Iyúškiŋyaŋ Lakȟól’iyapi

Uŋspéwičhakhiyapi

High School
Level 1

Written by Dr. Indrek Park

Illustrated by Cecil Apple
Red Cloud Indian School
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American Indian Studies Research Institute

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 Wóuŋspe 1
Introducing Yourself

Wóglakapi 1
Háu, Dave emáčiyapelo. Hello, my name is Dave.
Čhaŋkpé Ópi emátaŋhaŋ. I am from Wounded Knee.
Malákȟota yeló. I am Lakota.
Wayáwa hemáčha. I am a student.
Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa.* I go to school at Red Cloud.

* Note that stress is marked with an acute accent (´) above vowels.
Stress in Lakota can impact the meaning of words, so it is very important that you pay attention
to it. Stressed vowels have a higher pitch and are pronounced louder than other vowels in a given
word. There is only one primary stress in Lakota words and it occurs on either the first or second
syllable. The majority of Lakota words are stressed on the second syllable.

Wóglakapi 2
Mary emáčiyapi kštó. My name is Mary.
Pȟahíŋ Siŋté emátaŋhaŋ. I am from Porcupine.
Malákȟota kštó. I am Lakota.
Wayáwa hemáčha. I am a student.
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Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa. I go to school at Red Cloud.

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2 High School Level 1

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 Grammar

Distinctive Male and Female Ways of Speaking

GREETINGS AND RESPONSES

Peter: Háu, Dave.* Hello, Dave.

Tukténitaŋhaŋ hwo? Where are you from?
Dave: Háu, Peter. Hello, Peter.
Chaŋkpé Ópi emátaŋhaŋ yeló. I’m from Wounded Knee.
Tukténitaŋhaŋ hwo? Where are you from?
Oyúȟpe enítaŋhaŋ hwo? Are you from Manderson?
Peter: Háŋ, Oyúȟpe emátaŋhaŋ yeló. Yes, I’m from Manderson.
* Note that whenever two vowels occur directly beside each other they are separated by a glottal
stop (’), or the stoppage of breath in the throat like in the English expression uh-oh. This rule is so
regular that glottal stops are not written between vowels in this textbook. The only exception to this
rule is the male greeting háu, which is pronounced like the English word how.

Betty: Mary, tukténitaŋhaŋ he? Mary, where are you from?

Mary: Betty, Pȟahíŋ Siŋté emátaŋhaŋ kštó. Betty, I’m from Porcupine.
Tukténitaŋhaŋ he? Where are you from?
Wazí Aháŋhaŋ enítaŋhaŋ he? Are you from Pine Ridge?
Betty: Hiyá, Pȟežúta Ȟáka emátaŋhaŋ kštó. No, I’m from Kyle.

In Lakota, there are important differences between the speech of males and females.
For example, men and women have different ways to greet one another and respond to
questions:
••For “hello,” men say háu, while women say háŋ or use a personal name or kin term

••For “yes” in answer to a question, both men and women say háŋ
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••For “yes, I heard you,” men can say háu, háŋ, or oháŋ, while women say háŋ
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 Practice

1. Students should take turns introducing themselves to the class. Follow these
examples:

Boys: (Háu,) [Name] emáčiyapelo.
Wayáwa hemáčha.
Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa.*

Girls: [Name] emáčiyapi kštó.
Wayáwa hemáčha.
Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa.

* Note that in Lakota whenever certain consonants occur directly beside each
other a small breath of air is released. This occurs whenever bl, gl, gm, gn, kt,
mn, pk, pt, and tk occur next to each other. Mimic your teacher’s, parents’, and
grandparents’ pronunciation.

2. Translate the following introduction into English.

a. Háu, Brian emáčiyapelo.

b. Oglála emátaŋhaŋ.
c. Malákȟota yeló.
d. Wayáwa hemáčha.
e. Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa.

3. Translate the following introduction into Lakota.

a. My name is Britney.
b. I’m from Kyle.
c. I am Lakota.
d. I am a student.
e. I go to school at Red Cloud School.
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 Grammar

Distinctive Male and Female Ways of Speaking

STATEMENT-ENDING ENCLITICS

Malákȟota yeló. I am a Lakota. (man speaking)

Betty Lakȟóta yeló. Betty is a Lakota. (man speaking)
Malákȟota kštó. I am a Lakota. (woman speaking)
Betty Lakȟóta kštó. Betty is a Lakota. (woman speaking)
Malákȟota. I am a Lakota. (man or woman speaking, informal)

Lakota includes a number of word-like elements called enclitics. Enclitics cannot stand
alone but must be used in combination with verbs. They always come at the end of
the verb and when there are multiple enclitics in a single sentence they always occur
in a fixed order.

When Lakota speakers wish to emphasize a statement they use special statement-
ending enclitics. These forms are different for male and female speakers. The enclitic
yeló is used by males and kštó is used by females. These enclitics are used primarily
in formal speech. They are generally omitted in informal speech.

Note that when yeló occurs after verbs ending in -pi, it changes to -pelo. You have
already seen one example of this:
Dave emáčiyapelo. My name is Dave. (“I am called Dave.”)
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 Practice

1. Look at these sentences and decide whether each one is spoken by a male or
female.
a. Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa kštó.
b. Pȟahíŋ Siŋté emátaŋhaŋ yeló.
c. Malákȟota.
d. Pȟayábya emátaŋhaŋ kštó.
e. Wayáwa hemáčha.
f. Wayáwa héčhapelo.
g. Britney Pȟežúta Ȟáka etáŋhaŋ yeló.
h. Nilákȟota kštó.
i. Háu.

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct statement-ending enclitic based on the gender of
the speaker. Translate your answers into English.
Example: Michael: Pȟayábya emátaŋhaŋ _______.
→ Michael: Pȟayábya emátaŋhaŋ yeló. I am from Payabya.

a. Hailey: Maȟpíya Lúta él wabláwa __________.

b. Jason: Malákȟota __________.
c. Dave: Wayáwa hemáčha __________.
d. Mary: Pȟahíŋ Siŋté emátaŋhaŋ __________.
e. Betty: Mary Pȟahíŋ Siŋté etáŋhaŋ __________.
f. Chad: Wayáwa héčhape ______.

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 Grammar

Distinctive Male and Female Ways of Speaking

ASKING QUESTIONS

Wayáwa heníčha hwo? Are you a student?

(male speaking, in formal situation)

Wayáwa heníčha he? Are you a student?

(female speaking; male speaking in informal situation)

Tukténitaŋhaŋ hwo? Where are you from?

(male speaking, in formal situation)
Tukténitaŋhaŋ he? Where are you from?
(female speaking; male speaking in informal situation)

Question markers are another example of enclitics:

•• hwo is used by males in more formal situations—for example, in public
speeches and ceremonies, and when addressing people they do not know
••he is used by females in all situations and used by males with relatives
and friends, at home, and in other everyday situations
When asking questions in English, the speaker’s voice frequently rises in
pitch at the end of the question. This happens especially in English questions
for which an answer “yes” or “no” would be appropriate. In Lakota, the pitch
of the voice usually falls at the end of a question, just as it does at the end of
a statement, so the question markers are essential to include when asking
questions.
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 Practice

1. Practice the conversation below with your classmates. Be sure to use the
appropriate question-marking enclitic for your gender.
(Háu,) toníktuka he/hwo?
Táku eníčiyapi he/hwo?
Tukténitaŋhaŋ he/hwo?
Nilákȟota he/hwo?

2. Introduce another student to your class following the example below.

[Name] ečíyapelo/ečíyapi kštó.
Lakȟóta yeló/kštó.
[Place] etáŋhaŋ.

3.
For each of the following statements, ask a question to which the statement would
be a suitable answer (using hwo or he depending on whether you are a boy or a
girl).
Example: Háŋ, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ emátaŋhaŋ yeló/kštó.
→ Wazí Aháŋhaŋ enítaŋhaŋ he/hwo?

a. Háŋ, wayáwa hemáčha.

b. Háŋ, Dave Lakȟóta yeló/kštó.
c. Háŋ, Mary emáčiyapi.
d. Háŋ, matáŋyaŋ.
e. Háŋ, Pȟayábya emátaŋhaŋ.


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 Wičhóiye 1

Lakȟól’iyapi Wašíčuiyapi
Čhaŋkpé Ópi Wounded Knee
ečíyapi to be called, to be named (used of people)
emáčiyapi I am called
eníčiyapi you are called
ečíyapi he/she/it is called
él at, in, on, to, onto
etáŋhaŋ to be from
emátaŋhaŋ I am from
enítaŋhaŋ you are from
etáŋhaŋ he/she/it is from
etáŋhaŋpi they are from
háŋ yes; yes (I heard/hear you); hello (female form)
háu hello (male form); yes (I heard/hear you) (male form)
he? question-marking enclitic (female form; informal male form)
(does not trigger ablaut; ablauting vowels remain -a or -aŋ)
héčha to be (that kind)
hemáčha I am (that kind)
heníčha you are (that kind)
héčha he/she/it is (that kind)
héčhapi they are (that kind)
hiyá no
hwo? question-marking enclitic (formal male form) (does not
trigger ablaut; ablauting vowels remain -a or -aŋ)
kštó emphatic statement-ending enclitic (female form) (triggers
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-e ablaut)
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Wóuŋspe 1: Introducing Yourself 9

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Lakȟól’iyapi Lakota language
Lakȟóta Lakota, Indian; to be Lakota, to be Indian
malákȟota, Lamákȟota I am Lakota, I am Indian
nilákȟota, Laníkȟota you are Lakota, you are Indian
Lakȟóta he/she/it is Lakota, he/she/it is Indian
Lakȟótapi they are Lakota, they are Indians
Maȟpíya Lúta Red Cloud
Maȟpíya Lúta Owáyawa Red Cloud School
Oglála Oglala (community); Oglala (people/nation/tribe)
oháŋ okay, OK, yes, sure, alright; yes (I heard/hear you)
(male form)
Oyúȟpe Manderson
Pȟahíŋ Siŋté Porcupine (literally, Porcupine Tail)
Pȟayábya Payabya
Pȟežúta Ȟáka Kyle (literally, Medicine Root)
táku what? to be what?
tóktuka to be how?
tomáktuka how am I?
toníktuka how are you?
tóktuka how is he/she/it?
tóktukapi how are they?
tuktétaŋhaŋ to be from where?
tuktémataŋhaŋ where am I from?
tukténitaŋhaŋ where are you from?
tuktétaŋhaŋ where is he/she/it from?
tuktétaŋhaŋpi where are they from?
Wašíčuiyapi English language
wayáwa student; to go to school; to study
wabláwa I go to school; I study
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waláwa you go to school; you study

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 wayáwa he/she/it goes to school; he/she/it studies
wayáwapi they go to school; they study
Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Pine Ridge (village/community)
wóglakapi conversation; dialogue
wóuŋspe lesson; class
yeló / ló / weló emphatic statement-ending enclitic (male form) (triggers
-e ablaut, shortens to ló after an ablauting vowel, and
takes the form weló after the vowels o, u, and uŋ)

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Wóuŋspe 1: Introducing Yourself 11

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 Maȟpíya Lúta
(Red Cloud): Part 1
Maȟpíya Lúta, 1880
Maȟpíya Lúta was born in 1821 on Blue
Creek, where it empties into the Pȟaŋkéska
Wakpá (literally, Shell River, today called
the Platte) in Nebraska. His father, Išnála
Wičháša (Lone Man), was a member of the
Sičháŋǧu (Brulé) tribe of Lakȟóta (Lakota)
oyáte (people; tribe; nation). His mother, who
belonged to the Saóni (Saone) tribe, was a
sister of Šóta (Smoke), the itȟáŋčhaŋ (chief)
of the Ité Šíča thiyóšpaye (Bad Face band)
of the Oglála (Oglala) tribe. After his father’s
death, Maȟpíya Lúta and his mother joined
Smoke’s band.
As a young man Maȟpíya Lúta was ambi-
tious and took pride in his talent for breaking
šúŋkawakȟaŋ (horses) and was successful as
a wakhúwa (hunter). At age twelve, he went
on his first buffalo chase. By sixteen he was
going on the warpath against tȟóka (enemies),
such as the Sčíli (Pawnees), Psáloka (Crows),
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Súsuni (Shoshones), and Sápa Wičháša
(Utes). In battle, young Maȟpíya Lúta con-
tinually distinguished himself for bravery and
quickly became an influential warrior.
The years of Maȟpíya Lúta’s youth and
early manhood were a difficult time for the
Lakȟóta oyáte (Lakota people). The wašíču
(whites) were beginning to encroach on
Lakȟóta lands by making a wagon road along
the Pȟaŋkéska Wakpá and building a fort
on the Laramie River. The wašíču brought
new things. They traded mázawakȟaŋ (guns)
to the Lakȟóta, which were especially use-
ful in defense against enemy tribes, but they
also brought mníwakȟaŋ (whiskey), which
resulted in drunkenness and violence in the
Lakȟóta camps. Some Lakȟóta wanted to es-
tablish wólakȟota (peace) with the wašíču
while others wanted to stay away from them
and were willing to fight them if necessary.
This difference in opinion concerning what
to do about the wašíču caused much conflict
within the Lakȟóta oyáte.
One Oglála itȟáŋčhaŋ, Matȟó
Tȟatȟáŋka (Bull Bear), was a rival of Šóta
and there was tension between their bands. In
ptaŋyétu (autumn) 1845, that tension came
to a head when a drunken brawl led to deaths
on both sides. Maȟpíya Lúta blamed Matȟó
Tȟatȟáŋka for the trouble and in retaliation
he shot him dead, an act that made a čhažé
(name) for Maȟpíya Lúta. The killing split
the Oglála oyáte (Oglala people) into two fac-
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 Maȟpíya Lúta Red Cloud

Matȟó Tȟatȟáŋka Bull Bear

Lakȟóta Lakota

Lakȟóta oyáte Lakota people; Lakota

nation, Lakota tribe

Matȟó Wayúhi Conquering Bear

mázawakȟaŋ gun, rifle, firearm

mníwakȟaŋ whiskey, liquor,

Home of Maȟpíya Lúta at Wazí Aháŋhaŋ, 1907 (literally, mysterious water)

Oglála Oglala, Pine Ridge Sioux

great council held on Horse Creek, near Fort
Laramie, when the U.S. government made a trea- Oglála oyáte Oglala people; Oglala
ty with the Lakȟóta oyáte. On that occasion, nation, Oglala tribe
Matȟó Wayúhi (Conquering Bear), the Sičháŋǧu oyáte people, nation, tribe
itȟáŋčhaŋ, was appointed head itȟáŋč haŋ .
Pȟaŋkéska Wakpá Platte River
Many sources also say that Maȟpíya Lúta was
present at the Grattan Fight near Fort Laramie in Psáloka Crow
blokétu (summer) 1854, when Matȟó Wayúhi
ptaŋyétu autumn, to be autumn
was killed.
By 1861-62, Maȟpíya Lúta was leading Saóni Saone (northern division of the
Lakota)
war parties against the Psáloka and other tȟó-
ka and was becoming recognized as a leading Sápa Wičháša Ute
itȟáŋčhaŋ. Men who were itȟáŋčhaŋ were
Sčíli Pawnee
charged with looking after the wellbeing of the
oyáte. Maȟpíya Lúta was now becoming one Sičháŋǧu Brulé, Rosebud Sioux
of the most important Lakȟóta itȟáčhaŋ and Súsuni Shoshone
perhaps the greatest warrior of his generation.
Šóta Smoke

šúŋkawakȟaŋ horse

tȟóka enemy, enemies

L A K ȞÓ TA W IČ H Ó IYE
wakhúwa hunter
blokétu summer, to be summer
wašíču white, white person, person of
čhažé name, reputation European or Euro-American ancestry
Išnála Wičháša Lone Man wólakȟota peace, peace-time, a peace
treaty
Ité Šíča thiyóšpaye Bad Face band
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itȟáŋčhaŋ chief, leader, headman

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 Lakota Language Project

Red Cloud Indian School

Pine Ridge, South Dakota

American Indian Studies Research Institute

Indiana University

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