Coyote and Turtle, Mescalero Apache Text :: :: University of Virginia Library

(4.3)[3]
Bich'iͅiͅndiiyeeskáͅná'a.
Dáhátide 'ee'nyáͅná'a.
'Inaadáͅáͅ'í bách'iist'éná'a.
Bidáshíͅ bánch'íńkáͅná'a.
'Iyáͅgo sidáná'a.
'Ilóodií yi'aałná'a.
Dáhátide yi'aałná'a.
Ńnáhádoobiłhaͅhdaná'a.
'Ilóodií dábizéé'sijaago dá'átinyá dashnt'iná'a.
'Ilóodií yiłdeeskosná'a.
Bidághee'yá daadiyeestaná'a.
Haadziií ch'é'áił'iͅiͅná'a.
'Ákoo ch'édoch'iͅiͅdahdiłndiiná'a.
Dágé bizéé'ee 'iłch'áͅ'ágoot'éná'a.
Nankaaná'a.

"Tó shańkaa!"

dindií ch'é'áił'iͅiͅná'a.
Bi'isdzáńń bich'iͅiͅyaanách'iͅiͅt'iná'a.
Dahbiłt'eená'a.
Bíńghahyá yiistłoná'a.
Nágo'a bizéé'shíͅ 'ilóodií hadááheestaná'a.
Bindáaí 'iłch'áͅ'ádzaaná'a.

"[belch]"

dóͅóͅndiiná'a.
Hanóͅóͅyolná'a.

It lay on the ground before him.
He quickly began to eat.
She had roasted corn for him.
She had put it down before him for him.
He sat there eating.
He was chewing roasted corn.
He was chewing it fast.
It was not fast enough for him.
With roasted corn still in his mouth he rushed for the door.
He coughed with the corn [in his mouth].
[The corn] flew down his throat.
He tried in vain to speak.
Then he vainly waved his arms to her.
His mouth just hung open.
He staggered.

"Give me water!"

he tried in vain to say.
His wife rushed to him.
She shook him.
She slapped him on the back.
Then the corn flew out of his mouth.
He opened his eyes.
He belched.
He breathed again.

[_]

(4.3) Linguistic Notes

1. 'inaadáͅáͅ' or naadáͅáͅ' 'corn'. For the etymology of this word, see Edward Sapir, "Internal Linguistic Evidence Suggestive of the Northern Origin of the Navaho" [American Anthropologist, Vol. 38, No. 2, April-June 1936], pp. 228-231.

2. 'ilóodi 'roasted corn, kernels of corn' the hispanicized Nahua word helote 'green corn'.

3. ńnáhádoobiłhaͅhdaná'a 'it was not fast enough for him'. ńnáhá- 'very' [procl.]; 'doo-...-da negative; bił- 'with him'; haͅh 'quickly, rapidly, fast'.

4. dábizéé'sijaago 'it being still in his mouth'. dá- 'just, only'; bizéé' 'his mouth'; sijaa- 'a mass lies' [si- perf. neut. intr.]; -go subord. encl.

5. yiłdeeskosná'a 'he coughed with it'. yił- 'with it' plus the 3rd person perf. of di...[si- perf.]-ł-kos 'to cough' [act. intr.]. di- ?.

6. bidághe'yá 'down his throat'. -dághe' 'throat' is 'a compound of -dá 'lip, chin' [used only in compounds] and -ghe' 'in, inside'.

7. daadiyeestaná'a 'it flew'. 3rd person distrib. perf. of di-|...[si- perf.]-d-tá 'to move suddenly, to start, to jerk' [act. intr.]. di-| ?.

8. dágé bizéé'ee 'iłch'áͅ'ágoot'éná'a 'his mouth just hung open'. dágé 'just, only' [part.] bizéé' 'his mouth'; -ee ?. 'iłch'áͅ 'from one another'; 'ágoot'é 'it was so' [?]. I cannot analyze 'ágoot'é.

9. nankaaná'a 'he swayed'. 3rd person imp of naa-ni-...[hi- perf.]-kaa 'to fall' [act. intr.]. -kaa 'a long, flat object falls'; naa- 'off, down'; ni- terminative.

10. bich'iͅiͅyaanách'iͅiͅt'iná'a 'she rushed to him'; literally, 'she jumped toward him'.

11. dahbiłt'eená'a 'she shook him'. 3rd person. imp. with 3rd person obj. of dah-|...[si- perf.]-ł-t'e 'to shake' [act. tr.]. dah-| 'up' [?]; the theme appears with no other prefixes.

12. bíńghahyá yiistłoná'a, 'she slapped him on the back'. -ńghah 'back'. yiistło, 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of hi-|...[si- perf.]-ł-tło 'to strike with the hand' [act. tr.].

13. hadaaheestaná'a 'it flew out'. 3rd person distrib. perf. of ha-hi-...[si- perf.]-d-tá 'to move out suddenly' [act. intr.]. Cf. §7 above.

[Belching appears in the Apache sentence as the quoted utterance of Coyote. See editor's note to passage 3.48--MEC]

14. hanóͅóͅyolná'a 'he breathed again'. 3rd person perf. of ha-ná-...[hi- perf.]- yoł 'to breathe' [act. intr.]. ha-ná- ?. Cf. note 3.49, §3.