48.1. YEḴ ‘hope,’ YEW̱ ‘presume,’ WE¸OĆE ‘guess,’ KE ‘surprise,’ TÁ ‘contrary’
Models
| 1) | YÁ¸ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘My friend went.’ |
| 2) | YÁ¸ YEḴ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I hope my friend went.’ |
| 3) | YÁ¸ YEW̱ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I presume my friend went.’ |
| 4) | YÁ¸ WE¸OĆE TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I guess my friend went.’ |
| 5) | YÁ¸ KE TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I’m surprised my friend went.’ |
| 6) | YÁ¸ TÁ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘My friend went (contrary to expectation). |
‣ 1 Note that, although the English translation of each model uses the past tense ‘went,’ we could just as well use present or future. Remember that tense marking in SENĆOŦEN is not required if the context makes it clear (§2).
‣ 2 Each of the models 2 through 6 is based on the statement in model 1: YÁ¸ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸ ‘My friend went.’ In each, the speech act modifier is used to add information about the speaker’s attitude toward that basic statement.
‣ 3 Since each of these speech act particles adds something about the speaker’s attitude, the English translation includes ‘I’ even though there is no ‘I’ or first-person subject SEN in the SENĆOŦEN.
‣ 4 English has nothing quite like these speech act modifiers. Most of the English translations here could use an adverb in the translation—model 2: ‘Hopefully, my friend went,’ model 3: ‘Presumably, my friend went,’ or model 5: ‘Surprisingly, my friend went.’
‣ 5 In model 2, the speaker uses the YEḴ particle to let the listener know he/she is not sure that the basic statement is true, but wants it to be true. This is almost always translated with English ‘I hope’ or ‘I wish.’
‣ 6 While all of the speech act modifiers in this group occur frequently, the YEW̱ particle in model 3 is the most common. This particle is used to let the listener know that the speaker is not quite one hundred percent certain, but presumes the information is true based on logic and some evidence. Sentences with YEW̱ are often translated with ‘must be’ or ‘I wonder if.’
‣ 7 The WE¸OĆE particle in model 4 is also a very common speech act modifier. It is used to let the listener know that the speaker does not know for sure, but the information is the speaker’s best guess or estimate and might not be exactly true. This is often translated into English with ‘probably’ or ‘must be.’
‣ 8 The WE¸OĆE particle is frequently shortened to WE¸OĆ or even just WOĆ.
‣ 9 The speech act modifier in model 5, KE, is used to let the listener know that the speaker is surprised or shocked by the information. This could also be translated as ‘wow!’ or ‘whoa!’ One memorable situation where this was used was when the late Manson Pelkey walked into the late Earl Claxton’s house with a huge 1.5 litre cup of pop. Earl exclaimed ‘ĆEḴ KE!’
‣ 10 The TÁ particle—often pronounced TE—in model 6, is used by the speaker to express that contrary to what the speaker, listener, or anyone previously thought, the information is indeed true. You might use model 6, for example, if you or your listener or anyone thought that your friend did not go. Or, if you expressed doubt by asking me ‘Are you sure your friend went?’ Then I could answer YÁ¸ TÁ TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸.
 | ĆESE¸ YEW̱. | ‘It must be two.’ |
 | LIW̱ YEḴ. | ‘I wish it was three.’ |
| NE XĆṈIN TÁ ¸E Ȼ EN¸ SṮI¸ TŦE SCUL. | ‘I thought you liked school.’ |
| ÁN¸ SEN U, ȽĆIȻES ¸E TI¸Á SȻÁĆEL. | ‘I’m very tired today.’ |
| 48.1A. Translate into English. 1. IȽEN YEW̱ TŦE NE SḴAXE¸. 2. IȽEN TÁ TŦE EN¸ SḴAXE¸. 3. ĆEḴ KE TŦE EN¸ SḴAXE¸! 4. SḴÁXE,S WE¸OĆE ŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | 48.1B. Translate into SENĆOŦEN 1. I presume it’s your dog. 2. I thought it was your canoe. 3. I guess they went home. 4. I hope they got home. |