Absentative Pronouns

Observation

ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮

aniyaa nuuhkum.

My late grandmother.

The absentative pronoun is made up of the demonstrative pronoun ᐆ uu or ᐊᓐ an plus a suffix. The ᐆᔮ uuyaa set is used for living humans who are unexpectedly absent, while the ᐊᓂᔮ aniyaa set is used primarily for deceased people. This ᐆᔮ uuyaa set is not used in Mistissini. The ᐊᓂᔦᓀ aniyene set is only used Inland to talk about inanimate missing objects.

	Proximate				Obviative
	singular		plural		singular		plural
Animate Proximal		ᐆᔮ		ᐆᔦᐦᑳ		ᐆᔮᐦ		ᐆᔮᐦ
		uuyaa		uuyehkaa		uuyaah		uuyaah
						ᐆᔦᐦᑳᐦ
						uuyehkaah
Animate Distal		ᐊᓂᔮ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓂᒡ		ᐊᓂᔮᐦ		ᐊᓂᔮᐦ
		aniyaa		aniyehkaanaanich		aniyaah		aniyaah
		ᐊᓂᔮᓈ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᐦ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳ
		aniyaanaa		aniyehkaa		aniyehkaah		aniyehkaah
Inanimate		ᐊᓂᔦᓀ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓐᐦ		ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ		ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓐᐦ
(Inland)		aniyene		aniyehkaanaanh		aniyeneyuu		aniyehkaanaanh

Examples:

ᓂᒋᔅᒋᓰᑐᑕᐧᐋᐤ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮		nichischisiitutawaau aniyaa nuuhkum.	I remember my late grandmother.
ᐁ ᐄᔑ ᑖᓂᑌᐦ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓂᑕᐧᐋᔑᔒᒻ᙮		e iishi taaniteh aniyaa nitawaashishiim.	I wonder where my (lost) child is?
ᒋᔅᒋᓰᑐᑕᐧᐋᐤ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮		chischisiitutaweu aniyaanaah uhkumh.	He remembers his late grandmother.
ᓂᒥᐦᑖᑌᓐ ᐊᓂᔦᓀ ᓂᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓐ᙮		nimihtaaten aniyene nimasinahiikan.	I miss my late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)
ᒥᐦᑖᑕᒻ ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ ᐅᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓐ᙮		mihtaatam aniyeneyuu umasinahiikan.	He misses his (own) late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)
ᒥᐦᑖᑕᐧᒣᐤ ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ ᐅᐦᑖᐧᐄᐦ ᐅᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓂᔫ᙮		mihtaatamweu aniyeneyuu uhtaawiih umasinahiikaniyuu.	He misses his father’s late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)

Note that the ᐅᔦᐦᑳᐦ uyehkaah form marks plurality of the possessor in the obviative (for example ‘their late mother’, as opposed to ‘her late mother’). To talk about objects that just disappeared (when you expect them to be there but they are not), there is another absentative pronoun ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔮᓈ eukwaaniyaanaa.

ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔮᓈ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᔅ᙮		eukwaaniyaanaa nitastis.	My mitten has disappeared!
ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓈ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᔅ᙮		eukwaanaa nitastis.	My mitten is gone!
ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓂᒡ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᓯᒡ᙮		eukwaaniyekaanaanich nitastisich.	My mittens have disappeared!