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Klallam Grammar

58 A Fully Annotated Text

Over 350 texts have been recorded from elders who spoke Klallam as their first language. These texts include traditional stories, history, legends, personal anecdotes, and songs. Other than speaking and using the language regularly, there is no better way to reach an advanced level of proficiency than to work through the texts of native speakers. By working through a text you get to see how all of the pieces of the grammar fit together. This section illustrates the basics of annotating a text. A fully annotated text consists of an interlinear translation with a free translation and commentary about the context of the original telling and any other information relevant to understanding the story. An interlinear translation is simply the story with the translation and, sometimes, analysis of each word aligned under it. The analysis of a word shows its prefixes, suffixes, and everything else about it.

This funny little story was told many times by Tom Charles, wətə́nəx̣ən. It is a typical Raven story. In the traditional stories, Raven, before he got turned into a bird, was a liar and a glutton who would steal food and even hide food from his own children. But he always got caught. Whenever Raven is mentioned in a story, everyone starts to smile.

This version of the story was told by Tom Charles in 1992 at the home of Ed and Hazel Sampson. Tom and Ed were cousins and had told each other stories they learned from their elders many times over the years. At this telling of the story there were about ten people present. Four were native speakers of Klallam; two others could understand the story; the rest were Klallam learners. A version of this story has been posted on YouTube.

The text here has four interlinear lines plus a free translation for every sentence. The first line is the Klallam. The second line is the basic translation of the Klallam word. The third line shows all of the components of the word. The fourth line shows the meaning of each element analyzed in the third line. This annotation follows the conventions and abbreviations of the Klallam Dictionary (pp. xvi–xvii). The symbol √ is put at the beginning of a root. A hyphen (‑) follows a prefix and precedes a suffix. A plus (+) marks a reduplication pattern. And the angle brackets (< and >) surround an infix. Articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and speech act particles have no special marking. A list of abbreviations follows the annotated text.
Raven Fakes a Broken Arm
Here is the text:
ƛ̓áy č̓ yaʔ kʷi ʔuʔ x̣ʷənʔáŋ kʷiə sk̓ʷtúʔ yaʔ. ƛ̓áy č̓ yaʔ ʔuʔ qáyx̣ ʔəɬ qʷáqʷiʔəs. x̣áɬ č̓ cə t̓áwiʔs. x̣ʷənʔáŋ yəxʷ yaʔ ʔaʔ ʔə́c stkʷácss. suʔəsxʷə́yk̓ʷtxʷs tə t̓áwis. ʔiʔ ʔáw č̓ ta c ʔəstákʷɬ tə t̓áwis. ŋə́n̓ č̓ x̣áčəŋ qə́yəx̣ cə ʔəsxʷə́y̓k̓ʷ ʔaʔ cə t̓áwis. ʔi uʔŋuʔúts kʷaʔčaʔ. sxʷaʔtín̓s č̓ sxʷk̓ʷə́nnəxʷtxʷ. kʷɬníɬ kʷaʔ k̓ʷə́nəŋəs ʔaʔ cə ŋə́nəŋənaʔs ʔiʔ qəməsítəŋ. níɬ č̓ sxʷʔəsxʷə́yk̓ʷtxʷ ʔaʔ cə cloth, púxʷən kʷaʔ ʔuʔstáŋəs čtə. níɬ kʷaʔčaʔ ʔuʔ k̓ʷən̓tíŋ̓ č̓ ʔaʔ cə ʔuʔnáʔc̓uʔ ŋə́naʔs. níɬ č̓ suʔŋuʔúts cə x̣áčəŋ qə́yəx̣ sxʷʔəsxʷə́y̓k̓ʷ ʔaʔ cə ʔiʔ kʷaʔ stáŋəs yaʔ čtə. sxʷčtátəŋs ʔaʔ cə nə́c̓uʔ ŋə́naʔs, “ʔaʔstúʔŋət ʔuč kʷaʔčaʔ ʔən̓sxʷc̓ə́ŋ̓təŋ n̓̓cáys.” níɬ č̓ suʔáx̣əŋs, “ʔáwə cn c c̓ə́ŋ̓. púʔxʷt cn ta. x̣áɬ tiə nət̓áwiʔ.” níɬ č̓ suʔƛ̓áys čtátəŋ kʷaʔ k̓ʷə́nəstəŋs ʔaʔ či ʔəstákʷɬ t̓áwis. níɬ č̓ suʔqʷáqʷiʔs qəwə́čən ixʷ kʷiw̓níɬ. ʔáx̣əŋ, “lémət ʔuʔčéləš. lémət ʔuʔčéləš.”

Read along with the story here.

Now here is the text fully annotated:

1.	ƛ̓áy	č̓	yaʔ	kʷi	ʔuʔ	x̣ʷənʔáŋ	kʷiə	sk̓ʷtúʔ	yaʔ.
1.	also	app.	past	suggest	connect	being a way	this	raven	past
1.	√ƛ̓ay	č̓	yaʔ	kʷi	ʔuʔ	√x̣ʷənʔa-ŋ<ˀ>	kʷiə	s-√k̓ʷtuʔ	yaʔ
1.	√also	sap	sap	sap	u-conn	√way-mdl<actl>	dem	s-√raven	sap

Raven was also like that.

2.	ƛ̓áy	č̓	yaʔ	ʔuʔ	qáyx̣	ʔəɬ	qʷáqʷiʔ	-əs.
2.	also	app.	past	connect	lie	while	talking	-he
2.	√ƛ̓ay	č̓	yaʔ	ʔuʔ	√qayx̣	ʔəɬ	qʷa+√qʷay<ʔ>	-əs
2.	√also	sap	sap	u-conn	lie	whl	actl+√talk<actl>	-3sd.sbj.

He also lied when he was talking.

3.	x̣áɬ	č̓	cə	t̓áwiʔ	-s.
3.	sore	app.	the	arm	-his
3.	√x̣<á>ɬ	č̓	cə	√t̓awyʔ	-s
3.	√hurt<rslt>	sap	dem	√arm	-3pos

His arm was apparently hurt.

4.	x̣ʷənʔáŋ	yəxʷ	yaʔ	ʔaʔ	ʔə́c	s-	tkʷács	-s.
4.	like	guess	past		me	s-	break arm	-his
4.	√x̣ʷn̓a-ŋ	yəxʷ	yaʔ	ʔaʔ	√ʔəc	s-	√tkʷ=acs	-s
4.	√way-mdl<actl>	sap	sap	prep	1focus	s-	√break=arm	-3pos

I guess he was like me, who got his arm broken.

5.	suʔ-	ʔəsxʷə́yk̓ʷtxʷ	-s	tə	t̓áwi	-s.
5.	so-	wrap up	-he	the	arm	-his
5.	suʔ-	ʔs-√xʷəyk̓ʷ-txʷ	-s	cə	√t̓awy	-s
5.	s-contr-	stat-√wrap-caus	-3pos	dem	√arm	-3pos

So he wrapped up his arm.

6.	ʔiʔ	ʔáw	č̓	ta	c	ʔəstákʷɬ	tə	t̓áwi	-s.
6.	but	not	app.	contrary	neg	broken	the	arm	-his
6.	ʔiʔ	√ʔawə	č̓	ta	c	ʔs-√t<á>kʷ-ɬ	cə	√t̓awy	-s
6.	conj	√not	sap	sap	negc	stat-√break<rslt>-dur	dem	arm	-3pos

But his arm wasn’t broken.

7.	ŋə́n̓	č̓	x̣áčəŋ	qə́yəx̣	cə	ʔəsxʷə́y̓k̓ʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	t̓áwi	-s.
7.	much	app.	dry	roe	the	wrapped up	in	the	arm	-his
7.	√ŋən̓	č̓	√x̣ač-ŋ	√qəyx̣	cə	ʔs-√xʷəy̓k̓ʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	√t̓awy	-s
7.	√much	sap	√dry-mdl	√roe	dem	stat-√wrap	prep	dem	arm	-3pos

There were lots of dried salmon eggs wrapped up in his arm.

8.	ʔi	uʔ-	ŋuʔút	-s	kʷaʔčaʔ.
8.	and	so-	eating it	-he	therefore
8.	ʔiʔ	ʔuʔ-	√ŋ<əʔ>ú-t	-s	kʷaʔčaʔ
8.	conj	contr-	√eat<actl>-tr	-3subj	sap

And so he was nibbling on them.

9.	sxʷaʔtín̓	-s	č̓	sxʷ-	k̓ʷə́nnəxʷtxʷ.
9.	hated	-he	app.	for-	to let them see it
9.	s-√xʷəʔtin̓	-s	č̓	sxʷ-	√k̓ʷən-naxʷ-txʷ
9.	s-√dislike	-3pos	sap	for-	√see-ntr-letcaus

He hated to let them see it.

10.	kʷɬníɬ	kʷaʔ	k̓ʷə́nəŋ	-əs	ʔaʔ	cə	ŋə́nəŋənaʔ	-s
10.	now	if	is seen	-he	by	the	children	-his
10.	kʷɬ-√niɬ	kʷaʔ	√k̓ʷən-naxʷ-ŋ	-s	ʔaʔ	cə	ŋə́n+√ŋənaʔ	-s
10.	alrdy-√3focus	if/when	√see-ntr-psv	-3sd.sbj	prep	dem	pl+√child	-3pos

	ʔiʔ	qəməsítəŋ.
	then	be asked for
	ʔiʔ	√qm̓-sít-ŋ
	conj	√beg-bene-psv

If his children saw it now, they’d ask for some.

11.	níɬ	č̓	sxʷ-	ʔəsxʷə́yk̓ʷtxʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	cloth,
11.	that	apparently	reason for-	wrapped up	in	the	cloth
11.	√niɬ	č̓	sxʷ-	ʔs-√xʷəyk̓ʷ-txʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	cloth
11.	√3focus	sap	for-	stat-√wrap-caus	prep	dem	cloth

púxʷən	kʷaʔ	ʔuʔ-	stáŋ	-əs	čtə.
sail cloth	if/when	contr-	something	-he	probably
√puxʷ=n	kʷaʔ	ʔuʔ-	s-√taŋ	-s	čtə
√blow=instrument	if/when	contr-	s-√what	-3sd.sbj	sap

That’s why he wrapped it in cloth, sail cloth or something it probably was.

12.	níɬ	kʷaʔčaʔ	ʔuʔ	k̓ʷən̓tíŋ̓	č̓
12.	he was	therefore	u-conn	being watched	app.
12.	√niɬ	kʷaʔčaʔ	w̓	√k̓ʷn<̓>-t-í-ŋ<̓>	č̓
12.	√3focus	sap	u-conn	√see<actl>-tr-pers-psv<actl>	sap

ʔaʔ	cə	ʔuʔ-	náʔc̓uʔ	ŋə́naʔ	-s.
by	the	contr-	one	child	-his
ʔaʔ	cə	ʔuʔ-	√n<áʔ>əc̓uʔ	√ŋə́nəʔ	-s
prep	dem	contr-	√one<person>	√child	-3pos

So one of his children was watching.

13.	níɬ	č̓	suʔ-	ŋuʔút	-s	cə	x̣áčəŋ	qə́yəx̣
13.	then	apparently	so-	eating it	-he	the	dry	salmon eggs
13.	√niɬ	č̓	suʔ-	√ŋ<əʔ>ú-t	-s	cə	√x̣ač-ŋ	√qəyx̣
13.	√3focus	sap	s-contr-	√eat<actl>-tr	-3pos	dem	√dry-mdl	√roe

sxʷ-	ʔəsxʷə́y̓k̓ʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	ʔiʔ	kʷaʔ	stáŋ	-əs	yaʔ	čtə.
for-	wrapped up	in	it	and	if	what	-it	past	probably
sxʷ-	ʔs-√xʷəy̓k̓ʷ	ʔaʔ	cə	ʔiʔ	kʷaʔ	s-√taŋ	-s	yaʔ	čtə
for-	stat-√wrap	prep	dem	conj	if/when	s-√what	-3sd.sbj	sap	sap

So he nibbled on the dried salmon eggs wrapped up in that whatever it was.

14.	sxʷ-	čtátəŋ	-s	ʔaʔ	cə	náʔc̓uʔ	ŋə́naʔ	-s,
14.	for-	was asked	-he	by	the	one	offspring	-his
14.	sxʷ-	√čta-t-ŋ	-s	ʔaʔ	cə	√n<áʔ>əc̓uʔ	√ŋə́nəʔ	-s
14.	for-	√ask-tr-psv	-3pos	prep	dem	√one<person>	√child	-3pos

That’s why he was asked by one of his children,

15.	“ʔaʔstúʔŋət	ʔuč	kʷaʔčaʔ
15.	why	request	therefore
15.	√ʔə<ʔ>stu<ʔ>ŋt	ʔuč	kʷaʔčaʔ
15.	√do what<actl>	sap	sap

ʔən̓-	sxʷ-	c̓ə́ŋ̓təŋ	n̓-	cáys.”
your-	reason for-	be bitten	your-	hand
ʔən̓-	sxʷ-	√c̓əŋ̓-t-ŋ	ʔn̓-	√cays
2pos-	for-	√bite<actl>-tr-psv	2pos-	√hand

“Why are you biting your hand?”

16.	níɬ	č̓	suʔ-	ʔáx̣əŋ	-s,	“ʔáwə	cn	c	c̓ə́ŋ̓.
16.	then	apparently	so-	say	-he,	‘not	I	negc	bite
16.	√niɬ	č̓	suʔ-	√ʔax̣-ŋ	-s	√ʔawə	cn	c	√c̓əŋ̓
16.	√3focus	sap	s-contr-	√say-mdl	-3pos	√not	1subj	negc	√bite

So then he answered, “I’m not biting.

17.	púʔxʷt	cn	ta.	x̣áɬ	tiə	nə-	t̓áwiʔ.”
17.	blowing on it	I	contrary	sore	this	my-	arm
17.	√pu<ʔ>xʷ-t	cn	cə	√x̣<á>ɬ	tiə	n-	√t̓awy
17.	√blow<actl>-tr	1subj	sap	√hurt<rslt>	dem	1pos-	√arm

On the contrary, I’m blowing on it. My arm hurts.”

18.	níɬ	č̓	suʔ-	ƛ̓áy	-s	čtátəŋ	kʷaʔ
18.	then	apparently	so-	again	-he	was asked	if
18.	√niɬ	č̓	suʔ-	√ƛ̓ay̓	-s	√čta-t-ŋ	kʷaʔ
18.	√3focus	sap	s-contr-	√again	-3pos	√ask-tr-psv	if/when

k̓ʷə́nəstəŋ	-s	ʔaʔ	či	ʔəstákʷɬ	t̓áwi	-s.
be.shown	-he	obl	the	broken	arm	-his
√k̓ʷən-əstxʷ-ŋ	-s	ʔaʔ	či	ʔs-√t<á>kʷ-ɬ	√t̓awy	-s
√see-caus-psv	-3sd.sbj	prep	dem	stat-√break<rslt>-dur	√arm	-3pos

Then he was asked again if he could look at his broken arm.

19.	níɬ	č̓	suʔ-	qʷáqʷiʔ	-s	qəwə́čən	ixʷ	kʷiw̓níɬ
19.	3focus	apparently	so-	talking	-he,	Cowichan	guess	that one
19.	√niɬ	č̓	suʔ-	qʷa+√qʷay <ʔ>	-s	√qwʔə́čn	yəxʷ	kʷi-w̓-níɬ
19.	√3focus	sap	s-contr-	actl+√talk <actl>	-3pos	√Cowichan	sap	dem

So then he was spoke in Cowichan, I guess.

20.	ʔáx̣əŋ,	“lémət	ʔuʔ-	čéləš.	lémət	ʔuʔ	čéləš.”
20.	he.said,	look at it	contr-	hand	look at it	contr-	hand
20.	√ʔáx̣-ŋ	lémət	ʔuʔ-	čéləš	lémət	ʔuʔ-	čéləš
20.	√say-mdl	look at it	contr-	hand	look at it	contr-	hand

He said, “Look at my hand. Look at my hand.”

The story ends with Raven trying to fool his own child by pretending to speak Cowichan. The words lémət and čéləš are Cowichan words.

Abbreviations used in the interlinear annotations:

1focus ‘first-person focus’ §15

1subj ‘I subject’
2pos ‘you possessive’ §5.1
3focus ‘third-person focus’ §15
-3pos ‘his/her/its/their possessive’ §5.1
-3sd.sbj ‘he/she/it subordinate subject’ §13
-3subj ‘he/she/it/they subject’ §1.2
actl ‘actual’ §42
alrdy- ‘already’ §19.3
app. ‘apparently’ §41.1
-bene ‘beneficiary’ §45.2
-caus ‘causative’ §40
conj ‘conjunction’ §17, §30
contr- ‘contrast’ §35, §52.1
dem ‘demonstrative article’ §4, §53
dur ‘durative’ §43
for- ‘thing for/reason for’ §38.1, §39
if/when ‘if/when subordinator’ §30.1
-letcaus ‘let causative’ §40.3
-mdl ‘middle’ §44
negc ‘negative c’ §9.2
-ntr ‘noncontrol transitive’ §7.2
-pers ‘persistent’ §31.1
pl+ ‘collective plural’ §33
prep ‘preposition’ §8.1
-psv ‘passive’ §7.1, §31
rslt ‘resultative’ §43
s- ‘s- prefix’ §34, §38.2
sap ‘speech act particle’ §41
s-contr- ‘s- contrast’ §35
stat- ‘stative’ §43
-tr ‘control transitive’ §7.1
u-conn ‘ʔuʔ-class connector’ §29.1
whl ‘while’ §27

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