Unit 13 – Out of Control

13.1 Dialogue

A.	ni ʔə čxʷ ʔəw̓ k̓ʷecnəxʷ łə Mary?	‘Did you see Mary?’
B.	ni cən ʔəw̓ p̓əlq̓nəxʷ ʔal̓.	‘I just caught a glimpse of her.’
	nəcím̓ ʔ	‘Why’
A.	ƛ̓lim̓ ni ʔəw̓ snen̓əc̓ ʔal̓.	‘She’s really upset.’
	ni ʔək̓ʷnəxʷəs łə šxʷtəléləs.	‘She lost her purse.’
	ʔi q̓ey̓əs cq̓ew.	‘She just got paid.’
B.	ʔa… ƛ̓lim̓ qəl.	‘That’s too bad.’
	ya:θ ʔəw̓ mém̓ əlq̓nám̓ ət.	She’s always forgetting.’
	ni ʔəł ƛ̓əw̓ ʔək̓ʷnəm kʷθə lələklís ʔəkʷənáʔ c̓əléqəł.	‘Yesterday her keys got lost, too.’

13.2 Vocabulary: verbs with -nəxʷ.

k̓ʷecnəxʷ	‘see him/her/it’
kʷənnəxʷ	‘grab him/her/it’, ‘catch up to him/her/it’,‘get him/her/it’
p̓əlq̓nəxʷ	‘glance at him/her/it’, ‘glimpse him/her/it’
təlnəxʷ	‘learn it’
k̓ʷəsnəxʷ	‘burn it accidentally (live thing)’
yəqʷnəxʷ	‘burn it accidentally’
ləkʷnəxʷ	‘break it’
k̓ʷəłnəxʷ	‘spill it’
q̓ʷaqʷnəxʷ	‘club him/her/it accidentally’
θəynəxʷ	‘manage to repair/fix it’
x̌ləc̓nəxʷ	‘manage to roll it over’
łəqʷnəxʷ	‘splash it’, ‘get it wet’
x̌əq̓nəxʷ	‘scratch him/her/it accidentally’
səq̓nəxʷ	‘tear it accidentally’
q̓an̓əxʷ	‘put it in accidentally’
ʔək̓ʷnəxʷ	‘lose him/her/it’
x̌əłnəxʷ	‘hurt him/her accidentally’

13.3 Two types of transitives.

In Units Ten and Eleven, transitive verbs formed with -t were discussed. This unit
shows examples of transitive verbs formed with the suffix -n. This suffix appears
as -nəxʷ when there is a third person object. The transitive suffix -t expresses the
notion of “control”, that is that an action was done intentionally. The transitive
suffix -n expresses the notion of “out-of-control”, that is that an action was done
unintentionally, accidentally, or with great difficulty. Compare the following pairs
of sentences.

ni cən k̓ʷecət θə słeniʔ.	‘I looked at the woman.’
ni cən k̓ʷecnəxʷ θə słeniʔ.	‘I saw the woman.’

ni cən sq̓et.	‘I tore it (on purpose).’
ni cən səq̓nəxʷ.	‘I tore it (unintentionally).’

ni cən q̓ʷaqʷət kʷθə swəy̓qeʔ ʔə kʷθə sqəməl̓.	‘I clubbed the man with the paddle (on purpose).’
ni cən q̓ʷəqʷnəxʷ kʷθə swəy̓qeʔ ʔə kʷθə sqəməl̓.	‘I (accidentally) clubbed the man with the paddle.’

ni kʷənətəs.	‘He took it.’
ni kʷənnəxʷəs.	‘He grabbed it.’/‘He managed to get ahold of it.’

ni cən kʷələxt kʷθə speʔeθ.	‘I shot the bear.’
ni cən kʷələxnəxʷ kʷθə speʔeθ	‘I managed to shoot the bear.’

13.4 Pattern practice.

I saw the canoe.	ni cən kʷecnəxʷ kʷθə snəxʷəł
spilled
repaired
rolled over
scratched
lost
grabbed

13.5 Pattern practice.

Did you accidentally hit the man?	ni ʔə čxʷ q̓ʷəqʷnəxʷ kʷθə swəy̓qeʔ?
splash
hurt
see
scratch
burn
glance at

13.6 The out-of-control paradigm.

Just like other transitive verb forms, the out-of-control transitive can be followed
by object and passive suffixes.

k̓ʷecnám̓x	‘see me’
k̓ʷecnámə	‘see you’
k̓ʷecnálxʷ	‘see us’
k̓ʷecnálə	‘see you (pl)’
k̓ʷecnəxʷ	‘see him/her/it/them’
ni k̓ʷecnéləm.	‘I was seen.’
ni k̓ʷecná:m.	‘You were seen.’
ni k̓ʷecnáləm.	‘We/you (pl) were seen.’
ni k̓ʷecnəm.	‘He/she/it was seen.’

13.7 Pattern practice.

My coat was found.	ni kʷənnəm kʷθə nə kəpú.
torn
fixed
lost
put in with them
got wet
burned

13.8 Substitution drill.

She got her daughter.	ni kʷənnəxʷəs łə mən̓əs
I: you
we: you (pl)
he: me
I: the woman
the man: us
you (pl): Mary

13.9 Substitution drill.

I was hurt by the dog.	ni x̌əłneləm ʔə kʷθə sqw̓əméy̓.
you: by the dog
we: by the dog
John: by the dog
you (pl): by John
I: by John
the man: the dog

13.10 Out-of-control causatives.

The out-of-control transitive form -n can be used instead of the causative suffix -st
to indicate that an action was caused without control. Compare the control
causatives in the first column with the out-of-control causatives in the second
column.

ʔitətstəxʷ	ʔitətnəxʷ
‘make them sleep’	‘manage to get them to sleep’

ʔiməxstəxʷ	ʔiməxnəxʷ
‘make them walk’	‘manage to get them to walk’

ʔənəxʷstəxʷ	ʔənəxʷnəxʷ
‘stop them’	‘manage to get them to stop’

13.11 Pattern practice.

I managed to stop the children.	ni cən ʔənəxʷnəxʷ kʷθə steʔexʷəł.
take the children for a walk
make the children sit down
quiet the children down
put the children to sleep
get the children to work
get the children to run

13.12 -námət ‘manage to’.

The reflexive suffix -θət is used when the action is done on purpose. The reflexive
suffix -námət is used when the action is out of control.

kʷələxθət	kʷələxnámət
‘shoot oneself (on purpose)’	‘shoot oneself (accidentally)’

q̓aʔθət	q̓an̓ámət
‘join’	‘manage to join’
(‘get oneself in with them’)	(‘manage to get oneself in with them’)

When the out-of-control reflexive is suffixed to an intransitive verb, it takes on the
meaning ‘manage to do something’.

ʔitətnámət	‘manage to sleep’
ʔəłtənnámət	‘manage to eat’
ya:ysnámət	‘manage to work’

13.13 What do these words mean?

ʔənəxʷnámət
ta̓k̓ʷnámət
p̓əkʷnámət
nəqəmnámət
xaqʷəlnámət
tecəlnámət
təsnámət
łəmc̓el
̓snámət

13.14 Pattern practice.

Did you manage to sleep?	ni ʔə čxʷ ʔitətnámət?
run
call
dance
sing
listen
speak
sit down
stand
go up the mountain
go down to the beach

13.15 Translation.

1. ni ʔək̓ʷnəxʷəs kʷθə ləklí.

2. ni ct θəynəxʷ tə pukʷ.

3. ni ʔə łəqʷná:m ʔə ƛ̓ John?

4. ni tiləmnəxʷəs kʷθə ̓ swa:w̓ləs.

5. ni ʔə k̓ʷəłnəm kʷθə snəxʷəł?

6. Did you catch a glimpse of the bear?

7. I accidentally got clubbed by John.
8. We got the baby to sleep.

9. I accidentally ripped my dress.

10. Did you (pl) get the children to stop?

13.16 Reading lesson.

ʔa… siʔém̓ , ʔi ʔə čxʷ ʔəw̓ ʔəy̓ ʔal̓? ʔi čxʷ tecəlnámət. ni yəxʷ θəynəm tən snəxʷəł. nan ʔəw̓ wəł hi:θ k̓ʷənəs k̓ʷecnámə. ʔiməx! m̓i čxʷ ceʔ kʷətwíləm. ni ʔə čxʷ ʔəw̓ ʔəmətnámət ʔal̓ ʔi ʔə tiʔi? ʔəy̓. pek̓ʷət cən ceʔ k̓ʷ tih. təw̓ yəʔəłtən čxʷ ceʔ.

English translation:

k̓ʷecəθálə cən ceʔ ʔəw̓ weyələs.
‘I’ll see you (pl) tomorrow.’

k̓ʷecnámə cən ceʔ ʔə k̓ʷ ʔəw̓ təmtém ʔal̓.
‘I’ll see you sometime.’

xʷəlməxʷqən

Unit 13 – Out of Control