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Chamteela/Part 3

< Chamteela
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Vocabulary

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Pronouns

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  • noo = I
  • noy = me
  • 'om = you (subject)
  • 'oy = you (direct object)
  • wunáal = he/she/it/they (singular)
  • poy = him/her/it/them (singular)
  • chaam = we
  • chaami = us
  • 'omóm = you all (subject)
  • 'omóomi = you all (object)
  • wunáalum = they (plural)
  • popóomi = them (plural)

Natural world

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  • kiicha = house
  • qawiicha = mountain
  • tuupash = sky
  • toota = stone
  • paala = water

Animals

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  • lamáqata = ant
  • hunwut = bear
  • 'ihe = bird
  • tuukut kingawish = cat
  • qaxaavaywut = chicken
  • 'awáal = dog
  • 'anámat = fish
  • ku'aal = fly
  • kaváayu = horse
  • 'ixí'wut = sheep
  • paa'ila = turtle

Food

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  • $aawokish = acorn bread
  • wiiwish = acorn porridge
  • kutápish = corn
  • kó$aat = sugar
  • paala = water
  • $aaxish = wheat

People

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  • hengeemal = boy
  • nawítmal = girl
  • ya'ásh = man
  • $ungáal = woman

Basic Verbs

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  • paa'i = to drink
  • kwa' = to eat
  • moyóoni = to feed
  • nóonomi = to follow
  • tóow = to see or watch
  • chaqálaqi = to tickle

Noun Declension

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English vs. Chamteela sentence structure

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In English, nouns do not change depending on whether they are the subject or the direct object. Consider the following two sentences:

  • The man saw the dog.
  • The cat saw the girl.

In these two sentences, we instantly know which noun is the subject and which one is the direct object based on their position in relation to the verb. The English language places subject nouns before the verb and direct object nouns after the verb.

However, Chamteela is different. The subject, verb, and direct object can come in any order within a sentence.

You probably now wonder "How do you know which word is the subject and the direct object this way?" The answer is noun declension, which is when nouns change depending on their role within the sentence.

Basic Chamteela noun declension

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In Chamteela (and many other languages), the term "nominative case" refers to a noun's form when it is used as the subject. The term "accusative case" signifies the direct object form of a noun.

There are six cases in Chamteela, but we will focus on the nominative and accusative cases for the purposes of this lesson. We will learn the other cases later on within this book.

All of the Chamteela nouns given within the book come in their singular nominative forms; the other forms are derived from the nominative case. However, forming the other noun cases depends on the ending in the singular nominative form and whether or not they are animate (referring to a person or animal).

Here is how to form the singular and plural forms of the nominative and accusative cases in Chamteela:

Noun ending Nominative Singular Nominative Plural Accusative Singular Accusative Plural Meaning
-cha; inanimate noun kicha kicham kish kish house
-ta; animate noun lamáqata lamáqatam lamáqat lamáqatami ant
-ta; inanimate noun toota tootam toot toot stone
-la; animate noun paa'ila paa'ilam paa'il paa'ilami turtle
-la; inanimate noun paala paalam paal paal water
Any consonant; animate noun ya'ásh ya'áshum ya'áshi ya'áshumi man
Any consonant; inanimate noun kutápish kutápishum kutápishi kutápishi corn
Other vowel; animate noun kaváayu kaváayum kaváayuy kaváayumi horse
Nawítmal; grammatical exception nawítmal nánatmalum nawítmali nánatmalumi girl

More on this page will come soon!

References

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