Nettie Ruben: "Why Towhee Has Red Eyes" (1957)
Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-36
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 238-239, Text 36
Additional contributors: Erin Donnelly (annotator), Erik Maier (annotator)
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
| [1] | p-aasmáax | yúp-'aaxkunish |
| the-towhee | eye-red |
| Towhee has red eyes. |
| [2] | saak | kun-táxraat-vunaa |
| obsidian | 3pl(>3s)-flake.arrowheads-PL |
| They were attaching arrowheads. |
| [3] | víri-va | káan | ú-muustih |
| so-so | there | 3s(>3)-look.at |
| He was watching there. |
| [4] | kári | xás | pa-tá | kun-píkyaar | pa-kun-táxraa-ti | kári | xás | asmáax | tîi | kan-'ífik-i | pa-taxrat-êep |
| then | then | NOMZ-PERF | 3pl(>3s)-finish | NOMZ-3pl(>3s)-flake.arrowheads-DUR | then | then | towhee | let... | 1s(>3)-pick.up-IMPER | the-flake.arrowheads-refuse.from.-ing |
| And when they finished attaching arrowheads, then Towhee thought, "Let me pick up the scraps". |
| [5] | kári | xás | u-táxraa-tih |
| then | then | 3s(>3)-flake.arrowheads-DUR |
| Then he attached arrowheads. |
| [6] | vúra | uum | t-óo | mchaaxripaa |
| Intensive | 3.SG | PERF-3s(>3) | (heat).come.out |
| The heat was coming out (of the fire). |
| [7] | p-óo-muus-ti | p-oo-táxraa-ti | pa-'áak | u-tkírih |
| NOMZ-3s(>3)-look.at-DUR | NOMZ-3s(>3)-flake.arrowheads-DUR | the-in.the.fire | 3s(>3)-look.into.fire |
| When he looked at his arrowhead-attaching, he looked into the fire. |
| [8] | púya-va | kumá'ii | pa-mú-yuup | aaxkúnish | p-oo-mchaaxrípaa-nik |
| and.so-so | because.of | the-3sPOSS-eye | red | NOMZ-3s(>3)-heat-ANC |
| So for that reason his eyes are red from the heat that came out. |