40.3. Let causative: -txʷ
| ʔə́ctxʷ. | ‘Let me do it.’ |
| ɬníŋɬtxʷ. | ‘Let us do it.’ |
| nə́kʷtxʷ. | ‘You do it.’ |
| níɬtxʷ. | ‘Let him/her/them do it.’ |
| ʔíɬəntxʷ. | ‘Let him/her/them eat.’ |
► 1 When the ‑txʷ suffix is added to a focus pronoun (§15), the result is a verb that includes ‘let’ in the meaning, as in the examples. In the translation to English, the emphasis is on the pronoun.
► 2 When the ‑txʷ suffix is added to a verb that requires an animate subject, the result is a verb that includes ‘let’ in the meaning. For example, ʔíɬən ‘eat’ has to have an animate subject because inanimate things cannot eat.
► 3 There are two ways to specify the action when the root is a focus pronoun:
ʔə́ctxʷ hiyáʔ. ‘Let me (be the one to) go.’
ʔə́ctxʷ ʔuʔ hiyáʔ. ‘Let me (be the one to) go.’
There is no apparent difference in the meaning of these two.
► 4 It is also possible for a noun to follow these focus pronouns with ‑txʷ:
ʔə́ctxʷ ʔən̓sčáʔčaʔ. ‘Let me be your friend.’
ʔə́ctxʷ ʔuʔ ʔən̓sčáʔčaʔ. ‘Let me be your friend.’
ʔə́ctxʷ či ʔən̓sčáʔčaʔ. ‘Let me be your friend.’
ʔə́ctxʷ kʷi ʔən̓sčáʔčaʔ. ‘Let me be your friend.’
Again, these apparently all mean the same thing with the only difference being that the last one, with kʷi, refers to something that will not be visible.
► 5 These ‘let’ causatives are always imperative, that is, they are commands.
► 6 The subject of a ‘let’ causative is always an understood cxʷ.
► 7 The ‘let’ causative never takes object suffixes.
► 8 The ‘let’ causative can be attached to a transitive stem, but this is not a common usage. An example is k̓ʷə́nnəxʷtxʷ ‘let someone see it.’ This is based on the transitive form k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ ‘see it.’
► 9 New vocabulary: ʔúyɬ ‘go aboard’
 | ʔə́ctxʷ kʷənáŋəc. | ‘Let me help you.’ |
 | háʔnəŋ cn. | ‘Thank you.’ |
| mán̓ ʔuʔ síq̓i tiə snə́xʷɬ. | ‘This canoe is very heavy.’ |
| níɬ nuʔčə́q. | ‘It’s the biggest.’ |