The Dakota language (), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language. It is critically endangered, with only around 290 fluent speakers left out of an ethnic population of almost 250,000.
Morphology
Nouns
Dakota, similar to many Native American languages, is a mainly polysynthetic language, meaning that different morphemes in the form of affixes can be combined to form a single word. Nouns in Dakota can be broken down into two classes, primitive and derivative. Primitive nouns are nouns whose origin cannot be deduced from any other word (for example makhá or earth, phéta or fire, and até or father), while derivative nouns are nouns that are formed in various ways from words of other grammatical categories. Primitive nouns stand on their own and are separate from other words. Derivative nouns, on the other hand, are formed by the addition of affixes to words in other grammatical categories, such
Verbs
Verbs in Dakota can appropriate, through agglutination and synthesis, many of the pronominal, prepositional, and adverbial or modal affixes of the language. There are many verbal roots, all of which are only used once certain causative prefixes are added, forming participles. Like in English, Dakota verbs also have three persons, the first, the second, and the third. Person is indicated through the addition (first and second person) or subtraction (third person, the verb is used in its simplest form) of personal pronoun affixes. There are two forms of tense in the language, the aorist (as verbs, adjectives, and other nouns, sometimes called the indefinite) and the future. In order to express the future tense, the suffixes kta or kte are placed after the verb, much in contrast to expressing the aorist tense, which requires no marking, but is instead derived from the context of what is being said.
Verb types
Source:
Abstract benefactive; (wa- + -kíči-) An action that is for someone else's benefit and is further generalized as a concept.
Wíkičihni "to hunt or hustle for someone (on their behalf)"
Abstract causative; (wa- + -yA) An action that causes something to change state or action and is generalized as a concept.
WapíȟyA "to boil things"
Abstract intransitive; (wa-) Does not specify an object and is further generalized as a concept.
WakáǧA "to make things, create"
Abstract possessive; (wa- + -ki; & wa- + hd-) Specifies that the action is upon one’s own, and is further generalized as a concept.
Wíkihni "to hunt or hustle for one’s self or one’s family" Wahdúžaža "to wash one’s own things"
Abstract transitive; (wa-) Requires an object, and is further generalized as a concept.
Awámanuŋ "to steal from someone" WíwaŋǧA "to ask someone questions, interrogate or interview somebody"
Auxiliary; Follows an unconjugated verb and modifies it.
Ší "to command someone, tell someone what to do (ex. waŋyág ší ’tell someone to look’)"
Benefactive; Dative 2; (-kíči-) An action that is for someone else’s benefit or on their behalf.
KíčičaǧA "to make something (specified) in someone’s place"
Causative; (-ye, -ya & -yaŋ) An action that causes something or someone to change state or action.
PiȟyÁ "to boil something (specified); to cause something to boil"
Dative 1; (-ki- & -khi-) An action that indicates an object or recipient.
KiyútA "to eat someone else’s" DudkhíyA "to dye or paint someone else's red"
Ditransitive; An action that requires two objects, whether the actor and another or two items.
Amánuŋ "to steal something (specified) from someone"
Intransitive; An action that doesn’t need an object.
InáȟmA / InáȟbA "to be hiding"
Possessive; (-ki-, & -hd-) An action that targets one's own.
NakíȟmA / NakíȟbA "to hide one’s own"
Reciprocal; (-kičhi- +/- -pi) An action between two parties that is done in kind to one another.
Ókičhiyapi "to help one another"
Reflexive; (-ič’i- & -ihd-) An action done to or for one's self.
Óič’iyA "to help one’s self"
Stative; A verb describing a state of being.
Tháŋka "to be large, great in size or renown; to be a grown up"
Transitive; An action that requires an object or subject.
Yutháŋka "to make something bigger, enlarge, expand"
Affixes
In the Dakota language, affixes are used to change the meaning of words by attaching to the root word. Affixes can be added to both nouns and verbs, and they come in the form of prefixes and suffixes.