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Mary: Hēsci! Mary cvhocefkvt os. Mvhayvt owis. Okemah-n likvyēt os. Centv?
Bill: Bill cvhocefkvt os. ‘Ste-wvnayvt owis. Holdenville likvyēt os.
Mary: Mon centv?
Helen: Helen cvhocefkvt os. Vntat hompetv-hayvt owis. Bristow likvyēt os.
Mary: Mvto! Hę̄re-mahes!
Vocabulary
| hēsci! | how are you? |
| mvhayv | teacher |
| Mvhayvt owis. | I’m a teacher. |
| … likvyēt os. | I live in … |
| ‘ste-wvnayv | police officer |
| vntat | myself, as for me |
| hompetv-hayv | a cook |
| mvto! | thank you! |
| hę̄re-mahes! | very good! |
Flashcards!
Exercises
A. Without looking, try to fill in the blanks based on the dialogue.
- Mary _________.
- Mvhayvt __________ .
- Okemah-n __________ .
- Mon _________?
- Vntat _________ owis.
- Mvto! __________!
B. Go around the class with each person doing an introduction and then calling on someone else.
C. Answer the questions.
- Mary estvmin likēt owa?
- Mary ‘ste-wvnayvt owv (ehę̄ / monks)?
- Helen estvmin vtēt owa?
Language patterns
A. Here is the pattern for saying ‘I am (a police officer, etc.)’:
- mvhayv ‘teacher’ ► Mvhayvt owis. ‘I am a teacher’.
- ‘ste-wvnayv ‘police officer’ ► ‘Ste-wvnayvt owis. ‘I am a police officer.’
- hompetv-hayv ‘cook’ ► Hompetv-hayvt owis. ‘I am a cook.’
B. The verb liketv means ‘to sit’ or ‘to live’ somewhere.
- liketv ‘(one) to sit, live (somewhere)’
- likvyēt os ‘I live in’
- liketskēt os ‘you live in’
- ‘Stvmin liketskēt owa? ‘Where do you live?’
- likēt os ‘he/she lives in’ (There’s no mark for ‘he/she/it’.)
C. Muskogee has personal pronouns:
- vne ‘I, me’
- cēme ‘you’
- ēme ‘he/she/him/her’
- pome ‘we/us’
The pronouns often take endings when they’re used in sentences:
- vne ‘I, me’ ► vntat ‘myself, as for me’
- cēme ‘you’ ► centv? ‘how about you?, what about you?’
