Word of the Day

kášk̓ululapn

Eat too much fat or greasy food, satiate oneself. ákašk̓ululapnaaš yápašna ‘I ate too much fat’; pinákašk̓ululapšaaš ‘I’m getting dizzy from overeating’; pinákašk̓ululaptanam ‘you’ll eat too much fatty food (Coyote said to the monster when threw a big rock into his mouth to fix it open – the rocks had deer fat on them)’. [NP /saˀáyn/.]

ČÁWNA MÚN NÁAMTA
‘WE SHALL NEVER FADE’

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).

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