Family –(h)watsi(r)-
This term can be used to refer to humans or animals such as bears and birds. There is a cognate (related) noun root in Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
yahwatsiraˀ family, her family
[yah-hwah-tsee-rah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent – it, her
-hwatsir- noun root – family
-aˀ noun suffix
yehwatsiraˀ my family
[yeh-hwah-tsee-rah-ah]
ye- 1st person singular agent – my
-hwatsir- noun root – family
-aˀ noun suffix
šehwatsiraˀ your (s) family
[sheh-hwah-tsee-rah-ah]
še- 2nd person singular agent – you (s)
-hwatsir- noun root – family
-aˀ noun suffix
hutiwatsirayuwanęh They (m) are a large family.
[hoo-tee-wah-tsee-rah-yoo-wah-nenh]
huti- masculine plural patient – they (m)
-watsir- noun root – family
-a- joiner vowel
-yuwanę- verb root – be large
-h stative aspect
ahkwatsiręmąˀ She (a bear) is pregnant with a litter.
[ah-kwah-tsee-ren-man-an]
ahk- feminine-zoic singular agent – she + semi-reflexive voice
-watsir- noun root – litter
-ęmą- verb root – be swollen
-ˀ stative aspect
In the story in the Narratives entitled The Seven Stars, seven boys who have not eaten fly up into the sky and become the Pleiades.
daeˀ nǫmąˀdeˀ kwayęhs nęh šrawiˀ hudiwatsižah
these now we (n) see now up above they (m) are a small family
nde hatirǫnyǫˀ
the they (m) are a distant group, stars
These are those we now see up above, a small family of stars.
hutiwatsižah They (m) are a small family [hoo-tee-wah-tsee-zhah]
huti- masculine plural patient – they (m)
-watsi- noun root – family
-ž- verb root – be a size + stative aspect
-ah diminutive aspect suffix