Apr. 28th, 2006 09:21 am
hapai šoto htąwą alee hta ąðįhe
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muckefuckAfter work, I swung by Thai Pastry for hostess gifts and a take-out dinner of red curry duck. I couldn't resist getting a Thai custard for dessert. (After all, what is it really but flan made from coconut milk?) Apparently, it contained raw opium, because with each bite I was overwhelmed with the urge to take another as sson as possible, without even giving myself time to savour the previous one.
My weekend itinerary is packed, because it doesn't matter how briefly I'm visiting, I still have to make time to see everyone. (And one big outing or dinner won't do either; everyone needs their individual face time.) It will be good to see Grandma, because, although it's always been true she could go any time, now it's especially true. And I can't wait to find out if my nephews remember me or if, once more, Mommy has to explain who the strange man around the house is. (Or more likely, which strange man is which, since the two nuncles from out of town don't make enough effort to differentiate themselves.)
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bunj to the backseat since I'm bringing along some RPG crap to talk to him about. I have Rulfo for my reading, but somehow I doubt that I'll ever get to it, or my Chinese homework, although my insanely belated Economist (received only yesterday) will probably get pulled out at some point.
EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE:
hapai šoto htąwą alee hta ąðįhe
day-this Chouteau town I-VERT.-go.there FUT I-move.AUX
"Today I'm going back to St. Louis."
Chouteau town René Auguste Chouteau is traditionally celebrated as co-founder of St. Louis, but this may well be a fabrication. Still, he traded so regularly with the Osage of central Missouri that they came to refer to the city with his name. htąwą may be a borrowing of the English town.
Vertitive A special application of the suus infix -kik-, whose basic meaning is "to/towards/for oneself or one's own". In connexion with motion verbs, it expresses "homewards" or "back to the starting point".
ąðįhe One of the so-called "continuative auxiliaries". Where other languages have a single auxiliary (usually, as in English, a form of "be") which forms continuative or progressive constructions, Osage has four, the choice depending on the disposition of the subject, i.e. "moving", "standing", "sitting", and "lying". For instance, if I had used atxąhe "I-stand.AUX", it would express the notion that I am on the verge of leaving (i.e. I'm standing up to go), but I haven't actually departed yet.
My weekend itinerary is packed, because it doesn't matter how briefly I'm visiting, I still have to make time to see everyone. (And one big outing or dinner won't do either; everyone needs their individual face time.) It will be good to see Grandma, because, although it's always been true she could go any time, now it's especially true. And I can't wait to find out if my nephews remember me or if, once more, Mommy has to explain who the strange man around the house is. (Or more likely, which strange man is which, since the two nuncles from out of town don't make enough effort to differentiate themselves.)
e. has threatened to banish
bunj to the backseat since I'm bringing along some RPG crap to talk to him about. I have Rulfo for my reading, but somehow I doubt that I'll ever get to it, or my Chinese homework, although my insanely belated Economist (received only yesterday) will probably get pulled out at some point.EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE:
hapai šoto htąwą alee hta ąðįhe
day-this Chouteau town I-VERT.-go.there FUT I-move.AUX
"Today I'm going back to St. Louis."
Chouteau town René Auguste Chouteau is traditionally celebrated as co-founder of St. Louis, but this may well be a fabrication. Still, he traded so regularly with the Osage of central Missouri that they came to refer to the city with his name. htąwą may be a borrowing of the English town.
Vertitive A special application of the suus infix -kik-, whose basic meaning is "to/towards/for oneself or one's own". In connexion with motion verbs, it expresses "homewards" or "back to the starting point".
ąðįhe One of the so-called "continuative auxiliaries". Where other languages have a single auxiliary (usually, as in English, a form of "be") which forms continuative or progressive constructions, Osage has four, the choice depending on the disposition of the subject, i.e. "moving", "standing", "sitting", and "lying". For instance, if I had used atxąhe "I-stand.AUX", it would express the notion that I am on the verge of leaving (i.e. I'm standing up to go), but I haven't actually departed yet.