cold (ni-/nind- = I)
gigawaj = you (singular) are cold (gi- = you)
gawaji = he/she is cold
ningawajimin = we (but not you) are cold (ni-/-min = we excl.)
gigawajimin = we (included you) are cold (gi-/-min = we incl.)
gigawajim = you all are cold (gi-/-m you all)
gawajiwag = they are cold (-wag = they)

To deny, add gaawiin before the verb and -sii at the end of it. The negative form of the first and second person adds the -i before the particle -sii

gaawin ningawajisii = I am not cold
gaawin gigawajisii = you are not cold
gaawin gawajisii = he/she is not cold
gaawin ningawajisiimin = we (excl.) are not cold
gaawin gigawajisiimin = we (incl.) are not cold
gaawin gigawajisiim = you all are not cold
gaawin gawajisiiwag = they are not cold

The particle -sii comes before the personal suffixes.

[hrhenry]

gawaji means he/she is cold

I had known the word "giikaji" to mean "he/she is cold", but had not heard of "gawaji". When searching on the People's Dictionary, it comes back with "he/she freezes to death", although a general internet search tells me that they can be used to mean the same thing.

I wonder if there is a subtle difference between the two or if they can be used interchangeably.

In any case, I learned a new word. Thanks!

R.
==

[Massimiliano B]

I wonder if there is a subtle difference between the two or if they can be used interchangeably.

I don't know.

I forgot to specify the source:

http://weshki.atwebpages.com/oj_textbook_10.html