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(5.43) Linguistic Notes
1.
ndiibikátł'oh'igáał'aashé
'all the varieties of grass on the earth's surface'. ndii -
'earth'; biká 'its surface'; tł'oh 'grass'.
2. Following are the plant names in this passage that can be analyzed:
tłohkéstasí 'grama grass'. tł'oh 'grass'. késtas- ?; -í relative.
tł'ałdeií 'false flax'. tł'a-, compounded form of tł'oh 'grass';
-łdei ?.
tł'ołchídí 'big blue-stem grass'. -łchíd-, compounded form of the 3rd person of łi-ni-...chí 'to be red' [imp. neut. intr.].
[ch is ambiguously drawn in the print copy, and could be interpretted as ts'; but it is
clear from context that the form intended is ch --MEC]
tł'ołtł'idzí [this appears as tł'ołtł'ijí in the text--MEC] 'wild violet'. -łtł'idz may be related to ni-...-tł'idz 'to
be hard' or it may have been misheard for -łtł'ij which is
possibly related to da-ni-...-tł'ij 'to be blue'.
ndébitł'ohí 'salt grass'.
ndé 'people, indians';
bitł'oh 'their grass'.
dziłátł'ohkéstasí 'black grama grass'. dził 'mountain'; -á from -yá 'on';
tł'ohkéstasí 'grama grass' [see above].
tł'ohbindáantsaaí 'red
columbine'. bindáa 'its eyes';
ntsaa 'they are big' [imp. neut. intr.]. bindáa, literally 'its eyes', is
understood to refer to the seeds of the plant.
tł'ohbindáantł'idzí 'wild
barley'. ntł'idz 'they are hard'.
tł'ohbindáa'áłts'oͅoͅ sí [the
text in the original contains an apparent misprint in which this word appears as
tł'ohbindáa'áłch'oͅoͅsí--MEC] 'side oats grama [var.]'. 'áłts'oͅoͅ s 'they are slender'.
tł'ohbindáa'iłaadaasijaaí
'rye grass'. 'ił- reciprocal; aa- 'to' plus daasijaa 'several masses lie' [si- perf. neut. intr. with the
distrib.].
tł'ohbindáa'iłké'dasijaaí
'candy grass'. Literally 'the grass on which masses of seeds lie on top of one another'.
'iłké'- 'after one another'; dah- 'on, upon'.
tł'ohbindáa'iłké'ńt'ií
'sideoats grama [var.]' Literally 'the grass on which the seeds are strung out after one
another'. ńt'i 'they have been strung out' [3rd person ni-
perf.].
tł'ohdábilátabinndáadasijaaí
'big blue-stem grass'. Literally 'the grass the seeds of which lie massed just on its
tip'. dábiláta 'just its tip'.
tł'ohbits'íládéídeesdzáí 'blue grass'. bits'íládéí 'its tassels'; deesdzá
'it extends upward, it sticks out' [?].