8.4 Adding Objects to the Verb

In this lesson we will discuss some other common prefixes and suffixes that modify verbs in Timucua.

-Si and -Sini

Timucua verbs often contain the benefactive suffix -si. This suffix is used to mean “for,” “for the benefit of,” or “intended for.” With this suffix, Timucua verbs can denote the person or persons for whom the action is performed. The suffix -sini is a reciprocal suffix, implying that the action is being performed together or for each other’s benefit.

niama		necasibola
nia	-ma	ni-	eca	-si	-bo	-la
woman	-def	1-	teach-	-ben	-pl	-dec

The –si after eca (teach) modifies the verb. It indicates not simply that the woman is teaching, but that she is teaching to/for those mentioned.

Here are some additional examples:

hacha	nimasibotecho
hacha	ni-	ma-	si-	bo-	te-	ch-	o
what	1-	say-	ben-	pl-	tns-	2sg-	q

Here again, the benefactive -si helps direct the verb from simply asking “what are you saying” to “what do you say of us.”

anoma		hachibono	lapustamo?
ano	-ma	ma-	lapu-	si-	ta-	-mo
person	-def	what	request-	ben-	part-	3:pl

The reciprocal suffix –sini works in similar ways to the suffix –si and is often used alongside it. 

Na-

Na- is an instrumental prefix. Instrumental prefixes are often found in Native languages, and they are used to explain the “how” or “with what” of the action. Instrumental prefixes can also tell us “where something happened” or “with whom.”  Consider a sentence like this one:

checa	pesolo	natabinoma				chicanabale
		na-	itabi	-no	-ma	chi-	-cana	-ba	-le
you:pl	bread	ins-	eat	-nmlz	-def	2:abs-	lack	-pl	-dec

Compare these two sentence to see the work the prefix na– is doing:

Ela atuluma tocotela

ela atulu-ma toco-te-la

sun arrow-def come:out-tns-dec

The sun-arrow (ray of the sun) comes out.

Ela atuluma basalareqe natocotela

Ela atulu-ma basala-reqe na-toco-te-la

Sun arrow-def distant:place-every ins-come:out-tns-dec

The sun-arrow (ray of the sun) comes out to every distant place.

na– tells us that the rays of sun don’t just go out, but go to “every distant place.” Without na-, the verb toco would not be able to indicate a destination.

The na- prefix is often translated as “with,” “at,” or “on” but other times its meaning is folded into the action of the verb, as can be seen here. 

The na– before the verb pichaso (fails) connects the action (failing) to the “previously stated words.” The na– prompts us readers to ask the verb: with what had the person failed? 

-Ni

The suffix -ni is both a passive marker and an honorific marker. (This suffix is often shortened to –n, dropping the “i.”)

As a passive marker, –ni is used to indicate the passive voice, meaning that the primary noun associated with the verb is the object of the verb, rather than its subject. In English, we use the passive voice in sentences like “Maria is honored” (passive) where Maria is being honored, instead of “Maria honors” (active) where Maria is doing the honoring.

As an honorific marker, –ni is used to indicate that the person or thing referenced is worthy of respect and honor. So if mitela means she goes, min(i)tela means she (an honored person) goes. Timucua has several other honorific markers that will be discussed later.

Sometimes –ni only implies the passive and not the honorific; sometimes the opposite is true. Context helps determine if the –ni suffix is honorific, passive, or both.

cararama naminoniqe

carara-ma na-mino-ni-qe

slope-art ins-arrive-pass-and:DS

He (honored) arrived at the slope.

hibuantela

hibua-ni-te-la

live-hon:pass-def-dec

she (honored one) lived there

aye naareconimano

aye na-areco-ni-mano

wood ins-make-pas-top

the wood with which it was made

NOTE: sometimes the prefix –ni follows the benefactive –si, so together it looks like the reciprocal suffix –sini, but context lets one determine that it is the combination of the benefactive –si plus the “passive”/”honorific” suffix –ni.