Coyote and Owl, Mescalero Apache Text excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes |
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 | Coyote and Owl, Mescalero Apache Text |  |
From there Coyote went on farther along the road.
'Áshíͅ ndásá Shóͅóͅdé 'íńtin hołghołná'a.
Shá'óͅóͅ'áͅnégo, kóͅóͅhégo choołhiłná'a.
Nńyáná'a.
'Iyéłch'áͅná'a.
'Iyáahee yidoosts'áͅná'a.
Dá'iłk'áyeejiͅ náá'iyaałts'íͅíͅłná'a.
Dásíshá'ii'áhyágo 'iyáahee dihndígo 'idoosts'áͅná'a.
The sun having set, it was becoming a bit dark.
He stopped.
He listened.
He had heard something.
He kept hearing it again at intervals.
He had heard something making a noise directly to the west.
1. kóͅóͅhégo choołhiłná'a 'it was becoming a bit dark'. kóͅóͅhé "little, a bit' [part.]. choołhił, prog. of chaa- |...[hi- perf.]-ł-gheeł 'to become dark' [act. intr.].
2. yidoosts'áͅná'a 'he had heard it'. 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of di-|...[si- perf.]-ts'íͅ 'to hear' [act. tr.]. The perfective paradigm is irregular: Sg. 1. disíts'áͅ; Sg. 2. disínts'áͅ; Sg. 3. yidoosts'áͅ or yidoots'áͅ [also, rarely, yidiists'áͅ]; Sg. 3a. ch'idoosts'áͅ or ch'idoots'áͅ [and ch'idiits'áͅ]; Du. 1. disiͅiͅts'áͅ. Since di-|, found in many verbs having to do with sound, generally takes the hi- perfective [e. g., 'ádóͅóͅndii 'he has said so'] it is possible that the above paradigm represents a stage in the shift from the hi- perfective to the si- perfective.
3. dá'iłkáyeejiͅ 'at intervals, one after another'. dá- 'just'; 'ił- reciprocal; -káyee- ?; -jiͅ 'to' [pp.; cf. Chir -zhiͅ].
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