Nakón-i’a wo! / Beginning Nakoda

Vincent Collette teaches linguistics and Nakoda at First Nations University of Canada in Regina. Armand McArthur is from the Siyónide Nakóna Oyáde (Pheasant Rump First Nation) and of mixed Wadopana-I?ha?' ktu?wan origin. He is a Nakoda language instructor at First Nations University of Canada and also leads Nakoda language classes in Pheasant Rump. Wilma Kennedy is a Language Keeper from Carry The Kettle Nakoda First Nation. She grew up with the Nakoda language and culture.

Winner, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Publishing in Education, 2021 Shortlisted, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Indigenous Peoples' Publishing, 2020

• CONTENTSIntroductionCHAPTER 1Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyThanking, Farewell, and Self-IntroductionNakoda Alphabet and Sound SystemSyllables and AccentParts of SpeechNote on SpellingChapter 1 ExercisesCHAPTER 2Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyWord Order in NakodaDemonstrativesClass 1: Regular Stem VerbsDual ?- “we two”Sounds: Uvulars ? and ?Chapter 2 ExercisesCHAPTER 3Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyInterrogative SentencesImperative Particles wo and boClass 2: Y-Stem VerbsPotential/Future Marker -ktaSounds: Glottal Stop [’]Chapter 3 ExercisesCHAPTER 4Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyCardinal NumbersOrdinal NumbersMathematical OperationsAge and TimeDistance and HeightChapter 4 ExercisesCHAPTER 5Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyKinship NounsReference to Time: Past, Present,and Future/PotentialClass 3: Nasal Conjugation Verbs(or N-Conjugation)Plural of SubjectsChapter 5 ExercisesCHAPTER 6Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyNegationActive and Stative VerbsStative Verbs: ColoursHow to Say “To Be” in NakodaSounds: Nasal SpreadChapter 6 ExercisesCHAPTER 7Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyDeclarative Male Enclitic no“Let’s” ConstructionsConjunction Markers: íš “and, also, him/her/it/they too”; híkna "and"; eštá “or”Spatial Adverbs and PostpositionsChapter 7 ExercisesCHAPTER 8Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyAsking Questions with Where,When, and WhoVerbs of Departing, Going, and ArrivingActive Verbs: Intransitive and TransitiveInflections of Transitive Verbs(Third Person Object)Sounds: Ejective ConsonantsChapter 8 ExercisesCHAPTER 9Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyMore Verbs Expressing States andBodily FunctionsOwnership and PossessionPart/Whole RelationsNoun Quantifiers edáh? “some” anddóna “some, many”Chapter 9 ExercisesCHAPTER 10Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyComplex Noun FormationNoun IncorporationIndependent Pronouns for Focusand ContrastIntensifiers -? and -?t?y?Chapter 10 ExercisesCHAPTER 11Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyAdverbs of Time/Space and MannerFormation of Irregular VerbsInflections of Transitive Verbs(Third Person Subject)Chapter 11 ExercisesCHAPTER 12Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyTribes and Tribal AffiliationTransitive Verb Inflections: -ci- “I on You” and -maya- “You on Me”Aspectual MarkersChapter 12 ExercisesCHAPTER 13Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyLinkers: cén, nécen, žécen, ecénComplex Sentences with the Conditionals štén “if, when” and h?da(h?) “whenever”Inflections of Transitive Verbs: -w?ca-(Third Person Plural Object)Chapter 13 ExercisesCHAPTER 14Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyGicí “with someone”; óm “with them”Reciprocal -gici-/-ci- “action doneto one another”Modality ParticlesSpecific, Unspecific ObjectsInterjectionsChapter 14 ExercisesCHAPTER 15Objectives and DialoguesInstrumentalsIndefinite Prefix wa-Locatives a-, o-, ?-Nominalizing Ablaut and ZeroNominalizationChapter 15 ExercisesCHAPTER 16Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyReduplicationCompoundingCausatives -ya and -kiyaAspectual Auxiliary VerbsModality VerbsChapter 16 ExercisesCHAPTER 17Objectives, Dialogues, and VocabularyReflexive -?c’i-/-?k- “to act upon oneself”Possessive -gi-/-k- “to act on one’s own”Dative -gi- “to act to, for, of somebody else”Benefactive -giji- “to act for the benefit of somebody else”Chapter 17 ExercisesCHAPTER 18ObjectivesDialectal DifferencesChapter 18 ExercisesText 1. Né wótija?a gá?a mitúgašiText 2. Wašp?y?biText 3. Mniw?ja agásampadah? ?híbi-c’eh?Text 4. Íkusana hík š?kcúkanaText 5. WacégiyabiReferencesAPPENDICESAppendix 1: Kinship TableAppendix 2: Glossary of Grammatical TermsAppendix 3: Verb ClassesNakoda/English Lexicon