Silly Sentences in Muipidan¶
This sentence uses all six Muipidan cases. It “cheats” using the fact that Muipidan auxiliary constructions take case-marked infinitives.
Hmem nin myas phun ma-tongïs o-toïtado e-kay.
Ø-hme-m ni-n mya-s phu-n ma-tongïs o-toï-ta-do
NOM-brother-KIN GEN-1s IPFV-3s DAT-1s LOC-guard ACC-life-ABST-DEF
e-kay
INSTR-spear
My brother used to defend me with a spear.
This sentence is familiar to Don Hertzfeldt fans.
Kaseytede nin langïsos ï-k’ote!
kasey-te-de ni-n lan-gïso-s ï-k'o-te
spoon-TOOL-DEF GEN-1s flow-AUG-3s INSTR-big-TOOL
My spoon is too big!
The definite is used (kaseytede rather than kasey) because the spoon is visible. This is in contrast to the next sentence, which also demonstrates possessor raising.
Thuphe khyusudo hnas nin ni-khi o-kasey!
thu-phe khyu-su-do hna-s ni-n ni-khi o-kasey
WILD-that vulture-WILD-DEF PFV-3s GEN-1s GEN-steal ACC-spoon
That vulture has stolen my spoon!