HISTORICISM
| Historicism is a supportive, scholarly, Seventh-day Adventist ministry. |
Native American: Navajo |
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Post Position Data: By Stem Class, By Prefix Category Post Position Data: By Stem Class, By Prefix Category (SBJ) Post Position Data: By Prefix Category, By Stem Class Forms Documented Forms Not Yet Found Post Position Prefix List Documents Abbreviation and Reference List For some reason I've always been interested in Navajo post positions. Post positions in Navajo are similar in some ways to prepositions in English. The two convey similar types of meaning. What makes Navajo post positions especially interesting, however, is their rich morphology. In many ways Navajo post positions have the formal characteristics of miniature Navajo verbs. There are 10 morphological slots or "positions" in the Navajo verb complex (according to one analysis) and, while post positions most often consist of nothing more than a pronominal prefix and a post position stem (e.g., bi ["it"] + k'i ["on"], thus bik'i, "on it"), they can occasionally take other prefixes. In fact they can take a surprisingly wide array of prefixes. Prefix positions 1 through 8 can all be documented and if post positions such as biniilkiin (difficult to translate, perhaps "we live on it [food]") are an indication, even stem classifiers (position 9) can put in a guest appearance. The dividing line between verbs and post positions is much less distinct than would first appear to be the case. |