Grammar
Independent Dubitative Neutral (# 09)
| ᐧᐋᐹᒋᒑ᙮ | waapaachichaa. | It is probably white. |
The Independent Dubitative Neutral conjugation (#09) is used when you are guessing or speculating. In the following example, the narrator was not present when things happened and he makes a deduction on a probable situation. He is speculating about how the Bible was brought to the Cree people and how it was first transmitted.
| ᐊᓐ ᐅᔥᑭᒡ ᑳ ᐹᑖᑭᓂᐅᑯᐱᓈ ᒥᐧᔮᒋᒧᐧᐃᓐ, ᒫᓂᑖᐦ ᓈᓂᑎᐤ ᒌᐦ ᐃᐦᑖᒋᒑᓂᒌ ᐊᑳᒥᒋᐦᒋᑭᒦᐦᒡ ᐊᓐ ᑳ ᐹᑖᑦ ᒥᐧᔮᒋᒧᐧᐃᓂᔨᐤ, ᒫᒃ ᐅᑖᐦ ᒌᐦ ᐹᒋ ᐃᐦᑖᒋᒑ, ᒌᐦ ᐧᐋᐱᒫᒋᒑ ᐊᓂᑖᐦ ᐊᐧᐋᔨᐤᐦ᙮ |
| an ushkich kaa paataakiniukupinaa miywaachimuwin , maanitaah naanitiu chiih ihtaachichaanichii akaamichihchikimiihch an kaa paataat miywaachimuwiniyiu, maak utaah chiih paachi ihtaachichaa, chiih waapimaachichaa anitaah awaayiuh. |
| (CD03Track02CouncilofElders2002..128) |
| The first good news (the Bible) that was brought, the person who brought it probably came from across the ocean, he must have come over here, and there he must have seen someone. |
The sound you hear in this conjugation is before the ending is called a glottal stop [ʔ]. It is represented by the extra syllable chi in waapaachicha, to indicate the trace of this syllable from the old language. In the Southern dialect, it is not written.Link to Conjugation Tables