Spring. ana kú tiičám pinátamasklikɨnx̣a wawáx̣ɨmyaw pinátamasklikɨnx̣a ana kú iwáta papáču ánɨm ‘when the earth turns itself to spring, it turns itself when it is the middle of winter’; kunata kʷaaná ák̓ʷałanawax̣a ana kú pinátamasklikɨnx̣a tiičám wawáx̣ɨmyaw ‘and we indeed give thanks to that land when it turns itself to spring’; wawáx̣ɨmpa ‘in spring’; wawáx̣ɨmi ‘be spring’. [NW wúux̣ɨm; NP /wewéx̣p/.]
As spoken by a group of elders in the early 1980s when thinking about putting their language to writing.
The words and sentences in this dictionary are mostly the contribution of Twáway, otherwise known of as Inez Spino Reves. Twáway has never flinched from working with linguists, and her command of the “old language” with all its intricacies of grammar and vocabulary is second to none. Other Umatilla contributors are Charley McKay, Donald Joe, Emily Littlefish, Fred Hill, Joan Watlamet, Mildred Quaempts, and Thomas Morning Owl. Animal and plant identifications were much aided by botanist Dave Corliss (personal communication) and by Eugene Hunn (1979, 1990).
