Education Center Staff Nisenan Class - November 6, 2023
In previous classes, we learned how to command individuals and groups of people to do (and to not do) various things.
In this class, we consolidated what we've been learning by practicing. In particular, we focused on writing the Nisenan language in order to reinforce what we've learned in a different manner than speaking and listening (which are of course important too!). You can download a copy of the review sheet from this class by clicking here, and a copy of the practice activity lists by clicking here.
You can practice by following along with the instructions in the review sheet, which are repeated below. These practice activities are intended to be completed with one or more partners, but you can do them by yourself as well.
Hoyyapé! (Let's begin!)
First, select a list of Nisenan phrases from the practice activity lists. Take a few minutes to write your phrases down on a separate sheet of paper, but don't write down what they mean in English yet: We will translate them later, so leave some space next to each phrase.
Try to pay attention to spelling and special characters, like the stress marks and whether a sound is short or long ("doubled"). He are some tips for writing a few of the special characters in the official SSBMI Nisenan alphabet:
ɨ Ɨ (called "barred-i") - Write it like a normal "i", and cross it like a "t"
ə Ə (called "schwa") - Write an upsidedown "e"; start on the outside of the letter, not the inside
c’ C’ / k’ K’ / p’ P’ / t’ T’ (called "ejective" consonants) - Write a normal letter; then add an apostrophe after it (not on top)
á Á / é É / ə́ Ə́ / í Í / ɨ́ Ɨ́ / ó Ó / ú Ú (called "stressed" vowels) - Write a normal letter; then add an accent mark on top of it (not after)
Next, each person should read their hand-written list of phrases out loud, one at a time. Everyone else should write down each other's phrases as they say them, and then work together to figure out what those phrases mean.
For example, if the first person's list includes the phrase "Hatíp!" (Stop!), then they will read it out loud while everyone else writes "Hatíp!" on their sheet of paper. As a group, they should figure out that "Hatíp!" means "Stop!" (said to 1 person).
Commanding an individual versus a group of people
Some of the commands in your list are addressed to one person, while others are addressed to a group of people. Take a moment to change the number of people that each command in your list is addressed to, and write them down again.
For example, if your list includes the command "Hatíp!" (Stop!), then you will rewrite it as "Hatiwá!" (All of you, stop!), like so:
English
Nisenan
Stop!
(said to 1 person)
Hatíp!
All of you, stop!
(said to 2 or more people)
Hatiwá!
Or, for example, if your list includes the command "Dəkəwá!" (All of you, stand up!), then you will rewrite it as "Dəkə́p!" (Stand up!), like so:
English
Nisenan
All of you, stand up!
(said to 2 or more people)
Dəkəwá!
Stand up!
(said to 1 person)
Dəkə́p!
Esak’ábe mi? (Do you remember?) In Nisenan, you form commands that are addressed to one person by adding the singular command suffix "-p" or no suffix to the end of a verb stem (depending on whether the verb stem ends in a vowel or consonant). In contrast, you form commands that are addressed to a group of people by adding the plural command suffix "-wa" to the end of the verb stem. For more, check out our explanation for how to form singular versus plural commands from September 25.
Sitapáy! (Be careful!) Some of the commands in your list may have the negation suffix "-men" (no, not). Remember that the command suffixes (both singular "-p" and plural "-wa") go on after the negation suffix. For more, see our explanation of negation from October 30.
Here is a diagram to help you remember: VERB STEM - NEGATION - COMMAND
Opposite day!
Some of the commands in your list use the negation suffix "-men" (no, not), while others do not. Take a moment to change each command in your list so that it means the opposite, and then write them down again.
For example, if your list includes the command "Uk’oywá!" (All of you, go!), then you'll rewrite it as "Uk’oymenwá!" (All of you, don't go!), like so:
English
Nisenan
All of you, go!
(said to 2 or more people)
Uk’oywá!
All of you, don't go!
(said to 2 or more people)
Uk’oymenwá!
Or, for example, if your list includes the command "Dəkəmén!" (Don't stand up!), then you will rewrite it as "Dəkə́p!" (Stand up!), like so:
English
Nisenan
Don't stand up!
(said to 1 person)
Dəkəmén!
Stand up!
(said to 1 person)
Dəkə́p!
Sitapáy! (Be careful!) Once you remove the negation suffix "-men", you will be left with a verb stem. Then, if you are forming a command that is addressed to one person, you need to pay attention to whether the verb stem ends in a vowel or consonant:
You add the singular command suffix "-p" to the end of the verb stem if it ends in a vowel (e.g. "dəkə-" (to stand up) -> "Dəkə́p!" (Stand up!)), but no suffix if the verb stem ends in a consonant (e.g. "iskit-" (to sit down) -> "Iskít!" (Sit down!)).