tʼae
Ahtna
Etymology
From Proto-Athabaskan *tʼe. Compare Navajo -TʼEʼ (“to be thus”), Wailaki tʼee (“to be”).
Root
tʼae
- to be (thus)
Stem set
| Aspect | Imperfective | Perfective | Future | Optative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuter1 | tʼae | tʼeʼ | tʼaeł | tʼeʼ |
| Neuter-customary | tʼaex | tʼaex | tʼaex | tʼaex |
| Neuter negative | tʼeh | tʼeʼ | tʼaele | tʼeʼe |
| Transitional1 | tʼaex | tʼaet | tʼaex | tʼaex |
| Transitional1-negative | — | tʼaede | tʼaeghe | — |
| Transitional2 | — | tʼeʼ | tʼaeł, tʼaex | ? |
| Transitional2-negative | — | tʼaele | ? | — |
| Neuter2 | tʼeʼ | tʼeʼ | tʼeʼ | tʼeʼ |
Usage notes
- Appears in a number of miscellaneous nominal and adverbial derivations
- The stem set includes distinct negative stems, often formed with the negative suffix -e
Derived terms
- diłtʼaey (“bull caribou”)
- htʼaeʼ/hwtʼaeʼ/hwtʼaedzeʼ (“very”)
- hwtʼae (“warm weather”)
- łinestʼeʼ (“old dog”)
- neltʼeʼ (“there are many”)
- nestʼeʼ (“old man”)
- sutʼeʼ/sutʼaeʼ (“alright, nicely”)
- tahwtʼaey (“land otter”)
- tʼaede (“teenage girl”)
- tsinstʼe (“old woman”)
References
- Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 344-46