Semi-reflexive -ate- in Wyandot
The semi-reflexive voice occurs much more often than the reflective voice. It tends to represent a situation in which something happens to the singular grammatical player involved, rather than that player or players actively doing it.
utehšaˀtih It has gone bad.
[oo-teh-shah-ah-teeh]
-u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-te- semi-reflexive voice
-hša- verb root ‘to be bad’
-ˀt- causative root suffix
-ih- stative aspect
aˀwaˀkǫhtęˀ It began.
[ah-ah-wah-ah-kon-ten-eh]
aˀw- factual + feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-aˀk- semi-reflexive voice
-ǫht- verb root ‘to begin’
-ęˀ punctual aspect
utežyaˀtǫˀ It is marked, written on.
[oo-teh-zhyah-ah-ton-on]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-te- semi-reflexive[1] voice
-žyaˀtǫ- verb root, ‘to mark, write’
-ˀ stative aspect
ehakyesahaˀ It will become easy for him.
[eh-hah-kyeh-sah-hah-ah]
e- future
-h- masculine singular agent ‘he’
-aky– semi-reflexive voice
-esa- verb root ‘to be easy’
-ha- inchoative root suffix (‘become’)
-ˀ punctual aspect
ahatǫngya He is made. He is born[2].
[ah-hah-ton-gyah]
a- factual
-h- masculine singular agent ‘he’
-at- semi-reflexive voice
-ongy- verb root ‘to make, build’
-ah punctual aspect
ąˀǫsęˀ They (ind) finished, died
[an-an-on-sen-en]
ąˀ- factual
-ǫ- indefinite agent ‘they’
-s- semi-reflexive voice + verb root ‘to finish’
-ęˀ punctual aspect
It can also occur when grammatical players do something to themselves.
tawakyaˀtawakwaˀ She bent her body this way.
[tah-wah-kyah-ah-tah-wah-kwah-ah]
t- dualic
-aw- factual + feminine-zoic singular agent ‘she’
–aky- semi-reflexive voice
-aˀt- noun root ‘body’
-a- noun suffix
-wakwa- verb root ‘to bend’
-ˀ punctual aspect
ahatehšrǫgyaˀ He prepared, dressed himself
[ah-hah-teh-shron-gyah-ah]
a- factual prefix
-h- masculine singular agent ‘he’
-ate- semi-reflexive voice
-hšrǫgy- verb root, ‘to prepare’
-aˀ punctual
hutenǫhšǫndiˀ He built his own house.
[hoo-ten-onh-shon-dee-ee]
hu- masculine singular patient ‘he’
-te- semi-reflexive voice
-nǫhš- noun root, ‘house’
-ˀ stative aspect
hǫteˀndiyǫružahs They (m) move their thoughts, play.
[hon-teh-en-dee-yon-roo-zhahs]
hǫ- masculine plural agent ‘they (m)’
-te- semi-reflexive voice
-ˀndiyǫr- noun root ‘mind, thoughts’
-uža- verb root ‘to move’
-hs habitual aspect
It also appears with plural grammatical players with very forms of grouping
hǫteyęˀąhą They (m) are siblings.
[hon-teh-yen-en-ahn-han]
hǫ- masculine plural agent ‘they (m)’
-te- semi-reflexive voice
-yę- verb root ‘to bend’
-ˀ- stative aspect
-ąha diminutive aspect suffix
ayukyehstih They (ind) are assembling.
[ah-yoo-kyeh-steeh]
ayu- indefinite patient ‘they’
-ky- semi-reflexive voice
-est- verb root ‘to assemble’
-ih stative aspect
aˀkǫkyaˀkyeraˀ They (ind) gathered together then, there.
[ah-ah-kon-kyah-ah-kyeh-rah-ah]
aˀ- factual
-k- cislocative
-ǫ- indefinite agent ‘they’
-ky- semi-reflexive voice
-aˀk- noun root ‘body’
-yera- verb root ‘to gather’
-ˀ stative aspect
atǫkyerah They (ind) are mixed together
[ah-ton-kyeh-rah]
a- factual
-t- dualic
-ǫ- indefinite agent ‘they (ind)’
-ky- semi-reflexive voice
-era- verb root ‘to mix’
-h punctual aspect
[1] The initial -a- is dropped here as with every a- stem conjugation verb taking the feminine-zoic singular prefix.
[2] This is a Wyandot dialect form of the Wendat word Ahatonnia used in the title of the Huron Carol.