Cherokee Language Initial Prefixes

Cherokee Initial Prefixes Chart y-, negative, conditional Used with ‘hla/tla’ to negate verb forms. Used without ‘hla/tla’ to show uncertainty on the part of the speaker toward the occurrence of the action of the action or state expressed by the verb, usually as subordinate clauses in longer sentences. Note: When used to indicate conditionality, y- requires the non-progressive form of the verb stem and the suffix -a, which is ordinarily used in present progressive forms. j-, relative Marks relative clauses; it corresponds to the English relative pronouns ‘who,’ ‘which,’ and ‘that.’ Notes: When j- is prefixed, the second last syllable in the word takes pitch 4. j- cannot occur in the same verb form with ga-, ‘since,’ but it is possible for j- to be attached to the auxiliary verb -igi when the main verb is marked with ga-. The relative prefix cannot be directly attached to a negated verb form. Negative relatives are formed by: 1. Adding the negative affixes n- (or ni-) and na- to the verb form. AND 2. Attaching the relative prefix j- to the auxiliary verb -igi, yielding jigi. j-, specific past time Used in sentences which contain a definite time in the past. It is also prefixed to verb forms in sentences which do not contain and explicit time reference if such a reference if such a reference to a definite time in the past has previously been made or is understood by the speaker and the hearer to exist. Note: This prefix is required where and understood specific past time exists alongside the past tense suffix -vʔi. But it is never allowed with the reportative past tense suffix -eʔi, regardless of the presence or absence of a specific time reference. j-, negative imperative Used to mark negative commands. Note: See de-, plural object under the ‘Before Consonants’ column for information about using the j-, imperative forms with plural objects. j-, ‘again’ –imperative Used to mark affirmative commands with ‘again.’ Notes: The contrast between commands with ‘again’ and those without is neutralized in the case of negative commands. See de-, plural object under the ‘Before Consonants’ column for information about using the j-, imperative forms with plural objects. w-, position or motion away from speaker Optionally used to indicate that the subject is facing away from the speaker. In the case of motion verbs, it follows that the motion will be away from the speaker. Note: w- must be used in non-second person forms with the meaning ‘let.’ In second person imperative form, the meaning changes (from ‘let’ to the position away from the speaker). When the subject is not within sight of the speaker, the use of w- indicates distance. In the case of certain verbs, in forms with the dative-benefactive suffix, w- is used to indicate dative meaning. Some verbs inherently contain the notion of motion away from the speaker. n-, lateral position Used optionally to indicate that the person spoken if is in a lateral position with respect to the speaker (i.e. with his side to the speaker). n-, ‘already’ Attached to a past tense verb form to indicate that the action or state expressed by the verb had already taken place or was already in progress prior to some subsequent point in time. Note: Forms with this prefix typically form a clause within the sentence. They can, however, stand alone providing that the necessary time reference has already been established. This prefix requires the use of the habitual suffix -oʔi. It may also be used with the future progressive suffix. n-, negative Used together with the suffix na- to bring about negation in certain types of constructions. n-, specified action This prefix occurs with the ‘to do’ verb a1dv3nẹ2ha. It must be used with this verb when the activity being done has been specified or is understood. Note: It may not be used when the activity is not either understood or specified. n-, a prefix occurring before da-, motion toward speaker of position facing speaker Used only in infinitive forms before da-, motion toward speaker and before the da- form di-, position facing speaker. Note: This prefix does not seem to add any meaning to the verb forms in which it appears. Nonetheless, a few verbs require its presence. de-, plural object Primarily indicates plurality of inanimate direct objects of transitive verbs or plurality of the action or state referred to by the verb. Note: Some intransitive verbs require the use of de- in the plural form: ‘to sit,’ ‘to stand,’ ‘to be hungry,’ and ‘to be thirsty’ are some examples. Some intransitive verbs, like ‘to be tired,’ require the use of de- in both singular and plural forms, in the case of ‘to be tired’ it is because the sensation of tiredness is simultaneously perceived in various parts of the body. da-, future Prefixed to a verb to indicate that the action of the verb will take place in the future. Note: da- is used in conjunction with the future tense suffix -i. It is used with the future suffix followed by the past tense suffix -vʔi to indicate that the subject was planning to perform the action of the verb in the past. The da-, future, cannot occur in conjunction with da-, motion toward speaker or di-, distant position/position facing or motion towards speaker. In verb forms with di- or da-, the future progressive suffix [-esdi] must be used. In these cases the verbs can be understood as future progressive or nonprogressive (‘I will be speaking’ or ‘I will speak’). da-, motion toward speaker Used with intransitive verbs of motion, such as ‘walk,’ ‘run,’ or ‘crawl’ to indicate the direction of the motion is towards the space occupied by the speaker. Note: Transitive verbs, like ‘bring,’ require the di-, position facing speaker or motion toward speaker prefix. Some intransitive motion verbs also take dirather than da-. In fact, da- is extremely limited in the number of verbs in which it can appear. di-, position facing speaker of motion toward speaker Used in non-motion or non-directional motion verbs (i.e. ‘to fight’). Transitive motion verbs, like ‘to bring,’ also take di-. Note: With a few verbs, like ‘to fight,’ di- simply indicates that the subject is in a distant view from the speaker. This function of di- seems to be limited to verbs involving non-directional motion. di- is mutually exclusive with da-, future and da-, motion toward speaker.

i-, ‘again’ Used to indicate that an action or state is reoccurring. Note: i- does not appear in imperative forms, instead, ji-, imperative is used.

ga-, ‘since’ Used to indicate to indicate that a certain period of time has elapsed since an event occurred.

e-, distant imperative Used with imperative forms when the person spoken to is facing speaker from a position some distance away.

Before a Vowel

Before a Consonant

Before w-

Before h-

y-

yi-

yu-

hy-

ji-

ju-

j-

After w-

After y-

After n-

Before: di-, position facing speaker; da-, future; da-, motion toward speaker AND/OR i-, again

jIf the following prefix begins with a vowel, j- or ji may be used, but if ji- is used, it must include a ʔ between it and the vowel that follows.

w-

wi-

After y-, negative, the ychanges to yu- with the wprefix, in some forms, optionally deleted

hw-

.

n-

ni-

This prefix only occurs before da-

ni-

hn-

This prefix only occurs before da-

dexcept before -i(when d- occurs before -i-, the -i- drops)

da-+-ybefore the vowel, except before -a- or -i(da- + -i-, delete -i-) (da- + -a- yields dv-)

jexcept before -a- or -i(a following -a- or -i- is deleted, and di- is used)

i- + ʔ (This prefix may be deleted and appear as a high pitch (3) on the vowel which would otherwise have followed it.)

ga- + y-

de(di- in infinitive and imperative forms, when followed by a consonant or -a-) (j- in infinitive and imperative forms when followed by a vowel other than -a-)

di-

The di- form + -h- yields: t- + drop the prefix vowel

di-

diExcept when followed by a pitch 3 vowel.

di-

doAppears before: di-, position facing speaker, da-, future, da-, motion toward speaker, AND i-, ‘again’

da(changes to di- before consonants and j- before vowels when used with the habitual [-oʔi] or the reported past [-eʔi] suffixes. The same happens when [-esdi] is used for the ‘future in the future’ (‘he will about to be speaking’) tense, when used for the future progressive (‘he will be speaking’) tense, the suffix [-esdi] is used, but the daprefix is dropped.

da- + -i-, ‘again’ yields dv-

da- + -h- yields t-

da(di-: With the exception of the verb ‘to walk,’ when used with the habitual [oʔi], the reportative past [-eʔi], or the future progressive [-esdi] suffixes, dachanges to di- before consonants or an -a-. When di- appears before an -a-, the -a- is deleted. In the verb ‘to walk,’ da- appears as j- before an -a-.)

di(da-: In verb forms ending in the past tense suffix -vʔi (but not with -eʔi), dichanges to da- before consonants and vowels, with a y- inserted before vowels other than -a-. When di- appears before an -a-, the -a- is deleted.) (These changes occur in infinitive forms, as well. In addition to the changes noted above, di- (da- after changing) must be preceded by ni-.

i(v-: i- becomes v- in verb forms with the past tense suffix vʔi, with non-motion verbs in the present tense, and in infinitive forms.

de- + i- yields do-

ga-

(ga- + -a- yields gv-)

(ge-: In second-person forms, ga- becomes ge-.) (gvw-: In third-person forms, ga- becomes gwv-. In this (third person) form, the pronoun prefix u- changes to –a-)

e-

e-

Appears as di- after de-, plural

di- (esp. di-, but also other prefixes) + i- yield one of two optional forms: 1. Coalesence of prefix and i-. (Note that in cases where a following vowel would normally be deleted, a ʔ is inserted ʔ instead.) 2. The i- prefix is dropped and appears only as a high pitch (3) in the preceding prefix.